I Idle in the World of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 46: Spirit Salt and the Talisman
The next morning, Yue Long woke up even earlier than Lin Luo.
She crouched at the entrance of the stone chamber, her rabbit ears up, her phone screen lighting up her face. Merit +1, merit +1, merit +1 – the little wooden fish was still hitting, but the speed had indeed slowed down a tiny bit compared to a few days ago. She stared at the number for a few seconds, then put her phone away, stood up, and brushed her skirt.
"Master, get up. We're going to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion today to buy spirit salt."
Lin Luo leaned against the stone wall, his eyes still closed. "No rush."
"What do you mean no rush? The meat will be ready in two days. The Elder said we need spirit salt to preserve it. And you need to ask about the talisman. And we need to check on the inn. And we need to—"
"Did you do your good deed yesterday?"
Yue Long froze. "…No."
"Then go to the market first today and do a good deed. After that, go to the Pavilion. Buy the spirit salt, then check the inn. The meat can wait – it's still two days away."
Yue Long opened her mouth to say, "Didn't you just say no rush?" But when she looked at Lin Luo, she saw that his eyes were already open, and the corner of his mouth held a hint of a teasing smile.
"Master, you're teasing me."
"No. I'm helping you prioritize."
"Then why didn't you just say 'do the good deed first, then buy the spirit salt'?"
"Because then you wouldn't have asked me why."
Yue Long took a deep breath. "Fine. Good deed first. Let's go."
The two left the mine and walked toward the market. The sky had just brightened. The clouds in the east were dyed pale gold. Yue Long walked ahead, her rabbit ears bobbing in the morning wind, humming again. After a couple of bars, she suddenly stopped, turned back, and looked at Lin Luo.
"Master, you seem to be talking more today."
"Do I?"
"Yes. Before, you only said 'yes.'"
"I still say 'yes.'"
"But you just said a lot."
"Because you were asking."
Yue Long thought for a moment. "When I'm not asking, you don't talk?"
"Yes."
Yue Long took a deep breath. "Master, you're going to end up with no friends at this rate."
"I have you. That's enough."
Yue Long's rabbit ears twitched. "You can say something like that without blushing?"
"Not blushing. You are."
Yue Long touched her own face. It was a little warm. She quickly turned back around and kept walking. Her rabbit ears twitched even more in the wind.
---
The market had just opened. The wonton stall owner was putting noodles in the pot. When he saw them, he waved and smiled.
"Little girl, you're early again today!"
"Good morning, boss! Does anyone need help today?"
The owner thought for a moment. "Not today. But there is something – an old man lives alone in the east alley. His legs aren't good. Every morning he struggles to get water from the well. If you could help him carry two buckets of water, he'd be very happy."
Yue Long's rabbit ears went up. "Okay! I'll go!"
She turned and ran. After two steps, she turned back, took two empty bottles from her sleeve. "Boss, lend me these bottles to carry water."
The owner smiled. "No need to return them. My treat."
Yue Long ran off. Lin Luo didn't follow. He sat down by the wonton stall.
The owner looked at him. "You're not going to help?"
"She's fine on her own."
"You trust her."
"She's strong."
The owner smiled, put a bowl of wontons in front of Lin Luo. "Eat first. Wait for her to come back."
Lin Luo didn't refuse. He picked up the spoon.
---
When Yue Long came back, there was a leaf stuck to her rabbit ears and a wet patch on her skirt, but the two bottles in her hands were full of water. Her face was all smiles.
"Master! I helped the old man carry three buckets of water! He said thank you and even gave me two spirit fruits!"
She took two green fruits from her sleeve. They weren't big, and their skins had a thin layer of gloss.
"The old man said these are Green Spirit Fruits. He grows them himself. They're not worth much, but they're sweet."
Yue Long wiped one on her clothes, took a bite. Juice ran down her chin, and she quickly wiped it with her sleeve.
"So sweet! Master, try one!" She handed the other one to Lin Luo.
Lin Luo took the fruit, looked at it, didn't eat it, and put it into the Shared Storage.
Yue Long's rabbit ears drooped. "You're not eating it?"
"Saving it. For planting. Rat One will like it."
Yue Long froze for a moment, then smiled. "Master, you're so good to Rat One."
"He works."
"I work too."
"So you have yours too."
