Chapter 3: System Revitalizes the Cultivation World (Progress 3%)
"No! Absolutely not!" Jun Feibai resisted with all his might. "Those are treasures we've painstakingly collected. Why should we give them as rewards? They'll be envious of our treasures and work hard to loot them all! Giving them luck points is enough. A certain number of points can be exchanged for one cultivation manual. That's all!"
The little Pixiu threw a tantrum.
What he said was somewhat exaggerated. The wealth accumulated by the stingy Dao Ancestor at the Great Perfection of the Tribulation Transcending stage and the Pixiu, a divine beast famous for accumulating wealth, was more than enough to give every cultivator in the cultivation world a treasure. It was impossible to obtain it by simply completing tasks.
He simply didn't want to give away a single one.
Jun Huilian never expected that the first obstacle the manufacturing system would encounter would be the miserly little Pixiu.
Jun Feibai snatched a shimmering glass bottle from the nearest window, hugged it tightly, and pouted, his delicate face filled with grievance: "Mine, mine, all mine! I can't give my things to anyone but you!"
The little Pixiu can't stand seeing its prizes being given away; it's worse than death for it.
Jun Huilian remained calm and patiently asked, "Feibai, do you think I'm the kind of person who would allow others to take advantage of me?"
Jun Feibai relaxed his movements, his eyes swirling with thoughts.
Yes, the initial reason why he, as a divine beast, was willing to sign a life-and-death contract with a mortal was that he was deeply attracted by Jun Huilian's stingy, no, gentlemanly love of money temperament. She never suffered losses when she was out and about, and her ability and ideas for accumulating wealth seemed to be born with the bloodline of a Pixiu.
"What does A-Lian plan to do?" He lowered his eyelashes, his long, thick lashes casting a small shadow.
Jun Huilian explained, "You have to exchange points for what you want, and the higher the level of the item, the more points it requires."
"That's to be expected. They're only doing right by your arrangements if they fight hard to save themselves under the conditions you provided," Jun Feibai snorted.
“But accumulating points is not an easy task.” Jun Huilian’s eyes held a deeper meaning. “I discovered something fun in Fang Tieyan’s memories, called a lottery.”
"A lottery?" Jun Feibai seemed to understand but not quite. "I think I've seen it before, like drawing lots at a temple."
“That’s right,” Jun Huilian said. “Think about it, if you have ten points, would you rather exchange them for an ordinary item directly, or try your luck in the lottery? There’s a one in a hundred chance of winning a high-grade spiritual weapon, and a small chance of winning a super-grade one. At the very least, you won’t go home empty-handed.”
Jun Feibai fell into deep thought.
Jun Huilian confidently stated, "Besides lotteries, there are many other ways to get them to voluntarily spend their points."
He hesitated before saying, "But whatever they get, it's all taken from us for free."
"There's no such thing as taking something for free." Jun Huilian smiled slightly. "Do you know how those sects ensure a continuous supply of resources?"
“I know.” Jun Feibai nodded. “Each disciple has to take on tasks assigned by the sect regularly and hand in the corresponding items. Over time, the sect will have everything that the disciples need for daily life.”
“We can do that too. We can periodically release collection or manufacturing tasks, then train them to draw arrays, make medicines, craft artifacts, and create talismans. We can collect them according to their quality and exchange them for corresponding points. The collected items can then be listed in the store, allowing the system to gradually become self-sufficient. The initial investment will eventually pay off,” she said. “There are still some rules that need to be formulated, which I haven’t thought of yet. In short, we won’t let them level up and gain points too quickly. Giving them too many good things at once might not be a good thing. We should proceed step by step.”
Jun Feibai finally figured it out. He awkwardly put down the glass bottle, thought for a moment, glanced around at his Qiankun bag, and took out some things from it.
Jun Huilian looked at the strangely shaped cauldrons piled on the ground in confusion: "Aren't these the first batch of failed products when I first tried to forge weapon spirits? You still kept them."
These large pots were failures. When she first tried to forge a weapon spirit, she went astray. Her original intention was to create a large pot that could learn recipes and cook on its own, but she failed to forge a true weapon spirit and only managed to give the pot a faint consciousness.
These large pots all share a common characteristic: they have a bad temper and are prone to biting people. They can stir up anything you throw in and make a mess of it, and the final product is anyone's guess.
“I’ve kept all your stuff, but there are a lot of things I can’t bear to throw away, and they’re taking up a lot of space.” His eyes brightened. “Perfect, you can put these on the system’s store.”
"That's not a good idea, they're all low-grade defective products," Jun Huilian hesitated.
“What’s wrong with that? Your defective products are different from others.” Jun Feibai said confidently, picking up a dark iron pot with one hand. “Take this pot, for example. You once used it to casually crack the shell of a Golden Core stage demon cultivator who tried to provoke you. After smashing it, only a crack appeared, proving its sturdiness. When it’s in a good mood, it can cook normally, and there’s a very small chance that it can make something good. Although the probability is extremely small, it can definitely do it, right? These pots are all different in appearance, each with its own unique design. The task takers won’t be suspicious if they take them out in public. You don’t have many defective products. Once they’re sold out, they’re gone. I think you should not only put them on the shelves, but also set a high price.”
