I proved immortality with thunder magic.

Time flies when you're cultivating your spiritual practice. In the blink of an eye, Zhou Tai has already spent three years at the Golden Flower Ranch.

Three years have passed, and he has turned forty, an age in the mortal world where he could be a grandfather.

However, his cultivation level has only made slight progress, having broken through to the second level of the Qi Refining stage in less than a year.

His previous calculations at Eagle Peak were somewhat imprecise, as he had overlooked the change in the concentration of spiritual energy in the heavens and earth.

The cultivation environment at Golden Flower Ranch is worse than that at Eagle Peak, or rather, the cultivation environment for menial disciples like Zhou Tai is relatively poor.

Moreover, in the past two years, he had to collect manure every day and often had to work on the female cultivators sent by the Wang family, which consumed a lot of his energy and strength. His cultivation time and condition were much worse than when he was at Eagle Peak.

Fortunately, his deal with the Wang family was completed six months ago, and they have been completely estranged ever since.

"My three-year term is up. I wonder how much longer I can keep this job as a night soil collector!"

On the grassy bank of the river, Zhou Tai looked at the cattle resting in the distance, his expression somewhat wistful.

Three years have passed, and he has gained a more detailed understanding of the living conditions of the menial disciples on Spirit Beast Mountain. Therefore, he is also very clear about how good his job of collecting manure really is.

Take, for example, the other menial disciples in the ranch.

Those disciples responsible for herding cattle not only had to spend a lot of time following the herd every day, but also had to drive the herd back if it might cross the boundary, and also pay attention to the health of the herd and report it in a timely manner.

This shows just how important a good job is for a handyman disciple.

Of course, given Zhou Tai's current cultivation level, unless he offended Lin Yan, the manager, he certainly wouldn't be assigned such a dangerous job as herding cattle.

After all, if he really died from the attack by the cattle, Lin Yan, the manager, would also be punished.

However, apart from dangerous jobs like herding cattle, Jinhua Ranch and other places also have no shortage of various labor-intensive jobs.

If he does those jobs, his cultivation progress will definitely be slowed down.

Zhou Tai now has a strong premonition that his job of collecting manure probably won't last long.

Sure enough, a few days later, Lin Yan took the initiative to find Zhou Tai.

She didn't waste any more words with Zhou Tai, and looked directly at him, saying, "Junior Brother Zhou, your carefree life over the past three years has already caused dissatisfaction among many of the menial disciples in the ranch. Starting tomorrow, you will be responsible for burying feed and collecting manure for the Golden Horned Rock Sheep, and you will also be responsible for cleaning the sheepfold."

Zhou Tai's heart sank, but facing Lin Yan's calm gaze, no matter how unwilling he was, he could only obediently reply, "Yes, Junior Brother obeys."

In Spirit Beast Mountain, the difference in status between outer disciples and menial disciples far exceeded Zhou Tai's imagination before he joined the sect.

The simplest point is that outer disciples will hold a formal initiation ceremony, enter the ancestral hall to pay homage to the ancestral masters, and also meet the sect leader.

As for Zhou Tai, a disciple who was only a menial servant, he didn't even have the right to have his name recorded in the sect's register; he could only leave his name in the menial servant register.

Outer disciples like Lin Yan, who hold managerial positions in their respective organizations, wield de facto life-or-death power over the menial disciples within their units.

For example, if she wanted Zhou Tai dead, she could directly use her power to arrange the most dangerous work for him, or even secretly lure monsters to kill him.

Under these circumstances, Zhou Tai dared not have the slightest dissatisfaction with her arrangements.

So the next day, before dawn, Zhou Tai followed a servant disciple up the mountain to bury food.

The so-called "burying food" refers to placing and burying some of the food that the golden horned sheep likes in dangerous places on the mountain, so that the sheep can find and eat it on its own.

Usually, the buried items are tuberous medicinal herbs such as Solomon's seal and ginseng, while the items hanging on cliffs and tree branches are some spiritual herbs and spiritual tree branches and leaves.

It is said that this is done for two reasons: first, to help wear down the animals' energy; and second, to stimulate their growth and evolution by simulating this wild living environment.

This made things difficult for Zhou Tai and the other menial disciples.

The cliffs were steep and full of jagged rocks, and one could easily fall and get injured if one was not careful. Moreover, there was a lot of food to bury and hang, so the workload was several times greater than the previous manure collection.

Zhou Tai went up the mountain to bury food before dawn and barely finished his task by 9 a.m.

As he descended the mountain, he happened to see dozens of golden-horned ibex running up the mountain led by their lead sheep.

The adult golden-horned ibex were as big as oxen, with a pair of spiral golden horns on their heads that shone brightly in the sunlight, making them look very powerful and majestic.

The most valuable thing about this kind of monster is its pair of spiral golden horns. It is said to be a very good material for refining weapons. A pair of first-grade high-quality spiral golden horns can be worth two or three hundred low-grade spirit stones!

However, a first-tier superior-grade demon beast is equivalent to a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator. Even in a superior environment like the Golden Flower Ranch, it would take at least twenty years for a Golden Horned Rock Sheep to grow from birth to become a first-tier superior-grade demon beast.

Zhou Tai watched from afar for a while, then carried half a basket of sheep dung back to his lodgings.

Sunrise and sunset, spring and autumn, and several months have passed in the blink of an eye.

That day, Zhou Tai had just returned from burying food on the mountain when he saw a servant disciple waiting outside his residence.

