I Idle in the World of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 16: Foundation Establishment Layer 2
The night after handing over the Blood Essence Crystals and receiving the Greenwind Sword, Lin Luo returned to the Chores Hall. His phone buzzed.
He pulled it out.
[Idle Cultivation complete! Breakthrough successful!]
[Current cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 2]
A warm wave of spiritual energy rose from his dantian. Not as violent as previous breakthroughs – more like a rising tide, slowly filling every corner of his meridians. Lin Luo closed his eyes and felt it for a moment, then opened them and tapped his status panel.
[Character: Lin Luo (Main Account)]
[Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 2 ↑]
[Attack: 310 → 350 (+80 Greenwind Sword)]
[Defense: 650 (Nine Cycles Mystic Art, Second Cycle)]
[HP: 1500 → 1650]
[Spirit Stones: 850]
His defense from the Nine Cycles Mystic Art, Second Cycle hadn't changed – that was a separate boost from his physical body, unaffected by small cultivation increases. But his attack and HP had both gone up.
Lin Luo nodded with satisfaction and switched to Bone One's interface.
Bone One was crouched in a rock crevice at the entrance of the Demon Abyss second layer. His Shadow Cloak was wrapped tightly around him. Two green flames sat motionless in his eye sockets – he was waiting.
The Blood Clan Elder was not far away.
That Golden Core Layer 6 Blood Clan member stood beside the blood pool. His dark red robes billowed without wind. His face was as dark as the sky before a storm. His lair had been robbed twice. The Blood Soul Pearl was gone. Dozens of jars of essence blood were missing. Most of the Blood Essence Crystals had been dug up.
What made him even angrier was that he didn't even know who his opponent was.
First, a skeleton appeared. He smashed it. Then the skeleton appeared again. He smashed it again. Then it appeared again. Smashed. Again.
The Blood Clan Elder had lived eight hundred years, and he had never seen anything so annoying.
He now stood by the blood pool, waiting for that skeleton to appear a third time.
Bone One didn't move in the crevice.
Lin Luo didn't revive Bone One. He was waiting – waiting for the Elder to leave before reviving. No need to die for nothing. A line of text appeared on Bone One's interface: [Standing by… Auto-revive remaining: custom. Waiting for command.]
Lin Luo switched to Blood One's interface.
Blood One was crammed into a stone crevice beside the blood pool. His dark red robes blended almost perfectly with the dark red spirit stones around him. His aura was lowered to the minimum. He was too weak – a Qi Gathering Layer 4 Blood Clan member was less than an ant to a Golden Core Layer 6 Elder. An ant at least had some life force. With Blood One's meager cultivation, when the Elder's divine sense swept over him, he was just a stone on the wall – not worth a second look.
The Elder paced back and forth in the stone chamber. The dark red spirit stones under his feet cracked with each step.
He walked to the crevice where Blood One was hiding.
Blood One curled up at the deepest part of the crevice, not moving.
The Elder stopped.
Lin Luo's heart beat faster. His finger hovered over his phone screen, ready to switch and make Blood One run – though escaping from a Golden Core Layer 6 with Qi Gathering Layer 4 had a success rate of about zero.
The Elder looked down at the crevice.
His dark red pupils reflected a small, curled-up figure.
"…A clan member?"
The Elder frowned and reached his hand into the crevice.
Lin Luo's finger hovered over the "Revive Blood One" button – 1 Spirit Stone to revive, no loss if he died. If this Elder crushed Blood One with a slap, Blood One could revive at a different spawn point. Just a waste of 1 Spirit Stone.
But the Elder didn't slap.
He pulled Blood One out of the crevice like a kitten.
Blood One was only at Qi Gathering Layer 4. His body hadn't fully developed yet. He looked like a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy. His skin was pale and translucent. His lips were red as blood. His dark red eyes were full of "fear."
"What are you doing here?" The Elder's voice was low, unreadable.
Blood One opened his mouth and let out a hoarse sound: "…I don't know. I woke up here."
The Elder stared at Blood One for a long time.
"What's your name?"
"…Blood One."
