“A Soul-Molding Pill?”
Ye Luqing toyed with the perfectly round pill. The wafting medicinal fragrance proved it was no ordinary item.
[It’s a Heaven-Tier Soul-Molding Pill. As an apology, the reward tier was upgraded for the host.]
A deluge of info from the novel flooded Ye Luqing’s mind. In this world, pills, techniques, and divine weapons were ranked from high to low in the four tiers of “Heaven, Earth, Profound, Yellow,” each tier further split into Superior, Middle, and Inferior grades.
The original reward for reaching 100% Blackening Value had been an Earth-Tier Soul-Molding Pill.
To make up for not mentioning the crucial “Devilification Value” mechanic, the System had compromised.
“At least that last life wasn’t a complete waste…” Ye Luqing muttered.
[Consume this pill, and your soul will perfectly merge with this body. Even a Great Cultivator at the Tribulation Transcendence Realm won’t see through it.]
“Wow, amazing.” (Deadpan).
Lying in the ice coffin, Ye Luqing nodded dismissively. Though the reward was upgraded from Earth-Tier to Heaven-Tier, she felt she didn’t even need a Soul-Molding Pill.
When she’d crossed over, the Original Host had already been confirmed dead. Even without a 100% perfect soul match, it was at least 90%. To her, the difference was negligible.
Besides, who would be bored enough to inspect her soul?
With a swipe of her finger, she pulled up another window, packed with a dazzling array of colorful items.
[Points: 1000]
[For every 1% increase in Destined Female Lead Xiao Qingxuan’s Blackening Value, Points increase by 10.]
[Besides raising Xiao Qingxuan’s Blackening Value, completing story missions also grants Points. Items can be purchased with Points.]
This was the Corruption Value Shop she’d just received. The Points were the reward from the last life, for reaching 100% Blackening Value with Xiao Qingxuan.
“Getting more and more like a game…”
A thought struck Ye Luqing. “If the Blackening Value drops and then rises again, can I earn Points for that too?”
[Nope.]
Ye Luqing’s mouth twitched. Of course, bugs weren’t that easy to exploit.
She scrolled rapidly through the shop. Items were neatly categorized, but with thousands in each category, she couldn’t possibly browse them all quickly.
Flipping past hundreds of pills of varying quality, Ye Luqing finally spotted the Heaven-Tier Soul-Molding Pill in the last row. The number following it made her eyes bulge.
“So expensive!”
Her hand, holding the Heaven-Tier Soul-Molding Pill, grew slightly clammy. This unassuming pill in her hand was worth a staggering 20,000 Points.
“Damn, I’d need to push Xiao Qingxuan’s Blackening Value to 2000% just to buy one of these…”
From her quick browse, Ye Luqing had a rough grasp of the Points exchange rate.
Her current 1000 Points could buy most Profound-Tier Superior items, as well as a few “special” Earth-Tier Techniques.
“Binding Silk Art: Entwines one’s own True Qi with a partner’s Dantian and Spirit Palace. Planting an Entangling Silk Seed makes your Dual Cultivation partner more dependent on you, increasing their favorability…”
“Mist Crossing Hand: Guides True Qi into the body with exquisite technique. The closer the guiding location is to the Dantian, the greater the pleasure. Optimal effect in moist environments…”
“Layered Flower Shadows: Asserts dominance in Dual Cultivation, swiftly conquering the partner. Effective even on cultivators one major realm higher.”
Sss.
Ye Luqing sucked in a breath of cold air.
This “Dual Cultivation” of theirs… was it even proper?
[If the host is interested, these three Earth-Tier Techniques can be sold as a bundle, discounted by 800 Points—just 2000 Points total! In the future, a Technique-combo Link can be activated for them…]
At these words, Ye Luqing’s mouth twisted into a smirk.
Oh, they weren’t even pretending anymore.
“My mission is to make Xiao Qingxuan blacken. What use do I have for these weird arts?” She arched an eyebrow.
[It’s a reversal tactic! First, get the Destined Female Lead hopelessly addicted to your body… Then later, kick her to the curb with a single foot. Wouldn’t the Blackening Value skyrocket?]
[Once you master the invincible Heaven-Tier Dual Cultivation Blissful Union Art, you’ll surely bring that female lead a… pleasant surprise, ya know~?]
“Tch, you’re a real expert at this.”
She scrolled further and found the so-called Heaven-Tier Dual Cultivation Blissful Union Art.
Tai Chi Eight Desolations Art. Price: 50,000 Points.
Sss. Just the name alone screamed “powerful technique.”
As Ye Luqing scrutinized the art, the characters on the screen seemed to come alive, flying into the space between her brows.
In the next instant, a hazy vision flooded her mind.
In a daze, she saw a black-haired female cultivator kneeling on the floor, her Immortal Skirt hanging loosely, her expression seductive as she looked up at a cyan-haired girl standing before her.
