Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life-Chapter 247: Poverty is the primary driving force for seeking the Tao

The mist in Clear Stream Valley was thinned by the morning light, and dewdrops slid slowly down the barrier light screen in front of the cave dwelling, soaking into the soil and leaving a small patch of dampness.

Su Ming sat cross-legged on the stone bed, the storage pouch exclusive to outer sect disciples laid out before him. His slender fingers were gently extracting the items from the pouch one by one, his movements as light and careful as if he were caressing fragile porcelain.

Thirty low-grade spirit stones, stacked neatly, emitted a faint, hazy cyan glow. Five bottles of Foundation Consolidation Pills, the porcelain bottles smooth and warm, exuding a pleasant medicinal fragrance.

This was the standard allocation issued by the sect after his promotion to outer sect disciple. For the vast majority of newcomers who had just climbed out of the menial post pile, this was undoubtedly a windfall, enough to make them laugh out loud even in their dreams.

But there was no smile on Su Ming's face, only a solemnity born of careful calculation.

"Thirty pieces."

Su Ming picked up a spirit stone, feeling the gentle spiritual energy within it, and sighed, "It looks like a lot, but if converted into 'Void Stone Powder,' it's only enough for one and a half portions. If converted into the high-grade material 'Flowing Silver' needed to repair formation plates, it's only enough for three qian."

"Be content, disciple."

The Xuantian ring trembled slightly, and Lin Yu's phantom slowly drifted out.

After being nourished by the "Source Substance" during this period, his form had solidified slightly compared to before, no longer flickering like a candle in the wind, and even the folds on his clothes could be seen more clearly.

Lin Yu drifted above the pile of spirit stones, taking a deep breath of the spiritual energy like a miser guarding his treasure. Although he couldn't actually absorb it, that didn't stop him from enjoying the illusion.

"The 'Spirit Nourishing True Explanation' cultivation method is truly marvelous. Your teacher now feels his soul body is stable, no longer having that floating, ethereal sense of being on the verge of dissipating at any moment." Lin Yu smacked his lips, then changed the subject, "But this thing is a bottomless pit. It focuses on 'defense,' emphasizing slow accumulation and a sudden outburst, which means it requires a massive amount of resources to pile up in the early stages. Relying solely on your meager allocation, if we wait for me to recover to the point where I can help you ward off disasters, we'd probably have to wait until your grandson reaches Foundation Establishment."

Su Ming gave a bitter smile and put the spirit stones back into the storage pouch.

"Also, that 'Minor Void Spirit Attraction Formation'..." Lin Yu pointed at the ring, "Just to activate it once, the 'Void Stone Powder' used as a medium alone consumes twenty spirit stones worth. And that's just the basic material. If you want to attract high-quality 'Source Substance,' you need to add 'Boundary Origin Sand.' That stuff costs thirty spirit stones for just one liang."

"It's a gold-devouring beast." Su Ming summarized.

"Correction, it's a 'god-tier gold-devouring assistant'," Lin Yu corrected, "And then there's your Dao foundation."

Mentioning his Dao foundation, Su Ming instinctively pressed a hand against his lower abdomen.

Even though he wasn't cultivating at this moment, the few fine cracks deep within his Dantian still felt like thorns embedded in his flesh, causing a dull ache.

Earlier, he had attempted to run the 'Like Water Art' for a grand circulation cycle. When his spiritual energy flowed through the core of his Qihai, that distinct feeling of obstruction was clearer than ever before.

It was like a grain of sand stuck inside a precision machine.

The faster it spun, the worse the wear and tear.

"I've estimated it," Su Ming said in a low voice, "With the resources available to an outer sect disciple, cultivating step by step, it would take at least a year to break through from Qi Refining sixth layer to the later seventh layer. Moreover, as my cultivation deepens and my spiritual pressure increases, this damage to my Dao foundation will become more and more of a hindrance. It might even... collapse at the critical moment of a breakthrough."

The air in the meditation room grew heavy for a moment.

Money. Or rather, resources.

This was the most realistic, coldest threshold placed before all immortal cultivators. Without resources, no matter how peerless your talent, you could only waste away into a handful of yellow earth over the years.

Su Ming took out a piece of yellowed grass paper from his robe and spread it on his lap. He dipped his brush in ink, his brushstrokes extremely steady, and wrote two words on the paper:

Make Money.

"Simple and brutal, I like it." Lin Yu commented from the side.

Ignoring his master's teasing, Su Ming listed two lines of smaller text below.

Short-term goal: Earn over a hundred spirit stones per month. Method: Utilize my formation expertise to find tasks with high technical barriers and low competition. Use: Purchase Void Stone Powder to maintain Master's soul body recovery, and gather information on spiritual medicines to repair my Dao foundation.

