I Idle in the World of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 19: Market Clearance
Yue Long sat by the spirit field, humming a little tune she didn't know the name of. Her rabbit ears twitched as she worked. Her silver-white hair trailed on the ground, getting dirt on it without her caring. Her hands moved quickly and smoothly – left hand pinching the mushroom stem, right hand twisting it off. A whole Glow Mushroom landed in the bamboo basket.
"Thirty-second... thirty-third..."
She wasn't counting loudly, but the mine was so quiet that every number bounced off the walls and came back.
Lin Luo was chopping wood by the woodshed door. The axe came down. Crack. Wood split. Down again. Crack. Split again. Steady rhythm. Like idling.
Footsteps came from outside the mine. Not Ma Biao's – Ma Biao walked like he was going to war. Not Wang Hao's – Wang Hao walked with a scent of steamed buns. These footsteps were light but steady, each step landing on the same beat.
Yue Long's rabbit ears twitched first. Then she stood up and turned around.
Su Xiaoxiao stood at the mine entrance.
She wore a pale green inner court uniform today – more understated than her usual white one. A dark green silk sash was tied at her waist. Her long hair was pinned up with a jade hairpin, revealing a face so delicate it was almost unreal. The sunlight behind her gave her a golden outline.
Yue Long blinked, then smiled wide.
"Sister Xiao! You're here!"
She put down her basket, brushed the dirt off her skirt, and trotted over. In her hands was a bowl of Glow Mushroom soup – somehow already cooked, the bowl warm, the soup golden, tiny mushroom pieces floating up and down.
"Sister Xiao, please have some tea. Not tea, soup. Glow Mushroom soup. Master says it's good for the skin."
Su Xiaoxiao looked down at the soup, then at Yue Long.
She took the bowl and took a sip. Not too salty, not too bland. A faint mushroom taste. Spiritual energy melted on her tongue, with a hint of sweetness.
"Is it good?" Yue Long looked up at her, red eyes sparkling.
"It's alright." Su Xiaoxiao handed the bowl back.
Yue Long held the bowl, standing beside her, rabbit ears up, not moving away.
Su Xiaoxiao looked at her, then at Lin Luo.
Lin Luo was chopping wood. The axe came down. Crack. Wood split. He didn't turn around.
Su Xiaoxiao walked over and stood beside him. She didn't speak. Just stood there.
Lin Luo split one piece of wood. Then another. On the third, he stopped.
"What's up?"
"Can't I come if nothing's up?"
"You can. But you never come when nothing's up."
Su Xiaoxiao didn't respond. She watched Lin Luo stack the split wood neatly, watched him stick the axe back into the chopping block, watched him wipe his forehead with the back of his hand – even though there was no sweat.
"You owe the Sect Leader a thousand Spirit Stones," she said.
Lin Luo's hand paused.
"Word travels fast."
"The whole sect knows. The Chores Hall disciples are talking. The inner court disciples are talking too. They say the Sect Leader fined the Idle Sect a thousand stones. They say the Idle Sect is going to shut down. They say your disciple is going to be taken by the inner court."
Lin Luo didn't answer. He looked at Yue Long. Yue Long was crouched by the spirit field, arranging the picked Glow Mushrooms one by one. Very carefully, like she was doing something important.
"What are you going to do?" Su Xiaoxiao asked.
"Earn."
"A thousand Spirit Stones. How are you going to earn that?"
Lin Luo pulled out his phone.
Su Xiaoxiao watched him open an app she had never seen – a shop. The screen was neatly arranged with various items: pill recipes, magical tools, techniques, talismans, and a bunch of things she couldn't name.
Lin Luo scrolled down.
[Disguise Pill · 100 Spirit Stones]
[Description: Changes facial features, height, and body shape for 12 hours. Useful for disguise, stealth, and escape.]
[Purchase limit: 1 per person per day.]
Lin Luo stared at this item for three seconds. Disguise Pill. 100 Spirit Stones. Not expensive. Eat one and become someone else – no more wearing that gray Chores Hall uniform that everyone recognized.
He didn't buy it immediately. He kept scrolling.
A banner appeared at the top of the screen: [Free Spirit Stones · Watch ad for 10 Spirit Stones.]
Lin Luo tapped it.
A video popped up – a middle-aged man in Daoist robes stood on a mountain peak, holding a glowing sword, shouting dramatically: "One slash, 9999 damage! Gear drops everywhere! Cultivate immortality? Better cultivate your phone! Download 'Cultivation Simulator' and get a divine technique just for logging in!"
Lin Luo watched the thirty seconds with a blank face.
[Spirit Stones +10.]
