Longevity, starting from being a chicken raising servant

I don't know if this was the handiwork of Gou Mu, the Ratheaded.

The map was drawn exceedingly concealed.

Even for someone with senses as astounding as Wang Ba's, if he didn't scrutinize it bit by bit, he would have missed it completely.

It seems someone had put a lot of thought into it; most people would probably just be drawn to the plot-driven illustrations on the page and pay no attention to the details in the drawings.

Paying close attention to this section in red armor, Wang Ba matched the map with the outer layout of the Sect in his mind. He quickly realized that the map centered around Nanhu Village and extended to the south.

And the entrance, surprisingly, was right in Nanhu Village.

Yet, on further thought, he couldn't help but admire Gou Mu's audacity and meticulousness.

After all, with the complex mix of people and the harsh environment, Cultivators normally had no desire to go there.

Digging an entrance here was a masterstroke of hiding in plain sight.

Nobody would have thought that there lay a secret tunnel connecting the inner and outer parts of the Sect.

What surprised Wang Ba even more was that the map even had three-dimensional layers; descending from the entrance required going down nearly a hundred feet.

Then there were the complex, maze-like tunnels; only by following the map could one avoid making a misstep.

After pondering over it for half the day, Wang Ba couldn't help but admire this Ratheaded Gou Mu.

Indeed, there are no wrong nicknames, only mistaken names.

To build such a complex and amazing tunnel system underground all by oneself, evading the patrols of Sect Disciples, he truly lived up to the moniker of "Ratheaded."

"However, I have only one chance."

"To ensure that everything is foolproof, I must proceed with lightness."

He planned to take nothing from the villa with him.

Even the generation one through generation six Spirit Chickens he had nurtured with great care, including the three third-generation ones that had just hatched, he was prepared to painfully forfeit.

Even the Spirit Stones, he dared only to carry a few for emergency funds after leaving the Sect.

After all, a Cultivator's senses are incredibly keen, particularly their sensitivity to Spiritual Energy.

If he carried too many Spirit Stones, he might be detected from hundreds of feet away.

Even though he could use Yin God Power to conceal himself, he had no confidence in his ability to hide the fluctuations of Spiritual Energy from the stones.

After all, the number of times he had used Yin God Power in front of Cultivators could be counted on one hand; he simply didn't have a convincing precedent to rely on.

"The Tendon-Cutting Silkworms, however, I can bring some as a means of protection."

"The departure date from the Sect will be set for fifteen days later. It is said to be the day when the patrol disciples of the outer perimeter change guard, which makes it somewhat safer."

After a night of cogitation, Wang Ba finally formulated his escape plan.

In a nutshell, fifteen days later, with the aid of Gou Mu's tunnel, he would leave the East Saint Sect lightly equipped!

Afterward, his fate would be in the hands of heaven and earth!

Thinking of the uncertainty that lay ahead, Wang Ba's heart momentarily wavered.

But he quickly gathered his spirits and went to Fengyang Market's book pavilions, spending a few Spirit Stones on various travel logs and records about nearby Sects and Cultivators.

Previously, he had found it difficult to acquire Spirit Stones and since he hadn't been in the Sect for long, his urgency to understand the knowledge of the Cultivation World wasn't pressing. Though he knew of the existence of the book pavilion, he hadn't explored it much.

Now, with his departure imminent, he naturally wanted to gather as much information about the Cultivation World as possible so that he could have some basic knowledge when traveling outside the Sect.

Of course, the most crucial point was that he still couldn't be sure whether the Strong Body Sutra would allow him to condense his Spiritual Root. And, if it did turn out to be possible, he would still need to seek out Cultivation Methods and resources for his future Cultivation.

Thus, choosing another Sect seemed only natural.

And the information within the book pavilion of the market could help Wang Ba choose a more suitable Sect after leaving.

Unfortunately for Wang Ba, there were no Cultivation Methods or Spells related to Cultivators in the market's book pavilion.

It is said that only the markets dedicated to Cultivators had such items.

Within the Sect, there was only one such market.

Named 'Fengyang Market'.

However, this market was located quite close to the core area of the Sect and was almost inaccessible to menial servants of the outer regions, unless they served the Sect Disciples.

Wang Ba did consider experiencing it for himself, but in the end, he quenched that thought.

With his departure approaching, he didn't want any unforeseen incidents to occur.

But such is the nature of incidents; the less you want them to happen, the more likely they are to ensue.

