Zhu Xiaosuo couldn't answer Jieku's question.

He didn't force an answer.

He just smiled and flicked Jieku's little bald head, making him cry.

Jieku was too busy crying to ask any more questions.

Zhu Xiaosuo felt delighted.

This way of handling things was something he learned from his department manager in his previous life.

If you can't solve the problem, solve the person asking the question.

It worked quite well.

The group rode their horses, stopping and going along the way.

Zhu Xiaosuo rarely had the chance to calm his mind and take in the scenery along the road.

It was then he realized that the leaves were falling, and without noticing, autumn had arrived.

In the past, he was either busy at the Braised Chicken Feet Shop, experimenting in the Little Black Room, or cultivating at the Zhu Clan.

He never had the mind to care about the changing seasons.

Countless poems surged in his heart.

It felt like a lifetime ago.

It was indeed a lifetime ago.

As a science student, he used to scoff at literature.

He thought it was useless.

But in this moment, what lingered in his mind were those forgotten gems from the Tang and Song dynasties, which were compulsory in high school literature.

No book is read in vain.

His mind was woven with literature and philosophy, stirring some long-buried memories.

It was also in such an autumn.

He wore old sneakers, played basketball, and missed a dunk...

Better think of something else.

For some reason, he thought of the story of Socrates asking his students to pick the largest apple in the orchard.

So he asked the group, if they were to pass through this forest and could only pick a leaf once without turning back, how could they ensure they picked the largest leaf?

Someone said it was purely luck.

Someone else suggested observing the size of the largest leaves in the first half and then picking a similar one in the second half.

Zhu Sixiu said:

"Whichever leaf the master thinks is the largest, that one is the largest."

Shen Zhuo said:

"Pick one leaf, burn the forest, and the one in my hand is the only one, so naturally, it's the largest."

Jieku said:

"Does picking or not picking even matter?"

Zhu Xiaosuo flicked his head again.

Jieku cried again.

Zhu Xiaosuo rubbed Jieku's little bald head and said:

"You're too young to question the meaning of everything."

While they were chatting, a sloppy-looking man blocked their way.

Zhu Sixiu reined in his horse and said:

"Why are you blocking the road?"

The sloppy man brushed his hair aside, revealing a pair of dead fish eyes.

"Robbery."

Zhu Xiaosuo stared at the man, trying to determine if he was sick or just not right in the head.

"Robbery? You, alone, robbing a group of us?"

Zhu Sixiu was also stunned.

The sloppy man nodded.

Zhu Xiaosuo couldn't see any clues and thought he was just a lunatic, so he said:

"Forget it, he's probably a fool abandoned by his family. Give him some silver."

"Yes!"

Zhu Sixiu took out a handful of broken silver, dismounted, and gave it to the sloppy man.

"You're lucky to meet our master. Take it and buy yourself something good to eat."

The sloppy man took it and said:

"Not enough."

Zhu Xiaosuo frowned, feeling he was being a bit too greedy.

He gave Zhu Sixiu a look.

Zhu Sixiu understood and said:

"You really are climbing up the pole."

With that, he threw a hook punch at the sloppy man's cheek.

The sloppy man didn't dodge, just grunted.

Zhu Sixiu was immediately sent flying.

Zhu Xiaosuo recognized the move.

It was the "Crumbling Stone Force" he practiced.

This lunatic was a cultivator!

He immediately used the Artifact Control Technique to catch Zhu Sixiu with several soft cloth wraps to prevent serious injury.

The sloppy man was also momentarily stunned.

Zhu Xiaosuo cupped his hands:

"Didn't expect to meet a fellow cultivator in this remote area."

The sloppy man said:

"You can't beat me. Leave the money, I want to buy some food. I don't want the people or the horses."

Zhu Xiaosuo knew the sloppy man wasn't bluffing.

He had just opened his veins a month ago and was at the First Layer of the Rebirth Stage, without any ability to fight across stages.

As long as the opponent was a cultivator, he couldn't win.

Unless it was someone who had just taken a Vein Opening Pill after a family funeral.

This sloppy man looked like he hadn't washed his clothes for at least a year, his hair for two years, and his feet for two and a half years.

No way he was fresh from a family funeral.

Definitely couldn't win.

Zhu Xiaosuo didn't argue or negotiate but promptly had his men hand over all the silver.

He was afraid that saying one more word would cost them their lives.

The sloppy man seemed to have never seen such a cowardly cultivator.

"I thought you'd at least put up a fight."

