“Are you done staring?”

The sudden, sharp voice startled Wang Ba. He hurriedly turned toward the source of the sound.

Not far away, a youth of seventeen or eighteen, clad in a pristine white robe, was glaring at him with undisguised impatience.

“Answering the Immortal Master, this lowly one has seen enough. Truly, enough.”

Wang Ba forced a sycophantic smile onto his face, bowing deeply at the waist and nodding repeatedly like a pecking chicken.

“If you’re done looking, then get to work! Why are you still standing there like a statue?”

The white-robed youth showed no politeness whatsoever. He pointed a finger at a massive feed barrel, tall as a man, standing beside him.

“Here. Remember to fill this up. And over there… you will handle this every single day from now on.”

Wang Ba barely managed to keep his smile fixed in place. He quickly grabbed a nearby shovel, preparing to scoop the raw chicken feed into the barrel for fermentation.

“Hey, hey, hey! Go wash your hands first! Do not dirty the handle of that shovel with your filth!”

The youth shouted, his face twisted in disgust.

Wang Ba’s hand instinctively brushed against the jade pendant tucked close to his waist—a nervous habit. But in the end, he swallowed his pride and squeezed out another obsequious smile.

“Yes, yes, yes. This lowly one will go wash his hands immediately. Immediately.”

As he spoke, he turned to head toward the well inside the manor courtyard.

But even this drew a sharp rebuke from the white-robed youth.

“Not in here! Go outside to wash! Do not come back until you are clean!”

With his back turned to the youth, Wang Ba took a deep, shuddering breath, then exhaled heavily to expel the rising frustration.

By the time he turned around, his face was a mask of humble servitude once again.

“Yes, Immortal Master!”

It took a considerable amount of tossing and turning, but Wang Ba finally settled into the rhythm of the work.

The tasks involved in raising chickens were generally simple: feeding, cleaning, checking for sickness, and collecting eggs.

However, Wang Ba quickly discovered that the care required for the Spirit Poultry in Ding-Nine Manor was far more meticulous than anything he had done before.

For one, the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the feed was vastly superior to what he used for the Rare Fowl back at his own quarters. The difference in potency was easily three or four times greater.

The ingredients were different, too. The mixture contained herbs and minerals Wang Ba didn’t recognize, along with other unidentifiable substances.

Fortunately, the abundant strength and stamina granted by the ninth layer of the Physique Strengthening Scripture made him extremely efficient.

Even so, it took a great deal of effort to fill the massive barrel and begin the fermentation process.

While he worked, three other Outer Sect disciples returned to the manor, one after another.

Although Wang Ba kept his head down, his keen senses—sharpened by his martial arts cultivation—captured every detail of their appearance and demeanor.

The first to return was a middle-aged cultivator. He frowned as he watched Wang Ba work for a moment, his expression cold and aloof, before disappearing into the largest central wing of the manor.

The second was a strikingly beautiful female cultivator, appearing to be in her early twenties. She returned in a rush, cast a fleeting, indifferent glance at Wang Ba, and went straight to her room.

The third was a handsome young man. Upon seeing Wang Ba, he seemed genuinely surprised. He went to his room briefly, but not long after, he pushed his door open again and actually grabbed a broom to help Wang Ba sweep up the chicken manure.

“Elder Qian finally transferred someone over,” the young man said, shaking his head. “If you hadn’t come today, the few of us in this manor would have ended up tearing each other’s throats out.”

This handsome youth seemed to share Old Hou’s defining traits: naturally familiar with strangers and possessing a loose tongue. It didn’t take long for him to strike up a conversation.

“Immortal Master jests…” Wang Ba replied cautiously.

“Don’t call me Immortal Master. Just call me by my name, Tao Yi. I’m just a bit luckier than you, having been born with a spiritual root. But that luck… well, it has its limits.”

Seeing Wang Ba’s puzzled look, Tao Yi smiled self-deprecatingly.

“You see, to outsiders, we look like big shots. But in reality? Anyone sent here to raise chickens has terrible aptitude. We’re just here to do the grunt work.”

Tao Yi leaned on his broom, lowering his voice conspiratorially.

“I won’t bore you with the details, but I’ve been in the Sect for almost ten years, and I’m still spinning my wheels at the third layer of Qi Refining… Senior Brother Shi, the one who looks a bit older? He’s over eighty this year. Sadly, he’s stuck at the sixth layer and can’t break through. He’s basically here to retire. But don’t underestimate him—Senior Brother Shi is Elder Qian’s personal disciple. His skill in raising spirit beasts is absolutely top-notch.”

Tao Yi jerked his chin toward the direction of the white-robed youth from earlier.

“Then there’s that little brat who just entered this year. That guy… he has no idea how much he weighs. Always looking down his nose at people. Every time I see him, I get the urge to punch him! But you listen to me—stay far away from him. That little brat, surnamed Chu, is rotten to the core. A few Laborer Disciples were crippled by him before you arrived.”

