Embezzling for Personal Gain

A cultivator's strength was made up of three aspects.

Cultivation realm, divine abilities, and magical artifacts!

All three held a pivotal place. He had been too poor to afford them before, but after working for two months and growing fat with grease, he could naturally consider equipping himself in every respect.

Meanwhile.

At Xu's Pill Shop, after Wang Yu left, the Zhu grandfather and grandson huddled together. The arrogant young master from the daytime now spoke to Old Zhu with some nervousness.

"Grandfather, can Wang Yu really shoulder this blame?"

"He can't."

Old Zhu shook his head, his gaze ice-cold.

"Find a few more alchemists and have them shoulder it together."

Zhu Xiao Sun immediately felt guilty.

"If I hadn't offended that person from Evil God Peak, Grandfather, you wouldn't have needed to risk everything."

"What are you saying? Why should grandfather and grandson like us need so many words?

"Besides offering up a large sum of spirit stones to erase your crimes, the pill shop also needs someone to take the blame. Otherwise, we still won't know peace.

"Appear at the pill shop less often during this time. If anything goes wrong with this matter, leave the sect as soon as possible and find a way to sneak across Two Regions Great Pass."

The Zhu grandfather and grandson had already siphoned off substantial private gains from the newly opened Xu's Pill Shop, using them to erase their own crimes.

This crime-erasure system was also one of the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect's defining features.

Other than sins like betraying the sect, any mistake could be offset with spirit stones. They were using one crime to cover another. The difference was that Foundation Establishment Stewards were easier to bully, and there were ways to make others take the blame.

That was the true reason behind the high wages in the employment contract, not Steward Xu's intention.

When Zhu Xiao Sun had mocked Wang Yu during the day, he had actually wanted him to retreat in the face of difficulty. After all, it was far too absurd for a Qi Refining Third Layer alchemist to embezzle tens of thousands of spirit stones. Who would have the nerve?

No one would believe a nobody like that could be made to take the blame! That was why he had been so eager to drive Wang Yu away, lest trouble arise.

Yet Old Zhu had taken a liking to Wang Yu. With age came cunning; pinning the expenses of such an enormous sum of spirit stones entirely on one person was somewhat unreasonable as well.

After all, they would eventually have to recover the stolen funds. The larger the group, the smaller the amount each person had to bear. It would be impossible to trace every single spirit stone's destination precisely, giving them room to maneuver.

As for cooking the books, he was a professional!

The next day.

Wang Yu hummed a little tune as he leisurely headed to Xu's Pill Shop for work. Without the oppression of his days as a Spirit Slave, he was now working to earn money for himself, and his mindset was naturally different.

"Old Zhu, how's business today?"

At the beginning of the hour of the Snake (9 a.m.).

Wang Yu stepped through the pill shop's doors. Old Zhu was copying something behind the counter, and Wang Yu was about to go over for a chat.

But he heard him say, "Alchemist Wang, you're here. The furnace in the Earth Fire Room has already been warmed up, and there's a boy attendant at the entrance to hand you the ingredients."

Wang Yu halted, doubts rising in his heart. He was being sent off to refine pills the moment he arrived, before they could even chat casually. What did that mean?

Just then, a customer came over with a bottle of Spirit Recovery Pills to pay.

"Shopkeeper, I'll take this bottle of pills. Hurry up—I still have a mission and need to leave the sect."

"Ah, yes, yes, yes."

Seeing this, Wang Yu headed toward the Earth Fire Room in the rear courtyard. The more he thought about it, the more it felt off. In the end, only five words remained in his mind—This is a demonic sect!

Suspicion, vigilance, and decisiveness were all fine virtues of demonic cultivators. He was gradually developing these instincts. There were suspicious points about Old Zhu, and whether they were major or minor, he had to be on guard.

He temporarily buried the matter in his heart and decided to make plans after work.

The contract had been signed, so he still had to complete his daily work. Operating with one arm was somewhat difficult, meaning Wang Yu had to perform every Fire Control Incantation Seal and Pill Condensation Seal one-handed!