The cyan-haired girl poured wine over her own leg. The liquid trickled down her calf, flowing into her pale, exquisite foot.
The cyan-haired girl looked down and wiggled her foot. As if acting on a conditioned reflex, the kneeling woman extended her small tongue, her slightly parted lips seeming to thirst for something more than just the sweet wine…
Though the scene was censored, she knew with absolute certainty it was her and Xiao Qingxuan.
As the sounds in the projection grew increasingly wanton and shameless, Ye Luqing’s face burned hotter. She felt like even her phantom limb was standing at attention.
The Tai Chi was truly Desolating…
If mere foot-play was already this depraved, the paid content later in the Tai Chi Eight Desolations Art must be utterly transcendent.
Judging from the technique’s demonstration, it could truly twist a cold, proud fairy like Xiao Qingxuan into such a debauched state. It was definitely worth the price.
But she absolutely couldn’t afford a 50,000-Point technique right now. She’d just add it to her favorites…
[Tai Chi Eight Desolations Art added to favorites! The host will be notified when the technique goes on sale!]
Quite a smart system. Ye Luqing smacked her lips quietly.
Setting the strange and perverse arts aside, another thing caught her eye.
“The shop has a buyback function?”
It was hidden at the very bottom, in an inconspicuous corner—a section for item reclamation.
[Items can be reclaimed, but only for half their original Point value.]
“What a rip-off…”
Ye Luqing pouted. Still, it was expected. If they bought back at full price, she’d just run an endless arbitrage scheme.
That thought sparked another idea.
“Can the shop buy items I get from other places?”
[Yes.]
Ye Luqing nodded in satisfaction. She could convert unwanted things into Blackening Value Points, then buy what she actually needed from the shop.
She continued lazing in the ice coffin, browsing the shop with genuine interest.
As someone who’d grown up reading fantasy novels on Earth, these techniques and divine weapons held a deep fascination for her.
Looking through it all, Ye Luqing couldn’t help but marvel at the System’s inventory.
From the most basic Yellow-grade techniques to Heaven-Tier divine weapons, the shop had virtually everything short of Immortal artifacts.
The supply alone would make any grand auction house green with envy.
“Top priority is getting stronger,” she thought. “The rate my Blackening Value increased in the last life proves my method of provoking Qingxuan works. The only issue is that I can’t beat her. I need self-preservation.”
“Hehehe. Once I’m stronger than Xiao Qingxuan, I’ll show her the ultimate humiliation~.”
An ominous cackle escaped her lips. Then, as if realizing something, she slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Sss. Nope, can’t laugh like that. It’s bad luck…”
She continued browsing the Corruption Value Shop, skipping over divine weapons and artifacts first. Anything in her budget would be practically useless against a Half-Step Spirit Transformation cultivator like Xiao Qingxuan.
What she wanted most were techniques—things that could truly enhance her combat power.
But techniques and Daoist arts were non-consumables, making them the most expensive items in their tier—far pricier than one-time-use pills or talismans.
“Profound Yellow Mountain-Suppressing Art, Earth Grade Inferior, 1200 Points…”
“Mountain-Breaking Azure Waves Formation, Earth Grade Inferior, 1500 Points…”
“Green Wood Everlasting Spring Art, Middle Earth-Tier, 1900 Points…”
Though her current cultivation was only at the Golden Core Peak Stage, she’d fallen from the Peak Nascent Soul Stage. Combined with her exceptional talent in Formation Arts, she could barely manage to learn Earth-Tier techniques.
The Original Host had been a prodigy Arrayist, but most of the arrays she’d learned were to support a certain Sword Cultivator. She’d barely mastered any offensive killing formations.
To resist Xiao Qingxuan the next time she went berserk, Ye Luqing needed to learn some attack-oriented methods.
She only had 1000 Points, but she also held a Soul-Molding Pill with a buyback price of 10,000 Points. Her funds were actually quite plentiful.
“Should I sell it or not…”
Ye Luqing eyed those Earth-Tier techniques, feeling tempted.
Selling the Soul-Molding Pill would give her enough Points for several Earth-Tier arts, plus some decent divine weapons, armor, pills, and talismans.
But this Soul-Molding Pill was a Heaven-Tier item. If she sold it now, who knew when she’d next come across something of that caliber again?
Even if she didn’t sell it to the Corruption Value Shop, putting it in an auction house for Spirit Stones could make her wealthier than a nation.
Just as she was agonizing over whether to sell the Soul-Molding Pill, the System’s voice chimed urgently.
[Ding! Important plot character approaching. Generating mission…]
[Story Mission: Evade the soul scan of Dao Integration Realm Great Cultivator Bai Yuhan]
[Mission Success: Reward 300 Blackening Value Points, one random Profound-Tier Pill. Failure triggers a Bad Ending story route.]
[Bad Ending Estimated Mortality Rate… 1000%!]
