Tian Shu Wu Wang Lu

Back in the servants' quarters, Lin Ye made sure no one was around before darting to the corner of his pile of tattered straw mats and carefully summoning the delivery box.

As soon as the box door opened, the snow-white little ball slowly crawled out. Perhaps it was the star power inside the box that took effect, because the wound on its hind leg was not as bloody and mangled as before, and even the tiny starlight around it brightened up a bit.

Lin Ye watched as it dragged its injured leg and tried to get closer to him, and couldn't help but reach out and poke the golden flame-shaped star mark on its forehead: "You dare to come back? You've got some nerve. From now on, you'll follow me. I'll give you a name first. Seeing all that starlight around you, how about Star Ember?"

Xingjin seemed to understand, nuzzling his fingertips and letting out a soft whimper. The tip of its tail gently brushed against Lin Ye's hand, as if accepting the name.

Looking at the pitiful little thing, Lin Ye remembered the only coarse grain bun he had left in his pocket. Reluctantly, he pulled it out of the delivery box, broke off a small piece, and handed it to the child: "We're in tough times right now, this is all we have. Eat it sparingly. In a few days, I'll save up enough sect contribution points to exchange for spirit rice for you!"

He's barely able to take care of himself, and he's also picked up a wounded fox spirit, making the situation doubly difficult. But his sense of responsibility as a working man makes it impossible for him to ignore the situation.

Unexpectedly, Xingjin sniffed the steamed bun, frowned, and turned his head away with an extremely disgusted look. His sapphire-like eyes glanced at Lin Ye, making it clear: This rubbish, this fox will not eat.

Lin Ye chuckled in exasperation, holding a steamed bun to its mouth: "Grandpa, you're lucky to have anything to eat, why are you being picky? I can only afford to eat this coarse grain bun myself, do you think you're enjoying a life of luxury in your spirit fox den?"

Xingjin simply turned its head away, twisted its small body, and lay down on the straw mat, assuming a posture of hunger strike in protest. The starlight around it dimmed a bit, and it started to throw a little tantrum.

Lin Ye was completely at a loss. Looking at the delicate little fox, he sighed helplessly, "I give up. I'll work an extra half hour tomorrow and get you a whole grain pancake in return, okay?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xingjin immediately raised his head, his eyes sparkling. He rubbed his palm against Xingjin's, obediently took the small piece of steamed bun, and began to nibble on it. His change of expression was astonishingly fast.

Looking at its clever yet arrogant demeanor, Lin Ye couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Goodness, it even knows how to bargain! It's even more cunning than the difficult customers I've encountered before. From now on, who's the employee and who's the boss?"

Despite his complaints, Lin Ye still sat down cross-legged and began cultivating using the "Tian Shu Wu Wang Lu".

The delivery box in his left arm continued to work diligently, frantically purifying the pitifully thin star power around him. The pale golden star power, along with the scattered star power on Xing Jin's body, slowly flowed into Lin Ye's body.

To his surprise, he discovered that with the support of Xingjin's star power, his speed of absorbing star power had increased even more, and his cultivation technique was running more smoothly.

"Wow, you're a cultivation cheat code!" Lin Ye opened his eyes, poking Xing Jin's little head with a look of surprise. "So I just picked up a mobile cultivation accelerator? What a steal!"

Stardust tilted its head when poked, and angrily slapped his hand away with its little paws. Then it spat out a wisp of stardust, which landed precisely on his knee. The bruise that had been kicked by the skinny guy disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Lin Ye's eyes lit up even more, his working-class motivational DNA instantly awakening: "Great job, Xing Jin! Healing and support at the same time, from now on we'll team up! You'll be in charge of speeding up my healing and being cute to keep things under control, while I'll be in charge of working hard to accumulate contribution points and quietly cultivating. Once we're rich, we'll settle scores with everyone who bullied us before!"

In the days that followed, the people in the servants' quarters noticed that this servant named Lin Ye was more silent and hardworking than before.

While others slack off and dawdle when carrying water, Lin Ye walks swiftly, not even flinching when the carrying pole is on his shoulder. He secretly circulates his inner energy, allowing star power to flow along his shoulders and neck, turning hard labor into physical cultivation. The starlight from the delivery box will quietly shine through, helping him stabilize his body and allowing him to carry two full buckets of water more steadily than others.

Once, Lin Ye slipped and was about to fall flat on his face when Xing Jin suddenly released a wisp of star power from the box, catching him firmly. Lin Ye regained his footing and pretended that he had slipped, giving the passing steward a silly smile to perfectly cover it up.

