Chapter 329 - 133: Cultivation Conundrum
After making a fortune, Ning Zheng pondered how to spend it.
A Qi Fortune Value of ten thousand a day should be put to use.
Especially, recently when going out, always running into his adoptive father gleefully robbing everywhere; not a pleasant situation!
It's likely that he's not the only one suffering.
All the major families of the neighboring Pingchang City, and even the Three Elements Realm Great Cultivators in the nearby region, are deeply troubled by his adoptive father!
No wonder the family forces in Pingchang City fear the Demon Cultivator from our manor.
For the Tribulation Cultivator truly lacks moral character!
The main tactic is disgusting; getting something for nothing!
Being a victim for only a few days now already feels unbearable, always chased back like a game of cat and mouse.
But his adoptive father has been operating here for over a century.
How do the new Three Elements Realm cultivators, the old Three Elements Realm cultivators in Pingchang City feel?
Each time they go out, they get harassed by his adoptive father.
They've all been caught, their Three Flowers plucked, severely damaged, feeling like death.
No wonder Pingchang City has repeatedly wanted to unite against Sword Casting Manor, it truly deserves it.
Moreover.
His adoptive father is at the third Divine Essence Realm of the Three Elements Realm, whereas he is merely at the first Essence Realm.
If they were to clash...
He feels it's not very promising.
He's indeed strong, but currently excels at fighting lower ranks, bullying weaklings.
Fighting two levels above relies on his Blank Attribute, normal attacks without having cultivated any Divine Techniques...
A bit precarious!
Ning Zheng is still quite self-aware.
He's originally just a small cultivator of the Three Elements Realm, and although now connected to higher tiers, it doesn't mean he can inflate himself and become presumptuous.
To put it in simple terms.
With all his hard work until now, he may just have resources comparable to a young Saint Child of a Great Sect.
Similar to the Saint Child's high-tier Guardian: Gao (maybe slightly higher than a typical Great Sect Saint Child.)
Similar to the Saint Child's cultivation resource quota: looted assets (maybe slightly more than a typical Great Sect Saint Child.)
Similar to the Saint Child's high-tier cultivator social circle: Divine Craftsman circle (maybe more than a Great Sect Saint Child, considering currently reaching the highest levels, achieving an audience with Heaven.)
After careful calculations, he realizes he's comparable to the resources of a Great Sect's Saint Child.
While those Saint Children are inheritors, potentially inheriting ancient Great Sects, Major Sects in the future.
Currently, Ning Zheng is, in fact, equal.
There's a Divine Craftsman's legacy...
It's just that this inherited power is far inferior to theirs.
They inherit countless city-wall ancestors, a huge residential area, various Pill Peaks, Artifact Peaks... these branches of the Mountain Gates, various treasure vaults and legacies.
And what does he inherit?
Three old ancestors, a small manor, a small-scale prison, a blacksmith shop, an Alchemy Room... a group of silly blacksmiths.
"I have a long way to go!"
Ning Zheng analyzed for a moment, realizing he cannot inflate himself.
To cause something's extinction, one must first cause its madness.
His eyes turned to his current Qi Fortune Value.
Even if it's only been a few days, he has accumulated over twenty thousand Qi Fortune Value, maybe he can try using a batch of Qi Fortune?
"After using it, I might be extremely lucky!"
"Perhaps I'd arrive at some wonder place in the nursery, enhance the conversion rate of 'photosynthesis' and rapidly elevate my soul realm?"
"Could this place be the Imperial Palace in the Capital City?"
"Or some ancient secret realm at night in the Capital City, like entering Yesterday's Forest, encountering that woman and child?"
According to the fortune habits of Qi Fortune Value, Ning Zheng feels this is quite possible.
Yesterday's Forest, Ning Zheng has been there before.
At that time, he became a potted flower on a little girl's windowsill; if not for a dog attracting attention, he might have been in danger.
But such bigwig secret realms surely hold good stuff.
It was just that the luck was not enough during that visit...