The Elder was silent for a moment, then set Blood One back on the ground.
"Stay here. Don't wander off."
Blood One nodded and shrank back into the crevice.
The Elder turned back to the blood pool and continued his vigil, waiting for that skeleton that might or might not show up again.
Lin Luo let out a long breath. Blood One wasn't dead. Not only was he not dead, he had been "adopted" by the Blood Clan Elder. A Qi Gathering Layer 4 Blood Clan member now had a "temporary resident" identity in the Elder's lair.
As for what came next… would the Elder discover Blood One's secret? Would he use him as cannon fodder? Or, could Blood One one day land a critical blow on the Elder at a key moment?
No rush. Blood One was too weak now. He could just idle, absorb essence blood, and slowly grow stronger.
Lin Luo switched back to the main account. He was about to exit the game and go to sleep when he noticed a new icon on Rat One's interface.
[Treasure Sensing · Strong!]
[Direction: Directly below. Distance: about 50 meters. Strength: Extremely high!]
Lin Luo blinked. Directly below? Below the mine shaft floor?
He switched to Rat One's perspective. Rat One was in the middle of the mine shaft hall, his round gray body pressed to the ground, nose twitching as he sniffed the dirt, his little paws frantically digging.
Lin Luo controlled Rat One to dig down. The soil was loose. Rat One dug fast, and soon he had a pit half a meter deep.
But Rat One was too small. Digging was too slow.
Lin Luo switched back to the main account, got out of bed, put on his clothes, and quietly left the Chores Hall with the Greenwind Sword. The back mountain mine wasn't far. He reached it in less than fifteen minutes.
The spirit stones in the mine gave off a faint glow, lighting up the hall. Rat One was still frantically digging. When he saw Lin Luo come in, he squeaked twice and pointed a little paw at the bottom of the pit.
Lin Luo crouched down and dug at the dirt with his hands.
A thick wave of spiritual energy rose from underground, carrying a warm, heavy feeling. Not the cold energy of a spirit stone mine – something else. Denser. Older.
Lin Luo took the Greenwind Sword and dug a few times at the bottom of the pit. The soil loosened, revealing something underneath.
A layer of pale golden light shone through the dirt.
[Spirit Vein Fragment · Low-Grade]
[Description: The core fragment of a small spirit vein. Provides a steady, continuous output of spiritual energy. Suitable as a spiritual energy source for sect land. Extremely high value.]
Lin Luo stared at the words "extremely high value" for several seconds.
This wasn't something to sell off in one go. "Steady, continuous output of spiritual energy" – this was a goose that laid golden eggs.
Lin Luo took a deep breath and covered the dirt back up, pressing it firm. The Spirit Vein Fragment couldn't be taken out separately – it had to be moved as a whole. He didn't have the ability to do that now. He would need to wait until Bone One or Blood One was strong enough to help.
But he could at least hide this place for now.
Lin Luo controlled Rat One to run around the mine shaft hall, covering up the spiritual energy fluctuations from the fragment's location. Rat One's treasure sensing wasn't just for finding things – he had a talent for "concealing treasure aura." He didn't usually need it, but now he did.
Once everything was handled, Lin Luo put away the Greenwind Sword, walked out of the mine, and headed back to the Chores Hall.
Just as he reached the Chores Hall entrance, Ma Biao burst out of the courtyard, his face pale.
"Lin Luo! This time we're screwed!"
Lin Luo opened one eye and looked at him. "You're screwed. Your whole family's screwed. Tell me what's wrong."
Ma Biao caught his breath and pointed toward the mountain gate. "A bunch of cultivators have gathered outside the sect! They're all shouting for the sect to hand you over!"
"Any pretty girls?"
"Huh?"
"I asked if there are any pretty girls. If it's just a bunch of guys, I'm not going out."
Ma Biao's face looked like he had swallowed a toad. "Lin Luo! How can you ask about pretty girls at a time like this?!"
"Just answer the question."
"…There are a few female cultivators. But that's not the point!"
"So there are." Lin Luo nodded, stood up, and brushed the dust off his clothes. "Let's go see the excitement."
