Since Qi Refining Stage disciples lack Spiritual Sense, the sect has preemptively stored some bandwidth (Spiritual Sense) from Golden Core Stage disciples into Qi Refining disciples’ orders.
Once the monthly quota is used up, they must go to the Disciplinary Hall to recharge.
Hence, the message also reminded Yun Miao to conserve bandwidth to avoid running out.
The sect generally uses the intranet to send unified messages, such as issuing sect missions. Completing these missions rewards Contribution Points.
Or announcing upcoming sect activities, or posting Contribution Rankings, Duel Master Rankings, Pill Master Rankings, and so forth—like a school posting photos of outstanding students on a bulletin board.
Disciples can also use their orders to surf the net, post requests for help, and interact with each other.
With a thought, countless posts (Spiritual Sense messages) flooded into her mind, opening the door to a whole new world.
‘The latest version of Star-Plucking Pavilion’s “Beauty Ranking of the Cultivation World” was released yesterday. Senior Brother only ranked third—what a bunch of tasteless fools!’
‘Who cut down the Disciplinary Hall’s money tree? As a Sword Peak disciple burdened by this, all I can say is… well done!’
‘Only managed to snatch a task in Purple Zhi Garden again today. I’ve been planting furiously there, while the old ox from Dan Peak keeps whipping us—it’s downright tyrannical!’
‘The old fox on Beast Peak has been howling at the moon for nearly half a month. Does Beast Peak not discipline it?’
‘Hehehe, tomorrow seems to be the Disciple Recruitment Grand Ceremony. Wonder how many new junior brothers and sisters will be added this year.’
‘The results of Stellar Observation on Array Peak are out. Tomorrow’s weather is forecasted to be clear…’
Yun Miao was dumbfounded, once again stunned by the game’s freedom. The cultivation world even had its own online community, and players could be friends with NPCs?
Shang Mancang: 【Junior Sister Yun? Sister Yun? Are you there?】
Yun Miao snapped back: 【Didn’t we enter the sect together? Why are you calling me Junior Sister?】
【Did Sister Yun learn so fast? Truly exceptional aptitude!】
Shang Mancang first praised her warmly, then explained that Yun Miao was the last to pass the test and enter Xuantian Sect, so naturally the youngest in rank. She then asked about Yun Miao’s health.
Yun Miao suspiciously asked: 【I’m fine. What do you want?】
Shang Mancang: 【Hehe, to be frank, I do have something to discuss with you. Well… Sister, are you interested in making some money with me?】
Her tone was eager and slick, the typical enthusiasm of a merchant laying out her proposal.
In short: combining Senior Sister Ning’s introduction about the stone pillars this morning and gossip from other seniors on Array Peak, she discovered a huge business opportunity.
Many disciples below the Golden Core Stage want copies of the Patriarch’s inscriptions, but cannot access them properly.
So, if someone could transcribe all the Patriarch’s inscriptions from the stone pillars and sell them, wouldn’t that be a fortune?
Shang Mancang immediately thought of Yun Miao: Yun Miao does the transcription, she sells the copies, and they split the profits 50/50.
Another side quest?
Yun Miao glanced at the desk’s paper and brush, unenthused: 【Such an obvious business opportunity, are you sure no one else noticed it?】
Shang Mancang quickly dismissed the concern.
Although Golden Core Stage disciples can read the inscriptions directly with their eyes and have even shared some organized transcriptions in Xuantian Sect’s void zone, messages sent via Spiritual Sense differ from physical books or inscriptions—they carry the sender’s emotions and insights inherently.
If the recipient can withstand the impact, they can instantly comprehend all the knowledge, called “sudden enlightenment.”
If not… at best, their spiritual sea is damaged; at worst, their head explodes.
Golden Core disciples’ understanding of Patriarch inscriptions isn’t something Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment disciples can handle, so the sect restricts access accordingly.
That’s also why the sect still issues paper books to new disciples, despite the existence of this efficient “sudden enlightenment” method.
【Kind senior brothers and sisters feel giving free transcriptions to juniors might stunt their growth; those who need money aren’t interested in petty profits. They also feel it’s improper to make money from juniors.】
【But we are new disciples; making money from seniors isn’t a matter of propriety. Even if one book is priced at five low-grade spirit stones, or even two, that’s pocket change to them—but we only get ten low-grade spirit stones monthly.】
【The best part is that the Book Repository on the first floor provides free paper and brush. Though lacking spiritual energy, it’s enough for us. So apart from some effort in transcription and selling, there’s virtually no cost—pure profit!】
Shang Mancang grew more excited, her merchant tone slipping as she laughed gleefully, as if swimming in a pile of spirit stones.
Yun Miao looked surprised: 【You found all this out?】
Even counting the three days of the Dengtianti test, they’d only been at Xuantian Sect for four days at most.
【Hehe, mainly because the seniors on Array Peak are kind and answer questions. There’s also lots of info on the void zone for me to check.】
Shang Mancang beamed: 【So, Sister Yun, are you convinced now? I guarantee you won’t find a better deal anytime soon. Of course, health first, money second. Just transcribe slowly when you can handle it.】
【Once you finish the master copy, I’ll handle all the resale and tedious tasks. You just lie in bed counting spirit stones! How about it?】
Yun Miao: 【No.】
【Haha, I knew you’d say no……….. uh?】
Shang Mancang: 【Why? Don’t you think it’s too little? Then… you get 60%, I get 40%!】
Yun Miao: 【No.】
Shang Mancang gritted her teeth: 【You get 70%, I get 30%!】
Yun Miao: 【No deal.】
Shang Mancang bit her molars: 【You get 80%, I get 20%, or… 90%-10%. That’s my final offer! We’re sisters in the sect, you have to leave me something!】
Yun Miao: 【I don’t like wild cursive calligraphy, and I hate copying books even more.】
Copying books—the eternal enemy of students!
