In contrast to other cultivators, Bubai used his mysterious space as his "dantian" and didn't naturally store his Qi in his real dantian.

Consequently, his real dantian lacked the continual nourishment that normal cultivators enjoyed from having their dantian consistently interacting with the Qi it stored.

The only time his real dantian received any nourishment was when Bubai employed his green Qi to clear his mind.

However, no matter how frequently he did this, it couldn't compensate for the fact that his real dantian seemed like a parched man in a desert, perpetually absorbing his green Qi to quench its thirst whenever given the chance.

On the surface, this might not appear problematic. Bubai could effortlessly control his green Qi and drive it out from the dantian.

In fact, it might even seem advantageous, as the underlying implication was that his dantian was unwittingly strengthened by his mysterious green Qi every time, with the additional convenience of cleansing his mind.

At first glance, Bubai's concerns seemed superfluous. However, he understood the buried truth.

While his real dantian's greed for his green Qi might not pose an immediate issue, an unstable factor such as this could become a fatal weakness in the long term.

Imagine… In the heat of a crucial battle, he may be required to utilize a cultivation skill requiring multiple strands of Qi, a scenario bound to occur in the future. However, he would probably not have the leisure to divert his focus.

At that moment, when he instinctively brings the green Qi out from his mysterious space, this issue will come back to bite him.

Without concentrated control, his thirsty dantian might voraciously consume his Qi, resulting in a failure to execute the skill and with a high probability of leading to defeat in battle, which could possibly mean death!

Recognizing this hidden danger, Bubai knew he must nip it in the bud. Fortunately, the road forward was clearly paved.

Similar to nourishing his meridians, Bubai simply needed to saturate his dantian with his green Qi first. Once his dantian became saturated and reaches its peak state, it would no longer absorb his Qi. It was that simple.

Of course, Bubai was well aware of possible issues his solution might trigger.

For instance, if his dantian was saturated, could he still use his green wisp of Qi to cleanse his mind? If not, would he become susceptible to control techniques?

In fact, these concerns had occupied Bubai's thoughts since acquiring his Foundation Establishment method. Being unable to maintain a sober mind because his saturated body wouldn't absorb his green Qi was indeed a troubling notion.

Yet, after some exploratory effort, Bubai was relieved of his worries.

He discovered that for maintaining a clear mind, it wasn't imperative for the green Qi to be absorbed. Circulating a strand of Qi in the meridians near his head would suffice, providing him with similar benefits.

In fact, once he saturated his entire body, it probably would not be difficult to maintain circulating strands of green Qi within the meridians passing through his head to grant him full-time immunity!

Not only that, Bubai suspected there might even be additional, unknown benefits if he nourished his entire body with his mysterious green Qi.

Regardless, this path was an essential part for his growth, and he couldn’t avoid it.

Alas, this was an extra step in the Body Nourishment stage, an unconventional step that hindered the speed of his cultivation progress, but it wasn’t a demerit considering the possible benefits the results could bring him…

Of course, all of these were unconfirmed, and Bubai still has to wait until he walks to the very end to know if his decision was right.

However, it was enough to know his Qi wasn’t wasted.

Plus, during the dantian nourishment process, the enhanced focus and memory retention capabilities gained far outweighed any concerns about consumption, solidifying the purposeful and strategic use of his valuable mysterious Qi.

Alas, this wonderful state could only temporary. Bubai still had to be mindful of preserving enough Qi to resist the demoness's temptations.

So, Bubai only spent it extravagantly in the Book Pavilion, where he could achieve two birds with one arrow, and perhaps even three...

Upon returning the supplies to Granny Shu, Bubai saluted politely before making his way out.

On the way out, his keen ears managed to catch her unsatisfied mumbles, "Young men these days can't even endure a little extra work."

Outside the Book Pavilion, a wry smile played on Bubai's lips as he looked up at the moon high up in the night sky.

He already made sure to stay extra late to work, yet the old lady still remained unsatisfied. Clearly, impressing her and earning her approval wasn’t going to be easy.

Nevertheless, Bubai had resolved to follow the path of consistency instead of the route of extremity.

Hard work alone might not be sufficient to achieve his goals. It’s working smart that does.

Morning.

Waking up with Xiao Lan nestled in his arms once again, Bubai savored the refreshing feeling that came after another restful night's sleep.

Following his familiar morning routine, he proceeded to the Book Pavilion, dedicated to continuing his job.

As the days passed, a week slipped by, and Bubai found himself with a modest tally of three contribution points.

Bubai weighed the value against his efforts, and knew this numerical yield was completely meager compared to other tasks. He also concluded that there wasn't much he could currently accomplish with such a sum.

Nonetheless, he wasn’t disappointed because the perks of his new job were already kicking in.

“So, young Bubai wants to borrow pen and paper from this old lady to…” Granny Shu's words trailed off as she continued rocking in her chair.

“Practice calligraphy.” Bubai answered with a respectful bow.

