I Idle in the World of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 32: A Busy Day
After Su Xiaoxiao left, the mine got much quieter.
Not the kind of quiet that felt dead – just the kind where there was less talking. Yue Long still hummed by the spirit field. She still chased Rat One around. She still carried a bowl of Glow Mushroom soup from the chamber to the hall and back, mumbling to herself, "Not enough salt… next time put more… no, Master said no salt when you're hurt… just a tiny bit should be okay…"
But her words weren't as thick as before. There were longer pauses between them, like she was waiting for someone to answer.
Lin Luo leaned against the stone wall, his phone on his knee. He opened his notes.
The spirit stone lamp in the Cangxuan Sect cast a dim light on the screen – not bright, but enough. He scrolled and typed a few lines.
[How to use the Spirit Vein Heart]
[Don't buy the inn yet. Save the budget for now. 500 stones isn't a lot, but don't waste it.]
[Put the Spirit Vein Heart in the inn's well. Ten times the spiritual energy. Permanent. This is a hidden card – can't move it.]
[Price: ten stones per day, two hundred per month, two thousand per year. Start with that. Raise price if too many people come. Lower if not enough.]
[If someone causes trouble, fight them. If you can't win, run. Teleport talisman is still there.]
[Nothing else. Figure out the rest when it happens.]
He stared at the lines for a moment, then added one more:
[Don't buy the inn yet. Wait and see.]
Then he turned his phone over on his knee.
Yue Long ran over from the spirit field. Her rabbit ears bounced up and down behind her. In her hands were a few freshly picked Glow Mushrooms, dew still on their caps.
"Master! Look! This batch of Glow Mushrooms is a whole size bigger than the last one! The sect gathering array really works!"
Lin Luo looked. "Yes."
"Can you stop saying 'yes' every time? You could say 'wow so big' or 'Yue Long is amazing' or 'what a great disciple of the Idle Sect' – see, I even thought up the lines for you."
Lin Luo looked at her.
Yue Long held the mushrooms, her rabbit ears up, her red eyes bright and waiting.
"Wow so big."
"…Master, that sounds like you're reading from a book."
"Yue Long is amazing."
"Tone! Say it with feeling!"
"What a great disciple of the Idle Sect."
Yue Long took a deep breath. "Just say 'yes' again."
Lin Luo smiled. Yue Long froze – she hadn't seen Lin Luo smile much. Not that little twitch at the corner of his mouth, but a real smile, with light in his eyes. Her rabbit ears slowly drooped. Her face turned a little red.
"Master."
"Yes."
"You look nice when you smile. Smile more."
"No."
"Why?"
"Too lazy."
Yue Long pouted, held the mushrooms to her chest, and ran back to the spirit field.
Footsteps came from outside the tunnel. Two sets. One walked steady. One walked hurried. The steady one took steps exactly the same length every time, like he measured them with a ruler. The hurried one had messy steps, his soles dragging on the ground, like something was chasing him.
Yue Long's rabbit ears turned first. She stood up from the spirit field and brushed the dirt off her skirt.
"Master, someone's coming. Two people. One has very high cultivation. The other – the other also has very high cultivation. Both are very high."
Lin Luo tucked his phone into his sleeve. He didn't stand up.
Sect Leader Lu Yuan walked out from the tunnel bend. He wore the same unremarkable gray robe, like an ordinary middle-aged scholar. Behind him was someone else – not the fat elder or the thin elder, but a new face who had never been to the mine before. He wore the robe of the Artifact Refining Peak elder. His hair was a mess. Stubble grew from his chin to his ears. Dark circles hung under his eyes like he hadn't slept in three days. He looked like a blacksmith who had been working for days without rest.
Lu Yuan stood by the spirit field. His eyes swept the area – the sect gathering array, the Glow Mushrooms, Purple Mushrooms, Flameblooms, Soul-Nurturing Grass, and the gray mouse sleeping on its back in the corner. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, then went back.
"Lin Luo."
"Sect Leader." Lin Luo stood up and clasped his hands. He gave the proper greeting, but nothing extra.
Lu Yuan was quiet for a moment. He was thinking about how to start. The five hundred spirit stones were an excuse, but that wasn't the real reason. He had studied that phone for a long time. He could use idle cultivation, but nothing else worked. Lin Luo could open alt accounts, take disciples, copy items. He couldn't. He needed someone who understood it to teach him.
