No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Fu Ji listened to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s eager questions and replied, “It’s not that fast.”

Sensing their skeptical stares, she quickly added, “I’ve been weak for too long. Completely devouring that guy will take time.”

“What I did before was only a temporary suppression.”

“It’s like ants gnawing on a chicken leg—you can’t expect them to finish the whole thing in one sitting, right?”

Fu Ji continued, “Help me devour this guy completely first. Once I’ve digested his Evil God authority, then I’ll be able to boost your potential.”

Following Fu Ji’s instructions, Zhang Yu once again pressed the black pearl she had become against the Evil God Plushie’s head.

About an hour later, the plushie suddenly disintegrated, crumbling into ashes that vanished into the air.

“I’m going to sleep for a day or two. Once I finish digesting…”

Fu Ji only had time to leave that one sentence before she fell into a deep slumber, completely unresponsive no matter how much Zhang Yu or Bai Zhenzhen called out to her.

For the next two days, the black pearl Fu Ji had transformed into seemed completely inert. Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen could only continue cultivating and making money while they waited for her to awaken. During this time, they also kept an eye on Song Xu’s situation through news reports and online forums.

However, all the news covered was the pirated technique incident—nothing about Evil Gods or their followers.

Bai Zhenzhen looked nervous. “That last hit you landed caused six cultists to suffer severe backlash. A lot of people saw them jumping off the building, and their bodies were on fire…”

“Couldn’t someone suspect this was an Evil God incident? What if the Righteous Gods have already started investigating?”

She couldn’t help but suggest, “Maybe we should go back and check the Evil God’s old apartment? See if anyone’s looking into it…”

“Hm?” Zhang Yu glanced at her, thinking that Ah-Zhen really didn’t have the mindset for crime. She was making the classic rookie mistake—returning to the scene.

“What difference would it make, whether we look or not?” Zhang Yu said. “We’ve already done everything we could. If someone’s really started investigating, it’s not like we could stop them.”

“Instead of overthinking it, why not focus on getting stronger?”

He clenched his fists, feeling the surging mana within him, which had already surpassed 90 points.

“In Kunxu, more strength means more money. And more money means more safety.”

Fu Ji’s deathlike silence lasted until the evening of the third day.

Accompanied by a groan from within the pearl, Fu Ji’s voice rang out, satisfied and invigorated. “Ah, that felt amazing!”

She laughed heartily. “Today I’ve reclaimed my authority! Once more I walk the true path of the Evil God! One day, I’ll reach the pinnacle and stand above all Kunxu!”

Hearing her voice, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, who had been cultivating in the room, immediately snapped to attention.

Zhang Yu grabbed the pearl and asked, “Well? Can you boost my potential now?”

Sensing the mana pulsing in Zhang Yu’s palm, Fu Ji quickly said, “Don’t rush, don’t rush. I’ll handle it right now.”

As she spoke, Zhang Yu felt a chilling, sinister power flood from the black pearl, surging up his arm, across his shoulder and neck, and into his Sea of Consciousness.

The next moment, he felt a sharp pain in his palm.

Opening his hand, he saw a transparent symbol forming there. As the sinister energy continued to pour in from the pearl, the symbol darkened rapidly before his eyes.

Zhang Yu thought, “This is just like the first time the Feathered Tome appeared, only more intricate now.”

As the symbol turned completely black, the Feathered Tome manifested before him and slowly opened.

The first page was still the table of contents, with the word “Prologue” clearly visible at the top.

But now, a previously blurry line beneath the Prologue began to come into focus.

Zhang Yu stared at it and murmured, “Chapter One: Chain Diagram.”

The pages of the Feathered Tome fluttered on their own, settling on the section titled Chain Diagram.

Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms, Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy, Scattered Hand, High School Basic Sword Technique, Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique…

All the techniques Zhang Yu had practiced were listed out one by one.

Beneath these techniques was a massive black scroll.

When Zhang Yu focused his thoughts on one of the techniques, he found that, just like with the Prologue, he could drag and move them.

He tried dragging the Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms into the black scroll.

The moment it settled in, it transformed into a white star on the scroll, twinkling like a lone star in a night sky.

Below the star, three lines of text appeared:

Basic – High School Saint Body (1/6)

Advanced – High School Saint Body (1/8)

Ultimate – High School Saint Body (1/10)

Zhang Yu paused, unsure what it meant at first.

