Chapter 1 Cultivation? What's So Difficult?

With this batch of blood offerings in hand, Hu Ma felt a great sense of relief, even a sense of liberation.

His path as a Shousui Ren (Grave Watcher) had two inherent advantages: first, his body was already dead; and second, he had the illumination of his Benming Shenxiang (Natal Divine Image). The only thing now limiting his progress was his own Daoxing (cultivation level).

This batch of blood offerings was a timely solution. As long as he replenished his Daoxing, he could cultivate without any worries. Perhaps he could even complete his entire third rank.

The Lian Huo (Revivification) technique had already allowed him to reach the first rank.

Now, he had quietly Lian Huo'd (Revivified) his limbs, and was theoretically already at the second rank.

Once he Lian Huo'd (Revivified) his five internal organs, he would reach the third rank, and his skills would be comparable to those of Shopkeeper Wu.

Overjoyed, he wanted to devour all the blood offerings, but that was just a thought. He first stuffed a Xueshi Wan (Blood Offering Pill) into his mouth and prepared to hide most of the blood offerings, saving them for gradual refinement into Daoxing (cultivation level).

Of course, he mainly wanted to hide the Qing Shi (Green Offerings), while the Xueshi Wan (Blood Offering Pills) were too precious and he had to keep them on his person.

Fortunately, the Xueshi Wan (Blood Offering Pills) didn't take up much space and were easy to store.

After feeding Xiao Hongtang a piece of Qing Shi (Green Offering), she became especially diligent. Without any tools, she squatted in front of the stove, sticking her butt up in the air and digging for half a day, getting her little face covered in soot. When she turned her head and smiled, only a row of snow-white, sharp teeth could be seen, making her look both eerie and adorable.

Hu Ma carefully stored the Xueshi Wan (Blood Offering Pills) and hurried over to help. He buried the cloth bag in the pit under the stove, covered it with soil and bricks.

Then, he spread a layer of mud, put the stove ashes back, and the small treasure vault was complete.

Although they had already been refined, knowing how to safely hide the blood offerings was a great skill. The people taught by Tan'er were vicious, directly peeling off human skin to make bags, which could preserve the blood offerings for a year without leaking their scent.

The Hong Deng Hui (Red Lantern Society) was different. Although Red Lantern Granny was also a scourge of Mingzhou, she couldn't openly engage in killing and skinning…

…At least, they didn't do it now.

So they usually used large vats to hold the offerings, sealed with blood talismans, and had people escort them.

Logically, Hu Ma's batch had already been refined and were much safer, but there was also a piece of unrefined Qíqiao Taisui (Exotic Grand Fungus) inside, so Hu Ma didn't dare to be too careless. He used an earthen method taught by Second Master and hid them under the stove.

Under the stove was the foundation of meals, the essence of all herbs, and the most human of the worldly atmosphere, which could conceal the scent of the blood offerings. It was the cheapest option he could choose now.

"What is this Jinxian Taisui (Gold Thread Grand Fungus) that Miss White Wine mentioned?"

Having done all this, Hu Ma felt strange. The piece of oily paper was wrapped around a rare Taisui (Grand Fungus) with a blood-red color and traces of gold threads.

Miss White Wine had refined all the other blood offerings into easily portable and preservable Xueshi Wan (Blood Offering Pills) and gels, but this one was not processed in any way. It was simply divided into three portions, and he and Erguotou (Second Pot) were instructed to keep it safe.

The Jinxian Taisui (Gold Thread Grand Fungus) was wrapped in a special oilcloth that could prevent the Taisui's Qi and blood from leaking or rotting. It was actually better than a human skin bag, but it was too expensive.

It was far less efficient and effective than finding someone and peeling off their skin to make a cloth bag.

"Either you don't need it, or it's something that can save your life."

Miss White Wine said lazily when she distributed the Taisui (Grand Fungus) to Hu Ma and Erguotou (Second Pot), looking not in a good mood.

Hu Ma guessed that she might be feeling sorry for herself, as she could have secretly kept the thing for herself…

After arranging everything, he took Xiao Hongtang out and locked the door.

Looking up at the dark night sky and walking on the town's stone slab road, watching the starry sky, he felt a sense of exhilaration from doing something bad.

Perhaps, he should find a suitable reason to move here to live.

Of course, he couldn't rush the move. Being rash and doing this and that would only arouse suspicion.

Returning to the manor, he rested for the night.

The next afternoon, the shopkeeper suddenly had the old servant call Hu Ma over. After arriving in the inner courtyard, he saw two oil lamps placed on the stone table, and a somewhat old rattan box at the old shopkeeper's feet.

He was drinking tea, not pouring any for Hu Ma, nor asking him to sit down. He simply said, "I'll speak, you listen."

"I won't explain much about what happened earlier."

"But the method I taught you is real, and the Four Ghosts Bowing technique is also real."

"You've only refined one hand and one foot, and your cultivation is still very shallow. I'm afraid you won't be able to handle being the shopkeeper of this manor. So, you should start to comprehend the other hand and foot. Take these two lamps with you, and light them when the time is right."

"Including the two lamps in this box, and the two you took before, you don't have to return them."

"..."

"Shopkeeper, what do you mean..."

Hu Ma was slightly surprised to hear this. Through the fine gaps in the rattan, he could see that there were many oil lamps inside.

He had seen them in the shopkeeper's cabinet before.

