The north wind cuts like a knife, swirling up a thousand piles of snow.
The severe winter is like a prison, where dripping water turns into ice.
Amidst the snowy landscape, a lush green bamboo forest thrives, with its verdant bamboo leaves resembling jade, shimmering with a translucent luster. Each drop of water on them appears like sparkling pearls, emitting a faint radiance.
Threads of dreamlike white mist linger, creating an otherworldly atmosphere.
On the ground of the bamboo forest, a creature resembling a four-legged snake swiftly crawls through the grass, its scales leaving behind traces of eerie colors in the air.
Hiss!
A sudden chill descends, landing on the body of the four-legged snake.
The temperature drops sharply in the surroundings, and the four-legged snake is instantly frozen on the ground, transformed into a lifelike ice sculpture.
"Finally caught this damn thief who was stealing food."
The bamboo forest stirs, and a young man emerges from within.
He moves swiftly, with a posture as straight as a pine tree, his features handsome, and his eyes like a clear and bottomless pool. Wearing a thick cotton coat, his face now carries a somewhat relieved expression.
Approaching the ice sculpture, Fang Xi lifts the frozen four-legged snake in his hand, weighing it, his expression gradually turning grim. He mutters incessantly, "What a loss!"
"A non-graded demonic beast—Stone Dragon Seed, worth one spirit crystal. To catch it, not only did I waste three days of time, but also consumed an 'Ice Sealing Talisman.' Although this talisman is only a low-grade first-tier, it still costs almost half a spirit stone!"
Fang Xi's face is filled with frustration.
The so-called 'spirit crystal' is a fragment of a spirit stone. Generally speaking, ten spirit crystals can be exchanged for one low-grade spirit stone.
This transaction is definitely at a loss.
However, there is no choice but to do it!
Because Fang Xi is the spirit farmer of this bamboo forest, and the harvest next year depends entirely on the growth of these bamboos. Naturally, he cannot allow this demonic beast to ravage them.
Whoo!
A gust of cold wind blows, causing Fang Xi to shiver.
He looks up at the sky, where snow is falling again, and tightens his small cotton coat around him, sighing to himself, "Unknowingly, has it already been a year? It's not that I don't believe it, but damn, I never thought that cultivators would also feel cold..."
Yes, Fang Xi is a transmigrator!
His transmigration story is quite ordinary, with no special circumstances. In his previous life, he worked hard, got into university, but then became decadent, neglected his studies, couldn't find a good job after graduation, and was pressured by his parents to join the civil service exam army. Then, he was tormented by the math questions in the test until he transmigrated on the exam day!
As soon as he opened his eyes, he found himself in this world of cultivators, and he was even attached to a young man named Fang Xi with a cultivation base of the third level of Qi Refinement, living alone as a spirit farmer in the Qingzhu Mountain Fang Market of the Southern Wilderness cultivation world!
Initially, Fang Xi was somewhat skeptical about transmigration, but after fumbling for several hours and releasing his first small spell according to his body's memory, he finally believed that he had truly gained supernatural powers and become a lofty immortal!
Of course, cultivators are not yet immortals; they still have mortal elements and must experience the cycles of seasons, aging, sickness, and death.
However, Fang Xi also knew from his memories that with the increase in a cultivator's power and the advancement of realms, they could indeed prolong their lives, be immune to diseases, and even achieve true immortality.
The best example is the Situ family in the Qingzhu Mountain Fang Market, where it is said that there is more than one 'Foundation Building Grand Cultivator'!
As Foundation Building stage cultivators, they completely match the expectations of mortals. At least, their lifespan has doubled, allowing them to easily live over two hundred years!
Two hundred years! In his previous life, this would have witnessed the rise and fall of most dynasties.
Therefore, Fang Xi chose to inherit everything from the original host and continue to be a spirit farmer in the market, embarking on his own cultivation path.
At this moment.
Although he complains a lot, after grumbling, Fang Xi carefully puts away the Stone Dragon Seed, as it is also a spirit crystal!
He inherited the savings of the original host, and his entire wealth amounts to only a few dozen spirit crystals!
And the 'Emerald Bamboo Forest' he manages, after the bamboo rice matures and half of the taxes are paid, he is left with only a hundred catties, which is about one stone, worth thirty spirit crystals...
Working hard on the land for a year, earning three low-grade spirit stones...
"Alas, cultivation is difficult, survival is even harder!"
Fang Xi sighs and shakes off the snowflakes on his body, then starts clearing the weeds in the bamboo forest.
These weeds are nourished by spiritual energy and grow very tough. If not careful, they will compete with the emerald bamboo for nutrients, affecting the harvest.
Therefore, to be a spirit farmer, one must be proficient in spells like the Spring Wind and Rain Technique, the Geng Metal Grass-Cutting Sword, and other minor spells.
Although Fang Xi inherited the memories of the original host, farming is still very difficult, and life is very painful.
The third level of Qi Refinement is only the initial stage in the Qi Refinement period. In the Qingzhu Mountain Fang Market, mid-level cultivators above the fourth level of Qi Refinement are not uncommon, and occasionally, there are even high-level experts above the seventh level of Qi Refinement. In the cultivation world, the law of the jungle prevails, and incidents of cunning and aggression are common.
