# Chapter 5: Digital Cultivation
Five thousand yuan burns a hole in my pocket like radioactive material. For someone who's spent years calculating whether I can afford both rice and eggs in the same week, having this much cash feels surreal. More importantly, it represents freedom—the ability to invest in my cultivation without worrying about rent money.
But spending it wisely requires research, and research in the supernatural world happens in digital shadows.
I'm sitting in a 24-hour internet café in the Haidian district at 3 AM, surrounded by gaming addicts and insomniacs, accessing forums that don't appear in standard search results. The kind of places where people trade information about monster weaknesses, discuss Hunter politics, and occasionally offer services that exist in legal gray areas.
The screen glows with the logo of "Cultivator's Corner"—a message board hidden three layers deep in the dark web, accessible only through encrypted browsers and referral codes. According to Liu Mei, it's where serious practitioners go to buy, sell, and trade everything the Hunter Association doesn't want civilians to have.
My newly acquired Underground network access provides the authentication needed to view premium content. Within minutes, I'm browsing a digital marketplace that would make government regulators have nightmares.
[FEATURED LISTINGS - CULTIVATION RESOURCES]
Thunder Path Supplementary Techniques (Digital Manual)
Ancient Liu family martial arts, specialized for lightning cultivation
Includes: Thunder Step Mastery, Lightning Armor Formation, Storm Calling Basics
Price: 8,000 yuan or equivalent in monster parts
Seller Rating: 4.8/5 stars (127 reviews)
Meridian Expansion Pills (Alchemical Grade B)
Increases spiritual energy capacity by 15-20%
Side effects: Temporary muscle cramping, electrical sensitivity
Price: 12,000 yuan per bottle (30 pills)
WARNING: Not compatible with fire or ice cultivation paths
Dimensional Crystal Fragment (Tear Artifact)
Harvested from Beijing Sector 7 incursion, grade A purity
Effects: Accelerated cultivation near active use, spatial awareness enhancement
Price: 25,000 yuan FIRM - No negotiations
Note: Possession without Hunter license technically illegal
Storm Tiger Claw Technique Manual (Physical Copy)
Combines lightning cultivation with beast-style martial arts
Includes traditional breathing patterns and 47 combat forms
Seller claims lineage traces to Shaolin monastery
Price: 6,500 yuan + shipping
Available for pickup in Shanghai
The variety is staggering. Cultivation manuals from disbanded sects, alchemical pills that enhance spiritual development, artifacts torn from interdimensional creatures, and techniques that the government officially denies exist. It's like browsing Amazon, if Amazon sold supernatural power and didn't care about legal compliance.
[Host should prioritize technique diversity over raw power enhancement,] the system advises as I scroll through options. [Current lightning specialization creates predictable combat patterns. Additional martial arts schools would provide tactical flexibility.]
"Which ones complement Thunder Path cultivation?"
[Analyzing available options... Recommendation: Storm Tiger Claw Technique for close combat enhancement, plus any Tear Artifact for cultivation acceleration. Budget allows both purchases with reserves remaining.]
I click on the Storm Tiger Claw listing for detailed information. The seller—username "Ancient_Wisdom_88"—has included sample pages that make my family's notes look like children's crayon drawings. Professional calligraphy, detailed anatomical diagrams, and movement patterns that flow like water across rice paper.
The description claims the technique originated in a monastery that specialized in training warrior monks to fight supernatural threats. During the Cultural Revolution, the monks scattered and their techniques were lost—except for copies preserved by a few families who understood their value.
Whether that's true or marketing nonsense doesn't matter. What matters is the sample techniques demonstrate sophisticated integration of animal movement patterns with internal energy cultivation. Where my Thunder Path focuses on explosive power and mobility, Storm Tiger emphasizes fluid transitions between offense and defense.
I open a private message window.
Zhang_Thunder_27: Interested in Storm Tiger Claw manual. Can you verify authenticity?
The response comes within minutes.
Ancient_Wisdom_88: New buyer? Check my reviews. 127 successful transactions, zero complaints. Manual includes authentication seals from original monastery. Also throw in beginner-friendly meditation guidance for first-time purchasers.
