Although the servant quarters were a bit rundown, fortunately, each person had their own room.
After returning to his room, Chen Qingshan took out two Blood Qi Pills and handed them to Wang Dahai.
"These are for you. Take them!"
Wang Dahai hurriedly took them with both hands and said with a beaming smile, "Oh, Boss, you are truly too good to me!"
Chen Qingshan nodded and said to Wang Dahai, "This is what you've earned. Go back and get some rest, and be careful. I'm afraid those people today won't let this rest easily!"
"Also, find out as much as you can about the situation in the servant quarters. It feels like the waters run deep here!"
Wang Dahai hurriedly nodded in agreement.
After Wang Dahai left, Chen Qingshan took out the cultivation manual given by the Xuanyang Sect and, suppressing the excitement in his heart, began to look through it.
This was an immortal cultivation manual, after all.
"Xuanyang Creation Art!"
Chen Qingshan read through it eagerly, feeling that while the manual was profound, it was not overly obscure.
Glancing outside the room, he saw that the sky had already grown dark, and the surroundings were completely silent.
Without further hesitation, Chen Qingshan immediately began attempting to cultivate.
Everything went smoothly.
The Xuanyang Creation Art proved quite easy to grasp.
Chen Qingshan could feel a strand of spiritual Qi within the heaven and earth being drawn into his body, beginning to temper and strengthen his physical flesh.
This was Body Tempering!
The sensation felt thoroughly comfortable to Chen Qingshan.
When Chen Qingshan finally opened his eyes again, he let out a deep breath.
The feeling of immortal cultivation was somewhat intoxicating to him, and before he knew it, most of the day had passed, bringing the deep night.
However, the progress of his cultivation left Chen Qingshan somewhat unsatisfied.
It was too slow.
After half a day had passed, Chen Qingshan felt that his body had only grown stronger by the tiniest fraction.
That tiny fraction was so minimal that it even made Chen Qingshan suspect it was merely his imagination.
Chen Qingshan looked toward the remaining Blood Qi Pills, picked one up, tossed it into his mouth, and gave it a try.
A rich wave of spiritual Qi dispersed within Chen Qingshan's dantian, rapidly spreading out toward his limbs and bones.
Chen Qingshan hurriedly circulated the Xuanyang Creation Art to digest this surge of spiritual Qi.
When Chen Qingshan opened his eyes once more, the sky outside had already brightened.
This time, however, the results of the cultivation left Chen Qingshan thoroughly satisfied.
Though he hadn't slept all night, Chen Qingshan felt his body brimming with strength, without the slightest trace of fatigue.
So this was what immortal cultivation was truly like.
Chen Qingshan was almost getting addicted to the sensation of cultivating.
However, after sensing the concentration of spiritual Qi inside his body, Chen Qingshan knew he had not yet reached the First Layer of Body Tempering.
Still, he was not far off.
All of this was thanks to the Blood Qi Pill.
Chen Qingshan now understood why the Blood Qi Pills were in such high demand.
They truly could massively accelerate cultivation speed.
Comparing cultivation speeds, Chen Qingshan estimated that a single Blood Qi Pill was worth at least half a month of bitter cultivation on his own.
He simply couldn't do without Blood Qi Pills.
Looking at the six remaining Blood Qi Pills, Chen Qingshan stored them away solemnly.
These were genuine treasures.
Remembering that Liu An still owed him two more, Chen Qingshan even felt a twinge of regret.
Those were two Blood Qi Pills right there; he really should have demanded them on the spot.
Chen Qingshan immediately decided that he needed to go find Liu An right away and demand the other two Blood Qi Pills back.
Otherwise, that brat would definitely try to renege on the debt!
Before Chen Qingshan could even step out the door, Wang Dahai arrived.
"Boss, I've asked around. I now have a basic understanding of the situation in the servant quarters!"
"Tell me the details!"
