"What, birdseed? Are you kidding me, Du Shao?" Luo Qian heard Du Lengning's introduction about the weakness of the lightning spell master and spat out the tea in his mouth through the window of the Guanyan Building. Du Lengning shook her head and said, "Of course not. This guy is a demon immortal. Do you understand demon immortal? Nine out of every ten strange people in the immortal world are demon immortals."
Luo Qian nodded and said, "What you said is not wrong." He touched his chin and made a thoughtful expression, calculating in his mind that it seemed like he would have to make another trip to the lower realms. It just so happened that at the end of the last disc he smuggled for Ling Xiaose, there was an introduction to the latest videos of that female porn star. Just a few shots, but they were so hot that Young Master Ling couldn't control himself and kept asking me to get him the new video disc as soon as possible. Luo Qian was worried that Ling Xiaose's "allowance" had been cut recently, so he didn't have the money to pay his bills. So this time, he would just do him a favor and get it for him.
Du Lengning lowered his voice and said, "Lao Luo, are you going down again?" Luo Qian nodded. Du Lengning said, "That's perfect. Bring me a game magazine and send this out for me as well."
Luo Qian took it over and saw that it was a vote for a game beauty pageant. It turned out that this well-known domestic game magazine was holding a game and anime cosplay contest to select the most beautiful sister in the eyes of readers. Du Lengning had cut a vote from the last magazine Luo Qian brought him and had already filled in the contest number of his favorite sister and his own information.
Luo Qian glanced at it and frowned, "Young Master Du, why are all the materials you gave me mine?" The phone number and address information provided by Du Lengjing were all about Luo Qian's "base" in the lower world. Du Lengjing chuckled and put his arm around Luo Qian's shoulder, "We're brothers for life, can't you help me with this little favor?"
Luo Qian looked at him and flashed a sly smile, "Young Master Du, do you have any thoughts in your mind? Hmm? Tell me honestly, are you smitten with this sister?" He shook the ballot in his hand and said, "If you don't speak up, don't blame me for not helping." With that, he thrust the ballot into Du Lengning's hand.
Du Lengning hurriedly said, "No, no, brother, can I just say it's not good enough? Let me tell you, this sister is playing the role of my favorite game beauty. Wow, you have no idea how lifelike she is! From her appearance to her demeanor, she's almost the same as the beauty in the game!"
Luo Qian pondered for a moment. What did his infatuation with game beauties have to do with him? He couldn't go down to the mortal world and flirt with them, so it had nothing to do with him. As long as he had enough immortal jade, what couldn't he do for him?
"Sure, no problem. I'll take care of it." Luo Qian patted his chest.
After returning to his cave abode in the Fuchao Mountain with the ballot, Luo Qian tidied up briefly and prepared to descend to the lower realms.
According to the previous method, Luo Qianmeng would hold a mouthful of immortal spirit qi inside his body. At this point, the immortal spirit qi should be squeezed into the mysterious passage within his body, and then open the spatial passage leading to the lower realm. However, this time, as soon as the immortal spirit qi was held inside his body, it quickly leaked out from an unknown source!
Luo Qian was taken aback: What's going on? How could the compensation immortal technique that always works be useless? Let's try again! The immortal qi entered his body, but it was like a punctured tire, quickly leaking out from somewhere.
Luo Qian began to panic. This was not good. He had been doing quite well in the immortal realm, all thanks to this compensatory immortal technique. Without it, he would have no means of support in the future. It was really uncertain whether he could survive for five hundred years!
He tried several times in succession, but the result remained the same. However, after a few attempts, Luo Qian noticed a slight difference: it seemed that the loophole was not bottomless. After several infusions of immortal spirit qi, the rate of its leakage was slowly decreasing. Could it be that this "loophole" was about to be filled?
Luo Qian simply sat cross-legged and began to cultivate diligently. It was not that Tribulation Transcenders could not cultivate, but no matter how much Immortal Spirit Qi they inhaled and exhaled, it was difficult for it to precipitate in their bodies, making cultivation futile. Therefore, Luo Qian could no longer remember how long he had not cultivated.
After ascending, there are numerous sects in the immortal realm. As long as one's aptitude is not too poor, joining any sect will grant access to the sect's cultivation manual. However, Luo Qian's cultivation manual was purchased with money.
The immortal spirit energy was absorbed into his body, continuously and inexhaustibly, by the omnipresent yet elusive loophole. Luo Qian's body served merely as a conduit, inhale and exhale. Now, Luo Qian only absorbed and did not exhale, with only inflow and no outflow. In this way, it was unknown how long it had been, but the absorption rate of the loophole gradually slowed down, until it finally subsided, no longer absorbing the immortal spirit energy.
Luo Qian opened his eyes and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. This time, he was seriously scared. It was bad enough to ascend to become a Tribulation Transcender, but if he couldn't even use the only compensatory immortal technique for Tribulation Transcenders, then he would definitely be the most unfortunate among all Tribulation Transcenders!
Taking a deep breath, he suddenly held it in, and the door to the passage was pushed open. With a "bang", Luo Qian disappeared.
...
