The Undying Immortal System

I sat in my house and pondered alone.

Was 'the incarnation of the Earthly Dao' trustworthy? No, obviously not.

In truth, I had no real grasp of who or what it was. Anything or everything it said could be false. The System confirmed what it said, but what did that mean? Could I even trust the System with something like this?

Asking the System didn't really address my concerns, but for now, the question of whether I could trust the Earthly Dao and the System or not was a moot point. I didn't have any other choice.

I sighed. I could deal with the Earthy Dao in the future. I had other things to focus on.

My suicidal rampage may have made the admin upset, but it netted me a large number of credits, and it was time to spend money. I knew what I wanted. I had come up with a crazy idea while working for Rudy, but I didn't know if I could afford it.

First things first.

"System, how much would it cost to move my reset point into this room?"

Relocating your reset point to this room. Cost is not possible to calculate at this time.

That was unfortunate. I didn't want to have to see Su YuanFei every time I was reborn.

I thought about what I asked for and realized I may have requested the wrong thing.

"System, how much to move my reset point ahead to this moment in time?"

Advancing your permanent reset point to the current moment. Cost 1 credit.

Note: This action cannot be reversed.

"Yeah, not too concerned with that. Still… How much would it cost to change my reset point for only my next death?

Temporary reset point. 30 credits.

So, a possibility to keep in mind, but one that was a bit too expensive.

I pulled the healing pill out of my storage and swallowed it. If I'm doing this, I might as well lock in a healed body.

Once the pill was done fixing my body, I sat down in a comfortable position.

"Alright System, change my permanent reset point to this moment."

Purchase confirmed. Cost 1 credit. 355 credits remaining.

"Okay System, next, the important one. How much to teleport to the nearest city? Somewhere a bit out of view so that my teleporting in won't cause a scene."

Teleportation to the nearest city. Cost 30 credits.

Note: The cost of teleportation is dependent on both distance and your cultivation level at the time of transit.

"Good. I just need to keep 30 credits in my pocket. Hopefully, I have enough to get what I really want."

During my stint as a pill slave, I never did anything I hadn't been instructed to do, and it was difficult to even think about things other than what I was told to think about. However, occasionally, I was able to spend some time considering what I might want to buy in the future.

I had an idea that I spent the last several decades slowly refining during a few brief moments of clarity. Rudy's house was filled with countless medicinal herbs. It was truly a shame that everything was just left there to rot. It would be better if someone were able to take care of it all. In fact, it would be even better if I could take care of an entire garden for the man.

My thoughts were forced to follow certain patterns, but the idea behind those thoughts was all my own.

"System, I'm going to need your help with this. I have a built-in storage space, right? Every reset I get that recovery pill out of it, but I can't put anything in. I want a storage space that I can put things in and take things out of."

Modified System storage space. Cost is not possible to calculate at this time.

"Alright, let's say a bag of holding. A canvas bag with a space of ten cubic meters inside where I can quickly pull things out without my arm needing to go several meters into the bag."

Basic low-level storage bag. Cost 1,000 credits.

I smiled.

"Excellent. Now, how much for such a bag that will travel with me when I reset? Maintaining all of its contents?"

Calculating… Basic low-level storage bag with time-traveling capabilities. Cost is not possible to calculate at this time.

Slightly unfortunate, but a low-level storage bag wasn't what I wanted anyway.

I needed something that would go everywhere with me, and it being a bag wouldn't have been ideal. I needed this storage space to remain safe. Where was a safe place that would travel through time with me?

"How much would it cost for a storage space the size of ten cubic meters to be created within my soul? One that would act just similar to a storage bag."

Ten-cubic-meter storage space located in host's soul. Cost 10,000,000 credits.

"What if it was only one cubic meter?"

Cost 1,000,000 credits.

Excellent! One-tenth the volume equated to one-tenth the cost.

Would it function like I wanted it to?

"How much for such a storage space that travels through time with me and retains its contents."

Cost 1,000,000 credits.

"Good. Now, I want to be able to expand this space without the System's direct assistance. I want the space set up in such a way that it is as easy as possible for me to expand while increasing the price by no more than ten times. Also, I should be able to purchase information on how to expand this space for no more than a few thousand credits."

Calculating… Specified one-cubic-meter storage space. Cost 10,000,000 credits.

"Wonderful! Let's keep going. Here are the additional features I want. It should be possible to store living creatures inside, both plants and animals. Everything inside should be subject to a similar gravity as this world, and my movements should not affect anything inside the space. Time should flow at the same rate inside as outside, but time inside should not reset when I do. Things should age continuously inside the space. I want to be able to visualize everything inside and move things around at will."

Processing… Calculating… Specified one-cubic-meter storage space. Cost 17,000,000 credits.

That was everything I had initially planned to ask for, but my plans had changed. My recent meeting with what was apparently an all-powerful being had given me a new requirement.

"I also want it isolated from the Dao. I do not want the Dao to be able to see inside or to be able to put anything inside. Only what I choose to put in this storage space should be allowed in."

This cannot be done. The System is only of the Heavenly Dao. Isolating from 'the Dao' is not possible at this time.

