PID Chapter 27.1

Xiao Mo cultivated in the sea of consciousness all night, then stretched and conjured up a new set of clothes for himself.

 

The system had loaded templates for many clothes from this world. By combining and mixing materials based on these templates, it could generate new clothing styles. Xiao Mo could change outfits three times a day for a long time without repeating.

 

Today, he chose a sky-blue garment, covered with a thin misty gauze, his waist bound with a jade belt, outlining a slender yet crisp curve. He looked like a riverside willow in the misty rain, tall and lean, soft yet resilient.

 

When Xiao Mo emerged from the sea of consciousness, he found Chu Jinglan practicing sword techniques again.

 

Due to his injuries, Chu Jinglan had neglected sword practice for many days. Previously, his sword qi was fierce, requiring the spacious bamboo forest sword arena to avoid harming others. Now, without spiritual power, his sword lacked spiritual light, and his body hadn’t fully recovered, making each move slow.

 

Though without spiritual light, the sword wasn’t dull. It remained sharp and spirited. In the slow movements, the sword intent became more harmonious, changing from overwhelming snowstorms to thousand-year-old ice on high mountains. The surrounding peach trees were flowerless, adorned only with emerald leaves that occasionally swayed in the sword intent, like melting first snow, with subdued divine radiance.

 

Xiao Mo leaned on the corridor, quietly watching. His divine sense seemed to be moved by the mysterious sword intent. Though not a sword cultivator, he perceived the mysteries of edge and blade. A sword with an edge can split the heavens; a sword without a point achieves great skill without effort.

 

The cultivator’s state of mind elevated.

 

Xiao Mo’s gaze and spirit gradually moved with the person and sword in the courtyard, until the sword tip slowly passed through the wind, stopping at the end of a fallen leaf.

 

Only then did Xiao Mo awaken from his meditation, his mind clear.

 

As a Inner Demon specializing in bewitching arts, it was crucial to maintain one’s original heart, disturb others’ spirits while guarding one’s own spiritual platform. Each moment of enlightenment was a cleansing.

 

After finishing his sword practice, even though he only practiced slow moves, Chu Jinglan’s forehead was covered in sweat. Without spiritual power enhancement, his physique wasn’t as strong as before. Xiao Mo cast a cleaning spell on him as Chu Jinglan sheathed his sword and walked over.

 

Xiao Mo: “Finished practicing for today?”

 

Chu Jinglan nodded: “The caretaker brought breakfast. Shall we eat together?”

 

Though Xiao Mo couldn’t eat, smelling the food was his pleasure, and Chu Jinglan knew this.

 

Xiao Mo naturally agreed: “Sure.”

 

The caretaker, thinking two brothers had moved in, brought two portions of breakfast. Fortunately, unlike traveling with the merchant caravan where they had to settle each meal, at home, leftovers could be saved for later.

 

Two bowls of chicken soup wonton, a basket of Wei City pear blossom cake, a basket of shumai, accompanied by two or three dishes of light, fail-safe side dishes – perfect for an appetizing early morning meal.

 

The chicken soup was sprinkled with fresh, crisp scallions, the broth rich and golden. Xiao Mo, smelling the aroma, was truly tempted. He couldn’t resist and picked up a spoon: “I’ll just taste one spoonful.”

 

He said one spoon, and it truly was just one. He scooped it up and, like a kitten lapping water, savored the broth bit by bit, truly finding it memorable and leaving a lingering fragrance.

 

One spoon of soup wasn’t enough to fill a tooth gap, so there were few impurities. Xiao Mo used a spittoon to catch the small amount of black powder filtered out, then watched Chu Jinglan eat.

 

He held a chopstick, gently poking the shumai skin. He wasn’t playing with the food, just adding some tactile sensation while smelling to increase his participation in the meal. He asked, “Now that we’re in Wei City, how do we get to the Middle Realm?”

 

“Only family clan members or sect disciples with disciple tokens can go to the Middle Realm after paying a fee.”

