Cyber Cultivator

Seemingly sensing Hu Mang's thoughts, Old Sha explained:

"The Dragon Blood Tide, which occurs only once every ten years and lasts for only three days, meant that many well-connected and powerful cultivators had no chance to participate. As a result, the market is booming, and prices are generally 50% to 60% higher than before."

"Goods from the seabed aren't available every day."

"Most importantly, some customers are particularly fond of treasures related to Dragon Vein, so they sell exceptionally well."

Some guests particularly like?

Hu Mang seemed to have heard Eighth Master Hui mention that, apart from Liu Wuniang, the time-traveling snake spirit, the group of people secretly researching Private Dragon were all from the former Celestial Person Realm.

The Celestial Person Class is indeed a historical term, generally referring to all cultivators of the old era who pursued self-interest through the pursuit of all things.

These cultivators lack both the ancient cultivators' spirit of seeking immortality and the Heavenly Dao, and the modern cultivators' grand vision of creating new methods and shaping the universe.

The main theme is self-indulgence, extravagance, and embodying all evils.

They are also said to have another name: Cyber Cultivator.

The so-called cultivators of this path do not follow the High Antiquity methods of breathing exercises and drawing in spiritual energy. Instead, they rely on iron machinery and electric networks to cultivate, recklessly exhausting the resources of heaven and earth, arbitrarily exploiting the human strength of the people, and wasting endless material resources. As a result, the world is divided into layers like a tower, with those at the top holding the key to spiritual energy and those at the bottom trapped in worldly affairs. The gap between them is like that between Celestial Person.

The race is a contest of mechanical devices, a circuit of flowing electricity, a man-made iron realm;

A wise man can absorb thousands of threads of spiritual thoughts, and his spiritual consciousness spans the realm of reality and reality in the universe.

This is the original text from the history lesson; it will be on the test.

Compared to them, even the demonic path has some ambition.

According to historical accounts, it was fortunate that the Ten Lords defeated them in the era of electrical cultivation. If they were to enter the era of information cultivation, where false cultivation completely replaces true cultivation, the world would truly be beyond saving.

So, have those Celestial Person who were driven away by the first generation of the Ten Lords managed to spread their influence overseas?

Hu Mang remained expressionless and accepted the four black cards.

Old Sha continued, "Old Zhu's boat is gone, I'll order another one for you, but it'll probably take about ten days."

"I'm not in a hurry. I'll take these few days to explore the island and see if I can find some good deals."

"Don't count on finding anything on Taobao. With people like us around, the really good stuff won't end up on the streets. But if you're interested, you can attend my underground auctions. If you don't want to show your face, I can bid on your behalf."

Old Sha opened the drawer and took out an invitation. The invitation was quite simple, without any fancy decorations. The cover was plain white cardboard, with only the character "Shark" written in ink on the corner, the strokes were neat and sharp.

The Hu Mang took the paper, and with a sweep of its Divine Sense, a phantom shark emerged from the paper, about an arm's length long. It slowly swam around the Hu Mang, then opened its mouth and exhaled a string of bubbles. The bubbles gathered in the air without dispersing, forming a coordinate marker—the exact location of the old lighthouse, down to a specific floor at the bottom of the tower.

"An underground trading fair for Golden Core cultivators?"

This Divine Sense shark can clearly only be activated by Golden Core Divine Sense.

"Well, if you want to participate in something higher-level, you'll have to go to Penglai. That's not limited to Golden Core; Nascent Soul can also go," Old Sha said expressionlessly.

I never expected this Old Sha to have such a dry sense of humor.

Hu Mang has a large quantity of goods he can't sell, but he'd be willing to exchange them for something useful to him.

For example, he had always wanted to get himself a demon-slaying spear, but he only had lightning-struck driftwood for the shaft, not the spearhead.

Moreover, he also needed to acquire the "materials for the Golden Core Elixir".

"Alright," Hu Mang tapped his fingers on the table, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Old Sha didn't urge him; his ferocious face simply watched him calmly.

I have a batch of goods on hand, I wonder if you'd be interested in buying them?

"What kind of goods? Smuggled goods, seafood, Middle Earth, or goods from the Saha Continent?"

"Spirit Stone."

"Spirit Stone?"

For the first time, the usually composed Old Sha showed a look of astonishment.

It seems to be saying, "Spirit Stone are such a valuable currency, why are you asking me if I'll take them?"

Do you even need to eat this stuff? You can just buy something else to use it up.

"My Spirit Stone are a little different; they are of higher purity."

"How high is 'relatively high'?" Old Sha finally recovered.

"For low-grade Spirit Stone, the Spiritual Qi content is three times that of ordinary Spirit Stone; for Mid-Grade Spirit Stone, it is twice that of other Spiritual Qi Spirit Stone of the same grade; and for high-grade Spirit Stone, it is half again as much."

This is a conclusion reached by Hu Mang through his own research.

"?"

Old Sha paused for a moment, then asked, "How many Spirit Stone do you have in this batch?"

"If we use the price of ordinary Spirit Stone, it's fifty million."

It was actually 100 million, but one should always be cautious, so Hu Mang decided to take out half of it first to test the waters.

Old Sha was stunned again.

If Spirit Stone of this quality truly exist, they could easily fetch more than double the price.

