Dual Realm Exchange System

The silence inside the Spirit Grass cultivation house lasted for several breaths... then Lan Ruyue finally inhaled at the same time that Mu Qingyao opened her mouth.

Tao Wenli looked ready to throw herself bodily over the newly matured Grade Two Spirit Grass if anyone attempted to move it before she finished studying the thing.

Damian raised one hand. ”Before anyone asks, this isn’t for sale.”

The reaction was almost comical.

Mu Qingyao’s lips froze halfway through forming a word, Lan Ruyue’s carefully maintained expression cracked, even Shen Xueyi’s eyes shifted toward Damian with unmistakable surprise, and Tao Wenli looked personally betrayed despite having known Damian for less than half an hour.

Damian chuckled. ”Relax. I mean I’m not selling it for Spirit Stones or Contribution Points.”

That made the two senior women pause.

Then, slowly, both relaxed.

Because irritating as the statement sounded, neither could claim Damian was being unreasonable.

Spirit Stones had already begun losing meaning to him, and Contribution Points were even worse.

The Azure Water Sect did not yet fully understand the scale of Damian’s transactions, but Mu Qingyao certainly did.

In less than a week, Damian had probably broken every record the Evergreen Sect possessed for Contribution Points gained, held and spent by a single person.

Perhaps several times over.

The Evergreen Sect’s Contribution Point system had never been designed for someone like him.

A typical Body Tempering disciple completed basic missions and earned perhaps one to ten Contribution Points at a time.

Qi Condensation cultivators handled more serious tasks and generally earned somewhere between ten and one hundred depending upon difficulty and importance.

Foundation Establishment cultivators operated on another scale entirely, with missions easily beginning above one hundred Contribution Points.

The basic structure resembled the Adventurer’s Guild in Valoria.

Complete a task, earn institutional currency, and exchange that currency for resources.

Simple.

Except the system assumed that people earned points at roughly the same speed the sect could replenish its treasury.

It was not prepared for an Otherworlder to stroll inside and dump hundreds of miracle medicines onto a desk.

Medicines that healed wounds cultivators normally spent months recovering from.

Medicines capable of addressing injuries involving damaged foundations, crippled dantians and ruined cultivation that, in any respectable cultivation story, some protagonist would normally need to fall off a cliff and discover inside the cave of a dead ancient expert.

Damian had brought more than five hundred healing potions in one shipment.

Who the hell did that?

The Evergreen Sect’s economic system was choking because one merchant had discovered an infinite-money exploit.

Mu Qingyao rubbed her forehead.

Lan Ruyue, understanding enough of the problem to infer the rest, gave Damian a complicated look.

”So Fellow Daoist Damian intends to determine another form of exchange?” Lan Ruyue questioned.

”Eventually. I need to think about what I actually want and what this is worth first,” Damian answered while nodding toward the Grade Two Spirit Grass.

”There’s no point taking payment just because somebody offers it, especially if the payment doesn’t help me anymore.”

That was the end of the discussion for now.

Tao Wenli looked devastated as Damian reclaimed the empty Potion of Growth bottle and stepped away from the miracle herb.

The others followed.

”Next test.”

......

The second experiment required people.

Specifically, Body Tempering cultivators who were currently developing Martial Arts at three different points of mastery.

Mu Qingyao sent word through the medicinal garden administration, and it took only a short period before three disciples were brought over.

The first was a young man who had only recently entered the Entry stage in a sword-based Martial Art.

The second was a stocky young woman whose palm technique sat somewhere around the middle of Entry by the sect instructor’s estimate.

The last was an older youth practicing a spear Martial Art who had already reached the edge of Small Success.

All three were visibly nervous, because standing before Mu Qingyao was already enough pressure.

Add Lan Ruyue, Shen Xueyi and Damian to the equation, and the three Body Tempering disciples looked as though somebody had informed them that their annual examination would be personally supervised by heaven.

Damian ignored their discomfort.

He was more interested in the distinction between what they practiced and the higher-level abilities he had been studying recently.

Martial Arts were fundamentally physical combat techniques like sword forms, spear methods, palm arts, footwork, and movement sequences.

They depended upon physical Attributes, trained skill, timing and technique mastery, and could later be augmented using Refined Qi once the cultivator possessed it.

That made them especially common among Body Tempering cultivators.

Daoist Arts were different.

Those were genuine supernatural techniques powered primarily through Refined Qi like energy attacks, elemental manifestations, spiritual bindings and various methods that were closer to Shengyuan’s answer to magical abilities.

