Whether Cui Dingyi was honest or not did not matter to Wang Yulou. It was said that the human heart was like water, but while water flowed downward, the human heart always sought a higher place, constantly yearning to climb just a bit further.
Everyone had the potential to attain immortality. Instead of honestly allowing themselves to be slaughtered, why not take a risk?
No matter how many rules and constraints were imposed, they rely acted as fuel before a burning ambition. Not to ntion, the very existence of restrictions gave aning to acts of transgression.
"As long as you are honest and perform your duties well, naturally, there won't be any issues."
Wang Yulou walked ahead, while Cui Dingyi, whose expression flickered between light and dark, followed closely behind. After deliberating for a mont, Cui Dingyi smiled and probed tentatively.
"Fellow Daoist Yulou, you know . I am just a boy from a fishing family. To have reached where I am today step by step is entirely due to the sect's nurturing and everyone's trust. I just do not understand why Fellow Daoist Yulou suddenly suspects ?"
Actors in theatrical plays could probe with extre subtlety, and characters under an author's pen could possess a flawless, ever-victorious wisdom. However, a declaration and probe like Cui Dingyi's was the true norm in reality.
This had no absolute correlation with his experience or status; it was nothing more than defending the power he already possessed within the rules. Yes, you, Wang Yulou, are extraordinary, but I, Old Cui, have also bled and sweated for Riverbend Fishing Village for all these years.
Yes, I have my issues, but you can't just arrive for two days and groundlessly suspect out of thin air, can you? If every disciple from Azurewater Palace acted as overbearing as Yulou upon arrival, how could Dripdrop Cave disciples like Cui Dingyi and Zhang Xuewu survive?
Were they supposed to sit at the sa table as those Qi Induction cultivators? That would be inappropriate!
Instead of answering Old Cui's question imdiately, Yulou seed very interested in the comrcial landscape of Riverbend Fishing Village, looking around and wandering from left to right. Eventually, Yulou sat down at a fish dumpling stall by the street.
When he looked back at Cui Dingyi standing to the side, Old Cui's expression had already beco strained to its limit. Only then did Yulou smile and speak.
"There is no suspicion. It is simply that soone reported to that your relationship with Xuewu is not very harmonious, so I wanted to ask about the situation."
Hearing Zhang Xuewu's na, Cui Dingyi felt as if he had found his footing. After a brief consideration, he explained smoothly.
"Fellow Daoist Yulou, you must not listen to slander. Although Fellow Daoist Xuewu and I have sowhat lacking cultivation bases, and he usually does not respect that much, we are still fellow brothers from the sa sect after all. How could our relationship be discordant? It is nothing more than occasional minor differences of opinion regarding work. However, regarding the matters Fellow Daoist Yulou ntioned, I support them completely. You have my full support!"
First, my cultivation base is inferior to Zhang Xuewu's, so if there is an issue, it is because he uses force to oppress . Second, a conflict does exist between us, but I am still a disciple of Dripdrop Cave and understand the bigger picture.
Third, I am willing to uphold, respect, and support Fellow Daoist Yulou!
Was Cui Dingyi's response decent?
It was decent, both clever and decent. But in the end, he abandoned any thought of resisting Wang Yulou's authority.
This move belonged to a tactical success in defusing Wang Yulou's empty threat, but a strategic total abandonnt of initiative. It was decent, but a complete defeat.
"Hahaha, precisely. I knew everyone belongs to the sa sect, so how could there be so much discord? All that talk about conflict between Fellow Daoist Dingyi and Fellow Daoist Xuewu is just an attempt to sow dissension!"
Although he had already begun investigating Cui Dingyi, it did not an Wang Yulou wanted to do anything to him right now. When it was ti to win soone over, he still needed to do so.
Of course, if Cui Dingyi truly did not value his life, then weighing his public-harming, self-benefiting actions of secretly skimming Riverbend Fishing Village's spirit fish would be exactly what Wang Yulou, a disciple of Dripdrop Cave, ought to do.
The owner of the fish dumpling shop tremblingly brought up two bowls of fish dumplings. Pointing at the fish dumplings in the bowl, Yulou invited,
"Co, Fellow Daoist Dingyi. This is my first ti eating fish dumplings. Accompany , accompany ."
The fish dumplings were made from fresh fish just pulled from the water, as fresh as if one were chasing the fish's tail in the river. The taste was exceptionally fresh and savory.
Seeing Yulou eating happily, Cui Dingyi wiped the cold sweat that had just broken out on his forehead, and the breath trapped in his chest finally released. This young man nad Wang appeared youthful, but his thods in handling matters and people were terrifyingly ruthless. Even though he smiled, the words he spoke forced Cui Dingyi to submit step by step.
Looking at the fish dumplings, Cui Dingyi dazed out, appearing truly frightened by Yulou.
A white sea-bowl, pink fish dumplings, green scallions, and golden sesa oil. The presentation of these fish dumplings alone was excellent; otherwise, Yulou would not have sat here.
"What? You don't like it?" Noticing Old Cui dazing out, Yulou asked in puzzlent.
"No, I grew up eating fish dumplings since childhood. My mother's skill in making fish dumplings was superb; she would add so Sichuan peppercorns. Ah, it has been a long ti since I tasted it."
"Hahaha, then eat more, eat more."
"Yes."
In truth, after reaching Qi Refining, Yulou could go without food every day, relying solely on absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to replenish his body's required energy.
For the wealthiest Qi Refining cultivators, their daily cultivation consisted of eating constantly, filling themselves with various spirit foods, and only studying how to break through once they reached a bottleneck. Of course, there were not many such cultivators.
Even Zhou Yingxi probably could not afford to do so. After all, Zhou Bojiao was already in that state, and the Zhou family was completely showing signs of decline.
Leaving the fish dumpling stall, Yulou arrived before a construction site on the left bank of the Great Crimson Stream. This place would be the future location of his residence.
Accompanied by Cui Dingyi, Yulou observed briefly and once again perceived an issue. Those minor Qi Induction realm cultivators looked utterly exhausted, with so even yawning.