These oil lamps were the foundation for a Shousui Ren (Grave Watcher) to practice death and seek life, and he was giving them to him?

Facing Hu Ma's doubts, the old shopkeeper didn't explain much, but frowned slightly and hesitated before asking, "You said before that your婆婆 (pópo, paternal grandmother) was a Zou Gui Ren (Ghost Walker), so she should have some knowledge. Have you ever heard of the Divine Hands Zhao family?"

"Divine Hands Zhao family?" Hu Ma paused slightly and slowly shook his head.

"Sigh..."

The old shopkeeper didn't say much, but sighed softly, "Tell the shop assistants to help me keep an eye out if they have the chance."

"Be more mindful during this period, I'm afraid I won't be able to teach you for much longer."

"..."

Hu Ma understood what he meant.

Before the new year, the old shopkeeper had hinted to him that he would recommend him to be a shopkeeper or something, and said that he had aroused suspicion from the people above, and that staying here would be meaningless.

Now it seemed that his departure was real, and it wasn't just that the Hong Deng Hui (Red Lantern Society) wouldn't keep people, but that he wanted to find the Divine Hands Zhao family to treat Wu He's illness, but he hadn't found out enough information yet.

But the key was that he didn't actually know either.

Miss White Wine had told him about this, but didn't reveal any other information. First, certain specific information, even if he knew it, couldn't be said randomly, because it wasn't something he should know. Second, Miss White Wine didn't know the whereabouts of the Divine Hands Zhao family.

She knew about this family, and knew that they could cure Wu He, but this family was too mysterious, and no one knew where they lived.

He brought the rattan box back and opened it, and sure enough, it was full of oil lamps.

After checking, there were a total of fifteen lamps.

It seemed that the old shopkeeper had really given him the Shousui Ren (Grave Watcher) method.

Normally, a Shousui Ren (Grave Watcher) could not cultivate the Shousui Ren (Grave Watcher) method without these oil lamps. The limbs, five internal organs, eyes, ears, nose, and tongue all had specific oil lamps corresponding to them.

Speaking of which, these were all poisons, which could accurately target and kill a certain part of oneself, but they were precisely the poisons that a Shousui Ren (Grave Watcher) needed most. He didn't know how much effort the predecessors had put into them. Although he didn't need them, he knew their value.

However, Deng Jie Ru Fu (Ascending the Ranks and Entering the Mansion), the entire set actually had seventeen lamps.

The set passed down by the old shopkeeper was already good, only lacking the two most mysterious lamps for the head and the secret passages.

It wasn't that the old shopkeeper was hiding anything, but that he hadn't been taught them either.

In addition, the Tan'er Sect had many demonic techniques, and the Shousui Ren (Grave Watcher) sect also had many skills. Whether it was the hands and feet, internal organs, ears, eyes, nose, or tongue, one could cultivate some special abilities corresponding to them.

But each of these skills required a great effort to study. The old shopkeeper was just a loose shopkeeper who had joined the Red Lantern Granny. It was good enough for him to have one unique skill.

"I only hope that Wu He has a good life and great fortune, and can find the Divine Hands Zhao family smoothly..."

Hu Ma sighed in his heart, vaguely feeling that the word "human affection" was really complicated.

In fact, according to his previous calculations, Miss White Wine had pointed Wu He in a direction, and she had repaid the favor of secretly informing him of someone to protect his life. But in the end, he couldn't bear to see her suffer, and he had asked for a jar of Qing Yu Gao (Azure Jade Paste) for her, unexpectedly, this had also earned him benefits.

The old shopkeeper was now treating him better than his own disciple.

But a rift had already grown between the two, and it was no longer possible to return to the previous state of being open and sincere.

He put away all the oil lamps, but also wrapped his right hand with cloth strips. After all, the old shopkeeper was still in the manor, and he had to guard against him a little. But now that his limbs were complete, the next step was to consider the method of refining the five internal organs.

The old shopkeeper's notebook had relevant records, which he had already memorized in his mind. However, a simple notebook was not as detailed as being taught hand-to-hand.

But on the one hand, he couldn't ask the old shopkeeper as he had before, and on the other hand, with the Benming Shenxiang (Natal Divine Image) illuminating him, he didn't have to worry about going down the wrong path.

Now he just needed to decide, where should he start with these five internal organs?

...

At night, Hu Ma thought about cultivation, but during the day he began to get busy. The day had come, and several groups of people had come from the city, inspecting the road conditions, checking whether the livestock were healthy, how well the warehouse was repaired, whether the accounts were clear, and so on.

Now, the seven Xueshi Kuang (Blood Offering Mines) belonging to the Red Lantern Granny Society had all worshiped the Taisui (Grand Fungus), and the manpower from the city had also been dispatched.

Presumably

Whenever these people came, the shopkeeper would come out to accompany them, and he didn't know what method he used, but he looked energetic.

But he was only accompanying them, and he let Hu Ma participate and preside over most of the matters. Moreover, as soon as the people went back, he would quickly return to the inner courtyard, as if each time he barely managed to maintain this normal state, he would feel very strenuous.

But after a period of time, Hu Ma became more and more familiar with these affairs and related people.

Especially once, when Steward Xu from the city came down and presented the thing that Second Master had given him, he was actually very happy to face this worthless gadget.

Since then, he had discussed personal relationships with Hu Ma in private.

Even Hu Ma sometimes couldn't help but think, "Could it be that I can really get a shopkeeper position?"