Vampire Progenitor of the Immortal World

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: The First Expense

Ethan left the hidden market shortly before sunset. The Evergreen Breath Method rested securely inside his bag. The excitement he had felt after purchasing it had already begun to fade. In its place came a more practical concern.

He needed somewhere to sleep. The hidden market itself wasn’t a place where people lingered without purpose. Most visitors arrived, handled their business, and left. The deeper he walked through the area, the more obvious that became.

Some traders were already packing their goods. Others were counting coins. A few cultivators moved through the crowd without speaking to anyone. Nobody looked interested in offering free advice, or free lodging.

Ethan followed the narrow streets until he found a small boarding house attached to a tea shop. It wasn’t impressive. The wooden sign above the entrance was old. The paint had nearly faded away. But people were entering and leaving, which was good enough.

Inside, a middle-aged woman sat behind a counter. Ethan asked for the cheapest room available. The woman looked him up and down before quoting a price. Three copper coins per night, five if he wanted meals included. Ethan did some quick calculations. A room alone would allow him to stretch his remaining money further. Food could be solved separately.

"I’ll take the room."

The woman nodded and handed him a wooden key, and called a helper to show him his room.

The room itself was small. A bed, a chair and narrow window. Nothing else. He had slept in worse places.

After setting down his bag, he finally removed the Evergreen Breath Method and placed it on the table. For a moment he simply stared at it. Five silver ; months of savings.

The manual looked no different from when it had sat on the old woman’s stall. Yet everything felt different now. Maybe it was because now it belonged’s to him.

Ethan sat down and opened the first page. The introduction was shorter than he expected. There were no grand promises. No stories about becoming immortal. No claims about invincible strength. Instead, the manual described cultivation in surprisingly simple terms.

The human body was compared to a container. Qi was compared to flowing water. A weak container could not hold water, a damaged container would leak while a broken container would shatter. Before a cultivator could store Qi, the body first needed to be prepared.

Body Tempering.

Ethan nodded slowly. That matched what he had suspected. The next several pages explained the process. Body Tempering was not about storing Qi. It was about allowing Qi to pass through muscles, bones, and organs repeatedly.

The body adapted over time.

Slowly.

Painfully.

The stronger the body became, the more Qi it could eventually handle. Ethan continued reading. Hours passed. Outside, the sounds of the street gradually faded. By the time he reached the section discussing resources, darkness had already settled outside.

He stopped.

Then read the passage again. Not because it was difficult. Because it was important. The manual explained that Body Tempering could be practiced without external resources. Many people did exactly that. However, proper nutrition and recovery materials greatly improved progress. Several examples were listed.

Body Nourishing Broth.

Mountain Root Powder.

Vitality Grass.

Ethan paused at the final name. Vitality Grass. The description was brief ; Silver-colored leaves, often dried before use and common among beginner cultivators. Used to improve recovery after tempering sessions.

A memory surfaced immediately. The merchant carts near Stonebridge. The bundles of pale silver grass. At the time, he had paid little attention. Now the image returned clearly. So that was what it had been. Not treasure, nor was it some rare secret resource. Just a common cultivation herb.

The realization made him smile faintly. The world suddenly felt a little smaller. He continued reading. The manual didn’t describe Vitality Grass as necessary. Only useful. That was good. Because he had no intention of spending money he didn’t have.

When he finally finished the section, he leaned back in his chair. The situation was becoming clearer. Cultivation itself was not impossible. The manual had confirmed that. The real challenge was consistency.

Food.

Rest.

Resources.

Time.

All of them required money. His gaze drifted toward the small pouch sitting beside the manual. He opened it. The remaining coins looked far less impressive than they once had.

One silver.

Several copper.

Enough to survive for a while. Not enough to remain comfortable. And certainly not enough to support cultivation indefinitely.

Ethan’s thoughts drifted briefly toward the entrance examination. For the first time, he understood one of the advantages of joining a sect. A disciple might still have to work and compete for resources, but the foundation was already there. Manuals, guidance, and basic cultivation supplies were provided through the sect system.

They didn’t have to spend their savings simply to take the first step. Ethan shook his head and pushed the thought aside. Whether he liked it or not, that path was already closed. What mattered now was making the most of the one still open to him.

Ethan closed the pouch. Then opened his travel journal. The familiar pages greeted him. For the next hour, he wrote. Not observations about travelers. Not stories from the road.

Plans.

Expenses.

Questions.

Possibilities.

By the time he finished, one conclusion appeared repeatedly throughout the page ; He needed income.

Reliable income.

The next morning arrived quickly. After a simple breakfast purchased from a street vendor, Ethan returned to the market district. The notice board was exactly where he remembered it. Several new postings had appeared overnight. Others had already disappeared. People crowded around it.

Most glanced at the jobs and moved on. A few copied details onto scraps of paper. Ethan took his time. The first job involved transporting goods between two villages. The payment was decent, the distance was not. The second required helping a merchant guard a shipment. The pay was higher, the risks were obvious. The third involved gathering herbs outside town, dozens of names had already been written beneath it. Too much competition.

He continued reading. Package deliveries, messenger work, warehouse labor, simple errands. Nothing glamorous, nothing that would make him rich.

But they were opportunities. As he studied the board, a familiar realization returned. Every job offered more than money.

Each one offered information ; Routes, locations, people, as well as knowledge too. The sort of details most workers ignored. Ethan did not. His eyes eventually settled on a small notice near the bottom of the board.

Unlike the others, it was carefully written. The reward was modest, the task seemed simple. Yet something about it caught his attention.

He read the notice once.

Then again.

This time, he memorized every word. The decision wasn’t difficult. The notice offered more than a few copper coins; it pointed toward exactly the kind of opportunity Ethan had been hoping to find. Without hesitation, he reached for the registration brush hanging beside the board and wrote his name beneath the notice.

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