Wealth Stirs the Heart

"Devil, are you in a bad mood?"

As she spoke, Yun Miaoqing looked up at Lu Yang, who sat with his eyes closed, resting his mind.

"A little."

Lu Yang sighed and casually explained the predicament he had run into.

"This is the Demon Sect—treating disciples as Consumables, without a shred of humanity," Yun Miaoqing said softly.

"Devil... Daoist Lu, your talent is excellent and your temperament is commendable. Why must you swallow humiliation and compromise within this Demon Sect?" Yun Miaoqing said. "As long as you remove the restriction on me and help me escape the Demon Sect, I can recommend you and have you become a disciple of my Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion."

If Yun Miaoqing wanted to die, he had no interest in keeping her company.

When poor, one kept oneself unsullied. His most urgent task was still finding a way to improve himself.

After weighing the matter again and again, Lu Yang did not buy any Yin-Yang Immortal Flowers. Instead, he emptied his pockets to purchase ten Vitality Pills that could increase his cultivation.

"This life has basically reached a dead end already."

"After all, I neither intend to repay my loans nor want to waste decades working like an ox or horse. Once the repayment deadline arrives, I'll definitely die without a burial ground."

"So I have to improve myself as quickly as possible during this time!"

Lu Yang had already made up his mind. When he Restarted in his next life, he would choose cultivation, and to do that, he had to raise his strength to a higher level as soon as possible.

"If my cultivation is too low, Liu Xin, who was present back then, might see through me. At the very least, I need to reach the same realm he was in." Lu Yang pondered inwardly. "At least the Middle Qi Refining Stage, along with a breath-concealing technique. Only then might I be able to fool him."

Lu Yang naturally had confidence in thinking this way.

That was because the Qi Refining Realm had ten levels, divided into early, middle, late, and perfection stages. There were basically no bottlenecks within minor realms; one only needed to pile up enough resources to break through.

What truly trapped the countless Qi Refining cultivators were the bottlenecks involved in crossing minor realms.

From the Early Qi Refining Stage to the middle stage, from the middle stage to the Qi Refining Late Stage, and from the late stage to great perfection, the difficulty nearly doubled at every step, leaving countless cultivators unable to advance an inch.

"According to my calculations, ten Vitality Pills plus the spiritual vein in this cave abode will be enough for me to break through to the third level of Qi Refining. In fact, that's the cultivation level of most disciples in the sect. They rely on time and seniority to improve, only to end up stuck at the Early Qi Refining Stage bottleneck and become oxen and horses for the Sacred Sect."

If nothing unexpected happened, Lu Yang would have been one of them as well.

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

With a thought from Lu Yang, a misty, surging strand of White Qi appeared in his palm. As obedient as an arm or finger, it shifted into the shape of a sword one moment and turned into thick smoke the next.

Primordial Breath!

"According to Liu Xin, the Primordial Breath's greatest use is actually helping people break through bottlenecks. It must have played a part in his breakthrough to the Qi Refining Late Stage."

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

Using it to break through to the Middle Qi Refining Stage shouldn't be a problem.

"As long as I break through to the Middle Qi Refining Stage, this life won't have been wasted. At worst, I can Restart immediately. My cultivation will be higher in the next life, and my starting point will be better too!"

A moment later, a voice came from outside the cave abode.

His Vitality Pills had arrived.

Lu Yang pushed open the door, only to see a woman standing outside in plain robes. Her beauty did not lose to Yun Miaoqing's, while her voluptuous figure was even more alluring.

"This one is Qingchen. Greetings, Junior Brother Lu." The woman gave a graceful curtsy, then laughed softly. Her laughter seemed to possess a magical charm, soothing the heart and making one unable to help but feel favorable toward her. "I was ordered to escort the Vitality Pills Junior Brother purchased. Please take out your Token for inspection and acceptance."

Lu Yang knew the procedure and immediately did as instructed.

As they completed the handover, Fairy Qingchen gently tested the waters. "Junior Brother was able to buy so many pills this time. Could it be that you struck it rich somewhere?"

"What are you saying, Senior Sister?"

