CH-2 Shop System

After the ceremony, the elder in charge dispatched all the students with the information that the students would start the next day.

Xiang Yao went home, took a shower, and began formulating his plans for the week.

"Now that I know that Fang Yuan used the Spring and Autumn Cicada, I have to devise a plan according to the situation I find myself in. First is the Liquor Worm Gu; with it, I can cultivate infinitely faster than without it; I have to come up with a plan to get it without drawing Fang Yuan's attention, and I also need to beware of the Heaven's will that is guiding Fang Yuan, I can't risk too much."

"Now, regarding how to acquire the Liquor Worm Gu, according to canon, I have a week before Fang Yuan finds the Gu Worm; I need to act in a way that no one will notice."

"From what I remember from the novel, Fang Yuan acquired it next to a Bamboo Grove, and he didn't have to follow Gu for a long time, so I can deduce that the Inheritance Cave is close to the Bamboo Grove."

"The question now is, which bamboo grove? Since there are several outside the village. The description given in the novel is correct. And if the description is correct, I can compare the terrain's geography and greatly reduce the places I have to look, thus increasing my chances of finding it."

Xiang Yao puts that first plan aside for now, as he needs a lot of ground research to go along with his plan, which will take some time to complete.

"For now, I should focus on expanding the System store and getting some points." Xiang Yao took his parents' Gu in a particular container to store them and opened the system interface to sell his Gu.

[Sell Rank 2 'MoonGlow Gu,' for 600 points?]

Confirming the sale, Xiang Yao opened the shop and updated it with the new item. A blue screen with several small squares organized in an orderly way, with numbers just below each square symbolizing the item's price; looking closer, you could see that almost all of them were empty, with a single item for sale.

[Buy - Rank 2 – Gu Moon Glow] ---> {-$300-}

"It's according to the Inheritance information; the system buys the item twice and then sells it for half the price to me; Rank fixes the Gu price, not by rarity. Means a Rank 2 'Red Steel Relic Gu' has the same price as a Rank 2 'Smelly Fart Gu.'"

"With this, I can buy several common Gu on the market and, with the points, buy rare Gu from the system and resell them, creating an infinite profit cycle. This system will only get stronger and stronger in my hands" Xiang Yao smiled in his heart as he sold all the Gu he had in his possession.

[Sell 'Prime Stone' for 100 points?]

The system is also not that simple; the system only buys the first item for twice the price, for example; he has sold 3 'Primestones'; the system will buy the first one for 100 points, the second one for 50 points, the third one for 25 points, and continue like this until the price settles at an adequate margin for the item.

But the system will always sell the item for the same price; that is, even if you sell the 'Primitive Stone' for 100, 50, or 25, the system price will always be half of the initial value, that is, the Primitive Stone will always be sold for 50 points while the system will always buy at the lowest price.

This is the system's way of balancing things out; it encourages the user to get lots of different items and increases the size of the system store.

Digging deeper into the system, Xiang Yao discovered that he could sell anything, from chairs, beds, soap, and even your level of attainment on the path of Dreams. He was delighted with this and decided to test it right away.

[Sell Attainment Level 'Great Grandmaster' in Path of Dreams for 500,000 points]

Xiang Yao confirmed his sale and felt that his Dream Path Attainment had vanished to nothing. He felt like he had never touched this path in his life.

Entering the system store, Xiang Yao decided to repurchase his attainment level and, at the same time, buy an extra one to see if he could raise his attainment level from Grand Grand Master to Supreme Grand Master or Nearly Grand Master. If it doesn't work out, that's fine; it's a risk worth taking.

[Buy – Attainment Level Great Grandmaster – ​​Path of Dreams] ---> {-$250,000-}

Xiang Yao drew two, and then two small glowing spheres the size of a ping-pong ball suddenly appeared in his hand. He used the first sphere, and as it dissolved into lights and was absorbed by him, he soon felt his attainment returning to Grand Grand Master Level.

Looking at the other one in his hand, Xiang Yao took a deep breath and used it; the sphere dissolved into lights and was absorbed by him again, but this time he didn't feel his Attainment Level increasing like before; soon, he understood that it wasn't it was no use absorbing the same attainment again, he wasted an excellent 250,000 points. But that's life; you only sometimes win them all, and with that, he also learned more about the system and its functions.

