Demonic Spirit Stone

[When you heard Han Changqing say he had been "fishing for five years," you fell completely silent.]

[The Alchemy Hall loan, the deacon's probing, the price hike for the intensive class, and even the two Spirit-Urging Pills Liu Cheng had given you back then.]

[None of them were isolated incidents.]

[All along, you had been working under a camera, with the chairman sitting behind it.]

[Han Changqing put the Spirit Stone back on the table.]

["This isn't an ordinary Spirit Stone. It's a Demonic Spirit Stone."]

Demonic Spirit Stone?!

Lu Ping's heart gave a sudden jolt when he saw those words.

Something classified as "demonic."

The name itself was troubling.

["In the Qingyang Domain, this is a first-class prohibited item."]

["The Azure Cloud Sect is cracking down hard."]

["Lu Ping."]

["What exactly is your relationship with the demonic cult?"]

[You were bewildered and could only answer honestly,]

["I truly know nothing about the demonic cult, Sect Master, and I have no connection to it whatsoever."]

[Han Changqing interrupted you.]

["It seems you don't intend to talk. Then I can only hand you over to the Azure Cloud Sect. They'll naturally have ways to get it out of you."]

[You tried to make one last struggle.]

["Sect Master, I can swear a Heart Oath."]

[Han Changqing sneered,]

["A Heart Oath? Spies like you have plenty of ways to get around a Heart Oath."]

["Come with me. Once we reach the Azure Cloud Sect, they'll find out what you really are."]

[You spoke in a somewhat subdued voice.]

["Sect Master, I only want to stay alive, that's all..."]

[Han Changqing interrupted you, his tone turning slightly strange.]

["Stay alive?! Haha... Lots of people want to stay alive! I do too!"]

[As soon as he finished speaking, Han Changqing abruptly released his pressure.]

[Your chest grew heavy, and the storage ring hidden against your body dug into your flesh.]

[The ring Jiang Mutian had left behind still wouldn't open.]

[Suddenly, you missed Jiang Mutian terribly.]

[Of course, it wasn't the fifty thousand omitted words you missed. You just missed her strength, her ability to slap someone at Foundation Establishment Perfection to death with one palm.]

[Options appeared.]

[A: Surrender without a fight and gamble that the Azure Cloud Sect won't kill you immediately.]

[B: Fight back with your life on the line, using Bully at Home's boost within the Greenwood Sect to try to escape with your life.]

[C: Kneel on the spot and apply for an internal transfer, hoping the sect master will give you a PIP improvement period for your alchemy skills.]

Lu Ping's eyes darkened slightly.

If he surrendered without a fight, he might still live.

The Azure Cloud Sect might not kill him on the spot. He might even be able to rack up a few more years of service and get a few more Traits.

But the problem was, this simulation had already given him an S-rank Trait and an A-rank Trait.

Knowing the simulator, he figured he would get nothing but trash Traits for the next few years.

He had already gained enough from this simulation.

A Qi Refining Cultivation Method, the alchemy system, the Greenwood Sect's structure, and information on the Demonic Spirit Stone.

And a chance for someone at Foundation Establishment Perfection to take the field personally.

Experience fighting someone at Foundation Establishment Perfection was something one could encounter but not seek.

It suddenly became clear to Lu Ping that cultivating immortality was, by its very nature, defying the heavens.

Keeping a low profile was fine, but he couldn't lose his edge.

All right, no more pretending. That bastard Han Changqing had gone too far.

He was being pushed around even in a simulation. He couldn't keep his inner Salty Fish down anymore.

Just a measly Foundation Establishment cultivator. Fuck him up!

Lu Ping chose B.

[You chose B.]

[You raised a hand and pressed it against the formation patterns beneath the stone table.]

[Over the past five years, the poisonous gas released while you refined poison pills had long since seeped into every crack in the Ding Character No. 13 Cave Abode.]

[That poisonous gas everyone despised was the escape route you had left yourself for the worst-case scenario.]

[The complete version of Spirit-Eroding Powder activated, twice as potent as ordinary Spirit-Eroding Powder!]

[Gray-black patterns surfaced on the cave abode walls, pent-up poison smoke burst from the cracks in the Pill Furnace, and the medicinal dregs on the floor split open at the same time.]

[Han Changqing's protective spiritual power slowed.]

[Han Changqing's ever-calm expression finally gave way to shock.]

[Bully at Home, activated.]

[Affiliated organization identified: Greenwood Sect.]

[Target: Han Changqing, sect master of the Greenwood Sect.]

[The target's cultivation realm is higher than yours. Combat power boosted fivefold.]

