"How lonely it is to be invincible~~ so lonely..."

Qin Yu hummed a tune, walking back to his cave residence with a cheerful stride.

First, he took out the embroidery needle he had bought, heated it with a candle until it was red hot, and then gently pressed it on the ground. In no time, the needle bent into a professional 'size five barbed' fish hook.

It was that simple to bend it.

Next, Qin Yu took out the fishing line he had prepared earlier.

This fishing line was made from the silk of a spider-like spiritual beast in the cultivation world. Normally, it was used for repairing clothes.

The silk was colorless and transparent, with excellent toughness. It was said that even a thousand-pound dragon-headed tilapia couldn't break it, making it perfect for fishing lines.

Finally, he tied a small wooden block to the fishing line as a bobber and used a bamboo stick as the fishing rod. His fishing gear was ready.

With his tools in hand, Qin Yu happily ran to the nearby wild river and began his day of fishing.

"Stealing half a day of leisure~"

Qin Yu lay on the soft grass, basking in the gentle autumn sun, watching the bobber in the water rise and fall with the waves, feeling extremely relaxed.

If I become Emperor Qin Yu right now, my life will be perfect!

With this thought, Qin Yu took out the small notebook he always carried, crossed out the title "The Path to Immortality Starting with Shoveling Dung," and changed it to "The Path to Immortality Starting with Fishing!"

The previous title was more catchy, but it was too vulgar and wouldn't pass the review.

Suddenly, the bobber sank sharply.

"A bite!"

Qin Yu pulled hard, and a two-pound fish was hooked.

This fish was golden all over, resembling a crucian carp in shape.

"Living in such a spiritual place, even the fish look different. I wonder how it tastes."

Qin Yu baited the hook with a worm and cast it into the water again.

"I've been a bit slack these past couple of days. I need to go into seclusion tomorrow!"

Qin Yu calculated in his mind.

"If I cultivate for one night, I make about 3% progress. A full day of cultivation should give me about 6 to 7%. To reach the second layer of Qi Refining, I need to cultivate for a full sixteen days."

Qin Yu was a bit troubled.

Influenced by his past life’s immortal novels, Qin Yu had always thought that cultivators could go into seclusion for years or even decades.

But after joining the sect, he realized that long periods of seclusion were only possible for those who could enter a deep cultivation state, a state where ten years passed like a single day, and they wouldn't sense changes in the outside world.

However, for Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators, it was hard to enter such a deep state.

For them, cultivation was very monotonous. The last time Qin Yu went into seclusion for ten days, the final days were purely sustained by willpower.

This time, he planned to go into seclusion for half a month. Would he end up going mad?

Qin Yu was worried about his mental state and decided that after ten days of cultivation, he would rest for a day.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

After all, cultivating immortality required a gradual approach, balancing work and rest.

Qin Yu silently complained, Why didn’t I get one of those systems that, with a single beep, directly give me five hundred years of cultivation?

If I’m already cheating, why not have a more powerful cheat system?

Plop!

Another fish bit the hook.

In the evening, Qin Yu had caught more than ten fish.

Soon, Li Zhengtong, Xiao Zhi, and the others arrived as scheduled.

"Tongzi, come over here and help gut these fish. Xiao Zhi, take the others to gather some firewood!"

"Got it!"

Everyone scattered and got to work.

Qin Yu reminded, "Just remove the guts, no need to scale the fish!"

"Be careful with the knife, don’t break the fish’s gallbladder."

"Damn it, you broke it! I can’t even catch enough fish, and you’re ruining them. Get out of here and go chop wood!"

Qin Yu, having frequently killed and grilled fish in the town, was very familiar with the process.

After knocking the fish unconscious, he cleaned out the insides, removed the fish’s spine, and scored the body before evenly applying the seasoning.

Soon, a roaring fire began to burn.

"Don’t make the fire too big, and remember to flip the fish regularly."

Once the fish surface was crisp and charred, Qin Yu used a small knife to gently scrape off the scales, revealing the tender fish meat.

A little salt and chili powder, and the dish was ready to serve—a feast for the senses.

The group of servant disciples gathered around the fire, holding their grilled fish and eagerly devouring it.