After settling the system's affairs, Xiang Yao decided to complete his plan to catch the liquor worm. So began his extensive research into the local geography and his most likely locations.

...

Putting together all the information he had from the novel, Xiang Yao deduced three locations that matched the geographic description of the land; A Bamboo Grove, a sea of ​​white flowers with a yellow spot in the middle, and next to a quiet mountain stream.

With all this information, all that was left was to go there and investigate. Having settled down, Xiang Yao went to the nearest inn, bought a bottle of Green Bamboo Wine, and returned home.

When he got home, he sold the Green Bamboo Wine to the system for 2 points and discreetly left towards the first location to investigate. Still, before that, he made several preparations not to be noticed, and only then did he leave to look for the Worm of Liquor.

Arriving at the spear-tipped bamboo forest, the spring wind was blowing through the lush forest, carrying spring's sweet and damp scent, soothing the heart.

Xiang Yao poured the Green Bamboo Wine into a few nearby places and waited. He stayed like that until nightfall, but it turned out to be an unsuccessful search; even though he wanted to wait a little longer, Xiang Yao controlled his impulses and decided to return to the village to not draw anyone's attention, mainly from Fang Yuan, who is looking for the Liquor Worm as well.

Arriving home Xiang Yao took the map he had made of Qing Mao Mountain and crossed out one of the three areas marked on the map. After that, he started selling various items to the system to expand his store, things like; Shovels, Pickaxes, Clothes, beds, chairs, and other items; he then called the system interface in his mind to see how many points he had in the upper right part of the blue screen of the system had the current points balance;

[Balance = $3120 Points]

Looking at his balance and the items he had available for purchase, Xiang Yao felt a little disappointed, the items were all ordinary Gu, and the only thing worth mentioning was Dream Path Attainment. Even that is useless to him now.

Xiang Yao decides to start trading little by little to avoid attracting attention. First, he will sell the Gu that people think is his family. Then he will slowly accumulate enough capital until the arrival of the merchant caravan, where he can buy several good Gu worms that you can resell and earn a lot from.

That plan may look cute on paper, but he still has to watch out for the public's prying eyes on him, especially Fang Yuan; every time Xiang Yao thinks of him, it's like he constantly has a blade at his neck. He can't wait to get rid of it before it gets too intense.

There are three reasons why Xiang Yao does not try to kill Fang Yuan while he is still weak; the first and most obvious one is the Spring and Autumn Cicada, with which Fang Yuan will be reborn whenever he is killed, thanks to the will of Heaven that controls it The Spring Autumn Cicada.

Second is that Xiang Yao is not who the will of Heaven has chosen to be its next puppet to try and stop the Demon Soul Worshipful's plan. And she also has the possibility that the will of Heaven will interfere and end up discovering her existence.

The system may make you invisible to the will of Heaven, but you never know what can happen in life, so it's best to keep your guard up at all times and tread lightly. If he ended up spoiling his plans through sheer impulsiveness, he would never forgive himself.

And thirdly, he needs more information to decide whether Fang Yuan is worth killing before he destroys Fate Gu. If he, by any chance, actually managed to kill him, he would have to bear the consequences of destroying Fate Gu himself.

All three of these reasons go down the drain, with the chance of failing to kill Fang Yuan, a 500+-year-old demon with a lot of experience, and if I fail, it will be the end of me.

But if I can refine all of the Inheritance Path of Dream Gu Worms before Qing Mao Mountain's destruction, I'm sure I'd stay safe and sound for quite some time.

As for the will of Heaven's plan to go against the Spectral Soul Venerable Demon, he would leave it to think about it after he had resolved the most current issues.

But until then, Xiang Yao is sure that he will enjoy every moment of this incredibly mysterious world, just as the phrase goes, 'The unknown is what makes life so amazing and unique. We only live once, so we should enjoy it and move forward with everything.'

'everything that happens was meant to happen, people just can't deal with this place with their imagination, but in reality, they were already there, dealing with everything.'

