« Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter » Chapter 44: White Ant Queen Half a month later. Outside the mountain, the summer heat was sweltering, but inside the mountain, it remained cool. Accompanied by Bai Jing, Fu Shaoguang left the Demon Market . Soon, a gigantic earthen fortress came into view. It was the Ant Nest . Fu Shaoguang entered it, marveling at the sight. The Termite Demons truly deserved their reputation in the Demon Market for their construction skills. The Ant Nest stood tall like an earthen mound, magnificent on the outside, and even more intricate on the inside, with roads extending in all directions. Crisscrossing and dense with tunnels. Like a dense, sprawling network. Fu Shaoguang believed his memory was good and his sense of direction accurate; he could remember the path at first, but he quickly became disoriented. His head was spinning. He stuck closely behind Bai Jing. Perhaps only Termite Dem...
Achieving Immortality in a Cultivation World by Extraordinary Means: Chapter 10: Demon Academy
Chapter 10: Demon Academy
Stars dotted the velvet sky like scattered diamonds, and the moon hung full and round, casting a silver pallor over the mountain peaks. At the stroke of midnight, within the quiet sanctuary of the Ancient Pine Courtyard, a three-inch, semi-transparent Mayfly remained motionless. Fu Shaoguang was deep in meditation, absorbing the primal Qi of the night and concentrating every fiber of his being on his cultivation.
As the bright moonlight cascaded down, the Mayfly’s body seemed to catch and hold the lunar glow. His pure white form was enveloped in a halo of sacred, clear radiance, making him look less like an insect and more like a drifting shard of a fallen star. It was a beautiful, dreamy scene, resembling an ancient ink wash painting brought to life. The stillness only broke when Fu Shaoguang shifted his wings, the silver light rippling like water before vanishing. His cultivation session for the night was complete.
Sensing that he had successfully condensed a fresh thread of Magical Power within just seven days, Fu Shaoguang was filled with a quiet joy. His decision to settle in the Yushan Demon Market had been more than wise; it was life-changing. Without the constant, looming threat of natural predators and the exhausting struggle for basic survival, his mind had finally relaxed. In this state of peace, his cultivation yielded twice the results with half the effort.
In the small kitchen, the water was already steaming. He meticulously poured the hot water into a miniature wooden basin, adding a measured amount of Astragalus Powder and balancing the heat with cool water until it was just right. Once the temperature was perfect, he dipped his six delicate legs into the infusion. As he soaked, feeling the warmth seep into his tiny joints, his thoughts began to churn over the practicalities of his future.
He was well aware of his current limitations. He lacked specialized skills: he couldn't gather nectar to brew medicinal honey, he couldn't spin silk to weave enchanted cloth, and he certainly couldn't grow crops. Furthermore, his inability to speak the Human tongue was a massive barrier to finding lucrative work. He was too fragile for heavy labor—which would only damage his lifespan and contradict his Dao of Health Preservation—but Heaven always leaves a path for the resourceful. By selling toxic roots like the Thunder God Vine, he had already saved one hundred copper coins. He had even started a regimen of wolfberries, red dates, and astragalus to nourish his constitution. His life was stabilizing, but he knew he needed more.
To truly extend his life beyond the natural limits of his species, he formulated four primary goals:
First: Improve his Cultivation Base—the foundation of all power.
Second: Purchase Hundred-Tongue Grass. This rare specialty of the Demon Market would allow him to speak Human and beast languages for a month without needing to refine his transverse bone.
Third: Achieve literacy and learn Spells. Within the written word lay the path to immortality and the secrets of the ancient Yao.
Fourth: Prepare supplies to survive the coming winter.
All of these goals required one thing: Money. Since he had already explored the surface of the market, it was time to invest in his education. Tomorrow, he would visit the most prestigious institution in the settlement.
Jinshu Street
Located to the west of the bustling commercial district, Jinshu Street was a place of relative quiet and scholarly focus. This area had grown around the Demon Academy, and its vendors specialized in the four treasures of the study—brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones—alongside various cultivation supplies. It reminded Fu Shaoguang of the school districts from his previous life.
The Demon Academy itself was an impressive sight, covering three acres with green bricks, black tiles, and elegant pavilions. It featured a lamp stand every three steps, each flickering with a faint green flame that cut through the darkness. Fu Shaoguang flapped his wings and flew into the Lecture Hall, securing a spot in the very front row. In this Academy, demons were taught not just literacy, but the common knowledge of the cultivation world and basic spells.
Every newcomer was granted one free day of lectures using their Identity Bamboo Token—a rare benefit of the market. After that, the price was steep: one hundred copper coins per month, or the contribution of a unique spell. As the moon rose higher, the hall filled with other students. After the bell chimed three times, a Magpie Demon flew in, transforming in a flash of light into a female demon with a human head and a bird’s body. Her voice was crisp and sweet as she began the lecture.
"The Human Race is born with wisdom," she began, her moist eyes sweeping over the class. "Our Demon race is different; we are born ignorant. We must first achieve Spiritual Enlightenment to break through the darkness." She spoke of the five methods of enlightenment and the unique advantages of Innate Spiritual Wisdom. She was an expert lecturer, reciting complex cultivation characteristics of Insects, Fish, Birds, and Beasts without a single note. Half an hour later, the bell rang, and she immediately reverted to her magpie form and flew off, leaving the students to process the profound knowledge.
Fu Shaoguang didn't waste a second. He flew straight to the Literacy Hall to grab another front-row seat. There, he spotted a few familiar faces: the young grandson of the Old Goat Demon and a Pink Spotted Piglet wearing a flower crown. The piglet appeared to be from a wealthy domestic family, as it was constantly snacking on high-quality apples and hazelnuts. When the piglet noticed Fu Shaoguang’s intense, hungry gaze, it huffed and turned its rear toward him, continuing its "eating broadcast" in private. "Serves you right," Fu Shaoguang thought as the piglet began to choke from eating too fast, only to be saved by a flask of honey water.
The bell rang again, and a bowl-sized Striped Golden Spider descended from the rafters on a silk thread. Her head transformed into a human woman’s, heavily made-up with fiery red lips. Her voice was as cold as a mountain spring: "The continuation of a race lies in its Legacy, and the weight of Legacy rests upon its written word. Ten thousand years ago, the Wise Ones created the Demon Script..."
She taught ten basic Demon Scripts, using vivid analogies to fix the meanings in their minds. When the class concluded, Fu Shaoguang moved to the final destination: the Humanities Hall, where the script of the Human Race was taught. He was joined by the goat and the pig, and as the bell rang, an Old Goat Demon dressed in a dignified Confucian robe walked in to begin the lesson.
Fu Shaoguang sharpened his focus. This was the key to the wider world.
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