The original Newbie Gift Pack had vanished, replaced by the treasures now stored within the system space. Xu Mu stood stunned for a moment before regaining his composure. A surge of immense joy swept through him, leaving him exhilarated.
"This System is incredible!"
He hadn't even looked at the main reward yet; just the secondary items were enough to make his heart race.
Meridian-Opening Pills were basic supplements for the initial stages of practice. They weren't even ranked as 1st Rank Low-grade, so their individual value was modest. On the trading platform of the Cave Abode World, one Spirit Stone usually exchanged for twenty pills.
Xu Mu now possessed five hundred. Converted, that was twenty-five Spirit Stones—a massive fortune for any Cultivator at the 1st Layer of Qi Refining!
But that was nothing compared to the stones themselves. After the 50x Critical Hit, Xu Mu’s initial five stones had ballooned into two hundred and fifty. To put that in perspective, ninety-nine percent of Mid-stage Qi Refining Cultivators couldn't produce that kind of capital. Only the wealthiest among them had total assets—including equipment—reaching that value.
Finally, Xu Mu turned his attention to the Cultivation Technique: the 'Blazing Sun Departing Fire Art'.
He retrieved the Jade Slip from the system space and pressed it against his forehead, using his Divine Sense to probe the contents. As the information flooded his mind, Xu Mu was ecstatic once again.
"This is actually a Foundation Establishment Stage manual!"
The 'Qi Refining Art' provided by the game was the barest of bones. It could only take a practitioner to the peak of Qi Refining and offered no special effects or offensive capabilities.
The 'Blazing Sun Departing Fire Art' was different. It was a complete path leading all the way to the Peak Foundation Establishment Stage. Once mastered, it significantly boosted the cultivation speed of fire-element Spells. More importantly, it converted ordinary flames into 'Departing Fire'—a specialized, high-intensity heat. Using Departing Fire for Alchemy or Artifact Refining would yield twice the results with half the effort.
The technique even included three powerful fire-element Spells.
"This would be considered a high-quality item even among Foundation Establishment techniques. If I sold this, the price would be astronomical!"
Just moments ago, Xu Mu was a penniless student with a bleak future. Now, he was a man of means with a path paved in gold.
*****
"I don't need the Meridian-Opening Pills anymore, and I have far too many," Xu Mu mused. "I'll sell them in batches."
He listed the pills on the trading platform in sets of one hundred. The platform offered excellent privacy, hiding buyer and seller identities, which removed any fear of attracting unwanted attention to his sudden wealth. He set the price at five Spirit Stones per batch, though he noted he was open to bartering for Spirit Rice, Talismans, or other Medicinal Pills.
With the trade active, he immediately began practicing the 'Blazing Sun Departing Fire Art'.
A Foundation Establishment technique was far more intricate than the basic manual he had studied at school. It was dense, layered, and difficult to grasp. Fortunately, Xu Mu’s Medium-grade Comprehension served him well. After six hours of focused meditation, he reluctantly stopped, exhaling a breath of warm air.
"Foundation Establishment secrets are profound indeed. It will take at least a few days just to achieve initial mastery."
Glancing outside his bamboo fence, Xu Mu saw a large Demonic Beast prowling past the courtyard. It was an Early-stage Qi Refining beast. At his current level, Xu Mu stood no chance against it. He only knew two basic Spells—Fireball and Wind Blade—and his mana reserves were too shallow to cast them more than a few times.
However, he remained unperturbed. A 1st Rank Low-grade defensive Formation protected his Cave Dwelling, more than enough to stop a low-level beast. Furthermore, he was still under Newbie Protection. As long as he stayed inside, no monster or rival Cultivator could even detect his presence.
"When a Cultivator kills a Demonic Beast, it drops a Bronze Chest," Xu Mu thought, a flicker of regret passing through his heart as he watched the beast lumber away. "Those chests can contain Star Stones—rare items used to upgrade professional ranks. And with my System, that reward would be amplified..."
He shook his head, clearing the thought. Haste made waste. Once he had the strength, there would be plenty of beasts to hunt.
*****
Xu Mu checked the trading platform. All five hundred Meridian-Opening Pills had already sold. The demand was clearly high among the new influx of players.
In exchange for the pills, Xu Mu had gained:
"A bountiful harvest," he murmured.
The Spirit Rice emitted a refreshing fragrance. Each grain was plump, the size of a peanut, and translucent. On Zenith Star, a single Spirit Stone could only buy three catties of this rice. Most low-level Cultivators never even tasted it; even Mid-stage practitioners treated it as a luxury.
"Return," Xu Mu whispered.
The world blurred, and he was back in his apartment. It was just past six in the morning. He immediately steamed half a catty of the Spirit Rice. As the unique aroma began to fill the room, he hurriedly shut the windows to avoid alerting his neighbors.
The rice was delicious, even without side dishes. Every grain felt like a burst of pure energy. After finishing, Xu Mu let out a satisfied burp and rushed back into a meditative state to digest the Spiritual Qi lingering in his stomach.
He could feel his cultivation base humming. "If I had enough Spirit Rice, I wouldn't even need to meditate all day. Just eating like this could push me to the 2nd Layer of Qi Refining within six months!"
*****
At eight o'clock, Xu Mu left for school, meeting Cheng Hongbo at the elevator.
"Whoa, Brother Mu! You look... radiant," Cheng Hongbo noted, blinking in surprise. "Did something good happen in the Cave Abode World?"
Xu Mu smiled, keeping his secret close. "Not really. It’s just that cultivating in a real Cave Dwelling feels a lot better than the city air."
"Right? I felt the same way!" Cheng Hongbo chuckled.
On Zenith Star, cities were built over Spiritual Veins, but the government siphoned that energy into the Immortal Alliance Middle Schools and Academies. Ordinary citizens lived in "thin" air. Students like them were only allowed two hours a week in the school’s Spirit-Gathering Formations.
This was the main reason they were still stuck at the 1st Layer of Qi Refining after two years. Poor Spiritual Roots, no pills, no stones, and limited access to energy—the odds had been stacked against them.
But as Xu Mu felt the surging power of the Departing Fire in his veins, he knew the odds had just changed forever.