Even high-level demonic cultivators, in order to refine powerful spells and even magic treasures, although tragedies involving blood sacrifices within a radius of a hundred miles are rare, they are clearly recorded in books.
Sometimes, Fang Xi even thinks about giving up the cultivation path and returning to the mortal realm to become a wealthy man with multiple wives and concubines, which wouldn't be a bad way to end his life.
But soon, he abandons this idea.
After all, in terms of enjoyment, even ancient emperors may not surpass an ordinary modern person.
The only things that can surpass modern people are the temptations of transcendence and immortality!
Therefore, although life is hard, Fang Xi grits his teeth and perseveres.
...
The sky is as dark as ink.
Fang Xi looks up, checks the sky, and starts heading towards his residence.
Although the Qingzhu Mountain Fang Market has a protective mountain array, it usually only shelters the main street of the market and the surrounding shops to save spirit stones. Covering the entire mountain and even the spiritual field area is out of the question.
Therefore, this area is not very safe at night.
Although there are patrols by the Situ family's enforcement team, incidents of rogue cultivators committing crimes still occur, and Fang Xi certainly doesn't want to risk his life.
The residential area of the spirit farmers is close to the mountain top market, where the patrol team passes by more frequently, making it relatively safe.
Fang Xi maliciously speculates that perhaps it's because these spirit farmers are poor and not attractive to rogue cultivators.
After walking up the mountain for a while, a low, makeshift shantytown appears before his eyes, with each household enclosed by fences, and the sounds of chickens and dogs mingling.
Seeing this, a smile unconsciously appears on Fang Xi's face.
After walking a few steps, a cultivator who looks like an old farmer passes by, smiling and greeting, "Little Brother Fang, want to go find a good place to have some fun?"
His face is full of wrinkles, and he smiles, revealing two large yellow teeth. Surprisingly, his cultivation level is lower than Fang Xi's, at around the second level of Qi Refinement.
This is Fang Xi's neighbor, Old Wheat Head.
Fang Xi doesn't know much about the man's background, but seeing each other every day has built some camaraderie between them.
Seeing the expression on the man's face, Fang Xi immediately knows where he intends to go.
Although it looks like a randomly constructed shantytown, there are also female cultivators living there who do not engage in farming and have a relatively comfortable life, with their own means of livelihood.
Old Wheat Head has been farming for longer than Fang Xi, but his life is very difficult, and he has even borrowed spirit crystals before. It's easy to guess where his savings have gone.
Fang Xi shakes his head and declines, "Old Wheat Head, I have to cultivate tonight..."
In fact, shortly after becoming familiar with this body, he went to the 'Drunk Immortal Tower' in the market, spent almost half of his savings, had a night of revelry, and stumbled out...
It must be said that those enchanting little fairies who specialize in seduction are truly enticing.
Since then, Fang Xi has focused all his energy on farming here. There's no choice; his purse is tight...
"How can I find money to visit the ladies if I don't save up? I don't drink cheap stuff..."
Fang Xi returns to his dwelling, opens the door, and enters.
His room is quite spacious, divided into small rooms for a living room, bedroom, and cultivation room... Some female cultivators even grow spiritual vegetables and raise spiritual birds within their fences, making full use of the land.
Fang Xi goes to the kitchen, takes out some mixed spiritual rice, and cooks a pot of porridge for himself.
The spiritual rice is naturally 'Jade Bamboo Rice,' each grain resembling jade, exuding a fragrant aroma. Even when mixed with ordinary grains, it is still delicious, with a sweet and tasty flavor.
Especially after eating, besides feeling warmth in the stomach, a faint spiritual energy rises within.
Seizing this opportunity, Fang Xi immediately goes to the cultivation room to practice his techniques in seclusion.
Half an hour later, Fang Xi opens his eyes and sighs, "The 'Longevity Art' is truly difficult. After a year of hard practice, I can barely control the original host's cultivation base, not even reaching the peak of the third level of Qi Refinement, let alone breaking through the bottleneck to the mid-level of Qi Refinement... It's really tough..."
As he sighs, he pricks up his ears to listen for any movement around him, then takes out a talisman and sticks it on the wooden wall of the cultivation room.
This is a low-grade first-tier 'Protection Talisman' with a certain defensive power, but most importantly, it can isolate sound and spiritual energy fluctuations!
Although it cannot protect against the divine sense of a Foundation Building cultivator, if scanned by divine sense, it will immediately explode, alerting the cultivator.
After completing all this, Fang Xi's expression returns to calm, and he snaps his fingers.
Snap!
In the blink of an eye, he has appeared in another place.
Indoors, the lights are warm and inviting, with a purple-gold incense burner burning high-quality calming incense.
The sandalwood chair is comfortable, and Fang Xi lies down like a lord.
As he gestures, a self-made air conditioner starts, maintaining a comfortable temperature and humidity in the room.
After lying down for a while, Fang Xi casually discards his worn-out cotton coat, changes into a luxurious outfit, further highlighting his youthful and carefree demeanor.
He opens the door, and a dazzling sunlight streams in, revealing that he is in a grand and luxurious mansion.
In the blink of an eye, it seems like he has entered another world.
In fact, that's exactly what happened!
A smile plays on Fang Xi's lips.
When a person is driven to desperation, they can do anything, including transmigrating!!!
End of Chapter 1.