NABC Chapter 17 'The Treasure Pavilion'
Chapter 17 'The Treasure Pavilion'
"Oh? Hua Zi?"
When Old Li saw the cigarette brand, his eyes lit up, and without hesitation, he took the cigarette and lit it.
"Wow, young master! You've upgraded from a slingshot to a cannon?"
He took a satisfying drag and joked, "You've switched to smoking Huazhi now? Looks like you're pretty good at it!"
"Your company's benefits aren't as 'unbearable' as you say."
He winked, giving me a knowing look.
He mistakenly believed that Jiang Heng was "profiting" from the company.
But this is quite normal.
"Master Li, please don't make fun of me!"
Jiang Heng shook his head. "I went out to do some business yesterday to help an older guy out. He gave it to me..."
The two stood on the cool lawn in the early morning, having nothing else to do, smoking and chatting about everyday matters.
Jiang Heng only smiled and said goodbye to Lao Li after confirming that there were no other tasks and seeing that it was almost time for work.
Your connection with the Heavenly Craftsmen and Water Department has deepened.
……
Step into office building No. 3, take the elevator, and clock in for work.
As Jiang Heng walked toward his workstation, he habitually put one hand in his pocket, holding the spirit stone that had been with him for many days in his palm.
However, Chen Linyu did not arrive early today.
The spirit stones in his pocket, once warm to the touch and cool to the touch, are now almost gone.
When Jiang Heng arrived at his workstation, he hadn't even sat down for a few minutes before he had completely absorbed all the spiritual energy.
Jiang Heng glanced at the camera in the corner of the wall and then took out the spirit stone from under the table.
The once azure spirit stone has now become an ordinary gray stone.
The low-level water-attribute spirit stones you possess have exhausted their spiritual energy.
Combat Power: 2.51
After reviewing my 'Combat Power' and 'Spirit Stones Exhausted' indicators.
A sense of melancholy emptiness welled up in Jiang Heng's heart, along with a strong desire for power.
Thinking back to yesterday's exhilarating experience of "moving steel pipes as if they were nothing," it was all built upon "spiritual stones and spiritual energy."
Jiang Heng suddenly felt a kind of "spirit stone anxiety".
"I haven't acquired any spirit stones these past two days, but I've completed some spiritual root tasks... some tasks to 'lay the foundation for my growth'..."
But ultimately, even if you've grown and developed a spiritual root, without a spirit stone, it's all for nothing...
Jiang Heng did not deny that he was feeling somewhat anxious.
"And the current source of spirit stones..."
Jiang Heng was making plans.
"It will be 3 days before Little Coal Ball produces 'Low-Grade Yin Profound Qi'... This is too far to solve the immediate problem."
There are still 26 days until I can receive my company salary... I'm really looking forward to it...
Especially considering the current environmental spiritual energy concentration is 0.006%, it has only increased by 0.001% in the last two days?
The true revival of spiritual energy will truly take until the next century, I'm not kidding...
But I need the spirit stones right now!
"Only with spirit stones in hand can I steadily improve..."
Jiang Heng anxiously pondered the situation, his gaze darting around before finally settling on the tightly closed office door of "Manager Zhang Li".
"If I proactively seek out business and tasks from my manager, will it trigger a notification on the dashboard?"
Filled with curiosity and anticipation, Jiang Heng took a deep breath, suppressing the anxiety brought on by the depletion of spirit stones.
This time, without waiting for the 'clack-clack-clack' of high heels.
Amidst the surprised gazes of some colleagues, Jiang Heng took the initiative to walk to the door of "Manager Zhang, who likes to cause trouble" and knocked on the door.
Knock knock—
"Enter."
Inside, it was still Manager Zhang Li's cold, emotionless voice.
Jiang Heng pushed open the door and entered, and saw that Zhang Li was not frowning at the computer this time, but frowning at a document on the table.
"Manager Zhang."
Jiang Heng cut to the chase, "Is there anything you need me to do?"
When Zhang Li heard Jiang Heng's voice, she looked up and, upon seeing that it was Jiang Heng, her delicate willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed even more.
Why isn't he slacking off anymore? He's even...voluntarily taking on work?
There was an absurd, almost ghostly, look in her eyes when she looked at Jiang Heng.
Although she was somewhat impressed with Jiang Heng yesterday, she had dealt with many people over the years and knew that a person's character and behavior were not so easily changed.
"Jiang Heng?"
Even then, her voice still carried a hint of uncertainty, "What...are you going to do?"
