Chapter 55

After being introduced to the path of immortality by Zhen Chanzi, Wang Qi harbored a great doubt about one issue — could spirit stones really be used as currency?

The amount of currency needed in circulation is directly proportional to the total value of goods and inversely proportional to the speed of currency circulation. Too much or too little currency can cause economic chaos.

And spirit stones, their quantity is clearly very hard to control!

The amount of spiritual energy contained within a spirit stone varies greatly. Without a commonly accepted value among cultivators, transactions would be very difficult to carry out — this phenomenon only improved after the invention of "spirit pools."

If the number of spirit stones on the market increases, their value naturally falls. This could lead to a situation where a cultivator, after a decade of seclusion, finds that due to the discovery of a new spirit stone vein, their savings have become worthless.

Conversely, if a spirit stone vein dries up, the price of spirit stones could rise, and some people might hoard large amounts of spirit stones to make a profit.

In either case, the market would suffer a significant blow.

Due to the difficulty in determining compensation, alchemists would not easily help others refine elixirs, and artificers would not easily help others refine artifacts. This would lead to individuals needing to learn more, leaving less time for cultivation, thus forming a vicious cycle.

In the end, a large number of cultivators, whose cultivation is hindered and unable to progress, would lose all restraint, attacking each other, turning the situation from a "resource flow" to a "human consumption flow."

In the 80,000-year history of immortality, there have been at least five major calamities caused by the large-scale depletion or discovery of spirit stone veins.

However, Zhen Chanzi had also explained that most of the time, spirit stone veins were controlled by major sects. Sects that controlled the veins would consciously limit the outflow of spirit stones, allowing only core members to use them without restriction.

But this could not guarantee market stability. Ancient cultivators used spirit stones for cultivation, and they might need a large amount at any time, making it difficult to control the number of spirit stones on the market — unlike on Earth, where money cannot be eaten or used, and people would not tear money for exercise.

Due to the fragility of the monetary system, cultivators have always retained the primitive practice of bartering.

However, to address this issue, ancient immortals once made adjustments.

The most typical example was during the period when the immortal sects went into seclusion. There were only a hundred or so cultivators in the world, and resources were abundantly distributed among them. Ordinary people only heard of the existence of immortals but had never seen them.

However, this greatly weakened the strength of humanity, allowing demons to occupy most of the continent. Initially, the cultivators did not care much. But due to the small population base, many sects could not find good disciples, leading to the extinction of their lineages. The remaining few sects had to resume the "wide-net" cultivation method.

Another solution was the establishment of immortal dynasties, where a ruling class of cultivators controlled everything, and only the royal family, ministers, and soldiers could cultivate. Those outside the system had no right to cultivate, and anyone found violating the rules would be executed immediately.

This ensured market stability and retained the strength of humanity against demons, achieving a win-win situation.

However, this system was more vulnerable to the emergence of a "human-consuming cultivator." Historically, there were three immortal dynasties, and two of them collapsed due to the appearance of several geniuses among the poor peasants who achieved the Great Perfection by consuming humans over vast areas.

There was also a time when the collapse of the path of immortality led to the rampant practice of consuming humans for cultivation. In such times, human flesh largely replaced spirit stones. This could be stably provided, and the path of immortality flourished for a while. However, sects that maintained this practice eventually cut off their own lineages and are no longer seen today.

The current Immortal Alliance, despite having the means to continuously extract spiritual energy from the void, has not widely applied this technology, also considering this point. The merit system was initially just a military merit system established by the Immortal Alliance to motivate its members. After the invention of this technology, the scope of the merit system was expanded, and the items that could be exchanged for merits became more valuable. The exchange rate between merits and spiritual energy is adjusted annually to prevent cultivators from going bankrupt in this wave.

Completing tasks required by the Immortal Alliance can earn merits. Now, most items in the Immortal Alliance's exchange list have clear prices, and the Immortal Alliance allows members to trade with each other using merits. Core sects of the Immortal Alliance can also regulate the amount of merits in the market through large-scale exchanges.

With the Immortal Alliance as a guarantee, merits will eventually replace the increasingly devalued spiritual energy and become the most commonly used currency in the path of immortality.

After understanding all this, Wang Qi sighed, "The faction I belong to seeks long-term stability and the ascent of all, which is indeed a good thing, but it also means I have no way to gain ill-gotten wealth."

Xiang Qi said, "It's not impossible to gain a large amount of merits. Fortune lies in taking risks. You can go to the Western Sea and join the battle against sea demons, or search for remnants of ancient cultivators in the Eastern Sea. The points you can earn are very fast."

Wang Qi pouted, "Senior Sister, you're just teasing me. Can a Qi Practitioner like me do that?"

"If you can gain the favor of a grandmaster and join his team exploring the laws of heaven and earth, earning merits would be easy. The Immortal Alliance places great importance on this, and the points you can earn are no less than fighting ancient cultivators or demons." Xiang Qi seemed to genuinely consider this suggestion, "Since the Calculation Master has already shown interest in you, perhaps a grandmaster from the Myriad Laws Sect will take you in?"

Wang Qi shook his head. He knew himself well; Xi Boche probably found it interesting that he was cultivating so many powerful techniques and had some talent, not that he was particularly skilled in mathematics. Using this to his advantage might actually cause the Myriad Laws Sect to dislike him.

Moreover, he had many secrets. Being a top student and receiving attention was the limit; going further might lead to disaster.

Xiang Qi pondered, "How about summarizing your insights into the Dao and the derivation of techniques, and submitting them to the Immortal Alliance? The rewards in this area are particularly generous."

Wang Qi was slightly tempted. The manuscript of the Unapproved Daoist was undoubtedly valuable, and he had some of the most advanced results from Earth's physics in his mind. However, the Unapproved Daoist was still a figure everyone in the Immortal Alliance wanted to eliminate. Would he be killed or killed after submitting the manuscript? And the latter... if a middle school student on Earth suddenly presented results far beyond their time, what would the government's reaction be?

Furthermore, the known physical laws in the world of Shenzhou were similar to those on Earth, but the physical quantity of "spiritual energy" caused significant differences between the two worlds. Who knew if the physical laws he knew from his previous life would still apply in deeper fields.

After rejecting several plans, Xiang Qi suddenly slapped her forehead, "How could I forget! You're still a new disciple of the Immortal Academy!"

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Rolling for recommendations! No recommendations, and I'll be cute!

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