Even the living had to pay to get treated at Death Peak—no exceptions, not even for fellow sect members.
When Zhan Yujie woke up, the first thing she faced was a bill.
She frowned slightly and let out a turbid breath.
Turning her head, she saw Yan Zhichuan squatting there, watching the Medicine Peak cultivators refine pills.
“No need to be this diligent, right?” Wu Jiang stared at Zhan Yujie. She knew Zhan Yujie’s capabilities, and the injuries on her body didn’t add up. Could it really be like Yan Zhichuan had muttered— that after this ordeal, her heart had turned to ashes?
Zhan Yujie said, “Senior Sister Fuyu Sha has already reached the Second Layer Realm.”
The “Fuyu” she referred to was Fuyu Sha, the personal disciple under Blade Peak’s Peak Lord Shi Wujing. Compared to staying in the sect, Fuyu Sha preferred wandering the world, often sending back a few small gifts along with stacks of hefty bills.
Wu Jiang replied, “She joined the sect earlier and is older than you.”
Zhan Yujie: “Oh.”
“Senior Sister Zhan, you’re awake?” Hearing the conversation, Yan Zhichuan turned her head, pulling her gaze away from the pill furnace. She scampered joyfully to the bedside, took out half of the refined pills, and handed them to Wu Jiang. Knowing Medicine Peak’s rules, she scratched her head and asked, “Can these count as payment for the medicine?”
The compensation from Chongxu Sect hadn’t arrived yet, Zhan Yujie had a certain ungrateful wolf to feed at home, and she had no Pill Jades to spare.
Wu Jiang accepted the pills and glanced at them—they were all high-grade spirit pills, though none of the Dao Pills her master had mentioned. Still, for a newbie to refine high-grade pills was impressive, especially from Yan Zhichuan’s hands. She pocketed the pills, lifted a finger to poke Yan Zhichuan’s brow, and huffed, “You’re quite the schemer. Using Medicine Peak’s pill flame, Medicine Peak’s herbs, refining the pills yourself and pocketing half, then trying to use the other half to offset the medicine fee. What have you contributed?”
Yan Zhichuan coughed, then declared righteously, “My labor is priceless.”
Wu Jiang pointed at her, fuming, “Take your pill furnace and scram quick from Medicine Peak.”
Yan Zhichuan turned to Zhan Yujie. “Senior Sister Zhan?”
She was the one who’d brought her back—she had to take responsibility to the end.
Zhan Yujie wouldn’t try something foolish again, would she?
After pondering for a moment, she said, “Senior Sister, don’t be sad. Someday, I’ll take you to see the empire I’ve conquered.”
Zhan Yujie: “……”
She rubbed her forehead, lay back down expressionlessly, and quietly closed her eyes.
Wu Jiang found it somewhat amusing.
She said, “She won’t have any trouble here at Medicine Peak. She needs rest.”
Hearing Wu Jiang’s assurance, Yan Zhichuan finally relaxed a bit.
She nodded and turned to leave without looking back.
Before descending the mountain, she made a beeline for the medicine hall, sold the remaining half of the pills, and exchanged them for a pile of materials to refine Dragon Blood Pills.
The Heavenly Dao System nearly teared up with emotion—Yan Zhichuan was finally starting to work hard.
But—
“Why only refine Dragon Blood Pills? Aren’t you going to learn other pill formulas?”
Yan Zhichuan pursed her lips. It wasn’t like Dragon Blood Pills were the most suitable for her?
She crooked a finger and flicked Little Fat Chirp, perched on her shoulder, grumpily saying, “Until you give me my reward, don’t talk to me. No—don’t even show up in front of me again.”
The matter was clearly over, but it still hadn’t given her the sword it promised.
It had gone on about how Zhan Yujie might fall to demonic possession, but from what she’d seen, Zhan Yujie showed no signs of corruption at all.
If anything, this Heavenly Dao will was the shady, demonic one.
The Heavenly Dao System froze.
It was all because Zhan Yujie’s alignment was so unstable. She hadn’t fallen to the dark side, but she’d lingered in chaos for far too long.
It couldn’t quite explain what was going on.
“You’re planning to take her out to enlighten her, right? Once you complete that task, I’ll give you the sword,” the Heavenly Dao System conceded.
Yan Zhichuan’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
The Heavenly Dao System sighed inwardly, sounding world-weary. “Why would I lie to you?”
