The Top Efficiency Cultivator

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She couldn’t help but twitch her eyebrows.

So, what Xu Rui senior brother said was true; inner sect cave dwellings needed to be resolved by oneself.

This led to the emergence of the Qing Shui Sect’s real estate industry?!

Sales pitches for cave dwellings had infiltrated the trials.

Huang Fuyuan clenched his fists against his pale lips. “Cough.”

His bright phoenix eyes, which glowed in the bright light, swept across the table. “The higher you go in Zhenchuan, the better the conditions for choosing a cave-dwelling…”

Meng Zhi, who desperately needed money, couldn’t help but press his temples. “Auntie, this 300th cave dwelling has the lowest spiritual energy, and it still costs thirty thousand spirit stones a year. Don’t cheat us!”

“Aren’t newcomers considered human?”

The woman in pink robes had a pale forehead. She suddenly burst out a vein and laughed awkwardly. “Low spiritual energy is not a problem; we provide a yearly Gathering Array that boosts your cultivation speed for the entire year. You don’t need to worry.”

Lin Shuang sighed; was this like stacking mobile data packages?

She had two minutes left of her break, so she glanced at a few pages of cave dwellings.

Each jade slip contained a hundred cave-dwelling options.

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As inner-sect disciples advanced in strength, they would move out from lower-tier cave dwellings, and outer-sect disciples would move in.

Indeed, the real estate business was thriving here.

“Uh, is this 300th number the best cave dwelling available in here?”

But when Lin Shuang took a look at the map, she furrowed her brows.

Cave dwelling number 300 was located at the foot of a mountain, and it was a three-hour journey from the inner sect’s largest Transmission Hall — “Ningyuan Low Stage, Flying on the Sword, One and a Half Hours.”

A one-way journey took three hours!

Lin Shuang was dumbfounded.

This was at least beyond the sixth ring!

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Oh, it’s one more ring than the fifth ring~~~

Lin Shuang put on a pained expression. “Um, do you have any cave dwellings within a stick of incense’s distance from the Transmission Hall, Scripture Pavilion, Steward’s Office, or the canteen?”

The woman in pink robes cast a complex look at her.

The three jade tokens were promptly withdrawn.

Lin Shuang:?

The woman in pink robes chuckled. “Keep climbing another five hundred levels in Zhenchuan!”

Huang Fuyuan lightly laughed, and Meng Zhi also breathed a sigh of relief.

“Not everyone can reach the higher levels of the inner sect in Zhenchuan. Even if you want a good cave-dwelling, you have to have the ability to obtain it.”

“Sister, I’ll be waiting for you to come back.”

The woman in pink robes stood up and left with the tray holding the jade tokens.

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“Enough with the sales pitch,” Meng Zhi turned around with his sword on his shoulder, “let’s go and claim the rewards for this level. Then we’ll proceed to the next challenge.”

The woman in pink robes grunted and turned back to the jade counter.

Lin Shuang touched her nose. “Isn’t it impolite to call her ‘auntie’ while refusing to buy?”

Meng Zhi chuckled.

Huang Fuyuan smiled. “The Inner Sect Real Estate Office is run by senior brothers and sisters who retired from the sect due to injuries. They are no longer involved in sect affairs and now work as regular people within the sect. That’s why they don’t like being called ‘senior brother’ or ‘senior sister’; they might even get angry. The youngest of them is over two hundred years old.”

Lin Shuang:?

She inadvertently looked back at the fair-skinned woman in pink, but she couldn’t tell that she was over two hundred years old at all.

Unexpectedly, their crystal-clear eyes met again.

“Oh, sister, are you interested in beauty-enhancing pills? How about I give you one as a gift when you buy a cave-dwelling?”

Lin Shuang:!

She fled in haste.

She followed Huang Fuyuan and Meng Zhi, leaving the special tea table for house hunting, and arrived at a red-striped stone monument next to a Transmission Pillar.

Their disciple badges on their waists created ripples in an instant, forming water-like patterns on the stone monument.

[Level 349 Cave Dwelling Reward Settlement: 349 Contributions have been distributed.]

Rows of water ripples condensed into words.