Su Xiaoxiao stood behind him, chin slightly raised, eyes fixed on the phone screen. She didn't ask "what is that," but she was thinking, "Is this what he watches every day?"
Yue Long had somehow also come over, her rabbit ears fully up, her red eyes wide.
"Master, what is that man shouting about?"
"An ad."
"What's an ad?"
"Something that tricks people into buying things."
Yue Long tilted her head and thought for a moment. "Then why does Master watch it?"
"Because it gives Spirit Stones."
Yue Long blinked and didn't speak again. She also stared at the screen and watched the next ad – this one was for a facial cleanser. A female cultivator washed her face and immediately ascended to the Immortal Realm. Yue Long's expression went from confusion to shock.
"Master, is this also a trick?"
"Yes."
"But she ascended—"
"Special effects."
Yue Long opened her mouth, then closed it. She decided to stop asking.
By the tenth ad, Lin Luo's Spirit Stone balance had gone from 850 to 860. Then he tapped [Gacha]. 100 Spirit Stones per draw, random item.
The gacha interface popped up. A golden wheel began to spin. Yue Long's rabbit ears spun with it.
The wheel stopped.
[Congratulations! Obtained: Low-Grade Storage Pouch ×1.]
[Capacity: 5 slots. Can store items. Equipping does not take backpack space.]
Lin Luo's mouth twitched slightly. A 5-slot storage pouch – not valuable, but better than nothing. He took it out of the Shared Storage. It was a small, dull gray pouch, palm-sized, with a plain hemp rope tie.
"Master, what's this?" Yue Long leaned closer.
"Storage pouch. For holding things."
He handed it to Yue Long. "Here. You don't have to stuff your Glow Mushrooms in your sleeve anymore."
Yue Long took it, examined it several times, then carefully took the spirit stone from her sleeve and put it in the pouch. She also put the Zixiao Sect inheritance token in. Then she thought for a moment, put her disciple-dedicated phone in as well. Then she thought again and took it back out.
"Can't put my phone in. The mortal said the phone has to stay on my body. Master said don't let it leave my side."
She tucked the phone back into her sleeve pocket and tied the storage pouch to her waist. A dull gray pouch hanging from a light green silk sash – it didn't quite match, but she was happy.
Su Xiaoxiao hadn't said a word the whole time. She watched Lin Luo do all of this, then spoke.
"You're going to the market?"
"Yes."
"I'm going with you."
Yue Long's rabbit ears shot up. "I'm going too!"
Lin Luo looked at both of them.
"Fine. You're both coming."
Yue Long smiled. Su Xiaoxiao's face didn't change, but the corner of her mouth moved slightly.
Lin Luo bought the Disguise Pill from the shop – 100 Spirit Stones. He read the description. "Changes facial features, height, and body shape for 12 hours."
He thought for a moment. The biggest market near the Cangxuan Sect was outside Suihuang City – a gathering place for rogue cultivators and small sect disciples. If he wore his Chores Hall uniform, he might as well have "I'm Lin Luo, I have the Realm-Breaking Talisman, come rob me" written on his forehead. He needed a face that no one would recognize.
He swallowed the Disguise Pill.
The effect was fast. His face seemed to be kneaded by invisible hands – thicker eyebrows, higher cheekbones, squarer jaw. His skin went from fair to a sun-beaten dark yellow. He went from an eighteen-year-old chores disciple to a middle-aged rogue cultivator in his thirties who looked like he spent his days out in the wild.
Su Xiaoxiao frowned. "Ugly."
Yue Long covered her mouth and laughed. "Master, you look like Uncle Zhang from the next village."
Lin Luo ignored them. He found an ordinary gray rogue cultivator robe from the sect warehouse and changed into it. He took the Greenwind Sword back from Yue Long and hung it at his waist.
"You two – handle yourselves."
Su Xiaoxiao pulled a talisman from her sleeve and stuck it on her forehead. Light from the talisman wrapped around her. Her face became blurry for a moment, then cleared – her features didn't change much, but she looked like she had a layer of gray over her. She went from "someone you'd remember after one look" to "someone you'd forget after one look."
Yue Long didn't have a talisman and didn't know any disguise arts. She thought for a moment, then tucked her rabbit ears into a hat. The hat was an old straw hat hanging by the spirit field – the one Lin Luo wore when chopping wood. She put it on her head. Her silver-white hair fell from under the brim, covering half her face.
"Does this work?" she asked.
Su Xiaoxiao looked at her. "Ears are showing."
Yue Long pushed the hat down.
"Still showing."
She pushed it down further.
"A little still."
Yue Long pushed down hard. The straw hat covered her eyes completely.
