“You are He Pingsheng? How old are you?”
In a dark, dilapidated hall resembling a broken temple, a shirtless man asked gruffly, looking at the boy in front of him, who was less than five feet tall.
The boy respectfully and cautiously replied, “To Zhang Laoda, I am fourteen this year!”
“What Spiritual Root?” Zhang Laoda asked again nonchalantly.
He Pingsheng said, “It’s a Five Elements Spiritual Root!”
Upon hearing it was a Five Elements Spiritual Root, Zhang Laoda immediately revealed a satisfied smile, then mocked, “So it’s a money pit, hahahaha…”
“Hahahahaha…”
All the sweaty men around burst into laughter.
Their laughter merged into one, shaking dust from the rafters.
Zhang Laoda’s smile stopped, and the laughter of the surrounding crowd also ceased, like puppets on a string.
“Slap…” Zhang Laoda’s dark, greasy hand patted He Pingsheng’s thin shoulder, saying, “Your Uncle Jiang Jian has some connection with me, and he pleaded with me, which is why I was willing to take you in!”
“You’re fourteen, not small anymore. From today onwards, the task of carrying water on Xiuzhu Peak will be your responsibility!”
“But there’s one thing you must remember: the Masters and Young Ladies on Xiuzhu Peak are Immortals who can fly and escape, each of them incredibly noble. You must be respectful when you see them. If you displease them, your life will be in danger!”
He Pingsheng’s heart tightened, and he quickly said, “Yes!”
Zhang Laoda continued, “On Xiuzhu Peak, there are two places that need water: one is the Immortal Caves of the various Masters!”
“The other is the mess hall for us Utility Disciples!”
“The water consumption is not small. You must get up before dawn every day to start carrying water and only stop at night, without a moment’s rest in between!”
“Otherwise, the water-carrying task will not be completed!”
“Did you remember?” Zhang Laoda demanded.
He Pingsheng nodded, “I remembered!”
“Han Laosan, take him to familiarize himself with the work. Don’t delay tomorrow’s tasks, otherwise, if the Masters punish us, no one can bear the responsibility!”
A tall, thin middle-aged man stood up and led He Pingsheng out of the dark hall and walked outside.
He Pingsheng!
Fourteen years old!
Born in the Outer Sect of the Tai Xu Sect, his parents were once Outer Sect Disciples of the Tai Xu Sect.
Unfortunately, when He Pingsheng was eight years old, his father, He Sanjie, went out to seek Opportunity and was killed by a Yao Beast. Within less than a month, his mother also died mysteriously, and then a group of Cultivators from the Tai Xu Sect broke into their home and plundered all the Cultivation resources his parents had left behind.
From then on, He Pingsheng lived with Jiang Jian, his father’s good friend.
At the age of nine, He Pingsheng’s Spiritual Root Awakened.
At the Tai Xu Sect’s Awakening Ceremony, he Awakened a Five Elements Spiritual Root that included Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth!
He had a Spiritual Root, but this kind of Spiritual Root was the most difficult to cultivate.
In the words of the Cultivation World, this Spiritual Root was a “money pit.”
It required countless resources to accumulate.
To put it this way, the resources needed to cultivate one Five Elements Spiritual Root could often cultivate ten or even dozens of single-Spiritual Root Cultivators.
None of the Elders and Disciples of the Tai Xu Sect were willing to take him as a Disciple. In the end, He Pingsheng didn’t even qualify to enter the Outer Sect.
Recently, Jiang Jian, due to his Dao being hopeless and his age advancing, was preparing to abandon the Dao and return home to marry and have children to continue his ancestral Bloodline. He could no longer look after the descendant of his old friend and could only recommend He Pingsheng to the Utility Class of the Inner Sect’s Xiuzhu Peak, to become a Utility Disciple.
The so-called Utility Disciple, as the name suggests, is someone who does odd jobs.
