The Long Journey to Immortality

These kinds of tasks are always snapped up in the blink of an eye whenever they are posted.

This method worked quite well; the Zhengyi Sect gained some enlightened disciples who were willing to contribute to the sect, and the number of spirit stones distributed did not increase much.

After all, in the contribution point exchange tables of the inner and outer treasuries, there are always things that are more pleasing to a certain cultivator than spirit stones.

However, this is only a temporary measure.

With too many monks and too little porridge, even though each monastery posts several extra tasks every day to assign nearly a thousand disciples to earn contribution points, almost 95% of the disciples still do not benefit from it.

A month is fine; you can just endure it and it will pass. After taking a couple more pills, many people even broke through one or two minor bottlenecks, which made them happy for a while.

However, by the second month, apart from cultivators like Han Lu who valued pills more, and cultivators like Wen Erya who did not rely on supplies and had large families, most of the Qi Refining cultivators under the Zhengyi Sect inevitably developed some emotions.

When people are pushed to the limit, they start to think of solutions. The solutions provided by the sect are not enough to go around, and the righteous disciples at the Qi Refining level don't have enough influence to make the sect leader or the Supreme Elder change their minds.

These low-level cultivators naturally had to find other ways to increase their income and reduce their expenses, and make a living on their own.

All sorts of bizarre methods emerged, making the atmosphere in the sect lively and bustling.

All of this is somewhat related to Han Lu, who is not yet troubled by a lack of spirit stones.

Although Han Lu doesn't have much of a business sense, she understands the principle of buying low and selling high.

Having no shortage of spirit stones but needing pills, she took advantage of the temporary rise in the value of spirit stones and the temporary fall in the value of pills, spending five spirit stones to purchase fifteen Meridian Opening Pills from several fellow disciples for her cultivation and breakthrough.

With the aid of these potent medicinal pills, Han Lu's cultivation level has advanced by leaps and bounds in the past month.

The number of acupoints that have been opened in his body has increased from fifteen to thirty, improving his cultivation level at a rate of almost one acupoint every two days.

There have even been instances where, after a night of meditation, two acupoints were unexpectedly opened in succession.

Han Lu was quite surprised by this.

Since Xiaoyaozi had never practiced the "Great Zhou Tian Condensing Water Technique," he could not find a reason to explain this matter from his memories.

Perhaps it's because of the accumulation of knowledge and experience that led to this breakthrough.

Perhaps it was because the elixir complemented her hard work in cultivation.

Perhaps it's because of his exceptional talent.

Or perhaps it's because her body and the cultivation method are perfectly compatible.

Han Lu had no intention of investigating further; she only hoped that these wonderful days could continue.

If she were to purchase some more pills to aid her cultivation, according to Han Lu's calculations, in another month and a half, she would be able to open her first spiritual meridian, shed the somewhat unpleasant title of "Daoist Boy," and begin calling herself a cultivator.

After a long period of cultivation, Han Lu, who had already laid out a new spiritual energy channel to the thirty-first acupoint, was wondering whether she should stock up on more pills while the price of the Meridian Opening Pill was cheap, when a familiar figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

"What, Zhan Yujun?"

Han Lu always addressed Zhan Yuyun by her first name, not paying much attention to formalities or etiquette. Zhan Yuyun did the same to Han Lu.

"Han Lu, I need to talk to you," Zhan Yujun said, pointing to a courtyard not far away before Han Lu could even say "okay." "Come to my house and we'll talk in detail."

"What's the matter? Why are you being so mysterious?" Han Lu didn't refuse, she just asked casually.

"About earning spirit stones," Zhan Yujun gave a hint.

No one would complain about having too many spirit stones, and Han Lu, who owns the Dharma Seat and is a major consumer of spirit stones, is no exception.

So she didn't ask any more questions and simply followed Zhan Yujun into the small courtyard where she lived.

Although Zhan Yuyun did not become a disciple of a Golden Core cultivator, she was still a Qi Refining disciple belonging to the inner sect and had her own independent courtyard to live in.

Once inside, Zhan Yujun closed the door and immediately activated the soundproofing system.