Lin Luo reached over and lifted the hat slightly, revealing her red eyes.
"Good enough. Let's go."
Yue Long followed behind Lin Luo. Su Xiaoxiao walked on his left. The three of them left the mine, passed through the Cangxuan Sect's mountain gate, and headed toward Suihuang City.
Bone One was still idling in a rock crevice on the Demon Abyss second layer. The Blood Clan Elder was still guarding the blood pool. As long as Bone One didn't revive, the Elder would wait forever. Blood One was still curled up in his crevice, absorbing residual energy from the blood pool every day, his cultivation slowly rising. Rat One didn't come along. He was curled up in his grass nest by the spirit field, his gray body rising and falling, sleeping soundly.
---
The market outside Suihuang City wasn't big, but it was lively. Rogue cultivators laid cloth on the ground, laid out unwanted materials, magical tools, and pills, and called out prices, haggled, bartered. The noise came from all directions like a boiling pot of porridge.
Lin Luo found a corner, laid out a cloth, and took items out of the Shared Storage one by one.
Common Soul Essence – 9 pieces. Blue Soul Essence – 2 pieces. Iron Claw Mongoose Claws – 46. Blood Essence Crystals – 5. Glow Mushrooms – 20.
In less than half the time it takes to burn an incense stick, people started gathering around.
The first to come was a rogue cultivator in a gray robe, Qi Refining Layer 9, looked to be in his forties. He crouched down, picked up a Common Soul Essence, turned it over and over in his hand.
"How much?"
"Two hundred Spirit Stones each."
The cultivator's eyelid twitched. "Two hundred? You're robbing me!"
"The stall next door is selling for two hundred fifty," Lin Luo said.
The cultivator glanced at the next stall. They were indeed selling soul essences – for two hundred fifty. He gritted his teeth and pulled out his Spirit Stones. "I'll take two."
[Spirit Stones +400.]
The second to come was a woman in a black robe, Foundation Establishment Layer 2, expressionless. She crouched down, picked up a Blue Soul Essence, looked at it for two seconds, then asked directly: "How much?"
"Five hundred."
"I'll take both."
[Spirit Stones +1000.]
The Blue Soul Essences sold the fastest. The Common ones sold more slowly, but in less than half an hour, all nine were gone.
The Iron Claw Mongoose claws, Blood Essence Crystals, and Glow Mushrooms also sold in bits and pieces. Blood Essence Crystals were a core material for Foundation Establishment Pills – rare on the market. Five crystals were sold to an alchemist in one go. An artifact refiner bought most of the claws; the rest were sold to a few rogue cultivators. The Glow Mushrooms sold the slowest, but eventually an alchemist took them all.
When the last Glow Mushroom was sold, Lin Luo pulled out his phone and checked his Spirit Stone balance.
[Spirit Stones: 850 (original) + 10 (ads) + 1800 (Common Soul Essences) + 1000 (Blue Soul Essences) + about 3000 (other materials) = 6650]
He did the math. He owed the Sect Leader a thousand Spirit Stones. Even after paying that, he had 5650 left.
Yue Long leaned over to look at the screen, her red eyes wide.
"Master, that's so many Spirit Stones!"
"Not really."
Su Xiaoxiao stood nearby, not leaning in, but her gaze kept drifting toward Lin Luo's phone screen. When she heard "five thousand six hundred fifty," her eyebrows moved slightly. A chores disciple, selling over five thousand Spirit Stones worth of materials in half an hour. She didn't know where the materials came from, but she knew that the wealthiest inner court elder in the Cangxuan Sect didn't make that much in a month.
Lin Luo was about to pack up when the vendor from the next stall came over.
"Brother, where did you get these materials? Good quality."
"Found them."
The vendor smiled, didn't press, and changed the subject. "Did you hear? Someone put a bounty on Lin Luo."
Lin Luo's hand paused.
"Lin Luo?" he asked, his tone flat.
"The chores disciple from the Cangxuan Sect. The one who took the Realm-Breaking Talisman." The vendor lowered his voice. "Two thousand Spirit Stones. Dead or alive."
Su Xiaoxiao's gaze shifted over. Yue Long's rabbit ears stood up under her hat.
The vendor didn't notice their reactions. He went on. "And someone's offering ten thousand Spirit Stones for the talisman itself. Ten thousand – enough for a rogue cultivator to cultivate all the way to Golden Core."
Lin Luo folded the last piece of cloth. "Thanks."
He stood up, turned, and walked away. Su Xiaoxiao followed on his left. Yue Long followed behind him, her rabbit ears twitching under the hat.
As they left the market, Su Xiaoxiao said quietly, "You're worth two thousand."