In the human world, Luo Qian had over a dozen different types of bird feed laid out in front of him. He sat on a garden square where some plump pigeons flitted around in the center. Luo Qian scattered the bird feed handful by handful, observing which type of bird feed the pigeons seemed to like the most. The bird feed that the pigeons liked the most was undoubtedly the most "delicious".
Finally, he identified one of them and picked up the package to take a look: "Sure enough, it's the most expensive one..."
After purchasing bird food, Luo Qian made a trip to the post office and mailed the ballot according to the address provided by Du Lengning. Then, he went to an electronic mall in the city and purchased the latest X-rated movie from a lecherous man wearing black-framed glasses.
Then, at the newsstand outside the electronics store, I bought a new issue of the magazine for Du Lengning.
Flipping through the magazine, I easily found the page featuring the beauty contest. This has been the flagship commercial project of this renowned domestic gaming magazine for the past six months, and it has been ongoing for five months, nearing its end. Apart from voting through the printed magazine, participants can also vote online and via SMS.
To prevent duplicate voting, a verification code must be entered for online voting. This verification code consists of two segments, and each magazine carries a set. Therefore, to vote online, one also needs a magazine. Voting via SMS is much more convenient, but each voting SMS costs one yuan.
To put it bluntly, it's just a means of promoting sales and making money.
The entire selection contest lasted for half a year, and the overall champion was finally determined. The reward was an endorsement contract with a well-known game company. Additionally, twenty lucky voters randomly selected by computer were awarded a ten-day trip to Europe.
Luo Qian casually flipped through and found the sister with the number 35 that Du Lengning liked. After applying makeup, she looked very cold and elegant. The greenish-black eye shadow outlined a pair of phoenix-like eyes, her eyebrows were thin and deep, and the neat bangs on her forehead curved like a blade. Her pointed chin slightly tilted up, making her eyes appear even colder. She wore a purple-blue dress with wide-open sleeves and a three-finger-wide white hem. One hand rested on her snow-white thigh, while the other held the hilt of the long sword behind her back.
"This kid, with such taste?" Luo Qian shook his head in disbelief. Unlike the wealthy young men of the immortal realm like Du Lengning, he had traveled countless times in the mortal world. Nowadays, girls can't be judged by their appearance. Even prehistoric creatures can dress up and look like fashionable beauties.
Turning further back, as this issue is the first issue of the last month, the magazine has published the overall voting rankings for the previous five months to encourage readers to strongly support their favorite sisters. The girl No. 35 that Du Lengning likes doesn't have a high vote rate, only occupying the fifth position. The contestant who ranks first poses an attractive pose, bending over and lying on the ground, with her round buttocks sticking out, smiling back, and holding a short knife made of red ink as blood in her mouth.
Luo Qian nodded and said, "Nowadays, people all like this type of girl: round hips, slim waist, and breasts big enough to squeeze the Pope to death. No wonder she can firmly occupy the first place on the list, with a gap of tens of thousands of votes between her and the second place.".
Luo Qian tucked the magazine into his chest, found a secluded spot, and returned to the immortal realm.
...
"Snap!" The magazine was slammed hard in front of Luo Qian. Du Lengning clenched her fists tightly and roared angrily, "Lao Luo, are you just going to watch this unfair beauty pageant and do nothing?" Luo Qian furrowed his brows and said with some dissatisfaction, "Young Master Du, what do you mean by this?" Du Lengning, with an unknown motive, began to lecture Luo Qian earnestly, "Lao Luo, we are immortals! What is an immortal? An immortal is the existence that upholds justice in the minds of those who suffer in the mortal world. Haven't you heard those people always muttering, 'God bless, God bless'? This election is unfair. Can you really just sit back and do nothing?"
Luo Qian glanced at him and said coolly, "If you want me to help your sweetheart win the beauty pageant, it's not impossible..." Du Lengning was overjoyed and said, "Thank you very much..." "Wait a minute!" Luo Qian interrupted him. "Let's talk business. To be honest, this magazine is not cheap. See? It costs 26 yuan per copy! On the ballot, there's a difference of more than 30,000 votes between the first and fifth places, which means more than 30,000 copies of the magazine. And you have to add the difference for the last month, so it will take at least 40,000 copies of the magazine to level the score. To ensure that your sweetheart wins with a convincing and overwhelming advantage, you must have a lead of 10,000 votes, which is 50,000 votes. Calculating this..." Luo Qian took out his large calculator from his pocket and tapped away, "This is 1.3 million! How can I have so much money!"
"Besides, it's already the last month, and the magazine comes out once a week. If you want your sweetheart to win without any apparent foul play, then the votes for these four weeks must be evenly distributed. That means I have to frequently intervene, and do you know how much risk that entails?"
Du Lengning raised his hands in surrender: "Alright, alright, Old Lei, don't keep calling me your sweetheart. It's impossible for me and her. I just want to help her. Tell me, how many immortal jade do you need?"
Luo Qian extended five fingers without expression and said, "For your sake, Mr. Du, I'm willing to take this risk. I'll waive my own labor fee, but you need to give me five million standard immortal jade."
