Chapter 48: Passing Time With You

"Hoo..."

Today's cultivation goal is complete.

Chen Shu felt both exhausted and satisfied.

Feeling the abundant Spirit Power within his Spirit Sea, he endured the fatigue, took out the Crystal again, and injected approximately 94% of his Spirit Power into it, leaving only 6%.

At this point, the Spirit Sea already showed signs of inward contraction due to the depletion of Spirit Power and was also slightly damaged; when it recovers, it will have an "over-compensation" mechanism like muscles—and then the Spirit Sea will be a little stronger than before, which helps to improve the Spirit Power Quality and, in turn, helps to break through the Spirit Lock during advancement.

This is an old method—

Thousands of years ago, people began to assist their cultivation by emptying their Spirit Power, calling it the Depletion Method.

It can be considered a small cultivation trick.

Later, people discovered that emptying the Spirit Power completely was actually not very good, as it would cause more severe damage to the Spirit Sea and make recovery difficult.

At the same time, when the Spirit Sea is in a state of complete depletion, it will automatically draw Spirit Power from other parts of the body; the small amount of Spirit Power originally dispersed throughout the limbs and bones will flow back to the Spirit Sea, and the body, which has been strengthened by Spirit Power and has long been accustomed to it, will suddenly lose that support, becoming extremely weak, and in severe cases, symptoms similar to a weakened version of Spirit Decay will appear, leading to damage to bodily functions.

Not only is it uncomfortable, but it also requires a certain recovery period.

It actually delays cultivation instead.

Therefore, after experimentation, later generations found a middle value with the best cost-effectiveness, which varies from person to person, roughly leaving about 5% to 10% of Spirit Power.

In modern times, the principle remains the same, but the techniques have changed somewhat.

There are more scientific formulas to calculate the optimal amount of Spirit Power for each person to leave behind, and there are specialized devices for absorbing Spirit Power, so one no longer has to foolishly cast spells continuously.

Chen Shu, however, has always used the Crystal.

The Crystal stores a strange kind of energy that seems very high-level; this energy replenishes automatically, and using the Crystal for teleportation consumes a certain amount of it. Yet, when Chen Shu injects Spirit Power into it, it accepts everything, but this Spirit Power causes no ripples at all, as if it is of no help to its recharging.

"Sigh..."

Chen Shu sighed.

His own cultivation speed is just too fast; at this rate, it won't be long before he has to buy potions again.

This time it is an Intermediate Stage advancement Auxiliary Potion.

The price is about the same as the potion for breaking through from Second Tier to Third Tier, but when breaking through the Intermediate Stage, the potion no longer plays a decisive role and can only serve as a good auxiliary—this also means that if one cannot succeed in one go, one must buy another bottle.

Good heavens.

Earning money can't keep up with the speed of cultivation.

It is truly troublesome.

Time to sleep.

Waking up the next day, he felt refreshed.

After Chen Shu finished washing up, he came to the kitchen and took a peek; the bowls had already been washed clean. After asking Jiang Lai, he learned that it wasn't Jiang Lai who washed them, but Meng Chunqiu.

Really now—

Brother Meng's hands are meant for wielding brushes and ink to write eternal masterpieces; how could he do such things?

It saved me some effort!

Chen Shu went out happily.

One o'clock in the afternoon.

In Ning Qing's small courtyard.

The two had already eaten lunch, but they were still sitting on either side of the rectangular dining table. Ning Qing stretched out her hand and gave it to Chen Shu to hold.

Her hands were soft and delicate.

Applying softener;

Steel pusher treatment;

Trimming;

Wiping with a cleaning cotton pad;

Sanding with a file;

Cleaning and buffing the nail surface with a sponge buffer;

Wiping clean;

The preparatory work was almost finished by this point. Chen Shu blew on her hand, held her fingers, and gently squeezed them.

My, how soft.

Ning Qing looked at him in silence.

This step was undoubtedly unnecessary; this person was just playing with her hand, yet he did it so naturally, as if it were meant to be this way.