This seed... like an intentional escalation, didn't it?
Wang Yulou's eyes narrowed. Without turning around, he rely looked at the minor cultivators on the construction site and asked,
"Fellow Daoist Dingyi, did they work here all of last night?"
"Yes, knowing that you had a need, I arranged it overnight," Cui Dingyi replied respectfully.
His current mindset, how should one put it... was like a minor lackey who had finally encountered an inspection from a superior, and happened to have perford decently well.
However, what the minor lackey fantasized about certainly did not occur. His leader spoke calmly.
"These people only have lower cultivation bases than , but they are also my fellow disciples. Arranging things like this is inappropriate. What do you think?"
Looking at the construction site, then looking at Wang Yulou who had requested to build a high platform for his new residence, Cui Dingyi spread his hands and asked honestly,
"Tell where it is inappropriate, and I will correct it imdiately!"
What else could he do? Wang Yulou had an extraordinary background.
Wang Yulou possessed superb strength. Wang Yulou's age was terrifyingly young.
In Clear Stream Market, before Jiang Baobian, Mu Chunzer, and Zhou Yingxi, Wang Yulou was nothing. But in Riverbend Fishing Village, not only was he not nothing, he was the unquestioned authority.
"Old Cui, I need a high platform to more conveniently provide support to different locations within Riverbend Fishing Village. But our main task as Town Guardian Cultivators is to prevent demonic beasts from harming the common people of Riverbend Fishing Village. By making these fellow disciples level the ground and build a high platform for overnight, have you not weakened the forces ant to counter the demonic beasts? Losing the greater picture for a small gain, Cui Dingyi, I see you have lost your mind!"
Honestly speaking, Cui Dingyi had already spread his hands in surrender, willing to rectify things according to Wang Yulou's opinion. For Wang Yulou to berate him further, did it not seem overly harsh? It was not.
After obtaining the position of authority, Wang Yulou had conveyed five demands to the two through Qin Churan. The first point, spirit fish, corresponded to demanding benefits, which both of them accepted.
The second and third points seemingly spoke of the residence's location, but in truth, gave others an opportunity to align themselves with Wang Yulou. The fourth point, building a water gate, corresponded to introducing new initiatives in the position of Town Guardian Cultivator, which belonged to planting seeds in advance for upward managent.
The fifth point, gathering statistics and organizing training, was a thod to seize the personnel managent rights of Riverbend Fishing Village through the guise of demon hunting. Among these five points, Cui Dingyi had already disrupted two.
First, the shop operated by his son secretly collected spirit fish, which dug at the foundation of Dripdrop Cave and snatched the cake of Wang Yulou, the leader of Riverbend Fishing Village.
Second, Wang Yulou used the relocation of his residence to give others in Riverbend Fishing Village a chance to lean toward him, but this matter was utterly turned into an intentional escalation by Cui Dingyi. Those Qi Induction cultivators would not care if Cui Dingyi was the one playing tricks.
They would only see: on the first day Wang Yulou arrived, he did not even let them sleep, forcing them to level the ground overnight to build a high platform for his residence. Even a cruel landlord would let the laborers sleep a bit before waking them up in the middle of the night.
Damn it, coming to Cui Dingyi, waking them up? There was no need at all!
They didn't even need to sleep. Level the ground overnight to show loyalty to Fellow Daoist Yulou!
What kind of behavior was this? It was either stupid, malicious, or both stupid and malicious!
Originally, Wang Yulou wanted to tolerate it for a mont. But seeing Cui Dingyi's posture of lying down to accept criticism while pretending to be stupid and obedient, he could not tolerate it instead.
Could soone who walked step by step from a mortal martial artist to Qi Refining over a century be a fool? This old fellow Cui Dingyi was extrely skilled when dealing with Wang Yulou's difficulties!
Lying down to accept criticism? No, Yulou saw through it.
This old thing belonged to the type of dog that bites but does not bark! Naturally, Wang Yulou hailed from the Wang Clan of Anbei Kingdom and possessed a family upbringing; he would not directly fall out with Cui Dingyi.
Therefore, he brought out the great banner of 'resisting demons' as a shield, pinning the label of losing the greater picture for a small gain and losing his mind onto Cui Dingyi. The asure was appropriate, and justice was on his side.
No matter what Cui Dingyi said, he was in the wrong. Although it lacked lethal harm, with so many Qi Induction realm cultivators leveling ground on the construction site to the side, having humiliating power was enough.
Qi Induction realm cultivators were like ants among immortal cultivators, but every single one of them possessed sharp ears and bright eyes, so they naturally heard Wang Yulou's words. Cui Dingyi had not expected Wang Yulou to make such a declaration, and he understood that this bla would not be easy to wash away.
However, this could not be blad on Cui Dingyi being incompetent. His move of intentional escalation was played very subtly.
Shouting support while using escalation to perform actual opposition—this thod was both brilliant and ruthless. If Wang Yulou were not a transmigrator but a native, he might truly have been deceived by him.
In that situation, despite already being heavily undermined by Cui Dingyi in the shadows, one might still think how warm-hearted Cui Dingyi was. Therefore, Yulou judged that Cui Dingyi belonged to the biting type of dog, rely waiting for the right opportunity, which was why he did not bark before him.
"What you said is right. I lacked consideration. How about this, Fellow Daoist Yulou, I will have them rest first, and I will personally build the high platform for you!" Faced with Yulou's attack, Cui Dingyi replied with a sincere attitude.
Was it ruthless? You think my arrangent is no good?
Then I will personally weep at the grave for you! Fellow Daoist Yulou, is this sincerity enough?
The mont his hidden trap was exposed, Cui Dingyi slid into a complete kneel without any psychological burden. To be honest, Yulou felt a hint of fear toward this posture.
The logic was very simple—this person resembles ; he must absolutely not be left alive! As a transmigrator, Wang Yulou knew what was good and evil, what was righteousness.
