How come I was born a deity?

Chapter 8: You call this not much?

The next day, Chen Qi got up very early and arrived at the bookstore entrance on time.

The excitement of finding a job hadn't worn off yet, and last night Chen Qi was like a primary school student going on a field trip the next day, unable to get a good night's sleep.

However, although he arrived, the glass door of the bookstore was still closed, and Chen Qi did not see Shen Nianxu.

"Damn it, I should have added him on WeChat yesterday. Now I can't even contact him."

It wasn't until almost 7:30 that there was a little activity in the bookstore.

Shen Nianxu yawned as she came down from the second floor. Before reaching the door, she stretched and showed off her slender waist.

"You're here pretty early," Shen Nianxu said, opening the glass door and handing a spare key to Chen Qi. "Here, this is the key. I forgot to give it to you yesterday. Also, why don't you add me on WeChat? I can't contact you at all."

Chen Qi never expected her to turn the tables and accuse him. Who is the boss here?

Left with no other choice, Chen Qi took out his phone and added Shen Nianxu on WeChat.

Her WeChat nickname was "(❀╹◡╹)", which made Chen Qi frown.

Shen Nianxu: "What's wrong?"

Chen Qi: "These emoticons are so cute, but they don't really suit you."

"Do you believe I'll slap you?" Shen Nianxu changed the subject. "How many stars have you condensed in one night?"

Chen Qi snapped out of his daze. "Wait, let me count."

He focused his attention on his own body and began to count the stars within him.

After about ten seconds, Chen Qi finally met Shen Nianxu's gaze. "Uh, not many. I was busy with other things last night, so I didn't gather many, maybe seventy or eighty."

Shen Nianxu's eye twitched. You call this not much?

This is the amount your father could accumulate over several months back then!

Moreover, the more stars there are, the lower the efficiency of condensing stars will be. Being able to condense so many stars in one day has far exceeded Shen Nianxu's expectations!

This is inhuman...

After closing the bookstore door, Shen Nianxu hailed a ride-hailing car directly on the roadside.

Chen Qi initially thought that taking a ride-hailing service was too expensive, but Shen Nianxu said, "I just transferred 260,000 yuan to Uncle Wang yesterday, which should be enough for us for a while. There's no need to worry about this little expense."

Since it wasn't his money, Chen Qi didn't say anything.

But if he had to pay, Chen Qi would never take this taxi today.

It doesn't take long to get from downtown Qingcheng to the destination; it's about an hour's drive to the foot of Qingcheng Mountain.

"What's wrong?" After getting out of the car, Shen Nianxu noticed that Chen Qi's expression was a little strange. "Are you feeling unwell?"

Chen Qi shook his head. "No, it's just that some bad memories have surfaced."

Shen Nianxu didn't understand what he was talking about. "Senior Chen didn't bring you here before?"

"No, that's not it," Chen Qi denied.

Since Chen Qi’s father discovered his talent when he was a child, he has taken him all over the country.

Qingcheng Mountain is no exception.

After Chen's father settled Chen Qi in Qingcheng, he instructed him to choose a time each year to go up the mountain to visit Shangqing Palace. Although Chen Qi did not know why, he still followed his father's instructions and climbed the mountain once a year before starting junior high school.

but……

"The last time I came to Qingcheng Mountain, there was a little kid in a white Taoist robe who kept following me around, throwing poop at me and laughing at me. It left me with a deep psychological trauma."

"I have never been here since then."

Shen Nianxu fell silent after hearing this. Are you sure you've encountered a little kid in a white Taoist robe, or a monkey from the mountain?

And what exactly did you do to deserve someone throwing shit at you?

As soon as the two arrived at the foot of the mountain, Shen Nianxu suddenly noticed a group of familiar men in black.

She led Chen Qi to the group of men in black, and asked with a cold smile, "What, so the He family has time to go hiking? So much leisure time indeed?"

The group of men in black gathered at the foot of the mountain all turned their gazes toward Shen Nianxu.

"Miss Shen," one of the men in black spoke up, "your bookstore no longer has anyone in charge, so you should have no right to direct our actions."

"Furthermore, if you're also here to garner votes for the Shangqing Palace in the election for the leader, then I suggest you leave now."

Shen Nianxu frowned slightly. "Why?"

The leader of the men in black had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, exhaling white smoke. "Phew—because as far as we know, Shangqing Palace seems to have candidates running for the position of leader this year. If you can't offer enough incentives, Shangqing Palace might vote for one of their own."

