Chapter 15

"Who made any promise with you? Talk about it in the next life!"

"With the Book of Hundred Lives, even if I only take the 'Myriad Chariots Imperial Dragon Ascension Treasure Scroll' this life and the 'Nine Transformations Dragon Change Art' in the next, they will still be mine either way!"

From the very beginning, Lu Yang had never trusted Zhao Xuhe.

Sharing the Daoist scripture was nothing more than a stopgap measure; Lu Yang was certain that once Zhao Xuhe escaped with his life, he would definitely find a way to kill him.

Worse yet, Zhao Xuhe was stronger; Lu Yang had no absolute certainty of killing him to eliminate the threat forever, and if they truly fought to the death, the one who died might very well be him.

Coupled with the loan nearing its deadline which he could not possibly repay, and with little time left in this life, the moment the scripture was in hand, Lu Yang simply and decisively self-detonated.

【You recklessly self-detonated and died.】

【Remaining pages in the current Book of Hundred Lives: 97】

【Restarting a new life, you may choose one of the following gains from your previous life:

One: Treasures.

Two: Cultivation base.

Three: Lifespan.

Four: Forfeit all gains to randomly awaken a talent based on your previous life's experiences.】

"Those whose names are called, come before me."

As his consciousness cleared, Liu Xin's familiar and detestable voice rang out from the platform; Lu Yang turned a deaf ear to it, saying in his heart: "I choose cultivation base."

Boom!

The next second, Lu Yang felt a surge of true qi erupt from his dantian, rapidly flowing to his limbs and bones, beginning to frantically transform his essence, qi, and spirit; yet he gritted his teeth, circulating the Qi Concealing Art obtained from the three men in black, containing all movement beneath his skin and flesh.

A moment later, Lu Yang finally exhaled a deep mouthful of turbid air.

"I'm back again!"

Fourth Layer of Qi Condensation, Mid Stage!

Raising his head to look at Liu Xin on the platform again, Lu Yang no longer felt the fear he had upon their first meeting; at this moment, Liu Xin was merely at the Sixth Layer of Qi Condensation!

Only after he selected a registered disciple and refined them into Primordial One Qi could he break through the bottleneck to the Late Stage of Qi Condensation; only then would he possibly see through his Qi Concealing Art, and until that time, even if Lu Yang stood right before him, Liu Xin would perceive him as nothing more than an ordinary person.

"However, there is also an unexpected surprise..."

Lu Yang looked inward at his dantian, only to see a wisp of misty white qi floating within; it was unmistakably the Primordial One Qi from his previous life, yet in this life, it still remained!

"I understand now... the Book of Hundred Lives does not revert to the initial anchor point, but to my previous life!"

This was undoubtedly a good thing.

It meant that the treasures, cultivation base, and even lifespan he chose in every life could be retained for the next, without having to start from scratch each time.

Following this, Lu Yang's actions proceeded exactly as before.

He went on stage, received his assignment, and was sent to the Hehuan Hall.

He killed Yu Suzhen.

He lay low in silence, broke through after three months, and quietly became an official disciple.

"In this life, according to my plan, besides the remaining volume of the 'Nine Transformations Dragon Change Art,' there are two other major events worth attempting."

The first was naturally the "Merit Lottery."

Lu Yang stayed in his cave dwelling for a few days, then headed to the Shangong Lou to accept a "Accumulate Merit" mission, immediately rushing non-stop to the Merit Pool.

"2025113!"

Standing among the crowd surrounding the Merit Pool, Lu Yang handsomely combed his hair, beginning to imagine how he would spend the grand prize after winning the Merit Pool lottery.

One billion! One billion! A lifetime isn't enough to spend it all~!

Goodbye, poverty; I will miss you...

The next second, an uproar immediately erupted within the crowd, as countless people looked at Lu Yang in surprise, along with the Merit Fish drawn by the number he had chosen.

"Brother, you've got quite the luck."

Someone approached Lu Yang, their tone envious: "A purple Merit Fish; although it's only slightly better than white and blue, it's still a rare find."

"... hat?"

Lu Yang tilted his head, a row of question marks appearing above his mind.

A purple Merit Fish?

Not colorful?

Lu Yang hurriedly looked at the Merit Fish he had drawn, which was indeed glowing with a streak of blue light; looking again at the number he chose, it was indeed 2025113, with no mistake.

Why didn't I win!?

Could it be that the lucky one from the previous life, Xiao Shiye, lied? But he couldn't possibly know someone could restart a life, so there was absolutely no reason for him to lie.

If that's the case...

"There's foul play!"

Lu Yang was so angry his hands trembled, his face flushed red, finally realizing the truth: What lucky one? That Xiao Shiye was clearly an insider plant!

"Forget it, at least it's a Merit Fish." Lu Yang could only comfort himself this way; purple was considered rare, second only to gold and colorful, and although the billion-point grand prize was out of reach, consuming the purple Merit Fish would likely allow his cultivation to rapidly reach the Fifth Layer of Qi Condensation.

Thinking this, Lu Yang felt much better.

Then, to be on the safe side, he did not take the Merit Fish back to his cave dwelling but consumed it right there before everyone, immediately beginning to regulate his breath and circulate his energy to refine it.