Applying a thin layer of base coat;

Adjustable light-curing technique, set to long-wave ultraviolet, irradiated for about one minute.

Applying reinforcing gel;

Continuing to irradiate for one minute.

Only then did he begin to apply the color gel.

Chen Shu chose an ice-translucent color gel, applying two thin layers, both of which needed to be irradiated with ultraviolet light. Then he took out a bottle of nail art gel and used a liner brush to gradually draw the shape of a withered tree on Ning Qing's nails.

This process was the one that truly tested his skills.

Ning Qing let him fiddle with her nails, her eyelids slightly lifted as she looked at his face.

At this moment, Chen Shu was quieter than usual, as if he had even lightened his breathing, his face full of focus, as if he were meticulously polishing a piece of art.

Soon, the withered tree took shape.

It was as if a painting had been drawn on the tiny nail: a tree reflected on the surface of a clear lake, quiet and solitary.

"Hey!"

Gazing at this work, he seemed very satisfied as well.

At this moment, this person relaxed slightly, and his words began to increase, saying with some surprise: "Eh, your heart didn't move today! Hmm? Is a boy doing your nails not charming enough?"

Ning Qing was naturally silent and did not speak.

"Or is it that your heart has already moved, but since 'things shouldn't happen more than three times,' you are pretending not to speak?

"Oh, it's just..."

This person talked to himself and was intoxicated by it: "It seems you have indeed found the correct way to get along with me..."

While speaking, he applied a top coat to the nails.

"What should I draw on this nail?

"How about a poop?

"Not speaking means you agree.

"Good, you agreed.

"Tsk tsk, I couldn't tell you liked this kind of thing.

"Then I'm starting!"

There was not the slightest ripple in Ning Qing's heart.

This person really drew a poop on the index finger of her left hand, and drew it quite vividly, with three wisps of heat rising from it.

Ning Qing still let him be.

For the next nail, Chen Shu still used colored painting gel to draw, painting simple hill patterns; because it was milky white colored painting gel, it looked like layers of snow-capped mountains.

Another nail had an ornament glued on.

It was still a base of ice-clear colored gel, just a different color, then he used a glittery nail polish with many small stars to randomly layer it a few times to finish the base color, and finally used tweezers to carefully pick up a Crystal butterfly ornament bought online and glued it on with rhinestone glue.

The last one was done with the currently popular pleated texture, drawing a small daisy pattern, which would have a very three-dimensional feel, and gluing on a row of small pearls, which was especially beautiful.

This was something he had only learned by following online tutorials last week.

Ning Qing was already resting her chin on her hand.

This process was truly tedious, requiring many tools, wasting a lot of time, and needing a lot of patience and focus. If she were to do it herself, she would not be willing to waste time on this, and she was not the least bit interested in whether her nails looked good or not, and was even unwilling to keep long nails.

But Chen Shu was willing to spend time on this, willing to use all sorts of strange and gaudy ways to decorate her; he seemed very interested in this.

As it happened, she was very willing to spend time with Chen Shu.

She was also interested in this.

Chen Shu at this moment was truly charming.

Before she knew it, it was already mid-afternoon.

Chen Shu was performing the final step, applying cuticle oil to moisturize the skin.

"Done!"

Chen Shu grabbed Ning Qing's hand, had her spread her fingers, and looked at these beautiful nails, filled with a sense of accomplishment.

Then he squeezed her fingers—

It seemed even more comfortable than before!

Ning Qing also took a few extra looks, and just as she was about to pull her hand back, she was stopped by Chen Shu again:

"I'm taking a photo."

Ning Qing then did not move again.

Chen Shu raised his Mobile Phone, aimed it at her hand, found several different angles, posed her hand in different positions, and took several shots in a row.

Ning Qing's hands were very beautiful, her fingers slender and graceful, her skin delicate, at the level of being a hand model; not only was it comfortable to squeeze, but the photos taken were also extremely beautiful.

"Beautiful!"

After Chen Shu finished saying this, he didn't forget to add: "Of course, it's still because my craftsmanship is good."

Ning Qing pulled her hand back from his, and placed it before her eyes to examine it carefully.

