【Paper Ingots ×10: Folded from gold paper imbued with mana.】
【Qi Replenishing Pill ×5: Practice works of Daoist Boy Qingfeng during his initiation. Consuming them replenishes Qi and blood, increasing Cultivation by 10 points.】
【《Little Huanzhen Art》 (Blue Quality): A method of initiation, to discard the false and return to the true.】
【Heaven and Earth Treasure Tree Draw tickets ×20】
【Begin the draw?】
After killing the Painted Skin Ghost and gaining a massive amount of experience, Nanzhi skipped five levels in a row. Her previously empty bag was now filled with many items.
As for the Draw tickets she had earned from completing achievements, she had saved up enough for two ten-pulls.
The draw page was exceptionally exquisite.
The vast mist cleared away, revealing jade towers and pavilions at the end of an immortal mountain. The silhouette of a boundless ancient tree emerged, large enough to blot out the sky.
Five-colored light filled the air as countless girls in green clothes shuttled through the scene.
These girls were all dressed in Tang-style chest-high Ruqun, adorned with necklaces and pendants. They looked wealthy and elegant, exuding an air of opulence.
Unlike other games, the draw page was strangely clean, with only a floating button at the bottom representing the "Ten-pull Draw."
But—
Nanzhi stared at the draw page, rubbing her chin in bewilderment.
“How come these green-clothed girls don't have faces, and they all look the same? Is the artist just being lazy?”
Just as she spoke, one of the green-clothed girls seemed to turn her head to "look" at Nanzhi.
She rubbed her eyes, only to find that nothing had changed on the screen.
“My eyes playing tricks on me? It seems I can't stay up late playing games anymore.”
Nanzhi muttered to herself and used up all twenty Draw tickets in her bag.
Accompanied by five-colored light, white cranes flapping their wings, and apes crying out in unison, dozens of streaks of light burst from the tree. The system notifications rang incessantly in her ears:
【Ten-pull draw in progress—】
【Congratulations, you have obtained: Lady Yin's Stinky Tofu ×10, Paper Ingots ×10, Paper Ingots ×10, Lady Yin's Stinky Tofu ×10, Blood Replenishing Grass ×10, Qi Replenishing Pill ×1, Qi Replenishing Pill ×1, Qi Replenishing Pill ×3, Human Skin Painted Garment (Blue), Blood Replenishing Grass ×10】
【Ten-pull draw in progress—】
【Congratulations, you have obtained: Lady Yin's Stinky Tofu ×10, Gourd, Paper Ingots ×10, Mimicry Bird ×1 (Green), Qi Replenishing Pill ×10, Treasure-Seeking Spirit Mouse (Purple), Blood Replenishing Grass ×10, Lady Yin's Stinky Tofu ×10, Qi Replenishing Pill ×10, Blood Replenishing Grass ×20, Paper Ingots ×20】
Nanzhi's face turned green.
“No way, twenty draws and not a single gold? Only one purple, one green, and one blue? Game designer, are you really this stingy?!”
“This is supposed to be a cultivation game. Where are the outfits? The weapons? The flashy spells with cool special effects?!”
“And who exactly is this Lady Yin! Why did she make so much stinky tofu!”
Getting only one purple item in twenty draws without even touching a gold was a total disgrace for a gacha player.
She punched her bed in frustration, feeling a deep sense of disappointment.
“The most ridiculous part is that you don't even have an entrance for top-ups or microtransactions! Who taught you how to make games?!”
Increasing strength through top-ups was a common consensus among many players.
On the bright side, she had at least pulled three notable things.
At least it wasn't all Lady Yin's Stinky Tofu.
Nanzhi comforted herself and opened her bag:
【Mimicry Bird (Green Quality): A blessing for the tongue-tied; after use, one can quickly become fluent in a language.】
【Human Skin Painted Garment (Blue Quality): This is the Painted Skin Ghost's favorite human skin. Once worn, it can mask human aura and temporarily disguise one as a ghost. (Combat Power +50, Constitution +20, Reputation -30)】
【Treasure-Seeking Spirit Mouse (Purple Quality): There are mice in the Southern Barbarian lands with large ears, short noses, long tails, and short claws that can hear the sound of treasures. (Can unlock the Spirit Beast System)】
“Finally, I won't have to be a mute and can communicate normally with NPCs.”
