I Idle in the World of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 39: Update
On the fifth day, Lin Luo was woken by his phone buzzing.
Not Bone One's battle alert, not Su Xiaoxiao's awakening progress – a system notification he had never seen before.
[Mobile game version update.]
[New version content: Land Map expansion, sect system optimization, new exchange items added to Technique Hall.]
[Update cost: 5000 Spirit Stones.]
[Yes / No to start update?]
Lin Luo stared at the line "5000 Spirit Stones" for a few seconds. His balance was 4750. Short by 250. Not much, but not enough.
"Master…" Yue Long's voice came from beside him, still groggy from sleep. "Your phone lit up."
"Yes."
"What message?"
"The system needs an update."
"Update what?"
"Map, sect, Technique Hall."
"Does it cost?"
"Five thousand."
Yue Long's rabbit ears sprang up. "Five thousand?! How much do we have?"
"Forty-seven fifty."
"How much short?"
"Two hundred fifty."
Yue Long thought for a moment. "That's not much. I'll do good deeds for a few days, save some spirit stones, and you sell some things—"
"No need." Lin Luo turned his phone face down on his knee. "Not updating yet."
"Why?"
"The stones have another use."
"Buying the inn?"
"Yes."
Yue Long opened her mouth, then closed it. She crouched by the spirit field, playing with a Glow Mushroom. After a few touches, she turned back to Lin Luo.
"Master, you don't have to buy the inn. Update first."
"The inn needs to be bought."
"Why?"
"The Spirit Vein Heart needs a place to go."
"You could put it in the mine."
"The mine belongs to the Cangxuan Sect. Not the Idle Sect."
Yue Long froze. She thought for a moment, her rabbit ears slowly going up. "You want to buy a place that truly belongs to the Idle Sect?"
"Yes."
"So the inn will be the Idle Sect's branch hall?"
"Yes."
"So we won't live in the mine anymore?"
"We will. The mine is free."
Yue Long stared at Lin Luo for three seconds. "Master, did you plan all this out already?"
Lin Luo didn't speak.
"First save stones, buy the inn. Then put the Spirit Vein Heart inside – ten times the spiritual energy. Then the inn makes money, and you use that money to update the phone. Right?"
The corner of Lin Luo's mouth moved.
Yue Long's rabbit ears went straight up. "You never say what you're doing."
"If I said it, it wouldn't be idling."
Yue Long took a deep breath, stood up, and brushed her skirt. "I'll go make soup. After soup, we go to the market. Do good deeds. Save stones. Buy the inn. Then update."
"Yes."
"Can you say something else?"
"Yes."
Yue Long waited.
Lin Luo didn't speak.
Yue Long went to make soup.
---
Today's soup was just right. Yue Long added salt once – not too much, not too little. She tasted it three times before bringing it over. Lin Luo took a sip. He didn't say "not bad," and he didn't say "good."
Yue Long crouched beside him, her rabbit ears up. "How is it?"
"Yes."
"What does 'yes' mean?"
"Drinkable."
Yue Long took the bowls away.
---
The two walked toward the market. The sky had just brightened. The clouds in the east were dyed pale orange. Yue Long walked ahead, her rabbit ears bobbing in the morning wind, and started humming again. The tune was still a mess, but she hummed it seriously.
The wonton stall owner was lighting his fire. When he saw them, he waved and smiled. "Little girl, you're early again today!"
"Good morning, boss! Does anyone need help today?"
The owner thought for a moment. "Not today. The blind granny was picked up by her son yesterday – she doesn't live in the market anymore. Old Wang the vegetable seller's leg healed – he's selling vegetables on his own. The injured young man left."
Yue Long's rabbit ears drooped. "No one needs help again?"
"No."
Yue Long crouched by the wonton stall, propped her chin on her hands, her rabbit ears hanging at her sides. The owner felt sorry for her and scooped a bowl of wontons, putting it in front of her.
"Eat first. Look after you eat."
Yue Long shook her head. "No. Can't eat until I do a good deed."
"You didn't do one yesterday either."
"Yesterday was yesterday. Today is today."
The owner looked at Lin Luo. Lin Luo nodded. The owner took the wonton bowl back.
Yue Long crouched by the stall, her eyes scanning the street. After almost half an hour, she found nothing. She stood up and brushed her skirt.
"Master, no one today either."
"Yes."
"What do we do?"
"Come back tomorrow."
"Then today's mission will fail again."
"Do it tomorrow."
"You always say do it tomorrow."
"Then the day after."
Yue Long took a deep breath and stopped asking.
---
The two walked back. Halfway, Yue Long suddenly stopped. Her rabbit ears turned, tilting toward the depth of an alley.
"Master, there's a sound."
