I Idle in the World of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 45: She's Awake
On the ninth day, before dawn, Yue Long's phone buzzed first.
Not the wooden fish sound – a message alert. Yue Long shot up from her bedding, her rabbit ears straight up, fumbling for her phone. The light from the screen made her squint, but her pupils dilated the moment she saw the name.
Su Xiaoxiao. Not just one message – a whole string of them, filling the screen.
"Lin Luo, I'm awake."
"Was this sent five days ago? Why is it just coming through now?"
"No, the phone says 'Due to a temporal storm causing a six-day information delay, now resynchronizing unread messages.'"
Yue Long stared at the line for several seconds, then let out a little scream.
"Master! Sister Xiao's messages are here! They weren't sent today – they were sent five days ago!"
Lin Luo had already picked up his own phone. His screen was also flooded with Su Xiaoxiao's messages, popping up one after another like a faucet that had been clogged for a long time and suddenly turned on.
---
[Six days ago]
"We just crossed the spatial barrier between the Human Realm and the Land Realm. I… I don't know what happened. My body suddenly got so hot, like something was trying to burst out of me. The carriage – the carriage shattered! The Crimson Feather Luan bird carriage exploded! I'm floating in the sky. The whole Phoenix Kingdom seems to be shaking. So many Soul Transformation cultivators are flying over on mounts and swords, surrounding me. They're arguing."
"They're fighting over me. Saying things like 'this is an independent awakening – I want this good seed.' Another says 'you want? Look at your rank.' Someone else says 'this talent isn't for the likes of you.' I don't know them, but their clothes are different. Some have golden phoenixes embroidered on them, some have colorful phoenixes, and there are fire phoenixes, snow phoenixes, blue phoenixes, peacocks, rocs, thunderbirds, great winds. The Phoenix Kingdom seems to be divided into nine factions, the descendants of the nine daughters of the Divine Phoenix."
"Then a voice came from far away, saying something like 'this girl's bloodline is even purer than yours – she's worthy of my inheritance.' Then space split open, and a woman walked out – her whole body glowing with nine colors, like a rainbow solidified into human form. Everyone knelt and called her 'Divine Phoenix大人 (Lord).'"
"She took us back to the temple. The central palace, the most luxurious cave dwelling. I'm staying here now."
---
[Five days ago]
"I'm starting to awaken. My body can't move, but my mind is awake. I can see what's happening outside, but I just can't move. The guards say this is called an 'invincible state.' No one can hurt me during the awakening."
---
[Four days ago]
"Still awakening. So hungry. The guards say I can't eat during the awakening – only dew. I've been drinking dew for three days. Lin Luo, I want meat."
"The Phoenix Kingdom has spirit fruits, lots of them. But no meat. They put the fruits in a jade plate by my bed, but I can't move, so I can't eat them. Just looking at them makes me hungrier."
"I tried to open the sect warehouse. I could, but there was no meat inside. Only Glow Mushrooms and Purple Mushrooms. And you can't eat Glow Mushrooms raw."
---
[Three days ago]
"Still can't move. I tried to contact you and Yue Long with my spiritual sense, but the messages won't go out. The phone says 'Signal lost, reconnecting.' This stupid phone."
---
[Two days ago – finally awake!]
"I'm awake! I've awakened! Guess what – my eyes changed! Now I see things differently than before. I can see race, cultivation, traits – kind of like your Spirit Eye Technique, but without numbers. I just see it directly. Like when I look at a guard, I can tell what race he is, what cultivation he has, what he's good at. But not with specific values like your phone."
"Also! I have a whole new inheritance in my mind – a天赋攻击神通 (innate attack divine ability) from the Phoenix Golden Eyes – Solar True Fire. I can also release Nirvana True Fire from my hands – a healing ability."
"But – my cultivation level dropped. From Foundation Establishment Layer 1 down to Qi Refining Layer 3. But it's not really a drop – more like a refinement. The spiritual energy in my body is much purer and denser than before, and much easier to control when releasing techniques. Qi Refining Layer 3 now feels more solid than my old Foundation Establishment Layer 1. I tested it with a basic fireball technique – the fireball went from the size of a coin to the size of a volleyball, and it used less spiritual energy than before."