The Cultivation World is not entirely made up of Immortals; even Immortals need to eat, drink, and relieve themselves, especially those Qi Refinement Stage Disciples who cannot yet abstain from grain. Therefore, daily attendants are indispensable.
Each main peak of the Tai Xu Sect has Utility Classes responsible for the peak’s hygiene, meals, errands, and various other tasks, which, when broken down, number no less than dozens of types.
Among all the tasks, carrying water was the heaviest.
After all, there were many people on the entire mountain peak, consuming countless amounts of water daily.
Moreover, carrying water required going to the mountain spring behind the mountain. Although the round trip was only two li, the path was uneven and difficult to traverse.
The reason He Pingsheng chose to suffer here was because he still harbored a glimmer of hope for the Immortal Dao.
Although he was a Utility Disciple, being on Xiuzhu Peak meant he was close to Immortals. Being close meant Opportunity, and if the Opportunity was sufficient, it was not impossible to obtain one or two methods of cultivating Immortality and comprehending the Dao, thus embarking on the Immortal Path. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
It was with this dream that he asked Jiang Jian to recommend him to Xiuzhu Peak.
As for suffering?
He wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth. In this world, where is there a life without suffering?
Han Laosan took He Pingsheng on a tour of Xiuzhu Peak and showed him two huge water vats.
He Pingsheng’s daily task was to fill these water vats.
To fill these two large water vats, he needed to run to the back mountain at least twenty times.
This was undoubtedly a huge challenge for a fourteen-year-old boy.
“This is your room!” Han Laosan finally led He Pingsheng to a courtyard.
This courtyard had six or seven rooms.
Each Utility Disciple had a private room.
He Pingsheng took the key and iron chain and opened the door. The room was empty; not only were there no daily necessities, but there wasn't even a basic quilt.
Fortunately, it was summer, so not using a quilt at night wouldn't make him cold.
There was, however, an iron bowl.
“The very front is the mess hall!” Han Laosan said, “Just go eat on time every day, or there won’t be any left…”
After saying the last sentence, Han Laosan left in a hurry as if he had something urgent to do.
He Pingsheng looked around the room, again seeing nothing.
So he raised his hand, locked the door, picked up two water buckets, and headed towards the back mountain.
Logically, he could wait until tomorrow to carry water.
But everything prepared succeeds, and without preparation fails. If he waited until tomorrow to carry water and encountered a situation, there would be no room for maneuver. So He Pingsheng went ahead of time, partly to familiarize himself with the path, and partly to see how long it would take him to fill two vats of water.
Behind the mountain, a clear stream flowed down from the peak, forming a waterfall that cascaded onto a giant rock, splashing white water.
The waterfall was not large, only a foot wide, but it flowed continuously and endlessly. The water volume was sufficient for the entire peak.
Below the giant rock, the waterfall formed a clear, shallow pool.
The water was so clear that the sand and stones at the bottom could be seen.
He Pingsheng took the two large buckets, filled them with clear water, and then carried them on his shoulders as he walked back.
The two buckets of water were very heavy, almost making him breathless.
The two-li mountain path took a full fifteen minutes.
At this speed, he could carry water two to three times at most in an hour. Twenty round trips would take at least seven or eight hours.
To make tomorrow’s work easier, He Pingsheng returned to the water’s edge after carrying water once.
He decided to carry water at least five times today, so he wouldn’t have to work so hard tomorrow!
Once!
Twice!
Thrice!
…
The night grew deeper and deeper.
When He Pingsheng came to the water’s edge for the fifth time to draw water, he suddenly noticed something at the bottom of the water shimmering with a faint light!
“This is…”
He Pingsheng took a deep breath and stepped forward, discovering that at the bottom of the clear water not far away, there lay a worn-out pottery basin.
The pottery basin was dark and reflected a sliver of moonlight.
“Sigh…” He Pingsheng wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, “I thought it was some treasure, but it’s just a broken basin!”
“However, this broken basin has some use. I’ll take it back for now; it’ll be useful for washing clothes and face normally!”