7: Do some side hustles

The arrival of Inner Sect Fairy Yun Zhi and her light warning, like a stone dropped into a deep pond, created ripples in the hearts of everyone in D-7 Courtyard, then quickly subsided into a deeper silence.

Although Zhao Iron Pillar and the others weren't the brightest, they sensed something was amiss. Even an Inner Sect Fairy said to eat fewer calming heart pills, so there must be a problem with that stuff! Connecting this to Wen Youyi's earlier suspicions, cold sweat broke out on their backs.

"Damn it, cultivating as an immortal... why does it feel so off?" Zhao Iron Pillar grumbled, stuffing the cloth bag containing the calming heart pills under his bed, out of sight, out of mind.

Wang Wu, however, was worried: "Junior Brother Wen, what should we do now? We dare not take the Medicinal Pills, and our Cultivation is already slow, this..."

The pressure was once again on Wen Youyi.

He knew that mere suspicion and fear were useless; he had to find a practical alternative to give everyone hope. Yun Zhi's warning was a crisis, but also an opportunity—it brought this small group closer and made them rely on him more strongly.

"There are always more solutions than problems." Wen Youyi took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "If the Medicinal Pills are problematic, we'll find unproblematic alternatives. If Cultivation is slow, we'll use 'clumsy methods' to maximize efficiency!"

His so-called "clumsy methods" were actually about pushing the potential of the Breathing Cache Method and "team collaboration" to their limits. He led Zhao Iron Pillar and the four others, spending almost all their time, apart from essential chores, practicing coordination and optimizing that unique breathing method.

The effect was obvious. Although their spiritual power growth was still slow, everyone clearly felt less fatigued after Cultivation, and their spirits were higher. Especially their unspoken understanding, which reached a point where a single glance was enough.

But Wen Youyi knew this was only a temporary measure. Without resources, everything was a castle in the air. They needed Spirit Stones, real Cultivation resources that hadn't been tampered with.

After finishing their work that day, Wen Youyi gathered everyone for a "group meeting."

"Brothers, we can't just rely on the Sect's monthly stipend anymore," Wen Youyi said directly. "We need to find a way to start a 'side hustle' and earn some extra cash."

"Side hustle?" Zhao Iron Pillar's eyes lit up. "Little Wen, do you have another good idea? Are we going to help sweep other courtyards? We're fast now, so someone will definitely hire us!"

Wang Wu, however, frowned: "Helping others work is fine, but we probably won't earn many Shattered Spirit Stone (broken Spirit Stones), and it will delay our own Cultivation."

Wen Youyi smiled and pulled out a few stones from behind him that had been shattered by Zhao Iron Pillar's Earth-Shaking Art during their previous "team combat" practice and secretly collected by him. These stones were irregularly shaped, yet their edges were mysteriously smooth, possessing a ruggedness that felt naturally unadorned.

"We're not helping people work." He picked up a stone and weighed it in his hand. "We're selling this."

"Selling... selling stones?" Zhao Iron Pillar's eyes widened. He reached out and touched Wen Youyi's forehead. "You don't have a fever, do you? There are tons of these broken stones on the back mountain, who would buy them?"

Wang Wu and the others were also bewildered.

Wen Youyi remained calm: "If we just sell stones, no one will want them. But what if we weave a story around them and give them a new name?"

He cleared his throat and began to bluff... no, he began to conduct "product positioning" and "marketing planning."

"Think about it, aren't these stones shattered by Brother Iron Pillar's masculine Earth-Shaking Art, and then infused with the residual spiritual power of us all? What does that mean? It means they are imbued with the aura of 'breaking through obstacles,' 'courage,' and 'unity'! For those Junior Brothers stuck at a Bottleneck, or those who are timid and need encouragement, wouldn't placing one beside them serve to 'see the stone as seeing the person,' inspiring their Dao Heart?"

Zhao Iron Pillar was stunned: "My... my Earth-Shaking Art has that effect?"

"If I say it does, it does!" Wen Youyi said with certainty. "We won't call this thing a stone, we'll call it—'Courageous Advancement Stone'! Or 'Obstacle-Breaking Lucky Stone'!"

...A silence fell over the courtyard.

