To be quite honest, despite the fact that Huang Shi now had a huge stockpile of spirit stones, he didn't truly understand its value to average cultivators because of how much resources it took for him to improve his cultivation base.
For example, for Huang Shi to raise his cultivation base from the 9th level of the Elementary Profound Realm to the 3rd level of the Nascent Profound Realm, it cost around 200,000 spirit stones, including the amount required for him to unlock his Crimson Sun.
As for raising his cultivation base from the 3rd level of the Nascent Profound Realm all the way to the 4th level of the Nascent Profound Realm, it took around 35,000 spirit stones—granted, there were a bunch of factors that contributed to him reaching the peak of the 3rd level of the Nascent Profound Realm so quickly, including periods of enlightenment.
This meant it would probably have cost a lot more for him to raise his cultivation base in normal situations.
The reason why his grandfather was so shocked at the amount of spirit stones his grandson had given him is because, for a person without any special physiques or bloodlines, they would only need around 10,000 spirit stones to rise from the 1st level of the Elementary Profound Realm all the way to the 9th level.
To rise from the 1st level of the Nascent Profound Realm all the way to the 9th level of the Nascent Profound Realm was around 30,000 spirit stones.
Finally, to rise from the 1st level of the True Profound Realm all the way to the 9th level of the True Profound Realm would cost roughly around 50,000 spirit stones.
Of course, talented people would probably use a lot less cultivation resources than the average person because they would be able to absorb more of the spiritual energy within the stones.
Furthermore, they wouldn't be able to go from the 1st level of a cultivation realm all the way to the 9th in one go because of cultivation instability; you could try to do it, but your body would probably explode in the process.
This meant that it would still take quite a bit of time for a person to raise their cultivation base even if they had a lot of resources, because they would need to first stabilize their foundation.
However, it was still an incredible advantage because, normally, for a person to improve their cultivation base, it was not enough that the person was just talented; they would also need a sufficient amount of resources to improve. '
If they didn't have those resources on hand, then they would need to either complete missions for the sect they were a part of to get those resources, provide some sort of service like pill making or artifact forging, or kill other cultivators and steal their resources.
In summary, in the world of cultivation, for a person to become a top expert, they needed both an incredible amount of talent and an incredible amount of resources.
This also meant that Huang Shi had just given his grandfather double the amount needed for him to reach the peak of the True Profound Realm, with enough leftover for him to attempt a breakthrough into the Spirit Profound Realm.
However, clearly Huang Shi was not yet done with the gift-giving session, as he then told his grandfather to extend his hand toward him.
"Grandfather, I'll be giving you another gift—something even more valuable than what I gave you—but in exchange, I hope you won't reveal that I have the ability to do this kind of thing…"
Huang Li suddenly paused as his expression turned into one of incredulity. Clearly, he couldn't imagine anything more precious than what his grandson had already given him, and yet, seeing the look of seriousness in his eyes, he nodded his head solemnly.
"Alright… as long as you are fair and have given this gift to Mei'er as well, then I can promise you that I won't reveal any of your secrets… after all, we are family."
Seeing the promise given to him by his grandfather, he nodded his head, choosing to trust him despite the possibility of him making a grave mistake.
I hope Grandfather keeps his word and doesn't reveal my secrets to other people, or else I'll be screwed.
After thinking for a few seconds, he finally made a decision as he spoke a few words inside of his head, communicating with his system.
Hey system, how much for that mortal-ranked physique, the Lightning Spirit Root?
[Responding to host: a one-star mortal-ranked physique, Lightning Spirit Root, costs 50,000 scum points.]
Huang Shi's expression suddenly changed as he looked at his remaining scum points, noticing that there was a huge problem.
[Remaining Scum Points: 15,000]
Shit, I'm too broke. I actually can't afford it.
Seeing that its master had a dilemma, the system spoke up once more, giving him a tantalizing offer.
[The host can take a loan, and the system will give the host the remaining 35,000 scum points so that he can purchase the mortal-ranked physique: Lightning Spirit Root.]
What? I can take loans? Why didn't I know about that?
[The host has never needed a loan before, so the system never suggested it.]
After thinking it through for a couple of moments, he then asked another question to the system.
What are the rules regarding taking loans from the system?
[The host needs to pay back the loan within 90 days. Failure to do so leads to the system becoming locked for the foreseeable future.]
What? Locked? What does that mean?
[This means that the host cannot use the system until he is able to pay back the loan.]
What the fuck? I can't use the system if I can't pay back my loan? That's fucking ridiculous!
After grumbling to himself in anger for a while, he then asked another question.
Wait a minute, system, is there interest on my loans?
[Responding to host: the system will be the determinant on whether or not interest will be placed on loans. For this purchase, there will be no interest because the system recognizes that this is the host's first loan. Future loans may or may not have interest.]