Chapter 1

It was already late at night, but Qin Yi was still battling at his computer.

The game Qin Yi was currently playing, "Xian Dao," was the hottest large-scale role-playing cultivation game at the moment. However, he wasn't playing for entertainment; he was working.

Qin Yi had tried several classes, and his equipment was average. Every day, he would farm game currency, form teams to tackle dungeons, and sell the game currency, good materials, and equipment he obtained online. He also practiced life skills, making and selling materials or semi-finished products. When the opportunity arose, Qin Yi would take on some power-leveling jobs, though such opportunities were rare. However, Qin Yi didn't mind; if he got a job, it would improve his life, and if not, it didn't matter. Additionally, Qin Yi often paid attention to the auction house, analyzing the market trends of materials and equipment, and engaging in low-buy, high-sell activities to boost the market.

Indeed, Qin Yi was a game merchant, one who made significant contributions to the harmonious and prosperous game market.

At least, that's how Qin Yi saw himself...

At this moment, Qin Yi was operating the life skill of his ID, Xiaonongmin (Little Farmer) — a Spirit Cultivator. He entered the Spirit Field Space and stood by the pond in the middle of the field. The pond was one meter deep and three meters in diameter, with a Spirit Spring at the center of the bottom. The water flow from the spring was so slow that it was almost imperceptible, and it usually took a whole day to fill the pond.

However, this unremarkable spring was the central hub of the entire Spirit Field Space. The Spirit Spring could slowly absorb external spiritual energy, convert it into spring water, and store it in the pond to support the growth of the Spirit Herbs.

Next to the pond was a thatched cottage of about ten square meters, which served as a warehouse in the space. After harvesting the Spirit Herbs, they could be stored there. Around the pond and the thatched cottage was the Spirit Field. The field was 30 mu in size and planted with three types of Spirit Herbs: the blue-glowing Spirit Essence Grass, the Blood Spirit Fruit with green plants and slightly red fruits, and the Snow Ginseng with emerald branches and leaves. Each type of Spirit Herb occupied 10 mu, with 20 plants per mu.

Looking at the sparse planting of a few Spirit Herbs per mu, Qin Yi was somewhat speechless. However, there was nothing he could do; the game was set up this way. The official explanation was: "Spirit Herbs must be planted at a certain distance to avoid competing for spiritual energy!"

Well, even couples need breathing space, let alone competitors!

After venting his frustration, Qin Yi operated Xiaonongmin to work by the Spirit Spring. Xiaonongmin's hands glowed with light, quickly forming hand seals. After a few changes, the Spirit Cultivator skill — Spirit Gathering Technique — was cast on the Spirit Spring.

After the Spirit Gathering Technique was cast, the water generation in the spring noticeably accelerated. The water in the pond, which was already more than half full, slowly increased. In 3 to 5 minutes, the water filled the small pond. Not only that, the water, which was already shrouded in a misty glow, now appeared even more white and misty, making it look extraordinary.

After the pond was filled, Qin Yi operated Xiaonongmin to pick up a small bucket, fill it with spring water, and carry it over. Using a wooden ladle, he watered each Spirit Herb. After absorbing the spring water, the three types of Spirit Herbs showed even more vitality. Upon closer inspection, although they had different colors, they were all enveloped in a luminous glow, making it feel as if the spiritual energy within them was about to burst forth.

"Hmm, the high-grade Spirit Herbs are finally about to mature. In an hour, I can harvest them and sell them to those rich players for a small profit. It won't be in vain that I've been staying up late to level up my Spirit Cultivator skills."

Qin Yi felt secretly pleased.

Although he was very tired, Qin Yi decided to wait until he harvested the Spirit Herbs before sleeping. The joy of harvesting, he didn't want to postpone until the next day. In fact, Qin Yi also wanted to plant the next batch of Spirit Herbs immediately after harvesting this batch. In business, no matter the size, it was all about timing. While other Spirit Cultivators hadn't reached a higher level, he wanted to stock up on goods and occupy the high-grade Spirit Herb market for a while.

Hehe, with the least competition, this was the advantage of being ahead.

Qin Yi felt smug.

However, his smugness didn't last long. Qin Yi soon calmed down, realizing there was nothing to be smug about. Every day, he was busy with power-leveling and planting, staying up late and feeling exhausted. He was just barely making ends meet, so there was indeed nothing to be smug about.

The night grew deeper, and occasionally, cars would speed by outside the window, with no pedestrians in sight. The neon lights and streetlights in the distance made the city look dazzling, but the sky was devoid of stars. He really wanted to see the night sky of his rural hometown! The stars there were clear, transparent, and pure, unlike the city lights, which, though brighter, only illuminated the ground and not the distance.

In the quiet of the night, it was easier to reflect, or perhaps it was just boredom. Qin Yi slowly thought about his life over the past two years.

Qin Yi had graduated from university two years ago. In an era where college graduates were everywhere, finding a job was genuinely difficult. Of course, this was also related to the fact that Qin Yi had spent most of his university time playing games and hadn't learned any practical skills...

Over the past two years, Qin Yi had run a Taobao store, worked in sales, and even part-time as a restaurant waiter. He had almost become a bartender (fortunately, he had left when he sensed the atmosphere was wrong). Unfortunately, none of these jobs suited him. When he graduated, Qin Yi knew that he had always been introverted and not good at socializing. His simple nature had also developed a tendency to stay at home during his university years. He had expected finding a job to be difficult, but not this difficult.

