Only in the dead of night, when the watchful eyes had temporarily closed, could Chen Ping snatch a moment’s respite.

Dragging his utterly exhausted body, his consciousness sank into the Jade Pendant space.

Warm white light enveloped him, isolating him from the cold and malice of the outside world.

He threw himself before the pile of white rice like a starving wolf, swallowing mouthfuls of raw rice in great gulps. A warm current once again washed over his body’s fatigue and injuries.

Under the continuous nourishment of the Spirit Rice, the healing speed of his fractured arm bone had accelerated significantly. Though it still hurt, that sharp sensation of bone fracture was diminishing.

After finishing the rice, he did not rest immediately.

Suppressing the soreness and drowsiness of his body, right there in that tiny space, he began practicing the “Vitality Technique.”

Every movement was performed with extreme slowness and care.

Raising his hand pulled at the injury on his left arm, the pain making him grimace, sweat instantly beading on his skin. But he gritted his teeth, persisting to complete the movement correctly.

Kicking out, his center of gravity wavered, nearly causing him to fall. He steadied himself and continued.

His breathing matched his movements, deep and labored. Every muscle in his body trembled with soreness, but he dared not stop.

He knew this was his only hope. Only greater strength could withstand Manager Wang’s harassment. Only greater strength could allow him to survive.

With each practice session, he felt that heat deep within his body being squeezed out, flowing between his muscles and bones.

When he practiced until completely drained, he would collapse beside the rice pile, gasping for breath. Then he would struggle to get up and practice again.

Only when both his spirit and body reached their limit would he exit the space and return to the icy cold Shack.

Amid boundless exhaustion and bodily aches, he would fall into a deep sleep for a few hours. Then, before dawn broke, he would be awakened by the Foreman’s shouts to plunge into another day of hard labor.

Days passed like this in an endless cycle: grueling labor, surveillance, and frantically devouring rice and practicing Cultivation in the space during the deep night.

His body was like a bowstring pulled taut repeatedly, constantly teetering on the edge of collapse.

But that innate tenacity within him was thoroughly ignited by Manager Wang’s relentless pressure.

Every lash of the whip, every withheld ration, every sting from a watchful gaze transformed into deeper resolve as he gritted his teeth during his nightly practice sessions.

One late night, as usual, he entered the space to devour rice and practice Cultivation.

After finishing his practice, he habitually glanced at the items piled in a corner of the space.

The white rice pile remained. Next to it were stacked pieces of Wild Boar meat from after it had been butchered.

As his gaze swept over those dark red pieces of meat, it suddenly halted.

Something was off.

Nearly a month had passed since he butchered that Wild Boar and brought it inside here.

Outside, it was already early summer; the weather was starting to get hot. While cleaning out the cesspool today, he had even smelled the stench of decaying matter accelerating in the heat.

But those pieces of pork in the corner of the space—their color was still dark red with streaks of white fat. No graying. No greenish tinge. Not even a hint of rot!

There wasn’t even a trace of foul odor. Even that little bit of blood seeping from their edges maintained its original dark red hue; it hadn’t dried up or turned black.

Chen Ping’s heart gave a violent leap. Ignoring his physical exhaustion, he took several steps to stand before the meat pile. He crouched down for a closer look.

He even picked up a smaller piece of meat and brought it close to his nose to sniff—only a faint scent belonging to raw meat; no putrid smell at all!

The feel to the touch was also like meat from a freshly slaughtered animal—still elastic.

He then looked at that pile of white rice.

The grains remained pure white; not a single one had yellowed, become infested with bugs, or developed mold spots.

“It doesn’t spoil?”

A massive wave of surprise struck him like an electric current, instantly dispelling all fatigue and gloominess.

He checked repeatedly; even his breathing became rapid.

Items inside the Jade Pendant space did not rot! Whether it was Spirit Rice or ordinary flesh and blood!

What did this mean?

It meant he no longer needed to worry about Spirit Rice spoiling. It meant that Wild Boar—that precious meat—would become a long-term food source for him, providing sustained nutrition to support his Cultivation practice.

This was simply an immense boon.

Immense joy washed over him; he almost laughed out loud. But he immediately covered his mouth, forcibly suppressing his surging emotions.

He mustn’t get carried away.

From that day on, whenever he entered the space at night, besides devouring rice and practicing Cultivation, he added another “task”—gingerly cutting off a small piece of Wild Boar meat then building a fire right there in the space to roast it.

Outside, other things might be scarce, but kindling like dry leaves was plentiful.

Though there were no seasonings at all, that aroma of fat and sense of fullness were incomparable to bland Spirit Rice alone.

The energy provided by meat was more abundant. He felt during practice sessions that warm current seemed slightly stronger. His body also recovered faster.

His Physical Strength, under this extreme exertion coupled with ample nutrition support, grew slowly yet steadily.

