Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 291 The Remaining Member Bonuses

Meanwhile, just as the disciples of the White Stone Immortal Sect were passionately discussing things by the Heavenly Pool, Zhang Chengdao, who had been delayed for a whole day, finally had his fill of the Cloud Soaring Technique.

He found a secluded corner where no one was around, sat down cross-legged, took a deep breath, and prepared to start drawing the remaining membership red envelopes.

During the day, because I was testing the Cloud Leap technique, I only drew one and couldn't wait to try it out. There are still 29 red envelopes lying safely in my backpack.

This is the limit he can save. Every time he sees the number of member red envelopes, he gets itchy and can't wait to open them all. He has great self-control to be able to wait this long. If he saves any more, he will be so eager that he will want to open them all and enjoy them.

As for characters like the protagonists in some novels who save up for a hundred or a thousand consecutive draws in order to guarantee a pity pull or a big win...

Zhang Chengdao knew he genuinely couldn't do it; only someone who had overcome drug addiction in a past life could possess such astonishing willpower!

"I couldn't help it, I just couldn't help it..."

While inwardly criticizing his own spineless nature, he rubbed his hands together and eagerly opened the second member red envelope.

A gray light flashed by, and a bunch of items appeared in the backpack compartment.

"Received 30 portions of [Beast Meat]".

Upon seeing the small print of the prompt, Zhang Chengdao's face immediately darkened.

One of the most useless materials, along with gray-quality ingredients like [Eggs], he's accumulated hundreds of portions of it in his inventory!

In the early days of the sect, when there were few people and no breeding industry, this thing could be used to make some food to feed the few hungry disciples.

But what about now? Several villages and counties surrounding the White Stone Immortal Sect have almost developed into professional breeding bases under his deliberate guidance and support!
Pigs, cows, sheep, chickens… he didn’t miss a single species. If it was available in the mall, Zhang Chengdao gritted his teeth and bought a pair of them, then used them to breed, and then distributed them to the surrounding villagers and farmers.

In this way, the sect no longer needs to spend a lot of manpower on breeding. The meat raw materials for the food academy can also be purchased from nearby villages, which is not only fresh but also can boost the GDP of the area around Baishi Mountain, giving the people an additional source of income. It can be said to be a win-win situation.

In short, for Zhang Chengdao now, [beast meat] is really useless, as the warehouse is almost overflowing with it. At most, it's just for convenience when he occasionally roasts meat to supplement his disciples' meals.

Zhang Chengdao sighed and then drew the second red envelope.

"Received 10 servings of [Kudzu Root Soup]".

Zhang Chengdao's face darkened further, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

If meat was merely "not very useful," then kudzu root soup could only be described as "completely useless."

Besides the fact that the planting area of ​​kudzu has expanded since the establishment of the Spirit Medicine Peak, resulting in a surplus that cannot be used or sold, the most important reason is that Zhang Chengdao's system inventory already contains thousands of servings of the finished product [Kudzu Root Soup] that he has drawn!
The drop rate for this thing is frighteningly high! It and its unfortunate counterpart, [Dieda San], are like a stubborn skin disease, annoyingly appearing almost every time you draw it!

Even for people in this martial arts and cultivation world, [Kudzu Root Soup] is a miraculous medicine capable of "bringing the dead back to life and restoring flesh and bones," but the quantity it contains is simply outrageously large! So much so that Zhang Chengdao even started to repackage it and distribute it to his disciples as a perk!

"What a terrible planner... no, this crappy red envelope system has no planner at all, you can't even spend real money on it..."

Zhang Chengdao silently grumbled a few times to himself, trying hard to suppress the urge to curse. With a blank face and a "what's the use" attitude, he mechanically continued to draw red envelopes.

"Received 30 portions of [Beast Meat]".

"Received 10 pieces of [Shu Brocade]".

"Received 10 doses of [Traumatization Powder]".

Zhang Chengdao was silent for a moment, and really wanted to slap himself.

Speak of the devil, and he appears! And it's the cheapest of all, [Dieda San]!
Sometimes you just feel an urge to curse. This feeling of having high expectations but receiving a bunch of "garbage" is really a test of your mentality.

Just when he thought all 29 member red envelopes were just trendy, nonsensical junk, another red envelope was opened, and finally a patch of blue appeared in the flashing light effect.

It's a blue-quality item!

Zhang Chengdao's spirits lifted slightly, and he focused his attention on it.

