The setting sun cast its lingering glow across the horizon.
Yan Xiaosan clutched a pouch of spirit stones and waved goodbye to his generous regular customer.
What a wealthy, kind soul!
A true benefactor sent by fate!
Since the customer had mentioned he would support his business for the long term, the spirit stones did not need to be refunded.
"Little System, what's the cheapest, most common manual at the chamber of commerce..."
[Cool Point +1 acquired]
[Cool Point +1 acquired]
[Cool Point +1 acquired]
[The Birth of Dragon-Absolving Heaven: Cool Points 12/10]
[Initial Quest: The Birth of Dragon-Absolving Heaven is complete. You have received one Novice Gift Pack.]
[Quest: The Start of Dragon-Absolving Heaven has begun]
[The Start of Dragon-Absolving Heaven: Cool Points 2/100]
"?"
[?]
"System, are you hacking?"
"Who's feeling cool?"
[...... Congratulations to the host for completing the quest. Please refrain from having wild fantasies.]
"What on earth is the definition of a cool point, then?" Yan Xiaosan pushed his wooden cart back to his cabin in the wilderness. "Face-slapping? Soaring all the way to the top and finishing the whole novel in two chapters? Shouting a rallying cry to overthrow the heavens?"
[Perhaps all such events share a common essence.]
Yan Xiaosan poured water into a pot. "Overwhelming strength?"
The system clarified, [No, you don't have that.]
He mixed glutinous rice flour and wheat starch, smoothed the batter through a wooden sieve, added just the right amount of clear water to form a paste, and stirred in sugar syrup. "Brilliant methods?"
The system dismissed him with disdain, [No, you don't have that either.]
He poured the mixture into small wooden bowls, then added system-synthesized fruit juices and ingredients in precise proportions. "A handsome appearance?"
The system was shocked, [No, you're merely moderately attractive at best.]
He started the fire to steam the cakes, and Yan Xiaosan tossed his head. "Then I'm just an ordinary-looking pretty boy. What's so cool about that?"
The system pounded the table in exasperation. [Me! Do you take me for some wild weed growing by the roadside? Look at the ingredients I provide—every single one is pure spiritual energy! How could an ordinary person possibly pull off a trick like this? You haven't even started cultivating or entered the Dao, so naturally you can't taste the difference yet!]
[I am your Golden Finger!!!!!!!!]
Calmly letting the system cast a Cleansing Spell on him, Yan Xiaosan flopped onto the bed. "Then I think I can guess. It's an ability that commands admiration. Thanks to the system's Golden Finger, in their eyes, I am now a cultivator with extraordinary methods."
Working like an ox and a horse only to finally hand out a sweet date, the system was not very happy. [...]
Yan Xiaosan rubbed his hands together excitedly, anticipation practically overflowing from his eyes. "Let's skip the nonsense! Quickly open the Novice Gift Pack! Maybe I won't have to live a life of poverty anymore!"
"Turning the tables and singing songs of triumph all depends on this!"
[Do you wish to open the Novice Gift Pack?]
"Open, open, open!"
[Wood-system cultivation manual: Source Law of All Things; Myriad Things Ring, Myriad Things Robe, Myriad Things Boots]
The manual and equipment sounded immensely prestigious just by their names!
"System! The good days have finally arrived!"
[At last, Yan the Skinflint has stopped eyeing my meager energy reserves.]
"?"
Their original plan had been to save up a sum of spirit stones by selling Put Chai Ko, go to the commercial firm to buy the cheapest cultivation manual, and shake off the awkward predicament of having no cultivation base and finding everything inconvenient.
They hadn't expected that stumbling around blindly would actually complete the novice quest.
Corrupted by the tropes of arrogant protagonist literature, he had truly thought that cool points meant face-slapping and bullying the weak...
Just like a sudden realization of the dream to set up a street stall and buy a house, except the house turned out to be a luxury villa—he was genuinely feeling pretty cool right now.
"I finally have a concrete sense of having a Golden Finger, and the novice village just dropped a set of divine gear that sounds utterly badass!" After exclaiming in wonder, he got back up. "Sleep? Who needs sleep! Time to cultivate!"
...
Meng Haize had just emerged from the Divine Miracle, marveling at his bountiful harvest this time around, which should raise his ranking on the Human Rank.