Therefore, he would feel pain because of the cruel world and the despairing reality upon opening his eyes. On the other hand, as a son of the Wang Clan with the Jade Ruyi protecting his body, Yulou naturally possessed composure and space.
But Cui Dingyi did not. The way the two operated was so similar, how could Yulou not be afraid?
A person who had no principles, only interests, and only wished to climb upward was the most terrifying. Cui Dingyi's background and growth environnt shaped him.
This was fortunate because he was successful today, but it was also unfortunate because he might have had no choice during the process. Yulou knew deeply that he could not change a cultivator who had stepped forward and walked until today over a century.
Therefore, Yulou was extrely vigilant! Faced with Cui Dingyi's total submission, Yulou did not voice his stance imdiately.
He had not yet thought of how to handle this unique fellow disciple.
"All of you, co over. You worked hard for a whole night. Co, two spirit stones per person, go back and rest. Fellow Daoist Cui misunderstood my aning, which caused this misunderstanding. Demons must be guarded against! A place as good as our Riverbend Fishing Village cannot be ruined by demonic beasts. To defend against demons, I intend to build a high platform, but this matter can be done slowly. Everyone, please return and rest first!"
Behind Yulou, Cui Dingyi's face looked as ugly as if his entire family had died.
He was certain that he was absolutely being targeted! Trouble, trouble, big trouble.
He actually had not made many mistakes; it was truly that Yulou was too cautious. Even if Danri ca, she would not expect Wang Yulou to seize authority within a single day and use Qin Churan to snatch power.
If that were all, it would be fine, since Yulou snatched power after showing his might by slaying a demon, achieving it through the prestige of two Foundation Establishnt cultivators. But Wang Yulou went out to conduct a survey and investigation on the second day, which was a bit too grounded, a bit too cautious.
Thus, Cui Dingyi's act of escalation to show loyalty failed to be covered up. It was not that Cui Dingyi was too weak, but rather that the education Wang Yulou received, the thodology he absorbed, and the behavioral patterns he practiced were quite unique.
Just like now, Cui Dingyi had just said he would tell these people to leave, but Wang Yulou completely ignored him. He stepped forward personally, handing out spirit stones, explaining the truth of the matter, and urging people to leave—no other Qi Refining cultivator could have achieved this.
An average of two Qi Induction realm cultivators died in Riverbend Fishing Village each year. How great was the power of a Qi Refining Town Guardian Cultivator here?
Before Qi Induction, if they wanted soone dead, that person would definitely die! Sending them to patrol more dangerous areas, and when encountering demonic beasts, slowing down the rescue action slightly, flying the artifact slightly off-target—certain death.
Yet Yulou treated these minor Qi Induction cultivators as people with a shred of equality, executing a maneuver to win over people's hearts. This was not Yulou simply chanting about unity being strength.
In the world of cultivators, strength could decide most things; a group of weaklings united still did not possess much power. But the mystery of a practical model and thodology lay in the fact that if the person acting as the subject could update them in a tily manner, they could truly play a massive role in practice.
Yulou possessed the foundation of his past life's education, and in this life, stood upon the platform built by the Wang Clan of Anbei Kingdom, witnessing the vastness of the cultivation world, and seeing the thods and gambits of grand cultivators.
For such a Yulou, it was not surprising that he could perform today's actions and discover the ambition and issues hidden by Cui Dingyi. Seeing the Qi Induction cultivators leave filled with joy, Cui Dingyi stepped forward with a complex emotional state, saying uneasily,
"Fellow Daoist Yulou, I..."
Wang Yulou turned around, staring straight at this ambitious figure, transmitting pressure through his gaze.
"I understand your thoughts, Fellow Daoist Cui. In the future, I will only look at your actions. Riverbend Fishing Village is destined to be a place where I stay only briefly. We do not have major conflicts, do we?"
Having spoken, he did not wait for Cui Dingyi to say anything more, directly activating his flying boat to return to his residence. Standing in place, Cui Dingyi looked at the mid-grade flying boat artifact beneath Yulou's feet, gave a cold snort, and cursed at the martial artists beside him,
"You fools, what are you standing there for? Since the Qi Induction cultivators don't have to work, naturally you will!"
Before Wang Yulou, he behaved submissively, but toward the bottom-level martial artists, Cui Dingyi naturally put on airs.
Returning to his residence, Wang Yulou's heart could not calm down for a long ti.
He paced in the courtyard for a long while, then sat before the Immortal Venerable statue inside the quiet room, continuing to ponder. Thinking back and forth, he still could not think of a thod to properly deal with Cui Dingyi.
This fellow disciple was a local of Riverbend Fishing Village, with deep roots, a temporarily higher cultivation base than him, and sharp thods. No matter how one looked at it, he was difficult to handle.
The only certainty was that Zhang Xuewu's skill level was not high—how was he in discord with Cui Dingyi? He was purely being played to the point of numbness by Cui Dingyi.
Old Cui played him like a fool, while Zhang Xuewu remained entirely ignorant, believing they were evenly matched. Regarding this person surnad Cui, directly killing him seed satisfying, and Yulou could achieve it.
But the two were fellow disciples, and Yulou could not remain a god of slaughter forever, being a god of slaughter everywhere he went. There were so many grand cultivators between heaven and earth, each darker than the last.
Relying on himself alone, how many could Wang Yulou kill? For now, he still needed to blend in with the crowd, waiting for his own opportune ti to arrive, then amid the gathering of storms... well, he could not think too far ahead, he needed to keep his feet on the ground. Therefore, he still had to return to the system of Dripdrop Cave to respond.
If a cultivation bottleneck blocked a cultivator's path to advancent, then Cui Dingyi resembled the first bottleneck he encountered in work and life, blocking his path to fully controlling Riverbend Fishing Village. You say Cui Dingyi already bowed his head, perford tasks, and submitted?
Ha, the cultivation world had no beautiful reality where a single kneel allowed one to pass. Everyone was a cultivator, so Wang Yulou had to be cautious.
