Collecting Rent From All Realms, Even Empresses Must Pay Tribute
Ch. 68 - Foundation Establishment

Bai QianShuang lay on the bed, listless. She was wearing a nightgown, her fair legs resting on the covers.

It seemed that even immortals found it difficult to adjust to a lower standard of living, especially after just enjoying an abundance of spiritual energy.

She had initially prepared herself to absorb the meager spiritual energy in this world to recover her strength and hopefully break through.

But then the sparse spiritual energy had suddenly become dense and plentiful, and before she could fully enjoy it, it was gone.

If only she could have just one more puff.

Bai QianShuang was experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

"Crunch, crunch, crunch." Bai QianShuang reached for a bag of snacks beside her bed and munched on potato chips like a hamster.

Being pampered by Ye Chuan, she had gradually become lazy, losing her immortal demeanor.

But then, her chewing stopped. She felt the surrounding spiritual energy become dense and rich again, surging endlessly, quickly filling the entire room.

"?!" Bai QianShuang immediately stuffed the remaining chips into her mouth and started meditating, absorbing the spiritual energy.

This time, she was delighted to find that the spiritual energy didn't weaken as she absorbed it, not even a hint of diminishing!

Circulating her cultivation technique, Bai QianShuang utilized her Innate Dao Body to its fullest potential, absorbing as much spiritual energy as possible!

She was full!

The night passed silently, filled only with the sound of her absorbing spiritual energy.

…

Ye Chuan woke up to a gloomy, drizzling morning.

He sniffed the air, which was thick with moisture. 

The window was open, and raindrops were hitting the windowsill, sliding down the blurry glass, leaving clear trails.

What an awful weather.

Ye Chuan looked out the window, thinking this, then instinctively checked his phone. 

Seeing that five thousand yuan had arrived, he looked out the window again.

He loved rainy days.

It seemed that when you were in a good mood, everything looked better.

He opened the adventure page, feeling too lazy for a proper adventure, and clicked on Sweep.

He had to use the features he paid for.

[Adventure Sweep initiated—]

[Sweep complete. You survived the first day. Items retrieved: 4]

Ye Chuan froze. This was the first time he had survived the first day, which surprised him.

He immediately opened his backpack, but was quickly disappointed. The items were all quite ordinary, not a single treasure among them.

However, a seemingly ancient jade pendant caught his attention.

[Item: Ancient Jade Pendant

Can be further appraised.]

[Spend 1000 to appraise?]

One thousand wasn't much.

Ye Chuan hesitated for a moment, thinking it might be a treasure, and then appraised it.

[Appraisal successful.]

[Item: Mysterious Jade Pendant

Seems to contain a dormant spirit.]

[Spend 200,000 to awaken.]

A ring grandpa? 

(TL: A reference to common tropes in fantasy stories)

Seeing the price, Ye Chuan fell silent. 

Was this system obsessed with money? It gave him five thousand every day, but it felt like it was taking it all back.

Two hundred thousand was too much, it made him wince. Even the Spirit Gathering Array at home wasn't this expensive.

Forget it, he'd leave it for later.

Ye Chuan put the jade pendant back in his backpack and decided to check on it in a few days. 

He would be helping Wang Yanran capture the Ghost King soon, which would earn him another hefty sum.

He had been spending too much lately, it was unsustainable.

It was still early, so Ye Chuan checked on his tenants.

After discovering the dense spiritual energy, Bai QianShuang had been meditating all night, practically motionless. 

Ye Chuan noticed that her status was full, back to her peak Golden Core strength.

Was it because of her Innate Dao Body?

As a Supreme quality constitution, it wasn't surprising that she could fully replenish her spiritual energy in one night.

Seeing that Bai QianShuang was still cultivating, Ye Chuan opened Lan XiaoKe's interface.

[Lan XiaoKe played games for a while, feeling happy.]

[Lan XiaoKe watched anime for a while, feeling happy.]

[Lan XiaoKe read a book for a while, played with herself for a while.]

[Lan XiaoKe is satisfied.]

[Lan XiaoKe played games for a while…]

Did something strange slip in there?

Seeing that there was nothing unusual about Lan XiaoKe, Ye Chuan closed the tenant log.

Just then, his phone vibrated—

[Obtained a Lan XiaoKe-related item. Claim?]

Oh?

Seeing that Lan XiaoKe had produced an item, Ye Chuan opened his backpack and checked.

[Item: Bewitching Talisman

Use on any target to induce bizarre hallucinations for 24 hours (Effect depends on target's strength).]

What an interesting little item.

Ye Chuan had expected something that would increase his strength, not an illusion-type attack item.

He'd keep it; this little toy could come in handy.

[You have reached the Peak of Qi Refining.]

Huh?

The sudden notification made Ye Chuan freeze. Feeling the change in his spiritual energy, he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Wasn't he still a few days away?

How had he already reached the peak of Qi Refining?

Ye Chuan quickly checked his status and realized that it was the Spirit Gathering Array he bought last night that had accelerated his cultivation.

His Chaotic Indestructible Body had been devouring spiritual energy and refining his meridians all night, shortening the time needed by several days!

"Spending money really does make a difference," Ye Chuan grinned.

In just a few days, he had gone from an ordinary person to the verge of Foundation Establishment.

The money was well spent!

Ye Chuan's mood brightened. The money was originally meant for his money tree, but it seemed he was the one benefiting more.

[Requirements for Foundation Establishment met. Please select a Foundation Establishment method—]

[Heaven-Grade Foundation Establishment: Heaven-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill (Not ready-to-use, requires refining). After Foundation Establishment, master a High-Grade Divine Ability.]

[Earth-Grade Foundation Establishment: Earth-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill (Not owned, requires refining). After Foundation Establishment, master a Low-Grade Divine Ability.]

[Human-Grade Foundation Establishment: Requirements met, can proceed with Foundation Establishment.]

Refine pills?

Ye Chuan thought of the newly unlocked Pill Refining feature and twitched his lips.

So that's what it was for. They were waiting for him here, huh?

Ye Chuan opened the Pill Refining page and found the recipes for the Heaven-Grade and Earth-Grade Foundation Establishment Pills.

He tried clicking on the Heaven-Grade pill.

[No ingredients detected in backpack. Spend 288,888 to purchase raw materials?]

Ye Chuan paused for a few seconds, then checked the Earth-Grade pill.

[No ingredients detected in backpack. Spend 88,888 to purchase raw materials?]

Seriously?

He'd just go with the Human-Grade Foundation Establishment then. He needed to save money.

(TL: Stop capping.)