Lin Luo didn't respond.
Yue Long tugged at his sleeve. "Master, you won't be sold."
"No."
Su Xiaoxiao tugged at his other sleeve. "I won't sell you either."
Lin Luo looked at her. Su Xiaoxiao's expression hadn't changed at all. Her eyes were calm as still water. But her fingers, the ones holding his sleeve, were white at the knuckles.
Lin Luo didn't pull away.
The three of them walked like that – Lin Luo in the middle, Su Xiaoxiao on the left, Yue Long on the right. Yue Long held his sleeve. Su Xiaoxiao held his other sleeve. The two of them glanced at each other across Lin Luo. Neither let go.
---
At the market exit, a few rogue cultivators were squatting by the roadside, smoking. They saw Yue Long approach, and their eyes stuck to her.
Yue Long's straw hat was pulled low, but the silver-white hair falling from under the brim was too noticeable. Her skin was too pale – so pale it didn't belong to this era. When she walked, her skirt lifted, revealing a stretch of pale calf and bare ankles, where a ring of pale gold markings glowed faintly in the sun.
"Oh, a little bunny." One of the cultivators stood up, smiling, and blocked the path. "Shopping alone? Need a big brother to keep you company?"
Yue Long's rabbit ears went straight up under her hat, but she didn't speak. She shrank half a step behind Lin Luo, her fingers tightening on his sleeve.
Su Xiaoxiao stepped in front.
"She has a master."
The cultivator looked Su Xiaoxiao up and down. After disguise, her face was very ordinary – the kind you'd lose in a crowd. He wasn't interested. "Master? Where?"
Lin Luo stepped forward.
He was half a head taller than the cultivator. His disguised face was dark and rough. His eyes had no expression at all. He just looked down at the man.
The cultivator's smile froze for a moment. He noticed the sword at Lin Luo's waist – Greenwind Sword, a mid-grade magical tool, standard for Cangxuan Sect inner court disciples. The cultivator was at Foundation Establishment Layer 1. He could sense that Lin Luo had higher cultivation, but he couldn't tell how much. He couldn't be sure.
"Misunderstanding." The cultivator stepped back and walked away.
Yue Long peeked out from behind Lin Luo. A bit of rabbit ear had slipped out from under her hat. She quickly tucked it back in, then held Lin Luo's sleeve again – tightly.
Su Xiaoxiao held his other sleeve. Two hands, one on the left, one on the right, with Lin Luo between them, neither looking at the other.
Lin Luo didn't pull away.
---
By evening, the three were back at the Cangxuan Sect.
The sunset painted the sky dark red. Evening wind blew through the mountain gate, carrying the scent of wild grass and earth. Lin Luo stood at the gate, waiting for the Disguise Pill's effect to wear off. His face slowly changed back – from the middle-aged uncle to the eighteen-year-old chores disciple.
Su Xiaoxiao tore the talisman from her forehead. Her disguise lifted.
Yue Long took off the straw hat. Her rabbit ears sprang up and twitched several times in the evening breeze.
Su Xiaoxiao turned and walked away. After a few steps, she stopped. She didn't look back.
"Lin Luo."
"Yes."
"When are you going to pay the Sect Leader back his thousand Spirit Stones?"
"This month."
"You just sold over five thousand."
Lin Luo didn't answer. Su Xiaoxiao didn't ask further. She left.
Yue Long stood beside Lin Luo, watching Su Xiaoxiao's figure disappear through the mountain gate. She tugged his sleeve.
"Master."
"Yes."
"Does Sister Xiao like you?"
Lin Luo looked at her. "Why are you asking?"
"I just want to know."
"Go chop wood."
Yue Long pouted and turned toward the mine. After a few steps, she looked back.
"Master."
"Yes."
"I can chop wood too."
Lin Luo didn't respond.
Yue Long ran into the mine.
---
Late that night, Yue Long lay on her bedding in the stone chamber and quietly pulled out her phone from her sleeve. She had gotten to know Rat One, so she opened a small window to check his interface.
On Rat One's interface, Bone One was still idling at the ancient battlefield.
Yue Long recognized Bone One. The mortal's books had pictures of him – Founder Lin Luo's first alt account. Skeleton race. Unkillable.
Bone One was crouched in the ruins of the ancient battlefield. In front of him stood an Iron Claw Mongoose.
The mongoose was covered in wounds. Its fur had fallen off in patches. One eye was blind. Two of its three legs were crippled. It stood there, breathing heavily, its whole body shaking. Not from cold. From fear.
Bone One stood up.
The mongoose turned and ran.