Ma Biao grabbed his arm. "Did you not hear what I said? They're saying you have to hand over the Realm-Breaking Talisman!"
Lin Luo's steps faltered.
The Realm-Breaking Talisman.
The day he took the talisman from the ninth floor of the Trial Tower, the whole Cangxuan Sect knew about it. People from the Sacred Ground knew. Qin Yun knew. The Sect Leader knew. Even the old man serving food in the dining hall knew – "That chores disciple cleared the ninth floor and took the treasure no one could take for three hundred years."
This wasn't a secret. It was semi-public news.
It wasn't surprising that the people outside knew the talisman was in his hands.
"Let's go," Lin Luo said. "Let's go see."
---
Outside the Cangxuan Sect's mountain gate, a dark crowd of thirty or forty people stood.
Lin Luo stood behind the gate and peeked out through a gap. These people didn't look like they were all together. There were rogue cultivators in robes, disciples from a few small sects, even a few people wearing Sacred Ground outfits. The ones at the front had decent cultivation – Spirit Eye Technique showed Foundation Establishment Layer 3, Layer 5, and at the very front, a Foundation Establishment Layer 8.
But the most eye-catching wasn't the Layer 8 cultivator.
It was a woman standing at the very front of the crowd.
She wore a light golden robe with a dark green silk sash at her waist. Her long hair was pinned up with a jade hairpin, revealing a face so delicate it was almost perfect. Her cultivation – Lin Luo's Spirit Eye Technique swept over her, but he couldn't see through it.
[Target cultivation: more than two major realms above host. Cannot detect.]
More than two major realms above Foundation Establishment. That meant at least late Golden Core – possibly even Nascent Soul.
Lin Luo frowned.
"Is she the one leading them?" he asked Ma Biao in a low voice.
Ma Biao nodded. "Her. I heard she's the acting branch president of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion in Suihuang City. Something like that. Her name is Liu Ruyan. Anyway, she's a big deal."
Myriad Treasures Pavilion. The biggest merchant association in the cultivation world, with branches in all five regions. An acting branch president was at least late Golden Core, and she definitely had guards with her.
Lin Luo didn't rush out. He pulled out his phone and checked Bone One's interface – Bone One was still idling on the Demon Abyss second layer. Too far to help.
Whatever. He'd see what they wanted first.
Lin Luo pushed open the mountain gate and walked out.
Thirty or forty pairs of eyes immediately locked onto him.
"That's him!"
"He's that chores disciple from the Cangxuan Sect?"
"He looks like he's only at Qi Refining Layer 1…"
"Qi Refining Layer 1? Then how did he get the Realm-Breaking Talisman?"
"I heard he cleared the ninth floor of the Trial Tower! Smashed a Golden Core Layer 1 statue!"
"Qi Refining Layer 1 smashed a Golden Core Layer 1 statue? Do you believe that?"
"I don't, but that's what happened."
Amid the chatter, the woman at the front stepped forward.
She stopped three steps away from Lin Luo and looked him up and down. Her light golden robe shimmered faintly in the sun. The dark green sash at her waist swayed gently in the breeze.
"You're Lin Luo?" Her voice wasn't loud, but it was clear.
"Yes."
"Myriad Treasures Pavilion, Liu Ruyan." She stated her name without arrogance or politeness – just stating a fact. "The Realm-Breaking Talisman is in your hand?"
"Yes."
"I represent the Myriad Treasures Pavilion. I'd like to make a deal with you." Liu Ruyan pulled a golden card from her sleeve. The card's edges were trimmed with fine silver wire, and two ancient characters were engraved in the center – "Myriad Treasures." "This is a VIP card of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion. Sell the talisman to us. Name your price. In addition, the Pavilion will owe you a favor."
The crowd went quiet.
A Myriad Treasures Pavilion VIP card. A favor from the Pavilion. These things couldn't be measured in Spirit Stones.
Lin Luo looked at the golden card in her hand and was silent for two seconds.
"Not for sale."
Liu Ruyan's eyebrow twitched slightly. "Do you know what a favor from the Myriad Treasures Pavilion means?"