In the end, unable to think of a perfect solution, Yulou decided to wait for He Laosan to return, then have Laosan carry a letter to seek aid from the Patriarch. During the process of sending him to Dripdrop Cave, the old Patriarch was cold one mont and exceptionally warm the next.
Yulou simply assud the old Patriarch was experiencing a delayed midlife crisis. Sending a letter seeking help could also soothe the old Patriarch's mood.
"Gaa, gaa, gaa!"
Just as he thought of He Laosan, He Laosan truly returned. However, Yulou's mind stirred imdiately.
He noticed that beside He Laosan stood a high-stage Qi Refining cultivator riding a boat in mid-air. Yulou stood up, stepped into the courtyard, raised his head, and noticed the Azurewater Palace disciple robes on that cultivator.
"For what reason has Fellow Daoist co?" Yulou first bowed slightly, then asked.
This unfamiliar Qi Refining cultivator's cultivation base was much higher than his own. Although he could address him as fellow daoist, he still needed to show a bit of ritualistic respect.
After all, Yulou was newly arrived. Toward the likes of Cui Dingyi and Zhang Xuewu, he could put on airs, since they were his subordinates in terms of position.
But this unfamiliar Qi Refining cultivator was soone Yulou did not know, and he had arrived together with He Laosan. Yulou worried that perhaps He Laosan had caused so trouble outside!
With He Laosan's worthless disposition, it was hard to say~
"Hahaha, is your Excellency Fellow Daoist Yuque? I am Wu Faxian, a deacon of the rit Hall. Upon receiving Fellow Daoist's letter, I ca here specifically to deliver the Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pills to Fellow Daoist."
A deacon coming in person to deliver pills? Wang Yulou's brow twitched slightly, and he imdiately smiled, raising his hand to withdraw the residence's formation array.
"I did not expect Fellow Daoist Wu to co in person to deliver pills. In my haste, Yulou did not prepare anything, so I can only offer spiritual tea. I hope Fellow Daoist will forgive ."
Hailing from a great clan, Wang Yulou was decent, and that rit Hall Deacon Wu Faxian was even more decent. He landed in the courtyard, pointed at the walls of the small courtyard, and asked,
"Fellow Daoist Yuque is too polite. This small courtyard is actually entirely constructed from spiritual wood. I'm afraid it cost a considerable amount, right?"
Wang Yulou extended an invitation, guiding Wu Faxian into the main hall, while explaining,
"It wasn't expensive, just about seven or eight thousand spirit stones."
He did not know the exact value either, so he threw out a random price; after all, there was a magic array. Just to maintain this small courtyard's magic array, it cost Yulou nine spirit stones every week.
Every week, nine stones! Wang Xianmao was truly willing to give.
This kind of magic array could even block a weaker Foundation Establishnt cultivator. Of course, it could not block Wang Xianzhou.
Therefore, Yulou reporting seven or eight thousand was actually far from an exaggeration, and he had even underreported it.
"Gasp... Fellow Daoist Yuque's spiritual tea..."
Wu Faxian originally wanted to praise Yulou's spiritual tea as delicious to mask his surprise upon hearing the small courtyard's value. But he had just realized that the spiritual tea Wang Yulou used to entertain him seed to be a mix of mortal tea and spiritual tea.
It possessed spiritual energy, but not much. It tasted good, but it was impossible to praise.
"This tea was cultivated by our Wang Clan. In a few more years, it can transform into a ninth-grade spiritual tea. At that ti, if there is an opportunity, I will invite Fellow Daoist Wu to taste it again."
Wu Faxian instantly felt solemn respect, took another careful sip, and only then spoke with a face full of enjoynt,
"The aroma is crisp, sweet, and exceptionally fresh. Truly extraordinary."
After the two conversed for a while, expressing their mutual desire to form an acquaintance, Wu Faxian finally rembered to take out that bottle of Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pills.
"Look at , chatting so obliviously with Fellow Daoist Yuque that I actually forgot the main business. This is the Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pills you requested. However, I have also heard a bit about Fellow Daoist's situation. In the short term, if Fellow Daoist wishes to exchange spirit stones for rit points to trade for items, at a rate of fifteen to sixteen, we can handle it. But this price is truly too low. If it continues long-term, even if I am willing to help Fellow Daoist connect, I'm afraid it will be difficult to maintain."
A bottle of Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pills required fifteen rit points, equivalent to seventy-five spirit stones. Yulou offered eighty, implying an exchange ratio of fifteen to sixteen. The aning behind Wu Faxian's words was a willingness to show favor, but Wang Yulou could not keep shearing the sheep like this indefinitely; he needed to exercise moderation.
Yulou thought for a mont, and after confirming the formation array again, asked in a low voice,
"Do you collect spirit fish?"
Spirit fish? Wu Faxian quickly reacted and explained with a smile,
"Fellow Daoist Yuque might not know, but Azurewater Palace does not accept ninth-grade spirit fish. They can only be exchanged for Clear Spring Palace rit, but well, Clear Spring Palace rit..."
He smiled very ambiguously, and Yulou nodded in understanding. He thought of the Yuan Clan. If people from the Yuan Clan had not snatched his position as the Town Guardian Cultivator of the mine, he would not have to deal with a bastard like Cui Dingyi, nor would he be reduced to having only a negligible inco like spirit fish. The governance system of Dripdrop Cave was tightly designed. Town Guardian Cultivators could skim benefits, but the sect's official channels blocked the possibility of them directly converting those benefits into cash. Therefore, for Cui Dingyi to operate a covert spirit fish exchange business, there must be another underground market serving as support behind him.
"Understood, I will resolve the rit points issue as quickly as possible."
After seeing off Wu Faxian, Yulou shook his head, opened that bottle of Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pills, and poured one into his palm. The Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pill was light yellow in color, about the size of a chicken egg. It was called a pill, but it looked more like a large atball in texture. Yulou pinched it gently, then sniffed the residual fragrance on his fingers, nodding in satisfaction.
A good pill, the refining standard was not low. At fifteen rit points a bottle, one pill equated to about eight spirit stones; this price was fair.