Xiang Yao lifted his head, looked out the window of his house as he sat on the bed, and thought, "That sentence makes me think about the insecurity of human beings since we often feel insecure about doing something we've done before.

Because the truth is, Yesterday's victory doesn't guarantee today's victory, but if you've endured situations before, you're more likely to endure them now."

It's like Xiang Yao afraid of this world even though he's already in it; now, there's no turning back; the only way is to lift your head and move forward, no matter the difficulties.

With a calmer and more resolute mind, Xiang Yao began cultivating for a few hours before sleeping.

The next day was the first day of class at the academy; he got ready and went to class; the class knowledge would benefit him since everything he knows about this world is through the memories of his past life.

During the class, the teacher taught only basic things; how to check its aperture, nurture it, and the common sense of every Gu Master.

When class ended, Xiang Yao returned home and prepared to head to the following location to look for the Liquor Worm. Leaving the house discreetly, Xiang Yao first checked Fang Yuan's direction and then took the opposite direction.

"I hope my field research is right. Otherwise, I will have to change my plans again and go another way." At the place marked on the map, Xiang Yao bought Green Bamboo Wine in the system for 1 point and started spreading it across the site. So he lay in wait, waiting for the Liquor Worm to show up.

The night was already intense. A thick cloud had obscured the moonlight. The dark shadows were like a curtain covering the bamboo grove. It was deathly silent, each strand of green bamboo standing alone. He lay still in place, listening to his clear breathing.

A gust of wind blew in like a gentle hug, lightly pushing away the clouds in the night sky. The clouds floated away to reveal the hidden moon. The crescent moon hanging in the sky was like a white jade lamp, shedding moonlight clear as water over the land. Moonlight spilled over the bamboo forest and the mountain rock, bathing the mountain rivers and streams.

At the same time, he saw a dot of white snow. This snowdrop was glued to a bamboo pole not far away. In the moonlight, it looked like a round suspended pearl. Xiang Yao two pupils fiercely expanded, his body slightly trembling. His heart dropped, and it started beating faster by the second.

It was the liquor worm!

The Liquor Worm was shaped like a silkworm, its entire body emitting a pearly white light. It was a little chubby and had a cute appearance. The Liquor Worm fed on wine and could fly. When it flew, it curled into a ball, and its speed was breakneck. Even if it was just a Rank 1 Gu, it was still worth more than some Rank 2 Gu on the market.

Waiting until the Liquor Worm drank itself drunk, and then, with its flight speed reduced, it would have a chance to catch it. In a moment, the Liquor Worm withdrew from the flower bud, drinking the wine.

His body was fatter, and his head bobbed, reminiscent of a drunken man. Unexpectedly, she didn't notice Xiang Yao's presence. It climbed onto another bright yellow flower and landed on the stamen, feeding enthusiastically on the drops of wine there.

This time after finishing drinking, it finally felt full. Her body slowly shrank into a round ball and slowly flew upwards. When he was 1.5 meters above the ground, she slowly flew towards the deepest part of the bamboo forest.

Xiang Yao quickly followed in their wake.

The Liquor Worm was already very drunk, making it fly slower, at half its average speed. Xiang Yao was in hot pursuit, following steadily behind the Liquor Worm. He could already hear the sound of a waterfall going up the mountain stream. After skirting a sparse forest, he saw the Liquor Worm fly into a crevice in the middle of a boulder.

He walked over to the boulder, took a deep breath, and then dove headfirst.

The stone gap was quite large, and two adult humans could walk side by side without any problems. What else to say about Xiang Yao, a 15-year-old teenager?

As soon as he stepped below the creek's source, the swift currents pressed against his body. At the same time, the cold water quickly drenched him from head to toe. Xiang Yao struggled against the pressure of the water, moving forward in quick steps. As he walked a few dozen steps, the water pressure decreased.

But the space in the fissure also started to shrink, and Xiang Yao could only walk sideways. His ears were full of the roar of the water, the top of his head was a sheet of white, and deeper into the rock was black darkness.

As he continued to walk sideways, slowly entering the darkness. The water no longer hit his head; the stone walls were covered with moss, rubbing against her skin, feeling slippery. Soon he was swallowed by darkness, and the stone crevice grew narrower, tightening around him. Gradually, even his skull could not rotate freely.