 

Chu Jinglan put down his spoon: “So we need to establish a sect first.”

 

“Clatter.”

 

Xiao Mo’s chopsticks fell.

 

What did he just hear? Establish a sect!

 

Such a grand and distant goal as founding a sect was usually something achieved in the later stages, even in overpowered protagonist[mfn]I think everyone would know this one- “龙傲天” (lóng ào tiān) refers to an overpowered protagonist in Chinese web novels, often translated as “heaven-defying protagonist” or “Mary Sue/Gary Stu” character.[/mfn] novels. They had just upgraded from penniless outcasts to homeowners in a small corner, how did they jump to establishing a sect?

 

Moreover, the original novel never mentioned this.

 

Xiao Mo was a bit dazed by this major plot development. He was about to immediately summon the system to ask, but the clear sound of chopsticks hitting the table and Chu Jinglan’s indifferent expression made him pause. His mind, overwhelmed by information, calmed down.

 

Right, Chu Jinglan was establishing a sect to qualify for the Middle Realm. Couldn’t they just form a small sect, get the qualification, and then disband?

 

Xiao Mo confirmed: “What’s the minimum number of people needed to establish a sect?”

 

Chu Jinglan: “Five people.”

 

Indeed…

 

Xiao Mo thought he had overthought earlier. In the future, Chu Jinglan was supposed to become a law enforcement elder of a major sect in the Upper Realm. There was no mention of him having his own sect. This so-called sect should be a one-time consumable. Fortunately, his moment of shock was brief, and he didn’t appear overly nervous.

 

Xiao Mo regained his composure and picked up his chopsticks: “Then we need to go out and find a few people.”

 

Surely finding people to make up the numbers wouldn’t be difficult.

 

Chu Jinglan had finished eating and was cleaning up the table while saying: “I want to find a few useful people to take to the Middle Realm. It’ll be convenient for our actions later.”

 

Xiao Mo’s hand holding the chopsticks stopped again: So they weren’t disbanding immediately after use?

 

He finally summoned the system to confirm whether Chu Jinglan’s Schrödinger’s sect would actually exist in the future.

 

The system scanned the original novel in just a fraction of a second and provided a meticulous answer: “The original novel doesn’t describe Chu Jinglan having his own sect, but based on analysis, there are a few people who don’t seem to be his friends or servants, yet work wholeheartedly for him. They are Master Yan Chun[mfn]swallow spring[/mfn] from Lin’an Academy, the young doctor Chu Xia[mfn]early summer[/mfn], and the golden knife expert Mo Zhi[mfn]”unknown” or “ignorant”[/mfn], who all appear in the later stages of the original novel.”

 

“Combined with your current experience, Host, it’s reasonable to guess that these three people once belonged to a sect founded by Chu Jinglan.”

 

Such a significant event, and the original novel’s thousands of chapters couldn’t spare a mention? Isn’t this more interesting than Su Baimo’s love story?

 

The three people named by the system would also become famous later. Many thought they were Chu Jinglan’s noble friends, but who would have thought Chu Jinglan might have been their talent scout?

 

If these three were really brought up from the Lower Realm by Chu Jinglan, considering this, not only did Chu Jinglan recover his cultivation and return to the peak, but he also nurtured three seedlings from the Lower Realm. Just imagining the plot in between seems exciting. Not writing about this made Xiao Mo feel that his thousand-word book review in his previous life was still too mild.

 

Xiao Mo was eager to see. He immediately nodded: “Reasonable. So when are we going to select people?”

 

Let him uncover the mystery and see if the three future great figures were indeed Chu Jinglan’s disciples.

 

“We can go out to search shortly.”

 

As Chu Jinglan spoke, he gestured for Xiao Mo to follow him. They walked to the door of the residence’s storehouse. Chu Jinglan bit his fingertip and used blood to draw a talisman on the door, which opened in response.

 

As the door opened, Xiao Mo’s eyes lit up.