Lu Yang shook his head, wearing a miserable expression. "I merely took out several loans. I was thinking of improving my cultivation so I could take on some higher-paying missions."

"I see."

Fairy Qingchen nodded with a concerned look. "Junior Brother, there's no need to belittle yourself. Which of us formal disciples doesn't have a few loans on us?"

"However... forgive Qingchen for speaking frankly, but Junior Brother still does not understand how to adapt."

"Oh?"

Seeing Lu Yang's interest had been piqued, Fairy Qingchen smiled slightly. "There are only so many sect missions. How could you possibly repay so many loans by relying on missions alone?"

"In the Sacred Sect, one can never become rich by only walking the beaten path." Fairy Qingchen said softly, "This one had thought Junior Brother had discovered a cave abode left behind by some Senior Brother and received his legacy, thus making a great fortune. That was why I shamelessly asked. I didn't expect that not to be the case."

"A cave abode."

Lu Yang lowered his eyelids, his gaze as still as an ancient well, but his tone carried a feigned eagerness. "I am slow-witted. Please explain in detail, Senior Sister."

"Does Junior Brother know that the Sacred Sect established itself in the Cloud Sea of Heaven-Reaching?"

Fairy Qingchen said evenly, "Within the Cloud Sea, aside from the Four Inner Peaks, there are many other mountains, all established in the past by true disciples and elders."

"Yet the immortal path is long, and over the years, people have inevitably fallen. After their deaths, however, their mountain cave abodes are not removed. They remain in the Cloud Sea. Though they carry some risk, every single one is an opportunity. Even a casual harvest can be exchanged for a vast number of Contribution Points!"

"If Junior Brother is interested, this one recently happened to discover a relatively safe cave abode."

Really? I don't believe it!

Lu Yang sneered inwardly. Fairy Qingchen's patient, persuasive manner was far too similar to Liu Xin from his previous life, when Liu Xin had tricked him into cultivating the Primordial Dao Scripture.

This was fishing!

What cave abode opportunity? It was nothing more than bait.

So I showed my wealth. She saw a newly initiated disciple like me buying so many spiritual pills and wants to lure me out, kill me, and seize the pills for herself?

With that thought, Lu Yang revealed an interested expression. "I need to consider it."

"There is no rush." Fairy Qingchen nodded upon hearing this. "The acceptance procedures have already been completed. Junior Brother may contact me after you have considered it."

"I've considered it. I'm not going."

Seeing that the procedures were finished, Lu Yang immediately picked up the bottle containing the spiritual pills and returned to his cave abode, leaving Fairy Qingchen standing there alone.

"???"

A moment later, when Fairy Qingchen finally came to her senses, she nearly ground her silver teeth to pieces. Sha Qi spilled from her lovely face. "This Lu Yang... he actually dared to toy with me!"

Turning away, Fairy Qingchen soon arrived at another cave abode.

Inside the cave abode, a Young Daoist clad in luxurious robes had been waiting for quite some time. Seeing Fairy Qingchen's ugly expression, he immediately frowned as well.

"It didn't work?"

Fairy Qingchen shook her head. "This person... is overly cautious."

"Also, Senior Brother Zhao, he borrowed money but did not buy Yin-Yang Immortal Flowers. He bought pills instead. I suspect he may never have intended to repay the money at all."

"Trying to default? In his next life!" Zhao Xuhe sneered and shook his head. "Do you know that for every newly initiated disciple, the Sacred Sect has long since secretly marked a price on him?"

"And the amount a disciple can borrow within the Sacred Sect will absolutely never exceed his price. This is to ensure that no matter what happens, the Sacred Sect can recover its costs. Flesh and blood, the five viscera, souls... all of those are valuable goods. They are more than enough to repay a debt."

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

"As long as he is still alive, higher cultivation only makes him more valuable."

Zhao Xuhe grinned, and it seemed as though the scent of blood flowed between his lips and teeth. "When the time comes, not only will we not lose anything, we might even make a profit."

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

"Senior Brother means..."

Zhao Xuhe nodded slightly, his meaning clear. "Many things are fine as long as they are not discovered."

At those words, Fairy Qingchen's beautiful eyes immediately lit up.