He soon noticed a red tint of light in the darkness. He was continuing forward as the red light grew more assertive. His eyes were greeted with a view of an enclosure approximately 80 meters squared in width.

The entire room was filled with dim red light. The stone walls were damp and covered with moss, but the air here was very dry. On the walls, there were also some withered vines. Vines intertwined with one another, snaking across half the wall's surface. There were even some wilted flowers growing on the vines.

The Liquor Worm was resting in the bunch of dead roots, fast asleep. It was already easily accessible. As soon as Xiang Yao touched the corpse of the Flower Wine Monk, he received a notification from the system.

[Ding! It is detected that the host is using the system on a human for the first time]

[Conditions completed to unlock new system function]

[New system function: scan]

[The 'Scan' function can search and analyze anything the user touches, thus adding the scanned item to the system store for purchase. Each time an item of the same type is scanned, its price in the system drops considerably.]

[Scan Level 5– Body of a Gu Master with Grade A Talent – ​​92% – For 6,000 points?]

[Scan Level 5 – Fate of Hao Meng – For 000 points?]

[Scan Level 5 – Memories of Hao Meng – For 3,000 points?]

[Scan Level 5 – Hao Meng's Attainments – For 40,000 points?]

Xiang Yao was happy that this function worked perfectly; now, he could update his plans regarding Qing Mao Mountain. He confirmed and let the system scan everything regarding the Flower Wine Monk.

After that, he immediately went to open the system store to check everything inside.

[A body of a Gu Master with a Grade A Awakened Aperture]

[Lifeless body, soul, or will, very useful for refining material or creating a clone]

[Appearance of an adult male with a well-trained physique, a below-average face, bald head, and yellowish-brown eyes]

[Hao Clan Bloodline]

[Buy – Body of a Gu Master with Grade A Talent – ​​92%] ---> {$3,000}

---

[Memories of Hao Meng]

[75 years of Hao Meng's memories and life experiences]

[Buy – Memoirs of Wang Da] ---> {$2,500}

---

[Hao Meng's Attainment]

['Quasi-Master' on the Madeira path]

[Buy - Hao Meng's Attainment] ---> {$10,000}

---

[Hao Meng's Fate]

[Destined to be killed by the Gu Yue Clan Ancestor and leave his heritage behind.]

[Cannot be killed until fulfilling its Fate, being protected by Gu Fate itself until fulfilling its objective]

[The user will inherit Hao Meng's Fate and be protected by Gu Fate until the goal is completed, thus deceiving Heaven's will]

[NOTICE!!!]

[Hao Meng has already fulfilled his Fate. The user cannot buy their Fate.]

[Buy - Fate of Wang Da] ---> {$000}

Xiang Yao was happy with his discoveries; he didn't know he could scan the corpses to add the system store. But that was a pleasant surprise; now he thought of better plans for his future.

He planned to take this inheritance from Fang Yuan to suppress his cultivation slightly. Still, after thinking it over a bit more, he discovered that this plan was not feasible as the will of Heaven would surely get suspicious and raise its guard to look for any irregularity.

So he was planning only to scan the Liquor Worm now and let Fang Yuan brave this heritage alone while he just enjoyed his hard work. Whenever Fang Yuan progresses in inheritance and gets a new Gu, he has to scan his body and get the same Gu for himself without drawing anyone's attention.

And once he has refined all of his dream path, Gu worms he will be able to buy Fang Yuan's Fate and will finally be able to kill him without the will of Heaven suspecting anything.

Once Xiang Yao finished his things, he cleaned up any evidence he could leave behind and carefully erased his tracks before sneaking out of the cave and leaving the liquor worm and the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance behind.

One of the most significant benefits of the shop is that any Gu purchased in the system will be instantly refined by the user, as system Gu worms have no will of their own. So it's much more worth selling the Gu Worm to the system and then buying it than spending prime stones refining a Gu with a strong will.

On this trip, Xiang Yao scanned the Liquor Worm and also the 15 primeval stones on the Flower Wine Monk's corpse, but he only scanned them and didn't sell them into the system, so when Fang Yuan finds the heirloom, nothing will be missing inside it.