 

The storeroom was orderly, with boxes and shelves of various sizes neatly arranged. Swords hung on the walls, while shelves held medicine bottles, books, and objects that looked like magical artifacts, as well as some small caskets.

 

Chu Jinglan took a storage device and put it on. He opened a medium-sized casket for Xiao Mo to see. Inside, half was gold and banknotes, and half was shiny stones.

 

Xiao Mo recognized the stones: “Spirit stones!”

 

Spirit stones were divided into high and low grades, serving as the main currency in the Middle and Upper Realms. One low-grade spirit stone could be exchanged for ten taels of gold. One medium-grade equaled a hundred low-grade, and one high-grade equaled a hundred medium-grade. However, the reverse exchange wasn’t always possible, as high-grade spirit stones were rare with limited annual production.

 

Xiao Mo’s mall also had spirit stones, fifty points for one low-grade. However, spirit stones weren’t circulated as currency in the Lower Realm, so Xiao Mo naturally thought this was their reserve fund for the Middle Realm.

 

“One hundred low-grade spirit stones, part of what I received when the Huanjian Sect rewarded the Chu family with resources. There’s also one hundred taels of gold and one thousand taels in silver notes here.”

 

This was all of Chu Jinglan’s money.

 

Xiao Mo looked at the funds in the casket and sighed: “Suddenly, I feel we’re quite rich.”

 

Chu Jinglan’s gaze swept over Xiao Mo’s sparkling eyes, paused, then continued: “Establishing a sect requires at least five people and a payment of one hundred taels of silver.”

 

Xiao Mo said generously: “Just one hundred taels, we can afford that.”

 

“But to bring people to the Middle Realm, the gate managers only accept spirit stones. Each person needs to pay ten low-grade spirit stones.”

 

Xiao Mo’s expression faltered slightly.

 

Five people would require fifty, immediately depleting half of their stock.

 

The frugal Xiao Mo looked a bit pained at the shiny hundred spirit stones in the box. He gritted his teeth and managed to say: “It’s fine… we’ll still have some left.”

 

Chu Jinglan noticed that besides food, Xiao Mo seemed to have a preference for money. But he had to continue, to prepare Xiao Mo mentally: “In the Middle Realm, even a bowl of noodles in a restaurant costs two low-grade spirit stones.”

 

Xiao Mo: “…”

 

“Ah,” he sighed again at the box, “We’re so poor.”

 

Wealth was just an illusion. To make ends meet, it seemed they’d need to find ways to earn money once they reached the Middle Realm.

 

However, Xiao Mo still had his own little savings – points. Last night, after Xiao Mo finished playing his tune, Chu Jinglan’s emotions were already stirred. Along with the flute melody, some emotions counted as Inner Demon influence, adding quite a few points.

 

This could be considered their emergency fund. After all, when facing difficulties, they could search the mall for useful items and exchange them on the spot.

 

Xiao Mo had used up most of his points earlier to get spirit medicine for Chu Jinglan. He had regained some in recent days, but not much. Xiao Mo counted his points and gazed meaningfully at Chu Jinglan, the source of his “wool[mfn]In Chinese internet slang, “薅羊毛” (hāo yángmáo) literally means “to pluck wool” but is used to mean “to get benefits or freebies.” Here, Xiao Mo is viewing Chu Jinglan as a source of points (benefits).[/mfn].”

 

Chu Jinglan didn’t understand his look.

 

Xiao Mo: “When you’re in a good mood, smile at me more.”

 

Chu Jinglan: ?

 

He was naturally not one to smile often. Of the times he did smile, nine out of ten were cold smiles. No one had ever cared about his mood before. An unnamed string in Chu Jinglan’s heart vibrated slightly. His gaze softened, and he was about to speak when he saw Xiao Mo’s troubled expression. Xiao Mo pondered: “If you really can’t smile, we could argue regularly too.”

 

Chu Jinglan: …?

 

The string in his heart that had just vibrated slightly was immediately silenced by the Inner Demon.

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1 Kofi = 1 Extra Chapter