Longevity, starting from being a chicken raising servant

"Upon arriving here, ask nothing. Just take good care of the spirit food for the immortals, and you will be rewarded. Perhaps one day, you can become an outer sect deacon like me."

"Yes, yes, I understand."

"Mm, take good care of this package, it should help you raise those animals well. I will come to inspect in half a month. If they are not raised properly, don't blame me for being harsh."

"Understood, thank you Deacon Li for your care, this is a small token of my gratitude..."

"Hmm, pretty sensible, alright then, I'm leaving..."

"Yes, take care, Deacon Li."

He watched the portly Deacon Li slowly vanish between the valleys, his smile gradually fading from his face.

In its place was a touch of melancholy and bitterness.

"So, this is where I've ended up after all!"

"But who is to blame when I have such low qualifications and such poor luck!"

"Truly, I am unworthy as a transmigrator."

Wang Ba's eyes were filled with unwillingness and helplessness.

Arriving in this world, he initially thought he had a chance to seek the path of immortality and achieve long life.

Unfortunately, after much effort in finding the nearest immortal sect, he had been told that his qualifications were insufficient and they were not even willing to accept him as an outer disciple.

He was not willing to give up, exhausting every possible method. Eight years passed, yet there was no harvest.

Having nearly spent all his family wealth, he had no way left to turn back.

Out of desperation, he put away his unrealistic dreams and, using the last bit of his resources, got someone to help him make connections with Deacon Li of the 'East Saint Sect's outer sect.

Deacon Li took the money and took care of him. He had arranged for him to be here.

A villa rearing the spirit food for the immortals.

But to Wang Ba, this place was more suitably named a 'chicken farm.'

Because when looking around, the entire villa was full of freely roaming roosters and hens.

All of them were robust and vigorous, with divine presence and plenty of Qi.

They exuded a kind of spirit, setting them far apart from the poultry raised in the mortal realm.

The chickens strolled leisurely through the villa, carefree with people providing them with fine feed and Spirit Insects.

Their fate was to one day be taken to the immortals' dining rooms, when they had grown fat and strong, to be turned into nutritious spirit food.

All these details had been related to him by Deacon Li before his arrival.

Apart from him, there was only one elderly man in the entire villa.

He looked to be in his seventies or eighties, his face full of age spots. On seeing Wang Ba arrive, the old man continued to move his stool nonchalantly, sitting under the eaves to bask in the sun.

"Hello, sir. My name is Wang Ba, and I will be working with my senior here. I hope for your guidance."

Wang Ba greeted him with a habitual smile, politely addressing the old man.

The old man turned his head to glance at him, his gaze holding a strange significance, and after a long while finally spoke slowly:

"My surname is Sun."

"The one surnamed Li sent you here; looks like you didn't offer him enough of a bribe."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ba was stunned, then forced a smile:

"Haha, Old Sun is joking. I have nothing of value to offer..."

"Heh!"

The old man just snorted and turned his head away, saying nothing more.

Seeing that the other party seemed to have no desire to continue speaking,

Wang Ba felt somewhat awkward and, with a hand gesture of respect, proceeded to his own bedroom.

The room was cramped beyond measure, with only a narrow bed three feet wide and a worn-out wardrobe.

Upon opening the door, he was met with a musty smell and cobwebs everywhere.

It looked like no one had lived there for a long time.

However, Wang Ba didn't mind this at all.

After a brief cleanup, he eagerly opened the package left by Deacon Li.

A piece of yellow paper, a Daoist robe, and a handwritten book.

Wang Ba picked up the yellow paper and scanned through it, finding it contained nothing more than tips on raising chickens.

He carelessly tucked it into his chest.

Then he skipped over the East Saint Sect's standard dark blue Daoist robe, reaching directly for the book at the bottom.

Upon opening it, three plain characters caught his eye.

"Strong Body Sutra."

"Yes! This is it!"

Wang Ba's eyes lit up.

This was his last hope.

The most important thing immortal sects look for in disciples was the quality of the Spiritual Root.

If one had high qualifications, then there was nothing to say.

But most people didn't even possess a Spiritual Root.

For example, Wang Ba.

Fortunately, heaven doesn't seal off all paths.

And so it is with the path of cultivation.

Just a short while ago, he had luckily learned that by cultivating the unique Strong Body Sutra of the East Saint Sect, there was an extremely slim hope of nurturing a Spiritual Root.

Although the resulting Spiritual Root's qualification was often extremely low, to the point where even Rogue Cultivators would look down upon it,

to Wang Ba, it was still a glimmer of hope.

And to cultivate such a method as the Strong Body Sutra, one had to be a part of the Sect to be permitted to do so.

This was also why Wang Ba insisted on joining the Sect, even if it meant raising chickens for them.

Now with the manual in his hands, Wang Ba naturally couldn't wait to open it.

"This Strong Body Sutra actually has thirteen layers..."

"Each layer cultivated can increase one's strength by tens to hundreds of pounds..."

"Just by cultivating to the tenth layer, is there a chance to nurture a Spiritual Root?"

"If one cultivates to the thirteenth layer, one could even attain a middle-grade Spiritual Root!"

"Good! What a good Cultivation Method!"

Wang Ba's surprise grew as he continued to read.

He had not expected the Strong Body Sutra to have such heaven-defying effects.

Although it required the cultivation of many layers, one merely needed to reach the tenth layer for the chance to nurture a Spiritual Root.

If one were to cultivate to completeness, one could even obtain a middle-grade Spiritual Root!

And to enter as an outer disciple of the East Saint Sect, one only needed a lower-grade Spiritual Root.

This meant he only needed to cultivate to about the level of the eleventh or twelfth layer to formally become an outer disciple of the East Saint Sect!

From then on, the path to immortality would be hopeful!

"Hu—settle down! Settle down!"

"Don't get carried away with pride."

"A Cultivation Method with such remarkable effects must have high requirements."

"Let's take a closer look first."

Wang Ba took a deep breath.

He calmed his excited heart.

Then he carefully turned the subsequent pages.

"Eh, this Cultivation Method doesn't have any particular requirements, it just takes some time?"

Wang Ba was exceedingly surprised.

He hurriedly read on.

"The first layer only takes one year to complete, so it means that by the time I'm forty or fifty, nurturing a Spiritual Root won't be too hard to accept..."

"Hmm? The second layer takes two years, the third layer takes four years..."

As he read on, Wang Ba's expression gradually changed!

A geometric series!

Almost without thinking, the time needed for the tenth layer immediately popped into his head.

512 years!

He couldn't believe it and hurriedly flipped to the next page.

Upon seeing the figures on the page, he was like struck by thunder, standing stock-still!

His guess was true!

The tenth layer really required 512 years!

And the thirteenth layer required a staggering 4096 years!

Such a lengthy time far exceeded even the lifespans of immortals!

Although the book also stated that those with exceptionally high qualifications could significantly reduce the cultivation time,

Wang Ba could only smile bitterly at this line.

To cultivate from the first to the tenth layer, it required 1023 years.

What kind of qualification could shorten a gap of a thousand years?

He truly didn't believe he could succeed in cultivating it!

Even if he could do it within several decades and nurture a Spiritual Root, what then?

The lifespan of mortals is only a hundred years!

With what could he refine his Qi, with what could he establish his Foundation?

At this moment, he wasn't exactly in utter despair.

But he had truly given up.

He stood in a daze for a while.

After a long time, he finally let out a heavy sigh.

As if to expel all his ambition and unwillingness.

The painstakingly obtained Strong Body Sutra was tossed carelessly at the foot of his bed.

In its place was that yellow paper detailing the points to note in chicken farming...