“Merit points from the Sage Taiyi? What use are they?” The Yan Clan Daoist chuckled contemptuously. They knew best what “merit” was! The Yan family frequently had to send “merit” up to the higher aristocratic families. Without a second thought, the Daoist tossed a handful of Pill Jades into the Merit Box. A few seconds later, a low-grade Miasma-Breaking Elixir rolled out.
The Daoist, refusing to believe it, continued throwing Pill Jades into the box, a far larger amount than before. This time, the Merit Box’s response was slower. Only after a long while did a mid-grade pill appear.
“So that’s how it is!” The Daoist suddenly saw the light. “Great merit yields items of great use.”
But before they could test further, Wicked Wraiths converged upon them. They had no choice but to muster their magical power to clear out this irritating horde of monsters.
On the other side of the Merit Box.
Wei Mingyi calmly collected all the Pill Jades. Too lazy to keep watch, she looked at Meng Bujue with a pair of earnest eyes and said, “Senior Sister, you guard it here. No need to respond all the time. When you receive Pill Jades or other good things, just casually toss out some pills to send them off. They’re camping nearby and have to deal with Wicked Wraiths; they’ll definitely love Miasma-Breaking Elixirs that cleanse corruption.”
Meng Bujue blinked. She hesitated for a moment before saying, “Junior Sister, isn’t this a bit… not good?”
Wasn’t this just tricking people out of their Pill Jades?
Wei Mingyi said righteously, “Was it a good thing when they attacked our mountain gate? This is compensation. Besides, the things that belong to aristocratic families—” Wei Mingyi didn’t finish, just let out a cold laugh. Things naturally born of heaven and earth, meant to give back to all living beings, had been hoarded as private property by the aristocratic families. Since they refused to return what belonged to them, she would take it herself. That was only fair.
In November.
Wei Mingyi made a trip back to Chongyuan Sect.
The newly added twelve hundred Achievement Points finally allowed her to generously purchase the Revival Furnace.
Thinking of Wu Chongyun’s injuries, Wei Mingyi didn’t blink before buying the “Revival Furnace,” directly overlaying it onto the previous Alchemy Room.
Her Achievement Points were instantly cleaned out, leaving only a pitiful single hundred points remaining. But when she looked at the small line of descriptive text beneath the Revival Furnace, she exhaled a turbid breath, and a smile climbed back onto her face. Not only would materials consumed during alchemy be reduced, but both alchemy efficiency and pill quality would see a certain increase. The Assistant Master was already a genius on the path of alchemy; with the Revival Furnace in hand, she would be even more divinely aided.
After observing the Revival Furnace for a while, Wei Mingyi didn’t rush off to Yangchun Terrace. Cangwu City had been designated a dead zone. Those too impatient to stay had probably all moved away by now, right? As for the rest, they were actually no different from ordinary mortals—at most harboring a few immortal dreams and having slightly longer lifespans.
Once the Sect Leader confirmed that the Alchemical Cauldron Pavilion and Artifact Refining Pavilion in Cangwu City’s main city, which nominally belonged to the Heavenly Dao Alliance, had vanished, and that all Heavenly Dao Alliance forces had completely withdrawn, Wei Mingyi felt at ease and restarted Cangwu City in the System. Though the hub could operate again, there were no spirit veins left to connect to. The Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Feng Clan, having confirmed Cangwu City was a dead zone, had severed all connections cleanly.
Luckily, Chongyuan Sect had a “True Vein,” though its spirit vein quality was relatively low, only Yellow-tier. Wei Mingyi manipulated the interface, channeling “qi” into Cangwu City’s hub. Just in case someone wanted to rent it? In a backwater like this, even connecting to a Yellow-tier spirit vein was a blessing.
On an uninhabited, desolate mountain outside the main city.
A middle-aged Daoist in full Daoist robes had been sitting cross-legged. The moment spiritual energy began to flow, she abruptly opened her eyes.
“Shizun?” a weary voice came from nearby.
