NOVEL WEB Chapter 20: 017: Gold Word Workshop's Olive Branch_1
The door opened, and standing outside was a woman of exceptional beauty. Her face was as elegant as a lotus, her eyebrows resembling willows. Her captivating eyes tugged at the heartstrings. Her skin was as white as snow, though slightly tinged with a sickly pallor, which only added to her frail, delicate charm.
Chen Dengming looked in surprise at this rather enthusiastic neighbor, and asked, "Sister Xu...what can I do for you?"
The attractive woman was also an Innate warrior named Xu Wei, who had probably interacted with him the most over the past month or so.
The first night he spent in the gathering area, she gave him a meal.
Afterwards, he did not forget her good deed and often reciprocated by giving her some fish, though they did not meet face to face at that time.
It was only after Chen Dengming formally received his shack's residential rights and was allocated a house next to her that they got to know each other through back and forth interactions.
However, as he kept practicing diligently and lived a reclusive life, all their interactions were initiated by her.
Chen Dengming initially thought that she was trying to get him to patronize her business more frequently.
After all, she was also someone working the night shifts in the nearby Gold Word Workshop, and it was quite normal for her to try and cultivate new customers in the neighborhood.
However, as he interacted with her multiple times, he found that Xu Wei would usually leave the conversation in a vague and roundabout manner, emphasizing the hardships of a woman struggling at the lowest level of the Cultivation World, but never getting to the point.
Being a man surrounded by wives and concubines in the mortal world, Chen Dengming was not new to love affairs.
Over time, the subtleties in her sentences and the fleeting glances she cast his way made him feel that she might be looking for a life partner, rather than a customer.
"Mr. Chen... I apologize for the intrusion, but I have some good news. An immortal master from the Gold Word Workshop wants to recruit you and asked me to inform you about it. Congratulations, Mr. Chen," said Xu Wei, her lips parting slightly to reveal a fervent gaze.
"Oh?"
Chen Dengming looked surprised, and suddenly sensing something, his expression turned serious as he looked at the street behind her.
A sturdy man stood alone at the corner of the street. Seeing Chen Dengming's gaze, he smiled, raised his fists in salute, and transmitted to him with a pair of laser-focused eyes.
"Daoist friend Chen, I am Wu Chen from the Gold Word Workshop. You have been here for more than a month, and I believe you must have heard of our Gold Word Workshop. Would you like to join us?"
"Join the Gold Word Workshop...."
Chen Dengming was momentarily stunned. His mind was racing, yet he remained calm, knowing that the Gold Word Workshop had probably investigated his identity.
However, he had considered this possibility over a month ago, and thought it would not matter anymore.
His previous attitude had been intended to prevent trouble and avoid disturbing his peaceful cultivation life.
Unexpectedly, a cultivator from the Gold Word Workshop had now taken the initiative to recruit him.
There were more than a dozen factions in this gathering area for Loose Cultivators, and the Gold Word Workshop was one of the more powerful ones.
Many art towers, tea houses, and even the Spirit Rice Shop, and numerous houses in the gathering area, were owned by the Gold Word Workshop.
By now, he had learned that the Gold Word Workshop consisted of dozens of cultivators, led by an individual at the Qi Cultivation sixth stage who had some contacts with the Luo Family. Every year, a large portion of their profits was offered to the Luo Family.
Considering their strength, it was only natural for them to recruit him once they learned that he was holding the Luo Family's badge.
However, it was peculiar for them to send a cultivator to personally invite him and call him a Daoist friend, showing abnormal respect and courtesy.
It wasn't that Chen Dengming was being overly modest. But after his numerous encounters with Qi Cultivators, he realized that they tended to look down on mortals.
Even Fairy Luo, who had shown him some favor, was rather distant...
"Daoist friend Chen, are you unwilling?"
The robust male Cultivator sent a transmission again, his penetrating gaze fixed on Chen Dengming.
Chen Dengming came to his senses, a smile gracing his face as he replied, "It's an honor to be invited personally by the Immortal Master. I was just a little overwhelmed."
Listening to his response, the robust Cultivator laughed heartily, clearly satisfied. "As long as you're willing, that's all that matters. To tell you the truth, our boss sent me here personally to invite you. Once you join the Gold Word Workshop, all you need to do is give a good account of yourself, and you might even get an audience with the boss. Your future prospects could be limitless."
Upon hearing this, both Xu Wei and a few of the neighbors who had been stirred by the conversation looked at Chen Dengming with expressions of surprise and envy.
To earn the favor of the boss and even receive an invitation from a cultivator seemed like a rocket-to-the-moon scenario to them.
Chen Dengming responded with a smile, knowing all too well that such flattering remarks were nothing but lip service.
He just wanted to let things go smoothly. After all, one could not outright reject an invitation from a cultivator.
Moreover, there was no downside to this. On the contrary, joining a faction like the Gold Word Workshop could provide him with some protection. However, learning that he had attracted the attention of the boss, he couldn't help but become suspicious and decided to probe the situation.
"I'm grateful for the Immortal Master's attention, but as a humble Innate warrior who is new to the place and unfamiliar with its rules, I wonder what kind of tasks would be expected of me if I join the Gold Word Workshop?"
The robust Cultivator shook his head and laughed, "I am only responsible for inviting you. The specifics of your duties and benefits in the Gold Word Workshop will be discussed with you by someone else.
