I Idle in the World of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 21: Battle in the Wilderness
The gates of Suihuang City slowly opened in the morning light, like a giant beast yawning. Lin Luo walked in the middle, Su Xiaoxiao on his left, Yue Long on his right. The three passed through the gates and headed along the main road toward the Cangxuan Sect.
There weren't many people on the road. Occasionally a few rogue cultivators walked toward them from the opposite direction. When they saw Lin Luo, their steps would hesitate for a moment, their gazes would linger on his face for a second, then quickly look away as they hurried past. No one came up to talk. No one blocked the way. No one even dared to look twice.
Yue Long's rabbit ears twitched slightly under her hat. "Master, are you famous now?"
"Trouble."
"But aren't they afraid of you?"
"Fear and wanting to kill you aren't mutually exclusive."
Yue Long thought about it, didn't quite understand, but she remembered the words.
After about an hour of walking, the trees on both sides of the road grew thicker and thicker, and signs of human life grew fewer and fewer. Between Suihuang City and the Cangxuan Sect, there was a stretch of thirty miles of wilderness – no villages, no inns, no place to rest. It was also the perfect spot for banditry. Lin Luo knew this. Su Xiaoxiao knew this. Yue Long didn't, but her rabbit ears kept turning under her hat, picking up every small sound in the area.
Footsteps came from ahead. Not one person – several. Heavy footsteps, intentionally stomping the ground with a deliberate kind of presence – I'm here, don't bother hiding, because you can't. Lin Luo stopped. Su Xiaoxiao stopped. Yue Long's rabbit ears went up.
Five men walked out of the forest beside the road. The one in front wore a black Daoist robe with a long sword at his waist, a dark red spirit stone set in the scabbard. He was around forty, with a square face, a goatee, sharp eyes, and a slight tilt to his chin as he walked, looking at people from the corners of his eyes. Golden Core Layer 2.
Behind him were four men in matching gray robes – Foundation Establishment Layer 3, Layer 2, Layer 2, Layer 1.
Yue Long's rabbit ears popped fully out of her hat. The silver-white fur trembled slightly in the wind. She reached for Lin Luo's sleeve, her fingers gripping tight.
Su Xiaoxiao stepped forward. Not to run – to block.
The five men stood in the middle of the road, blocking it completely. The one in front looked Lin Luo over, from head to toe, from face to feet. His gaze stopped on Lin Luo's chores uniform for a moment, then on his Greenwind Sword, and finally on the storage pouch at his waist.
"You're Lin Luo?"
Lin Luo looked at him. "Yes."
The man laughed lightly, tilting his chin up even higher. "Loose cultivator at Golden Core Layer 2. My surname is Pang. They call me Pang Yidao. I won't waste words. Hand over the Realm-Breaking Talisman." He pulled something from his sleeve – a piece of black paper with writing in red ink. A bounty notice. For Lin Luo's head. "Hand over the talisman, and you'll have a clean corpse. Don't hand it over, and your death will be uglier."
Su Xiaoxiao's hand rested on her sword hilt. Yue Long's Diamond Body was already activating – the golden markings on her right arm glowing faintly beneath her sleeve.
"You're at Qi Refining Layer 1. Know your place." Pang Yidao's tone wasn't harsh, but every word carried the implication of you are nothing in my eyes. Qi Refining Layer 1 against Golden Core Layer 2 – across nine sub-realms of Foundation Establishment, a full major realm and more. He thought he was already being polite, giving her a few words before acting.
Su Xiaoxiao took another step forward. She was at Foundation Establishment Layer 1, about to fight Golden Core Layer 2 – eight sub-realms down plus a major realm. Walking into certain death. But her posture, blocking Lin Luo, showed no hesitation. Yue Long also stepped forward. She was also at Foundation Establishment Layer 1, half a head shorter than Su Xiaoxiao, blocking Lin Luo like a tiny rabbit puffing itself up.
Lin Luo reached out and pulled both of them behind him. Not pushing – pulling. His left hand grabbed Yue Long's hood, his right hand took Su Xiaoxiao's wrist. He pulled them both back two steps, behind him.
"Don't block me," Lin Luo said. He took the Greenwind Sword from his waist and handed it to Yue Long. "Hold this." He pulled Su Xiaoxiao's sword from her hand and stuck it in the ground beside his foot. "You stand there too."
Then he pulled out his phone.