Zhang_Thunder_27: Payment method?
Ancient_Wisdom_88: Cash on pickup preferred. Meeting location negotiable within Shanghai metropolitan area. When can you travel?
Shanghai. Three hours by high-speed rail, manageable for a weekend trip. But first, I need to secure the other half of my shopping list.
The Dimensional Crystal Fragment listing draws my attention like a magnet. Tear Artifacts are legendary among cultivators—fragments of otherworldly materials that retain traces of interdimensional energy. Possessing one without proper licenses carries severe penalties, but the cultivation benefits reportedly justify the risk.
The seller's profile shows minimal information beyond a perfect 5-star rating and the ominous username "Void_Walker_Prime." Their other listings include things like "Nightmare Essence (bottled)," "Spectral Steel ingots," and "Maps to uncharted pocket dimensions."
Either a legitimate high-level practitioner or an extremely creative scammer.
I send another private message.
Zhang_Thunder_27: Dimensional Crystal Fragment - still available? Can meet in Beijing area.
Void_Walker_Prime: Available. Warning: Fragment actively radiates spatial energy. Requires spiritual concealment during transport. Your cultivation level?
Zhang_Thunder_27: Body Refinement Stage 2, advancing to Stage 3 soon.
Void_Walker_Prime: Adequate for handling Fragment safely. Meeting location: Zhongshan Park, east entrance, tomorrow 10 PM. Bring cash and discrete storage container. Ask for "Chen."
Tomorrow night. That gives me twenty-four hours to arrange the money and prepare for what might be my riskiest transaction yet.
But first, I need to solve a more immediate problem: explaining a weekend trip to Shanghai without revealing why I suddenly have travel money.
---
"Medical consultation," I tell Boss Liu the next morning, using the same excuse that's worked before. "Specialist in Shanghai wants to see me about... ongoing issues."
Liu frowns but doesn't push for details. I've been a reliable worker long enough to earn some trust, and frankly, he's too busy managing the concrete pour to care about my personal life.
The high-speed rail to Shanghai costs 400 yuan—a negligible expense compared to my current resources, but still enough to make me appreciate how dramatically my financial situation has changed. Six months ago, this trip would have been impossible. Now it's an investment in power development.
I spend the journey reviewing my family's cultivation notes, looking for techniques that might complement the Storm Tiger style. The Thunder Path emphasizes straight-line attacks and explosive power, but the notes contain hints of more sophisticated applications—something about "flowing like water, striking like lightning."
Maybe integrating beast-style movements would unlock those advanced concepts.
The meeting location turns out to be a traditional tea house in Shanghai's old quarter, the kind of place where retired professors discuss philosophy while tourists take Instagram photos. Ancient_Wisdom_88—who introduces himself as Master Chen, a man in his sixties with the kind of lean build that suggests lifelong martial arts practice—fits perfectly into the environment.
"First time buying cultivation materials?" he asks after we've ordered tea and exchanged pleasantries.
"Is it that obvious?"
"You carry yourself like someone with real training, but you're nervous about the transaction. Experienced practitioners treat these purchases like buying groceries." He slides a wrapped package across the table. "Storm Tiger Claw complete manual, plus supplementary meditation guides. Authentic monastery seals on page three."
I unwrap the package carefully, revealing a book bound in what looks like actual tiger hide. The pages are rice paper, the ink is traditional brush calligraphy, and the authentication seals are exactly what the photos promised. Even more impressive, the manual radiates subtle spiritual energy—a sign that it was created by someone with genuine cultivation achievement.
"How much of this can I learn on my own?" I ask.
"Depends on your foundation. Basic forms, anyone with decent body conditioning can master. Advanced applications require years of dedicated practice." His eyes narrow slightly. "What's your background? The way you examined the manual suggests formal training."
"Family tradition. Thunder Path cultivation."
His expression shifts to surprise and respect. "Thunder Path? I thought that lineage died out during the wars. Your family survived the purges?"
Purges. Another piece of my heritage I don't understand. "What purges?"
Master Chen's face darkens. "1960s through 1980s. Government decided traditional cultivation was 'feudal superstition' and systematically hunted down practitioners. Some families went underground, others fled the country, many were simply... eliminated." He studies me carefully. "If your family preserved Thunder Path techniques through that period, they were either very lucky or very clever."
