My golden finger has arrived?

For five to seven days, Xiang Yuan was completely immersed in his cultivation, unable to pull himself away.

Every time Old Liu came looking for him, he'd claim to have been poisoned and needed rest.

He practiced his saber techniques for two hours every day, incorporating his imitation of Liu Jingsheng into the Five Tigers Severing Gate Saber. The rest of his time was spent circulating the Formless Seal Method, making rapid progress, almost opening one acupoint a day.

In a few more days, once his Ren Meridian was completely unblocked and his Qi Refining reached Great Accomplishment, he could smoothly transition into the Acupoint Opening stage.

Just in case, before breaking through, he needed to acquire a pill to ensure success on the first try.

With the Heaven and Earth Vital Energy depleted and the world incomplete, cultivators were also incomplete. External pills were essential.

The Formless Seal Method transformed the rotten into the miraculous. From the moment Xiang Yuan began, he felt divinely aided. The reason opening his Ren Meridian was as simple as eating and drinking was entirely due to this technique's unique properties.

It cleansed the marrow and reshaped the bones, reversing meridians and altering acupoints.

In addition to this, the 'Candle Yin Casting God' technique, which strengthened the Primordial Spirit, played a crucial role. It compensated for Xiang Yuan's mental deficiencies, making him worthy of his current physical body.

He felt terrifyingly strong!

Gaining such divine power so suddenly made him feel this way. If he had been beaten up, he would have calmed down afterward.

Xiang Yuan's calmness wasn't due to being beaten up, but rather a headache. In the past few days, his head ailment had worsened, and he vaguely felt his Primordial Spirit was uncontrollable, as if it were about to split into three.

A splitting Primordial Spirit wasn't impossible. The incomplete memory fragments of Lingguang contained corresponding cases, but this was a skill only powerful cultivators could wield. He had never heard of a junior in the Qi Refining Stage splitting their Primordial Spirit into three.

At its root, the head ailment was caused by his transmigration. Xiang Yuan had asked Old Daoist Quexin about it, and the latter had called it a great fortune, a good thing.

He couldn't suppress the hidden danger of his head ailment, so Xiang Yuan could only trust Old Daoist Quexin and let his Primordial Spirit go out of control, allowing it to run in three directions like a wild horse.

Not to mention curing the illness, at least the pain lessened.

Moreover, the Primordial Spirit didn't split into three as he had anticipated, but rather like three tentacles, extending in three different directions.

It was hard to say what other people's Primordial Spirits looked like, but Xiang Yuan's looked like a car emblem.

After his Primordial Spirit mutated, Xiang Yuan's mind also followed suit, running in three directions. As a Qi Refining cultivator, how much mental energy could he possess with divine power? Feeling groggy and sleepy, he activated the 'Candle Yin Casting God' technique to strengthen his Primordial Spirit.

As he practiced, he truly felt like he had split into three, with all three tentacles cultivating simultaneously. Furthermore, he gained the ability to switch between them freely.

"It's not splitting, it's more like multitasking. Is this an illness, or..."

My golden finger has arrived?

Xiang Yuan exclaimed in wonder and silently recited, "Uncle-Master, help me," activating his search engine to confirm that he was like a scorpion's dung – a unique specimen.

Of course, it was possible it wasn't unique. The memory river of Spiritual Light Old Devil was incomplete, and this part of his memory might have been lost.

But regardless, this was Xiang Yuan's only way to resolve his head ailment.

He tried switching his Primordial Spirit. Each time the three tentacles changed their primary and secondary roles, his own being would change accordingly. He tried several times, summarized his experiences, and named them: Steadfast, Cold-blooded, and Goofy.

Steadfast was him after transmigration, low-key and cautious, as ordinary as a passerby. Cold-blooded was domineering and ruthless, with a heart as cold as iron, unmoved by external factors. Goofy...

There was nothing to say about this one. At first glance, it strongly resembled Old Daoist Quexin from Spiritual Light Old Devil's memories. Upon closer inspection, it shared many common interests and conversational points with Xiao He, who was depicted in numerous murals.

Although all three were part of his true self, the Goofy persona was too jarring. It was nowhere near as heroic and handsome as the Cold-blooded one.

Being handsome was a lifelong pursuit!

The more Xiang Yuan looked at it, the more he disliked it. He mused that the day his divine power reached Great Accomplishment would be the day the Goofy persona packed its bags and left.

He had to get rid of it.

Not now, he didn't have the ability. With Candle Yin Casting God, his Primordial Spirit grew stronger daily, the car emblem became more solid, and the car doors were welded shut. He couldn't get off.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Xiang Yuan, are you recovered yet?" Old Liu pushed the door open and walked in, his tone quite displeased.

