Chapter 891

Chapter 891: Master, I Understand

The next day, Li Chufan, looking miserable and frustrated, found himself sealed in a Mortal Body, sweeping the steps alongside Li Xingci.

Li Chufan held a broom, accompanying his father as they cleaned step by step.

“Dad, Master Ancestor told you to sweep, not me, and besides, this doesn’t help my cultivation at all.”

“I’m at the Core Formation stage now, Dad; you shouldn’t use such tricks to fool me like a child.”

After sweeping a thousand steps, Li Chufan felt quite sore in his back.

In contrast, Li Xingci quietly cleaned the steps behind him, showing no sign of fatigue.

“Shut up! When you used to tease your dad without any restraint, you should have thought of today,” Li Xingci said, rolling his eyes at Li Chufan.

“Dad, I was wrong! Please let me go, have Mom unseal me; being a mortal is just too painful,” Li Chufan said with a sorrowful face.

“You’ve grown up in luxury; since birth, someone has been helping you refine your meridians and practice the sect’s techniques.

“Although some reasons led to your mediocre aptitude, the various spiritual herbs, holy elixirs, and Heaven and Earth Spiritual Treasures have supplemented your later aptitude.

“Recently, whenever I see you, I feel like you’re missing something.

“Now I’ve finally realized what it is.”

Li Xingci gathered the fallen leaves into a dustpan, stood up, and smiled at Li Chufan.

“Missing something? It wouldn’t be this mortal experience, would it?” Li Chufan replied.

“Correct! According to your Master Ancestor, that is, ‘the Mortal Body, the beginning of the wide road.’

“You started too high; you’ve never experienced the life of a mortal.

“The path of the wide road is incomplete.

“When I became your Master Ancestor’s disciple during the Qi Training Stage, it wasn’t just about cultivation, but also doing some mortal work.”

“Do not complain, do not give up, and patiently finish sweeping these steps of the main peak with your dad; it will help your future cultivation,” Li Xingci said calmly.

“Dad, to trick me into working with you, you’re going too far,” Li Chufan said with a pout.

He didn’t believe these words; if they truly helped cultivation, Master Ancestor would have made him do them long ago.

The sight of Li Xingci sweeping the steps caught the attention of many disciples, and the phrase "the Mortal Body, the beginning of the wide road" spread throughout the sect.

“The Mortal Body, the beginning of the wide road.”

Many disciples felt this saying was full of magic; although they understood its meaning, they wanted to explore it more deeply.

As a result, many disciples began to follow Li Xingci’s example, sealing themselves in a Mortal Body to clean various areas of the sect.

Or they would accompany puppets to do the physical labor that mortals needed to perform.

Soon, the grape spirit discovered that his computing power had actually become slightly more efficient than before; though it was still less than a grain of sand in an endless desert, he embraced the idea of saving where he could and began issuing tasks for the puppets in the Affairs Hall of the sect.

In the sect’s treasury, a batch of sealed rings appeared; when worn, they would put the wearer in a Mortal Body state within the sect.

In the underground space, avatar number two smiled as he asked Xu Fan, “Does transforming into a Mortal Body to work help with cultivation?”

“It depends on the person, but if someone stays in a Mortal Body state for a long time and suddenly has the seal released, they will experience a feeling of novelty, giving them a sense of understanding the Dao,” Xu Fan said with a smile while continuing artifact crafting.

At this moment, the upgrade of Hidden Spirit Island was halfway completed, with the most crucial parts already upgraded. What remained was the upgrade of the main sections.

“Look at how much energy the sect’s disciples have after being transformed into Mortal Bodies to work,” avatar number one said, smiling at the light curtain on the wall.

In the light curtain, Shadow Spike, Xiang Yun, and others followed the Spirit Rabbit as they did farm work, maintaining the growth of spirit objects.

The Spirit Rabbit looked bewildered, unsure of what was happening, and showed signs of panic in its eyes.

Could it be that the sect no longer wanted it? Would these once-noble disciples do all the work from now on?

As the Spirit Rabbit led the disciples in their tasks, its heart grew colder; while pruning excess branches from a spirit tree, it couldn’t help but cry.

“What’s wrong? We didn’t bully you; why are you crying?” Xiang Yun asked, looking puzzled.

“When I think about how little time I have left in the sect, I just want to cry.”

“I’ve heard that the demon race is very cruel. Can you all tell Lord Grape not to send me there?” The Spirit Rabbit cried out in despair.

“Who said we don’t want you? We just want to experience mortal life; we’re not taking your work, and Grape wouldn’t kick you out,” Shadow Spike said nearby, having just pruned a few spirit trees, and his tone was gentle.

Hearing these words, the Spirit Rabbit stopped crying immediately, wiped its tears, stood up, and continued working.

“I’m about to advance to the Nascent Soul stage and can serve the sect for another 700 years, or even longer after that.”

“Come with me, you inner sect disciples, I will pass on my lifelong secrets of work to you.” As the Spirit Rabbit spoke, it sighed with relief.

You scared me! I thought you were going to take my work!

Shadow Spike, Xiang Yun, and the others exchanged glances and couldn’t help but laugh.

This scene was conveniently seen by Xu Fan and others who were in the underground space crafting artifacts.

“How interesting! The Spirit Rabbit nearly got scared out of its mind,” avatar number two said with a chuckle.

“For the Spirit Rabbit, the most important thing is work,” Xu Fan remarked.

Who could refuse a lifetime job that provided for everything, from life and death to food, drink, cultivation techniques, and spiritual energy resources?

With the sect solving any troubles, all you need to do is quietly focus on what you should be doing.

Thinking about this, Xu Fan suddenly felt overly kind-hearted.

“Grape, are the benefits of the demon division still at the old standard?” Xu Fan suddenly asked, as he had entrusted everything regarding the demon division to Grape without much oversight.

“They have been the same all along; there haven’t been many changes.”

A light curtain table appeared before Xu Fan, displaying the benefits for various demon races.

“Raise the benefits for the Spirit Rabbit and the Wind Blue Rain Goose Tribe by twenty percent; after being with the sect for so long, they deserve an increase.”

“Let’s also raise the benefits for the other beast races by ten percent,” Xu Fan said.

As Xu Fan looked over the perks for the demon division, he found that the resources consumed by the demon division could be neglected, so raising the benefits slightly was not a big deal.

“Understood, Master.”

As spring passed and autumn arrived, one year soon flew by.

At that moment, on the steps near the mountain peak, a man in a blue robe held a broom and was cleaning the nearby dust and dead branches.

Unbeknownst to him, a year was about to pass.

He didn’t remember, but behind him, Li Chufan counted every second clearly.

“Dad, your one-year Mortal Body seal is about to be lifted,” Li Chufan said, his hands trembling as he swept; this year had been really tough for him.

As the sun rose and set, he ate the little dry food he had brought whenever he got hungry.

“Don’t talk; let’s go to the mountain peak and watch the sunset together.”

After saying this, Li Xingci finished sweeping the last step.

Just then, the sunset arrived, painting the sky red, and the afterglow illuminated Li Xingci’s face.

In an instant, a powerful aura surged from Li Xingci.

“The Mortal Body, the beginning of the wide road.”

“Master, I understand!”