Arriving at the quiet room, Yulou swallowed the Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pill, carefully refining the dicinal power. The fragrance was the scent of spirit rice; the sweetness was the taste of spirit honey inside the pill. Aside from spirit rice, the Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pill also incorporated multiple different herbs and auxiliary materials. With one spiritual pill down the throat, the essence of the spirit rice and spiritual herbs dissolved within Yulou's body.
The loss of essence and decline in status caused by cultivating the Source Vein Gui Water Qi recovered rapidly at a visible rate under the effect of the Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pill. Seeing that the spiritual pill's effect was so extraordinary, joy appeared on Yulou's face as well.
Cultivation was difficult; the Source Vein Gui Water Qi alone had caused him to suffer a massive loss of essence and an alarming status decline. Cultivation was difficult; if he had not joined Dripdrop Cave, how much extra energy and spirit stones an ordinary cultivator would have to expend to buy the Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pill was hard to say. Cultivation was also simple; just pile up resources. As long as one possessed enough of various resources, one could always find a thod to cultivate rapidly. Like Yulou, facing the side effects of the Source Vein Gui Water Qi, he could use rit or spirit stones to trade for this pill, allowing him to counter them and thereby increase his pulse-tracing speed.
After about fifteen minutes, the dicinal power of the Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pill was entirely refined by Yulou, and his status recovered by more than half. This left Yulou sowhat conflicted. If he took another Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pill, his status could fully recover, but the cultivation cost would beco too high. One Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pill required eight spirit stones; two per day ant an expenditure of sixteen spirit stones.
Yulou currently possessed six thousand five hundred spirit stones, among which the five thousand gifted by the Patriarch made up the bulk. Other spiritual materials and artifacts could also be exchanged for spirit stones. But no matter how he calculated, regarding spirit stones alone, he currently only had six thousand five hundred. A daily cultivation cost of sixteen spirit stones, plus other miscellaneous expenses (formation array, spiritual incense, etc.) calculated at two spirit stones, ant Yulou's spirit stones could only support his cultivation for a year. This consumption rate was still a bit unbearable for Yulou. Therefore, before finding a new stable inco source, he could not take two pills a day for the ti being. Recovering more than half was fine; it wasn't as if he couldn't get by.
After clearing his thoughts, Yulou lit the spiritual incense and began cultivating the Source Vein Gui Water Qi. The fragrance of plum blossoms cos from bitterness...
Halfway through his ntal chant, Yulou discovered sothing wrong again. He had clearly absorbed the dicinal power of an entire Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pill, and his essence and status had truly recovered by more than half. Yet when mobilizing the Gui Water spiritual energy to trace his pulses, why was it still so halting and difficult? In the quiet room, green smoke curled before the Immortal Venerable statue, sketching an ethereal, profound painting in mid-air. Beneath the painting was Yulou's face, shifting between light and dark.
It was known that the Gui Water pulse-tracing process was effective; the ridians traced by the Gui Water spiritual energy had indeed widened, aning the technique of the Source Vein Gui Water Qi was absolutely faultless. However, during the cultivation process, a certain amount of essence and overall status would be lost, though the Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pill's efficacy was excellent, and Yulou's status had recovered by more than half. Then where lay the problem?
Yulou gritted his teeth, and with a pained expression, swallowed another Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pill. Overtreatnt! I refuse to believe that after my status fully recovers, I still won't be able to trace my pulses normally!
Yulou's pain was genuine pain; he was reluctant. Two Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pills cost sixteen spirit stones. This expenditure seed like a single hair compared to the tens of thousands of spirit stones in profit he made in Clear Stream Market. But back then, Yulou stood upon the platform provided by his family, and within Clear Stream Market under the banner of Hongdengzhao, the profit generated was the shop's profit. Yulou could actually keep very little. Over the years, he had only saved fifteen hundred spirit stones—which was already a lot for an ordinary cultivator. But it was also very difficult for an ordinary cultivator to be luxurious enough to swallow two spiritual pills a day for cultivation.
However, half an hour later, even the curling green smoke could not hide Yulou's grim expression. Sixteen spirit stones, thrown into the water! But the problem Yulou faced now was that he could not find where the problem lay. His essence had clearly recovered fully, and his overall status was excellent, yet the Gui Water pulse-tracing simply could not proceed. Whenever he controlled the Gui Water spiritual energy to begin tracing within his ridians, it would lose control mysteriously.
The Source Vein Gui Water Qi was cultivated by quite a few people in Dripdrop Cave, but ordinary cultivators could not endure the pain of pulse-tracing, nor could they afford the spiritual pills to repair their ridians, so no relevant experiential inheritance had been left behind. Yulou pondered alone for a long while, running through a process of elimination before finally thinking of a point that might be the cause. That was, yesterday's pulse-tracing process was too painful, causing his spirit or rather his will to fall into a state of low depression that he himself could hardly perceive. This low depression could not be restored by the Spirit Rice Essence Cultivation Pill, nor could it be ignored simply by encouraging himself. Thus, he would lose control of the Gui Water spiritual energy after the pain began.
An issue had arisen in his cultivation, and Wang Yulou's subjective initiative had reached its limit for now. After thinking, he took out the transmission talisman left for him by Zhuo Chi. An hour later, having received Zhuo Chi's reply, Yulou imdiately rode the spiritual crane, flying straight toward Droplet Heaven. Zhuo Chi's cave dwelling was naturally not within Droplet Heaven, but around the Droplet Heaven known as the Immortal Venerable Residence, there were many other palaces and immortal mountains. After searching within the clouds for a long ti, Yulou finally found the Zhuo family's Dao-field and t his deeply missed Martial Uncle Zhuo.
"Yulou, I just asked about the issue with the Source Vein Gui Water Qi for you. Not many cultivators in the sect cultivate this type of ancient Qi Refining thod. You should have felt it too; the cultivation progress of Gui Water Qi cannot be directly increased by pills or other things."
Zhuo Chi did not understand why the Wang Clan would send Yulou to Dripdrop Cave to cultivate the outdated Gui Water Qi, but he chose to respect it.
