Cultivating in Online Games

Chapter 38 - Foundation-Building Pill

Ye Zhou: “Makes sense. When the system released the task before, I thought it was a scam. How could players occupy the territory of a game dungeon? But with the appearance of this Illusionary Heart Pearl, it seems that it can increase the boss’s favorability. Could reaching a certain favorability level make the boss willingly give up the territory?”

It’s Dugu Zhuo who wants to establish a sect. Ye Zhou said to him, “You should use this pearl quickly. Let’s see how much favorability can be gained.”

Dugu Zhuo clicks to use the Illusionary Heart Pearl, and the treasure turns into a light entering Dugu Zhuo’s brow. At the same time, Dugu Zhuo receives a system prompt: [Please enter the dungeon you want to increase favorability with.]

“Even though this pearl was hard to obtain, not all dungeons are suitable. Can only choose one dungeon?” Ye Zhou feels it’s a bit uneconomical.

“After all, seizing the sect gate is not an easy task.” Dugu Zhuo manually inputs the level 40 Monster Spirit Tiger Fang dungeon.

[System prompt: The white tiger in the Monster Spirit Tiger Fang dungeon has a favorability of 80 towards you. After using the Illusionary Heart Pearl, the favorability increases by 5 points. The current favorability is 85.]

Dugu Zhuo: “…”

Wasn’t it originally only 80 favorability? What happened to the promised deep friendship?

Before, the system prompted him that the Monster Spirit Tiger Fang dungeon was a gate that could be seized. Dugu Zhuo, based on the name, immediately thought of his only friend in this life, a spiritual tiger monster.

This white tiger is the child of a spiritual and a monster, the descendant of the ancient four holy beasts, the White Tiger. After the death of the parents, he was rejected by both the monster and spiritual clans. He ran to a mountain to cultivate on his own. He had no intention of becoming the mountain lord, but due to his powerful strength, the other monsters on the mountain defaulted him as the lord.

Because Ye Zhou made an appointment with countless experts in the cultivation world to battle again in three years, Dugu Zhuo, not wanting to disappoint Ye Zhou’s expectations, embarked on the path of training after the competition.

At that time, he encountered the white tiger, helped the white tiger solve a problem, and the two became friends.

Dugu Zhuo also brought the injured white tiger to see Ye Zhou. The divine power of the plain sword on Ye Zhou’s body was particularly attractive to the spiritual clan, and the white tiger liked Ye Zhou so much that it would willingly expose its belly for Ye Zhou to scratch, just to get a trace of divine power.

Ye Zhou didn’t say anything on the surface, but he seemed to dislike the white tiger. When the white tiger was on Starry Peak, Ye Zhou had stared at it several times and reached out his hand. Fortunately, he never actually did anything and always withdrew it in time.

Dugu Zhuo knew deeply that Ye Zhou tolerated the presence of the white tiger for him. After the white tiger’s injuries healed, he took it down the mountain.

Later, this white tiger…

“How much favorability can one Illusionary Heart Pearl increase?” Ye Zhou’s words interrupted Dugu Zhuo’s thoughts.

Dugu Zhuo: “5.”

“5… What is the maximum value for favorability?” Ye Zhou asked.

Dugu Zhuo glanced at the maximum value after 85: “100.”

“100? Doesn’t that mean you have to defeat the difficult mode of 20 dungeons for the first kill? The game doesn’t even have 20 dungeons now, right?” Ye Zhou was almost spitting blood. “This first kill is too unfair!”

Actually, you don’t need 20. Three more are enough. Dugu Zhuo glanced at the number 85. Since there was already 80 favorability, it meant that the boss of this dungeon was indeed his good friend. But why only 80? Isn’t that a bit low?

“Cross the bridge when you come to it, don’t worry.” Dugu Zhuo closed the information interface, reassured Ye Zhou, and patted his shoulder.

The two were very close, and Dugu Zhuo almost embraced Ye Zhou. Ye Zhou noticed the closeness and felt like escaping, but also hesitated to leave.

As Ye Zhou was struggling, a person stood in front of them and said, “Are you two the ones attempting the difficult mode of the dungeon? Which one of you is Dugu Zhuo?”

This person was the formidable god-general defeated by Ye Zhou that day.

“It is me,” Dugu Zhuo said.

“Is it you? Not you?” The god-general looked at Ye Zhou.

Previously, Ye Zhou had defeated the god-general with absolute dominance, and he thought Ye Zhou was the legendary figure Dugu Zhuo in “Nine Heavens.”

“When did I tell you I am Dugu Zhuo?” Ye Zhou said.

The god-general’s face twitched. He looked at the real Dugu Zhuo and said with some pain, “Your strength is so strong, achieving the first kill in the main storyline and dungeon difficult mode, creating countless skills. Why waste all your attribute points on appearance?”