Wang Wu's mouth twitched: "Junior Brother Wen, this... can this work? It sounds too mystical."

"Man proposes, God disposes." Wen Youyi was confident. "Talking alone is useless; we have to let people experience the 'benefits' first."

His plan involved several steps: First, Wang Wu, who was relatively sociable, would take a few "Advancement Stones" and "give them away for free" in the chore area and outside the lecture hall, places frequently visited by Outer Sect Disciples. He would mysteriously reveal that these were by-products of D-7 Courtyard's "team Cultivation," carrying their "essence, Qi, and spirit," and that keeping them nearby had the miraculous effects of calming the mind and boosting morale.

Second, Zhao Iron Pillar and Senior Brother Li would "casually" reveal in conversations that ever since they started using these stones, they felt more motivated during Cultivation and their coordination improved—this wasn't entirely false, as psychological effects can sometimes be very powerful.

Finally, Wen Youyi himself would take charge, using discarded talisman paper and Cinnabar to provide simple "packaging" for each stone—a handwritten "instruction manual" with Barely neat (barely legible) handwriting, detailing the stone's "origin" and "efficacy," emphasizing sincerity and mystique.

The plan didn't go smoothly at first; few people wanted them even for free, and they received many bewildered stares.

But a few days later, a turning point appeared.

An Outer Sect Disciple, who was often bullied and timid, tried placing the "Courageous Advancement Stone" given by Wang Wu at his bedside. Perhaps it was a psychological suggestion, or perhaps his luck truly turned, but the next day when he went to work, he actually mustered the courage to refuse the bullying of an old hand, and the other party, seeing him suddenly become firm, backed down instead!

Once this incident spread, coupled with Zhao Iron Pillar and the others' "personal testimonies," those initially ignored broken stones suddenly took on a mysterious aura.

People started secretly coming to Wen Youyi and his group, wanting to buy a stone to "absorb some courageous Qi."

Seeing that the time was ripe, Wen Youyi immediately announced that the "Courageous Advancement Stones" were limited in quantity and no longer free. They now required exchange for broken Spirit Stones or equivalent Materials (such as Cinnabar, blank talisman paper, or even delicious food).

The price was set very low; one Low-Grade Spirit Stone could buy several, or one could be exchanged by helping them complete a more strenuous chore task.

Small profits, quick turnover, focusing on opening channels and collecting resources.

In this way, D-7 Courtyard, by selling "concept stones," actually earned its first pot of gold—though it was only a few Low-Grade Spirit Stones and some miscellaneous Materials and food, for them, who had always been impoverished, it was a huge sum!

Holding those few smooth Spirit Stones, Zhao Iron Pillar's hands trembled: "We... we really earned Spirit Stones? By selling stones?"

Wang Wu looked at Wen Youyi, his eyes now completely filled with admiration: "Junior Brother Wen, you truly... turn stone into gold!"

Wen Youyi smiled, feeling the energy contained within the Spirit Stones, which was much purer than directly drawing from the spirit net, and his heart settled slightly.

This was just the beginning. He proved that even within this seemingly rigid system, by utilizing information asymmetry and a bit of "marketing," resources could be leveraged.

He distributed the Spirit Stones to everyone, keeping only the smallest one for himself.

"Brothers, we won't keep this money. We'll exchange it all for things useful to us!" Wen Youyi's eyes gleamed. "We need to buy real food, buy meat! To nourish our bodies! We also need to buy some basic talisman paper Materials. I think our 'Assembly Line' might be useful for more than just sweeping and fighting..."

He had a vague idea: since their spiritual power was weak but their cooperation was tacit, could they try... "Assembly Line" talisman drawing? Or creating some more practical low-level Magical Artifacts?

The scarcity of resources was forcing the nascent stage of technological explosion.

All of this was observed by a cold gaze from a distant mountainside. Yun Zhi stood beneath an ancient pine tree, looking towards D-7 Courtyard, watching those busy and vibrant figures, especially Wen Youyi, who constantly came up with various strange ideas. In her cold eyes, a faint trace of curiosity, which she herself hadn't noticed, flickered.

"Profiting from selling stones... Wen Youyi, how many more 'surprises' can you bring?"

(End of Chapter)