The Idea of Trading What They Had

"Do you still need something? If not, I'll go back and cultivate first. I need to hurry and reach the Embryonic Breathing First Layer as soon as possible too—"

Ancient Cultivator Lü Yuan said irritably to punk Lü Yuan.

Punk Lü Yuan stood up again, then sat on the bed in the mindscape modeled after his own bedroom and coughed softly:

"Ahem, don't rush off. I have another idea I want to tell you about."

"Although you're the only one who can bring things in right now, judging by the difference between us, we can be pretty sure it's because of your cultivation."

"After all, even when I used your Spirit Root, I couldn't bring anything in."

"That means once I have some cultivation too, the two of us can use this place to trade what we have."

Ancient Cultivator Lü Yuan nodded slightly. He had thought about that too. "So what are you getting at?"

Seeing how little business sense he had, and how calm he looked, punk Lü Yuan was heartbroken. How could his other self be so unlike him?

He declared in a booming voice, "Haven't you realized how huge a market and business opportunity this is?"

"If our guess turns out to be right, the two of us can buy low and sell high, tapping into a market worth tens of thousands of Spirit Stones."

Ancient Cultivator Lü Yuan tilted his head. "But with the cultivation the two of us will have in the near future, what could we even resell?"

"It's wilderness everywhere on my side. I'd have trouble finding a mouse. You still have to go to elementary school over there, so what could you get your hands on that's scarce here?"

"What are we supposed to use to earn our first pot of gold and get a virtuous economic cycle going?"

"Are we going to resell air?"

He had only been joking, but punk Lü Yuan gave him a look of approval, as though he hadn't expected him to be so gifted.

"I didn't expect you to think of that so quickly. I take back what I said. You really are my other self. You've got a head for business!"

"Reselling air is exactly what I mean-"

"You don't know this, but from what I've learned, I'll have access to the Dark Air Realm once I start school."

"The so-called Dark Air Realm is where students with cultivation purify the foul air on our side, then trade the fresh air they get from it in private."

"It's a lot of work, but it's very profitable, and demand has always outstripped supply."

"After all, you need all your apertures open to absorb Spiritual Qi while cultivating. The better the air quality, the smoother the absorption process."

"You could say this market is practically a bottomless pit, and we don't need to spend anything. In your Ancient Immortal Cultivation Realm, any random breath of air is bound to be at least as good as the purified air here."

"Wouldn't that mean we could just lie back and count our money?"

After hearing punk Lü Yuan's explanation, Ancient Cultivator Lü Yuan understood. Now he finally understood what a garbage dump the Capitalist Immortal Cultivation Realm really was.

"All right, all right. If you really need it, I'll bring you some when the time comes."

Ancient Cultivator Lü Yuan waved a hand. "Anything else to add?"

"Wood, stone, soil... Don't tell me those can fetch a good price on your side too."

"No need for those." Punk Lü Yuan spoke honestly. "We don't lack those things here. At least, I can't see a market for them right now."

Ancient Cultivator Lü Yuan rolled his eyes at him, then nodded. "All right, looks like you have nothing else to add. I'm taking the Spirit Root back. You should get some sleep too."

With that, he started to leave.

But punk Lü Yuan frowned in confusion and grabbed him.

It wasn't because he wanted to keep the Spirit Root. He had realized that this guy had only listened to what he needed.

He hadn't cared what punk Lü Yuan could bring him.

"Trading what we have goes both ways. I don't have any cultivation yet, so I can't bring things over, but isn't there anything you want me to bring you?"

"Hm?"

Ancient Cultivator Lü Yuan stopped himself from returning and tilted his head at him. "With the immortal book in hand, I probably don't need anything myself, do I?"

"Besides, cultivating is much harder on your side than on mine. You should keep the money you earn and use it to cultivate."

Punk Lü Yuan couldn't understand this guy's morals, just as he still couldn't understand what he had done while fleeing the famine.

"You..."

"Don't think that just because you have an immortal book, I have nothing that can help you."

"How about cultivating with drugs that have no side effects? How about all kinds of high technology and new-era Law Artifacts?"

"How about talismans wholesale? How about all kinds of cultivation resources that are hard to find in the Ancient Immortal Cultivation Realm, all with clearly marked prices?"

Ancient Cultivator Lü Yuan sighed. "The immortal left me a prophecy. They said I could form a Dao Embryo. They're an immortal, so they can't be wrong."

"So you don't need to worry about me."

"Besides, our minds are connected. I know you're not saying this out of guilt. It's just that we're one, and when I lose out, you feel bad too."

Punk Lü Yuan gritted his teeth. "So you do know that when you lose out, I feel bad too!"

"If you know that, then tell me what you need!"

But Ancient Cultivator Lü Yuan still looked utterly free of wants or desires. He really had no intention of getting anything from him.

With no other choice, punk Lü Yuan could only play his trump card.

He reminded him, "Huge amounts of grain and meat. Surely you must need those over there?"

Ancient Cultivator Lü Yuan thought for a moment and raised his eyebrows.

He really couldn't deny that. Given his personality, if he had the means, he really couldn't bear to see suffering before his eyes.

And the situation on his side was...

Seeing that he didn't speak, and with their minds connected, punk Lü Yuan knew he had hit the mark.

"Once I reach Embryonic Breathing, I can supply you with huge amounts of grain and meat-"

"And don't worry, it won't affect my finances."

"If you have any idea what the Capitalist Immortal Cultivation Realm is like, you should understand how cheap those things are on my side."

Punk Lü Yuan gave him an example. "Have you ever seen wheat and rice that ripen twenty-four times a day?"

"Have you ever seen meat pigs and cattle that grow to a ton and are ready for slaughter in just three days?"

"Even if I bought hundreds of tons of ordinary grain here, it wouldn't cost me a month's wages on the production line."

"Prices are so low that ordinary restaurants have no market at all."

"Do you understand the productive power of the Capitalist Immortal Cultivation Realm now?"

Punk Lü Yuan kept listing and boasting about the various benefits of the Capitalist Immortal Cultivation Realm.

Ancient Cultivator Lü Yuan didn't interrupt. Once he understood, he merely smiled.

"I see..."

"Then, if I need any of those things when the time comes, I'll be counting on you."

"It's getting late. See you tomorrow-"

Ancient Cultivator Lü Yuan left, and punk Lü Yuan clicked his tongue in displeasure as he watched him go.

"The only thing he needs isn't even for himself."

"What an unsavvy guy. He's nothing like me."