eurekapd Chapter 2 Struggling to Survive
Chapter 2 Struggling to Survive
Chapter 2 Struggling to Survive
Sensing the changes within his body, Chen Yi, who was already exhausted, rested for a while and then tried the standing meditation again.
This time, due to the exhaustion he had earlier, he finished even slower, taking nearly fifteen minutes to barely complete a single, less-than-perfect stance exercise, and generating very little qi and blood.
[Progress in absorbing alien spiritual energy: 2%]
Sure enough, his body's qi and blood increased slightly, and he also absorbed slightly more demonic power from within his body.
At the same time, Chen Yi felt a cool sensation in his internal organs.
It feels cool and refreshing, very comfortable.
It seems that his damaged meridians have been repaired to some extent.
"There is hope!"
Chen Yi's spirits lifted, and he finally caught his breath.
Compared to the hope in my heart, the old age, weakness, and pain in my arms are nothing.
It was only then that he came to his senses and began to properly observe the world.
In the small wooden cabin, less than 20 square meters in size, there were five wooden beds covered with straw. Two people were taking a break and smoking.
Old Zhang was probably watching others gamble in the next room.
Only robust young men were boxing.
"Old Chen, wanna smoke a bag?"
A middle-aged man in his early twenties, smoking a cigarette, called out to Chen Yi.
"No, you guys smoke, I'm going to grab something to eat."
The tobacco is a specially made tobacco. Smoking a bag of it can make you feel no pain for half a day. Many servants here smoke it, including the original owner of this body, who has become addicted to the numbing effect of tobacco in recent years.
But Chen Yi had no intention of touching it again. The original owner and the others were just living off the land, like walking corpses, taking each day as it came.
But Chen Yi wanted to live a good life; he had to stay conscious, even if it was painful.
Chen Yi searched his memory, went out and walked towards the canteen. The setting sun was blood red, and the evening glow was like a painting.
But he felt no sense of security whatsoever. The stone path was permeated with the stench of demonic beasts' blood, and the faint demonic energy emanating from it was poisonous to mortals.
Occasionally, streaks of light flashed across the sky; those were the flying swords of cultivators. In this world, there were no laws. Mortal servants were no different from pigs and dogs to their cultivator masters; they could be killed at will.
Chen Yi lowered his head and walked quickly into the canteen to minimize the time spent wandering around and try not to get into conflicts with anyone.
After eating a simple bowl of rice, a few green vegetables, and a bowl of meat soup in the canteen, Chen Yi was too full to eat anymore.
"This little bit of food is enough for me; my body is truly getting old!"
On his way back to the dormitory, he encountered Mrs. Huo, who was standing with the door half-closed, and she greeted him.
"Old Chen, it's almost time. Why don't you rest here for a while? Let's finish quickly so you can go back and get some rest."
Chen Yi waved his hand: "Old Zhang came to see you today."
"Huh? You actually managed to resist giving up your spot to someone else? You've really changed your ways. Or have you lost your ability?"
Chen Yi didn't linger with Madam Huo and went straight back to his dormitory.
He tried standing in the stance again that evening.
[Progress in absorbing alien spiritual energy: 4%]
This time the progress has improved by 2 percentage points.
Another strand of qi and blood appeared in his body, and his damaged internal organs and meridians were restored to some extent under the cool energy repair of the water spirit's power.
Chen Yi was in high spirits and refused the invitation to play cards, instead simply standing in front of his bed.
Early the next morning,
Old Zhang returned, clutching his lower back and walking unsteadily. His face was sallow, and he had deep-set bags under his eyes.
"Oh dear, old Chen, now I understand why you've aged so quickly. That Lady Huo is an absolute vixen; I'm never going there again."
How could my mental state deteriorate so much in just one night?
Seeing Old Zhang's expression, Chen Yi guessed that Madam Huo's inability to conceive over the years might be due to some kind of strange or unusual skill.
Never touch it again!
That day, their team's task was to tend to the spirit wheat, which involved weeding and removing pests from the spirit wheat field.
There aren't monsters to deal with every day. Even though the Li family has hundreds of Qi Refining cultivators, they don't get many monsters to hunt and deal with.
However, working in the spirit wheat field was no easier than dealing with demonic beasts; it was still a very painful experience for mortals.
The sharp awns of the wheat, like long needles, could pierce Chen Yi's skin with a mere sway in the wind, causing him to break out in a cold sweat from the pain.
Iron bull beetles, almost demonic, would occasionally emerge from the ground and bite the feet, causing bleeding.