Zhan Yuyun didn't intend to brew tea for Han Lu to discuss matters at length. After confirming that the restriction had been activated, Zhan Yuyun pointed to a table next to the main table, gesturing for Han Lu to sit down. She herself sat in another seat. "Han Lu, do you want to earn some spirit stones?"

Zhan Yujun asked the question again.

"Of course I want to, but I'm more interested in knowing what method you have to help me earn spirit stones," Han Lu thought to herself, "and why you would take the initiative to recruit me to earn spirit stones together."

Han Lu's question was not answered immediately.

Zhan Yujun asked again, "Telling you is fine, but you must promise that after you know this way of making money, even if you don't join the group, you won't reveal it."

"No problem." Han Lu mentally assured herself, using the nearly two thousand spirit stones in her storage bag as a guarantee.

Zhan Yujun trusted Han Lu's character.

After Han Lu agreed to the terms, she stopped being mysterious and revealed the whole way to make money.

"Haven't the sect had a slight problem with the monthly supply of spirit stones these past two months?" Zhan Yujun slowly explained the cause and effect of the matter.

“Coincidentally, I recently took a fancy to a magical artifact, one that I believe would enhance my strength and allow me to defeat you,” Zhan Yuyun said frankly to Han Lu, without any attempt to hide it. “Although I am an inner disciple and have some possessions, I don’t have any spirit stones on hand to acquire this artifact right now…”

Although she no longer harbored jealousy and resentment towards Han Lu as she did when she first joined the sect, Zhan Yujun, who considered herself a genius, still regarded Han Lu as her greatest rival during her cultivation in the Zhengyi Sect.

Hearing this, Han Lu realized that Zhan Yujun wasn't good at telling stories, so she quickly interrupted her and said everything she wanted to say, "So, you had to think of ways to earn spirit stones. It was out of necessity, not because you were greedy, right?"

Han Lu could completely guess Zhan Yujun's slightly aloof thoughts.

Zhan Yujun coughed and said in a low voice, "That's roughly the idea, but my reason for wanting to earn spirit stones is a little different from other cultivators, and I must make that clear."

"Yes, yes," Han Lu replied perfunctorily, trying to make Zhan Yujun, who cared about her reputation, stop dwelling on the matter and try her best to separate herself from those mediocre people who didn't get in. "Continue, continue."

After confirming that Han Lu did not regard her as an ordinary cultivator who was greedy for money, Zhan Yujun continued, "So I teamed up with a few fellow disciples with whom I could barely get along to search for low-level spirit beasts in the Zhengyi Mountains, thinking of capturing them and selling them within the sect."

"With the grand competition approaching, owning a good spirit beast can significantly enhance a cultivator's strength, so some spirit beasts with training value are selling very well."

Han Lu interjected again, "So, Zhan Yujun, you want me to go with you to catch spirit beasts?"

“Not entirely,” Zhan Yujun said, not taking Han Lu’s interruptions to heart. “If it were just about catching spirit beasts, why would I bother to drag you here to talk?”

"That makes sense." Han Lu thought about it and realized it was indeed true.

Selling spirit beasts is a business that takes place before the annual competitions, but it has become more popular this year due to the reduced supply of spirit stones. It's not a particularly rare way to make money.

"A couple of days ago, my friends and I returned empty-handed, but on the way back, I accidentally discovered traces of the raccoon demon."

"A raccoon demon?" Upon hearing this name, Han Lu quickly thought of the adorable pet that often appeared in the arms of high-level female cultivators.

“Yes, it’s a raccoon demon,” Zhan Yujun continued, “but it’s just footprints, and not very obvious. I didn’t make a fuss, and the others who were with me didn’t notice either.”

“I suspect there are a few wild raccoon demons living in that area,” Zhan Yujun said, her tone changing slightly. “If all goes well, we can catch anywhere from two to five raccoon demons there and sell them. We could probably earn more than ten spirit stones in just one morning.”

"What if one of these raccoon demons is cute and intelligent? We might be able to earn twenty or thirty spirit stones in one go."

"So, Han Lu, are you in?"

“That sounds good, a great idea to make money,” Han Lu commented first. “But why come to me instead of your other friends?”