"Cannot be directly increased by pills or other things?" Yulou actually had not perceived this point yet.
Zhuo Chi shook his head and earnestly explained the situation to Yulou. "The reason why the Five Spirits, Five Colors, and Five Rhys thods are prosperous is precisely because such new thods can all use special ans to cultivate rapidly. Gui Water Qi cannot be cultivated rapidly, and at the sa ti, its greatest effect, the so-called Gui Water pulse-tracing, has long ceased to be practiced by anyone in Dripdrop Cave. Ultimately, Foundation Establishnt cultivators look at the number of acupoints and the quality of the Dao foundation, not the thickness of the ridians. Therefore, the sect actually doesn't have any thods to deal with the difficulty of pulse-tracing. However, if you have a need, I can contact the Azurewater Palace rit Hall to exchange for a water thod technique for you."
Wang Yulou fell into contemplation. His spirit root was four parts water and six parts fire; correspondingly, to achieve harmony of his root energy, he had to cultivate a water thod. The Source Vein Gui Water Qi currently appeared none too useful, so should he change it? He could not change it! Almost instantly, Yulou made his judgnt. This technique was recomnded by True Person Danri. With Danri's insight and experience, Yulou naturally had to heed her advice.
"Let's forget about changing the technique, Martial Uncle Zhuo Chi. I wonder if you know of any pills that suppress pain?"
"Pills that suppress pain?" Zhuo Chi understood; Wang Yulou intended to force the tracing. Forget it, he, an outsider, couldn't say much about the Wang Clan's arrangents.
"Regarding this... to be honest, I know absolutely nothing about alchemy. You had better ask Brother Xianmao. Your Wang Clan's alchemy standard is actually not low. The sect might have such pills, but they require rit points. For you, it's better to save more rit points. In the future, your Foundation Establishnt resources might actually have a chance to be resolved within Dripdrop Cave. No matter how many rit points Azurewater Palace has, they might not necessarily buy Foundation Establishnt resources, but having none or not enough is absolutely impossible."
Yulou nodded solemnly. This turn of phrase from Senior Zhuo Chi could be said to be entirely from his perspective. Especially the explanation regarding rit points displayed great wisdom.
Flying away from Droplet Heaven and descending all the way on the spiritual crane, Yulou's expression was grave. Cultivation was actually this troubleso, or was it just that this technique, the Gui Water Qi, was unique? It was likely just a unique technique; a technique recomnded by Danri naturally possessed extraordinary qualities. Thinking of this, Yulou gained motivation again. It was just a bit of trouble; I, Wang Yulou, can afford the consumption! Returning to the courtyard, he took out the Red Lantern from his storage bag. He urged his spiritual energy, causing the Red Lantern Fire inside to spread outward, then placed the scales of the human-faced snake demon over the fire—and began refining!
Thinking of the spiritual pill expenditures required for cultivation, Yulou felt a sense of urgency. He had to quickly refine the materials obtained from slaying the human-faced snake to replenish the pill expenses. Choosing snake demon scales that only possessed the potential of a low-grade artifact as the refining target was because Yulou currently lacked a suitable artifact refining furnace. The high-grade spiritual artifact Red Lantern with eighty-eight layers of restrictions was extraordinary, but its role in artifact refining was rely as a furnace for fire, providing spirit fire without auxiliary refining properties. Under such conditions, even if so materials possessed the potential to be refined into a mid-grade artifact or higher, Yulou could not refine them for the ti being. Moreover, each snake demon scale was the size of a fist. With Yulou's refinent attainnt, he could forge at least five to six layers of restrictions upon them—no matter how conservatively he estimated, each finished product could sell for at least fifty spirit stones, right?
Although snake scales were materials produced from demonic beasts and not entirely compatible with the tal and Stone Refinent Dao he specialized in, with An Ning's notes and the foundation of the tal and Stone Refinent Dao present, refining the scales into low-grade artifacts was not difficult. Controlling the Red Lantern Fire required consuming spiritual energy, maintaining the position of the snake scales for better refining also consud spiritual energy, and inscribing restrictions consud even more spiritual energy. In the absence of an artifact refining furnace, the spiritual energy Yulou consud during the process of refining the snake scales was about double what it usually was. Ultimately, he stopped after refining only six snake scales, though this was not because his spiritual energy was exhausted, but because the corresponding auxiliary materials were running low. Processing snake scales required certain auxiliary materials, and adding auxiliary materials was also necessary during the process of refining them into artifacts. Six small Snake Scale Shields had already exhausted Yulou's ager supply of corresponding auxiliary materials.
Of course, Yulou still possessed auxiliary materials for refining tal and stone artifacts, and in large quantities. Picking up a small Snake Scale Shield, Yulou touched its sharp edge, smiling slightly. As a mid-stage Small Demon Realm beast, the human-faced snake derived its powerful defense from two points: one was the mucus on its body, which could not be harvested after death. The other was this snake scale, which was hard yet possessed resilience. During the refining process, Yulou noticed that the nature of the snake scales actually allowed for the possibility of being refined into an offensive artifact, so he added a layer of sharpness to the Snake Scale Shield's restrictions. Looking at it now, the effect was good. Though it was a low-grade artifact and pitifully small, it served both offense and defense. Buying a few more to wear on the body could provide defensive effects without needing spiritual energy activation, appearing very versatile. It should sell relatively well. However, more importantly, the Snake Scale Shields refined this ti were a form of costless business.
The snake scales belonged to the human-faced snake, and the human-faced snake was as dead as could be, so naturally it had no reason to charge Yulou. This was also why so many people chose to go to the West Sea for demon hunting despite knowing it was exceptionally dangerous. One could earn spirit stones! Large amounts! Under the governance of the Immortal Alliance, everyone had to follow rules, and rogue cultivators were put to death upon discovery. But once in the West Sea, the demonic beasts you slew—from flesh to bone, from skin to fur—were entirely your spoils of war. As long as you could win, winning ti after ti led to a smooth path—Mu Chunzer smiled without speaking. This live-in son-in-law of a Purple Palace family who diluted water with water had fought his way out from the West Sea.