Shang Mancang choked. So it wasn’t that she wanted to kick her out and go solo, she just didn’t want to work?
She immediately tried emotional appeals and logic, explaining how great the business and spirit stones were.
Her mouth dried up talking, her Disciplinary Order’s stored Spiritual Sense dropped a notch, yet Yun Miao’s resolve didn’t waver.
Watching spirit stones she almost had in her Storage Pouch fly away with wings, Shang Mancang finally couldn’t help but tear up, choking with tears:
【Just because of this, you want to reject so many bright spirit stones? Sister, are you sure? Can you really bear it? Have you heard how those spirit stones are crying?】
Yun Miao: 【…Sister, are you crying?】
Shang Mancang sniffled: 【If I admit I’m crying, will you do business with me out of pity?】
【No.】
Yun Miao coldly refused again: 【The marketplace is a battlefield. Using tears to beg for cooperation only earns tears in the end. So Sister… if you’re not prepared for that, better dry your eyes and go plant sweet potatoes.】
Shang Mancang: QAQ
Yun Miao: 【It’s late, good night.】
【Wait!】
This time, Shang Mancang’s voice lost its smooth flattery, replaced with a choked determination.
【Sister Yun, you were publicly hung on a tree by Senior Brother Lu today. Don’t you want revenge?】
Yun Miao narrowed her eyes. What? Did she look like the type to be stirred by a challenge?
Indeed, she was!
【Do you have a plan?】
Shang Mancang: 【Lu Dajiao, dual Wood and Water Spiritual Roots, peak Golden Core Stage, entered Beast Peak’s master Dongjun’s sect three hundred years ago, the thirty-fifth direct disciple of Dongjun, now over four hundred years old, living on Shuangjiao Peak near Beast Peak.
He’s the Duel Master Ranking’s Golden Core Stage champion, and ranked high on the Contribution Points list…】
【Good Sister, though I can’t beat Senior Brother Lu, I can help you gather intel on his strength, preferences, and weaknesses. With enough information, you’ll surely get revenge someday.】
Yun Miao listened amazed to this rapid-fire intelligence briefing. After a few seconds of silence, she recovered and said: 【Deal!】
So this game even has an information gathering and weakness exploitation gameplay? Interesting, she liked it!
***
After the conversation, Yun Miao silently glanced at the system panel’s real-world time.
The midnight bell had long struck twelve, yet the player who decided over an hour ago to log off and sleep was still immersed in *Quest of the Dao 3000*.
Picture.
She felt pangs of guilt over wasting youth in this game, but still… feeling guilty, she sat at her desk and opened the system screenshot function.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t trying, the game was just too fun—she’d play a bit longer!
Being half a scenery fan, she recorded beautiful and interesting scenes in the game.
Though she couldn’t understand the wild cursive inscriptions on the pillars, she had to admit that the nine towering pillars standing amidst the mist on the Cloudview Platform radiated an aura of immortal dignity and grandeur.
So when she followed Senior Sister Ning earlier, she consciously opened the system panel and took many screenshots from various angles. Although a few inscriptions were missed, most were captured.
Tonight’s moonlight was bright, and the system panel’s glow was bright too. Enlarging these screenshots, the inscriptions were clearly visible.
Yun Miao fetched some water from the front yard’s well, sat by the window under the moon, and prepared ink.
She adjusted the system panel’s position to fit the desktop, laid Xuan paper on the glowing panel, picked up the brush, and began tracing the inscriptions from the screenshots.
Perhaps people really don’t fear hardship when doing something bad—or maybe the more than ten years of schooling left a deep mark on Yun Miao.
Though she said she hated copying books the most, once she settled down to transcribe, her heart suddenly quieted, and a calmness long drowned in the sea of learning returned.
Her eyes focused closely on the brush tip.
The thick ink initially fell crookedly on the paper, but soon she found her old calligraphy rhythm from childhood.
Her strokes gradually matched the wild, flowing style of the inscriptions below the screenshots—getting closer and closer, until they were nearly identical…
Yun Miao didn’t notice how, as her heart quieted and her brush grew steadier, all distractions in her mind faded, leaving only the task of tracing.
If she had noticed, she’d have thought it normal—after all, she couldn’t understand the wild cursive anyway and was just copying blindly. A blank mind was to be expected.
But in fact, although her brain seemed empty, the chaotic inscriptions were being carved deeply into her mind through her gaze.
Tick!
The moment the first drop of nosebleed fell, Yun Miao’s numb brain finally jolted awake.
She felt dizzy, her consciousness split in two: one half had only one thought—to finish transcribing all inscriptions.
Her body moved mechanically, repeatedly raising and lowering the brush, switching papers after finishing one, moving to another screenshot.
But the other half screamed in terror, urging her to stop. Yet her body was like an out-of-control train, no longer able to stop at will.
HAHA……
More drops of nosebleed stained the pristine Xuan paper bright red. Even without a health bar, Yun Miao knew she was bleeding continuously.
After the time of a single incense stick, she had finished all the sheets given by Junior Brother Qi, yet she still did not stop.
Instead, she started wildly scrawling ink on the table surface. When the table was full, she went to the walls, and when the walls were done, she crouched on the floor to write!
Her brushwork grew faster and more frenzied, and the top-quality Purple Primal Jade Brush was almost worn bald in no time.
Panic gripped Yun Miao’s heart. She wasn’t afraid of death, but the game’s respawn meant returning to one minute before death. Without a way to end this state, respawning was just an endless loop.
But if she chose to reload a save… she barely remembered when she last saved. If she reloaded, wouldn’t all her recent efforts be wasted? No way!