"Five thousand for an iron pickaxe? That's robbery!"
The Gatekeeper replied confidently, "What are you talking about? This is an iron pickaxe engraved with spirit patterns, a semi-finished spirit tool. Charging you five thousand is a steal."
"Don't think I don't know the market price."
An iron pickaxe engraved with spirit patterns usually costs between two to three thousand on the market.
The Gatekeeper said without batting an eye, "If you're so capable, don't lose it then!"
Li Cunxu didn't dwell on it too much. His recent gains were substantial, and he suddenly found himself less strapped for cash.
Of course, this amount was still insufficient when it came to high-tier resources.
Moreover, the Gatekeeper had indeed warned him not to lose it, so he was at fault here.
The Gatekeeper said, "We can purchase ores here, don't worry! Fair prices, same as the market rate."
Li Cunxu thought for a moment and shook his head.
This time, his harvest only included gold nuggets, silver ore, and iron ore.
The silver and iron ores were needed to increase the population of Silver Slimes and Iron Slimes.
As for the gold nuggets, he also wanted to use them to mutate slimes.
Using gold nuggets for slime mutation was a risk-free venture.
If the mutation succeeded, the Golden Slime would drop purified gold nuggets upon death.
If it failed, it didn't matter either. Gold is an extremely stable metallic element. The Digestion Talent struggles to absorb gold, and any unabsorbed material would naturally be expelled by the slime's body.
The Gatekeeper said, "Then you'll need to return the spatial backpack within two days."
"Alright."
Returning to the ranch, Li Cunxu entered the cellar and poured out a pile of ores, which stacked up like a small mountain.
For safety, he placed the silver ore and gold nuggets in a separate location.
Li Cunxu was cautious and meticulous, well aware of the cunning and danger of thieves in this world.
With the moon high in the sky, Li Cunxu, Xiao Ruan, and Yi Yi stealthily made their way to the tunnel beneath the bedroom.
"Xiao Ruan, collect the taxes!"
The Soul Tax was received, and his soul rapidly grew stronger.
The Mental Tax was received, and his mental energy surged.
The Physical Tax was received, and his physical strength increased swiftly.
Xiao Ruan, having eaten the Mini Fruit and shrunk, grew larger again, this time even bigger than before.
The tunnel's passage couldn't accommodate its size, so Li Cunxu promptly recalled Xiao Ruan into the Beast Taming Space.
The Spiritual Energy Tax was received, and his spiritual energy exploded with growth.
Moreover, six new attributes were added.
Normal (attribute-less spiritual energy, from Mini Slimes), Fire, Ice, Wind, Metal, and Mental.
The Skill Experience Tax was received.
Xiao Ruan learned Shrink, Fireball, Water Orb, Wind Blade, Iron Pickaxe Crafting, Digging, Ironization, and Silver Sword.
Water Orb broke through four limits, Grass Blade broke through four limits...
Ram broke through seven limits.
Ram, a skill with no technical threshold, was too easy for slimes to learn. Any slime, regardless of attribute, could master it after seeing it used a few times.
Fireball: Two limits broken.
Wind Blade: Limit broken.
Ironization: Proficient.
Silver Sword: Beginner.
...
Li Cunxu released Xiao Ruan again, which had already returned to its normal weight using the Shrink skill.
Xiao Ruan's strength had surged significantly, but its biological level remained unchanged, still at Black Iron Level 5.
The same thing happened last time during tax collection—its strength increased, but its biological level stayed the same.
"You've grown hands."
Li Cunxu exclaimed in surprise. Xiao Ruan, like the Miner Slime, had sprouted two round little hands.
Receiving the feedback from Xiao Ruan's enhanced strength, a warm current flowed through his entire body, strengthening him in every aspect.
His limbs felt stronger, and his eyes were brighter...
His spiritual power had also surged, but he still hadn't broken through to the Black Iron Intermediate Stage. This made Li Cunxu realize there was a problem.