However, looking at the Snake Scale Shield before him, Yulou found himself in a dilemma. How to sell them was a major problem. Azurewater Palace only collected high-grade artifacts, which blocked his possibility of using Azurewater Palace to grind his artifact refining proficiency. If he used Qi Induction realm cultivators to sell these minor Snake Scale Shields to Clear Spring Palace, considering the conversion loss involved, Yulou felt it would be too much of a loss. Flipping the Snake Scale Shield in his hand, the coldness of the snake scale seeped through his fingertips, giving Yulou a refreshing sensation.
"Cui Dingyi, Cui Dingyi, where on earth is that underground trading network supporting your fish-collecting shop?"
Yulou currently faced multiple issues, all of which were pressing and needed to be resolved quickly. First was to repay the rit owed to Azurewater Palace. Second was to obtain a decent artifact refining furnace to utilize his artifact refining attainnt, thereby supporting the purchase of spiritual pills for cultivation. An artifact refining furnace was included in the rit exchange list of Azurewater Palace, but exchanging for it required a high amount of rit. Spirit stones could buy one too, but Yulou was sowhat reluctant... These two points acted as cause and effect for each other, and breaking through them was difficult, so after thinking back and forth, Yulou still thought of Cui Dingyi. Ultimately, cultivation issues were troubleso and important, but not pressing. Figuring out the underground trading network behind Cui Dingyi while gaining complete control over the spirit fish fell under issues that were both pressing and critical. Here might lie the key to Yulou breaking the deadlock; he could only wait for Qin Churan's movents first. Shaking his head, Yulou, having organized his thoughts, took out a piece of silk and began writing a letter to the Patriarch.
'Dear Patriarch, Yulou has encountered so issues and hopes to receive your guidance.'
Soon, the letter seeking help was finished, and Yulou called over Laosan. Hearing that it had to fly nearly two thousand miles, Laosan instantly beca a bit listless. The job of a long-distance driver was not easy; even a spiritual crane feared long distances! After Yulou fooled it with an essence blood pill, Laosan left happily with the letter. It would first look for Wu Jinyan, then leave the grotto-heaven, and finally return with the Patriarch's guidance. In the letter, Yulou sought help regarding two matters. One was how to handle or take down Cui Dingyi, preferably while ensuring they did not openly fall out. Old Cui was a native of Riverbend Fishing Village, so if they openly fell out, Yulou's future work would be difficult to manage. The essence of the matter required the old Patriarch's valuable wisdom. The other matter concerned the cultivation of the Source Vein Gui Water Qi. The essence depletion and status decline caused by pulse-tracing could be resolved with spiritual pills, but the low depression of spirit and will was difficult to handle. Pills that enhanced spirit and will could be exchanged at Azurewater Palace, but Yulou looked through them and found they were for combat or breaking through barriers, not for pain relief, and none could relieve pain long-term. Yulou needed a spiritual pill that could relieve pain long-term, thereby reducing the agony of pulse-tracing to avoid the low depression of spirit and will caused by it. The Wang Clan should be able to help him with this point. After all, the Wang Clan had existed for so long, so perhaps so corner contained relevant experience.
In the evening, Qin Churan, looking exhausted yet incredibly excited, arrived at the residence. Seeing Wang Yulou touching the snake fangs without speaking, she assud Wang Yulou was contemplating sothing and stood silently for a long while. In truth, Yulou was rely studying the structure and material of the snake fangs. An Ning's notes contained plenty of experience regarding refining spiritual artifact-grade demon beast tooth materials, but the human-faced snake was too weak, being only mid-stage Small Demon Realm. Compared to the grand demon tooth material information and key points left by An Ning, the human-faced snake's fangs differed in many places. Thus, Yulou needed to conceptualize well how to handle it in the future. The potential of this snake fang lay roughly between a mid-grade artifact and a high-grade artifact, possessing the potential to be refined into a high-grade artifact, but it was low. After all, the human-faced snake's fang was rely one among its nurous offensive ans, not its strongest. Back then, the fire ox horn used for Wang Rongyuan's Fire Ox Horn Dagger was the strongest offensive an of the fire ox, hence its potential to be refined into a high-grade artifact. However, the Wang Clan's artificer ultimately only refined it into a mid-grade artifact to make it 'easier to use.' Unlike spiritual artifacts, the number of artifacts a cultivator could manipulate during the Qi Refining stage had a limit, and the limit was not high. Therefore, the gap between high-grade artifacts and mid-grade artifacts in combat was not absolute; systematic cooperation could also produce miraculous effects. A mid-grade artifact-class Fire Ox Horn Dagger happened to possess excellent combat applicability. But what frustrated Yulou most was that this snake fang of the human-faced snake did indeed carry the demon snake's innate spell, but it was the Mist Wave Art—the usefulness of this technique was rather awkward. The Fire Ox Horn Dagger carried the Fire Shot Spell, which could catch enemies off guard during a fight, producing excellent results. As for the Mist Wave Art, casting it might actually help the enemy escape... The enemy runs away and turns around to thank you; just thinking about it was deeply frustrating.
Putting down the awkward snake fang, Yulou looked at Qin Churan and asked, "How is the situation?"
Not knowing which situation Yulou was asking about, Qin Churan reported the one Wang Yulou cared about most first—the matter of Old Cui.
"The person has already been contacted. However, I thought that bringing him to your residence would draw attention from those with intentions, so I took the initiative not to bring him over." Say into this, Qin Churan lowered her head sowhat anxiously.
Yulou froze for a mont, then stood up and smiled, saying, "Good, good, good. My consideration was lacking; you did the right thing! You did the right thing!" Next, he took out a small Snake Scale Shield from his storage bag and tossed it to Qin Churan. "Churan, for similar initiatives, you can directly remind next ti before acting. This Snake Scale Shield was refined from one of the six largest scales on the human-faced snake demon's chest. It possesses seven layers of restrictions and serves both offense and defense. Consider it a reward for your running around for these past two days!"