Pang Yidao frowned. He didn't know what Lin Luo was doing, but he saw Lin Luo tap twice on the glowing thing.
Su Xiaoxiao and Yue Long both looked at Lin Luo at the same time – the same instant, the same movement. Then each noticed the other looking, and both looked away.
[Auto-Battle activated.]
[Current target: Golden Core Layer 2 cultivator. Realm gap: major realm + 8 sub-realms. Predicted win rate: 37%.]
[Auto-Battle strategy: Tank + close-range pressure. Use Nine Cycles Mystic Art's defensive advantage to offset the spiritual energy gap.]
[Battle started.]
Lin Luo tucked his phone back into his sleeve.
His eyes changed – not fiercer, but emptier. Like a machine had been switched on. His pupils reflected Pang Yidao's figure. Then his body moved.
Pang Yidao drew his sword.
Golden Core Layer 2 spiritual energy poured into the blade. Dark red light glowed along the edge. He thrust – fast, cutting through the air, straight for Lin Luo's throat.
Lin Luo didn't dodge.
Because he didn't need to.
Nine Cycles Mystic Art, Second Cycle, ran at full power. A faint metallic sheen appeared on his skin. He charged into the blade's path, turned his head – the tip grazed past his neck, leaving a faint white mark. No blood. The mark vanished within seconds.
Su Xiaoxiao's pupils contracted. She had seen Lin Luo take two palm strikes from Zhou Tong, but that was on Cangxuan Sect land, with the Sect Leader watching, with elders watching – Zhou Tong hadn't intended to kill. This Golden Core Layer 2 rogue cultivator was different. He didn't care who Lin Luo was, didn't care about the Idle Sect, didn't care whether the Cangxuan Sect would come after him later. That thrust – he really meant to kill.
Yue Long clutched the Greenwind Sword to her chest, her fingers white on the scabbard.
Lin Luo had already closed the distance to Pang Yidao. He pulled the Black Iron Axe from his waist and swung it down – no fancy technique, just the simplest, most direct chop.
The axe carried Foundation Establishment Layer 2 spiritual energy – no, not exactly Foundation Establishment Layer 2. The Spirit Eye Technique showed Layer 2, but the force of this strike was at least Layer 5. Nine Cycles Mystic Art, Second Cycle, running at full power. His spiritual energy density far exceeded his realm.
Pang Yidao raised his sword to block.
CLANG!
The clash of metal sent birds flapping from the roadside trees. Pang Yidao staggered back two steps, his hand stinging. He looked down at his sword – a dent had appeared on the blade. He looked at Lin Luo, then swept him with his spiritual sense again.
Qi Refining Layer 1. Still Qi Refining Layer 1.
"You—"
Lin Luo didn't speak. His eyes had no emotion. His body had no wasted movement. The second chop was already coming down.
Pang Yidao gritted his teeth and took it head-on. This time he used his full strength, Golden Core Layer 2 spiritual energy pouring out. The dark red light on his sword blazed, like a burning clot of blood.
BOOM!!!
The collision of their spiritual energy sent a shockwave that blasted stones on the roadside in all directions. Su Xiaoxiao raised a hand to shield her face. Yue Long's Diamond Body activated automatically, a golden light shield spreading in front of them, deflecting the flying debris.
Lin Luo stepped back half a pace.
Half a pace. A full-power Golden Core Layer 2 strike, and he stepped back half a pace.
A grain-sized chip had broken off the Black Iron Axe's blade. His right hand's thumb web had split open. Blood dripped onto the axe handle, quickly evaporated by spiritual energy, leaving a dark red stain.
But he hadn't fallen. He hadn't even gone to his knees. He hadn't even bent his back.
[Battle evaluation in progress…]
[Injury level: Minor (thumb web split). Spiritual energy consumed: approx 30%. Nine Cycles Mystic Art defense: not breached.]
[Win rate updated: 61%.]
[Recommendation: Continue idling.]
Lin Luo looked up.
Pang Yidao's lips had a thin line of blood. Not from injury – from fear. He was at Golden Core Layer 2. A full-power strike – taken head-on by a Foundation Establishment Layer 2 chores disciple. Not dodged, not blocked – taken. When that axe came down, his spiritual energy had been shaken apart by nearly half.
"You're not Qi Refining Layer 1." Pang Yidao's voice faltered.
Lin Luo didn't answer. His body had already moved.
The third chop.