With so much spiritual power, he should have been able to break through three times over, yet he still hadn't succeeded. Something must be wrong.
Either there was an issue with his body, or there was a problem with the Vast Sea Meditation Method he was practicing.
Who could he ask to help him check?
Sister Chen Xi?
He contacted Chen Xi, but she seemed busy and hadn't replied to his message.
Li Cunxu had no choice but to reach out to his homeroom teacher, Mei Ruifeng, and arranged to meet at a café.
In a rarely frequented alley, a quaint café was hidden. Pushing open the intricately carved wooden door, Li Cunxu stepped into a rustic and cozy space. The wooden tables and chairs exuded a faint sandalwood scent, and the walls were adorned with black-and-white photographs capturing the bygone days of Pupil City.
Mei Ruifeng sat by the window, a steaming cup of coffee in front of her. The slanting sunlight outside cast a soft golden glow on her profile. Seeing Li Cunxu arrive, her pretty face immediately turned cold, and a hint of wariness flashed in her eyes.
For a student who had once threatened her using her daughter, Mei Ruifeng had no kind expression to offer.
"What do you want from me? Let me make it clear upfront—last time, you said that if I helped you apply for 'home study,' you wouldn't use that matter to threaten me again."
Li Cunxu suddenly contacting her made Mei Ruifeng very cautious.
Li Cunxu spoke softly, "Teacher Feng, don't be nervous. I just wanted to ask you to help me check my body."
"Dream on! I won't yield to you."
Mei Ruifeng's face flushed red, and she gritted her teeth.
???
Li Cunxu was baffled, but when he saw Mei Ruifeng's reddened face, he immediately realized she had misunderstood the meaning of "check my body."
"My spiritual power can't break through to the Black Iron Intermediate Stage. I wanted to ask you to help me check what's wrong."
So that was it.
Mei Ruifeng let out a sigh of relief.
"Teacher Feng, you don't need to be so wary of me. Your daughter can't hide Medusa's Eye forever. In the future, we might have opportunities to cooperate."
Hearing this, Mei Ruifeng's expression softened a bit.
"Alright, let me check for you."
Like an old Chinese doctor taking a pulse, Li Cunxu placed his hand on the table, and Mei Ruifeng extended two fingers to rest on his wrist, using her spiritual power to examine his spiritual body.
"Strange, with such a vast amount of spiritual power, you still haven't broken through to the Black Iron level."
"Is there something wrong with my body?"
"I can't see anything. What meditation method are you practicing?"
Li Cunxu unfolded the Raging Sea and Storm Diagram.
"The Vast Sea Meditation Method? You're practicing this?" Mei Ruifeng's beautiful eyes widened in astonishment.
"Yes."
"Didn't anyone tell you that the Vast Sea Meditation Method is a trap? Practicing it makes your spiritual power as vast as the sea—your spiritual sea is ten times larger than those of other meditation methods, but the difficulty of breaking through is also ten times greater."
Li Cunxu let out a long breath. As long as it wasn't an issue of being unable to break through, he wasn't worried about the increased difficulty. He had the feedback from his Pet Beasts.
Xiao Ruan's taxation and Xiao Yi's Fate Enhancement—as long as they provided enough feedback, everything would be fine.
After bidding farewell to Mei Ruifeng, Li Cunxu returned the Spatial Backpack.
"Oh, by the way, while I was mining, I found a small blood pool made up of Blood Cultist corpses in the Vein Realm."
He then described the location and features near the small blood pool to the Gatekeeper, making it easier for him to find.
The Gatekeeper's expression turned serious upon hearing this.
"I will investigate this immediately. Why didn't you mention it yesterday?"
"I forgot."
"Anything involving th
e Blood Cultists is no small matter. Don't forget next time."
Li Cunxu was taken aback. Indeed, matters concerning the Blood Cultists were never trivial, even if they didn't seem so to him. How could he have forgotten and only remembered it now?
(End of Chapter)