Debt Doubled, Lost His Spark

You can't move this tower anyway, can you?

No, she really could move it.

She just couldn't beat this old man for the time being.

Though the Jade Slip in her hand was light, Bai Lan knew that its contents held a Nascent Soul stage pill cultivator's inheritance, worth a fortune.

As she stepped out of the main hall, Le Qing, who had been lingering at the entrance for a long while, hurried forward and held out his hand. "My Storage Bag..."

"Hm?" Bai Lan looked surprised. "You want your Storage Bag back?"

"That was mine to begin with!" Le Qing frowned.

"..." Bai Lan laughed in exasperation. "Kid, get this straight. Including what happened in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, I've saved you twice."

Le Qing choked, and his voice dropped several notches. "Y-you and I are fellow disciples. Fellow disciples helping each other is... is only right!"

Bai Lan threw a punch that landed squarely on Le Qing's face. He never expected her to attack outright, and staggered back, nearly falling to the ground. "What are you doing!?"

"Isn't cultivating immortality all about doing as one pleases? I didn't like the sight of you, so I hit you. What about it?" As soon as she finished speaking, she stomped down again, pinning Le Qing, who was trying to rise, to the ground.

Le Qing glared. His hand instinctively went for his Storage Bag, only to find his waist empty. He raised his head indignantly and saw Bai Lan swinging his Storage Bag with a mocking look on her face. "Angry? Furious? You're unwilling to accept being beaten like this, aren't you? So what? You can't beat me anyway."

"Don't you get too... urgh..." Le Qing tried to strike back with words, but before he could finish, Bai Lan planted her foot on his face.

This kid really had a foul mouth. Bai Lan considered herself a gentle and kind person, but even she was getting annoyed by him.

Not wanting to hear that chirping racket any longer, she raised a hand and cast a spiritual energy restriction into his mouth, sealing it shut in the process.

"Know your place. You're a prisoner now. In the Nine Yin Secret Realm, even if I really killed you, no one would know." Bai Lan bent down slightly. "Bai Ling has a protective spiritual artifact given to her by Qing Xuan, one that can save her life at a critical moment. But you don't."

The woman's icy face was reflected in Le Qing's pupils, and the killing intent in her eyes was not concealed in the slightest.

Cold sweat gradually broke out across his back, and Le Qing slowly came to his senses.

She really wanted to kill him...

Bai Lan's easygoing nature and the outer sect servant's robes she wore had made him, an inner sect disciple, instinctively place this servant beneath him.

"The terms I offered in the main hall just now—six hundred Spirit Stones every month for ten years. If you agree, I can consider sparing your life. If you refuse, then today I'll do a good deed and send you on a trip to the Western Paradise." As Bai Lan spoke, a small flame slowly gathered in her palm.

The scorching heat rushed over him, making Le Qing swallow hard.

He wanted to speak, but the restriction prevented him from doing so. All he could do was make muffled, incoherent noises. "Mmph..."

"Hm? You refuse? Tsk, then I can only send you on your way." Bai Lan removed her foot and rose, taking the Soul Severing Spear from the Storage Bag.

He agreed! He agreed! At least remove the restriction before asking him!

Le Qing wept inwardly.

Taking advantage of the moment Bai Lan stood up, Le Qing exhausted all his strength to break through the restriction in his mouth. Just as the Soul Severing Spear came down, he urgently cried out, "I agree! I agree!"

"Hm, why have you changed your mind again?" Bai Lan paused.

"You put a restriction on me and wouldn't let me talk. How was I supposed to say anything..." Le Qing looked as though he wanted to cry but had no tears.

"Oh~" Bai Lan nodded in understanding, then her gaze suddenly sharpened. "So you're saying that not letting you speak was my fault?"

Le Qing's heart skipped a beat. He answered timidly, "N-no, it wasn't. It was my fault. It was all my fault..."

Sure enough, in the cultivation world, nothing worked better than a beating.

Look at that—before, everything had been Bai Lan's fault.

After one beating, he had learned to look for the problem in himself.

If you can't find the book by searching its title, try searching for the author instead! Maybe it was just renamed!

Not bad. Very good.

"Hmph." Bai Lan snorted softly. "Swear it."

"S-swear?" Le Qing froze.

"Regarding the Spirit Stones, you naturally need to make a Heart Demon Vow for it to count." Bai Lan lifted her chin. "Go on."

A contract governed by the rules of heaven and earth in the cultivation world—once signed, it took effect immediately and would be followed by the Heavenly Dao Rules for the rest of one's life.

As long as one remained in the cultivation world, the side effects brought by a Heart Demon Vow would continue to hang over them.

Whether it was Party A or Party B who breached the agreement, the consequences were severe.

That was the one good thing about the cultivation world.

Le Qing was bitter inside, but with the Soul Severing Spear in Bai Lan's hand, he could only be forced into making the Heart Demon Vow.

"Work hard and earn Spirit Stones. Live a little longer, too. If you die too early, I'll lose quite a few Spirit Stones." Bai Lan smiled faintly, put away her spear, and turned to leave.

Le Qing, now burdened with a debt of over sixty thousand Spirit Stones, slumped on the ground, the light gone from his eyes.

"System, send me the location. I'm done here."

The system replied instantly, "Wow, that was fast~"

"How's Long Aotian doing? Don't tell me he's still being lovey-dovey with his harem."

"The host has seen through the truth. Long Aotian really is still being lovey-dovey with his harem." The system suddenly stopped halfway through, then hurriedly spoke again after a moment. "No! Host, Long Aotian seems to have found where the opportunity is!"

"Keep following it. I'll be there right away."

She had obtained the alchemy inheritance so easily earlier only because she had beaten Bai Ling to the punch, leaving her no chance to make a move at all.

This time, Long Aotian had discovered the opportunity first. It seemed she would have to put in some effort if she wanted to obtain that soul cultivation technique.

She raced straight toward the location marked by the system. When she neared the target, Bai Lan finally noticed that quite a few people had gathered around it.

"This formation can block divine sense. It is definitely no ordinary thing."

"Why aren't any of you going in? What's the point of crowding around here?"

"If you're so capable, then you go."

"The aura coming from this cave isn't weak. If you've got the guts, go in and try it. What if there's a Third-tier demonic beast hiding inside? Wouldn't we be walking straight in to become food in its belly?"

"Tsk..."

Just as the crowd buzzed with chatter, someone stepped forward. "Hmph, if you don't dare go in, then I will!"

It was Long Aotian.

The people around him exchanged glances for a moment, then burst into laughter. Someone even mocked, "If you can come out of that cave alive, I'll take your surname!"

Because of Bai Lan's appearance, Long Aotian had yet to wash away his reputation as trash. The people around him still mocked him without restraint.

"Hmph!" Long Aotian snorted coldly. "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—never bully a poor young man!"

"Aotian, I'll go in with you!" the beauty behind Long Aotian said urgently.

Long Aotian lowered his head and gave a wickedly charming smile. Then, with the beauty behind him, he strode into the cave entrance sealed by the formation.

...He still couldn't forget his east of the river and west of the river.

Bai Lan lowered her head and pondered for a moment.