Ning Zheng contemplated:
"I can try spending 20,000 Qi Fortune Value... to see where the Three Flowers grow, what fortuitous encounters there might be."
However, first he must deal with his adoptive father!
For his adoptive father might counteract some of his luck.
For example, if he spent 20,000 Qi Fortune Value, two thousand of it could be spent offsetting the possibility of being caught by his adoptive father.
Ning Zheng previously has never been caught.
Because inherently, the Qi Fortune Value has 2350 points, offsetting the chance of being caught by his adoptive father.
Thus, offsetting then equates to only having a few hundred Qi Fortune Value points.
And afterward, as a flower in the nursery, that's when some perilous situations were encountered.
"I must release the little blacksmiths, they haven't visited the adoptive father for a long time."
Ning Zheng decided to let the little blacksmiths go find his adoptive father.
While the little blacksmiths help to delay, keeping his adoptive father occupied, he himself begins cultivation in the nursery.
With that thought, Ning Zheng transmitted a message to Jiucai Rong at the manor, instructing him to prepare tomorrow's homage to his adoptive father.
...
Sword Casting Manor.
The Sword Fairy tangled up on the bed was using a new token for communication, reporting various good news.
At the plaza, everyone called out loudly:
"What? A new token, official, super encrypted? We won't have to worry about being monitored anymore?"
"Wouldn't that make things much more convenient?"
"Hahaha, who can find our hideout now! No fear of door-to-door inspections anymore!"
"Wait, did we become the first recognized Sun Moon team? So cool, the Saint actually acknowledged us!"
"The Saint's order has come, it's here!"
Everyone listened to the Sword Fairy's stream of good news, filled with excitement.
The Saint's order arrived on schedule!
This thanks to their live broadcast and acting all aloof.
The manor's Ghost Moon, Ghost Sun, will hang high over Nine-State, overseeing the cities worldwide.
Someone immediately jumped out, it was the Food God: "Brothers, pick me, let me be the Artifact Spirit of the Sun and Moon, I'll advertise for our manor from the skies every day as I go to work!"
This group of guys, no one has figured out how to endure this wave of [Sun and Moon Casting] without being discovered, nor how to create the Sun and Moon...
Yet they're already thinking about being the Artifact Spirit themselves.
Focused on being carefree and unconcerned.
"Pick me, pick me, I'm up there, holding a Communication Token."
The Immortal Aunt suddenly jumped on a chair, shouting: "I'll give you updates daily, like a spy satellite!"
"In that case, pick me."
"Pick me."
The situation instantly turned into a "presidential" election, everyone shouting loudly.
"Me me me me!"
Shao Chaikun jumped out:
"If you pick me, at night I'll cross-dress as Fairy Chang'e, dancing on the moon, with shadows under the clear moon, like being in the human world."
"During the day, I'll cross-dress as Fairy Zixia, dancing on the colorful clouds... Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, turning the whole world into a bar with sun and moon chandeliers flashing seven colors, making every scholar a DJ, dancing around."
Everyone looked at him with weird expressions.
He seemed a bit terrifying, even shamelessly brimming with pride as if saying, "As long as you choose me, I'll live-stream in crossdress."
If the moon went up, wouldn't the entire Nine-State turn into a giant nightclub?
Graves everywhere, bosses from ancient tombs, wouldn't that be grave-dancing?
Thinking about it painted a horrifying picture.
They say the diversity of blacksmiths enriches the game world, now you can see why.
"Pick me."
At this time, Night Mad Cultivator walked out, his voice solemn and loud, resounding throughout the manor square:
"I'll turn the Sun and Moon into two huge round music players, playing videos for you in the sky every day with free website links and streaming various images."
"Let all beings engage in Nightly Frenzied Cultivation Sixth Body, add v for blockbuster ❥(^_-), that's my ninja way!"
Everyone: Ah!!!
They were all in shock.
With expressions like "where am I, who am I?"
What to do, we have a rogue among us, slipping in a video pirate.