Wang Dahai explained, "They call it the servant quarters, but it's actually just a place where a bunch of people who haven't yet qualified to become disciples of the Xuanyang Sect are left to fend for themselves!"
"We aren't even considered servants or menial laborers!"
Chen Qingshan asked in surprise, "We aren't even counted as servants?"
A trace of bitterness flashed across Wang Dahai's eyes.
"That's right, Boss. We aren't even servants. The actual servants in the Xuanyang Sect are the ones who wait on the sect elders!"
"By staying close to the bigshots and offering a few flattering words, they can receive plenty of rewards. When it comes to things like Blood Qi Pills, those people never lack them!"
Hearing this, Chen Qingshan thought that these servant disciples really had it quite miserable.
That bitch Ye Qingxuan was truly heartless.
Even after he had called her great-aunt, she hadn't shown an ounce of mercy and had dumped him in such a wretched place.
In his heart, Chen Qingshan had already greeted Ye Qingxuan's relatives several times over.
Still, he could only greet them in his heart.
"Any other news?"
Wang Dahai continued, "There's also bad news: that Liu An we beat up last night is a local bully here in the servant quarters!"
Chen Qingshan said dismissively, "No matter. What kind of people are we? We're bandits! How could we possibly be afraid of a bully?"
Wang Dahai said with some worry, "Boss, I heard that Liu An has an older brother who has already become a full disciple!"
"If it weren't for his older brother, Liu An wouldn't be nearly so tyrannical in the servant quarters!"
"Out of respect for his brother, other experts at the Fourth Layer of Body Tempering generally avoid coming into conflict with Liu An, which is why he is so arrogant here!"
Hearing this, Chen Qingshan also said with some concern, "You mean this Liu An's brother is going to come to the servant quarters to stand up for him?"
With a worried expression, Wang Dahai replied, "Whether his brother will come isn't certain, but I heard that last night, Liu An already went to find the full disciple of the Xuanyang Sect who is in charge of managing the servant quarters. It's most likely because of what happened yesterday!"
Chen Qingshan's brows furrowed upon hearing this.
Since the disciple managing the servant quarters and Liu An's brother were both full disciples, it was only natural that the manager would give Liu An's brother some face and look after Liu An.
"What is the cultivation level of this full disciple?" Chen Qingshan asked hurriedly.
Wang Dahai said with a hint of disdain, "His cultivation isn't particularly high—just the Fifth Layer of Body Tempering. He used to be a servant disciple himself, and became a full disciple a few years ago alongside Liu An's brother!"
Hearing that it was only the Fifth Layer of Body Tempering, Chen Qingshan felt considerably more at ease.
Though slightly stronger than his own strength, the gap should be limited.
If they couldn't win in a direct confrontation, they could always resort to underhanded tactics.
With a worried expression, Wang Dahai asked, "Boss, what should we do next? Should we...?"
Wang Dahai made a slicing gesture across his neck.
Chen Qingshan understood what he meant: eliminate Liu An and the disciple in charge of managing the servant quarters.
After pondering for a moment, Chen Qingshan smiled and said, "Don't rush. Let's figure out the situation a bit more first. Even though the Xuanyang Sect doesn't mind servant disciples fighting among themselves, we still don't know if they care about murder!"
A flash of disappointment crossed Wang Dahai's eyes.
Still, he felt that what Chen Qingshan said made some sense.
"Let's go. First, let's figure out how meals are handled in this servant quarters. There should be a mess hall!"
Chen Qingshan said with a smile.
Just as his voice trailed off, a loud *bang* echoed as the battered door of Chen Qingshan's room was kicked open.
A pot-bellied man walked in with a dark expression.
"You're the ones who just arrived yesterday?"
The intruder demanded fiercely.
Wang Dahai hurriedly whispered to Chen Qingshan, "Boss, this must be Ma Youcai, the full disciple in charge of managing the servant quarters!"
Chen Qingshan nodded slightly, understanding.
They had come looking for trouble!