"Yes," Lin Luo said. "But I'm still not selling."
"Why?"
"Because I still have use for the talisman."
Liu Ruyan stared at him for a few seconds, then put the golden card back in her sleeve.
"Fine. You won't sell, I won't force you." She turned and walked a few steps, then stopped. "But let me warn you – news of the talisman has already spread. Today it's me. Tomorrow it might be someone else. The Myriad Treasures Pavilion at least follows rules. Others might not."
She walked away.
The thirty or forty cultivators behind her exchanged glances. The Foundation Establishment Layer 8 cultivator at the front had a face like thunder – he had planned to use his higher cultivation to just take it, but since Liu Ruyan hadn't made a move, he didn't dare either.
"Let's go," the Layer 8 cultivator ground out. He turned and left.
The others followed.
In less than half the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the area outside the mountain gate was empty.
Lin Luo stood at the gate, watching the group's backs disappear into the distance.
He turned and walked back to the Chores Hall, closed the door, and placed the Greenwind Sword beside his pillow. He pulled out his phone. Bone One was still idling in the Demon Abyss. Blood One was still crammed in the crevice in the Blood Clan Elder's lair.
Everything as usual.
But Lin Luo knew that from today on, the news that "the Realm-Breaking Talisman is in Lin Luo's hands" would spread across the cultivation world like wildfire. Today it was the Myriad Treasures Pavilion. Tomorrow it might be the Sacred Ground. The day after, the Demon Sect. The day after that, some random rogue cultivator no one had ever heard of.
The trouble was just beginning.
---
Late that night, Lin Luo didn't sleep.
He took the Greenwind Sword and went alone to the Idle Sect's land – the abandoned mine shaft behind the Cangxuan Sect.
The mine was quiet. The faint glow of spirit stones lit up the hall. The Glow Mushrooms in the spirit field were growing well. Rat One was curled up in a nest of grass beside the field, fast asleep, his round gray body rising and falling gently.
Lin Luo didn't wake him. He walked through the hall and deeper into the mine.
This was his first time seriously exploring the Idle Sect's land. The mine was bigger than he had imagined. Besides the main hall and the spirit field, there were several branching tunnels leading in different directions. Some were narrow – he had to squeeze through sideways. Others were wide enough for three people to walk side by side.
Lin Luo walked down the widest tunnel. The runes on the Greenwind Sword gave off a faint light, illuminating the path ahead.
At the end of the tunnel was a natural stone chamber. It wasn't big, but it was dry, and the floor was flat – good for a training room. Lin Luo was about to turn back when he caught a figure in the corner of the chamber out of the corner of his eye.
He stopped.
Someone was there.
Not Rat One – Rat One was by the spirit field. Not Bone One – Bone One was in the Demon Abyss. Not Blood One – Blood One was in the Blood Clan Elder's lair.
Who was it?
Lin Luo gripped the Greenwind Sword, pressed himself against the wall, and approached silently.
The figure was crouched in the corner, back facing him. Moonlight streamed in through a crack in the ceiling above, falling onto the figure. A slender shape. Long black hair spilling over her shoulders. On top of her head, two long, soft, gray-white ears twitched slightly.
A beast race.
Lin Luo didn't hesitate. Whoever it was, hiding in his sect land in the middle of the night, they weren't here for a friendly visit. He raised the Greenwind Sword and aimed it at the back of the figure's head—
The figure seemed to sense something. She spun around.
Moonlight fell on her face. Eighteen or nineteen years old. Silver-white hair down to her waist, the ends naturally curly, giving off a faint glow in the moonlight. A pair of long, soft gray-white rabbit ears on her head, the tips touched with pale gold, the inner fluff a light pink. Deep, clear red eyes, slightly upturned at the corners, carrying a natural, delicate charm. Her skin was as pale as jade, almost translucent – you could see the fine blue veins beneath her temples. About one meter sixty-five, slender but perfectly proportioned. She wore a plain white dress with a light green silk sash at the waist. No shoes on her feet, revealing small, fair feet with a ring of pale gold natural markings around her ankles – the bloodline mark of the Jade Rabbit race.