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[Additional Rewards for the Fastest Clearing of Levels —]

Pap pap pap, the stone monument spat out a long string of game clearance coupons as if it were in a game arcade.

They flew rapidly towards the three of them.

Lin Shuang was momentarily stunned, but she had already touched three pieces of withered leaves.

— 5000 Spirit Stones, redeemable for the purchase or rental of cave dwellings numbered 1-300 (Exclusive discount for level owners);

— 1000 Spirit Stones, for living expenses such as inner sect spiritual energy fees, dust removal fees, and fasting elixir fees (not available for those without a residence);

— 500 Spirit Stones, for the purchase of any first-tier spiritual treasures or other items in Zhenchuan.

Lin Shuang gritted her teeth.

Wasn’t this like a certain e-commerce platform’s red envelope? And they even specified what categories of products you could use them for.

A row of words had already formed on the stone monument.

[Numbered Cave Dwellings 1-300: Available at the Sales Office]

[Spiritual Energy Fees, Dust Removal Fees, and Other Living Expenses: Can be paid and deducted from your personally rented or purchased cave dwelling (Not available for those without a residence)]

Lin Shuang pressed her head. Wasn’t this like gas, water, and electricity bills? One fee for one household?

[First-tier Spiritual Treasures and Others Available in Zhenchuan: Activate the catalog by approaching the stone monument with your disciple badge.]

Lin Shuang tried to put her’s on, but Meng Zhi was one step ahead.

[Meng Zhi, Highest Level Reached This Year: Level 349; Level Owner of 349.]

[First-tier Spiritual Treasures and All Others Unlocked.]

In an instant, the entire list appeared in front of them.

The elixirs were all first-tier, nothing special.

But the list of other first-tier items was quite unique.

《The First Volume of the Handwritten Notes of the 132nd Generation Headmaster of the Clearwater Sect (with a free signature)》 100 spirit stones

《The Unspoken Rules of the Inner Sect Administration》 – 120 Spirit Stones

《Criteria for Choosing a Dao Companion》 – 200 Spirit Stones

《How to Pursue Female Immortals》 – 300 Spirit Stones

Lin Shuang’s eyes widened. The “Other” category turned out to be motivational literature.

Meng Zhi shook his head, clearly uninterested in spending his money on this.

Huang Fuyuan, holding a hand warmer, also seemed uninterested.

But Lin Shuang’s eyes stopped at the very end of the list.

—《Shao Ke Guides You in Crafting Talismans, Volume 1》

“Beep, Little Ai has detected sensitive words. Shao Ke is marked as an important figure in Little Ai’s database.”

“Excerpt from his profile: Shao Ke created a fifth-level time reversal talisman at the age of 301, stepping into the realm of a sixth-level talisman master. He has been in seclusion for twenty-six years and has left behind twelve volumes of ‘Guides You in Crafting Talismans.'”

The voice prompt of the AI assistant in Lin Shuang’s earphones sounded.

“Many talisman masters speculate that the method for creating the time reversal talisman is recorded in the twelfth volume. However, Shao Ke’s disciples have limited the distribution of this set of essays, and there are only ten sets in the entire Four Realms. Therefore, twenty years ago, the price of ‘Guides You in Crafting Talismans’ skyrocketed to over one billion Spirit Stones after the tenth volume. Most people have no chance to see it, and because collectors tried to preserve the value of the complete set, the table of contents of Shao Ke’s works has never been circulated in the market. There is no exact information on which volume contains the time reversal method.”

“The known whereabouts of the ten limited edition sets are as follows: sixteen years ago, the Mountain and Sea Sect purchased a set for ten billion Spirit Stones at an auction; eight years ago, the Clearwater Sect bought a set for approximately two-six billion Spirit Stones at a talisman exhibition…”

Lin Shuang’s eyes flickered. The AI assistant’s prompts were all based on her previous research at the Outer Sect’s library and listening to Clearwater Sect’s news today.

Her original plan was to enter the Inner Sect ten years later and become a direct disciple of the Sect Master or an important elder, hoping to obtain a comprehensive view of this priceless talisman-making method.

But she didn’t expect it—Zhenchuan had it!

She looked at the stone monument in front of her with a playful gleam in her eyes.