Jun Huilian stared in disbelief.
To be honest, he truly lives up to his nickname "Little Pixiu".
Jun Feibai still felt it wasn't enough: "Tell them that this magical cauldron costs 10 points each time it's used, and that it can produce good things or cause business trips. Whether they want to gamble or not is up to them."
Jun Huilian followed his line of thought: "It seems that the second batch of pots will produce better items than the first batch. Give them the option to spend points to upgrade the pots and increase the drop rate. Then, recall the first batch of pots. Once all the pots are upgraded, put the first batch back on the shelves, calling it a limited-time return."
"Ah Lian, you're so smart!" Jun Feibai clapped his hands in admiration.
After Jun Feibai's enlightenment, Jun Huilian unearthed many things from the nooks and crannies that seemed both useful and useless.
They sat cross-legged facing each other, examining each item one by one.
Jun Huilian picked up an inconspicuous copper coin, casually tossed it into the air, covered it with the back of his hand, and held it out: "Guess whether it's heads or tails."
"Hmm." Jun Feibai guessed based on his intuition, "Front."
“By the way,” Jun Huilian removed his hand from the coin, “the copper coin that always lands face up is the product of my first attempt to touch the rules of the Heavenly Dao.”
Jun Feibai commented: "It has the same effect as filling the bottle with lead, but the advantage is that it won't be detected even if you check."
Jun Huilian smiled and picked out the next item from the miscellaneous items: "This is a pill that has no effect but tastes extremely bad and leaves a lingering aftertaste for three days. It's something you made when I had just reached the Tribulation Transcending stage."
After recalling the events, Jun Feibai said, "I thought you would ascend to heaven soon, so I prepared some 'gifts' to give to my old friend Taotie."
"Since it's a specially prepared 'gift,' should we keep it?"
"No need, I've prepared a better 'gift,' this one's obsolete." Jun Feibai waved his hand dismissively.
Jun Huilian examined the pill, saying, "This thing probably won't sell. I'll just put it in the lowest-level prize pool to make up the numbers."
After selecting one batch of items, Jun Huilian took out the next batch from his Qiankun bag.
"Ugh! What smells so bad!" Jun Feibai instantly ran eight zhang away, his keen sense of smell as a beast making him feel dizzy and lightheaded.
Jun Huilian held his breath: "An armor that is impervious to water and fire but stinks to high heaven, and smells even worse to humans and beasts. For a while, something called perfume was popular in the cultivation world. I originally wanted to make an armor with its own fragrance to give to someone, but when I was refining the armor, I mixed up the plum blossom essence I extracted with the giant taro liquid bottle used to stun the beast race."
The beastman, Lord Fei Bai, turned deathly pale, one hand covering his nose and the other waving wildly, shouting, "Take it away! Take it away! Take it away!"
...
After carefully selecting and preparing the necessary items, the man and the beast began to build the system.
“The name ‘system’ is too awkward to pronounce. Why don’t we let them think they have contracted a special spirit pet or inherited the legacy of a master?” Jun Feibai suggested.
“There’s no need. Pretending to be a creation from another world will make them feel more at ease using it since there’s no conflict of interest.” Jun Huilian put herself in her shoes and thought about it. If she were forcibly bound to the so-called inheritance of a master, she would probably treat it as a demon in her heart.
"These hundred people will meet sooner or later. Should we let them know about each other?"
The ultimate goal is to gather the task participants under the guise of learning talismans, and it is inevitable that the task participants will meet with each other.
After thinking it over, Jun Huilian said, "If they knew that they were among the first testers of the system, they would probably look down on us. If we want them to obediently follow the tasks issued by the system, we must maintain an air of mystery. The system must be above them, so that they realize that they are special yet not special. Besides, the existence of the system has already exploited a loophole in the Heavenly Dao, so we cannot publicize it for the time being. They do not need to know each other's true identities. If they can recognize each other based on clues, I will not stop them."
"Then we must prevent them from inadvertently revealing anything related to the system."
"I will compile the 'unspeakable' rules." At her level, it's not difficult to formulate appropriate rules. In addition, the Heavenly Dao turns a blind eye and gives her the power. Making cultivators unable to speak about anything related to the "system" is as easy as making anyone unable to call her by her name.
"Once the side businesses develop, let them circulate and trade internally, and collect a commission based on the points earned. Also, create an anonymous leaderboard to create competition among them." She added features to the system while brainstorming ideas.
Jun Feibai had read Fang Tieyan's memories several times and quickly applied them to other situations: "The system function descriptions in the otherworld novels are more complete. For example, the trading function is unlocked after reaching a certain level, which encourages them to upgrade and make voluntary consumption."
Jun Huilian said, "We are allowed to communicate in the form of an anonymous forum, but you must restrict your speech and not reveal your real information. You will be the moderator."
"Leave it to me."