I didn't know enough to be sure exactly what that meant, but I could at least refine my request.

"Isolated from the Heavenly Dao and all 'Daos' under it, then."

Specified one-cubic-meter storage space. Cost 30,000,000 credits.

I couldn't help by smile and chuckle happily. I could get what I wanted, I just needed to figure out how big of a space I could afford.

"How much for a space with those same specification but only one cubic centimeter in size?"

Cost 30 credits.

"Alright, System, I want to purchase a storage space with the exact specifications discussed. However, I want its size to only be 8 cubic centimeters. It should be a cube of two centimeters in each dimension."

Cost 240 credits.

"Purchase!"

Purchase confirmed. 115 credits remaining.

Amazing, and after deducting my transportation costs, I still had 85 credits to spare! Maybe it would have been good to keep a nest egg for the future, but there was one last thing I wanted. Everything else could wait.

"System, permanently upgrade my fire affinity to peak nine-star."

Cost 75 credits. Confirm?

"Confi– wait. Not confirmed. Not confirmed. Hold off for now."

The elderly man at the affinity testing orb looked at me. "What is your name?"

"Su Fang."

"Place your hand on the orb and channel your qi into it."

I did so.

"Fire affinity. High nine-stars." The elderly man's voice sounded surprised.

"What can you tell us about the blessing you have received?"

This time, I spoke confidently. "I have been blessed in alchemy. I feel a connection to it," I said confidently.

"Are you sure?"

"I have a feeling. It is what I am meant to be doing."

The elder studied me. He looked me up and down.

"Give him the Burning Flame Mantra and send him to learn from Alchemist RuDi."

Wait… what?

Rudy looked at me. "What is your affinity?"

"High nine-star fire affinity, Master Alchemist."

Rudy looked me over, taking an extra moment when he saw the scroll in my hand. Then, he turned to the man who had brought me to his house.

"Very well, servant, I shall do what I can, but tell the elders that rotten wood cannot be carved. I accept no fault if he cannot learn."

"Of course, Master Alchemist. I will make sure they understand."

"Leave us."

The man gave another deep bow and backed his way out of the building, not turning around until after the door was closed.

Rudy pointed to the room I had lived in for years. "That will be your room. Your food will be delivered. Don't come out until you are at least Martial Disciple Level 4. Do so as quickly as you can. Don't worry about purity of qi or any of that nonsense. Alchemists can easily fix such difficulties later."

"Yes, Master Alchemist." I bowed.

"Stop. I did not give you permission to speak. You will not do so again."

I gave another deep bow and then turned to enter my room, but Rudy stopped me.

"Hold. What cultivation technique did you receive?"

"It is called the Burning Flame Mantra, Master Alchemist."

"Give it to me." He held out his hand for the technique.

After taking it, he looked it over a couple of times before speaking.

"This is trash. This technique is for fighters, not alchemists." He went to a cupboard, pulled out a new scroll, and then handed it to me. "This is the Guided Flame Mantra. It is more suitable for alchemists as it will help you better control fire qi. Now go, cultivate."

Ah, good ol' Rudy.

Of course, I did not cultivate. The first thing I did upon entering the room was make my purchase.

"System, permanently upgrade my fire affinity to peak nine-star."

Purchase confirmed. Cost 75 credits. 40 credits remaining.

Was this the best use of my limited credits? I wasn't sure. What I wanted was a reliable cultivation technique, but the System wasn't even willing to tell me the cost of one. Barring that, increasing my affinity was the only idea I had that could help me at the moment.

I sat in my room and waited until night fell. Having not cultivated, I couldn't feel too much of a difference from having my upgraded affinity, but it would still be helpful for the evening's activities.

When I judged the time to be around midnight, I snuck out of my room and grabbed a few peonies. Then, I ducked into the storage room and grabbed a couple of jade bottles. Finally, I headed to the pill room.

Peonies are large, relatively speaking. My brand-new storage space was tiny. Even if I crushed a peony down as small as possible, it would not fit inside the limited space I had available.

However, I could change it into something that isn't very large. I could turn it into something that was rather tiny in comparison to the flower itself. A pill.

I was as careful as possible. Without having cultivated, I couldn't use qi. I had to rely only on controlling the pill furnace's natural flame.

The first pill I made was High-Purity. After that, I was able to make two more Mid-Purity pills. After that, I no longer had the mental energy needed to control the flames.

I had three pills. It would have to do. I wasn't willing to stay in the Su Clan any longer than I had to.

I placed the two Mid-Purity pills in storage bottles and tucked them into my robe.

I pulled the High-Purity pill directly into my storage space. It should have been put into a jade bottle first since the jade would help maintain the pill's medicinal energy. Being put directly into my storage space wasn't ideal, but it would have to do. Jade bottles were way too large to fit. In the future, I could look at acquiring a thin jade sheath to surround a pill while still fitting inside the limited space I had available, but that would have to wait.

"System, teleport me to the nearest town."

Cost 30 credits. Confirm?

"Yes!"

Purchase confirmed. 10 credits remaining.

Initiating Teleport.