Chapter 5
“Is this what cultivation looks like? With her foundation destroyed and her spiritual root gone, can she still cultivate?” Chen Huai'an pressed his hand on Li Qingran's shoulder, showing respect by choosing a neutral spot rather than something more awkward.
【Status: Cultivating】
【Cultivation Progress: 39/99】
So, does this mean she needs to accumulate spiritual energy to 99 to advance to the second level of Qi training?
Chen Huai'an speculated quietly, oblivious to the faint blush creeping up Li Qingran's ears.
He watched her cultivate for half an hour.
Yet, her cultivation progress didn’t just stagnate; it dropped a notch to 38.
The girl in the screen frowned, her pale lips slightly downturned, evoking a sense of pity.
“She must feel the spiritual energy retreating instead of advancing…”
Chen Huai'an began searching for buttons, hoping to find a way to help Li Qingran speed up her cultivation.
And with all her injuries, leaving her like this would only make things worse.
After rummaging for a while, he couldn’t find any options to heal her. There was an electronic girlfriend shop that was still locked, but he finally discovered something that might help Li Qingran in a formation icon in the upper right corner.
【Beginner Spirit Gathering Array: Watch an ad to unlock for one hour】
【Intermediate Spirit Gathering Array: Watch an ad to unlock for ten minutes】
【Advanced Spirit Gathering Array: 188¥ for one hour, ad viewing required.
Besides the Spirit Gathering Arrays, there was a whole line of various formations below.
For instance, there were arrays for concealment, the Xuanjia Array, and the impressive-sounding Zhuxian Array. Some of these formations required payment, while others had various rare conditions, many of which he couldn’t even understand.
For example, one of the top-tier formations, the "Shifang Blood Slaughter Array," required gathering twelve low-grade spiritual weapons and a bunch of complex materials to activate. The key question was, where would he find those materials? Buy them? Get them as a game reward? Or would Li Qingran have to search for them, just like in the game "Traveling Frog"?
“Another discount! And it’s Crazy Thursday?” Chen Huai'an gritted his teeth.
Tomorrow, the advanced Spirit Gathering Array would revert to its original price, making it unwise to wait.
You either take the plunge or miss out.
Damn it!
He charged 1888¥, and Chen Huai'an slumped back, feeling an inexplicable emptiness wash over him. But it was just a fleeting moment; he didn’t have many days left to live, so he might as well enjoy himself. As long as it provided him with emotional value, making him feel like a vibrant life rather than a half-buried corpse, what did it matter if he went broke?
From now on, the advanced Spirit Gathering Array would run for ten hours, just until midnight.
Since Li Qingran wanted to cultivate, he would give her everything!
But first, he had to watch an ad.
【Heaven’s way is ruthless, treating all beings as mere fodder. As cultivators traversing the world, how can we defy fate without a trusty weapon? Gather Treasure Pavilion’s spiritual weapons, a top brand in weaponry, is having a promotion in the cultivation world. Click the link below to receive a heavenly subsidy for up to 25% off! When buying weapons, trust Gather Treasure Pavilion!】
Chen Huai'an: “…”
…
“Ugh, another failure.”
In the room, Li Qingran sighed in despair.
Her cultivation was crippled, her foundation damaged, and with her spiritual root gone, even mastering the cultivation method wouldn’t allow her to progress smoothly. The spiritual energy within her was continuously dwindling; no matter how hard she tried to cultivate, it was merely a delay.
Moreover, she was practicing the unique technique of Chixiao Peak, the Chiyun Jue.
In the entire Qingyun Sect, the Chiyun Jue was considered a relatively fast cultivation method among low-grade Xuan-tier techniques, a lower version of the high-grade Xuan-tier technique, Chixiao Gong. If even the Chiyun Jue couldn’t restore her spiritual energy, her only option was to rely on the Spirit Gathering Array.
She was quite skilled at setting up Spirit Gathering Arrays. Three years ago, her fourth senior brother, Zhang Hanxiao, had helped her with one during a sect mission, and since then, she had been giving him half of her spiritual stone share each month to set up the array, becoming quite proficient over time.