A Body Tempering cultivator could learn the theory behind one, perhaps even memorize every movement involved, but without a Qi Sea and Refined Qi there was nothing to actually cast.

That threshold began at Qi Condensation.

Damian looked at the three disciples, who were perfect test subjects.

He removed three bottles.

”Drink these. They should help you focus while practicing your Martial Arts.”

That was all he told them.

He said nothing that could influence their expectations more than necessary, such as mentioning increased comprehension or promising mastery improvement.

Placebo effects were annoying enough in scientific testing without cultivators convincing themselves they had suddenly comprehended the heavens because Lord Damian told them they should.

The three accepted their bottles as Mu Qingyao watched carefully and Lan Ruyue leaned slightly forward.

”Drink.”

The three obeyed, and for several seconds, nothing appeared to happen.

Then all three expressions changed as their eyes unfocused slightly.

The swordsman stepped aside first and drew his weapon, while the young woman raised both palms and the spear disciple moved toward a clear section of earth.

Then they began practicing.

Damian crossed his arms as one minute became ten and ten became thirty, with the improvement visible even to him.

The swordsman’s movements began awkwardly, every sequence requiring conscious thought.

Gradually, the transitions tightened.

His feet stopped landing slightly out of place, the blade followed cleaner arcs, and movements that previously existed as separate memorized steps began connecting into a single flowing form.

The palm user improved even faster.

Her technique became noticeably more integrated as mistakes disappeared and her breathing synchronized with each strike.

The spear disciple showed the least dramatic visual transformation, but that was because he had already stood near the next threshold.

His repetitions became increasingly refined, with every thrust seeming slightly more precise than the last.

After roughly one hour, the strange focus faded, and all three stopped almost simultaneously.

The swordsman blinked, then slowly stared at his sword.

He swung it once, then twice, before his eyes widened.

”I... reached Small Success?”

The sect instructor assigned to verify the test immediately stepped forward.

After several exchanges and demonstrations, the result was confirmed.

The disciple who had only just entered Entry had crossed completely into Small Success.

The palm user had advanced from roughly halfway through Entry to somewhere between the middle and upper portion of Small Success.

The spear cultivator had gone from standing at the limit of Entry to the absolute peak of Small Success, and one more genuine insight might push him into Great Success.

Damian’s eyes narrowed with satisfaction.

So the Potion of Comprehension was not merely producing vague mental clarity.

The effect translated cleanly into Shengyuan’s mastery framework.

He recalled the appraisal he had performed earlier.

[Item: Potion of Comprehension

Grade: Common (Valoria), Grade One (Shengyuan)

Effect 1 (Valoria): For individuals at Level 5 or below, consuming this potion improves comprehension of one eligible Common-grade technique sufficiently to advance its mastery by one realm.

Effect 2 (Shengyuan): For Body Tempering cultivators, consuming this potion improves comprehension of one eligible Human Rank technique sufficiently to advance its mastery by one small realm.]

Damian looked back toward the three disciples.

The actual results aligned almost perfectly, one potion lasted one hour and roughly gave one full small mastery realm of advancement.

Simple, predictable, and terrifyingly valuable!

Behind Damian, someone inhaled sharply... then another.

The four youngsters were especially bad.

Bo Wen stared at the empty bottles like a starving man looking through a restaurant window.

Lin Meiyu’s expression practically screamed that she wanted to ask whether Lord Damian had perhaps accidentally brought a few hundred more.

Jian Rui was attempting dignity and failing.

Shen Lian looked between Damian and the bottles before her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Then she saw his smile, and her shoulders slumped.

”Lord Damian isn’t selling these either, is he?”

Damian’s grin widened. ”Not yet.”

The four youngsters immediately became miserable, prompting Lan Ruyue to give a helpless laugh as Mu Qingyao shook her head.

Why did this entire testing trip increasingly feel like Damian had brought them here specifically to bully them?

Look, admire, calculate how completely the item could change your cultivation life, then do not touch.

Cruel!

Absolutely cruel!

Damian, naturally, felt no guilt whatsoever.

”Last test.”

......

The Evergreen Sect infirmary had changed considerably since the first time Damian encountered it.

It was the same place Mu Feng had once rushed toward when casualties from the war overwhelmed the sect’s healers.

Now the atmosphere was worse.

Damian sensed the thick, accumulated, hostile Corpse Qi before the doors fully opened.

The group stepped inside, and the four youngsters immediately paled.