Yue Long crouched by the bed, holding her phone, reading the messages out loud. When she got to "fireball went from the size of a coin to the size of a volleyball," her rabbit ears shot up.
"Master, Sister Xiao got stronger. I need to get stronger too."
"Mm."
"You're just saying 'mm'?"
"You want me to say something else?"
"Yes!"
Lin Luo thought for a moment. "Congratulations on your successful awakening."
"You're mocking me." Yue Long punched his arm lightly.
"Alright, alright. Keep reading."
Yue Long rolled her eyes and kept scrolling.
"Also, my eyes changed – golden pupils. Phoenix Golden Eyes."
"I met that 'Divine Phoenix大人.' Her whole body radiates nine-colored light, but with my Golden Eyes I could see clearly – she's a spiritual body. Not a real person. And… she's incomplete. How to put it… she only has the seven emotions, missing the six desires. Half-step Scatter Immortal realm."
"She told me she can't maintain this form much longer. her本体 (main body) and this split spirit have been separated for over ten thousand years. She needs me to inherit this world."
"I asked her why she chose me."
"She said – because you were the weakest of the captives."
Lin Luo's eyelid twitched.
"I was really scared at the time," Su Xiaoxiao's messages continued. "But I gathered my courage and asked her – the phoenix is an auspicious creature, so why did she want to devour me when my bloodline was still weak? Was it to restore her spiritual body? Or to extend the time this incomplete spirit could stay? She said this world was originally the Sixth Realm of the Five Realms. Because of a heavenly tribulation, it was stripped down to the Heavenly Realm level. Then came spatial storms, plus internal conflicts among the Phoenix Kingdom's factions and damage to her spiritual body's source. For a long time, no one repaired or replenished the world's本源 (origin). So she needs me to inherit her position and teachings."
"You two probably didn't expect this. I didn't expect that I would dare to bargain with a half-step Scatter Immortal senior. I actually asked her what benefits I would get."
"The corner of her mouth twitched. She said I would inherit everything in this world."
"You know what that means? I definitely said that wasn't enough. I said that if I reach the Scatter Immortal level through tribulation, I want her herself – not this spiritual body – to take me as a personal disciple, and to owe me a favor."
Yue Long's rabbit ears shot straight up. "Master, Sister Xiao is so bold!"
"You're not so bad yourself lately. Negotiating business on your own."
Su Xiaoxiao's messages kept coming. "She was silent for a moment, but finally said yes. But with my current cultivation, I don't even qualify to take the test to inherit her position. Her spiritual body only has fifty years left. Within these fifty years, I must at least reach the Division Soul Stage. Only then will I be qualified to enter the本源秘境 (Origin Secret Realm) and fight for this world's origin."
"She appointed me as Sequence 0, above the nine major sequences. The investiture ceremony is in three days. In the end, she said that I must reach Division Soul Stage and obtain the world's origin before I can leave the Phoenix Kingdom."
"I'm trapped here now. But the good thing is, I can eat all the spirit fruits I want. I've been collecting the pits. I'll send them to Rat One when the signal gets better, and he can plant them in the spirit field."
Yue Long stared at the screen, her rabbit ears slowly drooping. "Master, will Sister Xiao need fifty years to come back?"
"Division Soul Stage. Not fifty years."
"How long will it take her to reach Division Soul Stage?"
"I don't know. But not that long."
Yue Long thought for a moment. "Then we'll have to wait a long time for her."
Su Xiaoxiao's messages jumped again. "Brother Lin Luo, the ceremony is in two days. I'm a little nervous."
Yue Long's rabbit ears twitched. "She called you brother?!"
Lin Luo didn't speak.
Yue Long read it again. "Brother Lin Luo."
"I saw it."
"Since when did you become her brother?"
"I don't know."
