Exploring Immortality Cultivation

Wang Qi had slain a special demon beast, the Sea God Whale, obtaining 1,000 merit points. The reward for the Black Jiao Dragon King was 3,000. The sample of the Sea God Whale was extremely precious, and the combined value of an Innate Divine Seal and the bloodline sample also exceeded 1,000. As for the intact corpse of the Black Jiao Dragon King, it was worth 2,000 merit points.

"Seven thousand merit points, huh." Wang Qi exclaimed, "How long have I been fighting? The money is coming in too fast, isn't it?"

By now, he no longer cared that much about the amount of merit points. He had mastered great technology that led to a new era, and the Zhenhai Navy had already brought him over one hundred thousand merit points. A different level naturally commands a different vision. His exclamation was simply out of "never having thought that making money could be this easy."

"Xiao Qi, your speed is indeed incredibly abnormal, meow." Mao Zimiao had heard of Wang Qi's combat achievements, but still shuddered when she actually saw the corpse of the Jiao Dragon, "This time it's a Beast Tide, and it's a particularly special one at that."

Usually, when Sea Demons attacked, it was primarily Primordial Spirit Cultivators and ordinary Guardian Envoys who worked together to suppress them. Guardian Envoys were mainly responsible for patrolling the sea borders and monitoring the movements of the Sea Demon colonies, helping to take care of stray Sea Demons along the way. After all, having Primordial Spirit Cultivators patrol to and fro would be somewhat wasteful. But during a Beast Tide, Great Demons at the level of Transformation, Divine Skills, and even the Demon God Stage could potentially be mixed among the horde, adding greatly to the danger, leaving little room for Guardian Envoys to contribute.

This wave was specially sent by the Dragon Clan to meet their demise, with the highest level only being Transformation, so even Cultivators who had not reached the Primordial Spirit Stage could have the opportunity to kill a Transformation Demon Clan member on their own, without having to share rewards with high-order Cultivators.

Wang Qi pondered, "So, Guardian Envoys' income wouldn't be too low either, eh? They have a base salary on a normal day, and there are plenty of chances to kill the Demon Clan. Their monthly income is over a hundred merit points, and during a Beast Tide, it can even reach over a thousand."

Mao Zimiao sighed, "If only it were so simple, meow. The income of Guardian Envoys is indeed very high, but facing a Beast Tide is also very dangerous, meow. If you don't want to accidentally fall, you have to spend a fair amount of income to prepare life-saving tricks and contingencies, meow. Moreover, some special treatments, like eliminating hidden dangers brought by cultivation or reconstructing most of the body, also consume merit points, meow. It's hard for Guardian Envoys to save money."

Wang Qi mused aloud, "So that's how it is..."

"Plus, there's something like a market here, where Guardian Envoys trade various items using merit points," Mao Zimiao continued, "Because the Immortal Alliance doesn't buy second-hand Magic Artifacts, items that are phased out but undamaged by the Guardian Envoys can still be put to use there."

"Speaking of which, the main expense must be the Cultivation Techniques, right?"

Mao Zimiao fretted, "The path to the Primordial Spirit, meow! If you don't have the aptitude for research, you must observe the methods of many families. You can only 'employ' to 'forge' your way along the Primordial Spirit path. Without the compilations from the Sects, even a Low-Grade Primordial Spirit path is difficult, meow."

Wang Qi nodded, "Exactly..."

"Xiao Qi, I always feel like we're not talking about the same thing. "

The battleground between the Immortal Alliance and the Dragon Clan was always determined by top combat power, and Guardian Envoys were only responsible for daily patrols. Especially during a Beast Tide. Such a large-scale catastrophe would eventually be taken over by Primordial Spirit Cultivators, so why must those low-level Guardian Envoys fight to the death?

It's because the battle rewards of the Beast Tide are incredibly high, with the possibility of striking it rich from one battle.

And to try your luck at wealth during a Beast Tide, you need to buy materials to enhance yourself at the Immortal Alliance.

And in this process, the Immortal Alliance gains more benefit.

The Immortal Alliance's merit system is already more biased towards Cultivators adept at research. But those Cultivators who are not good at research are the backbone of the Modern Immortal Path, the vital producers, and consumers. The Western Border is where those who are ambitious yet lack aptitude are provided with opportunities to earn merit points.

And the large circulation of merit points it fostered also means that this new credit currency, electronic currency, is gradually replacing the barter system and transactions with Spirit Stones that were originally in the Immortal Dao, further strengthening the Immortal Alliance's influence over Cultivators.

Ultimately, it's also an excellent training ground provided for Sect Disciples.

In Keynes's theory, a nation digging a hole and then filling it back in might seem useless, but in fact, can create economic benefits. Wang Qi thought the practices in the Western Border were somewhat in the same vein.

In truth, Guardian Envoys do not need to confront the Beast Tides, and the results of a group of Guardian Envoys bravely fighting are incomparable to a random strike from any Primordial Spirit Cultivator.

But, it stimulates the economy!

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After coming out of the Identification Science Department, Wang Qi made another trip to the Three Rivers Pavilion, a subsidiary of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, purchasing some calculator components and accessories. Then he went to the Alchemy Workshop to buy some high concentration amino acids and glycerol—although the Life Flame could counteract some Elixirs, the lost body mass could not be spontaneously generated. These substances helped Wang Qi recover quickly.

Mao Zimiao watched curiously, asking, "Xiao Qi, what are you preparing to do?"