Rest assured, however, that you are highly regarded by our boss. Your position and benefits will undoubtedly be excellent."
Chen Dengming breathed a sigh of relief, "I see...Thank you, Immortal Master…"
After a while, as he watched the solid figure of the Cultivator leave, and glanced at the spirit stone that Xu Wei had delivered to him, Chen Dengming was lost in thought.
The cultivator's personal invitation indeed extended great sincerity and respect towards him.
However, the sense of superiority the cultivator exuded over mortals was still plainly clear.
Throughout their conversation, the cultivator kept a street's distance between them, seemingly polite yet seemingly only completing a task assigned by the Workshop Master. Even the spirit stone intended as a token of meeting was delivered by Xu Wei in his stead.
As if personally giving the item would defile his hands or diminish his status.
"Congratulations Mr. Chen.... you have gained the favor of the Workshop Master today, and may eventually find hope in the road of Immortality."
At this moment, Xu Wei once again congratulated him with a smile, gazing fervently at Chen Dengming as he gracefully approached, her fragrance permeating the air.
Chen Dengming took a step back into his house and shook his head. "Sister Xu, both of us are loose cultivators without any substantial backing, you surely understand how difficult it is for people with our spiritual roots to tread the path of immortality."
Xu Wei paused, managed a weak smile despite her unhealthy pallor, and replied, "Even though it's difficult, it's the only chance we have to change our destinies. At least we still have spiritual roots, don't we? So many people here in the gathering place are still persisting."
"You're right," Chen Dengming nodded.
Indeed, everyone in the gathering place, except those entirely devoid of spiritual roots, all dreamt of embarking on the journey of cultivation to change their mortal destiny and ascend to the status of cultivator.
Perhaps it's this very condescension by cultivators toward mortals that impels these people with inferior spiritual roots to risk the difficulties and set foot on the path of cultivation.
Just like scholars from humble origins, their determination to read and change their lives is unwavering, even in poverty.
Chen Dengming glanced at the neighbours who were grinning at him from afar, then at Xu Wei's pale, sickly face devoid of color, nodded in acknowledgment, and closed the door.
Xu Wei looked dejectedly at the closed door, sighed softly - a self-pitying gesture - and retreated into her own house.
The World of True Cultivation is ruthless, she had seen it firsthand. Because of this, she felt tired and had been entertaining the thought of finding a strong shoulder to lean on and someone to share her life with.
Over a month ago, when Chen Dengming moved in as her neighbor, his origin and overall circumstances were satisfying and heart-stirring to her, so she initiated contact several times and even subtly revealed her feelings.
Unfortunately, the distance between her and Chen Dengming, like the closed door, was so near yet so far.
Now, with him gaining the favor of the Workshop Master, that distance seemed to become even greater, making her feel ashamed of her own condition.
...
At this moment, Chen Dengming paced around his room, studying the lower-grade spirit stone in his hand, his eyes filled with doubt, contemplation, and caution.
A spirit stone; he wasn't a cultivator yet and he simply couldn't use it.
His innate true qi was also incapable of drawing out the spiritual energy from within the spirit stone.
Therefore, this item was nothing more than currency to him now, or an unusual stone gu used to trap the spirit of humans.
Gold Word Workshop's Master had given him a lower-grade spirit stone, this was very generous. It clearly wasn't about the waist token that he held.
The waist token in his possession was an ordinary one given by the Luo Family.
There were hundreds of cultivators and other innate martial artists inside the city that held these waist tokens, all of whom had earned them by performing meritorious deeds for the Luo Family.
If there was anything peculiar, it would be that his waist token had been given by Fairy Luo personally.
Only this connection could have drawn the attention of a cultivator at the sixth level of the Qi Cultivation Stage.
However, this made him feel both a headache and caution.
Danger lies near the tiger!
A cultivator at the sixth level of the Qi Cultivation Stage was too powerful for him at his current state.
Even though he had once killed a cultivator at the second level of the Qi Cultivation Stage, Chen Dengming was aware of his limitations. He was far from being able to deal with a cultivator at the sixth level.
No matter whether the cultivator's goodwill was genuine, he didn't want to get too close to such people for now. He simply wanted to cultivate and lay low.
"I thought I could avoid minor troubles by leveraging this, but it seems to have attracted a crocodile. It seems I'll have to be more cautious when leveraging in the future... After all, all this unease stems from insufficient strength. I need to cultivate into the Qi Cultivation Stage immediately.
Also, I need to find time to search for materials to refine the Golden Silkworm Gu.
Once the Golden Silkworm Gu has been refined, my safety net would be even stronger."
Although Chen Dengming sighed, he didn't regret it.
The Master of the Gold Word Workshop had shown goodwill towards him, which meant that he was very wary of Fairy Luo. His leveraging strategy had been successful.
Moreover, the cultivator he had killed was from Gold Word Workshop. With Gold Word Workshop's Master now courting him, it appeared the hazard from that affair was now in the past.
However, he felt more urgent.
Placing the spirit stone on the table, determination filled Chen Dengming's eyes.
He had decided to practice the "Life-Shortening Cultivation Enhancement Skill" to immediately enhance his spiritual root quality.
Once his spiritual root quality improves from low-grade to mid-grade, his cultivation speed will increase tenfold.
While it was estimated to take over nine hundred days for him to reach the first level of Qi Cultivation in his current condition, after improving his spiritual root quality it would take only a little over ninety days...