This time, Pang Yidao didn't take it head-on. He sidestepped. Lin Luo's axe hit the tree trunk behind him, splitting it clean in two – the bowl-thick tree snapped, crashed down, raising a cloud of dust.
Using the dust as cover, Pang Yidao thrust his sword at Lin Luo's lower back.
Lin Luo turned and blocked the blade with his arm.
The tip sank into his forearm, about half an inch – then stopped. Not stopped – couldn't go any further. His muscles clamped down on the blade.
Pang Yidao's eyes went wide.
Lin Luo looked down at the blade in his arm, then up at Pang Yidao's expression. He reached out and grabbed the blade – no iron glove, just his bare hand. He twisted. The blade snapped. Not bent – snapped. Pang Yidao was left holding just the hilt. He stared at the bare hilt in his hand, then at Lin Luo again – Qi Refining Layer 1. He believed what he was seeing. But his body didn't believe it.
Lin Luo's axe was already raised.
The fourth chop.
Pang Yidao blocked with his broken sword. The axe hit what was left of the blade, sending it flying into a tree trunk by the roadside, vibrating with a hum. Pang Yidao's wrist cracked – dislocated. He clutched his wrist and stumbled back several steps, his face going from red to white to green.
Lin Luo stepped forward. Pang Yidao stepped back. Another step. Another. He backed into a ditch by the roadside, slipped, fell on his back, looking up at Lin Luo standing there, axe in hand, blood dripping from his thumb web – drip, drip, drip.
"I give – I give up! I don't want the talisman! I don't want anything!"
Su Xiaoxiao's hand relaxed on her sword hilt. Yue Long clutched the Greenwind Sword even tighter.
Lin Luo looked down at him. The emptiness in his eyes slowly faded, returning to normal. He reached into his sleeve, pulled out his phone, and glanced at the screen.
[Battle ended.]
[Predicted win rate: 37% → Actual win rate: 100%.]
[Evaluation: Auto-Battle strategy effective. Nine Cycles Mystic Art, Third Cycle needs to be unlocked as soon as possible.]
[Spirit Stones +200 (reward for defeating Golden Core Layer 2 cultivator).]
Lin Luo tucked his phone away, rested the axe on his shoulder. "Idling."
Su Xiaoxiao and Yue Long both spoke at the same time: "What do you mean?" They heard each other's voices, turned to look at each other, and turned away again.
Lin Luo didn't explain. He pulled his sword from the ground, handed it back to Su Xiaoxiao, and took his Greenwind Sword from Yue Long's hands. "Let's go."
Yue Long lunged at him. Her hands ran over Lin Luo's chest, from collarbone to ribs, from ribs to his side. Fast – firm – not checking for injuries, but making sure he was still alive.
"Master, where are you hurt? That sword went into your arm! And your thumb web is bleeding! And—"
Su Xiaoxiao grabbed the back of Yue Long's hood and pulled. "Don't grope him."
"I'm checking where Master is hurt!"
"Then you still don't have to grope him."
Su Xiaoxiao reached out. She also touched Lin Luo's arm – the half-inch wound had already healed. Only a faint red mark remained on his skin, invisible if you weren't looking closely. Nine Cycles Mystic Art's recovery speed was much faster than an ordinary cultivator's.
Yue Long wasn't satisfied. She also reached out and touched the same arm. "Healed. Master, does it hurt?"
"I'm fine." Lin Luo pulled his hand back. "Not dead."
Su Xiaoxiao and Yue Long's hands both went empty at the same time. They glanced at each other and pulled their hands back at the same time.
Lin Luo turned and walked away. Su Xiaoxiao followed, and Yue Long followed. Pang Yidao was still sitting in the ditch, clutching his dislocated wrist, watching the three figures grow smaller and smaller in the distance. The five Foundation Establishment cultivators behind him hadn't made a single move. Not because they didn't want to – because they didn't dare. When Lin Luo took a full-power Golden Core Layer 2 sword strike head-on, their legs were already shaking. When Lin Luo grabbed the blade with his bare hand and snapped it, they had already started backing away. When Lin Luo's axe sent Pang Yidao flying, they had already run into the forest. Pang Yidao looked back at the empty space behind him – all five had run off. He sat alone in the ditch like a discarded joke.
Lin Luo walked ahead, Su Xiaoxiao on his left, Yue Long on his right.
Su Xiaoxiao's shoulder almost touched Lin Luo's arm. Not accidentally – deliberately. Yue Long's eyes narrowed. She quietly squeezed in from the other side as well.