Lin Luo stopped and listened. He heard nothing.
"Someone crying." Yue Long's rabbit ears turned again. "Very soft. Inside the alley."
She ran. Lin Luo followed behind.
At the end of the alley, a child crouched against the wall. Eight or nine years old, wearing worn cloth clothes, his face covered in tears. In his hand, he clutched a ragged cloth doll. He cried very softly – not wailing, but with his face buried in his knees, his shoulders shaking.
Yue Long crouched down. "What's wrong?"
The child looked up, his eyes swollen from crying. "I… I can't find my way home…"
"Where do you live?"
The child shook his head. "I don't remember…"
"What's your name?"
"Little Stone."
Yue Long looked back at Lin Luo. Lin Luo walked over, crouched down, and looked at the child. "Where did you come from?"
The child pointed outside the alley. "Over there… I came to the market with my dad… so many people… we got separated…"
"What does your dad look like?"
"Tall… wears gray clothes… carries a carrying pole…"
Lin Luo stood up and looked at Yue Long. "You stay here with him. I'll go find him."
Yue Long nodded. Lin Luo walked away.
Yue Long crouched beside the child, her rabbit ears drooping, shielding the side of his face. She took out her phone, opened the daily good deed mission interface, and glanced at it – mission not done. She put her phone away.
"Little Stone, don't cry. My master went to find your dad. He'll find him."
The child wiped his tears. "Really?"
"Really. He's very good at finding things."
The child nodded and clutched his doll tighter.
Yue Long stayed with him in the alley, her rabbit ears up, listening to the sounds outside. After the time it takes to burn an incense stick, hurried footsteps came from the alley entrance. A tall man ran over, a carrying pole in his hand, his gray clothes soaked with sweat. The child saw him and started crying.
"Dad—"
The man crouched and picked up the child. "Little Stone! Where did you go! I've been looking for you everywhere!"
The child wrapped his arms around the man's neck, crying so hard he couldn't speak.
Yue Long stood up and brushed her skirt. "Uncle, next time you come to the market, tie a rope to your child's hand. Then he won't get lost in the crowd."
The man froze for a moment, then smiled. "Thank you, little girl." He took out a few spirit stones from his sleeve and tried to give them to Yue Long. Yue Long waved her hands.
"No need, no need. One good deed a day. No charge."
The man put his stones away, picked up the child, and left. The child lay on his father's shoulder, looked back at Yue Long, and waved.
Yue Long waved back.
When their figures disappeared at the alley entrance, Yue Long took out her phone.
[One good deed a day · Completed.]
[Merit +10.]
[Sect contribution +10.]
[Current sect contribution: 40.]
She smiled. Her rabbit ears went up, twitching in the wind.
Lin Luo walked over from the alley entrance.
"Did you find him?"
"Yes. He found me first. I hadn't even reached the alley entrance when he ran in."
Yue Long opened her mouth. "Then you—"
"I took a walk."
"You were slacking off!"
"Yes."
Yue Long took a deep breath and stopped asking.
The two walked toward the wonton stall. Yue Long ran two steps and walked backward, facing Lin Luo.
"Master, we can eat wontons now. The good deed is done."
"Yes."
"Your treat."
"Why?"
"Because I did a good deed."
"You did a good deed, I pay?"
"Yes. You're my master."
Lin Luo looked at her and didn't speak.
The wonton stall owner saw them return and put two bowls of wontons in the pot. Yue Long took a bite – hot, but she didn't spit it out. She swallowed with tears in her eyes.
"Master."
"Yes."
"What do you think Sister Xiao is doing right now?"
"Awakening."
"Does it hurt?"
"I don't know."
"Will she cry?"
Lin Luo didn't answer.
Yue Long lowered her head and ate her wontons. After a few bites, she took out her phone and glanced at it – next to Su Xiaoxiao's profile picture, the words "Awakening in progress" still showed. She put her phone away and kept eating.
Halfway through, a middle-aged man walked over, stood in front of the wonton stall, and looked at Lin Luo.
"Are you Lin Luo?"
Lin Luo looked up at him. Didn't recognize him. Foundation Establishment Layer 1, wearing a gray robe, a wooden plate hanging from his waist – from the market administration.
"Yes."
"The owner of Fortune Inn asked me to pass a message. He said the inn is no longer for sale. Don't bother going."
Lin Luo put down his chopsticks. "Why?"
"He said someone offered a higher price."
"How much?"
"One thousand."
Yue Long's rabbit ears went up. "One thousand?! Wasn't it five hundred before?"
The man looked at her. "That was before. This is now."
Lin Luo looked at the man. "Who made the offer?"
"I don't know. He didn't leave his name, just the stones."