The Snake Scale Shield was dark and exceptionally ugly, and since the base material used was a snake's scale, if placed in the world Yulou once lived in, gifting this to a girl would highly likely result in an imdiate block. But looking at the snake scale in her hand, Qin Churan felt as if her ears could barely hear any sound. This was a symptom of intracranial pressure rising due to excessive excitent. She already knew about Wang Yulou giving spirit stones to Qi Induction cultivators this morning, and she thought at the ti that since Wang Yulou ca from a high noble background, possessing considerable family wealth was normal. But within her concept and world, she truly could not comprehend the act of casually giving away a low-grade artifact as a reward—this was too grand! Thud! This girl knelt to Yulou once again. In truth, Yulou's heart contained only helplessness right now. Qin Churan knelt at every turn, making him seem like so strange person. Thump! Thump! Thump! The female cultivator kneeling on the ground knocked her head three tis in succession. When she raised her head again, her forehead was already a patch of bright red. However, seeing her display such 'sincerity'... the first thing Yulou thought of was sothing rather mood-spoiling.
Is she acting for ? Is she sparing no effort to manage upward? She probably is, right? Through this thod, she stimulates my sympathy, as well as a man's desire for control and protection? Fellow Daoist Qin, did I guess correctly? I, Wang Yulou, am not so legendary born handso figure, a reincarnated saint, or a child of destiny. I do not have double pupils in my eyes, nor a supre bone in my body. My parents aren't deceased peerless powerhouses, and even my sole golden finger is a Ruyi scepter that requires constant effort to accumulate golden light. A minor cultivator who has only t a few tis is already this reverent toward ? Must be careful! One could only say that Zhou Yingxi calling Wang Yulou a dog thing was not without reason. Under the nurturing of the Wang Clan and given his cautious personality, Yulou's symptoms might be subtle, but they were also exceptionally severe.
"Senior Wang, Churan... Churan..."
Wang Yulou frowned slightly; he did not quite like this act of showing loyalty. True or false, Yulou did not want to think about how many of Qin Churan's words were genuine. Unlike the likes of Mangxiang, Yulou perhaps lacked the cold ruthlessness necessary to beco a grand cultivator. Grand cultivators could coldly view everyone as a price, so they did not care about the authenticity of loyalty, only the results—similarly, they would not truly care about the fate of their subordinates. Yulou could not achieve that.
"Alright, no need to speak further. It's rely a low-grade artifact; just perform your duties well. Tell that person that if he thoroughly investigates the shop belonging to Cui Dingyi's son, I will give him an artifact as a reward too!" Regardless of how Old Cui was to be handled, figuring out what he had done first was always more important. This thing could be described with another word: a lever. A lever, a lever; once you grab the handle, you can control the opponent!
"You can actually et with him. Tomorrow, he will patrol the lakeshore on the northern bank of the Great Crimson Stream. As long as you use the excuse of inspecting the lakeshore to take a turn, you can give him face-to-face instructions."
Yulou's gaze turned sowhat deep, and he beca increasingly certain that the female cultivator with blood covering her face before him was not simple. Indeed, if she were an unclear person, how could she withstand Cui Dingyi's pressure? He had not expected a small Riverbend Fishing Village to actually possess two talents like Cui Dingyi and Qin Churan. Perhaps the world originally possessed countless beautiful gems and talents, which forced those grand cultivators to join hands to alter the rules of heaven and earth, restricting the lives of the majority.
"Another good suggestion. Churan, co, stand up." Taking out a piece of white silk, Yulou personally wiped the blood from Qin Churan's face. Frowning slightly, he took out a small blood-replenishing pill, giving a concerned reminder, "Here, take this spiritual pill to recover a bit faster."
You act for , and I act for you. If you want to play the loyal official, I can also play the wise ruler. Perform tasks well, and I, Wang Yulou, will naturally grant you courtesy!
"Senior Wang, this is too precious, I cannot..."
"Eat it, otherwise when you go out later, others will think how wicked I am, hahaha." Wang Yulou cracked a joke, but the content sounded not quite like a joke, so Qin Churan naturally did not dare to refuse again. Once she adjusted her breathing slightly and her forehead recovered, Yulou asked about the other matter.
"Speak about the progress of gathering statistics on the Qi Induction cultivators. This matter is also very important."
Demanding spirit fish was a test of benefit distribution, corresponding to financial rights. Discovering Cui Dingyi's issue while demanding them was a surprise. But among the five matters Yulou raised, the most important was actually the fifth—personnel rights. Personnel ant power. Using the excuse of defending against and slaying demons to first gather statistics on the Qi Induction cultivators in the fishing village, and then organizing them to practice defending against and slaying demons. Through these actions, Yulou could smoothly and firmly grasp personnel rights.
"Riverbend Fishing Village currently possesses twenty-three Qi Induction realm cultivators. Among them, four are late Qi Induction, eight are mid Qi Induction, and eleven are early Qi Induction. However, Senior Wang, I also roughly calculated how many of them possess relatively close relationships with Cui Dingyi. I wonder if you would like to know?"
The mont Qin Churan spoke these words, Yulou felt relieved again. This girl, yes, is quite good, possessing thoughts and ambition, but... Hmm? Could she be deliberately concealing her brilliance? Thinking of this, Yulou laughed in realization, leaving Qin Churan staring blankly—did I say sothing wrong? She certainly had not said anything wrong; rather, Yulou realized he had been influenced by the pressure given by Old Cui. Qin Churan handled tasks effectively, worked diligently, and considered matters thoroughly, clearly making her an excellent candidate for nurturing. Yet under the influence of the deeply hidden Old Cui, Wang Yulou actually felt a faint sense of imagined dangers when looking at Little Qin.
Cultivation was truly too difficult! Thank you to Brother Bei for the Alliance Leader alliance. Not much more needs to be said; Brother Bei has supported for so long and knows my disposition. It is still that old saying: I will absolutely never compromise, absolutely never abandon my requirents for myself, and I will forever chase that holy grail of creation, doing my utmost not to disappoint you!
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