“Practice calligraphy? Hum…” Granny Shu, still in her rhythmic rocking motion, fell into a contemplative silence.

After a while, she opened one of her eyes, fixing a gaze on Bubai. “Very well. This old lady will made an exception due to your good performance. You can keep the couple sheets of paper, but my pen and ink must return to me by tonight, understood?”

Taking the cue, Bubai efficiently stowed away the writing tools into one pouch and neatly tucked three blank sheets of paper into another. “Disciple Bubai thanks Shu Po Po for her support.”

West District. Late Afternoon.

Holding a brush and paper, Bubai leisurely strolled through the market, diligently jotting down the prices of various supplies from each store - ranging from pills and talismans to cultivation tools.

Indeed, he possessed an exceptional memory that facilitated the archiving of short excerpts, recording essential details, and retaining the general gist of books.

However, memorizing extensive texts, word for word, with a single glance still remained beyond Bubai's abilities.

Lengthy passages required additional effort and time for commitment to memory.

Naturally, not all information in life warranted such a commitment. So, Bubai recognized the value of recording certain details on paper, allowing him to save time.

A prime example of this type of information was a price catalog for each of the sect's stores.

While these relatively unimportant details were typically unremarkable and tends to not fluctuate much, any sudden changes often signaled impending shifts within the sect.

Alas, it was unknown how many years would pass before there were any significant fluctuations. In fact, the data might not even play a role after the acquisition of other channels for intel.

Thus, there was still value in maintaining a record, but not enough incentive for Bubai to invest significant time in memorizing the abundant details.

Honestly, he wouldn't hesitate to pay for a catalog, provided it wasn't overly pricey.

However, every shopkeeper he had approached thus far adamantly denied possessing the existence of such a convenient promotional material.

Everyone claimed to be too busy for such a “meaningless” task. Unbelievable. So, he had no choice but to get his own booty to work.

From his options, paper and pen emerged as the optimal choice for this task. Besides...

“This counted as calligraphy practice, right?” Bubai chuckled slightly as he added another line to his paper.

After a couple of rounds through the shopping district, he had filled approximately one sheet with small but legible font detailing a lot of the market's offerings.

Satisfied with his observations, Bubai made his way back to the Book Pavilion, ready to resume his work.

Having reaped the benefits, he was naturally obligated to showcase his competence and diligence in his new role.

...

“Hum… is this what young Bubai meant by practicing calligraphy?” Granny Shu squinted her eyes, scrutinizing the market records on the sheet of paper in her hand. “But, why write so small? This old lady almost couldn’t read it.”

Bubai maintained a composed demeanor, casually giving a perfunctory answer with a solemn face. “Disciple Bubai is learning to write smaller. This way, disciple can compress the text to conserve paper. This will allow disciple to copy more books using less paper.”

Granny Shu looked up at him, her gaze scanning him up and down, as though they were meeting for the first time, “Young Bubai really has a flexible mind.”

Bubai was uncertain whether it was a compliment or a reprimand, but her next words were a clear warning.

“Though records like this are known to circulate within the sect, Young Bubai, it’s best if you don’t let anyone from the Law Enforcement Hall catch you with this, lest they dock you for suspicious activities. Fufu...”

Good lord! No wonder there weren’t any catalogs for sale. Those shopkeepers probably thought the law enforcement was fishing!

Luckily, the old lady didn’t terminate her willingness to provide him with brush and ink even after this “illegal” incident.

However, the availability of paper remained restricted, allowing only three sheets for every book he copied and one sheet for every scroll.

There were less reward offered for scrolls because they were shorter to copy and could be completed in a shorter time frame.

However, the difficulty was not much easier. Copying scrolls left almost no room for errors!

The entire scroll may have to be redone over a mistake, and Bubai was granted only a one-scroll leeway for any mistakes - a lifeline he fortunately hadn't needed to use thus far, which perhaps contributed to Granny Shu's leniency towards his request.

And so, the routine of mundane days continued.

At night, Bubai dedicated himself to cultivation in his tower, alternating between gathering memory Qi and keeping his mind “healthy”.

In the midst of these pleasurable sessions, he also cautiously accumulated Qi with his mysterious Qi-gathering formation, a natural occurrence to ensure that his cultivation progress didn't excessively deplete his reserves in his mysterious space.

During the day, Bubai diligently worked at the Book Pavilion, accumulating knowledge while he nourished his real dantian.

On his occasional breaks where he went for an outing, he strategically alternated his visits between the Task Pavilion and the plaza, sampling each location to collect valuable data.

Of course, throughout the entire day, he naturally didn’t forget to diligently gather Qi through his Woodland Spirit method. It was rather insignificant compared to the amount accumulated through his mysterious Qi-gathering formation at night, but every morsel of Qi counts toward his greater goal.

After another week of thorough research, Bubai finally felt confident that he had a relatively accurate understanding of the market.

Now, he believed he was finally prepared to select his secondary occupation!