Tao Dapeng

South of the city, Maple Leaf Residential Area.

"Su Xue..."

Jiang Ran watched the tall figure disappear into the distance, lost in thought.

It was not because he had been captivated by her beauty.

The policewoman's kindness had eased his tightly wound nerves considerably, and it also let him know that there were good people in this new world.

In his previous life, he had seen all manner of wolves, snakes, rats, and leopards. After crossing over, he had encountered one misfortune after another. To him, a kind-hearted police officer was absolutely a good sign.

He turned and went back inside, closing the door behind him. The sight of the room came into view.

The room was less than thirty square meters. There was no kitchen, only a simple stove, while clothes were scattered messily around the room.

Though it was extremely shabby, it was government-subsidized housing in Pingjiang. There was no rent or property fee, which was already quite good for Jiang Ran.

"It's a little small, but it's enough to live in."

Jiang Ran shook his head with a wry smile and began tidying up the room.

He had not been some top-tier tycoon in his previous life, but after half a lifetime of hard work, he had still accumulated a sizable fortune. Yet after crossing over, he was back to square one, forced to live in a palm-sized subsidized apartment. It truly gave him the bleak feeling of a tiger stranded on the plains.

Fortunately, cultivation existed in this world, thoroughly stirring Jiang Ran's curiosity.

In his view, suffering a little now did not matter. If he could truly get on track and succeed in cultivation, he would even be willing to live in a villa and eat seafood.

The room was not large, so it was soon cleaned spotless.

At that moment, the few items on the coffee table were all of Jiang Ran's possessions.

A small glass bottle, a red card, several hundred in loose change, and a piece of jade.

The glass bottle contained Qi-Gathering Powder that could assist cultivation, with less than half remaining.

The red card was Pingjiang City's minimum living allowance card, with a little over one thousand in benefits deposited into it every month.

As for the jade...

"So this is a Spirit Stone?" Jiang Ran reached out and held the crystalline jade, filled with curiosity.

As the Qi Refining cultivation method, the True Origin Formula, began to circulate, threads of spiritual energy slowly moved and flowed into his body.

The sensation was quite marvelous. Every strand of spiritual energy entering his body brought a faint, warm feeling, as though it were nourishing him.

"Cultivation doesn't seem that difficult..."

Jiang Ran opened his eyes and looked at the jade in his hand, suddenly realizing something.

Cultivation really did not seem difficult. What was difficult was having enough resources to cultivate.

Holding a Spirit Stone provided abundant spiritual energy, naturally accelerating cultivation. But without a Spirit Stone, relying solely on meditation... that was an entirely different matter.

Jiang Ran tested it and discovered a cruel reality: without the assistance of a Spirit Stone, his cultivation speed was at most one-tenth as fast.

"Right, let's try the Qi-Consumption Cultivation Method."

That test revealed a problem.

The spiritual energy within the Spirit Stone seemed to have received some kind of summons, pouring into Jiang Ran's body at an incredible speed.

The first stage of the four Qi Cultivation stages, the Blood-Nourishing Stage, was improving at an unimaginable rate.

Qi Cultivation required ten years of hard work for a chance at completion. Iron Ox had begun training at nine years old, yet he still lacked quite a bit of progress even now.

According to Old Man Liu, Jiang Ran had already passed the optimal age. It would be even harder for him to assimilate Qi in the future than it was for Iron Ox.

But now...

Jiang Ran could clearly feel his strength constantly growing.

This was a sign that his Qi Cultivation was advancing. Once all four stages of Qi Cultivation were completed and his blood, essence, heart, and soul were perfected, his body would forge Xuanling, allowing him to absorb Qi and undergo Dao Initiation!

If he continued cultivating at this speed, why would he need "ten years of Qi Cultivation"?

At most, he would succeed within a year!

Just as Jiang Ran was floating on air, a faint sound came from beside his ear.

—Crack.