Refining pills taxed his mind even more. His spiritual power was still sufficient after refining two batches, but his divine sense would be utterly exhausted. He needed to rest briefly and enter a state of empty meditation before he could Rapidly Recover.

This also had its benefits. Restoring divine sense after pushing it to its limit was like training: muscles grew stronger through constant tearing, and divine sense was the same.

Its strength, upper limit, and degree of fine control all steadily improved through repeated recovery. Even if each improvement was minuscule, he was still advancing step by step.

Without accumulating small steps, one could not reach a thousand miles; without gathering tiny streams, one could not form rivers and seas!

Only through countless unintentional acts of persistence and accumulation could a seed ultimately grow into a towering tree. His Useless Spiritual Roots made Wang Yu value every improvement he achieved.

Once he discovered that pill refining tempered and strengthened his divine sense, he devoted even more attention to it, gradually becoming completely immersed.

Before he knew it, a day had passed.

Five batches of Spirit Recovery Pills and five batches of Fasting Pills. The former yielded thirty-two pills, the latter twenty-nine. Wang Yu only handed over the mid-grade pills; any high-grade pills that emerged from the furnace went straight into his own pocket.

There was enough for one bottle as well. This was considered reasonable furnace loss.

If these were not such simple First-Tier spirit pills, with almost no chance of the furnace exploding, he could have swallowed a few sets of ingredients too. What a pity.

After meditating briefly to settle his breathing.

He then left the Earth Fire Room and came to the pill shop's front hall. The stream of customers had already vanished by then. Old Zhu was speaking with three cultivators, and upon seeing Wang Yu emerge, he quickly called out.

"Alchemist Wang, come over. These three are all alchemists who will be taking office at Xu's Pill Shop in the future. Come get acquainted."

The man in a blue robe and square headscarf, who had the air of a scholar, introduced himself. "I am Zhou Tao, Qi Refining Eighth Layer, a First-Tier High-Grade Alchemist and an Outer Disciple of Five Yin Peak."

Wang Yu immediately understood. For someone with this cultivation to still be in the Outer Sect, he was surely a first-generation cultivator without backing or connections, hoping to take the path of steward or elder.

As for Five Yin Peak, it was the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect's Seventh Peak. It practiced Ghost Control and God Cursing, its methods strange and unpredictable, difficult to guard against.

The remaining two were more ordinary, but they shared one thing in common: neither had any backing!

"I am Huang Kai, Qi Refining Sixth Layer, a First-Tier Mid-Grade Alchemist and an Outer Disciple of Blood Nether Peak."

"I am Luo Ping Hu, Qi Refining Fifth Layer, a First-Tier Mid-Grade Alchemist and an Outer Disciple of Heavenly Corpse Peak."

Zhou Tao, Huang Kai, Luo Ping Hu. Wang Yu glanced at Old Zhu and likewise gave a standard self-introduction.

When they learned that he was only at Qi Refining Third Layer and even refined pills with one arm, all of them expressed surprise. They had wanted to invite Wang Yu to a tavern for a meal and discuss the Dao of alchemy, but he declined.

Time was of the essence. It would be best to go out and investigate as soon as possible.

Considering all the possibilities, he prepared to pay Steward Xu a visit in person. The pill shop had been open for several days, yet he had not even seen its true owner. That was far too improper.

Steward Xu held a nominal post in Evil God Ward. Generally speaking, whatever peak one came from was the marketplace where one would hold a post. When Outer Disciples advanced, the posts they held were all nominal, carrying only a title and the lowest tier of benefits.

Most would still be dispatched outside the sect to guard certain resource-producing regions occupied by the sect.

When Inner Disciples advanced, they received real posts, such as Law Enforcement Hall Steward, Technique Transmission Hall Steward, Mission Hall Steward... etc. With the Mountain Gate at their backs, they lacked nothing and were extremely safe.

There was also another group, sent to oversee the various cities under the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect's control.