It is a [red iron hammer].

It's slightly lower quality than the [Scaled Iron Hammer] I gave to Murong Ruyan after drawing it, but not by much. Overall, it's still a decent weapon, quite handy for smashing people. The problem is...

The fleeting joy that had just arisen in Zhang Chengdao instantly vanished, replaced by a blank expression as he thought:

Besides that brat Ruyan, who else would use such a heavy and clumsy giant hammer?!

After giving the cool, icy-cold [Red Iron Hammer] a good pat, Zhang Chengdao put it back in his backpack and continued drawing the remaining member red envelopes.

He drained all the remaining member red envelopes in one go, but there was nothing special inside, just a bunch of gray and green materials, which made Zhang Chengdao somewhat disappointed.

But thinking about it again, since we've already published a Red Flash version of "Cloud Soaring Technique," we can't be too greedy.

It seems that another treasure can be added to the [Pagoda].

The "Pagoda of Floating Pagoda" is the "Treasure Pavilion" within the sect.

Besides some green and blue-grade equipment and weapons, it also contains some replicas of red-grade cheat codes—replicas made using the updated cheat codes.

Each floor of the tower has a minimum cultivation level requirement, and in addition, a certain amount of sect contribution points must be reached to enter.

This wasn't because Zhang Chengdao intentionally set a threshold; rather, most of the Crimson Flash manuals have a minimum cultivation level.

If you force yourself to cultivate when you can't reach the required level, at best you'll be doing useless work, and at worst you'll suffer from qi deviation, which will actually affect your cultivation level!

As for the specific contribution points requirement... it's a precaution. What if someone exploits a bug to enter after the spiritual energy has fully recovered, just to cultivate their own sect's precious high-level techniques, without intending to make any contributions at all?
I did this kind of thing a lot when I was playing games, and there were even instances where I learned a skill and then wiped out the entire sect...

Ahem, don't get me wrong, he's definitely not a Paradox Interactive player!
In short, considering various factors, Zhang Chengdao specifically designed the current system of card cultivation realm and contribution points.

After drawing the red envelopes, it was still early and there was nothing urgent, so Zhang Chengdao got excited and ran towards the deep pit below Baishi Mountain.

Previously, during the Immortal Destiny Conference, that place was faked as a "trial world".

After the Immortal Destiny Conference ended, all the paper puppets and various building props were put away, and the bottom of the pit was once again dark and desolate.

However, this place appears to be barren and empty, but it was actually taken by Zhang Chengdao's collaborator He Yu (King Qin) to create an independent space as the "Yin Realm".

And the entrance connecting the two worlds is right here!
"In fact, this world was about to give birth to the so-called 'Yin Realm'. I only slightly pushed it to open up this space. Moreover, I cannot control this space for the time being; I can only guard the entrance."

According to He Yu's explanation, people in this world increasingly believe that after death, people go to the "underworld," that there is a "yin realm," and that people even have a very long "yin lifespan" after death...

All of this, in short, led to the creation of a "my imagination" power in this world, which gradually gave birth to a space that was yet to appear, namely the "underworld," based on the imaginations of countless people.

It is conceivable that as spiritual energy gradually recovers, sooner or later, this "space" that has not yet fully taken shape will completely appear and will completely become the "underworld" that people imagine.

Although He Yu's faith as the "King of Qin" was thriving, the spiritual energy in this world was scarce. He had only just come to his senses and his own cultivation was very limited. Even though he could create a small world before he accidentally entered this world, he could not do it now. He could only open a "door" in a small world space that was still growing, which was already a great effort.

So, back then, in the trial formation of the Immortal Destiny Assembly, that so-called "Netherworld"...

It really was He Yu and Zhang Chengdao who slowly pieced together the true underworld of this world!
The Gate of Hell and the Road to the Underworld were both named by Zhang Chengdao himself. The Forget-Me-Not Grass that Jiang Wanli needed at the Gate of Hell was also real—it grew naturally!
The forget-me-not has no seeds; it grows entirely on the nourishment of ghostly energy and yin energy.

Once the underworld was opened, wandering ghosts were attracted in. However, these souls were too weak to undergo any process such as interrogation, reincarnation, or drinking Meng Po's soup. They were simply drawn to the underworld naturally, wandered around, and eventually dissipated.

During this process, forget-me-not grass, commonly known as "ghost grass," also grows on the land of the underworld.