The Spirit Gathering Array required a large number of spiritual stones; the beginner array needed at least a hundred low-grade spiritual stones.
The intermediate array required five hundred mid-grade spiritual stones or fifty high-grade ones.
And the advanced array required spiritual crystals, which were typically only affordable for elders and sect leaders.
But now, she didn’t even have spiritual stones, let alone spiritual scraps.
Just then—
“Thud—!”
Something fell to the ground.
Li Qingran focused her gaze and couldn’t help but widen her eyes, her mouth forming an O shape.
What had dropped was actually ten spiritual crystals!
Translucent blue crystals, the size of a baby’s fist, radiating a rich wave of spiritual energy—she couldn’t be mistaken.
The spiritual crystals that Qingxuan Daoist usually used were just tossed on the ground!
Senior, you’re wasting precious resources!
Following that, eight flags radiating a faint golden light fell from the air, all of them the highest quality immortal-grade flags, capable of maximizing the efficiency of array materials without wasting a single bit.
The eight flags seemed to be manipulated by an invisible hand, surrounding her.
In no time, they formed an advanced Spirit Gathering Array.
Buzz—!
The moment the array activated, the spiritual energy from the crystals was instantly extracted, swirling around Li Qingran.
Under the array’s confinement, the concentration of spiritual energy increased, first producing a mist, then even transforming into droplets of spiritual liquid within the array. At this point, even without operating the Chiyun Jue, the spiritual energy rushed into Li Qingran’s body.
She needed a Spirit Gathering Array, and the senior had truly provided her with one.
And it was the best kind.
Li Qingran felt a wave of emotion, her eyes stinging with tears.
From the house, clothes, and food to the thunderfire talismans and the advanced Spirit Gathering Array, the gifts from the senior far exceeded her own worth.
She even wondered if the senior needed her to be a furnace, but even for that, such an investment was unnecessary. Just ten spiritual crystals could easily buy several foundation female cultivators willing to serve as furnaces.
She realized this might truly be her opportunity.
The senior might be one of those wandering superpowers.
To this day, they hadn’t shown themselves, asking for nothing in return, merely dropping a cause and accumulating merit.
The only way she could repay this senior was to cultivate diligently and not let their kindness go to waste.
“Rest assured, Senior, Qingran won’t disappoint you.”
Li Qingran wiped her eyes, took a deep breath, and settled back into meditation.
Every second within the advanced Spirit Gathering Array was precious.
She couldn’t waste the senior’s goodwill.
…
【Status: Cultivating】
【Cultivation Progress: 41/99】
【Current Affection Level: 20 (Respect) (Actively increasing affection may trigger small gifts)】
“Why does it still feel a bit slow?” Chen Huai'an scratched his head, staring at the screen for another ten minutes.
With nothing else to do, he poked Li Qingran’s shoulder to check her cultivation progress.
In the end, he could only console himself that as long as the spiritual energy wasn’t retreating, what more could he ask for?
Seeing that Li Qingran would need a long time to continue cultivating, he figured nothing would happen during that period. Still, he moved the thunderfire talisman from the ceiling to the door, ensuring everything was secure before reluctantly putting his phone aside and opening his computer.
Previously, he hadn’t wanted to make money because he thought it was pointless; he was going to die anyway.
But now, his mindset had changed.
For this game, for the ‘data’ that brought a bit of color to his life, he needed to earn money.
In this internet age, and as a cancer patient, there was no easier way to make money than to expose himself to the public eye.
That’s right, he was going to start streaming.
But before that, he needed to prepare.
For instance, he needed to get a cancer certificate from the hospital and then shave his head to fake multiple rounds of chemotherapy.
No makeup was necessary; his current complexion clearly showed he was seriously ill.
As for the content of the stream, he had already thought it through when he opened the computer.
—Flipping fate the bird, smiling mockingly at death.
He was going to climb the slippery mountain, enduring the pain in his legs, as a bone cancer patient.
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Chapter 6 What?? There’s a Monthly Card?!
Qingyun Sect, Chixiao Peak.
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