Bringing The Farm To Live In Another World Chapter 2285: Ascetic Training

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At those words, Wan Feng let out a subtle smile and remarked, “Old Xing, you're as unchanging as ever. Why not talk a bit more civilly? This is Zhao Hai, arriving for ascetic cultivation. Handle the setup for him.”

Elder Xing acted as if Wan Feng's comment had gone unheard. He rose to his feet, eyed Zhao Hai briefly, and stated, “Follow me.”

Zhao Hai acknowledged it and trailed after Elder Xing. Observing Elder Xing's manner, Wan Feng shook his head with a light smile. Elder Xing remained that type of individual. To him, idle talk was pointless. He avoided unnecessary chatter, keeping his words sparse.

Wan Feng let out a sigh and murmured, “Young one, best of luck to you.” Then, he pivoted and exited the cavern, stepped onto the teleportation array, and headed back to the Forbidden Path Sect.

In the meantime, Zhao Hai had trailed Elder Xing to a massive shaft within the mine. The opening was enormous, and Zhao Hai spotted some dried grass inside, plus a few rocks. Spotting these items stunned him. He could tell right away that humans had arranged them there, and that folks regularly took breaks in that spot.

Zhao Hai grasped the situation instantly. This must be where the Forbidden Path Sect's stone-quarrying cultivators rested during nights, and it would serve as his own sleeping area for the upcoming year.

Scanning the surroundings, it was merely an excavated stone shaft, built entirely from rock. The dried grass offered little comfort. Essentially, sleepers lay directly on stone. This was genuine ascetic training!

Elder Xing paid no mind to Zhao Hai's reaction. In a low tone, he declared, “This spot will be your resting area moving forward. Pick any location for nighttime repose. Also, wear this.” Saying so, Elder Xing produced a suit of iron armor and passed it to Zhao Hai.

Zhao Hai accepted the iron armor and slipped it on. The instant he did, his spiritual energy's flow slowed to a crawl. It continued to move, but at a glacial pace. Without his mental power vastly exceeding that of typical people, Zhao Hai might have believed his spiritual energy had halted completely.

In a grave voice, Elder Xing instructed, “Do not remove the iron armor under any circumstances. Your body's spiritual energy stands sealed. Should the daily allotment of 1,000 catties of ironstone prove insufficient, the shortfall carries over to the next day's requirement.”

Zhao Hai replied, “Understood.”

Elder Xing retrieved a hefty hammer and a chisel, offered them to Zhao Hai, and intoned deeply, “During the initial three months, employ this iron hammer and chisel, followed by wooden versions. After six months, rely solely on your hands. Failure to quarry stones manually by then will extend your ascetic period by six additional months.”

A slight smile crossed Zhao Hai's face as he said, “My thanks, Elder, but that's unnecessary for me. I'll proceed with my hands alone.”

This time, Elder Xing paused in surprise at Zhao Hai's statement. He fixed his gaze on Zhao Hai and rumbled, “Avoid rashness. Those ironstone veins are notoriously tough to excavate. Consider yourself fortunate if you can shift them by hand even after half a year.”

Noting Zhao Hai's persistent confident grin, Elder Xing added, “Keep them for now. If they're truly unneeded, hand them back whenever possible. Head out. From this day, your timer starts. Bear in mind, one thousand catties of ironstone daily.”

Zhao Hai agreed, grasped the hammer and chisel, and strode out of the shaft toward the outer mining zone.

The mine featured numerous passages, with the encircling mountain walls chiseled into vast, terraced stone structures.

A multitude of cultivators labored intently on those walls. Some wielded iron hammers and chisels, others used wooden ones, and a few operated barehanded. Their palms appeared dark and lustrous, akin to burnished metal. Positioned against the wall, they drew back their hands before driving them ahead with power, sinking fingers into the stone as if it were soft tofu.

Yet, upon extracting their hands, they rubbed them briskly for moments before attempting again. Evidently, the lack of spiritual energy to bolster their forms affected them greatly.

Certain individuals spotted Zhao Hai too, curious about his quarrying approach. They recalled their own early days, where scarcely anyone met the quota. The abrupt spiritual energy deprivation brought them unease, drastically reducing their digging pace.

Zhao Hai surveyed the workers, then approached a close rock surface. He rapped it to gauge its toughness, inhaled deeply, drew his fists to his midsection, and unleashed a mighty strike.