He Yu was initially very happy to meet Zhang Chengdao. Although the two were not from the same world, they were both cultivators. Moreover, strictly speaking, Zhang Chengdao had saved He Yu's life and helped him a great deal.

Therefore, after learning that Zhang Chengdao was a "genius" with a high cultivation level but not much knowledge of basic cultivation common sense, He Yu enthusiastically told Zhang Chengdao a lot, always with a kind expression as if looking at a junior.

But soon, because too many souls were wandering into the underworld, He Yu no longer had time to stay at the White Stone Immortal Sect.

He had to constantly chase after various wandering ghosts in the underworld, keeping them within a fixed area to prevent accidents—

At this stage, most of the souls are weak and won't cause any serious consequences, making them relatively easy to search. However, if left unattended, they will become more difficult to deal with as more and more souls gather later.

If something extremely yin and evil were to be born by then, it would be a real problem!
After all, once the cooperation was agreed upon with Zhang Chengdao, He Yu would be in charge of the entire underworld. If nothing unexpected happened, he would become the "King of Hell" in the future, and the underworld would be his territory. He would definitely manage it with extra care.

So, when Zhang Chengdao leisurely arrived on a cloud, He Yu was in a sorry state, directing two paper puppets to help drive away the wandering ghosts.

His wide sleeves were covered in mud, and his hair was disheveled. He no longer resembled the majestic clay sculpture in the Qin King Temple at all!

He made hand seals and chanted incantations. Several ancient bronze mirrors appeared to float in the air, each emitting a beam of light. The wandering spirits nearby seemed to be terrified of these beams of light and instinctively moved away.

One bronze mirror after another appeared in the air, forming a continuous line that enclosed a space in the middle. Inside, a dozen or so "ghosts" with blank expressions were crammed together. Their souls looked incomplete, and some were so weak that they seemed to be about to dissipate at any moment.

When Zhang Chengdao landed, He Yu was holding up a bronze mirror to illuminate two wandering souls in the distance. Every time the semi-transparent figures were hit by the beam of light from the bronze mirror, they would pause slightly. Only when they were driven closer and closer to the open space surrounded by other bronze mirrors did the two paper puppets take the opportunity to step forward and use the soul-binding rope to lure them in.

"Fellow Daoist, you've come at the perfect time!"

Upon seeing Zhang Chengdao, He Yu's eyes lit up immediately. Forgetting all formalities, he hurriedly shouted, "Quickly, help me stop that fleeing soul in the west! I really can't leave right now!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chengdao dared not delay. He looked to the west and indeed saw a bewildered old woman walking briskly with a cane, about to disappear into the distance.

Fearing that the magic might shatter the already fragile soul, Zhang Chengdao immediately threw out several bamboo fences to surround the soul in the distance—this should be considered the most "gentle" method.

"Well done!"

He Yu gave a casual praise and quickly manipulated the paper puppets to catch up, finally driving them back into the designated circle.

After finishing all this, He Yu breathed a sigh of relief and said with a wry smile, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Fellow Daoist Zhang. This underworld is newly opened and the laws are incomplete. These souls are adrift and have no support. Managing them is really exhausting."

"Fellow Daoist He, you're too kind."

Zhang Chengdao spoke casually, glancing around.

Looking into the distance, this newly opened space of the underworld seemed to have expanded even more than when I last visited.

However, in the hazy fog in the distance, many more shadowy souls could be vaguely seen wandering unconsciously, clearly indicating that He Yu's workload was indeed considerable.

Hundreds of souls were already trapped in the magic circle formed by He Yu using bronze mirrors nearby.

They were all quiet, neither noisy nor disruptive, just wandering aimlessly, with tiny specks of light constantly emanating from their edges, slowly dissipating and merging into the surrounding gray mist.

Sure enough, on the ground beneath their feet, there were scattered small flowers with azure leaves and yellow petals, which were the forget-me-nots.

Seeing how busy He Yu was, Zhang Chengdao couldn't help but sigh, "It seems that Fellow Daoist He has been working very hard these days."

"It's my duty, so it can't be called hard work."

He Yu waved his hand, but the weariness on his face was undeniable: "At this rate, I'm afraid that soon the speed at which souls gather here will exceed the speed at which they naturally dissipate. If there is no place for them to be placed in the cycle of reincarnation, I'm afraid unforeseen circumstances will arise, so we must make plans as soon as possible..."

(End of this chapter)