At this time.
The blacksmiths were still gathered in small groups, discussing Jiucai Rong's case.
Su Yuniang, exasperated, ran over and kicked one of them, saying, "Stop chatting and get to work. I bet people are about to log in soon. Do you guys clock in on time to play games or what?"
The blacksmiths were not much affected by Su Yuniang's ascension.
Because her prestige was enough, plus yesterday's conversation with Jiucai Rong....
The perpetrator was her!
Sure enough, the Snowstorm Manor investigation plot was here!
But everyone just kept their complaints to themselves and started working. However, as they worked, they couldn't help but start gossiping again.
"It's 8:05. Why hasn't he logged in? He's five minutes late, and if he's like this during a guild event, won't the guild collapse without its leader?"
"You don't get it, do you? This isn't exactly a character collapse. Clearly, he's the victim."
"What do you know about it? This is social death, digging up his dark history."
"Yeah, right, you think it's easy. Some people would rather die than suffer social death. In a car accident, you'd format your phone immediately, wouldn't you? Wanna try showing your browser history to your relatives and friends?"
"Whoa, hahaha, I get it."
"And you're laughing? It's too tragic. Just thinking about my parents and brothers looking at me with those freaky gazes... I'd bury my head in my ass, hiding away."
"Oh, by the way, what did you think about yesterday's talk about Shoushan Copper?"
"Hmm, I think it's interesting. Even if it's not real, those sneaky developers might secretly plagiarize and alter the settings, making it the real Shoushan Copper."
"Because it's a golden skull? So Magic Copper is the Sea of Consciousness materialized, and it can store endless mana? Such foreshadowing from the developers!"
"It's brass-colored."
"Maybe the skull's varnish peeled off and faded!"
Everyone enjoyed their conversation while moving bricks, clearly treating it like a chatroom.
Su Yuniang was promoted to management and didn't have to go into the field to move bricks anymore. She watched over these brick-moving workers and took the chance to sneak beside the old steward, planning to ask some questions.
She was different from Jiucai Rong.
Jiucai Rong loved business and was a business talent.
Meanwhile, she liked thrills, adventure, fighting monsters, and leveling up. She was interested in cultivation.
But in this game, cultivation wasn't mainstream. If she cultivated like the natives, it would take ten or eight years, which was too slow.
Spiritual Root, huh.
It looked incredibly interesting, didn't it!
But she had to give it a try, right?
"Master Steward, if I want to cultivate, how should I go about it?"
Su Yuniang's eyes sparkled as she raised her biceps, heart and eyes filled with "Give me a hidden quest," boasting:
"To be honest, I'm the martial arts prodigy in our race, one in a million!"
Ning Zheng looked up, understanding that tone of expectation.
He had been the same once.
But reality gave him a harsh blow.
The chubby steward looked at him with disdain and said, "You, a worthless person, want to cultivate?" like looking at a stray dog.
After all.
To say it nicely, the Tao is not easily shared. To put it bluntly, who wants to compete for resources with someone?
Even though cultivation techniques are now widespread, granting everyone the chance for transcendence, it was only taught to those who reached the standard of a Confucian Scholar.
But before, did slaves even deserve to read? To cultivate?
"Cultivation is an extremely difficult thing. Luckily, you met me. I can help pave the way for your search for immortality, saving you some detours and hardships."
Ning Zheng sighed, stood up, unlocked the door, and moments later, returned with several books from the steward's study:
"Cultivation begins with cultivating the mind. If you understand it, you're qualified to cultivate. If you're really determined, you can give it a try."
Su Yuniang looked bewildered at "True Heart Understanding," "Observing Things and Knowing Oneself," and "Pure Heart About Me," opening the first page filled with the philosophical breath of Taoism, all about self-cultivation.
Turned out it was a game for health enthusiasts.
Soon, Su Yuniang was absorbed.
Being a top student, she wanted to see what bizarre things were in the book, fearing it might be a mishmash of classic thoughts from reality.
Moments later.
She started feeling something wasn't right, "This book is incredible, an independent lineage? Its classics, at first glance, even surpass some ancient sayings... making a game with such an interesting book..."
She grew excited, quickly grasping the world's system.
Why must one read books?
The first step of cultivation is to open the Three Flowers, which are Essence, Qi, and Spirit, opening these three windows is to bridge to Heaven and Earth.
Essentially, one needs to question the heart, enlighten the mind and understand one's nature.
