Hellcoin Billionaire: My Ghost Shop Fuels My Cultivation

It wasn't just professors from the university dining at Imperial Kitchen. Many customers were clearly cultivators in the body-tempering stage, judging from the faint glow of spiritual energy around them.

At least one such person sat at every table.

This meant they were either cultivators themselves, friends or family of cultivators, or regular people with connections to the SEIU who were in the know.

Thankfully, no one in the restaurant had awakened their heavenly eye. No one could see the glow surrounding Song Miaozhu, and neither she nor Chen Yuanyuan attracted any attention.

As soon as she sat down, Miaozhu opened the SEIU app to check, confirming her suspicions. Imperial Kitchen was indeed registered with the SEIU as a licensed spiritual food establishment. The place even accepted SEIU-issued food vouchers.

"These are just regular dishes you'd see anywhere," Yuanyuan said, flipping through the menu. "The prices, though... kind of scary."

If not for Song Miaozhu's assurance that the food contained spiritual energy, she would've walked out immediately.

After some deliberation, they ordered three dishes and a soup: braised beef with tomatoes, red-braised fish, steamed egg with saffron, and a seaweed-shrimp-tofu soup, along with two bowls of rice.

Yes, at this restaurant, rice was sold by the bowl. No refills. If you wanted more, you had to buy another serving.

Chen Yuanyuan pulled out her phone's calculator and did a quick tally. "Holy—1,898 yuan?!"

"This price is actually normal," Song Miaozhu said.

"Miaozhu, you've changed!" Chen Yuanyuan pouted. "Before, you'd be the first to complain about the prices with me!"

"Now that I know any place serving food with spiritual energy charges like this, I've made peace with it," said Miaozhu. "If you use SEIU food vouchers, it's about 20 percent off compared to paying in cash."

"!!!" 

Chen Yuanyuan leaned in and whispered, "Are cultivators all rich? Spending thousands on a single meal?"

"Even for cultivators, eating spiritual food every day would be too expensive," said Song Miaozhu. "Honestly, it's better not to. Saves money and time."

"Spiritual energy has no flavor. It can't compare to real food," Chen Yuanyuan said.

"So… unless you're craving it! Like right now!" Song Miaozhu's mouth watered as the aroma from nearby tables wafted over.

"Pfft—I saw you swallow just now!" Chen Yuanyuan giggled.

Since each dish was cooked to order, the food arrived slowly.

But the diners seemed accustomed to the wait, patiently biding their time.

By the time their dishes arrived, Chen Yuanyuan was starving.

She quickly snapped photos of each dish, then a group shot, before finally picking up her chopsticks. "Let's eat!"

With the first bite, her eyes widened. "Okay, this is worth the money!"

It really was better than any high-end private kitchen she had ever tried. Not only was the flavor perfect, she even felt more energized.

Miaozhu thought the food here was delicious too, though it felt different from the meals Aunt Chen cooked. The taste was great in both cases, but Miaozhu still preferred Aunt Chen's style. However, in terms of spiritual energy concentration, the restaurant's dishes were stronger.

She hadn't even been hungry, but somehow ended up eating quite a lot.

Between the two of them, they cleaned their plates, soup, and both glowing bowls of rice. When they finally walked out, they had to hold onto each other just to stay upright.

"Oh no… After this, I don't think I can go back to 'Sister Zhang's Spicy Hotpot,' 'Chef Liu's BBQ,' or 'Fragrant Wok Stir-Fry'!"

These were their go-to cheap and delicious spots over the years.

"If I ate at Imperial Cuisine Hall every day, my wallet would cry!" Chen Yuanyuan lamented.

For the first time in her life, she felt genuinely poor.

"I'm broke!"

"Practice your illustrations seriously. Once you start absorbing spiritual energy, you can either join the SEIU for a salary or sell your artwork. Spiritual-infused paintings fetch high prices," Song Miaozhu said. "Some even have healing properties."

She'd seen such works on the SEIU's app marketplace—though her own contribution points were too scarce to afford them.

"Really?" Chen Yuanyuan perked up. "I'll work hard, then! I want to eat spiritual food every day!"

"Let's head to your place. Try drawing something and I'll see how close you are to being able to absorb spiritual energy," said Miaozhu.

Song Miaozhu didn't have many true friends.

After her parents died young, Miaozhu had spent her life worrying about money. Her days were filled with studying or figuring out how to earn a living. She had never taken the initiative to make friends.

Aside from Chen Shuanghe, who had grown up with her, Chen Yuanyuan was the only one who had ever actively reached out to her.

During hard times, both girls had helped her more than once. Now that she was finally back in Jiangcheng, she wanted to support Chen Yuanyuan in her cultivation journey, in any way she could.

"Sure! I took photos earlier—I'll paint those!" Chen Yuanyuan's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.

Her apartment mirrored Song Miaozhu's rental—one bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Half the living room was dominated by a large desk and easel, the other half by an expanded kitchen.

It was a space tailored entirely to her habits, never meant for guests.

She awkwardly dragged a dining chair over for Song Miaozhu. "Sorry, I never really invite people over."

"Don't worry. Just focus on drawing—pretend I'm not here," Song Miaozhu said. "Do it exactly like you usually would."

Nodding, Chen Yuanyuan settled at her desk, transferred the photos to her computer, projected them on a large screen, and began sketching in her notebook.

Though she'd only started learning illustration after Song Miaozhu's advice, she'd had some prior training in high school, so she progressed faster than most.

Song Miaozhu didn't need to watch her draw to know she was doing well. The spiritual energy particles in the room were slowly gathering toward her. But she still had a way to go before fully absorbing them.

When Chen Yuanyuan finished a small sketch, she turned eagerly. "Well?"

Song Miaozhu gave her a thumbs-up. "For such a short learning period, being able to attract spiritual energy is already impressive!"

"There's spiritual energy around me?" Chen Yuanyuan looked around but saw nothing unusual. "What does it look like?"

"Like grains of sand, glowing with faint rainbow light. You'll see them once your Heavenly eye opens further."