Wang Qi didn't conceal his intentions, "I'm planning a trip out to sea soon."

"Out to sea?"

"Don't worry, don't worry, the wealthy Ai Changyuan is hosting, and he even hired a Primordial Spirit Master as a bodyguard," Wang Qi said while pondering what else he needed to purchase. "I'm just getting prepared now."

Mao Zimiao's expression tightened, "Going out to sea? How far? Isn't it very dangerous, meow?"

"Even if I wanted to die, the Ai Family wouldn't just stand by and watch Ai Changyuan throw his life away, right?" Wang Qi's attitude was very relaxed.

Mao Zimiao still looked quite nervous, "So, do you want to go buy some more magic artifacts, meow?"

"Magic artifacts, hmm, I don't normally use them much, but this time is a bit special..." Wang Qi thought for a moment and said, "I'll go buy a high-order magic robe. Yes, that's right, I've suddenly come up with a new idea!"

Mao Zimiao suddenly felt a chill, "Your ideas, Xiao Qi..."

They're either very dangerous or extremely embarrassing...

However, this time Wang Qi was quite well-behaved and selected a top grade heavy artifact-level vestment robe from the shop. A robe of this caliber possesses its own innate enchantments and wonders. Besides being exceptionally sturdy and unfazed by combat, it also has the abilities to repel water and dust—in other words, there's no need to wash it.

Additionally, he purchased nearly a hundred sword artifacts, all of them top grade talisman artifacts. The current Wang Qi could easily destroy them with a flick of his hand. It was unknown what he had bought them for.

Apart from that, there was also a... scarf...

Mao Zimiao looked at Wang Qi with suspicion, "Xiao Qi, are you planning to give it to some girl, meow?"

"How could that be?" Wang Qi shook his head, "When considering my own lifebound magical treasure, I might think about a towel-shaped artifact to get a feel for it in advance."

Especially considering the possibility of fighting in the cosmos in the future. Lifebound magical treasures are capable of upgrading along with their owner's cultivation, so it's best to choose one that would be useful in cosmic battles. A towel is basically the most versatile artifact a cosmic wanderer could possess.

While lightly tapping on the items from his shopping spree, Wang Qi began to feel a hint of embarrassment—how he had once taken the concept of "relying not on outer objects" to the extreme.

He hardly ever exploited even a fraction of the mythic abilities of the Kun Mountain Sword he carried. When his cultivation was weaker, he at least utilized its heavy quality, and now that his swordsmanship had improved, he entirely treated it as an ordinary sword, using it only because of its extreme durability to damage. It was a true case of a pearl cast into the darkness. He did make use of several high-order calculators, but those were supporting artifacts, unable to play a decisive role in battle.

Others were all about killing for treasure, but it seemed that every magical treasure he took after killing someone would just be carelessly tossed into the recycling bin for waste products.

Even as a cultivator on the science side, failing to make use of the advantages of tools—how embarrassing!

Remembering this, Wang Qi suddenly felt inspired. He said to Mao Zimiao, "Come to my house tomorrow, I'll show you something incredible!"

Seeing the expression on Wang Qi's face, Mao Zimiao couldn't help but shiver again, "I have a feeling it's not going to be anything good, meow..."

"Do you equate my creation of a new path to failure?" Wang Qi tapped Mao Zimiao on the head.

"Ow, meow!"

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The next day, Mao Zimiao arrived at the entrance of Wang Qi's rented courtyard with an uneasy heart.

"I always feel like if I go in, I'm going to see some strange and bizarre things, meow." Mao Zimiao took a deep breath and then knocked on the door. Suddenly, a screen popped up on the door that read: "Welcome."

"Meow! What is this?"

The screen read: "Acquired Will Jarvis acts as the teacher's assistant and butler. Welcome, Miss Mao Zimiao. The teacher has already scheduled your visit on his calendar, please enter."

"Acquired Will, huh." It was then that Mao Zimiao remembered that during these six years, Wang Qi had once received the Dao Artifact Award and owned a high-order calculator, so having an Acquired Will was not impossible. But it wasn't until she saw the door automatically opening that she realized something was off.

"Isn't Acquired Will only capable of commanding those artifacts linked with calculators, meow!" Mao Zimiao exclaimed in surprise as she looked at the entrance, "It's impossible for the whole courtyard's gate to be a magic artifact!"

No, if you sense carefully, there is mana... Xiao Qi's aura. He spread his own mana throughout the entire courtyard...

Wang Qi called out from inside the house, "Azimiao?"

"Xiao Qi, you really are something, meow. You actually used your mana to open the door, but claim it's done by Acquired Will... meow?" As Mao Zimiao entered the room, she jumped in fright. Wang Qi was shirtless, his body studded with nearly a hundred silver needles, with Life Flames burning fiercely around him. She hurriedly asked, "Xiao Qi, are you injured?"

"No, no, no." Wang Qi waved his fingers, "First of all, the power that opened the door just now was indeed my mana, but that deed was indeed done by Acquired Will. I'm experimenting with a new path."

"What, meow?"

Countless swords rose from behind Wang Qi, shooting throughout the yard. Watching the sword array gradually take shape within the yard, Wang Qi smiled, "Calculators can't be used against enemies because the 'language' used by human consciousness and calculator road ranks are completely different; their thinking goes in opposite directions. But, I have bypassed that limitation." (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit qidian.com to cast recommendation votes, monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)