Early one morning,

Wang Ba looked at the roof he had painstakingly repaired, now with a human-shaped hole in it, and fell silent.

*Cough cough*... Uncle, I really didn't mean it this time..."

Ye Lingyu emerged from the house, her purple robes now covered in dust and dirt, coughing.

Pale-faced with mud daubed on his cheeks, he lent an unusual charm to his otherwise ordinary features.

Yet perhaps because he spent too much time around those colorful roosters, Wang Ba felt no stirrings inside.

He didn't dare let himself feel any, either.

The girl before him seemed a bit slow-witted, but her purple robe was a bright declaration that she... was an Inner Sect Disciple!

"Shopkeeper Lu once mentioned that during the last Sect recruitment, they seemed to have accepted a female cultivator with an upper-grade Spiritual Root; could it be her?"

While Wang Ba's face squeezed into a smile as he said, "It's nothing, it's nothing, how are you? Did that hurt when you fell?" his mind was busily pondering the matter.

He had been too preoccupied cultivating Spirit Chickens and Tendon-Cutting Silkworms to give it much thought before.

But now that he thought about it, this Ye Lingyu, in terms of both age and status, seemed to match up perfectly. She really could be that favored lady gifted with an upper-grade Spiritual Root.

Despite knowing this, Wang Ba had no desire to get entangled with her.

The same thought as always: he was about to leave the Sect, and absolutely nothing must go wrong.

Moreover, if she were really that upper-grade Spiritual Root holder, given her immediate acceptance into the inner sect upon joining, it was likely someone was keeping a discreet eye on her.

With so many secrets of his own, getting wrapped up with such a person would inevitably lead to trouble.

So, while his demeanor was respectful, he was merely going through the motions.

Ye Lingyu, however, was more perceptive than before and noticed the perfunctoriness beneath Wang Ba's courteous attitude.

Far from being annoyed, she felt even more embarrassed.

After all, she had damaged his roof twice now; it was truly shameless to stay any longer.

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, she began walking down from the manor. However, before she took more than a few steps, just like the last time, she turned back, handed Wang Ba an object, and then ran off.

As she left, she cursed the magic sword in her hand.

"Damn you, lousy sword, you were supposed to help me find a suitable Spirit Beast to refine—why do you keep flying onto people's rooftops?!"

"I'm going to have Master reforge you when we get back!"

The magic sword seemed to understand the reproach and began to buzz softly.

"You feel wronged? Hmph, just make sure you don't fly onto someone's roof again next time!"

With that, she urged the magic sword and wobbled away, unsteadily flying off.

Wang Ba, of course, was oblivious to all this. He was just looking at the item in his hand, his eyes revealing surprise.

"It's a middle-grade Spirit Stone!"

Square and a deep shade of blue.

Under the early morning sunlight, it refracted dreamlike colors.

He glanced at the damaged roof, then looked at the Spirit Stone in his hand.

Wang Ba felt, somewhat unexpectedly, that having his roof smashed might not be so unacceptable after all.

After all, one middle-grade Spirit Stone was equal to one hundred lower-grade Spirit Stones.

Not to mention a menial servant, even a regular outer disciple would have a hard time casually producing such an object.

And here was this slightly foolish female cultivator, who had given it away as an apology.

The exaggerated entitlements of an Inner Sect Disciple were quite apparent.

But this presented him with a dilemma.

A middle-grade Spirit Stone was not a trifling sum of one hundred taels of silver.

It was no small amount.

If the master of this Ye Lingyu, or someone else connected to her, were to find out that Wang Ba had accepted the Spirit Stone, and if they were the petty sort, Wang Ba's good days might be over.

Even though he was about to leave the Sect and was not too concerned, what if someone caused trouble before his departure?

Thus, the best approach was to return the Spirit Stone.

But with his status as a menial servant, sending back the Spirit Stone would be no easy task.

After much thought, his only option seemed to be to hand it over to Deacon Li when the opportunity presented itself and ask Deacon Li to return it on his behalf.

Naturally, this had to be done in the presence of others as witnesses.

Otherwise, considering Deacon Li's greed, there was no guarantee he wouldn't pocket it.

However, before he could find Deacon Li, another person came along.

"Old Hou, this person is...?"

Wang Ba, looking at Old Hou descending from the donkey cart and another unfamiliar middle-aged man standing to the side, aptly showed a hint of confusion on his face.

Old Hou, seemingly transformed, stepped off the cart with great respect and cautiously gestured with his hand as he introduced:

"This person is the manager from the Chengxian Society."