“This place is no dead zone,” the middle-aged Daoist said deeply.
“Th-then can we still rebuild the Spirit Heart Sect here?” The answering voice held unease.
The Daoist pressed her lips together and sighed softly. “This place truly has a master now.” If it were unclaimed land, she could have chosen this spot to establish a sect, prayed to heaven and earth and the ancestors, and received a heaven-and-earth-generated land deed. But she had tried this before, and heaven and earth had not responded. It meant Cangwu City already had an owner. Only, when they arrived, the Heavenly Dao Alliance had just withdrawn. The Lu Clan had completely withered away, and Cangwu City was defined as a dead zone. So when had this new master appeared? Before the Heavenly Dao Alliance? And how had they evaded the Heavenly Dao Alliance’s eyes?
“Shizun, if we keep searching for new territory, the Junior Sisters probably won’t be able to hold on,” the speaker said, her voice fraught with worry, her eyes full of fear for the unknown future.
“There’s a sect of Master-Disciple Lineage that hasn’t moved away yet here,” the Daoist murmured to herself.
…
Wei Mingyi returned to the Wild Domain after doing everything she could on her end. How to develop the pill business in Cangwu City was a matter for the Sect Leader and Assistant Masters to consider.
When she arrived at Yangchun Terrace, the Senior Sister had long since retreated into dreams. Only Feng Cangcang occasionally came to collect Pill Jades, throwing out pills and culled herbs like feeding dogs.
Those who came here to train couldn’t possibly carry a vast supply of Pill Jades. Their Qiankun Pouches were mostly filled with magical tools, talismans, and other items to boost their own strength. After exhausting their Pill Jades, these people stopped contributing more. For one, they felt disheartened by not getting more in return; for another, they needed those things to deal with the Wicked Wraiths gathering around them. They had stayed too long in the Wild Domain. Even constantly taking Miasma-Breaking Elixirs wasn’t enough. Amidst the chaos, the Wicked Wraiths’ corruption was impossible to guard against completely; they had to withdraw to a base to recuperate.
“What kind of Merit Box is this?! Could it be tricking us?” The Yan Brothers of Gold Mountain could no longer restrain themselves. They’d thrown in the most Pill Jades and received the most herbs and pills—but what use were these to them? What they wanted most were the Sun-Moon Pot and the ancient legacy. Only those could elevate their clan further.
As he spoke, one of the Yan Clan Daoists kicked the Merit Box, which had been half-exposed. Who would have thought that the box they’d been “offering” to for a month would just break apart? Its remains lay silently in the snow, along with a single medicinal herb speckled with dirt, barely better than a weed.
“Were we deceived?” A Jade Emperor Sect Daoist stared at the herb. She wasn’t as furious as the Yan Brothers. She was certain that herbs grew within, and that Yangchun Terrace’s soil was different from the outside world; there must be things they needed.
An oppressive silence.
Once they realized this, the fog before their eyes seemed to part, and their clouded minds suddenly became clear and bright.
Where had the pills and herbs come from?
Were the silhouettes inside residual souls of ancient Taiyi Daoists? Or real people?
Did Yangchun Terrace have a master?
Wei Mingyi was somewhat regretful that they had sobered up.
But no matter; the gains this time hadn’t been small.
The Daoists outside were fuming with rage. When they clearly saw Wei Mingyi’s face, they ground their teeth audibly, practically wishing they could land a palm strike on her.
Wei Mingyi was inside the mountain protection array and had no fear of these people making trouble.
She cleared her throat and said calmly, “You’ve all taken Miasma-Breaking Elixirs by now and know their efficacy, don’t you? When traveling through the Wild Domain, how can you not equip yourselves with spirit pills and marvelous medicines? With the nearest base so far, it’s better to acquire locally than seek afar. So long as you offer some Pill Jades, you can get the pills you require.”
“Who are you people?” A Yan Clan Daoist shouted his question, raising his voice.
