Chapter 9: Wealth Moves the Human Heart

"Demon, are you in a bad mood?"

Yun Miaoqing spoke while lifting her gaze to look at Lu Yang, who sat with his eyes closed, cultivating his spirit.

"A little."

Lu Yang sighed and casually recounted the predicament he had encountered.

"This is the Mo Sect, treating its disciples as consumables, utterly devoid of humanity," Yun Miaoqing said, her red lips parting slightly.

"Demon, Fellow Daoist Lu, your talent is excellent and your disposition superb; why humble yourself in this demonic sect?" Yun Miaoqing continued, "If you lift the restrictions on me and help me escape the Mo Sect, I can recommend you to become a disciple of my Yushujiange."

Yun Miaoqing wanted to seek death, but he had no interest in accompanying her.

When poor, one must cultivate personal virtue; the most urgent task now was how to improve himself.

After much deliberation, Lu Yang did not buy any Yin-Yang Immortal Flowers, but instead spent his entire fortune to purchase ten Yuan Qi Great Elixirs capable of increasing cultivation base.

"This life has basically reached a dead end."

"After all, I neither intend to repay the loans nor wish to waste decades of my life working like an ox or horse; once the loan term expires, I will surely die without a burial place."

"Therefore, I must use this time to improve myself as quickly as possible!"

Lu Yang had already made up his mind: when he restarted in the next life, he would choose cultivation base, and for that, he must raise his strength to a higher level as soon as possible.

"If my cultivation base is too low, Liu Xin, who was present at the time, might detect it, so I must at least reach the same realm he had then," Lu Yang pondered inwardly. "At minimum, I need to reach the Mid Stage of Qi Condensation, paired with a Qi Concealing Art; only then might I deceive him."

Lu Yang dared to think this way because he naturally had confidence.

Because the Qi Condensation Realm consists of ten layers, divided into Early, Mid, Late, and Great Perfection stages; within these minor realms, there are essentially no bottlenecks, requiring only the accumulation of quantity to break through.

What truly traps Qi Condensation cultivators are the bottlenecks when breaking through minor realms.

From the Early Stage to the Mid Stage of Qi Condensation, from Mid to Late, and from Late to Great Perfection, the difficulty nearly doubles each time, preventing countless cultivators from making any progress.

"According to my calculations, ten Yuan Qi Great Elixirs plus the spiritual vein of my cave dwelling should be enough for me to break through to the Third Layer of Qi Condensation. In fact, this is the cultivation base of most disciples within the sect; they rely on enduring time and seniority to improve, only to get stuck at the bottleneck of the Early Stage of Qi Condensation and become beasts of burden for the Sheng Sect."

If nothing unexpected happened, Lu Yang would be one of them.

However, in this life, he held a variable in his hand.

With a thought, Lu Yang summoned a wisp of white qi that steamed and misted in his palm; obeying his will like an extension of his arm, it sometimes took the shape of a sword and sometimes transformed into thick smoke.

Primordial One Qi!

"According to Liu Xin, the greatest function of Primordial One Qi is actually to help people break through bottlenecks; his ability to break through to the Late Stage of Qi Condensation was certainly due to its contribution."

Liu Xin could use it to break through to the Late Stage of Qi Condensation.

For me to use it to break through to the Mid Stage of Qi Condensation should not be a problem.

"As long as I break through to the Mid Stage of Qi Condensation, this life will not have been in vain; if worst comes to worst, I can restart immediately, and in the next life, with a higher cultivation base, my starting point will be even better!"

Moments later, a sound came from outside the cave dwelling.

His Yuan Qi Great Elixirs had arrived.

Lu Yang pushed open the door and stepped out, only to see a woman standing outside the cave dwelling; she wore plain clothes, her beauty no less than Yun Miaoqing's, and her figure was plump, even surpassing hers.

"This humble one is Qingchen; greetings, Junior Brother Lu," the woman said, performing a wanfu salute, then letting out a soft laugh that seemed magical, penetrating the heart and compelling one to feel affection for her involuntarily. "I was ordered to escort the Yuan Qi Great Elixirs you purchased; please take out your token for inspection."

Lu Yang knew the procedure and complied immediately.

While they completed the handover, Immortal Qingchen continued to probe softly, "Junior Brother managed to purchase so many elixirs this time; could it be that you found wealth somewhere?"

"Senior Sister speaks jestingly."