“Isn’t it because cooperating with you means fewer people sharing the profits and we can earn more?” Zhan Yujun gave a very straightforward reason. “You are a disciple of a Golden Core cultivator, so you have special privileges. The two of us can leave the mountain gate together.”

Although newly initiated cultivators are not allowed to return home or travel far, they are permitted by the sect to move around in the relatively safe Zhengyi Mountain Range.

However, there are also requirements: the group must travel in groups of five, leave early and return late, and are not allowed to stay overnight.

Given the choice between five people sharing twenty spirit stones and two people sharing twenty spirit stones, Zhan Yujun decisively chose the latter.

"Special privileges?" Han Lu casually touched the hair hanging down by her ear, recalling the time she had gone out for cultivation a few months ago, which she had obtained by taking advantage of Yuan Fei's privileges.

Following that, Han Lu asked a few more questions. Only after learning that the place where the raccoon demon appeared was not too far from the mountain gate, and that it could definitely leave early and return late without violating the sect rules, did she give her answer.

"Okay, when do we leave?"

"Let's go through the formalities together this afternoon, and we'll set off after the intensive training tomorrow."

"What's the reason for going out? A Daoist boy and a Qi Refining Level 2 cultivator going out together, even if I am Elder Piaomiao's closed-door disciple, I can't leave this mountain gate."

In order to make money, Zhan Yujun's mind worked faster than usual. "How about we say we're going to the villages and markets down the mountain to buy herbs and daily necessities?"

“That’s a good idea,” Han Lu said. She didn’t think she was important enough to be followed and protected after leaving the mountain gate. “Then it’s settled. See you outside the inner warehouse this afternoon.”

"No, no, no," Zhan Yujun said, seeing Han Lu about to leave, she quickly stood up and grabbed Han Lu, "Han Lu, there's one more thing we haven't talked about yet."

"What's wrong?" Han Lu asked, puzzled.

"How should we split the money?" Zhan Yujun reminded him. "When you're working together, even if things are still in the early stages, it's necessary to clarify how you're going to split the money."

Even close sisters should keep clear accounts.

Looking at Zhan Yujun, who was beaming with excitement, Han Lu felt more and more that she was probably a money-grubber, which was why she could speak so eloquently despite being usually not very talkative.

Although she knew that Zhan Yujun most likely wouldn't try to cheat her when it came to dividing the money, Han Lu still respected Zhan Yujun's wishes and sat down again. "Then tell me, how should we divide the money? Let's discuss it."

Zhan Yujun's gaze lingered on Han Lu's face and clothes for a moment before she said, "How about this, let me analyze it first, so as not to damage our relationship over money."

"Hmm?" Han Lu raised an eyebrow.

"I provided information about the raccoon demon, didn't I?"

"Correct."

"You provided the identity of a Golden Core cultivator disciple, which allowed the two of us to go out together, right?"

"That's true."

"But in terms of importance, my information, my news, my intelligence are more important, right?"

"That's right, that's the principle."

"So," Zhan Yujun concluded, "if in the end, we sell all the Tanuki Demons and only make ten spirit stones or less, I'll give you six and you four."

"If we earn more than ten spirit stones, we'll split it fifty-fifty. What do you say?"

Noticing a loophole in the plan, Zhan Yujun added, "If there's any change, then we'll calculate it based on the price of three Meridian Opening Pills as one spirit stone. You should still have some Meridian Opening Pills on hand, right?"

"Yes, there are still several bottles left," Han Lu answered silently to herself.

The plan was reasonable and well-founded, and Han Lu had no objections whatsoever.

“Okay,” Han Lu stood up, patted Zhan Yujun on the shoulder, and said, “Zhan Yujun, I really want to introduce you to a friend. I think you and him are a match made in heaven.”

Looking at Zhan Yujun, Han Lu couldn't help but think of Long Qian, who was also skilled at dealing with spirit stone trading.

"Who?"

"We'll talk about it next time," Han Lu simply smiled, casually pushed open the door, and the restriction automatically dispelled. "See you this afternoon."

Zhan Yujun nodded, already imagining herself using the spirit stones she earned from selling the raccoon demon to buy that magical artifact and then triumphantly standing on the arena.

[Author's Note] Work has gotten busy.

Chapter Fifty-Two: Market Research, Borrowing Power, and Rewards