Central District.

Next to a small pool, bathed in the warm hues from the lamps of the cat’s nest, a cat presented itself elegantly on all fours before Bubai, allowing him to stroke her as he pleased.

Before his eyes, the cat's tail swayed gracefully, a pendulum dancing to an unseen rhythm...

Bubai couldn't help but grin, lost in the simplicity of the moment.

What exactly is Bubai doing? Naturally, it wasn’t anything unsuitable for children that can only be found in the full version.

In fact, he was just celebrating.

Not long ago, he found out about his absurd lifespan.

400 years! That’s enough to witness the countless rises and falls of geniuses!

How many cultivator could actually live that long?! Certainly none of the Foundation Establishment realm cultivators. Perhaps only Golden Core realms had an equivalent lifespan!

Not only that, he was still at the tender age of 18! The full spectrum of these centuries of life was still waiting for him to enjoy!

The sheer euphoria completely dominated his mind, and he knew it was a momentous cause for celebration.

Alas, with the day drawing to a close, work looming, and the obligatory daily cat feeding ritual awaiting him, he decided to postpone the festivities with his women, choosing to celebrate with his feline companion first.

Previously, Bubai wouldn’t schedule his cat feeding time right before his shift at the Book Pavilion, but the cat’s discovery of his true identity caught him off guard.

Bubai didn’t let this unexpected event stump him. Straightaway, he took the initiative to turn the tables in his favor.

“Want to avoid missing out on meals? Want yummy fish to be delivered to your doorstep? BubaiEats is at your service!”

Using this lure, Bubai managed to coax the catwoman to lead him back to her cat’s nest - a small residence nestled at the edge of the Mo Clan compound in the Central District.

This was where she groomed and awaited her owner's visits. While her owner was away, it welcomed another beast- ahem, caretaker.

Now, just before heading to work at his full-time job, the part-time caretaker could come and fulfill the innocent cat’s daily meal demand…

Miss Meow, now lying on her side, looked up at Bubai with half-lidded eyes, a portrait of bliss as she savored the rest of her meal.

After licking her meal clean, her canine teeth began to playfully nibble on the dispenser’s edges. Each nibble seemed to convey the cat's message: "Meow, please!"

Watching the feline antics with amusement, Bubai tickled the tip of the cat's ear. “Delicious?”

“Meow.” The contented Miss Meow’s eyes narrowed in satisfaction, “Yummy fish became meow, meow yummier!”

It’s good he had become more delicious. A satisfying meal tends to lead to unexpectedly positive training effects.

Bubai sensed the presence of a new memory orb orbiting in his memory space.

Naturally, he didn’t let the euphoria of a long lifespan make him complacent. It was just a couple hundred years of life, not eternity.

The road was still long. Cultivation is all about accumulation, and diligence is an important key.

Needless to say, Bubai’s playtime with his pet was obviously all for cultivation.

After the promotion to the Foundation Establishment realm, each method had its distinct approach to improvement.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

For the Arboreal Bliss Dreamcatcher Art, the focus centered on strengthening the memory totem, in his case, his memory space.

There are currently two known methods to do this.

The first involved gathering more memory Qi, just like before, and transforming them into additional memory orbs.

The second method entailed using true Qi to nurture the existing memory orbs, raising the quality of each orb.

Unfortunately, there were no clues regarding how long he had to accumulate or what to do after.

This information might only be unveiled in the middle stage portion of the method - something he didn’t have access to.

That’s why it was still important to head back to work. Only there could he have a chance of obtaining what he needs, perhaps even for free during knowledge exchange sessions.

But first…

With a sudden shove, Bubai sent the cat into her bathing basin.

“Meow?!” Miss Meow arched her back, her fur bristling in protest, “No! Xiao Meow doesn’t want shower-”

The catwoman’s protest was abruptly sealed off.

"Whoops, didn't see that coming, did you?"

Miss Meow didn’t say anything in response. It seems the cat got her tongue.

So, Bubai chuckled and began their bathing session.

Book Pavilion. Mortal Techniques Room.