Yue Long thought for a moment. "That's true." She took out her phone and opened the mission interface.
[One good deed a day · Completed.]
[Merit +10.]
[Sect contribution +10.]
[Current sect contribution: 70.]
She put her phone away, sat down, and ate a bowl of wontons. After finishing, the two walked toward the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
---
At the Pavilion, a young shop assistant stood behind the counter. When he saw Lin Luo, he put on his professional smile. "Sir, what do you need?"
"Spirit salt. The kind that costs a hundred spirit stones a bag."
The assistant turned and took a bag of spirit salt from the shelf. A white cloth bag with the words "Myriad Treasures" printed on it.
Yue Long took it, looked at it, opened the seal, and smelled it. No particular smell, but the salt crystals inside were pale gold, shimmering faintly in the light.
"Master, it's golden."
"Yes. Mixed with crushed spirit stones. That's why it's expensive."
Yue Long sealed the bag and looked up at the assistant. "Is one bag enough to salt a whole demon beast?"
The assistant froze. "What demon beast?"
"A Nascent Soul demon beast."
The assistant's face twitched. "En… enough. One bag is enough for a whole cow. A Nascent Soul demon beast is bigger than a cow, but one bag should still be enough. If not, come back for more."
Yue Long put the bag into her storage pouch and was about to pay the spirit stones when Lin Luo stopped her.
"Hold on. I have a question."
The assistant looked at him. "Go ahead."
"The Realm-Breaking Talisman. Is it still here?"
The assistant's expression changed. "It… it is. Do you want to buy it?"
"Just asking the price."
The assistant hesitated. "The original price was ten thousand. Now… two thousand."
Yue Long's rabbit ears twitched. "Two thousand? That cheap?"
"No one wants it." The assistant lowered his voice. "Everyone knows about the last gateway to the Immortal Realm now. It was just an ancient battlefield, not the Immortal Realm. The talisman can open the gate, but it opens a gate to a battlefield. Who would spend ten thousand stones on a ticket to their death?"
Lin Luo didn't speak. Yue Long thought for a moment. "Then why doesn't the Myriad Treasures Pavilion just keep it?"
"No use keeping it." The assistant sighed. "The shopkeeper says if it doesn't sell, they'll have to send it to headquarters, maybe even destroy it."
Yue Long turned to Lin Luo. "Master, should we buy it?"
"No."
"Why?"
"No money."
"Don't you have over five thousand?"
"Need it for the phone update. Need it for the inn renovation. Need to keep some in reserve."
Yue Long thought for a moment. "Then buy it after the inn makes money?"
"Yes."
"What if someone else buys it by then?"
"They won't."
"Why?"
"No one wants it."
Yue Long opened her mouth, then closed it. She stopped asking.
The assistant looked at them, hesitated, and asked, "So… the spirit salt…"
Lin Luo counted out a hundred spirit stones from the Shared Storage and put them on the counter. The assistant took them, visibly relieved.
---
The two left the Pavilion and walked toward the inn. Yue Long walked ahead, her rabbit ears bobbing.
"Master."
"Yes."
"Do you think Liu Ruyan will come to you if she can't sell the talisman?"
"No."
"Why?"
"She doesn't know I still have spirit stones."
Yue Long thought for a moment. "Then when are you planning to buy it?"
"Wait for her to lower the price."
"To what?"
"One thousand."
Yue Long's rabbit ears twitched. "You're ruthless."
"Just business."
Yue Long looked at him. "Master, you used to hate trouble. Now you're getting into business?"
"Because I had no money."
"And when you have money?"
"Just keep idling."
Yue Long smiled.
---
The inn came into view. The sign at the entrance was still the same faded wooden board. The characters "Fortune Inn" were barely readable now. The door panels were new – replaced by Old Liu last time, coated with a layer of tung oil, gleaming in the sunlight.
Yue Long pushed the door open. The main hall was empty. The tables and chairs hadn't been moved in yet. A thin layer of dust covered the floor behind the counter.
She walked behind the counter and pretended to click an abacus. "Sir, would you like a room? Ten stones a day, two hundred a month, two thousand a year. Ten times the spiritual energy concentration. I guarantee you won't want to leave."
Lin Luo leaned against the doorframe, watching her act. "Yes. How many days will you be staying?"
"The rest of my life!"
"Not enough rooms."