The surging spiritual energy abruptly stopped, and the advancement of his Qi-Nourishing Cultivation Method came to a halt as well.

The crystalline Spirit Stone before him no longer possessed its former moist luster and gradually lost its shine.

Its spiritual energy had been exhausted. This Spirit Stone had become an ordinary useless rock.

"This..." Jiang Ran's eyes widened, and he stood there stunned for a long while.

It was spiritual energy. The spiritual energy inside a Spirit Stone was the finest tonic, capable of nourishing the body and advancing the Qi-Nourishing Cultivation Method.

There was no need to mention the nourishing effect—it was naturally unparalleled. But this rate of consumption... wasn't it a little too fast?

Although this Spirit Stone had already been used many times, it still contained quite a bit of spiritual energy. If it were only used to support the Qi Refining cultivation method, the True Origin Formula, it could have lasted for at least another week.

But now, under the powerful extraction of the Qi-Consumption Cultivation Method, it had been drained in less than half an hour.

And this was his only Spirit Stone!

"Cultivation costs way too much money!" Jiang Ran grimaced miserably.

Spirit Stones were the basic spiritual commodity used throughout the Heavenly Lu Kingdom. They could be used directly in trade or as an equivalent standard of value. Converted into currency, one standard Spirit Stone cost a full one thousand Tianlu Coins!

One thousand for a Spirit Stone...

In other words, Jiang Ran's monthly living allowance could buy him at most one Spirit Stone. He could not even afford a second one!

No wonder the previous owner of his body had always ranked near the bottom at school.

It was not entirely because his talent was poor, nor because he did not work hard enough. It was because he simply could not compete with others.

—How could anyone cultivate immortality without money?!

Jiang Ran took a deep breath. He finally understood this point deeply.

Just one Spirit Stone cost over a thousand. As for the other cultivation resources, they were even more frighteningly expensive.

In this world, money could buy everything. As long as one had money, cultivation was not difficult at all. Talent was the least important thing. At least during high school, money was the absolute truth!

"I need to make money first. At the very least, I need to get into a good cultivation university before I'll have a chance to access good inheritances." Jiang Ran quickly sorted out his thoughts.

There were many ways to make money, but his status as a high school student limited his options.

He knew very well that his greatest advantage right now had to be "traveling between two worlds."

Pingjiang had abundant resources. As long as one had money, one could buy anything one wanted. As for the Grand Ruins Realm, around Black Dragon Mountain, its spiritual resources appeared somewhat scarce for now, but its cultivation inheritances and technique resources were clearly somewhat better than Pingjiang's.

It would be easy to make something of this advantage. As long as he found a suitable opportunity, he could profit from it.

"I'll report back to school first, then head to Black Dragon Mountain over the weekend."

Jiang Ran quickly came up with several plans.

Just then, a burst of dense footsteps sounded outside the door, accompanied by noisy chatter.

He instinctively assumed the neighbors downstairs were arguing.

The living conditions in subsidized housing were limited, and the soundproofing was terrible. Some noise was normal.

But the noise grew closer and closer, quickly reaching his own door. That seemed rather abnormal.

"Aunties, hurry! Jiang Ran lives in 619!"

Jiang Ran suddenly froze. That voice... was far too familiar.

It was Tao Dapeng, the previous owner's only friend—or rather, his best brother.

—Bang, bang bang!

Before his front door could be knocked apart, Jiang Ran hurried over and opened it.

There was not just Tao Dapeng outside. A large group of elderly aunties had gathered there too, every one of them looking indignantly furious.

"What are you all..." Jiang Ran was somewhat bewildered.

Tao Dapeng let out a howl and lunged forward, wrapping Jiang Ran in a tight embrace.

"My good brother, how did you get so thin? You've really suffered these past few days..."

"Boohoo... It wasn't easy for you to survive. Why has your life been so bitter, Jiang Ran..."

For a moment, the scene was rather chaotic.