Dugu Zhuo and Ye Zhou: “…”

“I know your current appearance is popular among the young girls, but…”

Dugu Zhuo, displeased with the god-general talking about his appearance causing trouble, interrupted him, saying, “Cut the nonsense. What do you want?”

“It’s just… Do you want to fight? I’ll accompany you!” Ye Zhou unsheathed his sword.

The god-general looked at the two who had previously been mocked and had now taken on the challenge, his expression suddenly became a bit embarrassed. It seemed like he was brewing something difficult to say.

Seeing that he had been holding back for a long time without saying a word, Ye Zhou glanced at the time and said, “It’s almost six o’clock. I need to log off for dinner. Don’t waste my time.”

Seeing the two turning around to leave, the god-general’s face turned red. He finally shouted, “How much money!”

Dugu Zhuo, who was already worried about how to make money to buy a mountain, was particularly sensitive to words like “money” and “silver.” He reflexively turned around and said, “Ten thousand silver.”

“Farewell!” The god-general immediately bowed and bid farewell. One million silver, whether the entire game currently had this much silver or not was a question!

“Wait!” Ye Zhou stopped the god-general and said, “What do you want to buy? Asking for a price on the spot is normal, right?”

He pulled Dugu Zhuo’s sleeve, indicating that he would negotiate the price.

“What do you want to buy through the guide of the mountain protector beast,” the god-general said, “I have played the difficult mode of that dungeon three times and died at the sunflower every time. The attacks of the sunflower seeds are simply impossible to defend against. How did you guys get through?”

“Haven’t you already passed that level? Why are you asking this?” Ye Zhou asked.

“I brought clients through, and some clients want to pay extra to pass the difficult mode.” The god-general explained.

It seemed that he was a professional game booster, prioritizing clients above all, and could bow his head to the clients’ demands.

Ye Zhou said, “We passed the level of the mountain protector beast not with skill coordination but with special items.”

Ye Zhou glanced at Dugu Zhuo. They used the Illumination Talisman to clear the level, which Dugu Zhuo had drawn and was a form of a self-created skill. It wasn’t included in the system because Dugu Zhuo had never used it on players.

It’s not that it couldn’t be registered as a self-created skill, but both Dugu Zhuo and Ye Zhou felt they had already been announced in the system too many times. They were concerned that if they continued, the game GM would investigate Dugu Zhuo. Dugu Zhuo knew he was a bug and couldn’t withstand the game company’s cleanup. So, he decided to keep a low profile.

“Can special items be duplicated? Can they be rented?” the god-general asked.

Dugu Zhuo replied, “It’s a talisman, and it’s for sale. How much silver can you offer?”

The god-general said, “I charge 100 pieces for guiding through one dungeon. For a player, it’s 20 pieces. For the difficult mode, I plan to charge 150, and for a player, it’s 30. We can split this extra 50 evenly, giving you 25. How does that sound?”

25 silver pieces? Isn’t that a bit too little? It’s not even as much as robbing a bandit again. Speaking of which, can’t bosses in dungeons be robbed? They drop silver pieces every time they die. There should be quite a bit of money on them, right? Dugu Zhuo seriously considered it.

Seeing Dugu Zhuo lost in thought, Ye Zhou knew he was thinking crookedly. He quickly said, “We don’t want real-world currency, only in-game silver pieces. Look at how much 25 pieces of silver are worth in real money?”

“The official game has not opened an exchange system for currency and silver pieces. Currently, 1 yuan equals 10 low-grade spirit stones. Silver pieces cannot be priced. And why do you need silver pieces? Currently, players use spirit stones to buy items and equipment in the game. Silver pieces are only used by casual players for meals, accommodation, and carriage rides. These don’t cost much. The money dropped from killing monsters and completing dungeons is enough for these expenses, right?” the god-general explained.

“Don’t worry about that. We want silver pieces, not spirit stones.” Ye Zhou said.

“In that case, wait for me to calculate,” the god-general said. “I can only offer you 2,500 silver pieces. How about payment upon verification?”

“Five thousand pieces, pay upfront.” Ye Zhou said, “Otherwise, no deal.”

“Five thousand pieces are too expensive!” The god-general said, “I don’t have that much silver. I’ll have to collect it little by little from players.”

Dugu Zhuo said, “Ten thousand pieces, otherwise, no deal.”

“Why are you still raising the price? Four thousand pieces upfront, not a penny more.” The god-general said with a bitter face.

“That’s the way it is. Will you sell?” Ye Zhou looked at Dugu Zhuo.

Dugu Zhuo wasn’t sure about the prices. He only knew that the god-general was not as wealthy as the bandits. He casually threw out an Illumination Talisman, briefly explaining its usage and effects.