Or very desperate, based on the condition of my family's notes. I'm starting to understand why my ancestors fell from prominence—they weren't just victims of changing times, but active targets of systematic persecution.
"Storm Tiger complements Thunder Path beautifully," Chen continues. "Lightning provides the power, tiger provides the precision. Combined properly, you'd have both explosive strikes and fluid defense."
The transaction completes without incident. 6,500 yuan changes hands, and I leave Shanghai with a cultivation manual that represents centuries of accumulated martial wisdom.
Now for the risky part.
---
Zhongshan Park at 10 PM feels like the setting for a spy thriller. The east entrance is poorly lit, with enough shadows to conceal questionable activities but not so isolated that screams would go unheard. Perfect for transactions that skirt legal boundaries.
I arrive fifteen minutes early, carrying a small backpack with 25,000 yuan in cash and a lead-lined box I purchased from a scientific equipment supplier. If dimensional crystals really do radiate exotic energy, lead shielding seems like basic prudence.
"Chen?" The voice comes from behind me, soft but carrying clearly in the night air.
I turn to find a woman in her thirties wearing a long coat that could conceal anything. Her face is unremarkable, forgettable—the kind of features that disappear in a crowd. But her eyes reflect the park's dim lighting with an unnatural silver gleam.
"You're Void_Walker_Prime?"
"Among other things." She produces a small object wrapped in black silk. "Dimensional Crystal Fragment, harvested from the Fengtai incident three weeks ago. Grade A purity, approximately 40% dimensional resonance remaining."
The wrapped object pulses with barely contained energy, making the hair on my arms stand up even through the silk covering. When she partially unwraps it for inspection, I see what looks like crystallized space—a fragment of material that seems to exist in more dimensions than my eyes can process.
"Storage precautions?" I ask.
"Lead lining is adequate for short-term containment. For extended storage, keep it away from electronics and sleeping areas. The spatial distortion can cause... unpleasant dreams." Her smile is sharp. "But for cultivation purposes, it's perfect. Hold it during meditation sessions and your advancement rate will double."
Double advancement rate. The system's calculations suggest that could cut my Stage 3 breakthrough time from 48 hours to 24.
"Any other warnings?"
"Don't let Hunter Association scanners near it. The energy signature is distinctive enough to identify from three blocks away." She extends her hand. "Payment?"
I count out 25,000 yuan while she carefully wraps the crystal in additional shielding material. The transaction feels surreal—a year's worth of construction wages for a piece of interdimensional rock that probably doesn't legally exist.
But as I place the crystal in my lead-lined container, I feel its power calling to the spiritual energy in my meridians. Even shielded, it resonates with my Thunder Path cultivation like a tuning fork struck at the perfect frequency.
"Pleasure doing business," Void_Walker_Prime says, then simply... isn't there anymore. Not invisible, not hidden—genuinely absent, as if she stepped sideways through dimensions.
I don't wait around to figure out how she did it. Lead box secured in my backpack, I head home to begin the most intensive cultivation session of my life.
[Acquisition Complete: Storm Tiger Claw Manual + Dimensional Crystal Fragment]
[New Resources Detected: Technique Diversity +200%, Cultivation Acceleration +100%]
[Recommended Integration Timeline: 72 hours intensive study and practice]
[Warning: Dimensional Crystal may attract unwanted attention from sensitive individuals]
Three days of intensive cultivation with doubled advancement rate. By the end of the weekend, I should reach Body Refinement Stage 3 and have basic competency in a second martial arts school.
The only question is whether I can maintain my construction worker facade much longer. Every advancement makes the disconnect between my public identity and true capabilities more obvious.
But that's a problem for future me. Right now, I have techniques to master and power to cultivate.
After all, grinding never hurt anyone. Even when it involves black market purchases and interdimensional contraband.
Especially then.
[Grinding Phase 3 Initiated: Resource Integration and Rapid Advancement]
[Stage 3 Breakthrough: Estimated completion in 23 hours with optimal cultivation conditions]
Time to see what Thunder meets Tiger can accomplish.