Yue Long took a deep breath and kept scrolling. Su Xiaoxiao's last message was: "I've saved all the fruit pits. I'll send them to you when the signal is better. Rat One is in for a treat."
Yue Long put her phone down, crouched by the bed, her rabbit ears drooping. "Master, Sister Xiao has spirit fruits over there, and we have meat over here. She can't come back, and we can't finish all the meat."
"If we can't finish, we'll save it."
"Saved food goes bad."
"The Dining Hall Elder will take care of it."
Yue Long thought for a moment. "Then should we save a piece for the Elder and salt the rest?"
Lin Luo looked at her. "You know how to salt meat?"
"No. But I can learn."
Lin Luo stood up and tucked his phone into his sleeve.
"Let's go. To the Dining Hall."
"Now? The sky isn't even fully bright yet."
"To check on the meat. And ask the Elder how to salt it."
Yue Long followed behind him, her rabbit ears bobbing. "Master, are you missing Sister Xiao?"
"No. Don't talk nonsense."
"Then why are you up so early?"
"Can't sleep."
"Why can't you sleep?"
"Thinking about the meat."
Yue Long stared at him for two seconds. "You're lying."
"I only lie to turtles, not rabbits."
Yue Long's cheeks puffed up, and she stopped asking.
The two left the mine and walked toward the Dining Hall. The sky had just brightened. The clouds in the east were dyed pale gold. Yue Long walked ahead, her rabbit ears twitching in the morning wind.
"Master."
"Yes?"
"Sister Xiao's cultivation is now Qi Refining Layer 3 – lower than mine."
"Refined Qi Refining Layer 3. Her strength isn't necessarily weaker than yours."
"Then I need to work hard. If she surpasses me, where will my face go as the senior senior disciple?"
"Senior or junior – they're all disciples of the Idle Sect. No difference."
Yue Long's rabbit ears drooped. "Oh. Okay." She hugged Lin Luo's arm.
The corner of Lin Luo's mouth moved.
After walking a while, Yue Long suddenly stopped, took out her phone, and opened her idle interface.
"Master, my idle speed has slowed down."
"What do you mean?"
"Before, merit +1+1+1 popped up very fast. Now it seems… a tiny bit slower."
"It's not slower. It's that your merit points are getting higher, and the merit needed to level up is increasing."
Yue Long thought for a moment. "What about Bone One? He's been idle fighting demon beasts. Has his leveling slowed down too?"
Lin Luo took out his phone and opened Bone One's interface. The black-gold skeleton was running through the ruins, a bolt loaded in his crossbow. His target was a Golden Core Layer 4 demon beast. The win rate showed 63%.
"His win rate is dropping. But his cultivation is still rising. Just slower than before."
"Why?"
"Because he's killed more and more Golden Core demon beasts. Ordinary Golden Core demon beasts don't give enough experience anymore."
Yue Long stared at the screen for a moment. "Master, does idle cultivation have bottlenecks too?"
"Yes. Just keep idling. Bottlenecks are meant to be broken. The rewards are good after breaking them."
Yue Long put her phone away. "True. Just keep idling."
---
The Dining Hall came into view. Wang Hao was crouched at the entrance, eating a steamed bun. When he saw Lin Luo and Yue Long, he froze, then stood up.
"Brother Luo? Sister-in-law Yue Long? What are you two doing here? The meat still needs two more days to stew."
"To check the heat." Lin Luo walked past him and pushed open the kitchen door.
The Dining Hall Elder was crouched in front of the stove, holding a fire poker, adding wood to the fire. When he heard footsteps, he looked up, his eyes squinting against the smoke.
"Sect Leader Lin? The meat needs two more days to stew. No rushing."
"I'm not rushing. I came to ask about something."
"What?"
"After the meat is stewed, how do I store what we don't eat?"
The Elder stood up and brushed the ash off his apron. "Nascent Soul demon beast meat is rich in spiritual energy. Ordinary salt won't preserve it. You need spirit salt. The Myriad Treasures Pavilion sells it. Not expensive – a hundred spirit stones a bag, enough to salt an entire demon beast."
