Buy It? Can't Afford It, Can't Afford It

"Really."

Old Chen, quick-witted, nodded and said, "According to what you said, the Earth no longer has spiritual energy, and if you want to cultivate immortality, you should need spiritual energy."

"Perhaps I can help you extract spiritual energy? But don't get your hopes up too high. My main area of research is Quantum Mechanics in physics."

"I can only say that I will do my best."

"Certainly."

Qi Zixiao expressed her approval.

She's not some kind of murderous monster. Why force someone to do something they can't do, or else she'll kill them?

No one who Heretical Cultivator or anything like that would do such a thing.

"Spiritual energy... I don't have any spiritual energy right now. Here, I'll give you some True Essence. Leave it for two or three days, and it will turn into spiritual energy."

"But what do you use to collect it?"

True Essence is spiritual energy that has been refined and enhanced, becoming someone's 'possession'.

But when something is 'someone's property' out of his control, it will naturally slowly become 'ownerless'.

This is easy to understand.

True Essence cannot exist in the air for a long time when it is unowned. Therefore, after being stored for a period of time, it will slowly degenerate into spiritual energy.

"I have prepared some sealed containers."

Old Chen smiled and said, "Actually, I was prepared for this. After all, whether you call this True Essence or Inner Force, once it is thoroughly studied, it will have a huge impact on you, on me, and on the whole world!"

"In the past few days, I've tried my best to convince myself not to be shocked, to believe in the existence of ' Inner Force ' and ' Internal Energy,' but I never expected that even so, it would still..."

"As expected, my imagination is still too limited."

"However, I also prepared some containers to collect some Inner Force for research, but now it has turned into collecting True Essence, or rather, spiritual energy?"

"..."

Qi Zixiao shook her head slightly and didn't say anything.

Is your imagination too limited?

Judging from Old Chen's current behavior, it doesn't seem like he has a limited imagination.

In Qi Zixiao's view, for an Earth where "science dominates everything," Old Chen, a being at the forefront of science, was able to accept the existence of a theological practice like "cultivation of immortality" with such "calmness," except for a few moments of shock during the process...

This is already far beyond what ordinary people can achieve.

After all, the deeper one delves into a particular field, the harder it becomes to believe in the existence of fields that are 'completely opposite' to it.

For example, scientific research shows that it's difficult for ordinary people to live past 100 under normal circumstances, but then the concepts of cultivating immortality and spiritual energy emerged...

To live easily to be 100 or even 200 years old?

Wouldn't this be a complete upheaval for science?

Only a true 'scholar' like Old Chen could accept this so easily. Although he already held a high position and possessed impressive academic knowledge, he always maintained the heart of a 'scholar'...

Only in this way can we make continuous progress and never become complacent!

The container that Old Chen prepared wasn't anything special; it was simply a small compressed can.

Of course, it's the kind they use for research, which is much better than the ones commonly found on the market.

At this moment, the sealed jar is already empty. Qi Zixiao only needs to use the instrument to infuse some of her True Essence into it.

After figuring out the principle, Qi Zixiao wasn't stingy and gave him two jars, which was about the amount of two Pseudo Spiritual Stone.

After collecting them, Old Chen carefully put the two jars away and then said, "Actually, I have a question."

"What?"

"You just said that there is no spiritual energy left in the air, but according to the law of conservation of energy, your True Essence should not be generated out of thin air. So, where did your spiritual energy come from?"

"It was bought with money," Qi Zixiao replied.

Old Chen was stunned. "???"

"Money... can buy this kind of thing? Do you have some kind of industry chain? So... is it true that there really is a group of cultivators hidden in Hua Nation?!"

"You really dare to think big."

Qi Zixiao couldn't help but laugh, "You don't actually like reading those novels, do you?"

Old Chen was a little embarrassed. "I've read some of it these past few days. After all, what I experienced is hard to explain scientifically."

Let me put it this way.

Qi Zixiao thought for a moment, "I don't know if there are cultivators in Hua Nation. Because I have not traveled to every corner of Hua Nation."

"But I suspect it's highly unlikely."

Why?

Because if such Pseudo Spiritual Stone existed, they would have already been snapped up by gunmen, and with such a large quantity being purchased, I'm sure I've already attracted someone's attention!

Since nothing is wrong now, it means there's a high probability that nothing happened.

Besides, let alone cultivating immortality, we can't even find anyone practicing martial arts or Internal Energy, so where would immortal cultivators come from?

Qi Zixiao even hoped that there would be cultivators.

Because in this way, one might be able to find out the source of some spiritual energy... and if the other party is blind, one can even 'defend oneself', beat them down, and directly steal the spiritual energy!

pity...

There is no such "if".

"So you're suggesting buying spiritual energy with money?"

"I didn't buy spiritual energy."

