"So strong!"
Li Shimin stared at his unharmed fist in disbelief, his eyes filled with shock.
"This is merely the most basic Qi Training stage. Above it, there are three major realms: Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul. Each time one advances a major realm, their strength will increase by at least ten times.
The most important thing is the increase in lifespan. Each time one advances a major realm, their lifespan doubles. At the Nascent Soul level, one will have at least a thousand years of lifespan!"
"Then isn't this the legendary ancient Immortal Dao?"
Li Shimin's eyes widened instantly, and he was so excited he nearly jumped up, his gaze growing increasingly ecstatic.
One could cultivate oneself, one could extend one's lifespan—wasn't this the legendary path to immortality that all emperors pursued? It turned out that this world already had legends left behind by Xiao.
And he had actually married such a divine woman; he, Li Shimin, was truly blessed by heaven!
"Meiniang, how about we make a deal?"
Li Shimin smiled as he looked at Wu Meiniang, but the moment he opened his mouth, Wu Meiniang already guessed what he was about to say.
She gave Li Shimin an exasperated look and directly refused, "Your abacus beads are practically bouncing onto my face.
Spiritual energy is an extremely important resource, and its total amount is limited. Don't even think about getting free spiritual energy from me to build your extraordinary army!"
"What are you saying? What are you saying? What's yours and what's mine? We, husband and wife, are one. What's mine isn't yours, Meiniang?"
Seeing that soft words wouldn't work, Li Shimin began to play the emotional card. He looked at Wu Meiniang affectionately, his tone sincere and gentle.
However, Wu Meiniang was unmoved. She shook her head firmly, indicating that no meant no: "There are some rules I cannot violate. Helping you personally is one thing, but helping you build an army? Don't even think about it!"
Upon seeing this, Li Shimin, though somewhat disappointed, no longer insisted. He realized that Wu Meiniang would not easily yield.
Although he couldn't achieve the goal of an extraordinary army through Meiniang's direct means, since Meiniang repeatedly emphasized that it couldn't be free, it seemed that one could exchange for the opportunity to cultivate immortality by paying the corresponding price.
Thus, he changed his attitude and shifted to inquiring about the specific conditions for immortal cultivation: "Then, what is the price for cultivating immortality?"
Wu Meiniang smiled slightly, reminding him, "Think about it yourself, it should already be in your mind!"
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin closed his eyes and began to recall. Sure enough, a memory that did not belong to him appeared in his mind.
When Li Shimin opened his eyes, he showed a surprised expression and murmured to himself, "100 taels of gold, ten thousand catties of ore, one slot—is it that cheap?"
This greatly surprised him, because since ancient times, emperors, in their pursuit of the path of immortal cultivation and the art of eternal life, had not hesitated to spend vast sums, even leading to empty national treasuries—examples of which were numerous. Now, the cost of this immortal cultivation was so low, amounting to no more than 1,000 strings of cash in total.
Wu Meiniang explained with a smile, "After all, it's something for popular civilian use, so naturally, the price cannot be too high. This thing itself has always been free for some people, and what's free is always the most expensive."
Her tone revealed a hint of pride and confidence.
After hearing this, Li Shimin couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration.
How rare was an opportunity for immortal cultivation for ordinary people? And for Xiao to be able to popularize it among the common folk, allowing more people to benefit, was truly a remarkable feat.
However, Wu Meiniang's subsequent words made him feel a sense of unease. What did she mean by "what's free is the most expensive"?
A premonition of ill omen surged in his heart, and he couldn't help but frown.
Was there some conspiracy hidden within? Or was there a huge trap awaiting them?
He pondered secretly, his expression becoming serious.
"There's no conspiracy, only an open scheme. What's free is merely a seed of immortal cultivation, giving you hope. But immortal cultivation naturally won't stop at the most basic things.
For combat, there are package-type magical artifacts, spells, and talismans;
For cultivation, there are spirit coins to accelerate cultivation speed, and Golden Cores to improve the quality of spiritual energy.
And there are crucial methods for advancing levels. All of these require money!"
Wu Meiniang calmly soothed the somewhat agitated Li Erfeng, listing the essential items for immortal cultivation one by one.
As Wu Meiniang spoke, Li Shimin listened with a face full of horror.
He finally understood why it was said that what was free was the most expensive.
Once one embarked on the path of immortal cultivation, it meant endless effort and investment. All immortal cultivators would be endlessly exploited by Xiao.
From the most basic immortal cultivation seed to various expensive cultivation resources, every step required vast amounts of wealth.
And all of this, once one stepped onto the path of immortal cultivation, no one could refuse, nor could they refuse.
No wonder Meiniang said that what was free was the most expensive. Once someone embarked on the path of immortal cultivation, no one would ever easily give up.
If the threshold for immortal cultivation were extremely high, perhaps people would be deterred and content with being ordinary.
But the threshold was so low that anyone with an immortal affinity could enter this field.
This was like a double-edged sword, giving hope to ordinary people while also trapping them in an endless pursuit.
Thus, the biggest problem arose: what to do if one had no money?
Naturally, one would go kill, go rob~
So, who was the richest in the world?
Many people would probably think of the Li Tang Imperial Family first.
As for the Five Surnames and Seven Lineages, they were the hidden magnates behind the scenes; those of insufficient rank didn't even have the qualifications to know of their existence.
Li Shimin could already foresee countless fanatics, driven by immortal cultivation, rising in rebellion starting from today. Cold sweat instantly streamed down his back.
"What an idiot!"
Wu Meiniang looked at his anxious state and couldn't help but chuckle secretly. However, she didn't remind him, but just quietly watched Li Shimin, waiting for him to react.
"Oh dear~ It's my mistake, it's truly my mistake. Our Empress is still here—how could such a thing happen!"
Li Shimin seemed to feel Wu Meiniang's gaze, immediately slapped his forehead hard, embraced her slender body, and showered her with a string of compliments.
"Humph~" Wu Meiniang snorted triumphantly.
"Your Majesty, do you know what is the most valuable and also the most worthless thing in this world?"
Wu Meiniang asked him with a smile.
"The most valuable and also the most worthless thing?"
Li Shimin stroked his beard, pondered for a long time, and then said:
"Is it knowledge?"
"Exactly, it is knowledge. Knowledge, in the hands of those who need it, is a priceless treasure, but in the hands of those who don't need it, it's worthless.
Although I cannot arbitrarily give spiritual energy to soldiers, I possess the knowledge of the entire dimension. As long as our imperial family masters this knowledge, we will master this world."
Wu Meiniang proudly clenched her small fist, as if holding the entire world in her hand.
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