Chapter 119: Earning Spirit Stones

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In a small courtyard in Luocheng, Li Shang sat opposite his four remaining family disciples.

"You are the future of the Li family. You must cultivate with diligence. Do not worry about spirit stones; just come to me if you need any."

"Always remember, a family is only as strong as its youth..."

"Family Head, the pressure is too great for you to bear alone. Let me go out with you to find work to earn spirit stones."

Li Xia, the younger brother in the game, interrupted Li Shang, who was about to launch into a lengthy lecture.

Li Shang was not annoyed by the interruption and patiently explained:

"Little brother, you are a genius with a four-element spiritual root. How can you waste precious cultivation time on such meaningless tasks as earning resources? As for me, your big brother, I am just a bottom-tier talent with a five-element spiritual root..."

"Family Head, a four-element spiritual root is also trash." Li Xia saw Li Shang was about to ramble on, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "Besides, I am already twenty years old. There is no chance of me ever reaching the Foundation Establishment stage in this life. Continuing to cultivate is just a waste of resources. It would be better to leave them for Da Zhu and the others."

Hearing this, Li Shang feigned anger:

"If a four-element spiritual root is trash, then what am I with my five-element root? Dung? And don't call me 'Family Head.' It's too formal. Just call me 'Big Brother' like you used to."

"As for being twenty, what does that matter? There have been plenty of people in ancient times who didn't start their cultivation journey toward ascension until they were twenty."

Li Xia opened his mouth to say something, but before a word could escape, Li Shang raised his hand to stop him.

"Don't speak. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that those who attained immortality at twenty were all geniuses, right?"

Having his thoughts read by Li Shang, Li Xia nodded.

Seeing this, Li Shang smiled smugly: "Then I must tell you about the growth stories of those big shots."

Hearing this, the four of them pricked up their ears, ready to hear what story Li Shang was about to tell.

"In a place called Piaoyang City, there was also a Li family, and in this Li family, there was also a piece of trash, but..."

Drawing from his own experiences in the game *Xuanzhe*, Li Shang adapted a xianxia version of the "three-year promise" trope. It left the four listeners feeling invigorated and inspired.

"Great Emperor Li Shang is truly amazing."

"Exactly! One day, I want to be like Great Emperor Li Shang and have thirty-six wives from different races."

"Is it really possible for a five-element spiritual root to make a comeback?" Li Xiu'er looked at Li Shang and asked this question.

The other three fell silent, staring intently at Li Shang, waiting for his answer.

"Yes."

Li Shang's answer was, of course, affirmative. If he said no, then his story would have been told in vain.

"I will definitely be like Great Emperor Li Shang," the three youngsters shouted in unison.

Only Li Xia watched Li Shang with a strange expression. He wasn't a child, and it was clearly impossible to trick him with just a few words.

Li Shang didn't pay much attention to Li Xia; he looked at the three youngsters with satisfaction. He had seen many examples of family betrayal on the forums, and he certainly didn't want the cabbages he had worked so hard to grow to end up in someone else's field. He had to instill his philosophy in the younger generation early on, molding them into followers who belonged entirely to him.

"Now, let me give you some guidance on combat techniques."

Seeing the enthusiasm of the three youngsters, Li Shang struck while the iron was hot and began to impart his own experiences.

"When facing an enemy, you must never lose your composure."

"Even if you can't beat your opponent, you must act like a master. This effectively makes the opponent wary of you and prevents them from attacking rashly."

"As for how to maintain your momentum, I have summarized three points."

"The first point is an expression called 'Is that all?' The key is, no matter what the enemy shows you, do not act surprised. Instead, put on the expression of a city dweller looking at a bumpkin."

"The essence of the expression is: 'I am just quietly watching you pretend to be cool, and I might even find it a little funny.'"

"The second point: Verbal warfare! The key is to always stand on the moral high ground and attack the opponent."

"For example..."

...

Half an hour later, Li Shang walked out of the courtyard, feeling refreshed. This game was perfect for him. In real life, who would be willing to listen to him ramble for so long? Today, he had truly had his fill.

"Now, it's time to think about how to get spirit stones."

Stepping out of the courtyard, Li Shang glanced left and right at the street. Through various experience posts from other players, he had learned most of the layout of Luocheng, even knowing about some very hidden places. After looking around, he decided to head outside the city. However, he wasn't going to the Hundred Demon Mountain, but to the Li family's mine outside Luocheng.

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Arriving at the mine, Li Shang peered inside. Hundreds of people were laboring there, and from time to time, the shouts of the mine overseers could be heard. He noticed that most of the miners were below the third level of Qi Refining, with the majority being at the first level.

After understanding the situation, Li Shang found a hidden spot nearby to wait. He triggered the panel to accelerate time.

Day turned to night.

The miners, dragging their exhausted bodies, began to return to Luocheng. Li Shang disguised himself and stealthily approached a young man who was only at the first level of Qi Refining. Before the man could react, Li Shang draped his arm over his shoulder.

"Brother, lend me some spirit stones. I'm in a desperate situation."

The young man thought it was an acquaintance—after all, no one would casually put their arm around a stranger. "How much do you need?" he asked, his guard down.

"How much can you lend me right now?"