"What's there to fight about? Can't win means can't win. We have an old saying, 'A wise man knows when to retreat.'"

Zhu Xiaosuo felt no psychological pressure.

Nor did he feel embarrassed in front of his subordinates.

The sloppy man nodded:

"You're quite smart, much better than me."

Zhu Xiaosuo didn't respond:

"No need to feel bad, fellow cultivator, you surely have a bright future. We've given the silver, so we'll be on our way. Until we meet again."

With that, he was about to leave with his men.

The sloppy man, seeing Zhu Xiaosuo's extreme cowardice, asked:

"Don't you want to hear my story?"

"The more you know, the quicker you die. Until we meet again!"

"I feel bad taking your silver, so I wanted to share some useful information. Why are you leaving?"

"No need. Meeting you is the best gift from heaven. Until we meet again!"

"My information is about breaking through to the Bone Transformation Stage."

"Fellow cultivator, I'll be a Rebirth Stage cultivator for life, just lying flat. Please let go of my reins. Until we meet again!"

If the sloppy man hadn't instantly appeared in front of Zhu Xiaosuo and grabbed his reins, he would have already run away.

Information on breaking through to the Bone Transformation Stage was just about various opportunities and encounters.

With Zhu Xiaosuo's strength, status, and talent, seeking opportunities was just setting himself up for failure.

Especially from someone who appeared out of nowhere offering information.

According to web novel clichés from his past life, such people usually had ulterior motives.

He might not only be a failure but end up in a grave.

Absolutely not going.

The best strategy is to run.

The sloppy man, seeing Zhu Xiaosuo's firm stance, didn't persuade further.

"Forget it, you're probably useless anyway. You can go."

With that, he let go of the reins.

Zhu Xiaosuo, seeing the sloppy man release the reins, quickly said:

"Until we meet again!"

With that, he spurred his horse and galloped away.

But after a short distance, he returned.

The sloppy man hadn't walked far and was surprised to see Zhu Xiaosuo riding back.

"Do you have something to say?"

Zhu Xiaosuo dismounted with a grin:

"I suddenly feel like learning about the opportunity you mentioned."

The sloppy man frowned:

"I thought you were smart, why the sudden change of heart? I offered to tell you, and you refused, now you come back?"

Zhu Xiaosuo didn't feel embarrassed:

"I didn't think it through earlier, but the more I thought about it on the way, the more I regretted it, so I came back."

The sloppy man glanced in the direction he came from:

"You didn't even run twenty steps, and you figured it out?"

"Understanding comes in an instant."

The sloppy man brushed his hair again, looking at Zhu Xiaosuo with his dead fish eyes.

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"Are you some foolish son of an Immortal Sect elder or a high-ranking official? Otherwise, how could you be so dumb and still cultivate?"

Zhu Xiaosuo's change in attitude wasn't due to a lapse in judgment.

His past life experience taught him that if someone says they have a way to make money and wants to take you along, it's best not to believe them.

Their way to make money often involves you.

Conversely, if the person isn't too eager to recruit you, and doesn't stop you from leaving, it's harmless to listen as long as you're safe.

The sloppy man didn't hide anything further:

"A spirit vein was discovered at Black Snow Ridge to the north. Cultivators are needed to mine and refine spirit stones. I thought I'd be easily marginalized if I went alone, so I planned to gather a few lone cultivators along the way for mutual support."

Zhu Xiaosuo thought the explanation made sense.

Aside from not knowing about spirit stone mining, the sloppy man's caution and recruitment method seemed reasonable.

However, Zhu Xiaosuo didn't fully trust him.

Though he was poor, he still valued his life.

What if the sloppy man was a demonic cultivator from a web novel, seeking him for soul or corpse refinement?

If possible, he might still consider going alone.

"Isn't the north Hundred Beast Ridge? Never heard of Black Snow Ridge."

"Hundred Beast Ridge? What's that? Are you talking about those little hills?"

"Little? Do you have a misunderstanding about small hills?"

Zhu Xiaosuo had been to Hundred Beast Ridge, its peaks unreachable.

No one had ever crossed to the other side.

Legends spoke of fierce beasts within, and he only dared to hunt wild chickens on the outskirts.

It was there that an arrow to the knee began his immortal journey.

The sloppy man said:

"You probably haven't been to Hundred Beast Ridge since becoming a cultivator, right? Those little hills don't have much, just some older wild beasts. With Wind-Chasing Steps, you can cross them in two hours. Black Snow Ridge is truly mountainous, teeming with exotic beasts, even cultivators can't guarantee safe passage."

