Chapter 299: Spent Spiritual Coins Accompany You in Another Way

Chapter 299: The Spent Spirit Coins Stayed by His Side in Another Way

As Zhang Yu browsed the various products on the platform, he couldn’t help but think to himself, “Fuji! Didn’t you tell me before that the immortals of the Ten Great Sects wanted to recruit more people to join the competition?”

“But now, not only are they cutting back on recruitment, they’re even stopping it altogether?”

Fuji sighed. “The immortals definitely want to make the competition for those climbing up from below more and more intense. To compete, people must exhaust themselves, drain their families, and sacrifice everything. Only then can the profits of the Ten Great Sects grow higher and higher, allowing them to sit comfortably atop the clouds.”

“Otherwise, you wouldn’t even have the chance to take the Foundation Establishment Qualification Exam.”

“But now, with the Ten Great Sects cutting back on recruitment more and more, it can only mean… the sect’s blessed realms might truly be overcrowded.”

Fuji pondered and said, “After establishing the current college entrance exam, university, and corporate systems, the Ten Great Sects recruit geniuses with exceptional talent in the immortal path every year. Among them, Golden Core cultivators can live for 400 years, Nascent Soul cultivators for nearly a thousand years, and if they break through further, cultivators at the Transformation Spirit and Refining Void stages can live even longer.”

“Thinking about it this way, the population within the sects is indeed growing far faster than it’s declining.”

“However, what Zhang Pianpian said about the Ten Great Sects stopping recruitment and dividing the world into two separate realms isn’t entirely accurate, in my opinion.”

“This should only be temporary.”

“Once a batch of people up there dies off, the Ten Great Sects will surely start expanding recruitment again.”

“But… that might take a hundred years, or even several hundred years?”

Fuji suddenly sighed with realization. “I understand now. This must be cyclical.”

“Periods of expansion in recruitment, followed by periods of contraction—all of this is related to the population changes within the Ten Great Sects.”

“But for the immortals, this might just be a brief fluctuation, a small ripple. For those beneath the sects, however, it spans several generations, dozens of generations, or even hundreds of generations.”

“And because of the sects’ recruitment cuts, the effects have trickled down to the corporate and university levels, and might eventually impact the entire Kunxu.”

Listening to Fuji’s deductions, Zhang Yu cursed inwardly, “What unfortunate timing to be born.”

He asked again, “So, there’s no way to cancel the ritual’s wish?”

“If I die when the time comes, I’m definitely taking you with me.”

Fuji chuckled helplessly. “If it were an ordinary wish, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but this one really can’t be undone. It’s all because you were so clever back then and personally laid out the plan to fulfill the wish.”

“Once the ritual acknowledged it and started operating, reaching this point, it’s long been beyond my ability to revoke.”

“This touches on the very nature of the ritual, the rules set by the Evil God Kings.”

Zhang Yu sighed inwardly, but he didn’t regret it. If he hadn’t had that stroke of inspiration back then and temporarily stalled Fuji’s wish, he probably wouldn’t even be here now.

At this point, whether it was the immortals or the Evil God Kings, none of them were within his power to influence.

“All I can do is focus on improving myself for now.”

Looking at the dazzling array of products in the network, Zhang Yu thought, “My cultivation speed for techniques is already astonishingly fast.”

“What I need most now is to further improve my foundational attributes.”

With this in mind, Zhang Yu began opening one product and service after another…

…

Half an hour later, the first item Zhang Yu purchased arrived.

As the packaging box opened, a large case of glowing jade coins appeared before Zhang Yu.

These jade coins were shaped like round coins, with a jade-green color and fibrous textures on their surfaces. They contained faint traces of spiritual energy—these were the low-grade spirit stones Zhang Yu had purchased.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Low-grade spirit stones, mid-grade spirit stones, high-grade spirit stones… These were once used as currency in Kunxu. But if you tried to pay with these things now, you’d probably get cursed out and have your payment refused.”

Long before the advent of Spirit Coins for online payments, Kunxu’s monetary system had evolved several times. Spirit stones had long been phased out as currency.

Later, due to the spiritual energy they contained, mid-grade and low-grade spirit stones were repurposed as resources for immortal cultivation, while high-grade spirit stones held both cultivation value and collectible value.

But as the Spirit Realm network grew more advanced, and with the continuous development of formations, spiritual energy pathways, and various facilities in buildings, spiritual energy was channeled into dormitories and connected to every household. As a result, mid-grade and low-grade spirit stones became even less commonly used.

“However, as the price of spirit stones dropped, there were naturally some bargain hunters who, despite the hassle, preferred to buy spirit stones to absorb spiritual energy for cultivation.”

Zhang Yu mused, “But because there were always poor people buying them, the price of spirit stones gradually stabilized within a certain range.”

With this thought, he picked up a low-grade spirit stone and swallowed it whole.

As the Primordial Embryonic Breathing Technique circulated, strands of spiritual energy were directly extracted from the spirit stone, merging into Zhang Yu’s mana cycle and being refined bit by bit into his own mana.

The reason Zhang Yu purchased low-grade spirit stones was naturally to improve his efficiency in absorbing spiritual energy, allowing him to refine more mana each day.

After all, he had classes during the day and worked on construction sites at night, leaving him very little time to absorb spiritual energy in his dormitory.

He had seen products like spiritual energy formation stones, which, when held, acted as a formation node, allowing the user to enjoy spiritual energy infusion no matter where they went within the university city.

But doing so was expensive on one hand, and on the other, it would allow others to track his monthly spiritual energy absorption.