Lin Luo nodded. "What else?"
"Dry it. Slice it thin, hang it in a ventilated place, and let it air-dry naturally. Dried jerky can last six months."
Yue Long's rabbit ears went up. "Jerky? Is it good?"
The Elder thought for a moment. "I've never eaten it myself. But I hear it's very fragrant."
The corner of Yue Long's mouth curved. "Master, let's make jerky."
"Eat the meat first. Make jerky from what's left."
"Okay!"
The Elder came out from behind the stove and looked at Lin Luo. "Sect Leader Lin, when are you planning to open your inn?"
"Waiting for the bones to be finished."
"Bones?"
"Demon beast bones for forging equipment. I need the equipment before I have the confidence to open."
The Elder thought for a moment. "Your inn's spiritual energy concentration is ten times higher than outside?"
"Yes."
"Then you don't need to wait for equipment. Spread the word, and people will come to stay. Ten times spiritual energy – cultivators below Golden Core will be fighting to get in. Are you still worried about no customers?"
Lin Luo looked at him. "Elder, you understand business too?"
"I don't. Just thinking out loud."
Lin Luo didn't speak. He stood in front of the stove, watching the broth in the pot churn. Dark gold grease rose and fell on the surface. The aroma of the meat mixed with the sweet smell of spiritual energy filled the whole kitchen.
Yue Long leaned over, her nose twitching. "Master, it smells so good."
"Yes."
"Can I try a little?"
"No. It's not done yet."
"Just a tiny bit. The broth."
The Elder took a small bowl from the cabinet, scooped a spoonful of broth, and handed it to Yue Long. "Try it. It won't hurt."
Yue Long took it, blew on it, and took a small sip. Her rabbit ears shot straight up.
"It's so good!"
Lin Luo looked at her. "Salty?"
"Not salty. Just right."
Yue Long handed him the bowl. "Master, try it too."
Lin Luo took the bowl and took a sip. The broth was very fresh, the spiritual energy very rich. A warmth spread from his throat down to his dantian.
"Just right," he said.
Yue Long smiled.
Wang Hao stood at the door, his neck stretched out long. "Brother Luo, can I try a little?"
Lin Luo handed him the bowl. Wang Hao took it and downed it in one gulp. His eyes lit up.
"Elder, this broth—"
"Don't drink too much of the broth. Too much will burst your meridians from the spiritual energy. You're a Taotie Physique, so you're fine. But they're not."
Wang Hao handed the bowl back to Yue Long and licked his lips. "Elder, when the meat is done, can you save a piece for me?"
"I'll save you a big piece. Taotie Physique – you eat a lot."
Wang Hao grinned.
Lin Luo turned and left the kitchen. Yue Long followed behind him, her rabbit ears bobbing.
"Master, the Elder said that if we spread the word, people will come. Should we spread the word?"
"No rush."
"Why?"
"The inn isn't renovated yet."
"How long will renovation take?"
"Wait for Peak Master Chen to finish forging the equipment. Then we'll ask him to help set up the formations too."
Yue Long thought for a moment. "So the equipment will take a month."
"Yes. We have to wait."
"Then the inn can't open for another month?"
"I can wait."
"Then what do we do for this month?"
"Just keep idling."
Yue Long took a deep breath. "Master, you haven't changed at all. Just keep idling."