She paused for a moment: "How do you explain the fact that the forums and leaderboards are empty?"
"Why don't we make up some names and content?" Jun Feibai flicked his sleeve, conjuring up a screen.
Suddenly, a post dating back ten thousand years appeared on the previously empty forum:
[Yingzhou Headline: Shocking! The Sect Master of the Hehuan Sect actually said this to the Abbot of the Wanfo Sect in full view of everyone!]
Jun Huilian's eyes lit up suddenly, and he clicked to take a closer look.
Upon seeing the content, his gaze suddenly turned dull: "I thought there was some news I didn't know. It turns out it's about Ayu scolding the old bald abbot of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect at the Martial Arts Grand Ceremony. Well, we always share gossip. What you know, I know too. No fun."
"But don't you think the title 'Otherworld' is interesting? In the words of people from other worlds, no one doesn't love gossip, and everyone who sees it will click in." Jun Feibai said with great enthusiasm, "Once I recall the gossip we knew from ten thousand years ago and write it down, we'll have something to talk about."
"There was a gap of ten thousand years in the middle."
"Let Lin Ming and the others gather more information, make up some stories, some true and some false. Oh right, this information isn't guaranteed to be true," Jun Feibai said with a smile. "Of course, there are also things like cultivation techniques, reasons for furnace explosions during weapon forging, types of spirit talismans, basic pill formulas, weaknesses of demonic beasts, basic formations... let them search for keywords."
“Good idea.” Jun Huilian suddenly sensed the message from the Heavenly Dao and laughed, “The Heavenly Dao also said it would provide some gossip for us to compile.”
"Hmph, at least it's useful." Jun Feibai disliked the Heavenly Dao that was holding Jun Huilian back. He was a divine beast born of heaven and earth, carrying the fortune and merits of his ancestors, and was not afraid of the rules of the Heavenly Dao.
Jun Huilian remembered something and took out a stack of books from his Qiankun bag: "Speaking of gossip, besides cultivation manuals, I also have quite a few storybooks here. I bought all the best-selling ones on the market back then. I'll put them all into the lottery pool."
Jun Feibai opened a book, read two lines, and said, "I know this one. The Sword Sect Master highly praised it. He recommended it to everyone he met at the Martial Arts Grand Ceremony. Later, when the author's identity was revealed, it turned out that the author was his mortal enemy. His expression at that time was...tsk tsk. There's also this one, written by the Joyful Union Sect Master. He didn't keep it anonymous and directly announced that those destined to read it would receive an attack that could kill a Nascent Soul cultivator in one blow. Unfortunately, it was serialized for a hundred years until we fell into slumber, and no one triggered it. I wonder if anyone has encountered a destined person in the past ten thousand years."
"No." Jun Huilian made a conclusion without sensing anything. "Before we stopped the world from being destroyed, she came to chat with me and mentioned that the book she wrote when she was young and impetuous had become a black mark on her history, and she wanted to destroy them all. The one you have is probably the only one that has survived to this day."
“It’s quite precious.” Jun Feibai thought to himself, silently labeling it as “expensive.”
Jun Huilian continued to add basic functions to the system: "Not everyone has a Qiankun Bag. Let's add a space storage function to the system so that the things obtained from the system can have a place to be stored."
"I need to use points to expand my storage space. Level 0 only gives me a fist-sized space." Jun Feibai was obsessed with points.
"Let me think of something else." Jun Huilian pondered, looking at the half-finished product.
"Add an appraisal function, I'll provide it." Jun Feibai said reluctantly, "Not everyone is lucky enough to find a good item every few steps. Let's try to prevent them from missing opportunities because they don't know what's good. Also, the appraisal skill has different levels, and you can upgrade it by earning points."
He emphasized this at the end.
"Alright, alright, use your points to exchange for it." Jun Huilian smiled indulgently.
...
One hundred test systems were completed quickly, and eighty binding users were selected for the clones/avatars.
When it was officially put into use, Jun Huilian used the sacred artifact Illusion Mirror to project a hundred scenes.
To facilitate the observation of specific objects, they set up the largest illusion mirror in the center, and to observe someone, they would project that person's movements into the giant illusion mirror.
Jun Feibai was quite nervous: "You endowed these systems with consciousness and implanted a memory into them, but they are no different from newly born artifact spirits, ignorant and naive. Can they really fulfill their mission?"
Jun Huilian calmly lay back in the chaise lounge: "I also set up an assessment mechanism for the system, and it will gradually improve."
Jun Feibai idly glanced at the images, then his gaze suddenly stopped on one of them. He exclaimed, "Hey, A-Lian, look at this person. He doesn't seem to have long to live."
The system is designed to protect the host as much as possible, but according to the rules, Jun Hui Lian's intervention in other people's lives is limited. Once the host loses vital signs, the system will automatically look for the next suitable candidate.
Jun Feibai didn't expect to see the system unbind so soon.
Jun Huilian raised his eyes and followed his gaze. It was a boy who had been randomly bound to someone and was not on the list of clones to choose from.
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