Is Shangqing Palace also holding an election for the leader of Qingcheng?

Shen Nianxu hadn't expected this. Since the previous boss died, she hadn't been in contact with the Qingcheng cultivators for a long time. She never imagined that even the Shangqing Palace would have designs on this position.

Moreover, the leader of the men in black mentioned the phrase "sufficient conditions."

"Hmm?" Shen Nianxu looked around and asked, "Where's that old bald man from your He family?"

The leader of the men in black answered all questions without hesitation, "They went up the mountain this morning. They're probably having a pleasant conversation with the person in charge of Shangqing Palace right now, and they may have even reached an agreement."

"After all, the He family is large and powerful, and it's not impossible for them to have the resources to make the Shangqing Palace compromise."

With a slight raise of her eyebrows, Shen Nianxu scoffed, "Whether it's a mule or a horse, we'll have to take it out for a spin. I don't believe your He family's horse is any better than our bookstore's mule!"

Chen Qi, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but ask, "Did you just secretly curse at me?"

"No, you misunderstood," Shen Nianxu patted Chen Qi's head. "I didn't steal anything."

Chen Qi: "..."

As Shen Nianxu and Chen Qi headed up the mountain, the leader of the men in black waved his hand and said, "Miss Shen, good luck."

Seeing this, Chen Qi asked curiously, "Why does he answer everything you ask? Shouldn't he be our enemy?"

"Of course not," Shen Nianxu replied as she stepped on the stone steps, which showed obvious signs of human intervention. "They are not members of the He family. They are just bodyguards hired by that old bald man. To put it bluntly, they are just contract workers."

"Since they're not from the He family and there's no confidentiality agreement in the contract, we should naturally do them a favor if we can."

Chen Qi nodded in sudden realization. He had thought that the group of men in black were also from the He family, but it turned out they were just hired bodyguards.

"However, what he said is indeed worth paying attention to," Shen Nianxu said, walking ahead with her long legs, each step equivalent to two steps for an ordinary person. "If the Shangqing Palace also wants to run for the position of leader this year, it will be very difficult to win their votes."

There were only two paths before Chen Qi: one was to have enough strength, and the other was to have enough prestige.

The first path is difficult to traverse, but if even the second path is impassable, then that's a truly hellish start.

While climbing the mountain, Chen Qi didn't forget to continue condensing starlight within his body. "What if I can't win the votes from the Shangqing Palace?"

"There's nothing we can do about it. We can only keep asking other forces," Shen Nianxu sighed. "If you had the strength of a fifth-level cultivator right now, we wouldn't have to beg people everywhere. We could just wait for the year-end election for the leader."

Is it the strength of a fifth-tier cultivator?

Chen Qi remembered the "Book of Escape Techniques" that he received from Shen Nianxu. It only recorded the cultivation methods for cultivators from the first to the fifth level. Wasn't this just a way to help him ascend to the heavens in one step?

Didn't you tell me yesterday that the path of spiritual cultivation is long and arduous? Have you forgotten what you said so quickly?

Without speaking, Chen Qi remained silent, continuing to condense starlight within his body as he climbed the mountain.

To keep your job, you need to have real skills!

I will live and die with the bookstore!

……

Although it wasn't the weekend, there were still quite a few people hiking, with hiking enthusiasts of all ages seen going up and down the mountain.

Compared to the back mountain, the front mountain shows much more obvious signs of human construction, but the advantage is that it is easier to walk on.

Reaching a fork in the road, Chen Qi noticed Shen Nianxu heading in another direction, so he stopped and asked, "Isn't Shangqing Palace in this direction?"

Shen Nianxu didn't stop and continued walking forward with her head down. "That's the Shangqing Palace for ordinary people, it's different from the place we're going to."

She immediately left the man-made mountain path and plunged into the bushes.

Chen Qi was somewhat confused, but he didn't object and followed Shen Nianxu's back as they disappeared into the dense vegetation.

Under Shen Nianxu's guidance, Chen Qi soon saw a mountain gate.

The plaque above the gate clearly reads the three large characters "Shangqing Palace". A young man dressed in a Taoist robe stands guard in front of the gate, holding a broom and gently sweeping the fallen leaves in front of the gate.

Outside the mountain gate, a familiar figure, accompanied by two bodyguards, stood with a solemn expression, seemingly discussing something.

"Old bald man..." Upon seeing this, Shen Nianxu's pretty face immediately fell.

That's good now.

Everyone started from the same point.

Now it's up to everyone to do their own thing.