Yue Long's rabbit ears drooped. "Then one month."
"Pay first."
Yue Long took two spirit stones from her sleeve and slapped them on the counter. "Two hundred. Keep the change."
Lin Luo looked at the two stones. "Those are two stones."
"One hundred ninety-eight owed."
"The Idle Sect doesn't do credit."
"Then I'll stay here myself." Yue Long took the stones back, walked around the counter, and headed to the back courtyard.
Lin Luo followed behind her.
---
The well water in the courtyard was still glowing. Since the Spirit Vein Heart had been placed at the bottom, the spiritual energy in the water had grown stronger every day. Now, standing by the well and taking a deep breath, the spiritual energy rushed from your nose into your lungs, like drinking a cup of chilled spiritual spring water.
Yue Long leaned over the well's edge and looked down. Her rabbit ears drooped, almost falling into the well.
"Master, the water is so bright."
"Yes."
"Do you think the Spirit Vein Heart will last forever?"
"Permanently."
"How long is permanently?"
"You'll be dead, and it will still be glowing."
Yue Long pulled her ears back and stood up. "Master, could you say something more auspicious?"
"You'll be dead, and it will still be glowing. That's auspicious. Even after you die, the inn is still here. The Idle Sect's legacy lives on."
Yue Long stared at him for three seconds. "You're teasing me."
"No. Just stating the facts."
Yue Long took a deep breath and stopped asking. She crouched down, took out the Green Spirit Fruit from her sleeve, washed it in the well water, and took a bite. The juice was sweet, mixed with spiritual energy, warming her throat as she swallowed.
"Master, you really won't eat it?"
"Saving it for planting."
"How long until it bears fruit?"
"I don't know. Months? Years?"
Yue Long thought for a moment. "Then when will you get to eat one?"
"When it bears fruit."
"Then you'll have to wait a long time."
"Yes. Just keep idling."
Yue Long spat out the pit, wrapped it in a handkerchief, and put it into her storage pouch. "I'll give it to Rat One when we get back. He'll be happy."
The two walked deeper into the backyard. It was bigger than Yue Long had imagined. Besides the well and an open area, there were three rundown side rooms.
Lin Luo pushed open the first door. Inside was cluttered with junk – broken tables, rotten stools, moldy blankets. He glanced inside and closed the door.
Yue Long pushed open the second one. This room was smaller, but the window faced south. Sunlight streamed in, clearly illuminating the dust on the floor. In the corner was a wooden bed frame with nothing on it – just bare planks.
"Master, this room could be yours."
"My room is in the mine."
"After the inn opens, you won't stay here?"
"I will. But I'll also stay in the mine."
Yue Long thought for a moment. "Then you'll stay in both places?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll stay in both places too."
"You stay in the mine. The rooms are for guests."
Yue Long's rabbit ears drooped. "Why?"
"Because you're a disciple of the Idle Sect, not an inn employee."
Yue Long thought for a moment. "Then I'll help at the inn during the day and go back to the mine at night."
"Up to you."
Yue Long smiled. She stood in that south-facing room, sunlight on her face, the shadows of her rabbit ears on the wall like two butterflies.
"Master."
"Yes."
"What's the inn's name?"
"Fortune."
"Can we change it?"
"No. Changing the name requires new paperwork. Too much trouble."
Yue Long opened her mouth. "Then let's keep it. Fortune it is. It's tacky but memorable."
The corner of Lin Luo's mouth moved.
---
The two left the inn and walked back to the mine. The sun was already high in the sky, shortening their shadows on the blue stone path. Yue Long walked ahead, her rabbit ears bobbing.
"Master."
"Yes."
"Did the good deed. Bought the spirit salt. Checked the inn. Collected the pit. What now?"
"Go back. Chop wood. Make soup. Idle."
"Soup again…"
"Extra dish today."
Yue Long's rabbit ears sprang up. "What extra dish?"
"Green Spirit Fruit."
"…Wasn't that for planting?"
"One to plant. One to eat."
Yue Long took out the other Green Spirit Fruit from her sleeve and took a bite. "Master, why didn't you say so earlier? I washed two just now. One to plant, one to eat. Perfect."
Lin Luo didn't speak.
Yue Long held out the fruit to him. "Take a bite too."
Lin Luo took it and took a bite. Very sweet.