After changing several jobs and still not adapting to society, Qin Yi began to play games again, deciding to try his hand at being a game merchant based on his four years of gaming experience at university. Although he had only saved a little money after more than a year in the business and could only afford a basic living, he didn't have to deal with bosses, guess others' intentions, or overthink simple statements. Therefore, he felt quite free and easy.

Of course, when his family needed help and he couldn't contribute, whether he still felt free and easy was something only he knew.

Shaking his head to dispel these unproductive thoughts, Qin Yi opened a web page to read the news, hoping to pass the nearly one hour of boredom.

Top news: A 4-year-old child in Shaanxi Province was rescued from a 30-meter-deep dry well by firefighters. Hmm, the firefighters are awesome! Entertainment: Bingbing and Weitong are competing for attention. It's none of my business, so I'll skip it. Military: Japan is stirring up trouble in the South China Sea. Damn the Japanese. Cars: A certain brand of SUV is on sale, now costing over 400,000 RMB. I can't afford it even if it's on sale, Qin Yi thought to himself.

Economy: The largest irrigation farm in Montana, USA — BrokenO — is listed for sale at 132.5 million USD. Qin Yi grimaced, "Damn the rich people, I wonder which scoundrel will buy it." Forget it, I'll watch Running Man instead; I haven't seen the latest episode yet. He went to get a glass of water and came back to watch Running Man happily.

Halfway through Running Man, he calculated that the Spirit Herbs were about to mature. He quickly switched back to the game and checked the three types of Spirit Herbs: the Spirit Essence Grass with blue frost particles on the leaves, the Blood Spirit Fruit with completely red fruits, and the Snow Ginseng with white branches and leaves. Yes, these were signs of maturity.

Spirit Essence Grass: Direct consumption increases the user's mental power by 10 points (effective only on first use), and slowly restores a small amount of mental energy. It is the main ingredient for refining Spirit Essence Pills.

Blood Spirit Fruit: Direct consumption increases the user's constitution by 10 points (effective only on first use), accelerates wound healing, and slowly restores a small amount of health. It is the main ingredient for refining Blood Spirit Pills.

Snow Ginseng: Direct consumption increases the user's lifespan by 10 years (effective only on first use), and slows down organ aging. It is the main ingredient for refining Snow Ginseng Life-Extending Pills.

Wow, not bad, not bad, they're all mature.

"Look at my mind, full of business ideas. I planted Spirit Herbs that are in high demand. Spirit Essence Grass and Blood Spirit Fruit don't need to be mentioned; the Spirit Essence Pills and Blood Spirit Pills refined from them are the highest-grade pills for increasing health and mental power. If you want to level up and get equipment, you have to fight monsters and clear dungeons, right? Ha, when you challenge high-level monsters and clear high-level dungeons, you need to have high-grade potions, or the monsters will turn around and beat you up!

So, the market for my Spirit Herbs is huge. I can set the price a bit higher, and no one will haggle. Hehe."

Qin Yi's mind was filled with various thoughts and the sound of money, feeling quite pleased. He was thinking about whether to eat大盘鸡 (Dapanji, a type of chicken dish) or 水煮鱼 (Shuizhuyu, a type of fish dish) after selling the Spirit Herbs tomorrow.

Oh, what a dilemma!

Qin Yi wiped away his drool and continued thinking about the market for Snow Ginseng.

"Xian Dao" was different from traditional fast-paced online games. This game had strict advancement bottlenecks, and each realm had a certain lifespan. Players had to successfully break through the bottleneck within their lifespan, or they would have to reincarnate and start over. Therefore, there was a significant demand for life-extending pills in the game.

The Snow Ginseng Life-Extending Pills, refined with Snow Ginseng as the main ingredient, were the first type of life-extending pills to appear and the lowest-grade ones. The official website mentioned that higher-grade pills like Shengsheng Zao Hua Dan and Shouyuan Jin Dan would be introduced later. Therefore, the demand for Snow Ginseng, though not as high as for Spirit Essence Grass and Blood Spirit Fruit, was still significant, especially now when most Spirit Cultivators hadn't reached a higher level, and the market competition was low.

Feeling happy for a moment, Qin Yi then wanted to complain about the Spirit Field. The output was too small; throwing such a small amount into the market wouldn't even make a splash...

He had to expand the Spirit Field.

Qin Yi knew how to expand the Spirit Field; he needed a Boundary-Breaking Stone. Unfortunately, it was too precious, and no one had managed to get one yet. "No matter how difficult, I have to get it. Expanding the Spirit Field will increase the output, which is crucial for my future earnings." Qin Yi made a firm resolve, paused for a moment, and then waved his arms to encourage himself, "Come on!"

Before he could finish speaking...

"Clunk" The water cup on the table fell over, spilling half a cup of water everywhere...

"Do I have to have an accident at this moment..."

Qin Yi didn't have time to continue complaining. He quickly stood up to grab a tissue to clean up, but he didn't notice that the water had already flowed under the keyboard.

Qin Yi grabbed the tissue and just touched the water, when the computer started making a crackling sound, accompanied by a flash of light. A blue light surged towards Qin Yi along with the electric current, and he felt a surge of electricity through his body.

"Did I get lucky?"

Before he could finish the thought, he "thumped" to the ground, convulsed a few times, and then lay still...

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