"What!" Du Lengjing exclaimed, "Are you still doing this for my sake?" Luo Qian wore a sympathetic expression as he looked at him, "Young Master Du, it seems you really don't know the price level in the human world. One million three hundred thousand can buy a Lamborghini sports car..."
After some consideration, Du Lengjing shook her head and said, "Forget it. I don't have that much money recently."
...
Three days later.
"Lao Luo, please help me. I've spent the past two days replaying that game using the character she portrayed, and I've grown to like her more and more..."
Luo Qian sighed and said, "Du Shao, it's not that I don't want to help you, but you can't make me lose money, right?" Du Lengjing considered for a moment and said, "I don't have that much money on hand. I'll pay you two million standard immortal jade for now, and for the rest, I'll pay in installments!" This new term was actually learned from Luo Qian.
Luo Qianyi nodded and said, "No problem. You pay me one million standard immortal jade every month, and it's to be paid off in three months. Is that alright?" Du Lengning gritted her teeth and said, "No problem!"
...
Luo Qian returned to his cave abode in the Fuchuan Mountain and chiseled a small piece from the mirror stone doorstone outside his door. He then put it in his pocket and descended to the lower realms.
In the human world, at a renowned jewelry store, Luo Qianmian, clad in a stylish Gucci jacket and wearing sunglasses, sat in the VIP room. An elderly man with reading glasses held a magnifying glass, carefully examining the mirror stone.
At least one thing Luo Qian didn't deceive Du Lengning was that he really didn't have so much money. To scrape together 1.3 million yuan, he had to " reluctantly part with some of his possessions" and buy some things.
Although mirror stones are abundant in the immortal realm, if raising pigs were allowed there, the pig farms would surely be built with mirror stones; however, in the human realm, they are rare and precious treasures!
The old man examined it for a long time, frowned and thought for a while, picked it up again to take a look, then frowned and thought again, still unable to make up his mind. The old man looked at Luo Qian beside him and pondered over his background.
Dressed in expensive brand-name clothing, he looked like a prodigal who had stolen his family's treasures to sell. The old man was wary and handed the stone back to Luo Qian with both hands, smiling. "Hehe, I'm really sorry, sir. I'm not very discerning, and I really can't tell what kind of gemstone this is. Could you give us a moment to invite some experts to appraise it?" Luo Qian said, "Alright, I'll come back in three days." "Why don't we book a room for you at the Garden Hotel and you can wait for three days?" Luo Qian shook his head, "I don't have time."
Just as he put away the mirror stone and stepped out, the old man tapped on the wooden board beside him. In the adjacent room, a capable middle-aged man walked out. The old man gave a wink, and the middle-aged man nodded, then quietly followed Luo Qian.
The old man grabbed the phone on the table and dialed a number, his beard quivering with excitement: "Boss, that's right, it's jadeite! Our Changfao finally has jadeite... Alright, I'll be there right away."
The old man stepped out of the house and got into a black Buick sedan parked at the entrance. The car, carrying the old man, drove out of the city and into a villa located halfway up the mountain in the suburbs.
"Mr. Xiao, have you really seen it clearly?" asked a plump, fair-skinned middle-aged man wearing a pale pink shirt. Mr. Xiao nodded, still a little excited: "Yes, I have secretly observed the two chalcedonies from Deshengji and Ruifuxiang several times, so I'm sure I'm not mistaken."
The middle-aged man, with a dark brown cigar clenched between his fingers, took a few sharp puffs and nodded, saying, "Xiao Lao, I trust your judgment. I'll immediately send someone to investigate that kid's background. We must obtain the jade marrow, but it's best not to get into any trouble because of this.""That's exactly what I meant. That's why I didn't immediately say I wanted to buy it. Instead, I employed a delaying tactic..."
"Dong Dong..." A knock on the door sounded. The middle-aged man angrily said, "Didn't I say not to disturb us!" The subordinate in the black suit pushed the door open slightly to let his voice in, "Boss, the daredevil sent by Old Xiao to keep an eye on him has returned."
Mr. Xiao hurriedly said, "Quickly let him in."
Ganzi, the capable middle-aged man, has always been cautious and reliable in his actions, earning the appreciation of both the boss and Mr. Xiao. However, this time, when he appeared before the boss and Mr. Xiao, Ganzi was drenched in sweat. Upon entering the room, he fell to his knees with a thud and said, "Boss, Mr. Xiao, I'm useless. I... I lost track of the person..."
The boss and Old Xiao exchanged astonished glances. They knew Ganzi's abilities, and if even he had lost track of the person, then the latter's prowess could be imagined!
The boss, on the contrary, heaved a sigh of relief: "We have nothing to worry about. Such a capable person can't be a playboy. We can go ahead with this deal with confidence..."
Three days later, Luo Qian arrived as promised, accompanied by Jing Shi. As expected, Xiao Lao had arranged for several experienced experts. Everyone put on a show of determination together, while Luo Qian watched from the sidelines. Ever since he left the shop and noticed someone following him, Luo Qian had known what these people were up to.
He doesn't reveal what you're thinking, as long as you're willing to pay.