It had originally thought taking Zhan Yujie out would be a piece of cake, but when it came time to act, Yan Zhichuan found it harder than ascending to the heavens.
Zhan Yujie had barely come down from Medicine Peak when she headed straight back to Pure Prison Peak to cultivate.
And on the rare occasions she wasn’t at Pure Prison Peak, she’d show up at another peak—rumor had it she was guiding Artifact Peak cultivators in forging a forbidden formation ground.
Yan Zhichuan was baffled. “What’s this about?”
The Heavenly Dao System brushed it off half-heartedly. “……Putting herself in others’ shoes?”
She’d suffered enough at Pure Prison Peak—bah, cultivated hard enough—so now she was leading her fellow disciples to strive together.
For things she couldn’t figure out, Yan Zhichuan’s habit was to toss them aside.
A spark of inspiration hit her, and she thought of a brilliant way to lure Zhan Yujie out.
—Senior Sister Zhan, we still haven’t paid back the Pill Jades owed to the Luofu Immortal City medicine shop owner. Can you come with me?
Zhan Yujie: “……”
It was Yan Zhichuan’s debt, but run up in her name.
She strongly suspected that if she said “no,” this junior sister wouldn’t descend the mountain at all.
Or worse, once in Luofu Immortal City, she’d skip paying the debt and detour to the bookshop for a pile of trashy storybooks.
Outside the Nine Abyss Sect’s gates, the four characters “Supreme Void Nine Abyss” stood stark and imposing.
No way the founding ancestor had written them.
Yan Zhichuan sat cross-legged atop Cloudy transformed into a “Cloud Sword.” Spotting a sharp sword light slicing through the clouds, she grinned ear to ear.
“I knew Senior Sister would come. She does care about her junior sister, after all.”
The Heavenly Dao System stayed silent.
It vaguely grasped a pattern.
After Yan Zhichuan’s message, Zhan Yujie’s alignment shifted to chaos.
Its heart trembled. Could the bomb that would make Zhan Yujie fall to demonhood be right beside her?
Zhan Yujie was curt: “Let’s go.”
Yan Zhichuan nodded vigorously like her head was pounding garlic and patted Cloudy to catch up with Zhan Yujie.
Zhan Yujie had guessed right.
The moment Yan Zhichuan hopped down from the cloud and hit the streets, the first thing she did was crane her neck, sneakily scouting for the bookshop.
But just as she was about to turn into that alley, she abruptly spun back around, a flicker of guilt on her face.
“Senior Sister, Chongxu Sect hasn’t sent the stuff yet, so I’ll pay it off for you first.” Yan Zhichuan’s eyes sparkled, her lips curved in a smile revealing two shallow dimples.
Zhan Yujie’s mood wasn’t lifted by Yan Zhichuan’s radiant grin. She held back, and held back some more, but finally couldn’t take it. “Junior Sister Yan, that’s your debt.”
“Oh, right.” Yan Zhichuan covered her mouth, her jet-black eyes—white and pupils sharply divided—flashing with mock surprise.
Zhan Yujie’s hand fell to her sword hilt, tightening then loosening.
If Junior Sister heads for the bookshop, I’ll use my own methods to drag her back on the straight path.
But things didn’t go as badly as Zhan Yujie feared.
Yan Zhichuan reined in her urge to buy storybooks and marched resolutely toward the medicine shop.
Zhan Yujie trailed behind, sending a casual transmission: “Where’d you get the Pill Jades, Junior Sister?”
It wasn’t time for the sect’s monthly stipend yet, was it?
Yan Zhichuan puffed her cheeks. “Earned ’em selling pills.” She’d gobbled the bulk of Dao Pills herself, refined the scraps into a few Dragon Blood Pills, and sold them at a premium to senior sisters from Great Power Peak. There were others bringing their own materials for her to refine, but pill-refining was exhausting, and she wasn’t short on Pill Jades now—she was too lazy to bother.
Zhan Yujie nodded.
As a pill refiner, Yan Zhichuan was plenty qualified.
She let out a breath of relief.
Pill refiners never lacked for money. This was probably the last time she’d owe a debt, right?
But before she could fully exhale, she heard Yan Zhichuan, in her name, asking to borrow medicine materials.
The debt? Paid.
Then she borrowed even more.
And the shopkeeper didn’t hesitate at all, generously pulling out priceless materials for Yan Zhichuan to pick from.
Zhan Yujie: “……”