The god-general had only five thousand silver pieces in total, accumulated from multiple dungeon runs. He entered trade mode with Dugu Zhuo, counted out four thousand pieces, and handed them to Dugu Zhuo.

For future long-term transactions, Dugu Zhuo added the god-general to his friends’ list.

After some thought, Dugu Zhuo added a note to the god-general’s name: “Even poorer than bandits.” He was not satisfied with the four thousand pieces.

After the trade, Ye Zhou logged off with peace of mind, while Dugu Zhuo, holding the Foundation Establishment Pill obtained from the dungeon, returned to the inn.

The Illusion Heart Pearl was a pleasant surprise, but the Foundation Establishment Pill was the real reason Dugu Zhuo decided to tackle the dungeon.

Dugu Zhuo wanted to know if the alchemy in this world was the same as what he knew from the cultivation world. If this Foundation Establishment Pill had the same effects and was crafted using the same methods, Dugu Zhuo could start alchemy.

Dugu Zhuo’s Dao was taught by Ye Zhou, but in the records of the steward’s hall at the Qingtian Sword Sect, he was registered under the name of his father, Dugu Yue.

Dugu Yue had numerous disciples, including direct disciples, inner disciples, and outer disciples. The pills allocated to Dugu Yue’s disciples were never enough, so one disciple would collect them monthly and distribute them among themselves.

Although Dugu Zhuo was Dugu Yue’s biological son, everyone in the Qingtian Sword Sect knew that they had no emotional connection. If it weren’t for the fear that someone with ill intentions might use the only blood relation to harm Dugu Yue, he wouldn’t have recognized Dugu Zhuo as his son.

Therefore, disciples of Dugu Yue wouldn’t provide Dugu Zhuo with the Foundation Nurturing Elixir, and he couldn’t compete with them. Ye Zhou also couldn’t lower his status to compete with these juniors for pills.

Ye Zhou had no disciples. He lived alone on the Starfall Peak, and the steward’s hall knew he didn’t need pills from junior disciples, so they wouldn’t allocate any to the Starfall Peak.

At that time, Dugu Zhuo, being young and ignorant, hated both Dugu Yue and Ye Zhou. Even if Ye Zhou tried to request pills from the steward’s hall, Dugu Zhuo wouldn’t use them and would shout at Ye Zhou, “No need for your fake concern.”

So, Ye Zhou handed Dugu Zhuo a book titled “Alchemy” and left a sentence, “Since you’re so capable, go ahead and refine pills.”

At that time, Dugu Zhuo was unconvinced and determined to refine pills to show Ye Zhou. The Starfall Peak was vast, and Ye Zhou usually closed himself off for cultivation without going out. Dugu Zhuo, while studying the alchemy book, would climb the mountain to gather herbs and refine pills, destroying numerous furnaces in the process. He ended up becoming the best alchemist in the sect.

Now, looking back, he realized he wasn’t truly self-reliant, and everything was actually because Ye Zhou favored him.

Where did those destroyed furnaces come from? The Starfall Peak belonged to Ye Zhou, and the herbs on the mountain were nurtured by his divine power. Without Ye Zhou’s permission, how could he repeatedly practice alchemy?

Moreover, alchemy was dangerous. A slight mistake in the fire control could lead to self-harm. At that time, with only the “Alchemy” book, he blindly experimented like a headless fly. He wouldn’t have survived without Ye Zhou secretly protecting him.

Reflecting on those childhood events, Dugu Zhuo felt a bittersweet emotion as he swallowed the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Instead of absorbing the medicinal power through cultivation, he enveloped the pill with his true essence, exploring its properties with his divine sense.

He discerned every ingredient and refining technique used in the pill. It was indeed identical to the methods in his original world, with the addition of a strand of his true qi. This true qi made the pill ineffective for anyone other than the player who obtained it, ensuring it wouldn’t work for others.

Dugu Zhuo catalyzed the pill with his true essence. As he had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, the pill had no effect on him, nor did it cause any harm.

As expected, the system prompted: [You have already reached Foundation Establishment and don’t need the Foundation Establishment Pill. Do you want to convert the energy in the pill into experience?]

Dugu Zhuo chose “yes” and gained fifty thousand experience points.

He looked at the experience bar with some headache. During Ye Zhou’s offline periods, he tried various things and gained a considerable amount of experience, especially after robbing the bandit stronghold, where he obtained over a hundred thousand experience points. His current experience level comfortably reached level 25.

However, Ye Zhou was only at level 20, and Dugu Zhuo had been waiting for him, so he hadn’t leveled up.

This experience couldn’t be exchanged for money; it was truly useless. Dugu Zhuo sighed inwardly.

Author’s note: Dugu Zhuo: Entrepreneurship is not easy, Ah Zhuo sighs.

Dugu Zhuo: After much thought, it’s still the best with the bandits.