When chopping wood, others would be out of breath after just a few swings of their axes, but Lin Ye's every swing was in harmony with the flow of star power, making the chop fast and neat, and also allowing him to hone his control over star power.

Xingjin lay at his feet, staring at the crooked firewood. With a wave of his little paw, tiny starlight swept across the wood, and the crooked firewood was instantly stacked neatly, even more neatly than Linye's.

Lin Ye looked down at the clever little fox and secretly gave it a thumbs up. The two worked together perfectly, doubling their efficiency.

Even for mundane tasks like picking vegetables and cleaning, he was quick and efficient, wasting no time at all, and would hide in a quiet place to cultivate whenever he had a spare moment.

Xingjin would obediently lie on his lap, occasionally rubbing his chin with its little head to remind him not to get too tired. If Lin Ye was too engrossed in his cultivation and forgot to rest, it would simply cover his eyes with its little paws and force him to take a break.

The servants all laughed at Lin Ye, saying he was just a wooden doll who only knew how to work, with low cultivation and no sense of laziness, and that he would only be a servant for the rest of his life.

A servant, seeing that he worked too fast and took some of the easier tasks, deliberately kicked over the water that he had just carried when he wasn't paying attention, and sarcastically remarked, "A useless servant, what are you pretending to be diligent for?"

Lin Ye still had a simple and honest smile on his face. He was about to speak up to calm things down when the delivery box in his arms suddenly became hot. A faint ray of starlight silently shot out and accurately kicked the servant's ankle.

The servant slipped and fell flat on his backside. Just as he was about to curse, he inexplicably dropped the vegetable basket he was carrying, scattering vegetable leaves all over himself, leaving him in a sorry state.

Lin Ye suppressed a laugh, looking down at the slightly swaying delivery box in his arm, silently giving Xing Jin a thumbs up in his heart: Goodness, he's still a fiercely protective little hothead, even more vengeful than me!

He pretended to be kind and helped the other person up, still with that honest and timid look, but in his heart he was overjoyed. With such a protective little fox spirit by his side, he would be more motivated to work in the future.

Days passed by, and another month went by in the blink of an eye. Lin Ye did heavy chores while also helping Xing Jin cultivate. Life was tough, but the companionship of the man and the fox made it quite enjoyable.

During breaks, Lin Ye would mutter to Xing Jin, "Xing Jin, you wait. Once I break through to the second level of the Star Dust Body Realm, I'll take on some easy jobs and earn spirit rice for you. You won't have to eat coarse grain buns anymore."

"We won't argue with them over short-term gains. Working people should accumulate strength gradually. Once I've built up enough power, no one will be able to bully us anymore."

"From now on, I'll focus on my cultivation, and you'll focus on healing your injuries. Let's grow stronger together, and make something of ourselves in this cultivation world!"

Xingjin would always obediently lie in his arms, listening to his rambling, occasionally rubbing against his palm and making soft, whimpering sounds, as if responding or cheering him on.

Late that night, the servants' quarters were filled with deafening snoring, and the stench of sweat and mildew was still pungent.

Lin Ye huddled in the corner, his body enveloped in a pale gold glow mixed with starlight, surging wildly like a thin mist. Xing Jin lay on his lap, his body radiating intense starlight, the golden flame pattern on his forehead shining brightly, continuously pouring massive amounts of star power into Lin Ye's body.

The originally abundant star power surged wildly through his meridians. Lin Ye gritted his teeth, kept his mind focused, and used his inner cultivation technique to guide the star power to break through the bottleneck.

A faint, soft sound came from inside the body.

Stardust enters the body in one layer, break through!

The star power instantly became more mellow, flowing through the meridians throughout the body, making the originally weak body stronger and even making the eyes clearer.

Lin Ye slowly opened his eyes, a flash of golden light and starlight in his eyes, before he returned to his honest and simple appearance.

He looked down at Xingjin, who was nuzzling against his palm, and pulled the little fox into his arms. A smile he couldn't hide appeared on his lips, and he murmured softly in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Step one, done!"

"Just wait, one day, I, Lin Ye, will no longer have to pretend to be a coward, no longer have to be subservient to others. I will establish myself in this sect through my own abilities, and I will ensure you live a life of luxury. No one will be able to bully us anymore!"

Xingjin seemed to understand, snuggling against him and letting out a cheerful hum, her body sparkling with starlight as if celebrating for him.

The path to immortality for working people has no earth-shattering beginnings, no easy opportunities, only step-by-step hard work and relentless effort, and they also have a proud and protective spirit fox companion by their side.

What does it matter if it's tough or tiring? As long as you're willing to work hard, even if you're just a low-level handyman, you can climb up step by step and one day you'll shine and be able to hold your head high!