Lü Yang's mood was black.
He sat with his eyes closed, but his mind was a storm of calculations and cold fury.
"Demon Lord… are you troubled?"
Yun Miaoqing's voice, light as a breeze, drifted up from where she was confined.
"A little."
He didn't open his eyes. He recounted the situation—the debt, the deadline, the impossible choice—his voice flat.
"This is the Demonic Sect," she whispered. "Disciples are but resources to be consumed. Demon Lord… Fellow Daoist Lü, your talent is not poor, your temperament decent. Why chain yourself here?"
A pause, then her offer, sweet as poisoned honey: "Remove my restrictions. Help me escape. I can introduce you to the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion."
Lü Yang didn't bother responding. Introduce me? You who longs for death?
When poor, cultivate virtue.
When trapped, cultivate strength.
His path was clear.
After a long silence, he made his decision. He didn't buy the Yin-Yang Immortal Flower to extend his debt-ridden life.
He spent every last spirit stone on ten Yuan Qi Pills.
"This life is already a dead end."
"I won't repay the loan. I won't waste decades as a beast of burden. When the deadline comes, I'll die without a grave."
"So—I must rise. Faster."
His goal for this life was set: reach the mid-stage Qi Refining realm before his next rebirth. High enough to fool Liu Xin's eyes with a concealment technique. High enough to make his next incarnation start stronger.
The Qi Refining Realm had ten minor levels, but the real walls were the bottlenecks between early, middle, late, and perfect stages. They trapped countless disciples into permanent drudgery.
"Ten pills, plus the spiritual energy of my cave… should push me to the third level of Qi Refining. That's the level of most ordinary disciples here—just strong enough to be useful pack mules."
But he had a variable.
With a thought, a wisp of pristine white Qi—Primordial Qi—coiled around his finger, shape-shifting effortlessly.
Liu Xin used it to break into late-stage Qi Refining.
I'll use it to shatter my mid-stage bottleneck.
A knock echoed at his cave door.
The pills had arrived.
Lü Yang opened the door to a vision of cultivated elegance. The woman before him wore simple robes, but her beauty rivaled Yun Miaoqing's, with curves that spoke of deliberate allure.
"This humble one is Qingchen. Greetings, Junior Brother Lü." Her bow was deep, her subsequent smile soft and magically soothing. "I am here to deliver your Yuan Qi Pills. May I see your token?"
The exchange was formal, but as the vial passed hands, her tone turned subtly probing.
"Junior Brother purchased so many pills at once… did you come into some fortune?"
Lü Yang sighed, the picture of weary distress. "Senior Sister jests. I merely took out more loans, hoping to improve my cultivation enough to take on riskier, higher-paying missions."
"I see." Qingchen's expression was all sympathetic understanding. "Many of us formal disciples carry debt. But, forgive my bluntness… relying solely on missions to repay is…"
She leaned slightly closer, her voice dropping. "In the Holy Sect, one cannot get rich by walking the straight path alone."
"Oh?"
"I had thought… perhaps Junior Brother had stumbled upon an elder's lost cave abode and inherited its treasures. That is why I asked so boldly."
"A cave abode?" Lü Yang's eyelids lowered, his gaze hidden, but his voice feigned keen interest. "This Junior Brother is ignorant. Please elaborate, Senior Sister."
"The Holy Sect was founded within the 'Sea of Clouds Connecting to Heaven,'" she explained smoothly. "Beyond the four main peaks, countless lesser peaks hold the sealed cave dwellings of true disciples and elders of the past."
"The path of immortality is long; many have fallen. Their dwellings remain, hidden in the clouds. While not without risk… each is an opportunity. Even a modest find can be exchanged for a vast number of contribution points."
She smiled. "If you are interested… I recently discovered a relatively safe one."
Lies.
The approach was too familiar—too much like Liu Xin luring him into cultivating the Innate Daoist Book. This was a trap wrapped in opportunity.
She saw me spend. She thinks I have hidden wealth. Lure me out, kill me, take everything.
Lü Yang's face showed a flicker of temptation. "I… need to consider it."
"There is no rush." Qingchen nodded gracefully. "The transaction is complete. Contact me once you've decided, Junior Brother."
The moment the formalities ended, Lü Yang snatched the pill vial.
"I've considered it. I'm not going."
Without another word, he turned and sealed his cave door shut.
Qingchen Fairy stood alone in the corridor.
"..."
A moment later, her beautiful face twisted. A chilling, murderous aura leaked from her.
"Lü Yang… you dare play me?"
She stormed off to another cave, where a young taoist in fine robes awaited.
"It failed?" he asked, seeing her expression.
"He's… excessively cautious, Senior Brother Zhao." She took a steadying breath. "And he took loans not for the life-extending flower, but for cultivation pills. I suspect he never intends to repay."
Zhao Xuhe laughed, a cold, dry sound. "Repay? In his next life! Qingchen, do you know the Holy Sect puts a price on every new disciple from day one?"
"The loan limit never exceeds that price. Flesh, bones, organs, soul… all have market value. More than enough to cover the debt."
"Let him cultivate. Let him improve." His grin widened, predatory. "Higher cultivation just makes the raw materials more valuable. We won't lose—we might even turn a profit."
His eyes glinted. "Besides… he might have bought the pills. That doesn't mean he'll live to take them."
Qingchen's eyes brightened with understanding. "Senior Brother means…"
Zhao Xuhe nodded slowly. "Some things… are fine as long as no one finds out."