Firstly, Xiang Yuan had used the excuse of being poisoned to take paid leave, leaving him to handle everything alone without any help. Secondly, he had lost their bet, and Xiang Yuan no longer had to repay the money for the meals he owed him.

Why did it have to rain all of a sudden?

Old Liu couldn't understand. For someone like him, who was "frugal and managed the household," losing a meal was worse than killing him. He had been dwelling on it for days.

"I'm almost recovered."

Xiang Yuan jumped off the bed, sighing that the yamen was full of prying eyes and he was constantly disturbed, making it a poor place for cultivation.

There were solutions, though. Like Old Liu, who had a family and never stayed at the yamen overnight, or renting a quiet room at a martial arts school that provided all three meals, so one wouldn't even need to leave the room.

But these methods had one prerequisite.

Money.

"Poor scholars, rich martial artists." Practicing martial arts required a fortune to squander. Famous teachers, pills, secret manuals, and the environment were all indispensable, and all of these cost money.

Youngsters like Xiang Yuan, the better ones went to the Six Doors. While their resources couldn't compare to major sects or noble families, they were still sufficient. As long as they didn't die prematurely, they had a good chance of reaching Foundation Establishment.

The less fortunate ones ended up in local yamens. They seemed to have good treatment, but in reality, they lacked everything. The resources allocated to martial artists were very limited.

It made sense. The money was all earned by the major mountain sects and noble families. The imperial court was also short on money. The "dogs" of higher quality were given more resources, while the average ones were fed just enough to survive.

"If you're recovered, come out with me for a bit. You've been hiding away all day, I haven't seen hide nor hair of you."

Hearing Old Liu's dissatisfaction, Xiang Yuan didn't dare refuse. He slung his saber over his shoulder and followed him out of the County Yamen, beginning their routine patrol.

On the way, Xiang Yuan inquired about the case, and Old Liu told him everything he had learned from Liu Jingsheng.

The zombie man was captured and received a luxurious single room at the Six Doors, where he was undergoing memory recovery therapy. After several sessions, he remained stubborn and refused to confess.

The zombie man was captured by Liu Jingsheng, saving the Six Doors the embarrassment of being framed. This was a great achievement, and with the rewards that followed, the constables who were on duty that night would all receive a sum of money.

This was a reward from the imperial court, and the yamen had its own separate rewards.

For example, Xiang Yuan, for killing a fierce person from the Five Poisons Cult, received a reward from the imperial court and was also bestowed with pills in recognition of his bravery and loyalty. By rescuing his colleague from the poisonous miasma, he saved the Fengxian Yamen the cost of two funeral grants, so they had to show their appreciation one way or another.

"Old Liu, how much money will I get?" Xiang Yuan's eyes lit up.

"About fifty taels. This is a major case, so it should be around that amount," Old Liu said happily.

Xiang Yuan lacked common sense and had no clear concept of the current purchasing power. He asked, "Fifty taels, is that enough to buy a pill for Acupoint Opening?"

"It's enough, but only for a mid-grade one. White Cloud Manor has them."

"Mid-grade... that's fine, better than low-grade."

"No, there are no low-grade ones. What you consider mid-grade is actually low-grade."

Old Liu gestured with his hands, "When you go to White Cloud Manor, they'll tell you, 'This is mid-grade,' 'This is prime-grade,' and 'This is top-grade.'"

He felt like he had put on clothes only to realize he was still naked.

Xiang Yuan fell silent for a moment and asked Old Liu to skip the frustrating topic and continue with the case details.

In a sense, Xiang Yuan, who had inherited the Lingguang legacy, was not short of money; he simply lacked the means to access it yet.

It was all buried in the Southern Border!

"Remember the scar-faced man we met at Lesser Morality Temple? They arrested many people this time, but not him. I thought he was suspicious then and reported it to Captain Liu. He's probably from the Five Poisons Cult. The Six Doors has already issued a sea-catching warrant."

"A large amount of stolen goods was seized, including sharp weapons from Forget Sword Manor and pills from White Cloud Manor. Both establishments often do business in the martial arts world, taking money to do things regardless of the client's identity. The Six Doors found the two shops, but there was nothing they could do..."

"Based on my years of experience investigating cases, this case is just the tip of the iceberg. We just stumbled upon it. It's a mess in there!"

"Old Liu, will the Six Doors continue to investigate further?"

"It's hard to say. The Six Doors isn't clean either. Those two manors are definitely involved in dirty work. Since the scar-faced man escaped, it's highly likely the investigation will go no further."

Old Liu shook his head repeatedly and concluded, "They caught the zombie-faced man and seized a large amount of stolen goods. The higher-ups are satisfied, and everyone is happy. Further investigation would only cause trouble."