9: Chapter 9: Basic Cultivation Manual

"Ye the Heavenly Emperor?! The elder brother of the Ruthless Empress?! That one who dominates the ages!"

"Are you kidding me, officer?! This script is all wrong! How did I manage to summon this big shot?!"

"If he's the protagonist, then what am I? A side character? A stepping stone!"

"System! System! Come out! A wild protagonist has been spotted! Requesting instructions!"

[Ding! Detected intense emotional fluctuations from the host... Analyzing target 'Ye Fan'...]

[Analysis result: This Ye Fan is not the Ye Fan you are thinking of. It is merely a coincidence of names. Furthermore, although his luck is currently slightly stronger than the host's, it has not reached the 'protagonist template' level. Please remain calm, host, and do not scare yourself.]

[Note: Even if he were the real protagonist, with this system and the Ancient Kidney Physique, the host might not necessarily be unable to... clash with him?]

Li Guidai: "..."

Clash? Clash with Ye the Heavenly Emperor? System, I'm afraid you have a misunderstanding of what 'clash' means? That's like an egg hitting a diamond, okay!

However, upon hearing the system say that this Ye Fan was not that Ye Fan, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Yet, the look he gave that "Ye Fan" still carried a bit of wariness and... sympathy? After all, with a name like that, the pressure must be quite high, right?

Just as Li Guidai was having his internal monologue, it was his turn in line.

He quickly composed himself and walked up to Senior Brother Zhuge Ming.

Senior Brother Zhuge Ming looked up at him, seemingly having some impression of him (mainly due to his "pretty lady" remarks on the flying ship and the "250" cave dwelling just now), and said in a flat tone, "Name."

"Li Guidai."

"Age."

"Twenty-five!" Li Guidai stated his mental age without blushing or skipping a beat!

"Place of origin."

"Lu Kingdom, subordinate to Ganlu Town, Jicai Village."

"Spirit root grade."

"Ninth-grade low class, Fire Spirit Root." Li Guidai answered honestly; this couldn't be faked.

Senior Brother Zhuge Ming didn't react much upon hearing this, just skillfully recording it on a blank jade slip. Ninth-grade low class was indeed the most common here.

After recording, Senior Brother Zhuge Ming took out a white token with a special texture that felt warm to the touch and handed it to Li Guidai: "Drop a drop of blood on it."

Li Guidai obeyed, biting his fingertip and squeezing a drop of fresh blood onto the token.

The blood was instantly absorbed by the token. Then, a flash of spiritual light appeared on its surface, revealing three clear small characters — Li Guidai.

At the same time, he felt a subtle connection between himself and the token.

"This token is both proof of your identity and a voucher for entering certain specific areas of Qingling Pass and collecting resources. Remember not to lose it; replacing it requires contribution points," Senior Brother Zhuge Ming instructed.

Li Guidai treasured the token and tucked it into his bosom. This was the first step to establishing himself in the Zhuge Family!

Senior Brother Zhuge Ming continued, telling everyone, "Additionally, inside each of your cave dwellings, there will initially be 10 catties of low-grade spirit rice."

"These spirit rice grains contain faint spiritual energy and can satisfy your daily dietary needs."

He paused and looked at everyone: "If you don't want to waste time eating, you can also go to the Scripture Pavilion to find jade slips related to the 'Bigu Technique' to learn, or try to refine the most basic Bigu Pills yourselves. How you choose is up to you."

Spirit rice? Bigu Pills? Li Guidai rubbed his chin. For someone like him who possessed the Ancient Kidney Physique and might have a relatively large energy consumption, eating seemed necessary, right? Besides, spirit rice... it sounded much more high-class than the brown rice in Jicai Village!

Registration complete, token in hand, and the initial arrangements understood. Li Guidai gripped his "250" token and looked up at the towering cliff covered in cave dwellings.

"250 it is!" He took a deep breath, feeling his kidneys heating up again. "The cave dwelling might be a bit lacking, but buddy has kidneys! My spirit roots might be a bit lacking, but buddy has a system!"

After Senior Brother Zhuge Ming finished registering everyone, he seemed to perform a magic trick, pulling out dozens of brand-new-looking, thread-bound books that exuded an aura of "basic textbooks" from who knows where, and distributed them one by one to everyone.

"This is the 'Basic Manual of Immortal Cultivation'," Senior Brother Zhuge Ming explained, his tone like that of a patient homeroom teacher. "It contains the most basic theoretical knowledge and introductory techniques for the hundred arts of immortal cultivation, such as alchemy, artifact refining, formations, talismans, and spirit plant cultivation."

"Although your main task is... um, to expand the family line, knowing a bit more about miscellaneous arts might be beneficial for your future cultivation, and even... um, raising descendants. You can browse through it in your spare time."

Li Guidai took the thick 'Basic Manual of Immortal Cultivation' and flipped through it. Seeing the familiar "Spirit-Drawing Pill Recipe," "Basic Spirit Gathering Formation Diagram," "Summary of Low-Grade Artifact Refining," and so on, an indescribable sense of vicissitudes welled up in his heart.

These things... sigh, it's all tears when you talk too much about it!

In the twenty-five years since he transmigrated, especially after confirming that his spirit roots were trash and cultivation was hopeless, he had often pinned his hopes on these "heterodox paths." He hoped to be like the protagonists in novels, relying on superb alchemy or artifact refining skills to defy the heavens and change his fate.

As for the result...

"The Propulsor..." His mind flashed back to his first attempt at alchemy. He wanted to refine the most basic "Fleet-Foot Pill," but he didn't know which part went wrong. The pill furnace exploded directly. The few pitch-black pills he refined didn't make people move as fast as flying when eaten, but instead... the farting sound was like thunder, and it generated a powerful reverse thrust that could directly "push" the user more than ten meters away, hence the name "Propulsor."

His father, Li Jiantou, unfortunately became the first test subject. That afternoon, the entire village saw their respected village chief, while farting loudly, "drifting" through the village in a bizarre posture for half an hour...

"Vitality Pill..." This was the product of his attempt to improve a mortal aphrodisiac recipe. His original intention was to help some of the old bachelors in the village who were feeling inadequate regain their prowess. However, the efficacy was too violent. After one old man ate it, his prowess was indeed greatly boosted, but the side effect was that his whole body's muscles stiffened, maintaining a certain indescribable, erect posture, and he stood at the entrance of the village in a one-legged stance for a whole day and night until the effect wore off... From then on, he earned the nickname "The Ever-Erect Old Virgin."

These "masterpieces" once became an important part of Li Guidai's "great fame" in Jicai Village.