Building a sect from scratch.

Chapter 375 More money is needed

"Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and then try to mobilize the spiritual energy around you, absorbing it into your body and circulating it along your meridians... Give it a try?"

Helplessly jumping down, Song Bozheng, along with Guantangbao, was gathered around a bunch of night owls, diligently teaching them how to draw qi into their bodies: "Your Taiyin disciples' puppets have excellent innate aptitude, so it should be easy for them to draw qi into their bodies!"

"hiss--"

A puddle of night owls tried desperately to inhale a mouthful of spiritual energy, but to no avail. Looking at Song Bozheng with a bewildered expression, it asked, "What are meridians? Why do I feel like I'm inhaling spiritual energy into my stomach?"

The soup dumpling was both amused and exasperated: "Oh, it's not about sucking with your mouth! It's about breathing! With your nose!"

Song Bozheng looked at the soup dumplings with despair, then at the owl, sighed deeply, and said, "It's not using your nose, it's a kind of intuition you have..."

Song Bozheng's correction only made things worse, leaving even Guantangbao with a bewildered expression.

"Never mind, I'll take you up!"

Song Bozheng abandoned the temporary teaching session, and amidst the two people's exclamations, he grabbed one in each hand and lightly leaped onto the top-floor platform.

He then added, "You should continue to cultivate according to your own sect's methods. My methods are probably not suitable for you. Besides... since cultivation is impossible in your world, there's no need to waste your time on this..."

As he spoke, he glanced at the two of them with pity and sighed inwardly.

The two people who were pitied exchanged a glance, feeling that the NPC's gaze seemed a little strange, but neither of them thought much of it.

"Ahem, Master Song, well, let's talk about the orders!"

The soup dumpling cleared its throat, gave the night owl a hard tug, and urged, "Why don't you tell me your requirements!"

"Ah? Oh oh!"

The night owl suddenly snapped out of its daze, turned its head, and saw that Song Bozheng indeed had a questioning expression on his face. It quickly explained its needs: "Um, I want to customize an alchemy furnace, but I mean, it needs to have two compartments inside, and it shouldn't be too deep, preferably a bit wide, so that the materials can be put in more easily..."

The soup dumpling, looking speechless, concluded: "I guess what you want is... a yin-yang hot pot?"

A group of night owls paused for a moment, then retorted, "Uh... it's a pill furnace, a pill refining furnace, the kind that Laozi used to make pills, the kind that can be sealed shut!"

The soup dumpling rolled its eyes: "So that's a hot pot with a lid and two compartments?"

This time, the night owl couldn't deny it anymore and started to hesitate: "Hmm...it does sound a bit like that..."

The soup dumpling pressed on, "So, are you going to choose alchemy or culinary arts?" "Alchemy seems to offer easier job prospects, so joining a guild would probably be better? But I do really enjoy cooking! Sigh! I don't know!"

The night owl was completely at a loss, so it simply looked innocently at the NPC who was quietly listening to the two talking.

"I can't offer any advice," Song Bozheng said, spreading his hands. "The cultivation methods of your Taiyin Sect disciples are different from those of us normal cultivators. If it were us, alchemy and weapon cultivation wouldn't be easy to get started. There's a saying in the cultivation world: 'The poor shouldn't pursue alchemy or weapon cultivation, and the rich shouldn't study magic or talismans.' This is because alchemy and weapon cultivation, including cooking, are extremely expensive. You need enough money to purchase alchemy furnaces, forging furnaces, and cooking utensils, etc. As for magic and talisman cultivation, they greatly test one's willpower and perseverance. Wealthy second-generation cultivators rarely choose these paths to work themselves to death—it's really unnecessary, isn't it?"

“But for disciples of the Taiyin Sect, it seems that the sect already provides you with various spiritual artifacts and furnaces, and it is much easier for you to make money or collect spiritual materials. It seems that choices that have a great impact on us have a very low impact on you... So, I really can't give you any advice!”

A night owl turned to the soup dumplings and asked, "Can I choose both?"

“According to the game's rules, it wouldn't work, but…” Guantangbao shrugged, “But, you know how this game is, it has so much freedom. So even if you choose a sect's inheritance, you can still learn other things. Like Second Senior Sister, you know her, right? She's Pig Sister. She's already learned so many things, like formations, talismans, and so on! But if you don't choose a sect's inheritance yourself, there's no experience bar for that inheritance, so you can't level up and automatically learn new content. You have to learn it yourself… What I mean is…”

At this point, Guantangbao paused, then emphasized through gritted teeth, "You have to learn it yourself, like you would learn something in the real world! It's outrageous! The game designers are utterly inhuman in this regard!"

A clump of night owls pondered: "So, I could actually choose alchemy cultivation. Since I can cook in real life, I should be able to learn culinary cultivation on my own without much problem?"

"That's not quite right. It depends on your own needs. If you want to learn more, then this is a good choice. But if you want to level up quickly and improve your cultivation, it's best to choose a profession that you're good at or that makes it easier to gain experience. For example, among new players, talisman drawing is very popular now because it's the simplest and easiest to learn."

The soup dumpling expert then summarized, "So, if you want to quickly catch up with the majority of people in terms of level and cultivation, choosing the culinary path is actually more convenient!"

"Oh—" a night owl nodded in sudden realization: "So that's how it is!"

Immediately afterward, he seemed to have made up his mind and turned to Song Bozheng, saying, "Master Song, I've decided. I'll make a hot pot with two broths... no, a double alchemy furnace! That way, I can refine medicine while making soup, using medicine in food and food in medicine, and promote medicinal cuisine in the Guixu Realm! Hehehe!"

Guantangbao chuckled and retorted, "You're a fucking genius! A dual-bladed alchemy furnace? How did you even come up with that idea!"

“Hmm… This fellow Daoist has a great idea, but I have a question,” Song Bozheng, who had finally received the precise requirements of the esteemed client, pondered for a moment and then asked the night owl who was the client, “What is a hot pot with two broths… or rather, a double alchemy furnace?”

Guantangbao thought for a moment and asked, "Have you ever eaten hot pot?"

"I ate there once... Oh! I remember, their hot pot restaurant seems to have a flavor called 'Yuan Yang Pot'?"

Song Bozheng suddenly remembered the menu from when he went out for hot pot with his friend when he wasn't very good at understanding the language of flowers, and he suddenly realized what it meant.

"Yes, yes, yes, it's the kind with a partition in the middle, like a yin-yang symbol, divided into two compartments, that's called a 'Mandarin Duck Hot Pot'! A 'Mandarin Duck Alchemy Furnace' is also divided into two compartments, which can be covered to simmer soup or refine medicine, preferably with automatic heating and a timer function..." The night owl got more and more excited as he talked, but quickly realized that this was a world without modern technology, so he asked somewhat nervously, "Uh, can you add that kind of function?"

“Okay,” Song Bozheng nodded and said, “but it will cost extra.”