And there were so many of them! Old Sha, his cracked fingers touching the corner of the table, suddenly realized what was going on.

"You found it in the Dragon Blood Tide?"

Sometimes, high-quality Spirit Stone can indeed be found at the bottom of the sea.

"I suppose so," Hu Mang said vaguely. "This doesn't seem like a large-scale transaction, a single deal. If I were to frequently use Spirit Stone of this quality, I'd inevitably attract attention sooner or later. So it's better to sell here. In an underground trading place like yours, you can sell them in bulk, and with your smuggling-level transaction volume, it shouldn't attract any attention."

"I need to check the quality first," Old Sha said cautiously, "Besides, I don't have that many Spirit Coin in a short time."

However, fearing the deal might fall through, Old Sha quickly added:

"However, if you participate in my underground trading event next, I can put 50 million on your tab. You can spend it as you please, and I'll make up the rest for you."

"Can."

Hu Mang quickly took out a low-grade Spirit Stone, a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone, and a high-grade Spirit Stone, and showed them to the other party for inspection.

Soon after, Old Sha hurriedly took the Spirit Stone out to be tested.

Hu Mang was curious about what was inside the glass barrier, but it seemed to be concealed by a magic array, so he couldn't see it unless he opened it.

As for opening it...

It's rare to find a smuggler who's even remotely reliable, and Hu Mang was even thinking of developing that person into a sales channel.

It's best not to do anything that might offend others.

Soon, Old Sha walked over with a happy expression.

It's worth noting that a typical large underwater cargo ship only costs around ten million.

He could make a fortune just by pumping Spirit Stone that could sell for a hundred million!

Moreover, in the world of cultivation, Spirit Stone are a general equivalent to gold.

It's the kind of product that you never have to worry about not being able to use, no matter when.

This is an absolute steal!

The two quickly completed the Spirit Stone transaction. Hu Mang would trade half of the Spirit Stone first, and then he could make large purchases in his underground trading market. The rest would be settled after the trade fair ended.

At that time, Old Sha should have had enough cash flow to absorb this amount of Spirit Stone.

As a major client, Old Sha unusually invited Hu Mang to stay in the old lighthouse. Although the Spiritual Qi here is not a high-level Spiritual Qi area, the Spiritual Qi concentration is still 41.

It's even taller than the meditation room in Hu Mang's house.

After scanning the area with his Divine Sense and confirming that there were no detection devices, Hu Mang left the old lighthouse. It was safer to make phone calls outside.

"... You little rascal, didn't you say you'd call twice a week? It's been weeks already!? You little fox, you're all brats now, aren't you?!"

Sure enough, as soon as he answered the phone, he was met with a barrage of complaints and dissatisfaction from his mother.

Fortunately, we haven't heard any news of his "death," otherwise his mother would probably have exploded on the spot.

"Mom, how's the house selection? It's 15 million. Will I be able to afford a villa when I go back to Heavenly Gate?"

Hu Mang interrupted the opponent's spellcasting directly.

Sure enough, as soon as the topic of houses came up, Mama Hu immediately perked up.

"Wow, I didn't know until I looked! Cave abode are so cheap these days! Even the Nascent Soul level ones seem like we could buy one if Nascent Soul..."

How could it not be cheap?

Hu Mang thought to himself, "This is what I'm complaining about."

In the past, the concentration of Spiritual Qi energy in a house was linked to its spiritual energy level.

If you want to cultivate yourself well, you must buy a house in a good location.

However, since the "Spiritual Qi Pipeline Plan" was implemented, even his old and dilapidated family home has been able to enjoy a medium concentration of Spiritual Qi.

In addition, nowadays, whether it is a holy land or a blessed land, a lot of public cultivation rooms have been built, with Spiritual Qi concentration of at least 40 or more, and they are free. Furthermore, with the continuous development of private spiritual enterprises, the Spiritual Qi intensity in the sect buildings is also constantly increasing.

Some people simply stay in the office building to practice, work, and perform duties, and don't even go home anymore.

With the current trend of universal cultivation, the days when an ordinary couple without Spirit Root could have a bunch of kids are over.

With all this back and forth, house prices plummeted.

He doesn't really care what his mother chooses or buys; the 15 million was just something to amuse his mother anyway.

After his mother finally finished her long nagging, Hu Mang rubbed his ears, feeling that it was even more painful than chanting scriptures.

Before his mother could begin the second part of her "chanting," Hu Mang quickly interrupted her.

"Where's Old Xie? What's he been up to lately?"

"I haven't been busy with anything. I'm just following Eighth Master's instructions and taking him for rehabilitation training every day," said Mama Hu, full of energy.

"Rehabilitation training... what kind of training is that?"

"Aerobics, walking, brain massage, oh right, he's recently become obsessed with fishing, he goes fishing for a while every day. I looked it up online, and it seems to be good for brain recovery."

"Fishing?"

Artificial intelligence also enjoys fishing?

"Did you catch anything?"

No, not a single one.

"So what is he doing now?"

"He's using his weird algorithm to study the combination of bait and fishing rod."

"Okay, call him over, I want to have a chat with him."

Soon, after his mother's shrewish roar, Xie Xianyu's voice rang out slowly and deliberately.

"Hello, this is Old Xie. How can I help you?"