So, after searching around, Zhang Yu chose to swallow low-grade spirit stones.

Now, he swallowed ten low-grade spirit stones in one go and felt as if they had turned into a small furnace in his stomach, continuously releasing spiritual energy to help him increase his mana.

With each expansion and contraction of his Dantian spiritual root, combined with the Primordial Embryonic Breathing Technique’s voracious absorption of the spiritual energy, Zhang Yu felt a wave of exhilaration.

He continued swallowing spirit stones, increasing from ten to fifteen, and finally up to twenty-three, before he felt that the release and absorption of spiritual energy had reached a limit. It was as if a small spiritual vein had grown in his stomach. “Absorbing spiritual energy from twenty-three spirit stones simultaneously—this is my current maximum efficiency in breathing and refining.”

“Cultivating like this every day by swallowing spirit stones will allow me to improve my absorption efficiency even during classes and work.”

“But cultivating like this… although slightly cheaper than carrying a spiritual energy formation stone and enjoying constant spiritual energy infusion, it still costs quite a bit each month.”

Zhang Yu calculated that cultivating like this every day would cost approximately 0.48 Spirit Coins per month.

However, thinking about the number of people entering the Ten Great Sects, Zhang Yu understood that this expense was only the beginning.

…

In the service area of the Dao Arts Department.

Zhang Yu sat cross-legged on a cushion, surrounded by flashes of lightning that continuously struck his body, stimulating the spiritual root in his Dantian, increasing its fusion rate, and enhancing his five senses…

The Dao Arts student casting the lightning technique asked, “How does it feel, Zhang?”

Zhang Yu replied solemnly, “Increase the intensity a bit more.”

The other smiled. “Sure thing.”

“Zhang, have you signed up for a membership card?”

“For Dao Arts enhancements like the Divine Thunder Wave, it’s best to do it three times a week, for at least half an hour each time.”

“Signing up now gives you a thirty percent discount…”

Zhang Yu asked, “How much does it cost to sign up?”

The other replied with a smile, “Just 1 Spirit Coin. Even if you don’t use up all the Divine Thunder Wave sessions, you can try other Dao Arts services…”

Zhang Yu’s account balance: 9.45 Spirit Coins

…

On the teaching floor of the Artifact Refining Department.

Yun Jing brought a jade box to Zhang Yu.

After Zhang Yu helped Yun Jing drive away a classmate last time, the two had stayed in touch.

This time, Zhang Yu sought him out to see if he could get a discount and save some money.

Yun Jing said, “This is the cultivation-type magical artifact you wanted—the Nine Prisons Mountain-Suppressing Belt.”

"Once worn, it can channel the earth's vital energy to nourish your body. As a harmless form of energy, earth's vital energy acts as a lubricant between the flesh and magical power, enhancing the efficiency of using magic to fortify your body."

"Additionally, through the earth's vital energy, the Nine Prisons Mountain-Suppressing Belt can impose up to 50 times the normal gravity on you, helping to temper your body and unlock its latent potential."

"For many wealthy individuals, such cultivation artifacts, or cultivation skeletal tools, are essential for body refinement."

Zhang Yu understood that body refinement during the Foundation Establishment stage relied on the support of magical power.

Especially as the fusion rate of the spiritual root increased, the spiritual root and meridians spread throughout the body, gradually integrating flesh and magical power. A cultivator's body was no longer merely flesh and blood but evolved into a transcendent form.

The Nine Prisons Mountain-Suppressing Belt before him could enhance the efficiency of magical power fortifying the body, thereby improving the effects of body refinement.

It could also further temper the body through additional gravity, pushing the cultivator to unlock their potential.

Zhang Yu opened the jade box, looked at the belt inside, and asked, "What's the price?"

Yun Jing replied, "This is a product developed by the department in collaboration with the company. The best discount I can offer you is 10% off, which comes to 1.35 spirit coins per month."

As Zhang Yu put on the belt, a clear female voice emanated from the Nine Prisons Mountain-Suppressing Belt: "Welcome to the Nine Prisons Mountain-Suppressing Belt. An unfamiliar user's Eye Skeleton has been detected. Please agree to connect."

In Zhang Yu's Eye Skeleton view, a notification popped up. With a tap to agree, a small belt tag appeared in his Eye Skeleton perspective.

When he opened the belt tag, the user interface of the Nine Prisons Mountain-Suppressing Belt unfolded before him.

"User registration not detected. Please complete new user registration before using this product."

After Zhang Yu completed the registration, another notification appeared.

"You have an unused coupon..."

Zhang Yu checked and found it was exactly the 10% off coupon Yun Jing had mentioned.

Moments later, as Zhang Yu focused his thoughts, streams of earth's vital energy surged from the belt into his body.

Nourished by this earth's vital energy, his entire flesh and blood seemed to undergo an inexplicable transformation, becoming smoother, more seamless, and more effective in receiving magical power fortification.

In Zhang Yu's Eye Skeleton view, there were also gravity options ranging from 1 to 50 times, along with modes like Running Mode, Load-Bearing Mode, Climbing Mode, and Custom Mode.

Through cyclic and localized adjustments of body gravity, the effects of body refinement could be further enhanced, allowing for targeted strengthening training.

Zhang Yu first experienced the 5x gravity mode, instantly feeling a heaviness throughout his body, with his internal organs beginning to sag.

After trying several different modes and testing the body refinement effects, Zhang Yu nodded. "This is the one."

Zhang Yu's account balance: 8.1 spirit coins.

Thanks to 'Coconut yeye' for the generous reward.

(End of Chapter)