Chapter 13: The Path to Making Money

After Chen Xian finished reading the information about the Mother of Information-Stealing Bugs, surprise flashed across his face.

The Mother of Information-Stealing Bugs, as its name suggests, was primarily used to steal information. More precisely, it was the offspring produced by the Mother, the bugs themselves, that stole information. These bugs could attach themselves to a location or to another living being without being detected, secretly transmitting information back to the person who possessed the Mother. The Mother of Information-Stealing Bugs came in different grades, ranked from lowest to highest as Red Mother, Orange Mother, Yellow Mother, Green Mother, and so on. The higher the grade of the Mother, the higher the grade of the offspring, which could cling to powerful beings without being discovered. High-level bugs could even merge into a being’s soul, continuously stealing secrets for their owner. Moreover, the more powerful the bug, the greater the distance over which it could transmit information.

The Mother of Information-Stealing Bugs increased its level and produced offspring by devouring spiritual energy and other forms of power. Chen Xian knew that producing offspring required a large amount of spiritual energy, so for the time being, he refrained from feeding it the hard-earned energy he had cultivated. He had other uses for that energy.

“It seems I won’t be able to produce offspring in the short term,” Chen Xian sighed helplessly. He had originally hoped to produce one of these bugs, sneak it into Captain Fang Jing’s office at the North City Police Station, or even on her person. That way, whenever there was a police incident, he would receive the news immediately and rush out to subdue criminals, earning mysterious attack energy to nurture his strange tree’s fruit.

Although Chen Xian had suggested to Fang Jing that she call on him to help catch thieves, he felt she had only agreed offhandedly and would not actually summon him.

He began to contemplate his future plans. Now, with the mysterious strange tree, the Mortal Chapter of the Supreme Chaos Sutra, the Dragon Elephant Divine Fist, the Secret Method of Divine Thought Manipulation, and the Mother of Information-Stealing Bugs, he was set to embark on a path entirely different from that of ordinary people.

Chen Xian had already stepped onto the road of spiritual cultivation, a path that, if followed to its limit, would mean roaming the universe at will, invincible through the ages, undying and immortal, becoming an eternal god. From now on, everything must serve the purpose of continuously increasing his cultivation and becoming the strongest.

Delivering food was no longer suitable for Chen Xian; he decided to quit his part-time job.

To quickly improve his cultivation, merely relying on the scarce, almost negligible spiritual energy in the world would never suffice. He needed to earn vast sums of money to purchase the flesh and blood of other creatures for his training.

Thus, his most important task now was to make money—a lot of money.

“But how can I earn big money?”

Chen Xian racked his brain, but after thinking for quite some time, he still found no answer. He took out his phone and searched online for ways to make money.

“A certain beautiful woman quit her job and earns money with her phone; her first month’s income stunned her parents.”
“Unknown ways to make money—a certain someone earns tens of thousands a month with a phone…”
“…”

After browsing for a while, Chen Xian found that most of these online money-making methods were either unfeasible or outright scams. Those that were feasible could not possibly meet his needs. In the end, he put down his phone in frustration, pondering silently how to make big money.

“Spiritual energy can heal people—could I make money from that?”
“But ordinary people wouldn’t believe me at all.”
“Spiritual energy nourishes life, so it should also work for plants and animals, right?”

Chen Xian would occasionally wander through the flower and bird market, admiring the beautiful flora and fauna that lifted his spirits. He knew some rare orchids sold for hundreds of thousands, even millions per pot, and some prized ornamental fish fetched prices in the millions.

These valuable orchids and fish, while precious, were also exceptionally delicate—if not cared for properly, they could easily fall ill or die. Chen Xian had seen customers carrying pots of rare orchids worth millions, about to wither, seeking help from market shop owners and offering huge sums.

However, when these rare plants or fish faced serious problems, even experienced caretakers could do nothing, and could only watch these treasures die and fade away.

“If my spiritual energy could be used to heal plants and animals, I could make a fortune,” Chen Xian murmured.

He looked toward the windowsill and spotted a withered spider plant—one that Zhang Xiaoshuai had bought. However, since acquiring it, Zhang Xiaoshuai hadn’t cared for it at all, and so it had died.

Chen Xian approached the pot, gently touched the dry roots with his fingertip, and drew a tiny thread of spiritual energy from his spiritual wheel space, injecting it into the spider plant.

At first, there was no response; the spider plant remained withered, devoid of life.

“Could it be that spiritual energy has no effect?” Chen Xian frowned, sighing, “Looks like this avenue for wealth is closed!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than something extraordinary happened.

A faint sound came from the flowerpot, and Chen Xian quickly bent down to look.

He saw pure white roots spreading throughout the soil, filling the entire pot. The once withered leaves turned lush and green as if by magic, plumping up, and new leaves began to sprout. Buds appeared, and soon the blossoms opened, filling the room with a delicate fragrance.

Vibrant life flourished, instantly infusing the space with the freshness of spring.

Chen Xian gazed at the spider plant—not only revived but growing even more vigorously—and joy shone in his eyes. He muttered, “Amazing, truly amazing!”

He had used only a tiny bit of spiritual energy, barely a millimeter’s width.

Chen Xian picked up the spider plant, now like a piece of green jade, examined it carefully, and mused, “It seems even the quality of the plant has changed.”

After a long while, he put the spider plant down.

He went straight downstairs, hopped onto his little scooter, and headed for the flower and bird market in H City.

Chen Xian decided to try his luck and see if anyone brought withered rare orchids or valuable ornamental insects and fish for treatment. If so, he would take the job and make a tidy profit.

The flower and bird market in H City was some distance from the university town; it took Chen Xian nearly an hour to get there on his little scooter.

It was Saturday, so the market was bustling, filled with visitors.

The market occupied three floors: the first and second sold ordinary plants, birds, insects, fish, and antiques; the third was the premium section, trading in rare and valuable flora and fauna.

Chen Xian didn’t even enter the shops selling cheap plants and animals, knowing there was no money to be made there.

He bypassed the first and second floors, heading straight to the third.

Since everything in the third floor was expensive and not affordable for ordinary people, it was much quieter than the lower levels. However, those who came were all impeccably dressed, carrying designer bags.

Stepping off the elevator, Chen Xian was immediately greeted by a shop called “Orchid Pavilion.” Its shelves were lined with exquisite orchids and bonsai—one glance told him these were no ordinary goods.

Suddenly, Chen Xian’s eyes lit up; he spotted two familiar faces inside Orchid Pavilion.