Mu Qingyao’s expression became ugly, Shen Xueyi’s brows drew together beneath her veil, and Lan Ruyue’s normally gentle expression became grim.

The upper portion of the infirmary was covered in a dark miasma that clung beneath the roof like storm clouds trapped indoors.

Occasionally, twisted shapes appeared inside it that resembled human faces, hands, and open mouths.

A ghastly shriek echoed from above as something resembling an evil spirit pressed its face against the edge of the mist and reached downward toward the living patients.

The healers were prepared, each wearing multiple protective talismans while several carried Demon Suppressing Talismans directly in hand.

Yet Damian could tell those protections were struggling.

The Corpse Qi was simply too concentrated.

Worse, the patients continuously produced more as the corruption within their bodies leaked outward.

Damian’s eyes moved across the healers, then he noticed something familiar.

Potions.

Specifically, his potions!

Vials of Healing, Vials of Restoration, and Vials of Vigor!

Many of the thousand products he delivered yesterday had already found their way here.

Several healers kept bottles directly at their waists, consuming them whenever prolonged exposure to Corpse Qi pushed their bodies too far.

Damian barely had time to process that before the miasma noticed the newcomers.

Unlike the healers, Damian’s group had entered without visible protective talismans.

The dark mist stirred as a delighted shriek sounded and several spiritual faces emerged at once.

Then clawed hands stretched downward.

Mu Qingyao’s Spiritual Energy surged, and Shen Xueyi moved to respond, but Damian was faster.

He frowned and lifted one hand.

”Arde!”

Flame exploded upward, and the wave of searing heat slammed directly into the descending spirits.

The reaction was immediate as the arrogant shrieks transformed into screams of terror and the mist recoiled toward the ceiling.

But it was far too late as Damian’s fire followed like a dog biting at the heels of a fleeing person.

Corpse Qi ignited as though someone had poured fuel across the roof.

Flames raced through the black miasma, devouring one section after another while twisted spirits writhed inside the inferno.

The shrieking became deafening, then weaker, then distant.

Within moments, the final patches of darkness burned away.

For the first time in who knew how long, clean light reached the infirmary ceiling.

Silence followed as several healers simply stared in pleasant surprise.

One older man wearing the markings of the lead healer slowly approached.

His face carried astonishment, but also obvious frustration. ”Guest Elder Damian’s flame is truly extraordinary. If only such power could be used directly upon our patients.”

The man gestured toward the nearest bed.

”Corpse Qi buried within flesh can be burned, certainly. Unfortunately, the flesh burns as well. By the time we destroyed the corruption completely, we would likely reduce the cultivator containing it to ash.”

”That’s why I’m here,” Damian replied.

The lead healer greeted Mu Qingyao first, then Lan Ruyue and Shen Xueyi before returning his attention toward Damian.

Mu Qingyao briefly explained the purpose of their visit, and interest replaced exhaustion in the healer’s eyes.

”Then please, Guest Elder Damian. Show us.”

Damian reached into his System Storage and produced one clear bottle of Basic Holy Water.

He walked between the beds until he found a Body Tempering disciple whose condition was especially severe.

The young man’s skin had turned grey along one side of his chest, black lines spread beneath the surface like rotten roots, and even his breathing carried pain.

Corpse Qi had penetrated deep enough that Damian’s could perceive traces buried against the bones themselves.

Perfect!

Well, perfect for science... and less perfect for the patient.

Damian opened the bottle and poured only a few drops onto the corrupted skin.

Sssssssss!

The reaction resembled water striking red-hot metal as black smoke erupted from the contact point.

The patient screamed and thrashed once, causing several healers to move instinctively before stopping.

The young man’s expression changed as pain remained, but beneath it came actual relief.

The grey discoloration around the treated patch faded noticeably, and a small section of the black lines receded.

The lead healer’s eyes widened as Mu Qingyao stepped closer and Lan Ruyue stopped breathing for a moment, but Damian did not wait for anyone to start talking.

He grabbed the patient’s jaw gently.

”Drink.”

Then he poured the entire remaining bottle of Basic Holy Water down the young man’s throat.

For half a heartbeat, nothing happened.

Then the Body Tempering disciple’s entire body arched off the bed.

BOOM!

A wave of black Corpse Qi erupted from every pore in his body, his veins lit up beneath his skin, and the bed shook violently.

Every Demon Suppressing Talisman in the room activated at once.

And the patient’s scream echoed through the entire infirmary as something inside him began undergoing an earth-shattering change!