"Brother Yu, this grilled fish is absolutely delicious."

"This is the best in Xuantian Sect!"

"Brother Yu, I suggest you open a grilled fish stall in the market. You’d make a fortune!"

Qin Yu humbly waved his hand, "What’s so special about this? The best dish I make is stinky tofu."

"Stinky tofu? What’s that?"

"Wait until I have time, I’ll make some for all of you. It’s a dish you’ll never forget for the rest of your lives!"

"Can’t wait!"

Qin Yu looked at everyone and said, "I still don’t know all your names. Let’s go around and introduce yourselves!"

"Brother Yu, my name is Wang xx!"

"Brother Yu, I’m Meng x!"

"Brother Yu, I’m Zhao xx!"

Qin Yu sighed, "These names are too complicated, I can’t remember them!"

"Let’s do it this way!" Qin Yu pointed to Wang xx, "From now on, you’ll be called Xiao San!"

"You’ll be Xiao Si, and you’ll be Xiao Wu. Much easier to remember!"

"Brother Yu, I don’t want to be called Xiao San, it sounds bad."

"Fine, I’ll give you a better name." Qin Yu rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, and then said:

"From now on, you’ll be Xiao Liu!"

Xiao Liu: "Brother Yu, can I be called Lao Liu? I want to sound more mature!"

Qin Yu immediately rejected, "Xiao Liu, your level is not high enough!"

After everyone finished eating and chatting for a while, Qin Yu said before they parted:

"I’ll be in seclusion for a while. If anyone from Beastmaster Peak causes trouble, or if anything major happens, you can come find me at Cave 666."

Qin Yu left this message mainly because he feared that the previous events might be exposed and cause trouble with Beastmaster Peak.

The next morning, Qin Yu was woken by the sound of someone knocking on the array.

He opened the door and saw Xiao Zhi pacing anxiously.

Qin Yu immediately sensed something was wrong.

"What happened?" Qin Yu deactivated the array.

"Brother Yu, people from Beastmaster Peak came again, and this time they’ve taken it even further!"

"Taken it further? What did they do?"

"I can’t explain it all right now, you should come see for yourself!"

Qin Yu quickly followed Xiao Zhi towards Maple Leaf Square.

Before they even reached the square, Qin Yu smelled a terrible stench.

He saw that Maple Leaf Square was once again covered in filth, and what was even more maddening was that this time, it was a liquid, flowing freely and making cleanup incredibly difficult.

And the smell was much worse than before.

"Damn it, did these spiritual beasts get diarrhea or something?"

Qin Yu clenched his fists in anger.

Maple Leaf Square was unrecognizable. Anyone who didn’t know would think it was a latrine.

At this moment, Li Zhengtong, wearing rain boots and holding a shovel, was struggling to clean up.

At this rate, it would take all night to finish cleaning.

"What happened?"

Hearing Qin Yu’s voice, Li Zhengtong put down the shovel, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and explained the situation.

It turned out that Beastmaster Peak disciples had brought their spiritual beasts here and fed them a special pill.

Afterward, things turned into the current mess.

Qin Yu said, "This is deliberate retaliation. It seems they’ve figured out we were behind the earlier incident."

"How could they? We didn’t expose ourselves!" Xiao Zhi said.

Qin Yu sighed, "Never underestimate the intelligence of others. There are smart people among Beastmaster Peak’s disciples."

"This is really tricky to deal with!"

Qin Yu frowned and began to think.

If Beastmaster Peak’s disciples had simply beaten up Li Zhengtong and the others, it would have been easier to handle. Li Zhengtong could have gone to the Law Enforcement Team or found Zhong Wende, and someone would have intervened.

But instead, they chose this method of retaliation, leaving Qin Yu with no way out.

Cleaning was the responsibility of servant disciples. No matter how difficult the task, they had to clean it up.

It was like a worker being constantly harassed by clients in his past life—other than quitting, there was no solution.

Looks like there’s someone skilled behind this... Qin Yu complained inwardly. Why can’t I deal with an antagonist who’s dumb and acts on impulse?

Faced with such a tricky situation, Qin Yu couldn’t think of a solution immediately.

He could only grab his tools and join Li Zhengtong in working.

Qin Yu stuffed