"Four pieces."

"Only four..." Li Shang's tone was distressed, as if four pieces were a drop in the bucket for him.

Feeling that Li Shang was in real trouble, the young man took out four spirit stones without hesitation. "Take this for now. If you're really in a bind, I'll lend you more when my monthly wages come in."

"You're truly a good person," Li Shang said, moved. He quickly took the stones and vanished into the night. The young man stood there, stunned, and it was a long time before he realized what had happened.

"Wait, who was that again?"

...

Within an hour, Li Shang had succeeded three more times. Seeing that the road was now empty, he stopped. He now held fifteen spirit stones—sponsorships from kind-hearted people.

"There are too few fools," Li Shang muttered, weighing the stones. He had to approach five or six people just to succeed once. The efficiency was too low.

"I need to think of another way."

While deep in thought, he saw a restaurant by the road filled with miners eating dinner. His eyes lit up. He had an excellent idea.

Without hesitation, he accelerated time to the next day. He walked straight to the most famous restaurant in Luocheng and spent ten spirit stones on the best wine: "Immortal's Intoxication." After buying the wine, he stopped by a pharmacy and a clothing store. Once everything was prepared, he accelerated time to nightfall again.

Night fell.

The miners returned, exhausted. This time, Li Shang didn't hide. He boldly set up tables on the path the miners had to take, roasting meat and heating wine. The aroma drifted for a mile.

"Huh? What's that smell? It smells so good."

"It looks like a new barbecue stall opened up. Let's go see."

"Opening promotion: free drink of 'Immortal's Intoxication' with every purchase?! Is that for real?"

"It must be! Look at that wine; it smells amazing."

Attracted by the alcohol and the food, a large group of miners gathered. To them, ten spirit stones for wine was a luxury they couldn't afford. They usually dealt in mundane gold and silver, which had high purchasing power for spirit stones. Spending a little mundane money to taste wine worth ten spirit stones felt like a huge bargain.

Soon, Li Shang's stall was packed. He hosted them with a smile, and once they had drunk the wine, he accelerated time, letting the AI handle the rest of the script.

He packed up and headed toward Luocheng, following the drunken miners. Whenever he saw someone collapse, he would wait until no one was watching, help them up, drag them into an alley, take all their spirit stones, and leave a red bodice on their face before hurrying away.

Repeating this, Li Shang quickly looted everyone who fell for his trap.

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He gained over three hundred spirit stones in total. This was much better than working. And afterward, no one would come looking for him. Li Shang grinned, looking at the last young man he had robbed. He took a lip-shaped stamp coated in red rouge and pressed it firmly onto the man's face.

The next morning, in the alley, the young man woke up groggily. He looked around in confusion, wondering why he was there. Then, his peripheral vision caught a pink object on the ground.

"This is... hiss~"

The young man gasped as he realized what it was. He checked his surroundings, and seeing no one, he picked up the bodice. Seeing the tear marks on it, he frowned.

"What happened last night?"

He tried to recall the night before. "I remember eating some barbecue, then I started walking home, and then..."

He realized there was a gap in his memory. He subconsciously touched his face and found red dye on his fingers.

"What is this?"

He cast a Water Mirror spell and was shocked to see his face covered in lipstick marks.

"After I blacked out, did I go to a brothel...?" He checked his purse and found it empty. He felt devastated—he had spent the money but had no memory of it. It was like throwing the money away.

"Drinking leads to trouble," he muttered, rubbing his head.

...

Back in the courtyard, everyone except Li Shang stared at the pile of spirit stones in shock. They couldn't understand how he had earned so many in one night.

Li Shang enjoyed their shocked expressions and asked, "Alright, who wants to learn alchemy, and who wants to learn artifact refining?"

Advanced skills were where the money was, and in this game, technology had to be passed down. Alchemy and artifact refining would be the family's economic backbone.

"Big Brother, let's all choose artifact refining. Alchemy is too expensive in the beginning," Li Xia suggested.

"We don't lack that kind of money," Li Shang waved him off. He had plenty of ways to earn money.

Li Xia said nothing more and looked at the three youngsters. After a moment, Li Xiu'er spoke up: "Family Head, I just want to focus on cultivation."

"Me too, Family Head."

"I want to learn artifact refining," Li Da Zhu said after the others. In the stories Li Shang told, the protagonists always had side professions, so he wanted one too.

"No problem, I'll go sign you up later."

Becoming an apprentice artifact refiner cost one hundred spirit stones, which wasn't much for Li Shang now. After finishing that, he went to register Li Da Zhu. At the same time, he found a hidden side profession for himself based on player comments: Spirit Planter. It was a profession dedicated to cultivating spiritual herbs, which was very lucrative.

With everything arranged, Li Shang accelerated time. He had read that the game only truly began after the Family Head died. He wasn't sure if it was true, but regardless, his goal was to keep developing the family.

As he thought this, system notifications appeared before him:

[Li Xiu'er has broken through to the second level of Qi Refining]
[You have become a junior Spirit Planter]
[Li Da Zhu has become an apprentice alchemist]
[Li Da Zhu has developed a crush on Lin Qiao]
[Li Xia has had an epiphany and awakened sword intent]
...