Laying the Foundation

Bai Qianshuang lay sprawled on the bed, looking utterly listless. Dressed in a nightgown, her fair thighs shifted slightly as she pressed them against the blanket.

It seemed even immortals struggled with going from luxury to simplicity—especially after just having indulged in the nourishing embrace of spiritual energy.

Originally, she had prepared herself to absorb the meager traces of energy in this world to recover her strength, wondering if there was even a chance to break through to the next realm.

But who would’ve thought the thin, scattered spiritual energy around her would suddenly change—becoming dense and abundant? Before Bai Qianshuang could even savor it properly, it was gone.

If only she could get just one more taste…

She was already experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

"Crunch, crunch." Bai Qianshuang stretched her head over the edge of the bed, reaching for a nearby bag of snacks. Like a little hamster, she munched noisily on potato chips.

Being pampered by Ye Chuan had gradually made the young woman lazier, completely shedding her former demeanor as an immortal fairy.

But then, her chewing suddenly stopped.

Because she could feel it—the spiritual energy around her was thickening again, just like before. It surged forth endlessly, quickly filling the entire house.

"?!" Bai Qianshuang immediately stuffed the remaining chips into her mouth and sat up cross-legged, greedily absorbing the energy.

This time, to her delight, she realized the energy didn’t diminish as she absorbed it—not even a hint of weakening!

Channeling her cultivation technique, she pushed her innate Dao Body to its limits, all just to take in as much spiritual energy as possible.

She was about to reach her limit!

The night passed without a word—just pure absorption.

……

Ye Chuan woke up to find the world outside hazy, with a faint drizzle falling.

Sniffing the air, he caught the damp scent of rain. The window had been left open, and droplets struck the edges before sliding down the foggy glass, leaving clear trails of water behind.

What miserable weather.

Ye Chuan thought this as he glanced outside, then instinctively picked up his phone. Seeing that 5,000 yuan had been deposited into his account, he looked back out the window.

He loved rainy days.

Truly, when you were in a good mood, even the dreariest things seemed pleasant.

As usual, he tapped open the adventure tab. Today, he couldn’t even be bothered to actually play—he just hit the sweep function!

Why pay for a feature if you weren’t going to use it?

[You have used Adventure Sweep—]

[Sweep complete. You survived the first day. Items obtained: 4]

Ye Chuan blinked. This was the first time he’d made it past the second day, which surprised him.

He immediately opened his inventory, but his excitement quickly faded. The items were all trivial junk—not a single one could even be called a treasure.

However, one seemingly ancient jade pendant caught his eye.

[Item: Ancient Jade Pendant

Further appraisal available.]

[Appraisal cost: 1,000. Proceed?]

A thousand wasn’t exactly cheap.

Ye Chuan hesitated, but considering it might actually be valuable, he went ahead with the appraisal.

[Appraisal successful.]

[Item: Mysterious Jade Pendant

A mysterious soul appears to be slumbering within.]

[Cost to awaken: 200,000.]

A ring-bound grandpa?

Ye Chuan fell silent at the price. Was this system obsessed with money? It gave him 5,000 daily, but it felt like it was just taking it all back.

Two hundred thousand was way too much—enough to make his heart ache. Even the Spirit Gathering Array at home hadn’t cost that much!

Whatever. He’d just leave it for now.

Ye Chuan decided to stash the pendant in his inventory and check on it later. Once he helped Wang Yanran capture the Ghost King, he’d get another payout.

His spending had been a bit excessive lately—he needed to rein it in.

Since it was still early, Ye Chuan checked on his tenants’ statuses.

After discovering the dense spiritual energy, Bai Qianshuang had remained in a meditative state all night, barely moving a muscle. Ye Chuan noticed she had fully recovered, returning to her peak Golden Core stage.

Was this the effect of her innate Dao Body?

Well, it was a legendary-grade constitution—replenishing her energy overnight wasn’t too strange.

Seeing Bai Qianshuang still deep in cultivation, Ye Chuan switched to Lan Xiaoke’s log.

[Lan Xiaoke played games for a while. Mood: Happy.]

[Lan Xiaoke binged some anime. Mood: Happy.]

[Lan Xiaoke read some doujinshi and played with herself.]

[Lan Xiaoke had a good time.]

[Lan Xiaoke played games for a while…]

Wait, did something weird just slip in there?

Seeing nothing unusual with Lan Xiaoke, Ye Chuan closed the tenant logs.

Then, his phone vibrated—

[Obtained an item related to Lan Xiaoke. Retrieve now?]

Oh?

Seeing that Lan Xiaoke had dropped something, Ye Chuan immediately opened his inventory to check.

[Item: Ghost-Calling Talisman

Use on any target to inflict 24 hours of eerie hallucinations. (Effect varies based on target’s strength.)]

Now this was an interesting little item.

Ye Chuan had expected something to boost his power, but it turned out to be more of an illusion-based offensive tool.

He’d keep it. Even small toys like this could come in handy.

[You have reached the Great Perfection stage of Qi Refining.]

Huh?

The sudden notification made Ye Chuan pause. Feeling the changes in his own spiritual energy, he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Wasn’t this supposed to take a few more days?

How had he reached Great Perfection already?

He quickly reviewed his status and realized the Spirit Gathering Array he’d bought last night had accelerated his cultivation speed.

His Chaos Immortal Body had spent the entire night devouring spiritual energy to temper his meridians, cutting down what should’ve taken five days to just one!

"Money well spent," Ye Chuan grinned.

In just a few days, he’d gone from an ordinary person to being on the verge of Foundation Establishment.

This investment was paying off way better than expected!

His mood instantly brightened. He’d spent the money to nurture his cash cow, but it looked like he was the one benefiting more.

[Foundation Establishment conditions met. Select method—]

[Heaven-grade Foundation Establishment: Requires Heaven-grade Foundation Establishment Pill (not owned, must be crafted). Upon success, grants one high-grade divine ability.]

[Earth-grade Foundation Establishment: Requires Earth-grade Foundation Establishment Pill (not owned, must be crafted). Upon success, grants one low-grade divine ability.]

[Mortal-grade Foundation Establishment: Conditions met. Can proceed immediately.]

Pill refining?

Ye Chuan’s lips twitched as he recalled the alchemy function he’d unlocked.

Seriously? So this was why they gave me the alchemy feature—they were setting me up!

He silently opened the alchemy tab and, sure enough, found the recipes for both Heaven-grade and Earth-grade Foundation Establishment Pills.

He tapped the Heaven-grade one first.

[No materials detected in inventory. Purchase ingredients for 288,888?]

Ye Chuan stared for a few seconds, then checked the Earth-grade version.

[No materials detected in inventory. Purchase ingredients for 88,888?]

Damn.

Maybe he should just go with Mortal-grade. Save where you can, spend where you must.