Yue Long's rabbit ears twitched. "Good?"
"Good."
"Say it again."
"No."
"You just said it!"
"Then you heard it."
Yue Long took a deep breath, turned back around, and kept walking. Her rabbit ears bobbed in the wind, the corner of her mouth curved.
---
Back at the mine, Rat One was squatting by the spirit field, waiting for Yue Long to return. When he saw the pit in her hand, he squeaked and ran over, his little paws clutching her skirt.
Yue Long crouched down and put the pit on the ground. Rat One picked it up in his mouth and ran. He ran to the spirit field, dug a small hole with his paws, buried the pit, covered it with dirt, and even pressed it down with his nose.
"Master, Rat One is so smart."
"Yes."
"He knows how to plant."
"He's smarter than you."
Yue Long opened her mouth. "Can you not compare me to a mouse?"
"He's a treasure-seeking rat. Not an ordinary mouse."
"It's still different!"
Lin Luo didn't answer. Yue Long puffed her cheeks and walked to the stove to make soup.
The soup was ready. She brought two bowls, one in front of Lin Luo, one in her own hands.
"Master, drink."
Lin Luo took a sip. "Not salty."
"I didn't put any salt in today."
"Just right."
Yue Long's rabbit ears went up. "Can you not say the same thing every time?"
"Yes."
Yue Long waited.
Lin Luo didn't speak.
Yue Long took a deep breath and drank her soup.
Rat One poked his head out of his grass nest, squeaked twice, and ducked back in.
Lin Luo leaned against the stone wall, his phone on his knee. Bone One's interface was still updating – the Ironback Wolf King's health bar had already dropped by half, and Bone One had three bolts left. He turned off the screen.
Yue Long crouched beside him, her rabbit ears drooping, looking into her bowl.
"Master."
"Yes."
"What do you think Sister Xiao is doing right now?"
"Eating spirit fruits."
Yue Long thought for a moment. "Do you think she misses meat too?"
"Yes. But she can't have any."
"Then let's save a piece for her."
"Okay."
Yue Long smiled. She put her bowl down, leaned against Lin Luo, and rested her rabbit ears on his arm.
Her phone rested on her knee. The chibi figure hit the wooden fish again and again. Merit +1, merit +1, merit +1.
Rat One poked his head out of his grass nest, squeaked twice, and ducked back in.
Just keep idling.
---
(End of Chapter 46)
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 - 100 (spirit salt) = 5150 (900 owed to inn)
Possessions: Spirit Recovery Pill ×4, Life Extension Pill ×0, Bone Mending Pill ×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, spirit salt ×1 bag
Plan: Wait for Bone One to finish fighting Golden Core demon beasts and collect bones; gather for a meal 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 6
Status: Idle battle · Ancient battlefield, target Golden Core Layer 4 demon beast, win rate 63%
Alt Account · Blood One (Demon Cultivation · Blood Clan)
Cultivation: Qi Gathering Layer 8
Status: Hidden – Demon Abyss second layer
Alt Account · Rat One (Beast Cultivation · Treasure-Seeking Rat)
Cultivation: Spirit Gathering Layer 6
Status: Spirit field at mine land, just planted Green Spirit Fruit pit
Sect · Idle Sect
Sect Leader: Lin Luo
Members: Yue Long, Su Xiaoxiao (awakened)
Level: 2
Idle Bonus: +15%
Sect Contribution: Yue Long 70, Lin Luo 0
Idle Sect Disciple · Yue Long
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 2 (Human) + Essence Gathering Layer 1 (Buddhist)
Merit points: ~1200
Fudo Myoo's Resolution: 0.19%
Sect Contribution: 70
Today's good deed: Helped an old man carry water
Spirit Stone balance: ~1100
Possessions: Silver-white wrist guards (mid-grade magical tool)
Idle Sect Disciple · Su Xiaoxiao (Five-Colored Divine Phoenix bloodline awakening complete)
Cultivation: Qi Refining Layer 3 (refined)
Status: Phoenix Kingdom · Central Temple, Sequence 0, investiture ceremony in two days
Special status: Phoenix Golden Eyes, Solar True Fire, Nirvana True Fire
Limitation: Cannot leave the Phoenix Kingdom until reaching Division Soul Stage
Spirit fruit pits: Collected, waiting to send
---
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.
---
(End of Chapter 46)