But as he dragged more techniques into the night sky, he discovered he could add up to ten.

Each one turned into a star and displayed three lines of similar text.

For example, Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms showed the High School Saint Body suit.

Endless Spring and Autumn Meditation showed the Martial Saint Embryo suit.

Gradually, Zhang Yu pieced it together.

“This Chain Diagram lets you link techniques together to form some kind of set bonus, right?”

He decided to call these “Technique Sets.”

“Each Technique Set requires six techniques for the first effect, eight for the second, ten for the third.”

His Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms, Basic Heart-Forging Method, and Basic Breathing Technique all contributed to the High School Saint Body set.

However, the Basic Heart-Forging Method and Basic Breathing Technique were grayed out.

Zhang Yu guessed, “Is it because I haven’t leveled those techniques up? They’re not at level 10?”

Aside from the High School Saint Body, the most complete set he had was something called the Perfect Attendance Beggar.

It included techniques like Excavator Palm, Crane Claw, Sports Car Leg, and Elevator Leap.

“Just hearing the name makes it sound like trash. I’ll skip that one.”

“High School Saint Body seems decent, but…”

Zhang Yu looked longingly at more impressive sets like:

– Martial Saint Embryo (from Endless Spring and Autumn Meditation)

– Dragonblood Descendant (from Dragon Elephant Mountain-Crushing Palm and Back-Dragon Mountain-Flipping Strike)

– Celestial Martial Battleheart (from Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique)

– Great Sage’s Heir (from Soul-Stabilizing Oxheart Technique and Sacrificial Oxheart Technique)

“This ‘Great Sage’ must refer to the one who created the Oxheart Techniques, right? The Oxheart Sage?”

“Yeah, Martial Saint Embryo, Dragonblood Descendant, Celestial Martial Battleheart, Great Sage’s Heir—these all sound powerful.”

“But what other techniques do these sets require?”

“I can’t wait until I’ve practiced everything just to figure out what set they belong to. I’d never finish in this lifetime!”

Frowning, Zhang Yu picked up his phone and began browsing a technique shopping site.

Meanwhile, Fu Ji and Bai Zhenzhen watched his constantly shifting expressions—confused, ecstatic, then troubled again—and couldn’t make sense of it.

Fu Ji thought, “He’s just unlocking potential. Why does he look like he’s watching drama clips? What exactly is this guy’s ‘potential,’ anyway?”

Bai Zhenzhen couldn’t help asking, “Yuzi, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m more than fine,” Zhang Yu replied with a laugh. “I’ve never felt better.”

As he scrolled through the technique listings, each description would trigger the image of its Technique Set in his mind.

He thought, “Finding them is still annoying, but at least I have a goal now.”

“No—wait. I can’t just fish blindly like this.”

Looking back at the High School Saint Body set and the three basic techniques he already had, he began searching the site for more high school-level foundational techniques—and instantly found several that belonged to the same set.

“Other sets should work the same. I just need to search by name and category.”

Fu Ji and Bai Zhenzhen continued to watch him scroll and react for a solid half hour before he finally stopped, a little reluctantly.

Zhang Yu concluded, “Ugh, not enough money.”

“The Martial Saint Embryo set is full of expensive body-refining martial arts like Endless Spring and Autumn Meditation.”

“Same for Dragonblood Descendant and Celestial Martial Battleheart. Pricey as hell.”

As for Great Sage’s Heir, he hadn’t yet found any more techniques that matched.

“Once I level Endless Spring and Autumn Meditation to ten, I’ll complete the High School Saint Body set first and see how it works.”

With a clear understanding of the Chain Diagram in Chapter One of the Feathered Tome, and a plan for his cultivation path, Zhang Yu looked up and said to Bai Zhenzhen, “She wasn’t lying.”

“She really did boost my Immortal Path potential.”

“But just how much of a boost… only time will tell.”

Bai Zhenzhen smiled softly, eyes full of anticipation. “Then it’s my turn next, right?”

Fu Ji interjected, “The Wish-Granting Ritual isn’t something you can just whip up. It needs proper preparation.”

“Follow my instructions. Buy what needs to be bought, find what needs to be found.”

“Only when everything’s ready can we begin.”