Mainly looking at the index finger...

If she were not practicing Jingxin Dao, she would definitely hit him.

As for Chen Shu, before putting away these complex tools and nail polishes, he took another photo to illustrate how arduous this process was.

Then he opened the Ancient Cultivation Group.

Qingcai Keke: What are the senior brothers doing?

Grandma Always Says: Thinking about how to make money / chin-resting

Nameless Person: I am so bored, no one is talking to me! Junior Sister Qingcai, what are you doing?

Qingcai Keke: Just finished doing my nails

Qingcai Keke: 【Image】

He sent the last photo of the tools, but did not send a photo of the finished product.

Grandma Always Says: Can't understand it at all / yawn

Nameless Person: Junior Sister Qingcai has such elegant interests! / thumbs up

Grandma Always Says: Group owner, group owner, big boss group owner, are there any good ways to make money? The kind that is easy and makes big money, share some

Qingcai Keke: There are many in the Criminal Law

Nameless Person: Junior Sister Qingcai is truly humorous! / thumbs up

Chen Shu could not help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

This person is a bit interesting...

Qingcai Keke: Thank you for the compliment, Senior Brother Nameless / shy

Nameless Person: You're welcome! / smile

"..."

Even someone as eloquent as Chen Shu found it difficult to respond for a moment.

At this moment, the group owner popped up.

Haoran: Have.

Grandma Always Says: Give me some, give me some.

Haoran: Are you very short on money? What do you need money for?

Grandma Always Says: How could I not be short on money? I'm really short on money lately. I found a channel and want to buy some detailed information about the Royal Court, it's so expensive.

Haoran: Royal Court.

Grandma Always Says: Oh, it's all the same. My input method is just like that, don't worry about those details, hurry up and help me get money.

Haoran: I can't help with that.

Grandma Always Says: Fine, I'm about to advance, I need to stock up on a bunch of advancement potions. I reckon it'll take quite a few tries to succeed, I'm so short on money, hurry up and help me get money.

Chen Shu observed secretly in front of his Mobile Phone screen.

Haoran: Call me Big Brother.

It actually works?

Chen Shu couldn't hold back anymore.

Qingcai Keke: I want some too, I want some too.

Haoran: Call me Big Brother.

Qingcai Keke: Big Brother.

Having an alias is great; there's no psychological burden at all.

Haoran has invited you to a private chat.

Accept/Decline

Chen Shu clicked accept without hesitation.

Immediately, it jumped to a separate chat window; this was different from the operation of ordinary chat software.

Haoran: Qingzhou Spirit Power.

Haoran: Buy this stock as soon as possible, decide for yourself when to sell, it's a guaranteed profit, how much you earn depends on your own ability.

Haoran has exited the private chat.

Chen Shu looked at these two messages, stunned for a moment, then exited as well.

Grandma Always Says: I was clearly here first.

Grandma Always Says: Big Brother!

Grandma Always Says: Big Brother!?

Grandma Always Says: Great Uncle!!

Haoran and Qingcai Keke have ended the private chat.

Haoran has invited Grandma Always Says to a private chat.

Chen Shu was stunned again when he saw this notification; does everyone in the group receive a notification when someone has a private chat?

This kind of design is quite rare.

He checked this stock while he was at it.

Qingzhou Spirit Power, the main sectors involved are Spirit Power, energy conservation and environmental protection, and artificial Spirit Crystal. Its main business is producing and supplying spirit power, and it also involves the research and manufacturing of artificial Spirit Crystal, but its market value is not large because its philosophy is to extract spirit power from the natural world in a more environmentally friendly way, which is a bit unconventional, the cost is slightly high, and the competitiveness is not strong.

After checking, he returned to the Ancient Cultivation Group.

Haoran and Grandma Always Says have ended the private chat.

Grandma Always Says: You're a stand-up guy.

Grandma Always Says: These five stocks, as long as one of them makes big money, I will be eternally grateful.

Qingcai Keke:?

Qingcai Keke: Five?

Is it too late for me to change what I call you to Great Uncle now?