Mid-term goal: Completely resolve the hidden danger of my Dao foundation.

After writing, Su Ming stared at the words on the paper for a moment, then gently rubbed his fingers together, turning the paper into dust.

He stood up, straightened his cyan outer sect robe, and fastened the waist token representing his status.

Su Ming pushed open the heavy stone door. The morning sunlight was a bit dazzling, and he narrowed his eyes slightly, "Master, I'm going to the Administration Hall. The steady, long-term business of the Repair Hall is stable, but it only earns sect contribution points. We need to take on some 'private work'."

...

Cloud Hidden Sect, Administration Hall.

This was the most bustling, most worldly place in the entire outer sect.

The massive hall was packed with people, hundreds of outer sect disciples shuttling back and forth.

The air was filled with the smell of sweat, the sulfurous odor of low-grade elixirs, and the clinking sounds of various magical implements colliding.

A huge task board hovered in the center of the hall, densely scrolling with all kinds of task information, each character glowing with an enticing spiritual light.

"Purchasing second-rank demon beast 'Ironback Bear' gallbladder, fifty spirit stones each! Forming a team now, need a body cultivator to tank!"

"Seeking to purchase ten stalks of 'Clear Spirit Grass,' price negotiable, urgent!"

The clamor surged like a tidal wave.

Su Ming activated the 'Aura Concealment Art,' suppressing his own aura to around Qi Refining fifth layer. Like a drop of water merging into the ocean, he inconspicuously squeezed into the crowd.

He didn't look at those popular hunting tasks.

Although hunting demon beasts offered high rewards, the risks were immense, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. If injured, the cost of healing elixirs alone would be a significant expense. For Su Ming now, that was an extremely low 'cost-performance' trade.

His gaze skipped over the red-colored 'Combat-type' tasks and went directly to the far right side of the board, to that sparsely attended 'Skill-type' area.

Most of the tasks here were tedious, cumbersome, and required specific skills to complete.

Such as refining ore, drawing low-grade talismans, tending spiritual fields, and so on.

The rewards were stable, but they often took an extremely long time and were incredibly patience-consuming.

"Isn't there anything with higher technical content and higher pay?" Lin Yu complained within the consciousness sea, "These tasks are practically exploiting cheap labor."

Su Ming's eyes swept quickly across the board. Suddenly, his gaze stopped on a task in a corner of the list.

[Urgent Bounty: Formation out of control in the Spirit Beast Peak's 'Cold Pool Incubation Chamber'.]

Description: The third-rank spirit beast 'Jade Water Python' on Spirit Beast Peak has laid three eggs, requiring the cold pool's earth energy for incubation. However, recent fluctuations in the earth fire vein have caused the cold pool's temperature to alternate between hot and cold, becoming unbalanced, leading to the incubation formation becoming disordered and the spirit eggs' vitality being damaged. Requires a formation master proficient in the art of harmonizing water and fire to go and stabilize it.

Reward: One hundred low-grade spirit stones, plus one bottle of 'Beast Spirit Milk.'

Failure Penalty: If the spirit eggs are destroyed, must compensate three hundred spirit stones.

The font of this task was a glaring blood-red color, clearly indicating it had been posted for some days and was in an extremely urgent state.

"One hundred spirit stones..." Su Ming's Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

That amount of money equaled two months of his allocation, enough to buy five portions of Void Stone Powder.

And that 'Beast Spirit Milk' was excellent stuff for strengthening the body and warming the meridians; it might even have some alleviating effect on his damaged Dao foundation.

"But the penalty is harsh enough too." Lin Yu whistled, "Three hundred spirit stones, you couldn't pay that even if you sold yourself. No wonder no one dares to take it. This is clearly a mess. Earth fire vein fluctuations are a natural disaster. For a formation master to go and fight against a natural disaster, that's not just a technical job, it's a physical one too."

"No, it's not about fighting."

Su Ming stared at the task description, a flash of deduction in his eyes, "Cold pool, earth fire, formation. The previous formation master probably failed because they tried to use a 'blocking' method, forcibly suppressing the earth fire or forcibly boosting the cold energy."

"What do you plan to do?"

"Guide it." A slight smile curled at the corner of Su Ming's mouth, "Just establish a dynamic balancing loop, transforming the excess heat into the driving force to circulate the cold energy. Just like my 'Minor Heavenly Cycle Water Rhythm Formation'."

"The risk is huge." Lin Yu reminded.

"Wealth is found in danger." Su Ming turned and walked straight towards the counter responsible for accepting tasks.