Does Cultivating Cost So Much Money?

"Haah~"

Lin Li sat up from the sofa, rubbing his sleepy eyes and letting out a yawn.

He turned his head to look at the clock hanging on the wall behind the TV and saw that it was already half past one in the afternoon.

"I just meant to take a quick nap, but I ended up sleeping for almost two and a half hours."

This sleep was deeply satisfying, fully restoring Lin Li's energy and sweeping away his earlier drowsiness and fatigue.

"Grrr..." The growl from his stomach reminded Lin Li that it was time for lunch.

He picked up his phone from the side, opened the food delivery app, and was about to place an order like usual when his hand suddenly paused.

"I only have five hundred thousand left in savings, and there are plenty of expenses ahead. I need to be more careful with money. Forget ordering takeout—I'll just cook myself."

Lin Li closed the delivery app, locked his phone, set it aside, and got up to head to the kitchen.

The three-hundred-yuan worth of Exotic Boar Meat he'd bought that morning was still in the fridge. He'd tidy things up and whip himself up a decent bowl of Egg and Shredded Pork Noodles.

He heated oil in the pot, tossed in scallions and ginger to release their fragrance, then added the shredded Boar Beast meat. After stir-frying until it changed color, he poured in water.

Once the water boiled, he added the noodles. When they were cooked through, he cracked in an egg, seasoned it with salt and chicken bouillon, and sprinkled chopped scallions on top. A fragrant bowl of Egg and Shredded Pork Noodles was ready.

Lin Li carried the steaming bowl out of the kitchen and set it on the dining table.

He sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and was about to dig in when the doorbell rang.

"Ding-dong..."

Who is it? Couldn't they wait until I've finished my lunch to ring the bell? Lin Li grumbled to himself, then put down his chopsticks and got up to head for the door.

"Click."

He opened the door to find a beautiful stranger standing before him. She looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, around one meter sixty-eight tall, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.

Her long hair fell over her shoulders, and her oval face carried a scholarly air that immediately suggested a gentle, soft-spoken personality.

"Hello, can I help you?" Lin Li asked the unfamiliar woman.

"Hi, I'm Xia Qing. I moved in next door last night. I hope we can get along well from now on. Thank you." Xia Qing greeted Lin Li with a smile.

So someone's finally moved into that place that's been empty for almost two years... Lin Li nodded back, responding politely.

"Hello, I'm Lin Li. Neighbors should help each other out. If you ever run into any trouble, feel free to come to me."

Xia Qing was naturally timid. She'd dawdled at home for a while, mustered up her courage, and only then came to ring her neighbor's doorbell.

She hadn't expected the neighbor to be a young man in his early twenties, who looked like he might still be in college. That gave Xia Qing, a few years his senior, a bit more confidence.

Hearing Lin Li's polite reply now, she felt her new neighbor was a kind-hearted person.

"Mommy, weren't you going out to buy soy sauce? Why haven't you gone yet?"

A little girl, about five or six years old, with a small ponytail, wearing a white dress, and with chubby cheeks, poked her head out from the crack of the door behind Xia Qing, asking curiously.

So the new neighbor is a family... Lin Li smiled gently at the adorable little girl.

Seeing this, Xia Qing called out to her daughter, "Zhou Tongtong, this is Big Brother Lin Li. We're neighbors now. Say hello to him."

"Hello, Big Brother Lin Li." The little girl named Zhou Tongtong looked up at Lin Li with her big, round, shiny black eyes and greeted him very politely.

"Hello." No one could dislike such a cute little girl. Lin Li chuckled in reply, then turned to his new neighbor. "I have some extra soy sauce at home. Let me grab you a bottle."

"Oh, I couldn't possibly. I'll just go out and buy some." Xia Qing quickly shook her head. She'd just moved in and only just greeted the neighbor—she couldn't impose on him right away.

"It's no trouble. I bought several bottles during the 618 shopping festival." Lin Li said with a smile.

Without waiting for her to respond, he turned back inside, went to the kitchen, opened the cabinet, and took out an unopened bottle of soy sauce.

"Here you go." Returning to the doorway, Lin Li handed the soy sauce to Xia Qing.

"Thank you. How much was it? I'll transfer the money to you." Xia Qing, seeing that Lin Li had already brought out the soy sauce, didn't refuse anymore. After taking it, she pulled out her phone to send him a payment.

"No need. It's just a bottle of soy sauce—it didn't cost much." Even though Lin Li was a bit tight on cash right now, he could still afford a bottle of soy sauce.

"No, Mr. Lin, if you won't take the money, I can't accept this soy sauce." Xia Qing said very seriously.

"Alright. I bought it on sale during the shopping festival—nine ninety-nine a bottle." Sensing her firm stance, Lin Li took out his phone and opened his payment QR code.

After she paid, they exchanged a few more pleasantries before heading back to their own homes.

"Oh no, I'd better eat my noodles quick, or they'll turn into mush."

As soon as the door closed, Lin Li rushed to the dining table, sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and wolfed down his meal.

"Splash..."

The sound of running water came from the kitchen, and after a moment, it stopped.

Lin Li, having washed the dishes, came out of the kitchen. He first dried his wet hands with a towel, then walked into the living room.

"Well-rested and well-fed, I'm in top form now. Time to start cultivating."

Lin Li sat down on the living room sofa, picked up the elegant gift bag, and took out the gift box containing the spirit stone.

Opening the box, ten sparkling, pigeon-egg-sized spirit stones appeared before Lin Li.

He took one out and examined it up close. The crystal-clear spirit stone was incredibly beautiful.

At fifty thousand yuan a pop, how could it not be beautiful?

He muttered to himself, then sat cross-legged, holding the spirit stone in his right palm.

He channeled the spiritual energy in his body to his right hand, and a pale gold spiritual light bloomed on his palm.

The spiritual energy inside him began to draw out the energy contained in the spirit stone. Soon, the energy within the stone was pulled out and slowly absorbed by Lin Li.

Ten minutes later, Lin Li's spiritual energy was fully restored. He then continued absorbing the spirit stone's energy while using his own spiritual energy to temper his body, increasing his maximum spiritual energy capacity.

After another fifty minutes or so, the spirit stone in Lin Li's hand was completely drained, unable to yield even a trace of spiritual energy.

"What the fuck?!"

"Fifty thousand yuan only let me cultivate for an hour? Is cultivation this expensive for a cultivator?"