Thinking of indulging himself a little, he headed toward the Sky Restaurant to buy a gourd of Dream God Brew.
Before he even reached the restaurant, his attention was caught by a roadside stall.
The owner of the stall was refined and handsome, warmly greeting passing cultivators. What he was selling consisted of two small wooden bowls covered with lids, and it was impossible to tell what was inside.
It was quite rare to find someone in the Penglai Realm willing to lower their posture so much, making it rather novel.
"Fellow Daoist, what are you selling?"
"Put Chai Ko, a type of spirit food." Yan Xiaosan picked up a wooden bowl and showed it to Meng Haize. "It has quite a few benefits for cultivation. Fellow Daoist, you can try one."
Meng Haize was a true foodie, and since the Put Chai Ko didn't look bad, it naturally drew him in. "What is the price?"
"Because I made a small breakthrough yesterday, today I have two different batches of Put Chai Ko at different prices. The better ones are fifteen medium-grade spirit stones, and the ordinary ones are ten. As for the flavor, Fellow Daoist can buy some to try—they're all fresh tastes."
Yan Xiaosan had toiled through the night to enter the Qi Condensation stage, and when he woke up early, the system had him make another batch of Put Chai Ko and eat one of each. Now that he had a cultivation base, he could finally taste the difference between them.
For ordinary cultivators, cultivating meant inhaling and absorbing spiritual energy to circulate it through their meridians. Using spirit stones to absorb the spiritual energy within them could speed up progress, while spirit food—refined by a culinary cultivator—possessed a qualitative leap in the spiritual energy it contained, and the ingredients themselves carried impressive supplementary benefits.
[You are a Wood Spiritual Root with extremely high purity. When making Put Chai Ko, I can use your spiritual root to repeatedly refine spiritual energy for it. The higher your cultivation, the more I can do, and the better the effect of the Put Chai Ko will be.]
[If you use not just ordinary ingredients infused with my spiritual energy, but also incorporate superior medicinal herbs, the effect will be even better. Of course, that will require you to possess a higher cultivation base.]
[So, do you understand? I am your super thick Golden Finger!]
Looking at the colorful variations of Put Chai Ko, Meng Haize found himself in a dilemma and simply pointed randomly. "This one, and this one, I want the better ones for both."
He took the pineapple-flavored Put Chai Ko handed over by Yan Xiaosan, watched how crystalline it looked in the sunlight, and took a bite.
"!"
A refreshing sweetness carried a hint of slight tartness; it was soft, chewy, and elastic, making him want a second bite the moment he finished the first.
"!!"
As the first bite went down his stomach, a pure surge of spiritual energy dispersed through his body. Without needing to deliberately circulate his energy, the spiritual energy was already feeding back into him.
Before he had even finished the one in his hand, Meng Haize's eyes locked onto the remaining stock on the stall. "Boss, I'll take them all!"
[Cool Point +5]
"......" Yan Xiaosan fell silent, thinking that the people in this Penglai Realm were truly more eager than the last, and all of them loved to buy out the entire stock.
He shook his head and spoke apologetically, "Sorry, Put Chai Ko is limited to two per person."
"Ah?" Meng Haize panicked. How could such a fine item be restricted in purchase? "I am willing to pay double the spirit stones to buy them. Why won't Fellow Daoist help fulfill a good wish?"
Yan Xiaosan smiled and replied, "Thank you for your praise, Fellow Daoist, but my purpose in setting up this stall is not to earn spirit stones. As for the rest, it's inconvenient to go into detail with Fellow Daoist."
If you eat them all up, where am I supposed to fish for more cool points?
Meng Haize knew that every cultivator had their own way of doing things, so it wasn't his place to probe endlessly.
Yet looking at the Put Chai Ko on the stall, he found it hard to let go.
I have an idea!
He pulled out several sheets of talisman paper, channeled spiritual energy into them, and the talismans transformed into paper cranes that flew away.
[Host, those are communication talismans.]
The system explained upon seeing Yan Xiaosan's bewildered look.
Ah, he got it—summoning people!
He finally wouldn't have to suffer the misery of failing to attract customers anymore!
Meng Haize turned around and met Yan Xiaosan's eyes.
Why did Fellow Daoist's gaze suddenly become exceptionally warm and friendly?