As long as you have money!

Nothing else happened for several days straight.

Lu Changsheng slept beneath the old pine, silently working through the pain.

He had originally been watching to see when the people from the Profound Heaven Sect would leave, only for them to settle in, showing no intention of leaving at all.

Zhou Qingyu cultivated as usual, unshaken by wind or rain. Remembering how he had nearly harmed his junior brother before, Ye Tianyi had not disturbed him these past few days either, instead cultivating on his own.

After all, the Cangyun Secret Realm was about to open, and they needed to prepare thoroughly.

Ning Yuxin, on the other hand, came every day for several days in a row, yet never disturbed him, a troubled look on her face.

Only after Lu Changsheng had fully recovered and returned to Qingyun Peak from beneath the old pine did Ning Yuxin approach him.

"Senior Brother Lu, do you have time right now?" Ning Yuxin asked.

"Need something?"

Lu Changsheng looked over.

She walked up to him and sat down there.

After spending this time together, she had become familiar with Lu Changsheng and was no longer as reserved as before.

"Has your Sword Intent stopped growing, or has Eldest Senior Brother not noticed you?"

"Neither. My Sword Intent has been growing all along, and very quickly, too. Senior Brother Zhou has also been paying attention to me and often comes to discuss questions about the Sword Dao!"

"Then what is it...?" Lu Changsheng asked in confusion.

Finally, Ning Yuxin said, "Ever since I began cultivating the Sword Dao, I've felt that something was wrong!"

"What's wrong?"

At that, he perked up. He was a conscientious seller, after all. After-sales issues had to be taken seriously. Any problems had to be resolved; he could not ruin his reputation.

Looking a little embarrassed, Ning Yuxin said, "It's changes in my body..."

"Is it irregular? Or has it stopped? Or have you and Eldest Senior Brother already conceived?"

Before he finished, Ning Yuxin's face had flushed red. Frowning, she said, "Senior Brother, what nonsense are you talking about? I just, just..."

"Oh, so it's hard to say!" Lu Changsheng nodded in understanding. "Why don't I take your pulse?"

"You know how to take pulses, too?"

"A little!"

Ning Yuxin held out her hand. She was too embarrassed to say it herself. If he could find out by taking her pulse, it would spare her the awkwardness of saying it aloud.

Yet the instant Lu Changsheng took her pulse, he nodded thoughtfully and said, "Oh, so there's tightness in your chest, accompanied by pain, with a swelling, tearing sensation!"

"You..."

At those words, Ning Yuxin's face grew even redder, all the way to her ears. She stared at him with wide, almond-shaped eyes. It was simply too humiliating.

Wasn't embarrassment precisely why she had not said it aloud? He had understood that, which was why he had taken her pulse, only to blurt it out afterward. What had been the point of taking her pulse, then?

Still, she was surprised. Lu Changsheng's reputation was so awful that he could be called utterly worthless, yet he could help people cultivate the Sword Dao and even knew how to diagnose illnesses by taking pulses, identifying the problem in an instant.

Lu Changsheng withdrew his hand, his brows furrowing.

He understood where the problem lay.

Fundamentally, Ning Yuxin's Sword Intent had been split off from his own.

He had erased his own presence from it, and it had been nurtured within her body until it became her Sword Intent.

But in essence, this Sword Intent was still exactly the same as Lu Changsheng's, and the Sword Intent he had cultivated was tyrannical, beyond what an ordinary constitution could withstand.

Thus, as it grew and circulated within Ning Yuxin's body, it caused damage when her body could not bear it.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing serious!" Having determined the cause, Lu Changsheng waved a hand.

"What's causing it?"

"To be specific, the Sword Intent you've cultivated is too tyrannical, so your body can't bear it. Some areas have been torn, causing them to swell!"

Ning Yuxin glanced down. "Tyrannical Sword Intent?"

"I also forgot to warn you earlier that this kind of Sword Intent is different!"

"No wonder Eldest Senior Brother marveled at my talent for the Sword Dao and said my Sword Intent was extraordinary!" Ning Yuxin seemed to understand, then asked, "What should I do, then? I feel like I'm about to break through to the second level of the Sword Dao, but the pain keeps getting worse!"

Hearing this, Lu Changsheng looked her over, a thought forming in his mind.

"Junior Sister, this can be resolved, but it's a little..."

As he spoke, his eyes fixed on her once again.

His gaze made Ning Yuxin's brows tighten, and she instinctively moved to rise and back away.

"A little what, Senior Brother?"

By the time she spoke, she had already decided that if anything happened, she would turn and run.

Then Lu Changsheng said, "A little expensive!"

"Huh? Expensive?"

"That's right. This kind of Sword Intent is tyrannical and needs a strong body to contain it. Your cultivation is also a little low, so you'll need to make a breakthrough!"

Ning Yuxin breathed a sigh of relief and asked doubtfully, "You mean I need to temper my body and raise my cultivation?"

"Exactly!"

"But I'm not a body cultivator, and raising my cultivation isn't something I can do overnight. I feel like my Sword Intent is already approaching the second level, and it grows on its own every day..."

Lu Changsheng nodded. "That's why I said it'll be rather expensive. We'll need Spirit Stones to buy spirit medicines and materials. It won't be a small sum!"

"As long as I have money?"

"As long as you have money!"

He answered without the slightest hesitation.

What a joke. What couldn't money do?

As long as the money was right, he would have no problem taking a saber to hack at the Profound Heaven Sect's sect master. What did a little matter like helping her temper her body and raise her cultivation amount to?

Ning Yuxin hesitated no longer.

"Then how much will you need, Senior Brother?"

"I'm not sure about that. We'll have to go to Cangyun City and check the specifics. Prices for some things are always fluctuating. You know I don't make any money off you!"

"All right. Sorry for the trouble, Senior Brother, but please come with me to Cangyun City tomorrow!"

As far as Lu Changsheng was concerned, Ning Yuxin still trusted him a great deal now.

After all, from establishing her Sword Intent to growing it, nothing had gone wrong, and the results had been excellent.

She had told her Lineage all the figures for her growth. Upon learning that she had cultivated Sword Intent and was nearing the second level, her father had been delighted.

Especially after learning that she had improved so much while spending so few Spirit Stones, he had found it far too good a bargain and was making plans to send his son over for some training as well.

In his eyes, this truly was spending little money to accomplish great things!

"Sure, then!"

Lu Changsheng said nothing more and watched Ning Yuxin leave.

Only after she had gone did he raise his eyebrows.

"Could she have realized I've been gouging her, so she wants to buy things herself? That shouldn't be possible!" Lu Changsheng felt a little guilty.

After all, refining pills for her last time had only cost him three Spirit Stones.

At that thought, he began to ponder. She was a money tree; he could not let her slip away. It was time to show some real skill.

Ning Yuxin returned to her room, but kept becoming lost in thought as she thought of Lu Changsheng.

As she gradually got to know him, he proved increasingly different from the rumors. His reputation had previously left a thorn in her heart, but that feeling was gone now. Being with him no longer seemed quite so distasteful.

Nothing else happened that night, and the whole of Qingyun Peak was utterly silent.

Early the next morning, Lu Changsheng was already waiting outside, ready to take Ning Yuxin to Cangyun City.