Lin Luo felt his left arm touch Su Xiaoxiao's shoulder, his right arm touch Yue Long's ear. The two of them were like magnets, drawn to each other and repelled by each other across him. He silently shifted his steps half a pace to the side, creating a little distance.
Su Xiaoxiao followed – and pressed against him again.
Yue Long followed – and pressed against him again.
Lin Luo didn't shift again.
The road stretched ahead. It would take two more hours to reach the Cangxuan Sect. No one spoke. Su Xiaoxiao's shoulder pressed against Lin Luo's left arm. Yue Long's ear pressed against Lin Luo's right arm.
---
On the ancient battlefield, Bone One faced a Blackscale Wolf at Foundation Establishment Layer 1. He had been fighting for almost a full day – forty-three deaths, and the wolf's health bar had dropped by one-third. [Bone One · Auto-Battle · Blackscale Wolf · 43 losses, 0 wins.] The forty-fourth round was starting. He was smashed, then revived, then charged again.
On the Demon Abyss second layer, Blood One was hiding. The Blood Clan Elder had gone out to patrol. The lair was empty. Blood One crawled out of his crevice, squatted by the blood pool, opened a jar of essence blood, and drank it down in one go. His cultivation jumped from Qi Gathering Layer 6 to Layer 7. He opened the second jar and drank it too. Halfway past Layer 7. He thought about opening the third – then put it down. Saving one for later.
In the mine shaft, Rat One was working. The spirit field had expanded to forty Glow Mushrooms, filling the last empty patch of ground. The gray mouse squatted by the field, twitching his nose, sniffing the direction of the spiritual energy. Then he started digging. Not the spirit field – the spot deep in the mine where the Spirit Vein Fragment was buried. He dug half a meter deep, and the soil revealed a glowing stone. Not the fragment – a spirit stone. Mid-grade.
[Rat One · Found mid-grade spirit stone ×1. Value: approx 500 Spirit Stones.]
Rat One picked up the stone in his mouth, stored it in the Shared Storage, and kept digging.
Lin Luo glanced at the messages popping up on his phone screen, then tucked it back into his sleeve.
---
By evening, the three reached the Cangxuan Sect's mountain gate. Ma Biao was waiting with a dozen chores disciples, lined up in two rows, expressions serious as if awaiting inspection.
"Brother Luo's back!"
"Brother Luo's wives are back!" He emphasized the plural.
Su Xiaoxiao looked calmly at Ma Biao. Yue Long also looked at Ma Biao, a polite smile at the corner of her lips.
Ma Biao's neck slowly shrank back. The "I know everything" grin on his face slowly faded. "Uh… Brother Luo, I'll go chop wood now." He ran off with his neck tucked in.
Lin Luo walked through the gate. Yue Long followed behind him, Su Xiaoxiao behind her. When they passed the Chores Hall entrance, Lin Luo didn't stop – he continued toward the back mountain. Su Xiaoxiao's steps hesitated for a moment. The Cangxuan Sect's inner court was on the main peak. The back mountain wasn't where she was supposed to go. She hesitated for a second, then kept following. She didn't feel like following the rules today.
Vines covered the mine shaft entrance. Yue Long walked ahead, pushed the vines aside, and slipped in sideways. Su Xiaoxiao followed behind. Before going in, she looked up at the boulder above the entrance – the one wedged in the rock wall. The smaller stones propping it up were gone. She remembered the golden light shield above Yue Long's head yesterday morning. "When that boulder fell, you were underneath?" she asked Yue Long.
Yue Long nodded. "Master said I wouldn't die."
Su Xiaoxiao didn't respond. She went into the mine.
The spirit field glowed. Forty Glow Mushrooms stood in four neat rows, their golden caps like a miniature galaxy under the spirit stone lights. Beside the field, in a grass nest, a small gray mouse lay sprawled on its back, its round belly rising and falling. Rat One was asleep.
Su Xiaoxiao crouched to look at the spirit field. The Glow Mushrooms were high quality – better than anything she had seen in the Cangxuan Sect's spirit herb garden. She looked at the mouse in the grass nest. She recognized it. It had been in the mine shaft from the first day. She had assumed it was Lin Luo's spirit beast – but now, it didn't seem like that.
"You raised this?" she asked.
"Patriarch Rat One," Yue Long answered quickly.
Su Xiaoxiao turned to Lin Luo.
"It's just a mouse," Lin Luo said.
