Global Dungeon: I Can See the Status Bar

Lu Wenwu glanced with the Eye of True Sight and said dismissively, ”Come on, buddy, you’re way too stingy. You have no sense of sustainable development. No wonder you haven’t been able to successfully revive all these years.”

Stone Tablet: ”???”

Though the stone tablet had no expression, Lu Wenwu seemed to see through it and detect the confused look on its face.

Lu Wenwu continued to mutter to himself, ”You, tricking people into becoming materials for your revival and rebirth, could at least show some sincerity, right? Take a look at this ragged inheritance of yours. What kind of riffraff have come here?”

”I mean, back when you were alive, you were a respectable person in the Divinity Transformation Realm. On the verge of death, you set up this contraption in hopes of reviving, yet you only kill small fry in Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and at best Golden Core Stage? Aren’t you embarrassed?”

”You really should have strategized to lure in some Nascent Soul Stage Celestial Prides to be considered qualified, right? Relying purely on chance like this, you’ll never revive before your residual soul dissipates!”

”If you don’t sacrifice something, you won’t catch any wolves, you know?”

”No foresight at all, no wonder you can’t revive.”

Venerable Yougu’s residual soul couldn’t help but grumble internally, ”You speak so lightly. I have already spent all my wealth just to preserve this trace of my soul from being extinguished; what virtue or ability do I have to attract Nascent Soul Stage Celestial Prides?”

”Master Wu is in a good mood today, so I’ll teach you something. Watch and learn carefully, I’m only going to say it once.”

Lu Wenwu took a small stool from his backpack, sat down amidst the scattered limbs, and also took out two egg-filled pancakes to eat.

Having been in the Cultivation Realm for quite a while, it was finally time to seriously enjoy some good food, truly a rare moment!

After devouring the pancakes in a few bites, and leisurely sipping on a frosty blueberry juice, Lu Wenwu finally settled down, exhaling deeply.

”You don’t seem worried that I might kill you here. Instead, you’re interested in doing this sort of thing?” the red stone tablet asked curiously, ”Someone at Qi Refining Great Perfection wouldn’t have such courage.”

”Don’t pry into Master Wu’s affairs. Just sit tight and listen to the lecture.”

Lu Wenwu was indeed in a good mood, with a beaming face, draping an arm over the red stone tablet as if they were comrades.

”Look, to mold yourself a body, what do you need?”

The red stone tablet answered honestly, ”Flesh, Life Energy, and if that doesn’t work, some soul extracts to nourish the Primordial Spirit, to repair it so I can possess a body and reincarnate.”

”Very ordinary stuff, seems like you didn’t die of old age.”

Lu Wenwu easily inferred the cause of the other’s death, stroking his chin and taking another sip of blueberry juice.

”Let me think, building such a complete ’Inheritance Cave Mansion’ before dying means you had plenty of goodies, right? Where are those treasures? I doubt you used all of them to build this Cave Mansion.”

The red stone tablet remained silent.

But even just thinking with an egg-filled pancake, anyone would know that he’s surely hoarding them as his starting funds post-revival.

So Lu Wenwu didn’t press on, just continued, ”Your scope is too narrow. All these useless cultivation techniques and Divine Techniques, and many are even wrong.”

”Even fishermen know to use big baits and heavy nests, yet you expect to catch a wolf empty-handed with this crap? If it were you at the Nascent Soul Stage, would you be willing to come in for this?”

The red stone tablet fell silent.

Thinking carefully, what Lu Wenwu said seemed very reasonable.

Though unwilling to admit it, it truly was the case.

Lu Wenwu continued, ”If I were you, I’d spend tens of thousands of Spirit Stones at my last breath, hiring many Qi Refining Loose Cultivators to spread the word in loose cultivator cities, and simultaneously print hundreds of treasure maps and scatter them across the world to advertise your fishing spot.”

”You can’t just build a nest without letting the fish know there’s food; otherwise it’s built in vain. Just like your current situation, relying solely on luck, how many generations would it take?”

The red stone tablet seemed to ponder.

It indeed suffered from this mistake, burying itself and foolishly waiting here, all these years, and this was only the second batch of cultivators to arrive.

After the promotion, don’t open this Cave Mansion every year; you must leave time to buffer and add many restrictions to the Cave Mansion to prevent cultivators from violently breaking through.”

”During the promotion, don’t exaggerate too much, but also don’t skimp on resources. It’s best to offer something that Nascent Soul cultivators cannot refuse but useless to Divinity Transformation cultivators—like the Divinity Communication Pill that increases advancement probability.”

”Also, offer essential items for low-tier cultivators to attract low-tier talented cultivators, and separate them into different tracks for varied difficulty tests before the final checkpoint.”

”Once your Secret Realm’s reputation is out, many cultivators will come in hopes of instant success, dreaming of becoming the fortunate one.”

”At this point, don’t let immediate profits cloud your judgment; limit the number of entrants, preferably no more than thirty at a time, opening it every five to ten years. It’s the limited access that’s most enticing.”

”Additionally, require each person to submit a treasure or equivalent Spirit Stones as a ticket before entering, with ticket prices set according to their realm. Higher realm ones pay more, lower pay less; it’s justified as—investing in young talents.”

The red stone tablet understood the need for better-quality treasures, as previously discussed.

But why require everyone to submit a treasure before entering and limit numbers?

Why would people still enter if they haven’t gained anything yet but already have to give something up?

It didn’t understand, so it asked.

”Truly a waste of effort, I really doubt how you reached Divinity Transformation,”

Lu Wenwu looked exasperated.

”Think about it yourself. Is there anyone who has reached Nascent Soul Stage that believes in free lunches? The more you charge, the more authentic your inheritance will seem, for selecting talents and eliminating mediocrity.”

”Who would believe the dead covet their treasures?”

”They’ll imagine it as a test for personality from the elder and gladly hand them over.”

”Moreover, this is all prepared for sustainable development.”

”Think about it yourself, just how many times can you sustain the costs with your limited resources? How many years can the restrictions and arrays last without damage? After several rounds, if your Cave Mansion is emptied, who would still come?”

”If you change the Cave Mansion rule to—reward all accumulated Magical Treasures to the final inheritor, think the outside cultivators won’t go wild? When you show such selflessness, who would doubt among those participating in the trial?”

”Participating in ancient cultivator inheritance trials, dying accidentally during the trial, or failing the trial content resulting in death, are pretty common occurrences, aren’t they?”

The red stone tablet was dumbstruck.

The trace of residual soul looked at Lu Wenwu’s expression, now seeing him as akin to a god.

If it were him, he surely would have taken a gamble back then too.

This mastery of human psychology, the irresistible open strategy, even Righteous Cultivators couldn’t resist!

”Brilliant, absolutely brilliant, my admiration for you is as towering as mountains. If I’d met you while alive, I might have revived within a hundred years!”

The red stone tablet sincerely praised, full of reverence.

”Beyond this, each time, don’t let them pass the final trial, that’s just a façade. In reality, secretly eliminating a few each time, continually attracting those...”

”Absolutely wrong!”

Lu Wenwu looked at the stone tablet as if beholding an idiot.

”Such wasted effort, you don’t even grasp the essence of long-term strategies. How many times have I stressed this—to be willing to invest! To understand sustainable development! If you offer nothing in return, who will come in the future?”

The red stone tablet was far humbler this time, quickly asking in a low voice, ”Forgive my ignorance, I humbly plead for enlightenment from the master.”