Wei Mingyi chuckled. “No manners. Reward: a slap across the face.” She had just been speaking casually, but Feng Cangcang, whom she’d pulled over to back her up, actually delivered a “Great Tablet Shattering Hand” to the unsuspecting Yan Clan Daoist outside. That Daoist was at the Golden Core level; a palm strike from a Foundation Establishment cultivator couldn’t truly harm him. But the insult was tremendous, making him tremble with rage. He let out a furious roar and charged recklessly at the mountain protection array. A resounding clang echoed; even Wei Mingyi’s head hurt from hearing it.
She paid no mind to the foolish Daoist who’d crashed headfirst into the snow, bleeding profusely. Instead, she cheerfully continued speaking to those still standing: “Allow me to introduce myself: the Nine Provinces’ Chongyuan Sect.”
“A Master-Disciple Lineage?” Ji Tianhe’s expression shifted slightly.
But another Daoist, not far away, was even more agitated than the aristocratic cultivators. She suddenly rushed forward, repeating, “A Master-Disciple Lineage?” Her look changed, and finally, she raised her chin, speaking in a commanding tone: “Since you’re a Master-Disciple Lineage, why haven’t you opened the mountain protection array to let me enter? Do you intend to refuse me? I work for the benefit of the Master-Disciple Lineage! If you don’t give me face, are you betraying your teachers, your ancestors, the entire Master-Disciple Lineage?”
Wei Mingyi: “?”
What was this thing, jabbering incomprehensibly?
She turned her head to look at Feng Cangcang.
Feng Cangcang shrugged; she didn’t understand either. Without waiting for Wei Mingyi to speak, she directly delivered a slap to the chattering Daoist.
That Daoist, having seen the Yan clansman suffer, was already on guard. When Feng Cangcang’s long-range palm strike came, she used her stellar steps to dodge the blow. But though she was agile, her cultivation was lacking. In the end, Feng Cangcang’s palm still struck her, instantly causing her cheek to swell up high.
Wei Mingyi looked at Feng Cangcang with great appreciation.
Act without talking—excellent.
When encountering someone who babbled nonsense, hit them directly. Once dead, their little mouth would shut right up.
Ji Tianhe watched the Daoist suffer and couldn’t resist laughing out loud. She gave Wei Mingyi and the others a respectful salute and introduced herself: “Ji Tianhe of Jade Emperor Sect.”
Wei Mingyi blinked.
Ah, Jade Emperor Sect. The “dog shit” her Ancestor had mentioned.
Pointing at the Daoist who was about to go mad with rage, Ji Tianhe added, “Yan Luo of the Pure Clean Sect.”
Wei Mingyi’s expression showed sudden understanding.
A self-delusion-savoring sect, experts at calling a stag a horse. The Self-pity Sect.
After introducing herself, Ji Tianhe looked at Wei Mingyi, who showed absolutely no reaction, and was momentarily speechless.
Jade Emperor Sect was the foremost Master-Disciple Lineage sect, with a Grotto-Heaven cultivator seated within it. And the Pure Clean Sect, though its reputation wasn’t great, was still a pillar of the Master-Disciple Lineage. If they truly were a Master-Disciple Lineage, shouldn’t there be some reaction upon hearing their sect names?
“Do you want to buy pills?” Wei Mingyi asked after a moment. She glanced at the bleeding Yan Daoist and Yan Luo of the Pure Clean Sect, then calmly inquired, “We have pills to stop bleeding and reduce swelling.”
Ji Tianhe: “…” So perfectly composed and unruffled, as if nothing had happened. But weren’t they the ones who’d caused it?
A silence fell all around.
A moment later, a mocking laugh rang out.
Immediately after, Lang Fengya, who had previously traded with Wei Mingyi, descended gracefully.
The snow dust around her swirled, scattering toward the Pure Clean Sect Daoist.
She didn’t even glance at the fuming Pure Clean Sect member, simply smiling as she looked at Wei Mingyi and said, “Fellow Daoist, do you still have Miasma-Breaking Elixirs?”