A beautiful girl of the Jade Rabbit race.
Lin Luo's sword stopped mid-air.
The next moment, the Jade Rabbit beauty dropped to her knees with a thud.
"Greetings, Grandmaster… Master!"
The word "Grandmaster" barely left her mouth when she suddenly paused, as if remembering something, and quickly corrected herself.
Lin Luo: "…?"
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(End of Chapter 16)
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Current Status
Main Account · Lin Luo (Immortal Cultivation · Special System)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 2 (Displayed: Qi Refining Layer 1, Disguise Talisman active)
Nine Cycles Mystic Art: Second Cycle (Mastered), can withstand early Golden Core attacks
Defense: 650
Attack: 350 (+80 Greenwind Sword)
HP: 1650/1650
Spirit Stones: 850
Possessions: Spirit Recovery Pill ×8, Life Extension Pill ×1, Antidote Pill ×3, Light Talisman ×4, Greenwind Sword ×1, Mountain Pass Token ×1
Skill: Spirit Eye Technique
Alt Account · Bone One (Demon Cultivation · Special System)
Cultivation: Qi Gathering, Layer 8
Status: Standing by · Demon Abyss second layer (waiting for Blood Clan Elder to leave)
Attack: ~80
Defense: ~100 (+20% physical reduction)
HP: ~320
Equipment: Savings Ring, Black Iron Short Blade, Shadow Cloak
Trait: Physical reduction 20%, afraid of light
Soul Essence stock: Common Soul Essence ×9, Blue Soul Essence ×2 (stored in Shared Storage)
Alt Account · Blood One (Demon Cultivation · Blood Clan)
Cultivation: Qi Gathering, Layer 4
Status: Hidden · Demon Abyss second layer, Blood Clan lair (mistaken for a clan member by the Blood Clan Elder)
Attack: ~35
Defense: ~25
HP: ~180
Spirit Stones: 0
Equipment: None
Trait: Blood Absorption, +50% recovery speed in Blood Clan territory
Essence Blood stock: 3 jars (stored in Shared Storage)
Alt Account · Rat One (Beast Cultivation · Treasure-Seeking Rat Race)
Cultivation: Spirit Gathering, Layer 4
Status: Hosting · Idle Sect land (farming)
Attack: 28
Defense: 35
HP: 85
Spirit Stones: 50
Equipment: Mini Backpack (5 slots)
Trait: Treasure Sensing (1000m range)
Spirit Field: Glow Mushrooms ×28
Special discovery: Spirit Vein Fragment ×1 beneath the mine shaft (extremely high value)
Sect · Idle Sect
Sect Leader: Lin Luo
Members: Bone One, Rat One, Blood One
Level: 2
Idle Bonus: +15%
Sect Warehouse Capacity: 200 slots
Sect Land: Cangxuan Sect Back Mountain · Abandoned Mine Shaft (spirit field activated)
Spirit Field Size: 28 Glow Mushrooms
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Appendix: Special Cultivation Systems for Lin Luo and His Alt Accounts
Immortal Cultivation (Main Account · Lin Luo):
Qi Refining → Foundation Establishment → Core Opening → Fusion → Heart Movement → Golden Core → Nascent Soul → Soul Departure → Spirit Separation → Body Integration → Cave Void → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Demon Cultivation (Alt Accounts · Bone One, Blood One):
Qi Gathering → Body Refining → Core Condensation → Desire Embodiment → Devouring → Demon Infant → Soul Departure → Sense Separation → Body Fusion → Void Break → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Beast Cultivation (Alt Account · Rat One):
Spirit Gathering → Intelligence Awakening → Body Tempering → Bone Refining → Beast Core → Transformation → Soul Condensation → Spirit Roaming → Body Purification → Void Training → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Note: The above are the exclusive cultivation systems for Lin Luo and his alt accounts. Everyone else (side characters, enemies, etc.) uses the traditional system: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Training, Body Integration, Great Ascension, Tribulation Transcendence.
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(End of Chapter 16)