Nanzhi breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the other two items.
“It can actually add fifty points to Combat Power and twenty points to Constitution?”
“Since spirit pets have different qualities, does that mean there will be even higher qualities later?”
Her current Constitution was only five points, and her Combat Power was a measly twenty-seven. It was appallingly low.
Equipping the Human Skin Painted Garment would double her Combat Power, making it a decent piece of early-game gear.
At this moment, Nanzhi noticed a very small "Extract" button in the bottom right corner of the bag, which was easily overlooked if one didn't look closely.
She tried clicking on the items in her bag, but was prompted with: "Cultivation too low. Only five items can be extracted daily."
Nanzhi didn't look closely and casually clicked a few items before turning her attention to the newly acquired 《Little Huanzhen Art》.
Some details of the game were very realistic and impressive.
When she clicked on 《Little Huanzhen Art》, the game interface blurred for a moment, like ink spreading in water, rippling out in circles as a poem appeared before her eyes:
“True heart is pure and still, with Dao as the source, Just like the precious moon in the center of the sky. Sweep away the clouds of delusion without a single speck, A wheel of light fills the vast emptiness.”
Nanzhi gave it a cursory glance and clicked "Begin Cultivation."
The game character in the screen began to move on its own, taking out a Qi Replenishing Pill and placing it under her tongue, then sat cross-legged with her eyes closed and began to meditate.
【Learned 《Little Huanzhen Art》】
【Cultivating...】
【Cultivating...】
“Idle cultivation?”
Watching the little character on the screen, Nanzhi felt an irresistible wave of sleepiness wash over her.
She yawned, and before she could even close the game, she slowly lay back on the bed and closed her eyes.
Inside the screen, the game character sat in the five hearts facing heaven posture, surrounded by countless pale green points of light that flickered like fireflies.
Outside the screen, Nanzhi lay flat on her large bed with a peaceful expression and eyes slightly closed. Her entire body was shrouded in the same points of light, and her exposed skin gave off a faint, milky white glow.
A night of good sleep.
...
...
“Aaaaah!! I'm screwed, I'm screwed! I overslept! Curse this degenerate holiday, I swear I'll never stay up late playing games again!!”
Early the next morning, Nanzhi shrieked at her phone, which displayed the time as "8:12."
During the past few days of the May Day holiday, she hadn't even left the house, spending all her time huddled at home playing games. She had almost forgotten that today was a make-up work day, and she had to work on Saturday!!
Ah!
The pain of an office worker!
After a hurried wash, Nanzhi gritted her teeth and hailed a taxi despite the cost. Moving like a bolt of lightning, she finally made it into the office just as the clock struck nine.
On the first day back, there was always a listless sense of decadence in the office.
Nanzhi found her workstation and nearly fainted when she saw the mountain of pending documents.
Her colleague, Zhang Qiuyu, was slacking off in front of her computer. Seeing Nanzhi arrive, she greeted her:
“Hey Nanzhi, where did you go during the holiday?”
“I took some time to go back to my hometown these past two days, and I regret it so much. My parents started pressuring me to get married again, sigh!”
She sighed, but then her gaze suddenly landed on Nanzhi's face as if she had discovered a new world, and she couldn't help but exclaim:
“Whoa! Nanzhi, did you go to Korea for plastic surgery?! Your complexion is amazing! Your skin has gotten so much whiter!”
“Is that so? I got whiter?”
Nanzhi touched her face hesitantly before realizing.
“Maybe it's because I've been huddled at home playing games for the past few days. I haven't seen the sun in days, so I probably just got pale from staying inside.”
“Really? I don't believe it.”
Zhang Qiuyu leaned in and inspected her closely for a few more moments before saying suspiciously:
“You can get that white just by staying inside for a few days? I saw dark circles and blemishes on your face before. How did they disappear so quickly?”
“Did you use some whitening products? Send me the link!!”
Rate on N.U.