Upon seeing him return, before he could even ask any questions, the man hurriedly said to him, "Junior Brother Zhou, you're finally back! Come with me to see Steward Lin; she has urgent business to discuss with you."

Zhou Tai was slightly taken aback, then quickly unloaded the basket from his back and replied repeatedly, "I understand."

On his way to Lin Yan's residence, Zhou Tai couldn't help but ponder the purpose of her sudden summons.

Unfortunately, although he was smart, he couldn't guess anything without any reference information and could only improvise when the time came.

Zhou Tai arrived at his destination quickly after rushing along the road.

Upon arriving at the location, he discovered that besides Lin Yan, there was another young man in blue robes. Judging from his demeanor and attire, he was most likely also an outer disciple.

This stirred something within him, and he secretly began to make some guesses.

However, he did not dare to look at the young man in blue too closely. Instead, he respectfully bowed to Lin Yan and said, "Zhou Tai greets Manager Lin."

Lin Yan ignored him and instead smiled at the young man in blue, saying, "Junior Brother Qi, this is Zhou Tai, the man you're looking for. Now you can finally tell me your purpose."

"Thank you for your trouble, Senior Sister Lin."

The young man in blue nodded slightly, then looked at Zhou Tai with curiosity and asked, "Junior Brother Zhou, I heard that you have a lightning-attribute unique spiritual root. Is that true?"

Zhou Tai immediately nodded frankly and said, "In reply to Senior Brother, Junior Brother is indeed a Thunder Spirit Root."

Upon hearing him admit it himself, the young man in blue immediately clapped his hands and laughed, "Very good. In that case, Junior Brother Zhou, come with me. I'll find you a different job."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai was stunned, and Lin Yan's smile froze. She then hurriedly waved her hand and called out, "Wait, Junior Brother Qi, you're taking my people away without even giving a reason?"

Upon hearing this, the young man in blue simply smiled faintly at her and said, "If I told you this was Uncle Yang's idea, would you still want to know, Senior Sister Lin?"

Lin Yan's expression changed slightly. After carefully considering the blue-clad youth's words and recalling his background, she couldn't help but blurt out in surprise, "Junior Brother Qi, are you perhaps referring to Uncle-Master Yang Jinsheng?"

"So, Senior Sister Lin thought it was some Junior Uncle Yang?"

The young man in blue replied with a half-smile.

Lin Yan was immediately embarrassed and quickly said with a forced smile, "Junior Brother Qi, don't be angry. I didn't mean anything by it. Since it's Uncle Yang's idea, I naturally wouldn't dare to have any objection."

After saying that, he turned to Zhou Tai, who was still in a daze, and shouted, "Junior Brother Zhou, did you hear what Junior Brother Qi said? When you go to Uncle Yang's place, you must listen to him and do your job well. If you ruin Uncle Yang's plans because of your incompetence, no one can protect you!"

Whether her words were meant to impress the young man in blue or to remind Zhou Tai is open to interpretation.

In short, after hearing her words, Zhou Tai realized that he had no way to resist, so he quickly replied respectfully, "Yes, Junior Brother will definitely remember Senior Sister Lin's teachings."

"Alright, now that we've finished talking, let's go. We shouldn't keep Uncle Yang waiting."

The young man in blue flicked his sleeves, finished speaking, and got up to walk outside.

Zhou Tai glanced at Lin Yan, and seeing that she didn't object, he quickly followed.

Once outside, the young man in blue casually untied a leather bag from his waist and tossed it forward. A dark shadow flew out of the bag and landed on the ground, transforming into a giant, gray-blue goose-like demon bird.

When this giant goose-like bird stood on the ground, it was more than ten feet tall with its head raised, and its broad back could seat several people.

Seeing this scene, Zhou Tai's eyes immediately filled with deep envy.

He knew that this giant goose-like beast was likely the blue-clad youth's spirit pet mount, because it wouldn't be easy to put it into the spirit beast pouch if it wasn't his own spirit pet.

The spirit beast pouch, the leather bag in the blue-clad youth's hand, serves a similar purpose to a storage bag. However, while a storage bag can only hold inanimate objects without life, the spirit beast pouch's internal space allows adaptable demonic beasts to survive for a short period.

For the disciples of Spirit Beast Mountain, the spirit beast bag is an essential piece of equipment, just like a storage bag. Without it, it would be very inconvenient for them to carry their tamed beasts.

Just as Zhou Tai was looking at the giant goose with envy, the young man in blue leaped onto its back and waved to him, saying, "Junior Brother Zhou, come on up too."

Upon hearing this, he quickly thanked him, then leaped onto the goose's back and sat down behind the young man in blue.

Then, the young man in blue shouted, and the giant goose-like bird let out a loud "caw," flapped its wings vigorously, and rushed forward, quickly taking off into the sky.

After flying for dozens of miles, the giant goose-like bird carried Zhou Tai and his companion to a mountain range shrouded in white mist.

At this moment, a white jade pendant suddenly appeared in the hand of the young man in blue on the goose's back.

With a slight exertion of his magic, the white jade tablet emitted a faint white light that enveloped the giant goose and the two people on its back. Then, without hesitation, the giant goose swooped down and plunged headlong into the white mist area.

Zhou Tai, perched on the goose's back, was puzzled by the blue-clad youth's actions when he noticed that the vast white mist he had seen in the air had completely vanished after they descended.

This bizarre scene startled him at first, but he immediately understood why.

"This must be the illusionary fog array mentioned in the ancient texts. It seems this place must be the cave dwelling of some powerful cultivator!"

His eyes darted across the lush forests below, a surge of anticipation and excitement welling up within him.