Of course, all this nonsense is just for laughs, everyone knows these ridiculous proposals won't pass.
Would a Saint and the ministers do such things for you?
Even gather up small benches to watch videos together under the moonlight?
This isn't one of those peculiar worldview adult games.
But like a bunch of idiots that have drunk fake wine, they boasted more wildly.
Gathering together bragging, claiming that when they become the Sun and Moon, they'll accomplish something great for everyone!
As the Sun and Moon rain down coins from the sky, sending out magic coins...
Immortal cultivation is short, mechanical ascension, mechanical Sun and Moon made into planet-destroying cannons, super large weapons aimed at the ground.
Made into a new Manor Master launcher, sky prison, capturing a bunch of No-Life Female Ghosts and locking them in, with the Manor Master shooting from the sky wherever pointed.
Anyway, bragging isn't illegal, stepping out, the face you put on is your own!
That's the Sun and Moon!
Becoming such an existence, how terrifying?
Running for the Sun and Moon is just like some country's presidential election, where various benefits are promised during speeches, but once in office, see if they'll implement them.
A group of people started brainstorming and insanely boasting about their advantages, thinking up creative ideas while sorting through mounds of creatures on the square.
Some big spenders already started tossing money madly, hoping to become the Sun and Moon.
And Jiucai Rong felt quite troubled watching this joyous scene:
"What's with the skewed style of this group of guys?"
"Not yet figured out the specific crafting technique for the Sun and Moon, don't know if there's an Artifact Spirit or how to create it... yet already thinking about being the Sun and Moon."
How about they just ascend to the sky then.
Besides, we are just one of the competing teams.
Judging by these unreliable idiots, even if we pass the preliminaries, there's no guarantee we'll win the finals.
Strong contenders are aplenty!
After the group was done bragging for a while, they gradually calmed down and started discussing genuine matters.
"Do you think they met the Saint?"
Jiucai Rong was shocked, silently noted the data, characteristics of the Saint, mural oppression, ancient starry sky.
These are all clues from the game developers!
Considering this game's detail orientation, passionate about realism, might've hidden the main plot line here, needing thorough deduction to unravel.
They understood from the Xu Huan incident.
This game is truly hardcore!
Back then, if they hadn't deduced Xu Huan might be alive and imprisoned, they couldn't have triggered the [True Ending], sending Gao to rescue.
So, details matter a lot.
Shao Chaikun listened to the Sword Fairy boasting on the other side, grinning cheekily:
"Jian Xin, Xu Huan, Jiao Wuyu, and some unknown incomplete flowers all entered the mural secret realm?"
"Envious, I want to dig the old Saint's ancestral tombs too, those must be super grand tombs." The Food God longed with eagerness, "Ancient treasures, grand feasts, dragon liver phoenix gall..."
"What's to be envious of, stop messing around, you fools would just get caught going in."
Jiucai Rong quipped:
"Those are high-level NPC dungeon realms, likely displayed for us like an animated CG, chances may come later."
They were clearly aware of their strength and level.
As a middle-grade blacksmith junkie mingling among world-shaking experts, they first thought about crafting weapons amidst the chaos.
"What do you think we should do..." The Sword Fairy looked troubled: "This Sun and Moon, just went all out bragging, boasting with divine craftsmen about how amazing we are, better not get exposed!"
Like a group of elementary students mingling with the world's top scientists at a graduation design...
"What do you think?"
Jiucai Rong asked Nightly Frenzied Cultivation Sixth Body.
Night Mad Cultivator stopped his bragging, getting serious, furrowed his brows:
"This has to be carefully studied, overall strategy must rely on the Zhang family blacksmith's method of forging the Yin Yang Rice Flower Sword!"
Jiucai Rong nodded, great minds think alike: "I think so too, persuading divine craftsmen joining the team to work, we collaborate."
They do 99% of the work, we do 1%, that's still a collaborative effort in forging!
It's not about having many techniques; one effective one can win them all.