Zhu Xiaosuo believed the sloppy man's words somewhat.

To ordinary people, Hundred Beast Ridge was an insurmountable danger.

Zhu Xiaosuo was also curious about what lay beyond Hundred Beast Ridge.

Was it an immortal's abode or an unbeatable enemy?

Now the sloppy man provided an answer.

Beyond danger lay greater danger.

But he still didn't know the sloppy man's background.

"Where are you from, fellow cultivator?"

The sloppy man glanced at Zhu Xiaosuo:

"Isn't it obvious from my attire?"

Zhu Xiaosuo examined him closely:

"A beggar's den?"

"…Are you mocking me?"

"Fellow cultivator, I just joined the Immortal Sect, I'm not familiar with things."

"I just came from mining spirit stones at the Immortal Sect. Heading to Black Snow Ridge to continue."

"Mining spirit stones… how did you end up like this?"

"You haven't been to the Immortal Sect yet. Mining spirit stones is the most sought-after task for low-level cultivators like us. People work as if two days are packed into one, barely having time to eat or sleep, let alone bathe."

It seemed that even Immortal Sect cultivators were just workers.

The sloppy man sighed again:

"For low-born cultivators like us, without support in the Immortal Sect, the only way to pass the series of examinations is to desperately gather resources. Your first examination task is the easiest. The rest get harder and harder. You're young, with plenty of tough days ahead."

The more the sloppy man spoke, the more oppressive and bleak his tone became.

It was just like Zhu Xiaosuo in his past life, talking to juniors in college about post-graduation work.

Zhu Xiaosuo didn't know what to say, so he patted the sloppy man's dirt-covered shoulder.

Then wiped the dirt on Jieku's little bald head.

"Sometimes I don't even know why I'm cultivating immortality. One examination after another, pushing me to keep running forward. I've been running for over a decade, not knowing when it will end."

Zhu Xiaosuo patted his dirt-covered shoulder again, expressing understanding and comfort.

But when he tried to wipe his hand, Jieku had already dodged.

The sloppy man said:

"Forget it, I haven't talked to anyone in a long time, so I chatted a bit more with you. Speaking of which, consider the spirit stone mining."

Zhu Xiaosuo thought for a moment:

"If I mine spirit stones, how much can I earn?"

"You're at the First Layer of the Rebirth Stage now. If you work hard, sleep twice every three days, you can mine a hundred pounds of raw spirit stones in a month. That's over a thousand pounds in a year. You get one percent of the spirit stone yield, so you can take over ten pounds of raw spirit stones. Those ten pounds can be refined into about twenty spirit stones, enough to pass the first examination."

Isn't it just eight spirit stones needed to pass the examination?

Why did the sloppy man say around twenty?

But Zhu Xiaosuo assumed it was just a memory lapse and didn't press further.

It didn't seem as profitable as the family business.

But the family business was lucrative because it was backed by Zhuang Yun's monopoly on the entire market.

Without Zhuang Yun, he couldn't handle all the businesses in Mountain Chicken County.

Of course, now all the profits went into Zhuang Yun's pocket.

Thirty spirit stones a year was indeed tempting.

But so far, the sloppy man hadn't mentioned the opportunity for breaking through to the Bone Transformation Stage.

"Fellow cultivator, although there's money to be made at the spirit vein, I haven't seen the opportunity you mentioned for a breakthrough."

The sloppy man said:

"I just said that to lure you in. It's basically impossible. The breakthrough opportunity is if you're lucky enough to mine a spirit crystal, you can receive a Rebirth and Marrow-Washing Pill."

"Spirit crystal?"

"Think of it as a super spirit stone. I've only heard of it being mined once, don't count on it."

"Oh, okay."

The sloppy man's honesty made Zhu Xiaosuo trust him a bit more.

"When do you plan to go?"

"I'm heading to Black Snow Ridge in the next couple of days. How about you, want to join?"

"I'll think about it."

"Alright, if you decide to go, use the Sound Transmission Talisman to let me know."

With that, the sloppy man formed a light talisman with his fingers and sent it into Zhu Xiaosuo's palm.

"This is my Sound Transmission Talisman."

"Okay, if I decide to mine spirit stones, I'll definitely contact you."

"My name is Ba Mingyang. How should I address you?"

"Zhu Xiaosuo."

"I'll go scout ahead, find a good spot at the spirit vein, and maybe gather some partners. Let's part ways here."

"Until we meet again!"