Bone One didn't chase. He watched the mongoose run away, then crouched down and searched through the ruins for bones.
[System message: Ancient battlefield map · Iron Claw Mongoose has gone extinct.]
Yue Long stared at that line for three seconds, then covered her mouth and laughed.
She turned over and pressed the phone to her chest.
Just keep idling.
---
(End of Chapter 19)
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Current Status
Main Account · Lin Luo (Immortal Cultivation · Special System)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 2 (Displayed: Qi Refining Layer 1)
Nine Cycles Mystic Art: Second Cycle (Mastered)
Defense: 650
Attack: 350 (Greenwind Sword retrieved)
HP: 1650/1650
Spirit Stones: 5650 (after deducting 1000 debt to Sect Leader, actual disposable ~4650)
Possessions: Spirit Recovery Pill ×8, Life Extension Pill ×1, Antidote Pill ×3, Light Talisman ×4, Mountain Pass Token ×1
Skill: Spirit Eye Technique
Disciple: Yue Long (Jade Rabbit Race, Foundation Establishment Layer 1, formal Idle Sect disciple)
Alt Account · Bone One (Demon Cultivation · Special System)
Cultivation: Qi Gathering, Layer 8
Status: Idling · Ancient Battlefield (Iron Claw Mongoose extinct)
Cumulative deaths: about 130
Alt Account · Blood One (Demon Cultivation · Blood Clan)
Cultivation: Qi Gathering, Layer 4 → Qi Gathering, Layer 5 (slow increase from absorbing Blood Clan energy)
Status: Hidden · Demon Abyss second layer (mistaken for a clan member by the Blood Clan Elder)
Alt Account · Rat One (Beast Cultivation · Treasure-Seeking Rat Race)
Cultivation: Spirit Gathering, Layer 4
Status: Hosting · Idle Sect land (farming)
Spirit Field: Glow Mushrooms ×35 (newly planted)
Special discovery: Spirit Vein Fragment ×1 beneath the mine shaft
Sect · Idle Sect
Sect Leader: Lin Luo
Formal Disciple: Yue Long (life binding, cannot withdraw)
Members: Bone One, Rat One, Blood One (alt accounts, independent)
Level: 2
Idle Bonus: +15%
Sect Warehouse Capacity: 200 slots
Sect Warehouse Contents: Spirit Stones (various), Glow Mushrooms (various)
Idle Sect Disciple · Yue Long
Race: Pureblood Jade Rabbit Race · Demonic Mutation (Ancient Bloodline)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 1 (traditional system) → idling, ~24 hours to Layer 2
Special Constitution: Four-Cultivation Body – can cultivate demonic, Buddhist, human, and beast arts
Left Arm: Residual demonic energy
Right Arm: Diamond Body Buddha's light seal
Origin: Traveled through time from ten thousand years in the future
Possessions: Disciple-dedicated phone (idle cultivation activated), Low-Grade Storage Pouch (5 slots), Zixiao Sect inheritance token (sealed), one spirit stone from the future
Combat Data: Diamond Body measured to withstand Foundation Establishment Layer 3 full-power attacks
Special State: Future visions seen in the time rift stored in her mind
Ten-Thousand-Year Future Vision · Warning
Zi Mei (Zixiao Sect) will kill her master Zi Ling and seize the sect.
Zi Mei will target Lin Luo as the "Child of Prophecy" and steal his techniques and phone.
Zi Mei will turn Lin Luo into an immortal-level corpse puppet.
Trigger condition: After Lin Luo obtains the complete Nine Cycles Mystic Art inheritance.
Source: Seen firsthand in the time rift.
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Appendix: Special Cultivation Systems for Lin Luo and His Alt Accounts
Immortal Cultivation (Main Account · Lin Luo):
Qi Refining → Foundation Establishment → Core Opening → Fusion → Heart Movement → Golden Core → Nascent Soul → Soul Departure → Spirit Separation → Body Integration → Cave Void → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Demon Cultivation (Alt Accounts · Bone One, Blood One):
Qi Gathering → Body Refining → Core Condensation → Desire Embodiment → Devouring → Demon Infant → Soul Departure → Sense Separation → Body Fusion → Void Break → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Beast Cultivation (Alt Account · Rat One):
Spirit Gathering → Intelligence Awakening → Body Tempering → Bone Refining → Beast Core → Transformation → Soul Condensation → Spirit Roaming → Body Purification → Void Training → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Note: The above are the exclusive cultivation systems for Lin Luo and his alt accounts. Everyone else (side characters, enemies, etc.) uses the traditional system: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Training, Body Integration, Great Ascension, Tribulation Transcendence.
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(End of Chapter 19)