Level 349 in Zhenchuan, where you could exchange for the first volume of “Shao Ke Guides You in Crafting Talismans.”

Would the twelfth volume be available too? At which level would it be?

If she was lucky, maybe the time reversal talisman was in the tenth or eleventh volume.

Lin Shuang took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.

This was not the time for excitement.

“Can we check the entire list of what’s available in Zhenchuan?”

“Disciples at level 300 don’t have that privilege.”

Huang Fuyuan shook his head.

Lin Shuang felt a pang of regret.

“Let’s go. We’ll proceed to the next challenge. We can’t see cave dwellings below level 500.”

Meng Zhi was getting excited; the higher they went, the more Spirit Stones they could earn!

Huang Fuyuan smiled but didn’t say anything, just nodding in agreement.

Lin Shuang felt a bit disappointed but followed them. Huang Fuyuan’s index finger lightly touched the stone monument.

【Disciples who have cleared level 349 can unlock up to level 500.】

【Currently available: Level 349 to Level 848.】

【Note: If you fail a trial, you will be set back by 300 levels. Please choose carefully.】

“Directly to the 848th floor?”

Lin Shuang and Meng Zhi’s eyes flickered, and they said in unison.

Huang Fuyuan’s brow twitched slightly.

At another counter, three disciples were standing. One slightly chubby disciple handed over his disciple’s waist badge.

“I want the 300th-floor cave dwelling.”

“Chen Sheng Junior Brother, you are just like your senior and senior senior. Every time you make a breakthrough, you want to keep a cave dwelling as a memento,” exclaimed the disciples around.

Chen Sheng smiled and gestured with his plump and agile hand. “If I hadn’t just received the rewards for clearing level 349, I wouldn’t have dared to.”

The faces of the disciples around suddenly turned strange, and even the pink-robed woman behind the counter looked at him with a complicated expression.

Chen Sheng laughed, “I just checked, and the reward for clearing the level as an owner is 5,000 Spirit Stones. Renting the 300th-floor cave dwelling costs only 30,000 for a year. If you calculate it this way, this cave dwelling is practically a gift to me for the first two months.”

The pink-robed woman showed a look of satisfaction, thinking that a clever disciple had finally arrived.

But in an instant, they all became embarrassed.

She swept the jade slip over Chen Sheng’s disciple’s waist badge and sighed.

【Chen Sheng: Qualified to buy a house on the 300th floor!】

【Chen Sheng: Second in clearing level 349.】

【Judgment: No. 1-300 transaction discount unavailable.】

【Full payment transaction, 30,000 Spirit Stones!】

Chen Sheng: “What? Wait a minute—”

His face changed, “I won’t rent it! Cancel, cancel the transaction…”

The pink-robed woman’s temples throbbed visibly, three veins popping out.

“Rascal! Once a sale is made at this counter, there are no refunds!”

“What?!?”

Chen Sheng was devastated.

Who on earth had snatched his level owner status?

“Sitting in the top seat? It seems like it’s Meng Zhi, and someone named Lin Shuang?”

“Lin Shuang? I’ve never heard of her.”

“Well, didn’t any of you check the leaderboard? Level owner Lin Shuang… seems to be at the Qi Condensation stage…”

Chen Sheng was stunned.

***

“Ah, if only I had let Meng Junior Brother do the floor selection; I wouldn’t have made that mistake.”

Huang Fuyuan walked out of the teleportation pillar, sighing.

Meng Zhi also felt regretful.

They were supposed to go to level 848, but because Huang Fuyuan made a cough and selected the teleportation plate wrong, they ended up on level 841.

Luckily, the difference wasn’t significant.

“Never mind, it’s just seven levels, let’s go with the flow,” said Meng Zhi, carrying his sword, and marched ahead cheerfully.

Lin Shuang nodded.

Precision was essential, but so was a good mood.

As she stepped out of the towering teleportation pillar, she had exactly five minutes for a break, which she timed perfectly to the last second.

Perfect.

She was in a good mood.

But just as she walked out of the teleportation array, ready to inspect the trial cave dwelling on this level, sword energy suddenly soared half an inch in front of her feet.