Immortality Starts With Investment Chapter 3: This Is Treasure!

"Gift successful!"

"Gift: Ten low-grade Qi Gathering Pills."

"Returning gift…."

"One hundred low-grade Qi Gathering Pills have been credited."

"First gift by the host detected. Though it didn't surprise the recipient greatly, a critical hit reward has been triggered!"

"Reward: Complete understanding of First Grade Alchemy."

"First Grade Alchemy Complete Understanding has been delivered."

"Detected that the host does not possess storage equipment. Physical rewards will be temporarily stored in system space and can be retrieved at any time..."

Holy crap…!

Ye Chen's eyes bulged wide as the system notifications rang out. A full hundred Qi Gathering Pills added to his inventory, and on top of that, a critical hit reward activated? Instant mastery of First Grade Alchemy achieved? This fortune was beyond belief!

Over the previous days, Ye Chen had experienced alchemy's sheer difficulty firsthand. No fixed recipes existed—one had to watch the furnace intently, tweak the flames for each ingredient type, and infuse spiritual energy with precision. The slightest slip, and the batch went up in smoke.

His predecessor toiled four years at it, barely scraping beginner level, miles from true First Grade Alchemist status. Yet one critical hit granted complete First Grade Alchemy comprehension. It felt like hitting the jackpot.

Ye Chen's view of Lin Ke'er shifted entirely now, resembling an investor eyeing skyrocketing stocks.

Lick, lick, lick… I'm going to lick this treasure for the rest of my life!

…

The intense stare from Ye Chen stirred faint discomfort in Lin Ke'er. A flicker of concern arose in her mind. Did he assume the gift sealed her as his Dao partner? No way! Ye Chen was clearly too eager!

In the past, whenever he offered gifts, Ye Chen would haul her into endless chatter, forcing her to nod and smile through it. After all, snatching the item and bolting wouldn't look right.

Still, boundaries mattered. Accepting gifts was fine, but Dao partnership? Worlds apart.

While Lin Ke'er mulled over her wording—keeping Ye Chen hooked without implying full commitment—Ye Chen suddenly piped up.

"Then, Fairy Lin, go back and focus on your cultivation. I'll head back to rest for a bit myself…."

With those words, he spun around and departed. The door banged shut with a resounding thud.

Lin Ke'er, her head full of prepared replies, blinked in astonishment. Just leaving like that? No usual clinging, no marathon talking, no reluctance to go?

Yet the shock passed quickly. Lin Ke'er shrugged it off. Who cared about a simp's whims? Her focus locked onto the pills clutched in her grasp.

Qi Gathering Pills suited early Qi Refining stages perfectly, massively accelerating progress. Pop one before training, and effects jumped to about 1.5 times normal.

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Lin Ke'er refused to linger as a mere receptionist in this tiny shop forever. Hitting the fourth layer of Qi Refining meant better opportunities. Without delay, she whirled and rushed away, seizing every second.

…

Rewards pouring in left Ye Chen itching to exit. Stick around like a simp? No thanks. The gifting was purely a system quest, no emotional ties attached.

"Extract Qi Gathering Pills!"

The mental command issued, ten vials of Qi Gathering Pills materialized instantly in his palms. He uncorked one, inhaling the pill's aroma lightly. Faint traces of blended herbs lingered—not fully refined.

Evidently, the crafting wasn't perfect; these were just barely low-grade. Still, they sufficed. This haul tied into the task of submitting five hundred Qi Gathering Pills to the store.

One hundred secured already. At this pace, the rest would pile up in a month. Deadline sat at two months—no pressure. What nearly broke his predecessor now seemed effortless.

Task done, no job hunt needed. He'd lounge in the shop, harnessing the simp system for boundless resources, cultivating straight to immortality. The thought alone thrilled Ye Chen.

Pills tallied and stowed in a nearby box, Ye Chen eyed it with irritation brewing. A cultivator sans storage ring—or even a basic bag? Utterly inconvenient.

Memory dive revealed storage bags weren't cheap trifles in the cultivation realm.

The tiniest, half-cubic-meter version demanded fifty low-grade spirit stones. Consider: Lin Ke'er at Qi Refining third layer slaved eight hours daily, one day off weekly, netting just three low-grade spirit stones monthly.

The market enjoyed formation shields and denser spiritual energy than outside. Even a modest courtyard rental ran one low-grade spirit stone. Add food and living costs.

Mundane food merely sated hunger, produced waste, and mildly impeded cultivation. Spirit beast meat, spiritual grains, or Spiritual Fasting Pellets became essentials.

For faster cultivation, pills, defensive magic tools, attack spells—all drained spirit stones relentlessly.

Immortality's path bled wealth dry. Thus, only mid-Qi Refining folks with steady incomes typically snagged storage bags.

Most scraped by on scraps of spirit stones, none to spare on women. At higher realms, admirers swarmed anyway. Small wonder Lin Ke'er exploited a simp like him—she was flat broke!

Cultivators obsessed over spirit stones amid poverty. Romance? Spare time? Fat chance.

Ye Chen faced no such woes. Ten low-grade Qi Gathering Pills equaled half a spirit stone. One gift yielded tenfold back—five stones profit. Monthly haul hit twenty low-grade spirit stones easy. Alchemy mastery? Extra boon.

Alchemy ranked among top money-makers. He'd join the cultivation elite, earnings scaling with skill.

Case in point: Qi Gathering Pills, the failed predecessor task. Submit five hundred; shop materials yielded up to 1,500.

Excess covered alchemy's failure rates. Thirty percent success counted as solid. Boost that, keep extras as gain.

Ye Chen's pill shop wage: five low-grade spirit stones. Refine 750, pocket 250 surplus—dozen more stones. Total? Forty to fifty monthly, comfy.

Visions of spirit stone floods reignited Ye Chen's drive, quashing prior laziness. Lady Luck smiled indeed.