"It's just work-related stuff at the company." Jiang Heng pointed to the door. "Everyone seems pretty busy today, but I don't have much to do."
"Manager Zhang, is there anything I can help with? Like running errands, tracking orders, or negotiating business—anything is fine."
"Um……"
Zhang Li looked thoughtful, staring at Jiang Heng for several seconds before suddenly smiling, which was quite unusual for her.
"Whatever his whims, just be practical... Looks like he took my 'Keep it up, do your best' advice to him yesterday..."
This young man seems pretty good now...
As she was thinking to herself, she casually pulled out a blue-covered document from a stack of folders on the corner of the table.
"There's something I really need to do."
She didn't get up, but instead pushed the documents onto the table in front of Jiang Heng.
Yesterday, a batch of welded pipes arrived at the third phase construction site of "Qingshui Bieyuan" in the east of the city, but the specifications didn't quite match.
The site supervisor there insisted that the goods we delivered were 0.3 millimeters too thin and demanded a return.
Zhang Li gestured for Jiang Heng to open the document while giving a brief explanation.
"Now the supervisor is adamant about withdrawing the payment."
Our factory says that we strictly follow the specifications they provide.
The purchasing department at the construction site couldn't explain things clearly for a long time.
Here's what we'll do: go to the construction site now and see what's going on.
Take more photos of the scene and see if you can communicate with their "Supervisor Zhou" to resolve this issue.
Seeing your earnest quest for the Dao, Elder Zhang Li of the sect offered to experience the mortal world. Noticing that the sect had an unresolved matter in the secular realm, she immediately bestowed upon you a "Mysterious Iron Patrol Order."
[Mission: Represent the sect on a journey to the mortal realm, to the 'Water Spirit's New Residence', to investigate the discrepancy in the 'Mysterious Iron Refined Tube', to quell the anger of 'Zhou, the Supervisor of the Earth's Garrison', and to ensure the sect's supply of spiritual materials.]
[Task Rewards: Five taels of silver, +50 sect contribution points]
[Notification: You have activated the exchange privileges for the sect's "Linlang Pavilion"]
"It really can trigger a mission on its own..."
Jiang Heng was initially delighted, gaining a deeper understanding of the 'panel' and 'sect', but he was also curious about the newly appeared 'vocabulary'.
"Contribution points? And... the Linglang Pavilion is open? What's that?"
Jiang Heng, seeing this novel vocabulary, paused for a few seconds to express his curiosity, then picked up the document and said to Manager Zhang:
"Then I'll go first, Manager Zhang."
I stepped out of the office.
Driven by curiosity, Jiang Heng immediately looked towards the lower right corner of his field of vision.
There is a brand new 'treasure chest' icon on the edge of the panel.
Focus your attention on that new icon.
The icon was clicked instantly, and a gate with an antique style appeared before my eyes.
Above the main gate are four large, elegantly written characters.
【Linglang Treasure Pavilion】
As the door opened, Jiang Heng felt as if he had entered a treasure trove.
Although you can only view it from the outermost edge, all you can see is a dazzling array of spirit stones.
[Low-grade water-attribute spirit stone: Contains pure water elemental energy, which can help cultivators temper their bodies, condense their qi, and stabilize their foundation. Sect contribution points: 50 points]
[Low-grade Yin-attribute Spirit Stone: Contains pure Yin energy, nourishes Yin meridians, and enhances the spirit. Sect Contribution Points: 50]
[Low-grade Metal Spirit Stone: Contains the sharp energy of Geng metal, tempering muscles, bones, and skin, its potential is beginning to emerge. Exchange: Sect Contribution Points: 50]
[Note: The quality of spirit stones will increase as your status level increases.]
Upon seeing these, Jiang Heng found himself unable to look away.
It's not just spirit stones.
There were also some low-grade talisman paper, inferior cinnabar, basic formation, and century-old ginseng around.
However, their prices range from several hundred to several thousand, which is much more expensive than spirit stones.
But at this moment, the appearance of the "Linglang Treasure Pavilion" seemed to have opened a new door to cultivation for Jiang Heng.
"One spirit stone only costs fifty points... one quest gives you fifty points..."
Jiang Heng felt a surge of excitement, and his steps as he left the sect seemed to carry even more power.
"Liver! I'm not saying anything more!"
It all boils down to one word: "Grind!"
One task, one spirit stone.
Ten tasks will allow me to cultivate without worry for twenty days…”
At this moment, with a goal in mind, Jiang Heng's resolve was unwavering.
Their only focus was on "Grinding contribution points! Exchanging them for spirit stones! Becoming stronger!"