“Oh, and there’s Junior Sister Lin Yu,” Tao Yi continued, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Her aptitude isn’t high, but she’s quite skilled at… unorthodox methods. I heard she offered herself to someone just to get access to a High Grade spiritual vein… Ahem, Junior Sister Lin is back.”

Tao Yi reacted with practiced speed. Noticing movement, he immediately straightened his face and turned to greet her with a polite nod.

Lin Yu looked at Tao Yi suspiciously. She sensed he had been talking about her, but she didn’t think much of this Senior Brother who had nothing to offer but a pretty face. She nodded coldly in return.

She then walked up to Wang Ba, her brow furrowed.

“How come Elder Qian only sent one person…?” She sighed impatiently. “Forget it. I have only one requirement for you: collect the Spirit Poultry eggs for me every day. If even one is broken, I will hold you personally accountable!”

Without waiting for a reply, she hurried out of the manor again.

However, Wang Ba noticed she had faintly touched up her appearance before leaving.

“Heh! Off to mooch off someone’s spiritual vein again!” Tao Yi whispered with a snicker once she was gone.

Wang Ba watched Lin Yu’s departing figure, lost in thought.

It seemed that even after becoming a cultivator, life wasn’t the carefree existence mortals imagined. They still faced their own difficult problems and desperate scrambles.

But he was more concerned about his own safety. “Brother Tao, those previous Laborer Disciples… were they really hurt by Immortal Chu?”

“Call me by my name. Hearing ‘Immortal’ makes my skin crawl. Hmm…” Tao Yi rubbed his cheek, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes. “Anyway, we originally had four or five laborers here. We didn’t have to lift a finger. But they were all tormented until they broke by that kid surnamed Chu.”

“I heard that kid was originally a cowherd,” Tao Yi scoffed. “After being tested and found to have a spiritual root, he probably thought he would ascend to the heavens in a single step. But after entering the Sect, he found out he had Low Grade Five Spiritual Roots—garbage aptitude. The Sect threw him directly here to raise chickens. His mentality couldn’t handle the drop, so now he takes his frustration out on the laborers.”

“But don’t worry,” Tao Yi added, patting his chest. “Senior Brother Shi is also particularly annoyed with him. Because he chased away all the help, we had to do the work ourselves, which cut into our cultivation time. Senior Brother Shi has already warned the brat. He shouldn’t dare touch you. If he tries anything, you come find me. I’ll back you up!”

Tao Yi took full responsibility with a confident flair.

“Thank you, Imm—Brother Tao Yi!”

Hearing this, the stone weighing on Wang Ba’s heart finally lifted slightly. He expressed his sincere gratitude.

“Haha! That’s more like it!”

Tao Yi happily slapped Wang Ba on the arm. It seemed the man had been starved for conversation and was just happy to have a fresh audience.

However, Wang Ba didn’t dare to stand around chatting all day. The entire Ding-Nine Manor covered an area nearly five or six times the size of his previous assignment, and the number of Spirit Poultry reached a staggering eight hundred.

The workload required to maintain such numbers was terrifying.

Originally, these tasks were split among the four cultivators. But with Wang Ba’s arrival, the burden was undoubtedly dumped entirely onto his shoulders.

It was only because he had cultivated the Physique Strengthening Scripture to the ninth layer—granting him strength, endurance, and recovery far surpassing ordinary men—that he could manage it at all. Any other mortal would have collapsed before noon.

Even so, by the time he finished clearing the chicken manure, collecting the eggs, and conducting a final inspection, the moon was already hanging high above the willow branches.

Tao Yi invited Wang Ba to stay for a meal, but Wang Ba didn’t dare accept. He was, however, curious.

“Brother Tao, why do Qi Refining Immortals still need to eat?”

“The Qi Refining realm is still just a mortal body,” Tao Yi waved his hand dismissively. “How could we survive without eating or drinking?”

Wang Ba nodded, gaining a bit more understanding of the mysterious world of cultivation.

“So? Tired? Thinking of running off?” Tao Yi teased.

“Hehe, it’s alright.”

Wang Ba smiled and shook his head. The work was indeed exhausting, but he had absolutely no desire to run.

After all, with so many Spirit Poultry fluttering before his eyes, he couldn’t bear to leave. He had to at least extract some profit from this, didn’t he?

Of course, this was the territory of Sect disciples. Wang Ba didn’t dare to be greedy immediately.

He quietly approached a male Spirit Poultry and secretly extracted about two years of Lifespan.

Just a taste.

He would observe the reactions of these four cultivators tomorrow.

If these Outer Sect disciples could detect the reduction in that single chicken’s Lifespan, he would keep his head down, work honestly, and wait for a chance to leave the Sect safely.

Conversely, if they couldn’t detect the change… then Wang Ba naturally wouldn’t be polite.

War was approaching. Accumulating more Lifespan might be the difference between life and death. It might even allow him to condense a spiritual root earlier than planned.

With a sense of urgency burning in his chest, Wang Ba dragged his exhausted body out of the compound and finally returned to Ding-Eighty-Seven Manor.