Sensing the final batch of books and scrolls being scanned into his mind, Bubai wearily rubbed his brow as he set down his writing brush.

With his enhanced cognitive functions, copying books was now an easy task, and it was difficult to make an error even if he was distracted. So, this wasn’t the cause of his exhaustion.

Looking up, Bubai’s eyes gleamed slightly when he swept his gaze over the room, sensing the content of this entire room in his mind. This was the true reason behind his exhaustion.

Following his promotion, he naturally couldn’t let off all the unread books in the pavilion.

Thanks to his divine sense, it only took, at most, a couple of hours to add an entire room of mortal books and scrolls to his collection of knowledge!

Of course, Bubai didn’t waste contribution points to blatantly visit random rooms without a purpose. He had a free ticket to enter most of them, why pay?

So, he let nature take its course.

Today, by a stroke of luck, he entered one of his most desired rooms – the mortal techniques room.

This was a low-cost room, but the knowledge here was extremely abundant.

Unfortunately, many of the techniques stored here could only be used in conjunction with internal energy or solely the physical body.

None of them incorporated the usage of Qi. Integration with Qi will require the reader’s own enlightenment.

So, most of these techniques could only serve as reference.

Nevertheless, there is definitely value in studying some of these martial techniques, especially in terms of enhancing his close combat capabilities.

While many cultivators relied solely on Qi-based techniques in combat, the true fighters understood the importance of mastering martial arts to some extent.

Just another grind added to his already busy schedule.

Suddenly, Bubai sensed an intangible force attempting to infiltrate his consciousness.

Though he was still unable to fully grasp the nature of this force, his buffed state II allowed for a vague sense of its presence. Not only that, he noticed that his detection capability against this force was steadily growing more adept with each day...

With the growing intuition, he could hazard a guess about the origin of this force. So, he didn’t resist...

North District.

Basking in the warm glow of the sun, Bubai stretched as he headed home after another long night at work.

Out of curiosity, he checked his memory space and immediately noted the new memory orb within.

Shaking his head slightly, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. “Ah, seems like I will have to remember to check on it from now on.”

Tower. Bedchamber.

Bubai man sat cross-legged on the bed in the luminescent lit room, flanked by illusory bookshelves that seemed to stretch beyond the walls of his tower.

From time to time, the illusory bookshelves scrolled forward ever so slightly, shifting with the perspective of the owner of the hand reaching for another book on the shelves.

Trailing by the side of the avid reader was the lively Shu Ling, her starry eyes observing the books and scrolls as she excitedly discussed a completely irrelevant topic, “So, so, you’re saying- If we issue these so-called stocks, we can collect all the money this fairy wants from...”

While Bubai partially allocated his attention to listen to the conversation unfolding in the scene, his main focus was placed on the spectacle in the reality around him.

Streams of green Qi danced like ribbons, weaving upwards from his hands, spiraling and twirling as they converged toward his face.

Hovering in front of him, they formed a delicate veil while they drilled into the mask on his face.

As each strand of Qi entered the mask, the once motionless skin on the mask’s surface wriggled ever so slightly, as if it had come to life.

Nourished by the Qi, the signs of decay that marred the mask were mending themselves, gradually transforming the face into a less unsightly visage.

The Ah Niu mask. As time ticked away, it neared its date of disposal.

However, abandoning this mask would certainly lead to the rise of a whole lot of other problems. Bubai had long wanted to repair it but was clueless about the necessary steps.

He even experimented with his green Qi, but he still faced repeated failures in mending his mask because the potency of his green Qi didn’t have any significant effects on non-living matters, even if they were organic.

In fact, his green Qi strand couldn’t even rejuvenate organic matters that were partially alive, especially if most parts were already dead.

Otherwise, his first money-making scheme would undoubtedly involve nurturing the dried herbs or rare deceased spiritual herbs found on sale at stalls, using his green Qi to raise their ranks, making bank like those protagonists in novels...

Alas, it was but a dream.

However, things changed after his promotion to Foundation Establishment!