After one month, his left arm bone finally completely healed.

Though occasionally still faintly painful when exerting force, it no longer hindered movement.

Truly worthy of being an Immortal artifact.

The saying went, “A hundred days for tendons and bones injuries.” An arm bone fracture without treatment would require at least a hundred days to recover.

Yet daily consumption of Spirit Rice greatly shortened the recovery time.

He could feel now that moving those large stones at the Stone Quarry seemed slightly easier than before the injury.

Every time he silently lifted loads exceeding others’ share under the Scarred Foreman’s watchful eyes, he could see a trace of barely perceptible surprise and doubt in the other party’s eyes.

He knew his own strength was increasing. The distance to the required five hundred pounds of Physical Strength for a regular laborer was getting closer.

In the afternoon, Chen Ping was clearing wildly overgrown thorn bushes on the steep slope of the Back Mountain. The Scarred Foreman, as usual, was sitting nearby in the shade of a rock, dozing.

Suddenly, a strange fluctuation swept across the entire Servant Peak.

It wasn’t wind; it was more like an intangible pressure, making all Laborers involuntarily halt their actions, their hearts inexplicably surging with awe.

Even the dozing Scarred Foreman jolted awake, looking around bewildered.

Immediately after, an azure streak of light traced across the sky. Its speed was not fast, yet it carried an indescribable grace and pressure, steadily landing in the open area before the Servant Peak manager’s quarters.

The light dispersed, revealing a figure wearing an azure Daoist robe.

It was a young man with handsome features and an aloof expression. His gaze swept across the area, making all Laborers feel pricked by invisible needles, involuntarily lowering their heads and not daring to look directly at him.

There was no obvious dust on him; his Daoist robe was spotless. Standing there, he formed a stark contrast to the surrounding grimy, sweat-drenched Laborers.

Immortal!

A true Immortal had descended upon Servant Peak.

The entire Servant Peak instantly plunged into hushed, reverent awe.

Manager Wang came scrambling out of the manager’s quarters, his face overflowing with an obsequious smile. He nodded and bowed, running before the young Immortal, his waist bent almost touching the ground.

“Exalted Immortal gracing Servant Peak! This humble one failed to welcome you properly—grave offense, grave offense! May I inquire as to the Exalted Immortal’s instructions? This humble one, Wang Youcai, is willing to serve the Exalted Immortal loyally!”

Manager Wang’s voice trembled with excitement and nervousness.

The young Immortal’s brow slightly furrowed, seemingly uncomfortable with Manager Wang and the aura of Servant Peak’s filthiness.

His voice was not loud, yet it clearly transmitted throughout the entire area, carrying undeniable authority.

“I am Inner Sect Hall of Affairs disciple Zhou Qing. By Elder orders, I am inspecting the Qi nodes of various peaks. This past month, the sect’s monitoring detected abnormal fluctuations in Qi concentration in the Servant Peak region. I specially came to investigate.”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding dilapidated Shacks and ragged Laborers, his eyes showing no ripple.

“Additionally, I need to reside on Servant Peak for several days. I require selecting two nimble-handed, pure-minded Laborers responsible for cleaning the quiet room and preparing simple meals. These two will do.”

He casually pointed to the two nearest, relatively clean-looking young Laborers.

The two pointed out were both shocked and delighted, hardly believing their ears. They hurriedly knelt, kowtowing.

Manager Wang smiled even more obsequiously.

“Serving the Exalted Immortal is their great fortune! Exalted Immortal Zhou, please command freely!”

Zhou Qing slightly nodded, no longer paying attention to the others. He directly walked toward the only relatively tidy stone house beside the manager’s quarters—that “guest room” Manager Wang usually dared not occupy was now immediately vacated and enshrined for Immortal use.

Immortal inspecting Qi? Recruiting Laborers to serve?

The news spread like wind through the hushed Servant Peak, instantly igniting a flame in everyone’s hearts.

Though merely temporary, serving an Immortal meant everything!

Escape heavy, dangerous labor. Escape the Foreman’s whips. More importantly—being near an Immortal’s presence!

Even if just serving tea, water, or sweeping the courtyard, it was still a place permeated with Immortal aura.

Perhaps a chance to brush against a trace of Immortal fate? At the very least, they might receive some Immortal reward or… learn a tiny bit?

Countless gazes instantly became intensely fervent, filled with longing and envy, fixedly staring at those two chosen lucky ones and that tightly closed stone door.

Chen Ping, standing amidst the thorn bushes, paused his chopping knife mid-air.

Immortal Zhou Qing’s words struck his heart like heavy hammer blows.

“Responsible for cleaning the quiet room and preparing simple meals…”

“Reside several days…”

Opportunity!

Chen Ping’s eyes lit up brightly.