[Your Qi Refining Fifth Layer disguise shattered, and your spiritual power surged.]

[Han Changqing finally rose to his feet, a hint of seriousness on his face,]

["Qi Refining Fifth Layer? You really were hiding your cultivation."]

[You stepped forward, and the medicinal power of a Qi-Replenishing Pill burst within you.]

[Heavy Tomato User, activated.]

[Spirit-Eroding Powder has no effect on you.]

[The Lying-Flat Trait steadied your mind.]

[Artisan Spirit made every circulation of your spiritual power push right up against the limits of your meridians.]

[Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement squeezed every last bit out of each wisp of spiritual power.]

[You struck at the sect master's chest with your palm.]

[Han Changqing gently waved his sleeve.]

[Foundation Establishment spiritual power crashed down, cracking your shoulder bone, but you did not retreat an inch.]

[Bully at Home's boost surged higher once more.]

[Spirit-Eroding Powder slipped into a crack in Han Changqing's protective spiritual power.]

[With a flick of your hand, you sent a handful of Poison Essence Pills straight at Han Changqing.]

[Your attack forced Han Changqing back half a step. Spiritual power exploded, shattering the stone table, and the Demonic Spirit Stone rolled into a corner.]

[Han Changqing glanced down at the damage to the front of his robe.]

["A Qi Refining cultivator wounding one at Foundation Establishment. You really are no ordinary person. The Azure Cloud Sect will certainly like you."]

[You didn't reply. You crushed another handful of Spirit-Eroding Powder with a slap.]

[The poison mist exploded outward a second time.]

[Han Changqing's protective spiritual power fell into complete disarray for an instant.]

[In that instant, you closed in and drove your short blade beneath his ribs.]

[Spiritual power poured along the blade into Han Changqing's body, along with the poison powder coating its edge.]

[A wound tore open across Han Changqing's chest and abdomen.]

[The presence of Foundation Establishment Perfection finally spun out of control.]

[Shocked and furious, Han Changqing struck with his palm. Your left arm exploded into a mist of blood.]

[In an instant, you became an Asura.]

[Yet, with the Bully at Home Trait active, you struck again with your blade, utterly fearless of death.]

[The Spirit-Eroding Powder tore open the protective spiritual power in front of Han Changqing.]

[Your short blade was only three inches from his heart.]

[You were already planning your escape route in your head.]

[Kill the sect master, take the Demonic Spirit Stone, clean out the accounting office, and leave through the weak point in the restrictions on the mountain behind the Alchemy Hall.]

[Afterward, change your identity, become a Rogue Cultivator, and farm Traits.]

[Two inches.]

[One inch.]

[The next instant, a strand of golden Divine Sense rose from within Han Changqing.]

[The Divine Sense had no complete human form, only an Azure-Gold Talisman Seal suspended before the center of his brow.]

[The talisman seal flashed, and your short blade broke into three pieces.]

[You were sent flying backward, your back smashing through the Pill Furnace.]

[Your breastbone broke, your internal organs shifted, and your Dantian cracked open.]

[Golden Core-level Divine Sense.]

Lu Ping stared at the words "Golden Core-level Divine Sense" in silence.

The boss didn't dare summon someone for a private midnight talk about "optimization" because he was especially brave.

It was because he had legal counsel, security, authorization from headquarters, and a high-level protective talisman behind him.

Han Changqing had been fishing for Lu Ping for five years.

Even when attacking a Qi Refining First Layer cultivator as someone at Foundation Establishment Perfection, he had brought insurance.

Sly old fox.

Professional.

[Han Changqing emerged from the poison smoke, his chest and abdomen bleeding and large holes corroded through his robe.]

[He raised a hand to press down on his wound. Gray-black poison gas rose between his fingers, and his face was somewhat contorted.]

["Lu Ping, you really are full of surprises. In that case, I have even less reason to let you remain in the Greenwood Sect."]

[You leaned against the shattered Pill Furnace and tried to circulate your spiritual power.]

[The crack in your Dantian widened, and spiritual power leaked out through it.]

[Han Changqing walked up to you.]

["What a pity. The Azure Cloud Sect wanted you alive. But now, I can only send them a corpse."]

[Options appeared.]

[A: Beg for mercy and reveal all your secrets, gambling that the sect master still wants to capture you alive.]

[B: Detonate the remaining poison pills in the cave abode and take everyone in Ding Character No. 13 down with you.]

[C: Produce your First-Rank Alchemist jade token and solemnly demand that the sect master comply with labor law and not dismiss a certified employee without cause.]