But before he could figure out how to ask, the man behind him had already run out of patience.
"You're Lin Luo?"
The Artifact Refining Peak Master pushed past Lu Yuan and looked Lin Luo up and down – from his chore uniform to the Greenwind Sword, from the sword to the storage pouch at his waist, and finally to his face.
"That kid Wang Hao said you have a Nascent Soul demon beast's tail bone. Is that true?"
Lin Luo looked at him, then at Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan's face said clearly, "I didn't come with him" – he really hadn't. They just met at the tunnel entrance.
"Yes."
The Artifact Refining Peak Master's eyes lit up. "Let me see it!"
Yue Long ran over from the spirit field and stood beside Lin Luo. Her rabbit ears were up, watching the Artifact Refining Peak Master warily.
"Who are you?"
"Artifact Refining Peak Master. My surname is Chen. Wang Hao's master." He introduced himself quickly, then turned back to Lin Luo. "The tail bone?"
Lin Luo took the tail bone from the Shared Storage. A dagger-length piece of white bone, still stained with dark red blood. The scale patterns were clear on its surface. The presence of the Nascent Soul demon beast still clung to the bone – faint now, but the pressure was still there.
Peak Master Chen took the bone, turned it over in his hands several times, tapped it with his finger, listened to the echo against his ear, and smelled it.
"Nascent Soul Layer 2. I don't recognize the species, but the bone density is extremely high. Top-grade artifact refining material." He looked up at Lin Luo. "Sell it?"
"No."
"I'll give you five hundred spirit stones."
"No."
"One thousand."
Yue Long's rabbit ears twitched, but she didn't speak.
"No."
Peak Master Chen stared at Lin Luo for two seconds, then sighed. "Fine. Won't sell. Can I borrow it for a few days to study?"
Lin Luo thought for a moment. "Okay. Break it, you pay for it."
Peak Master Chen carefully put the tail bone into his storage pouch, turned, and walked away. After two steps, he turned back, grabbed Lu Yuan's shoulder, and dragged him toward the exit.
"Sect Leader, let's go, let's go back. I need to talk to you about something – "
Lu Yuan was pulled a few steps toward the tunnel. He looked back at Lin Luo. His lips moved, but no words came out. He wanted to say, "about that five hundred spirit stones…" but Peak Master Chen's arm was around his shoulder, dragging him around the bend.
Their voices came back from the tunnel, growing fainter.
"Sect Leader, if I turn that tail bone into a sword blank, it'll be at least a top-grade magical tool – "
"Let go of me."
"No. Promise me I can use the sect's earth fire furnace first, then I'll let go – "
"Peak Master Chen."
"Sect Leader, you're the best – "
The voices faded.
Yue Long stood at the tunnel entrance. Her rabbit ears turned, making sure they were really gone, then turned back to Lin Luo.
"Master, did the Sect Leader want to say something?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't he say it?"
"Someone dragged him away."
Yue Long thought for a moment. "That Peak Master Chen is so rude."
"All artifact refiners are like that."
"How do you know?"
Lin Luo didn't answer.
Yue Long crouched back by the spirit field and went back to tending her Glow Mushrooms. Lin Luo leaned back against the stone wall and pulled out his phone to check Bone One's status.
[Bone One · Static state countdown: 18 hours.]
Eighteen hours left.
The countdown for Lightning Prison Indestructible Body's level skip was also ticking down. The countdown for Bone One's three-layer jump was ticking down too. The countdown for Yue Long's Buddhist system unlock was ticking down as well.
He turned off his phone and closed his eyes for a while. Outside, sometime, it had started to rain. Not heavy – light and fine, pattering on the leaves above the tunnel entrance.
The sound of rain came through the tunnel walls, muffled by several layers of stone, like someone far away beating a thick drum.
Yue Long had moved from the spirit field to the tunnel entrance without Lin Luo noticing. She crouched there, her rabbit ears drooping, watching the rain outside.
"Master."
"Yes."
"It's raining."
"I see."
"Do you think it's raining where Sister Xiao is?"
Lin Luo didn't answer.
Yue Long smiled to herself. "It probably is. When it rains there, it rains here too. It's the same sky."