---
Current Status
Main Account · Lin Luo
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 3 (Displayed: Qi Refining Layer 1)
Nine Cycles Mystic Art: Third Cycle (progress 0.1%)
Lightning Prison Indestructible Body: Second Layer
Defense: 1000
Attack: ~400
Spirit Stones: 5250 (900 owed to inn)
Possessions: Spirit Recovery Pill ×4, Life Extension Pill ×0, Bone Mending Pill (below top-grade) ×2, Antidote Pill ×3, Light Talisman ×4, Mountain Pass Token ×1, Drunken Immortal Residence VIP card, Myriad Treasures Pavilion VIP card, Realm-Breaking Talisman (authentic), half a broken sword, pale green jade slip, beast-hide map, Spirit Vein Heart (already placed in inn's well), Secret Realm Core Spirit Stone, spirit plant purchase contract, demon beast essence blood ×5, Fortune Inn ownership contract, inn keys, Ironback Wolf King skeleton ×12, Demon beast core (Golden Core) ×1, Ironback Wolf King hide ×1
Plan: Wait for Bone One to finish fighting Golden Core demon beasts and collect bones; have a gathering in two days; inn renovation (wait for Peak Master Chen's equipment to be ready); idle cultivation
Alt Account · Bone One (Demon Cultivation · Black-Gold Skeleton · Assassin Form)
Cultivation: Body Refining Layer 5 → Body Refining Layer 6
Status: Idle battle · Ancient battlefield, target Golden Core Layer 4 demon beast, win rate 63%
Crossbow bolts: replenishes 3 per day
Equipment: Poison Bone Spikes ×12, Bone Crossbow
Alt Account · Blood One
Cultivation: Qi Gathering Layer 8
Status: Hidden – Demon Abyss second layer
Alt Account · Rat One
Cultivation: Spirit Gathering Layer 6
Status: Spirit field at mine land
Sect · Idle Sect
Sect Leader: Lin Luo
Members: Yue Long, Su Xiaoxiao (awakened, Five-Colored Divine Phoenix bloodline)
Level: 2
Idle Bonus: +15%
Sect Contribution: Yue Long 60, Lin Luo 0
Idle Sect Disciple · Yue Long
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 2 (Human) + Essence Gathering Layer 1 (Buddhist)
Merit points: ~1150
Fudo Myoo's Resolution: 0.18% (idle speed feels slower)
Sect Contribution: 60
Today's good deed: Not yet done
Spirit Stone balance: ~1100
Possessions: Silver-white wrist guards (mid-grade magical tool)
Observation: Idle cultivation speed has slowed down
Idle Sect Disciple · Su Xiaoxiao (Five-Colored Divine Phoenix bloodline awakening complete)
Cultivation: Qi Refining Layer 3 (refined, spiritual energy density exceeds ordinary Foundation Establishment Layer 1)
Status: Phoenix Kingdom · Central Temple, Sequence 0, investiture ceremony in two days
Special status: Phoenix Golden Eyes (can see race, cultivation, special traits), Solar True Fire (innate attack divine ability), Nirvana True Fire (innate healing divine ability)
Limitation: Cannot leave the Phoenix Kingdom until reaching Division Soul Stage
Spirit fruit pits: Collected, waiting for signal to improve before sending to Rat One
Communication status: Online, six-day time delay synchronized
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Appendix: Special Cultivation Systems for Lin Luo and His Alt Accounts
Immortal Cultivation (Main Account · Lin Luo):
Qi Refining → Foundation Establishment → Core Opening → Fusion → Heart Movement → Golden Core → Nascent Soul → Soul Departure → Spirit Separation → Body Integration → Cave Void → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Demon Cultivation (Alt Accounts · Bone One, Blood One):
Qi Gathering → Body Refining → Core Condensation → Desire Embodiment → Devouring → Demon Infant → Soul Departure → Sense Separation → Body Fusion → Void Break → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Beast Cultivation (Alt Account · Rat One):
Spirit Gathering → Intelligence Awakening → Body Tempering → Bone Refining → Beast Core → Transformation → Soul Condensation → Spirit Roaming → Body Purification → Void Training → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Buddhist Cultivation (Yue Long):
Essence Gathering → Mortal Liberation → Core Mind → Will Dispersion → Clear Mind → Relic → Soul Movement → Void Transcendence → Pure Spirit → Void Passage → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Note: The above are the exclusive cultivation systems for Lin Luo and his alt accounts. Everyone else (side characters, enemies, etc.) uses the traditional system: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Training, Body Integration, Great Ascension, Tribulation Transcendence.
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(End of Chapter 45)