After finishing everything, Lu Yang clearly felt several gazes that had fallen upon him dissipate.

The result was just as he expected; the essence and qi of the purple Merit Fish allowed him to smoothly break through to the Fifth Layer of Qi Condensation, even letting him touch the threshold of the Sixth Layer.

"This is just purple; if it were colorful..."

Lu Yang's heart raced with longing, after all, in the previous life, after that Xiao Shiye consumed the colorful Merit Fish, he shot straight from the First Layer of Qi Condensation to Great Perfection overnight.

"Forget it, I won't force it."

Lu Yang quickly regained his calm; the first matter had fallen through, but there was still a chance for the second: the "Substitute Death Yin Puppet Price Bubble Incident."

The elder of the Cangshuge, Wang Bairong, had nearly lost everything due to this, only to be deceived by Zhao Xuhe and become cannon fodder for Panlong Island; but ultimately, this was because Wang Bairong entered the market too late, whereas he was different, as he knew clearly the timing of this price bubble's fluctuation.

"Actually, the upward trend has already begun."

Lu Yang opened his disciple token to check the price of Substitute Death Yin Puppets, discovering indeed there had been some slight fluctuation, clearly indicating insiders were manipulating things behind the scenes.

"To enter the market, I still lack a sufficient amount of capital..."

Lu Yang thought for a moment, then turned and headed to the Shangong Lou.

As expected, in the eyes of the senior disciples, he, a newly initiated disciple, was a little fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered; it wasn't long before Zhao Xuhe actively approached.

"Junior brother, your complexion doesn't look good; have you encountered some difficulty?"

Hearing this, Lu Yang raised his head and gave a bitter smile: "What difficulty could there be? It's just a lack of money; I wonder if Senior Brother knows of any missions that can earn contribution points?"

"So it's a lack of money... Indeed, Senior Brother has been through this; at your age, I too was worrying about contribution points, racked with anxiety every day, until my Dao companion despised me and broke up with me... Sigh, endless missions every day, feeling like there's no hope for life at all."

Zhao Xuhe spoke with a sigh, acting as though he shared the same plight as Lu Yang.

After speaking, he patted Lu Yang on the shoulder and said: "Senior Brother has stumbled through half a lifetime, finally summarizing one universal truth that applies everywhere."

"That is, money is dead."

"Therefore, one must make money breed money, using contribution points to earn more contribution points; only then can one avoid becoming a slave of the Holy Sect and escape a fate like that of a beast of burden!"

Hearing this, Lu Yang immediately showed an expression of admiration: "Listening to your words is worth ten years of study!"

However, soon after, Lu Yang lowered his head in disappointment: "But Senior Brother, I don't even have any contribution points right now; what do I have to earn more with?"

"Too small! Your perspective is too small!"

Zhao Xuhe's expression became even more affectionate, baring his teeth in a smile: "Although you have no money now, you can borrow; once you earn money, just pay it back, won't that work?"

"But..." Lu Yang still looked hesitant.

Seeing the performance coming, how could Zhao Xuhe let this slip? He quickly said: "How about this? I see that you, Junior Brother, share a fate with me; I'll lend you a sum!"

Lu Yang's eyes immediately lit up: "Really?"

Seeing his greedy, thirsting appearance, Zhao Xuhe was immediately certain: The fish has taken the bait!

"Of course it's real!"

While patting his chest to guarantee it, Zhao Xuhe also brought out the so-called signboard of the Sanhe Society, then asked Lu Yang: "Junior Brother, how much do you plan to borrow?"

After a moment of silence, Lu Yang held up two fingers.

"Two hundred?"

"Two thousand!"

With a look of grim determination, Lu Yang said: "To be honest, my cultivation technique loan hasn't been used yet; the cultivation technique loan is equivalent to 1000 contribution points, plus my newcomer benefits: the White Bone Flying Sword, the Qi and Blood Pill, the Human-Faced Owl... If I use these as collateral, Senior Brother Zhao, can you lend me 2000 contribution points?"

Zhao Xuhe was stunned.

Do young people these days act so recklessly?

I've only fooled you with a few sentences, and you're already going all in?

Before Zhao Xuhe could react, Lu Yang spoke words that shocked him even more: "Senior Brother Zhao, I plan to buy Substitute Death Yin Puppets with my entire position."

"What!?"

Zhao Xuhe was first shocked, then as if thinking of something, he quickly lowered his voice: "Junior Brother... could it be you know some inside information?"

"Senior Brother sees clearly." Lu Yang likewise spoke in a low voice: "Earlier, when I was selecting a cultivation technique in the Cangshuge, I overheard Senior Brother Wang Bairong at the entrance saying something; it seems the situation in the south is unfavorable, and the Ten-Thousand-Person Pit that produces Substitute Death Yin Puppets has fallen, but the Holy Sect has secretly sealed off the relevant news..."

"Hiss!"

At these words, Zhao Xuhe immediately drew in a sharp breath, followed by intense greed flashing in his eyes, clearly having smelled a business opportunity.

If the news was true, then the chance to get rich had arrived!

Looking at the agitated and impatient Zhao Xuhe, Lu Yang sneered in his heart.

The fish has taken the bait!

"I feel like I'm playing a single-player game; is anyone even here?"

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(End of Chapter)