The rain fell harder. The vines at the mine entrance crackled under the raindrops. Water dripped off the leaves, forming a thin stream that ran down the slope of the tunnel.
Yue Long reached her hand out to catch the rain. Rain hit her palm, splashing tiny drops. She pulled her hand back, shook it off, and reached out again.
"Master, when the rain stops tomorrow, let's go to the market."
"What for?"
"To – " She thought for a moment. "To look around. Maybe someone needs help. The sect mission says – do one good deed a day."
Lin Luo opened one eye and looked at her. "Your Buddhist system hasn't unlocked yet."
"It unlocks tonight!"
"Not yet."
"Almost!"
Lin Luo didn't answer. Yue Long crouched at the tunnel entrance, her hand in the rain, her rabbit ears drifting in the wind. The sound of rain filled the mine, drowning out footsteps, voices, the low hum of the spirit stone lamps.
Rat One poked his head out of his grass nest, squeaked twice, and ducked back in.
(End of Chapter 32)
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Current Status
Main Account · Lin Luo
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 3 (Displayed: Qi Refining Layer 1)
Nine Cycles Mystic Art: Second Cycle (bottleneck update in progress)
Lightning Prison Indestructible Body: First Layer 85% (level skip incoming)
Defense: 650
Attack: ~380
HP: ~600
Spiritual Energy: ~20%
Spirit Stones: ~4750 (500 budgeted for inn purchase, not yet spent)
Possessions: Spirit Recovery Pill ×4, Life Extension Pill ×0, Bone Mending Pill (below top-grade) ×3, Antidote Pill ×3, Light Talisman ×4, Mountain Pass Token ×1, Drunken Immortal Residence VIP card, Myriad Treasures Pavilion VIP card, Realm-Breaking Talisman (authentic), half a broken sword, pale green jade slip, beast-hide map, Spirit Vein Heart, Secret Realm Core Spirit Stone
Skill: Spirit Eye Technique
Disciple: Yue Long
Sect Members: Yue Long, Su Xiaoxiao (temporarily away)
Special Status: Nine Cycles Mystic Art Third Cycle, Lightning Prison Indestructible Body Second Layer, Bone One's three-layer jump, Yue Long's Buddhist system – all on countdown (~18 hours)
Alt Account · Bone One
Cultivation: Qi Gathering Layer 9 (bottleneck) → Static state, will increase by three minor layers in ~18h
Status: Static (invincible + unable to move)
Alt Account · Blood One
Cultivation: Qi Gathering Layer 8
Status: Hidden – Demon Abyss second layer
Alt Account · Rat One
Cultivation: Spirit Gathering Layer 6
Status: Spirit field at mine land
Sect · Idle Sect
Sect Leader: Lin Luo
Members: Yue Long, Su Xiaoxiao (temporarily away)
Level: 2
Idle Bonus: +15%
Special facilities: Sect Gathering Array, High-grade shield formation
Idle Sect Disciple · Yue Long
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 2
Status: Guarding the mine, waiting for the rain to stop
Buddhist cultivation update: Will unlock in ~18h
Current technique: Qi Drawing Technique (human Foundation Establishment)
Personality: lively, talkative, can't keep secrets, acts cute, goofy, puts her hand in the rain
Spirit Stone balance: ~1100
Possessions: disciple-dedicated phone, low-grade storage pouch, Zixiao Sect inheritance token, Greenwind Sword (repaired)
Diamond Body: shattered, about to transform into Fudo Myoo's Resolution
Idle Sect Disciple · Su Xiaoxiao (temporarily away)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 1
Status: Traveling with Fire Phoenix Sacred Ground, heading to Nirvana
Idle Cultivation: ~66h to Foundation Establishment Layer 2
Personality: brave, active, intelligent; more open and playful around people she trusts
Injury: Piercing wound healed, still coughs occasionally
Possessions: disciple-dedicated phone, savings ring, ice silkworm silk, wooden box, Mr. Li's books, dried 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
Buddhist Cultivation (Yue Long – unlocking soon):
Essence Gathering → Mortal Liberation → Core Mind → Will Dispersion → Clear Mind → Relic → Soul Movement → Void Transcendence → Pure Spirit → Void Passage → 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 32)