Lin Luo was silent for a moment. "Go back and tell the owner. I'll pay one thousand."
The man froze. "You'll pay?"
"Yes."
"You're not going to ask if it's worth it?"
"It's not."
"Then why are you buying it?"
Lin Luo didn't answer.
The man looked at him for a moment, then turned and walked away.
Yue Long crouched beside him, her rabbit ears drooping. "Master, someone is trying to buy the inn too."
"Yes."
"Are you really going to pay one thousand?"
"Yes."
"Then you won't have enough stones for the inn. If you buy the inn, you won't have money for the update."
"Inn first."
"What about the update?"
"Wait."
Yue Long opened her mouth, then closed it. She lowered her head and ate her wontons, very slowly.
---
After finishing the wontons, the two walked back. Yue Long walked ahead, her rabbit ears drooping, not humming.
"Master."
"Yes."
"Who do you think is trying to buy the inn?"
"I don't know."
"Could it be the Fire Phoenix Sacred Ground?"
"No."
"Why?"
"They're in the Phoenix Kingdom."
"Then could it be the Myriad Treasures Pavilion?"
"No."
"Why?"
"They want spirit plants. Not an inn."
Yue Long thought for a moment. "Then who?"
Lin Luo didn't answer.
---
Back at the mine, Rat One was nibbling on a Glow Mushroom by the spirit field. When he saw them return, he squeaked twice, picked up a piece of mushroom cap in his mouth, ran over, and dropped it at Lin Luo's feet. Lin Luo looked down, picked up the piece, and put it back in the field.
Rat One squeaked – like he was cursing.
Yue Long crouched and patted Rat One's head. "Rat One, did you watch the house well today?"
Rat One squeaked twice and ran back to his nest, curling into a ball.
Yue Long leaned against the stone wall, took out her phone, and opened her notes. Under the line "Fortune Inn, two stories, about to go out of business, five hundred stones, master hasn't bargained yet," she added a new line – "Someone is trying to buy the inn. Offered one thousand. Master wants to buy it. Not enough stones."
She put her phone away.
"Master."
"Yes."
"How will we get enough stones?"
"Sell things."
"What things?"
"Demon beast cores. Spirit plants. Iron Claw Mongoose claws."
Yue Long thought for a moment. "Will that be enough?"
"If not, we'll think of something else."
Yue Long nodded.
Lin Luo took out his phone and opened Bone One's interface.
[Bone One · Total damage dealt to Nascent Soul demon beast: approx 23%. Demon beast status: Right front leg broken, left hind leg tendon torn, movement speed decreased by 70%.]
[Win rate updated: 28% → 32%.]
Lin Luo stared at the "32%" for a few seconds. Bone One was still fighting. The beast was close to death, but not dead yet. Bone One's skeleton was already shattered in many places, but he was still fighting.
Yue Long leaned over to look. "Master, can Bone One win?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Soon."
Yue Long nodded.
Lin Luo turned his phone face down on his knee and closed his eyes.
Yue Long leaned against the stone wall, her rabbit ears drooping. Her phone rested on her knee. The chibi figure hit the wooden fish again and again. Merit +1, merit +1, merit +1.
Rat One poked his head out of his grass nest, squeaked twice, and ducked back in.
The mine was very quiet.
(End of Chapter 39)
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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: Second Layer
Defense: 850
Attack: ~400
HP: ~600
Spiritual Energy: ~20%
Spirit Stones: ~4750 (planning to buy inn, competitor offered 1000, need to gather more)
Plan: Buy inn → place Spirit Vein Heart → earn stones → update phone (5000 stones)
Alt Account · Bone One
Cultivation: Body Refining Layer 3
Status: Idle battle · Ancient battlefield, target Nascent Soul Layer 1 demon beast (severely wounded)
Total damage dealt: ~23%, win rate 32%
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 (bloodline awakening)
Level: 2
Idle Bonus: +15%
Sect Contribution: Yue Long 40, Lin Luo 0
Idle Sect Disciple · Yue Long
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 2 (Human) + Essence Gathering Layer 1 (Buddhist)
Merit points: ~620
Fudo Myoo's Resolution: 0.06%
Sect Contribution: 40
Today's good deed: Helped a lost child find his father
Personality: lively, talkative, acts cute, gets anxious for strange children
Spirit Stone balance: ~1100
Possessions: Bone Mending Pill ×1 (one used, one remaining as backup)
Idle Sect Disciple · Su Xiaoxiao (bloodline awakening)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 1
Status: Inside Divine Phoenix Ruins, Five-Colored Divine Phoenix bloodline awakening in progress
Awakening time: ~60 hours remaining
Communication status: Cannot communicate
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(End of Chapter 39)