Lu Yang shook his head, wearing a bitter expression. "I merely took out several loans and am now thinking of improving my cultivation base so I can accept some high-reward missions."

"I see."

Immortal Qingchen nodded, her face full of concern. "Junior Brother need not belittle yourself; which of us formal disciples does not carry a few loans?"

"However... forgive Qingchen's bluntness, but Junior Brother still does not understand flexibility."

"Oh?"

Seeing Lu Yang's interest piqued, Immortal Qingchen smiled gently. "There are only so many sect missions; how could one possibly repay so many loans relying solely on missions?"

"Within the Sheng Sect, if one only follows the ordinary path, it is impossible to become wealthy," Immortal Qingchen said softly. "This humble one previously thought Junior Brother had discovered a cave dwelling left by some senior brother and reaped a legacy to earn a great fortune, which is why I shamelessly asked; I did not expect that was not the case."

"Cave dwelling..."

Lu Yang lowered his eyelids, his eyes calm as an ancient well, yet his tone feigned excitement. "This humble one is dull; please, Senior Sister, elaborate."

"Does Junior Brother know that the Sheng Sect was established within the 'Sky-Reaching Cloud Sea'?"

Immortal Qingchen said indifferently, "Within the Cloud Sea, besides the four inner peaks, there are many other peaks, all established in the past by true disciples and elders."

"However, the path of immortality is long, and over the years, some have inevitably perished. Yet after their demise, their peaks and cave dwellings are not dismantled but remain within the Cloud Sea. Although there are certain risks, every single one represents an opportunity; even a small harvest can be exchanged for a large amount of contribution points!"

"If Junior Brother is interested, this humble one recently discovered a relatively safe cave dwelling."

Really? I don't believe it!

Lu Yang sneered inwardly, because Qingchen's manner of gentle persuasion resembled Liu Xin far too closely, the very person who had tricked him into cultivating the Primordial Dao Scripture in his previous life.

This was fishing!

What cave dwelling opportunity? It was merely bait.

It seems I revealed my wealth; seeing a newly initiated disciple purchase so many spiritual pills, they want to lure me out, kill me, and claim the pills for themselves?

Thinking thus, Lu Yang displayed an expression of temptation. "This humble one needs to consider it."

"There is no rush," Immortal Qingchen said, nodding upon hearing this. "The inspection procedures are complete; after Junior Brother has considered it, you may contact me."

"Considered it; I'm not going."

Seeing the procedures finished, Lu Yang said nothing more, picked up the bottle containing the spiritual pills, and returned to his cave dwelling, leaving Immortal Qingchen standing alone on the spot.

"???"

Moments later, realizing what had happened, Immortal Qingchen nearly ground her silver teeth to dust, her pretty face revealing murderous intent. "This Lu Yang... he actually dared to toy with me!"

Turning away, Immortal Qingchen soon arrived at another cave dwelling.

Inside the cave dwelling, a young Daoist priest dressed in luxurious robes had been waiting for a long time; seeing Immortal Qingchen's ugly expression, he immediately furrowed his brows as well.

"It didn't succeed?"

Immortal Qingchen shook her head. "This person... is somewhat overly cautious."

"Moreover, Senior Brother Zhao, this person borrowed money but did not buy Yin-Yang Immortal Flowers, instead purchasing elixirs; I suspect he never intended to repay the money at all."

"Want to default on the debt? Try again in the next life!"

Zhao Xuhe heard this and shook his head with a cold smile. "Do you know that for every newly initiated disciple, the Sheng Sect has long secretly set a price tag on them?"

"Furthermore, the amount a disciple can borrow within the Sheng Sect will absolutely not exceed their price; this is to ensure that no matter what happens, the Sheng Sect can recover its costs. Flesh, bones, internal organs, souls... these are all valuable goods, more than sufficient to repay the debt."

"He wants to improve his cultivation base? Let him improve it."

"As long as the person remains alive, a higher cultivation base makes them even more valuable."

Zhao Xuhe grinned, the space between his lips and teeth seeming to flow with the scent of blood. "By then, not only will we not suffer a loss, we might even turn a profit."

"Besides, he may have the money to buy these spiritual pills, but he may not have the life to use them, correct?"

"Does Senior Brother mean..."

Zhao Xuhe nodded slightly, implying something deeper. "Many things only require that one not be discovered."

Upon hearing these words, Immortal Qingchen's beautiful eyes instantly brightened.

(End of Chapter)