Su Xiaoxiao stood up. Her gaze moved from the spirit field to deeper in the mine. The location of the Spirit Vein Fragment – spiritual energy pulses rose from underground, like a heartbeat. Thump. Thump. Thump. She looked at Lin Luo. "You hide things deep."
"Idling."
Su Xiaoxiao didn't press. She walked through the mine – looked at the spirit field, looked at the Spirit Vein Fragment's location, looked at Yue Long's stone chamber, looked at Lin Luo's stone chamber. A thin mat on a wooden plank. The Greenwind Sword beside his pillow. Spirit stones embedded in the wall, their light soft.
"Even an inner court disciple's room at the Cangxuan Sect isn't this nice," she said.
Yue Long came over from the spirit field, a bowl of Glow Mushroom soup in her hands. "Sister Xiao, have some soup. Freshly made." The soup was hot. The bowl was hot. Yue Long's fingers were scalded, but she didn't pull back – she held steady, then let go.
Su Xiaoxiao took the bowl and looked down at the golden surface. "I will," she said quietly. She seemed to be answering Yue Long, or perhaps talking to herself.
---
That night, each of the three took a stone chamber. Su Xiaoxiao in one, Yue Long in one, Lin Luo in one.
Yue Long stuck half her head out of her chamber doorway, rabbit ears straight up, looking toward Su Xiaoxiao's direction.
Su Xiaoxiao stuck half her head out of her chamber doorway, looking toward Yue Long's direction.
Their gazes met in the middle.
Yue Long's ears twitched. Su Xiaoxiao's head pulled back a little.
At the same time. Both heads pulled back at the same time.
Lin Luo sat in his chamber, leaning against the stone wall. His phone screen was lit. Bone One had died again. Revived. Charged again. The corner of Lin Luo's mouth twitched slightly. He dimmed the screen, put his phone beside his pillow, and closed his eyes.
Bone One was still idling. Blood One was still idling. Rat One was still sleeping.
Yue Long was still idling.
Just keep idling.
---
(End of Chapter 21)
Current Status
Main Account · Lin Luo (Immortal Cultivation · Special System)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 2 (idling, ~6h to Layer 3)
Nine Cycles Mystic Art: Second Cycle (Mastered), needs Third Cycle unlocked soon
Defense: 650
Attack: 350 (Greenwind Sword)
HP: 1650/1650 (thumb web minor wound healed)
Spirit Stones: ~5850 (original 5650 + 200 for defeating Golden Core Layer 2)
Possessions: Spirit Recovery Pill ×8, Life Extension Pill ×1, Antidote Pill ×3, Light Talisman ×4, Mountain Pass Token ×1, Drunken Immortal Residence VIP card
Skill: Spirit Eye Technique
Disciple: Yue Long
Alt Account · Bone One (Demon Cultivation · Special System)
Cultivation: Qi Gathering, Layer 8 (~18h to Layer 9)
Status: Idling · Ancient Battlefield (new demon beast: Blackscale Wolf, Foundation Establishment Layer 1, 44 losses, 0 wins)
Cumulative deaths: about 200
Alt Account · Blood One (Demon Cultivation · Blood Clan)
Cultivation: Qi Gathering, Layer 6 → Layer 7 (absorbed essence blood ×2)
Status: Hidden · Demon Abyss second layer
Essence Blood stock: 1 jar
Alt Account · Rat One (Beast Cultivation · Treasure-Seeking Rat Race)
Cultivation: Spirit Gathering, Layer 4 (~3h to Layer 5)
Status: Hosting · Idle Sect land (farming + digging)
Spirit Field: Glow Mushrooms ×40 (full)
New discovery: Mid-grade spirit stone ×1 (stored in Shared Storage)
Spirit Vein Fragment: 1 (unexcavated)
Sect · Idle Sect
Sect Leader: Lin Luo
Formal Disciple: Yue Long
Members: Bone One, Rat One, Blood One
Level: 2
Idle Bonus: +15%
Sect Warehouse: Spirit Stones (various), Glow Mushrooms (various)
Idle Sect Disciple · Yue Long
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 1 (~6h to Layer 2)
Status: Idling
Special Constitution: Four-Cultivation Body
Possessions: Disciple-dedicated phone, Low-Grade Storage Pouch, Zixiao Sect inheritance token
Today's achievement: Diamond Body test passed, no injuries
---
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.
---
(End of Chapter 21)