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Chapter 9: Wealth Stirs the Heart
Chapter 9: Wealth Stirs the Heart
“Demon Head, are you in a bad mood?”
Yun Miaoqing spoke while tilting her head to glance at Lv Yang, who sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.
“Slightly.”
Lv Yang sighed, then casually recounted his predicament.
“This is the Demon Sect for you—treating disciples like disposable tools, utterly inhumane,” Yun Miaoqing murmured, her scarlet lips parting slightly.
“If you’d lift the restrictions on me and help me escape, I could recommend you as a disciple of my Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion.”
Yun Miaoqing might want to die, but Lv Yang had no intention of joining her.
Better to focus on self-cultivation when times are hard. Right now, improving my strength is the priority.
After careful consideration, Lv Yang chose not to buy the Yin-Yang Immortal Bloom. Instead, he spent every last coin he had on ten Primordial Qi Pills, which could boost his cultivation.
“This life is already boxed into a dead end.”
“After all, I have no intention of repaying my debts, nor do I want to waste decades as a drudge. Once the loan period ends, I’ll surely meet a fate worse than death.”
“That’s why I must seize this time to grow stronger!”
Lv Yang had already made up his mind. In his next reincarnation, he would choose rebirth with advanced cultivation. To achieve that, he needed to elevate his current power as quickly as possible.
“If my cultivation is too low, Liu Xin might recognize me. At the very least, I must reach the same realm as him back then,” he mused. “Reaching the middle stage of the Refining Qi Stage, combined with the Veil of Stillness technique, should allow me to deceive him.”
Lv Yang’s confidence wasn’t unfounded.
The Qi Gathering Stage had ten tiers, divided into early, middle, late, and Perfect stages. Within these minor stages, there were practically no bottlenecks—just a matter of accumulating sufficient spiritual energy to break through.
The true obstacle lay in breaking through these minor stages. Advancing from early to middle, middle to late, and late to Perfect Completion became exponentially harder, stalling countless cultivators at the same level.
“According to my calculations, ten Primordial Qi Pills combined with the spiritual vein in this Cultivation Cave should be enough to push me to the third tier of the Refining Qi Stage,” he reasoned. “In fact, this is the cultivation level of most disciples in the sect. They advance slowly through time and seniority, only to get stuck at the bottleneck of the early Refining Qi Stage, becoming nothing more than drudges for the Holy Sect.”
Under normal circumstances, Lv Yang would have been one of them.
But this life, he had an ace up his sleeve.
With a mere thought, a swirling white vapor materialized in his hand, shifting effortlessly between the shape of a sword and a wisp of smoke.
Primordial Qi!
“As Liu Xin once said, the greatest use of Primordial Qi is breaking through bottlenecks. His breakthrough to the late Refining Qi Stage was certainly due to this.”
If Liu Xin could breakthrough to the late Refining Qi Stage with it, then Lv Yang reaching the middle stage should be no problem.
“As long as I break through to the middle Refining Qi Stage, this life won’t have been wasted. At worst, I’ll reincarnate immediately. In my next life, I’ll start with even higher cultivation and a better foundation!”
Moments later, a voice echoed outside the Cultivation Cave.
His Primordial Qi Pills had arrived.
Lv Yang opened the door and saw a woman in plain robes standing outside. Her beauty rivaled Yun Miaoqing’s, but her figure was even more voluptuous.
“This one is Qingchen. Greetings, Senior Brother Lv,” she said with a graceful bow, her voice carrying a subtle enchantment that soothed the soul and inspired instant favor. “I’ve been sent to deliver the Primordial Qi Pills you purchased. Please present your token for verification.”
Lv Yang knew the procedure and complied without hesitation.
As they exchanged the items, Qingchen casually probed, “Senior Brother, purchasing so many pills—did you strike gold somewhere?”
“Senior Sister, you flatter me,” Lv Yang shook his head with a bitter smile. “I’ve just taken out several loans. I’m hoping to boost my cultivation to take on higher-paying tasks.”
“I see.”
Qingchen nodded, her expression softening. “Senior Brother, don’t be too hard on yourself. Every formal disciple here carries debts.”
“But… forgive my bluntness, Senior Brother. You seem a bit too rigid.”
“Oh?”
Intrigued, Lv Yang raised an eyebrow. Qingchen smiled faintly. “There are only so many tasks in the sect. Relying solely on them will never clear your debts.”
“In the Holy Sect, those who stick to conventional paths will never grow rich,” she said gently. “I had assumed you’d discovered a Cultivation Cave left behind by a senior, gaining some hidden treasure to fund your purchases. I dared to ask out of curiosity, but it seems I was mistaken.”
“Cultivation Cave…”
Lv Yang lowered his gaze, his expression calm but his tone feigning interest. “I’m afraid I don’t understand, Senior Sister. Could you elaborate?”
“Do you know the Holy Sect was founded in the Sky-Connecting Sea of Clouds?” Qingchen explained. “Beyond the four peaks of the Inner Sect, there are many other mountains—once claimed by true disciples and elders of past generations.”
“Of course, the path of immortality is perilous. Many cultivators perish over time, but their mountains and Cultivation Caves remain untouched in the clouds. Though dangerous, these abandoned sites are full of opportunities. Even the smallest discovery can be exchanged for a fortune in Contribution Points!”
“If you’re interested, I recently discovered a relatively safe Cultivation Cave.”
Sure, and I’m the Moon Goddess. This reeks of a setup.
Lv Yang inwardly scoffed. Qingchen’s honeyed words reminded him too much of Liu Xin’s earlier manipulation that had tricked him into studying the Primordial Dao Treatise.
This is a fishing expedition!
What “Cultivation Cave opportunity”? Just bait on a hook.
He must have drawn attention by splurging on pills as a new disciple. Now they wanted to lure him out, kill him, and steal his treasures?
Still, he feigned interest. “I’ll need to think it over.”
“That’s fine,” Qingchen replied, nodding. “The transaction is complete. Contact me once you’ve decided.”
As soon as the paperwork was done, Lv Yang grabbed the pill bottle and returned to his Cultivation Cave without another word, leaving Qingchen standing there.
“???”
After a stunned pause, Qingchen nearly ground her teeth in fury, her pretty face twisting with rage. “This Lv Yang… dares to mock me!”
Turning sharply, she stormed off to another Cultivation Cave.
Inside, a young man in luxurious robes awaited her, his face darkening as he saw her expression.
“No luck?”
Qingchen shook her head. “He’s… far too cautious.”
“Senior Brother Zhao, this one suspects he never intended to repay his debts. He borrowed money but bought pills instead of the Yin-Yang Immortal Bloom.”
“Trying to dodge his debts? Dream on!” Zhao Xuhe sneered. “You know the Holy Sect secretly prices every new disciple the moment they join.”
“The amount a disciple can borrow will never exceed their worth. That way, the sect always recovers its costs—whether through flesh, organs, or soul. All valuable commodities.”
“Let him cultivate. The higher his cultivation, the more valuable he becomes.”
Zhao Xuhe grinned, his smile dripping with bloodlust. “We’ll profit either way—maybe even make a tidy profit.”
“Besides,” he added, “he might have the money to buy pills, but not the life to use them.”
“You mean…”
Zhao Xuhe nodded, his eyes gleaming. “There’s profit in many things… as long as no one finds out.”
At his words, Qingchen’s eyes lit up with understanding.
(End of Chapter)
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