Spirit Ascension Platform

He glanced at his debt and, after confirming that he really had paid it all off, breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that his debt was gone, it was time to buy cultivation resources. He immediately opened the Spirit Pagoda's shop.

A vast array of heavenly treasures appeared before his eyes, including all sorts of Immortal Herbs. That took him by surprise. He remembered that the Tang Sect had monopolized Immortal Herbs, hadn't it? How did the Spirit Pagoda have so many too?

A single drop of Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew cost sixty million, and purchases were restricted. Only those of elder rank or higher were eligible to buy it.

As for the other Immortal Herbs, a single petal from a ten-thousand-year Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum cost thirty million, while the whole plant sold for three hundred million. The other Immortal Herbs were similarly priced.

After a quick glance, he broke into a sweat. He couldn't afford a single one! He scrolled down to the section of heavenly treasures for junior Soul Masters.

Now the prices were reasonable: five million for a Thousand-Year Blood-Nourishing Fruit, four million for a Mystic Water Pill.

Looking at them, he suddenly felt that it didn't really matter whether he bought them or not. He didn't need them for the time being, so he might as well save up to buy a Soul Spirit later.

After all, these things were just too expensive, and his Martial Soul happened to be able to store Soul Spirits as Character Cards and send them into battle, which was much the same as fighting with Soul Spirits.

Or he could buy some Soul Tools he needed. He just didn't know whether there were any suitable ones for sale here, like... a Storage Soul Tool or a Soul Tool Shield.

Or...

After rummaging around for a while, Chen Jianshu soon found a Level Three Storage Soul Tool with fifteen cubic meters of space, priced at three million, as well as a piece of thousand-year Whale Rubber for eight million.

"Damn... that's fucking expensive... I'll buy the Whale Rubber first. I think there's a purchase limit on this stuff too. The Storage Soul Tool can wait..."

He bought the Whale Rubber, and it would be ready for pickup soon. Since this was a coastal region, there was plenty of seafood.

And as for whether using Whale Rubber would upset the Sea Soul Beasts? That was needless worrying. In the world of Soul Beasts, it was basically survival of the fittest.

After Sea Soul Beasts killed one another, they would also eat the Whale Rubber in each other's brains. So there was no need to worry about that, because Sea Soul Beasts ate Whale Rubber among themselves too.

After picking up the Whale Rubber, he stuffed it into his pocket and went home.

As soon as he reached his resettlement apartment, he had the Character Card possess him. His black hair turned silver-white, and he drew on the fire element to melt the Whale Rubber.

The Whale Rubber, originally brown, soon turned golden, with a springy, jelly-like texture. He swallowed it in one gulp. At first it tasted a little salty and savory, but then came an overwhelmingly fishy taste.

Fortunately, he swallowed it quickly, or it would have been pure torture. As the Whale Rubber went down, a warm sensation spread through his body. He immediately sat cross-legged to cultivate, and before he knew it, the night had passed.

After refining the Whale Rubber, he stretched. It was Saturday, so he could take a break. He hadn't slept in days, and he was a little tired.

Ever since his awakening, he had barely slept, using meditation in place of sleep. Though he could get by that way, it certainly wasn't as restful as actual sleep.

"Then it's time for an epic second sleep!"

He promptly flopped down, wrapped himself in the blanket, and went straight to sleep.

He skipped both breakfast and lunch and slept straight through to the afternoon. Woken by his growling stomach, he went out for a hearty dinner, then headed back to the Spirit Pagoda.

Now that he was full of vigor, it was time to farm currency! As a core disciple, he had one free entry to the Spirit Ascension Platform each month, including the Turbulent Period Spirit Ascension Platform.

His cheat happened to require him to kill monsters, accumulate currency, and sell things, so this was perfect. He immediately went to the Spirit Ascension Platform Virtual Room in the Spirit Pagoda.

Following the Spirit Transmitter's guidance, he lay down in the Virtual Pod and logged into the game!

A wave of dizziness washed over him. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a forest.

Supposedly, this virtual setting had been built as a replica of the Star Dou Great Forest. Chen Jianshu looked around, then raised a hand and summoned an iron sword into it. He also equipped his treasure boots, giving him ten movement speed.

After confirming that the surroundings were safe for the moment, he decided to walk around nearby. He picked a direction at random and had gone about two hundred meters when a noise came from the distance.

"Meow~"

At the sound of the meow, he paused and poked his head out of the grass to look. It was a ten-year Striped Cat.

"So it's just a little kitty. You gave me a fright."

Seeing that it was a little kitty, he let his guard down and slowly walked over. But when the ten-year Striped Cat saw him approaching, its fur instantly stood on end. It then launched itself forward, extending the razor-sharp claws on its left paw to swipe at him.

"Holy crap! A sneak attacker!"

Chen Jianshu cried out and jerked his head aside to dodge the strike. The Striped Cat missed and once again bristled and hissed, ready to hit him with another heavy normal attack at any moment.

"Bad cat! How dare you hiss at me! Looks like you don't want to live! This cat has already hissed, so it must das! Häagen-Dazs!"

He gripped his iron sword tightly, his gaze sharpening as he fixed it on the bad cat hissing at him.

"Hiss!"

The Striped Cat's fur stood on end all over. It launched itself at him again, claws outstretched, but Chen Jianshu swung his sword and cut it down with precision.

The Striped Cat collapsed limply to the ground, lifeless, before finally dissolving into specks of spiritual light that entered his body.

With that done, he put away his iron sword, looked around, and picked a direction at random before setting off again.

After walking some distance, he encountered a wild Soul Master. The other party released his Martial Soul as soon as he saw him. A Mighty Bull Martial Soul appeared, and a Yellow Soul Ring circled his body.

"There are other people?"

Seeing the Soul Master charge at him with his horns, he used his movement speed bonus to dodge quickly. The other party, seeing that his attack had failed, charged again, lowering his head and aiming his horns at him.

"Why does he feel so much like a bot? Attacking anyone he sees?"

That was the impression this Soul Master gave him. He looked exactly like a bot. In plain language, he was really dumb and didn't seem much like a human.

After dodging another charge, he brought his iron sword down hard on the man's back. Blood sprayed everywhere, and he took several steps back to open up some distance.

The Mighty Bull Martial Soul Soul Master let out an angry roar and, as though enraged, unleashed his First Soul Skill. The horns on his head grew somewhat larger, and he charged again.

He immediately leaped up, grabbed a tree branch, and pulled himself up, while the Mighty Bull Soul Master slammed hard into the tree.

Bang!

With a dull thud, the other party fell to the ground, unconscious. Seeing him passed out, Chen Jianshu immediately dropped to the ground, then raised his iron sword and slit his throat with one stroke.

This was the Spirit Ascension Platform anyway; dying here wasn't really dying. Besides, the other party had attacked first, so he didn't feel guilty about it.

After he killed the Mighty Bull Soul Master with one stroke, a little spiritual power drifted out and was absorbed by him, raising his Soul Ring's age at the same time.

P.S. First update for July 5, two thousand words in total.