Qi Zixiao slowly shook her head. "It's not that I don't want to tell you, but even if I did, you wouldn't be able to absorb it."

"All right."

Old Chen stopped insisting. "Then let me ask you something else."

"How much would these two jars of spiritual energy cost if we bought them?"

"Two or three million, I guess?" Qi Zixiao replied casually.

Old Chen: "!?!"

"Can't afford it, can't afford it..."

Then, another exchange took place.

Old Chen asked many questions, all very professionally, covering almost every detail about cultivating immortality, but most of them concerned spiritual energy and True Essence.

However, Old Chen was very sensible and never asked questions he shouldn't have.

For example, he never mentioned cultivation techniques or how Lin Fan came into contact with cultivation.

That's what it means to know your limits!

These questions clearly fall into the 'secret category,' and speaking carelessly could offend people and give the impression that you have 'ulterior motives.'

Besides, for a smart person, if the other party wants to talk, they will naturally talk. If the other party doesn't want to talk, why would you foolishly go and ask? Isn't that just asking for trouble?

The exchange lasted until late afternoon.

Afterwards, Old Chen excitedly cooked two dishes and insisted on having Qi Zixiao eat before letting her leave.

"If what you said is true, True Essence will completely degenerate into spiritual energy in about three days, then I should be able to give a preliminary conclusion in about five days."

After seeing Qi Zixiao off, Old Chen waved goodbye.

"Then it's settled!"

Qi Zixiao was in a good mood and then took her leave.

"Technology and cultivation of immortality?"

"Although I don't know if we can actually 'combine,' I really hope we can spark something. That way, the chances of that guy surviving until I come looking for him will be much, much greater..."

After hailing a taxi and on the way back to Green Mountain Town, Qi Zixiao suddenly felt... hungry.

After all, the two dishes Old Chen cooked were not enough for two people.

"I'm hungry... Shall we go get something good to eat?"

Qi Zixiao stroked her chin, thinking carefully for a moment, "Hey? Didn't that ' Taste Supreme Buffet last time say that if I successfully completed the challenge, I could eat a few meals for free?"

"Since we'll be passing through that area anyway, let's just leave it at that!"

Not long after, at the Taste Supreme Buffet Restaurant, the owner looked like he had seen a plague god.

"Why is he here?!"

"That guy's a total freak!"

"Quickly, tell the kitchen to pack up all the valuable ingredients. Just say we're done, we've eaten them all. We absolutely can't let him find out!"

Inside the restaurant kitchen, chaos erupted.

Even so, two hours later, when Qi Zixiao left with a satisfied look on her face, patting her belly, all that remained was a heartbroken boss who felt like he was going to vomit blood, and a dumbfounded and unsettled employee.

"Wow, they can eat so much!!"

"That guy's a beast! If he comes a few more times, how am I supposed to keep this shop open?"

At that moment, the boss was filled with regret, regretting why he had foolishly organized such an event.

"If this keeps up, I'll have to close down..."

The boss sighed.

But at that moment, Qi Zixiao, who hadn't gone far, turned back.

The boss glared at him. "You... has something else?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted to say that I didn't get enough to eat today, so please prepare more mantis shrimp next time," Qi Zixiao grinned.

boss. "..."

I'm fucking *****!

Close the door, okay?! I'm not opening it anymore!

The boss was completely convinced.

Before this, he never believed that any customer could get their money's worth at a buffet. No matter how much they ate or how much they felt they were getting their money's worth, in reality, the buffet owner was always the one who made the profit.

But now...

He was convinced.

Not even enough to recoup the cost?

This guy ate half a day's worth of seafood and still says he wasn't full?! He's insane!!!

Having eaten and drunk her fill, Qi Zixiao was in a very good mood.

Instead of rushing to hail a taxi, I strolled leisurely along the street.

"Come to think of it, I've never really explored Earth at night before. So this is what Earth cities are like at night..."

Although she had run around outside at night, Qi Zixiao was in no mood to appreciate the night view back then.

Walking through the city now, looking at the scenery in the distance, I can't help but feel a unique sense of wonder.

Although it is not as magnificent and grand as the Cultivation World, it has its own unique charm.

Then...

As Qi Zixiao passed by a high-end-looking minivan, she suddenly noticed that the windows were incredibly bright, like a mirror under the lights.

Moreover, it seems that my current image is not quite up to par.

For example, my hair is a bit messy now, I don't know if it's because I was too engrossed in eating or what.

She looked in the mirror in the back of the van and started to grab her hair.

However, just then, the car door opened...

A young man wearing sunglasses and a suit looked impatient and disgusted.

"Hey kid, have you taken enough pictures?"

"Do you know how disgusting and annoying it is when you bare your teeth at me?"

Keep playing the music, keep dancing! Students, are we in the top three on the Combat Power Ranking?