Yet, even most modern people who have read since childhood can't achieve this.
Many modern people live their lives muddle-headed, working nine to five, just going through the motions, without dreams of their own, without steadfast beliefs...
Not to mention the ancient people who didn't even read?
Without reading books, they can't even understand the world!
They might even confine themselves, never leaving the village their whole life, guarding a small piece of land, with a naive foolishness in their eyes.
So they must read books, or else they won't survive the questioning of heart, and won't be able to bridge Heaven and Earth.
In more sophisticated terms:
You might not have enough time to travel the world, to experience the dust, to see the blooming flowers.
But when you read thousands of books, you can experience again and again the sadness and great love that ancient people went through, through their biographies, ideas, life, paths, and faiths.
Ultimately, you may put down the book one morning, let out a long sigh: "All these volumes are not me, only then do I know who I am."
Thus, it is achieved, eventually seeing the vast world in the heavens and earth.
"This game... it's full of sophistication."
Su Yuniang suddenly becomes dazed, lifting her head to look at the vast sky above the manor, full of shock: "Cultivation, cultivation, this is truly... Dao."
...
...
Ning Zheng looks at her and shakes his head.
Cultivation is very difficult, very difficult, it cannot be achieved in one day or one month.
However, their cultivation is also a good thing, anyway, they can't succeed, but there are two major benefits.
First, the wages received, Magic Coins found their place for spending.
Second, although there's no cultivation, the body refined by Spiritual Qi is advanced, and becomes an excellent high-grade forging material, making the body somewhat tempting.
Isn't it like a blacksmith making money by forging, improving his own body, then after death, the body turns back into forging material, isn't the money spent back on the manor?
"Wherever you earn money is where you spend it, can't take a penny away?"
Ning Zheng strokes his chin, secretly calculates a sum.
Moreover, although breakthroughs in High Realm often take years or decades, they still have the potential for entry into Low Realm! Even the lowest level auxiliary professional cultivators have their uses.
It should be known, in the Immortal Cultivation Realm there are many non-combat secondary professions.
Their manor, follows the path of the Artifact Refiner line, and in addition, there's Spirit Farmer and Alchemist.
In the cultivation circle, Spirit Farmers are the most numerous.
People mainly cultivate Spirit Rice.
But this also needs to be cultivated to the first body of the Five-Body Realm, opening the Three Flowers on the Top, and becoming entry-level Cultivator, to qualify as a Spirit Farmer.
Because the species of rice seed is different, different Spirit Rice will be produced.
This area belongs to the Miao Race, which spreads Witchcraft Technique, has heavy local customs, and the local specialty is Spirit Rice called [Wine Rice].
This Wood Spirit Root will show the corresponding [Innate Divine Techniques: Top Rice Flower], growing golden wheat-like hair resembling intricate braids, showcasing a minority culture style.
This is the specialization of Spiritual Root, some Spirit Roots only have vegetation in specific regions.
Spirit Farmers need to meditate daily, absorb the essence of the sun and moon, use spiritual wisdom to cultivate the [Top Rice Flower], wash hair with Spirit Water for nourishment, fertilize, and pest control.
It's heard that some low-level Spirit Farmer Tao Companions, at sunrise every morning, have breakfast by devouring each other's hair, not even peeling off the husk.
Mainly promoting one thing: saving.
It can be seen that the days of Spirit Farmers are tough too.
Besides, once you become a Spirit Farmer, you can't change the Spirit Root, you're non-combat Spirit Farmer for life.
Other cultivators passing through this region also feel amazed, saying things like "The natives are really wild here, Spirit Rice can be grown on the head" "Others open Three Flowers of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, their family opens rice flowers," "respect local customs" "bring back two jin of special rice".....
Regardless of everything.
Spirit Rice, Magic Coins, Meat Field, are known as the three basic cultivation resources.
Ning Zheng hasn't eaten Spirit Rice, hasn't eaten from the Meat Field, now only uses Magic Coins for cultivation, so cultivation speed is indeed slow.
In other words, aside from the special ability of Qi Fortune Value, his realm is equivalent to a commonplace Spirit Farmer Loose Cultivator outside.
Ning Zheng looks at Su Yuniang who is working hard reading, trying to understand, and sighs:
"Although the possibility is small, if there's really a possible success, perhaps I could find a Spiritual Root for her, try to let her cultivate this kind of non-combat Spirit Farmer Spiritual Root, and grow a head of brilliant golden twin tail rice flower braids."