Throughout the day, only the team leader, a burly young man, occasionally showed flashes of reddish light on his skin while working, but he was able to withstand the attacks without sustaining any injuries.
Chen Yi and the other three were all covered in injuries.
However, the three of them smoked a cigarette during their break, and felt almost no pain from their external injuries. At the end of the day, they could still laugh and discuss where to gamble that day.
By the end of the day, Chen Yi was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and his injuries persisted.
On his way back, he secretly observed the surrounding terrain. It was a vast plain stretching as far as the eye could see, with a forest of demonic beasts hidden in the shadows of the distant mountains.
The Li family's residence occupies the edge of the plain, bordering a large lake called Ruhai Lake.
Monsters also roam the lake.
"With the speed of an ordinary person, there's no need to even think about escaping." Chen Yi silently deduced this conclusion in his mind.
On his second day here, he was already thinking about escaping.
However, based on the limited memories the original owner had, the cities inhabited by mortals were at least thousands of miles away from here, and he couldn't possibly escape them.
Sigh, let's focus on getting better first, improving our strength, and then figuring out a solution later.
No matter what, you have to survive first.
That evening, after returning home, Chen Yi asked the burly young captain for more Qi and Blood Pills.
The young man frowned:
"Old Chen, you still won't give up?"
"Didn't we agree that I'd be allocating half-closed-door slots and making your daily tasks easier? Are you willing to give up your Qi and Blood Pills?"
That was the original owner's self-abandonment, not mine. Chen Yi thought to himself.
"Captain Hao, according to the rules, each person is entitled to one Qi and Blood Pill per day. I want to give it another shot."
"Hmph. Since that's the case, I'll give you the Qi and Blood Pill, but don't even think about the half-closed gate spot anymore. Your daily tasks will be the same as everyone else's, and they won't be reduced."
I'd like to see how many more days your old bones can keep going!
The burly young man tossed Chen Yi a Qi and Blood Pill, his expression displeased.
Chen Yi was taking the blame for his predecessor's bad temper, and didn't say much, only sighing inwardly at the hardship of survival.
This was merely a squad leader among the mortal servants of a cultivation family, possessing only the strength of a second-rate martial artist.
Chen Yi didn't even have the chance to meet a cultivator.
He silently swallowed the Qi and Blood Pill and began cultivating.
Today, the Qi and Blood Pill provided him with significantly more Qi and Blood than yesterday, or rather, his organ functions were better, his meridians were repaired more, and he absorbed more of the Qi and Blood Pill's medicinal power.
After taking the Qi and Blood Pill, he completed one round of the Health Preservation Stance Exercise, not only finishing it normally but also circulating some of his Qi and Blood energy.
This helped him recover quite a bit.
[Progress in absorbing alien spiritual energy: 4%]
"?"
How come my physical recovery has improved today, and I'm back to 4%?
Chen Yi carefully examined the analysis of the different spiritual energy in the note. He found that the proportion of water demon spiritual energy had decreased, but the proportion of plant and tree spiritual energy had increased.
"Those barley?"
Chen Yi understood; during the process of Lingmai piercing his body, it also infused him with a different kind of spiritual power.
No wonder those needle pricks felt like bee stings, the pain lingering for a long time.
The alien spiritual energy was constantly eroding his body, and Chen Yi didn't know how long he could hold out. He needed to seize the time to improve his physical functions and devour and digest it all.
He is currently physically weak, with his vital energy as thin as a thread. Among martial artists, he can barely be considered a beginner in martial arts.
To restore one to their original peak state, where blood and energy covered the skin and flesh like bronze and iron, a large accumulation of blood and energy is still needed.
If he were in his teens, at the peak of his physical and mental abilities, and had enough Qi and Blood Pills, he might have recovered in just a few days.
This body now.
Chen Yi couldn't estimate the extent of the damage yet. He still needed to strengthen his body while absorbing the demonic and spiritual energy within him to slow its further erosion of his internal organs and meridians.
Only by taking this two-pronged approach can things gradually improve.
This is a time-sensitive skill.
Chen Yi had just completed one round of the Qi Cultivation Stance Exercise, his Qi and blood had strengthened slightly, his body had become even stronger, and his progress in absorbing the alien spiritual energy had increased by 1%.
The cool, refreshing water spirit energy nourished his meridians and internal organs, while the wisps of wood spirit energy provided him with the energy of the spiritual valley, allowing his blood and qi to slowly grow stronger.
With this increase and decrease, Chen Yi's recovery speed was not slow.
(End of this chapter)