Bang! Zhao Hai's fist struck the surface, yet the wall remained intact, and Zhao Hai suffered no harm. This gave him fresh insight into the stone's resilience.

Just then, a nearby cultivator witnessed Zhao Hai's move and snorted derisively, “Newbie, save your strength. Rookies should stick to hammer and chisel. You could shatter both hands and still fail to crack the rock.”

Zhao Hai shot the cultivator a glance and offered a faint smile, replying, “Not so sure about that.” He positioned both hands at his hips, extended his fingers straight, and jabbed them sharply into the wall. With a crack, his hands buried fully in the stone. He withdrew them and plunged the opposite hand in next, vanishing it entirely into the rock once more.

The adjacent cultivator gaped in shock at Zhao Hai, then whispered, “Impossible... What sort of cultivation method is that?”

Zhao Hai gave a small smile at the man's face but stayed quiet. He employed no unique arts; he merely drew on his bodily might to embed his hand. Truth be told, the pain was intense. But as he drew it free, a rush of blood qi filled his hand, mending the internal damage fully.

Zhao Hai lifted his hands for inspection, seeing them tinged red from recovery. He realized this stemmed from unwittingly stirring the Crazed Elephant Blood Qi in his cells, indicating that this technique worked to temper the Crazed Elephant Blood Qi inside him.

Discovering this viable approach, Zhao Hai commenced his daily stone extraction. Naturally, he skipped the tools, harvesting solely with his bare hands.

Zhao Hai's feats drew eyes from fellow cultivators. None anticipated such prowess from a first-day arrival, quarrying barehanded. Even Elder Xing showed surprise, though he merely inspected Zhao Hai's work site and departed wordlessly.

The morning flew by, reaching midday swiftly. Zhao Hai eyed the stack beside him: several stones the size of millstones, likely totaling a thousand catties.

Then Elder Xing's call echoed, “Meal time!” Elsewhere, such news might spark delight. Here, it elicited soft groans, though all set aside their tasks and proceeded to Elder Xing, lining up neatly in a lengthy row.

Midway in the queue, Zhao Hai peered forward and saw that those who had claimed their shares sat aside, clutching portions without touching them. They appeared downcast, gazing dismally at their rations.

Zhao Hai's brow furrowed upon viewing the fare in their grips. Frankly, he found it inedible too, for it was merely a chunk of uncooked, bloody flesh—not proper sustenance.

Nevertheless, as the line advanced, some evidently habituated to raw fare, devouring it in big bites.

Soon, Zhao Hai reached the front. Elder Xing handed him a slab of raw meat and warned, “Finish every bit. Leftovers or discarding it means double the portion tomorrow.”

Zhao Hai nodded, accepted the raw meat, and settled nearby. Staring at the flesh in his palm, unease stirred within him. Ultimately, he chose to consume it. Circumstances left no alternative. Moreover, he trusted the Forbidden Path Sect had purpose beyond mere hardship in mandating raw meat; some rationale existed.

Crucially, Zhao Hai now linked his spiritual force to a Space-held carnivore. Instantly, he sensed himself as that creature. Now, the meat chunk seemed appetizing, not revolting. Instead, hunger gnawed at him. His eyes flashed with predatory gleam toward the flesh. Moments later, he bit in and devoured it wholly, left craving more.

Post-meal, he severed his spiritual force from the beast's mind. He reverted to human sensation. As his mental energy steadied, blood qi flooded his form, enriching his reserves further.

Understanding dawned, and Zhao Hai inwardly sighed, whispering, “As expected, this raw meat serves a purpose. It bolsters blood qi indeed. Shame others fret over scarcity while I grapple with excess. This serving not only restored today's cultivation expenditure but added surplus. Truly...”

Zhao Hai fell silent, mirroring the speechless cultivators around him. They gawked at Zhao Hai in disbelief. All knew he was a fresh ascetic trainee, yet how could he breach rock barehanded on day one? How could he polish off raw meat so eagerly at first go, appearing hungry for seconds? Utterly alarming. Was he some fiend in disguise?

Elder Xing had watched Zhao Hai intently throughout. He recognized the sect's special interest in him. Directives from above tasked him with monitoring Zhao Hai's year-long performance, and thus far, it impressed him greatly.

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