No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

After Zhang Yu asked his question, Deng Bingding gave him a rundown of the current situation.

Thanks to the efforts of several Righteous Gods and a number of outsourced staff, most of the Oasis Group’s illegal activities had been thoroughly investigated.

With the power of the Righteous Gods, simply leveraging this information would be enough to inflict massive losses on the Oasis Group. Countless employees would go bankrupt, and the Group’s overall strength would be severely weakened.

Zhang Yu wasn’t surprised. Given the Oasis Group’s style—and Director Wang’s in particular—not to mention their plan to overhaul the entire First Floor and wipe out countless powerful families, it was impossible to believe the company had stayed entirely within the law.

Previously, though, the Group’s overwhelming influence, combined with Director Wang’s many connections, had either buried these crimes, hidden them away, or pinned them on scapegoats.

In short, they had a hundred ways to minimize the impact and keep their plans running smoothly.

Deng Bingding continued, “...But no matter how many people under the Oasis Group go bankrupt or die, it’s meaningless unless we take down Wang Yin himself.”

“With the wealth he controls, he can always find more people willing to work for him. You know what the job market’s like—high schoolers and college grads are desperate enough to flood him with resumes.”

“Besides, the man holds a First Floor Kill Permit and a Crime Exemption License.”

“In most cases, even if he commits a crime, he can pay a fine and walk free.”

“And in the rare cases where a fine isn’t enough, it still requires Second Floor-level departments to review and approve his arrest...”

A Kill Permit? Crime Exemption License?

Zhang Yu was speechless. He’d known Wang Yin was powerful, but hearing this still made him curse Kunxu in his heart.

Deng Bingding went on, “So the simplest and most effective strategy is to strike at his soul and force him to retreat to the upper floors for treatment.”

“If he’s not holding down the First Floor himself, the Oasis Group and the noble families beneath him will fall into infighting and collapse like a house of cards. Cleaning them up would be easy...”

Zhang Yu asked, “Then why not send Xinghuo Zhenren? He’s a Gold Core cultivator—shouldn’t he be able to handle this?”

Deng Bingding sighed. “Xinghuo is old. He no longer has the guts for something like this.”

“It takes a bold and brilliant young talent like you to shake the world for the sake of the billions on the First Floor...”

“And you’re conveniently an outsourced member of the Inspectorate Department. As long as you create the right opportunity, we’ll have the legal grounds to strike.”

“All the Righteous Gods are ready. We’ll back you with everything we’ve got to smash Wang Yin and drive him back upstairs.”

As soon as this Sixth-Rank Righteous God started flattering him, Zhang Yu’s guard shot up.

“A bunch of Gold Cores and Righteous Gods refuse to make a move, and you want a high schooler like me to charge the front lines?”

But Zhang Yu, seasoned by his time in Kunxu, didn’t reject the offer outright.

He had no intention of rushing headfirst into danger, but if he could use this to negotiate some benefits, why not?

He sighed with regret. “It’s a pity I’m just a powerless high schooler. I can’t even handle Director Wang’s semi-automatic talismans. I doubt I’d be much help.” 

Deng Bingding explained, “Wang Yin came down this time to earn merits and secure Divine Spirit Root access to rebuild his Foundation.”

“To descend faster, and to redo his Foundation, he actually crippled his own Foundation-level cultivation. Right now, he’s technically still in the Qi Refining Realm.”

“As for his semi-automatic talisman casting, we can cut off his connection to the Divine Power Network and block it temporarily.”

“And we’ll have people hold off his subordinates for you...”

From the other end of the phone, Deng Bingding painted a picture of a severely weakened Wang Yin—just another frail Qi Refining cultivator.

But in Zhang Yu’s mind, Fu Ji chimed in, “Don’t let her hype fool you.”

“When a Foundation cultivator ‘cripples’ themselves, it just means severing the bond between their spirit root and their body.”

“That does wreck the spirit root and causes serious decline in mana and physical strength.”

“But even so, part of their Dao Heart remains, and their mana and physique are still beyond Qi Refining.”

“In short, Wang Yin is still vastly more powerful than any Qi Refining cultivator.”

“Not to mention, who knows what kind of Law Husk he’s equipped with or what protective artifacts he’s brought. He’s definitely not as easy to deal with as Deng Bingding claims.”

“If you’re going to fight him, you’d better wait until you’ve established your Foundation.”

“Ask for more.”

Following her advice, Zhang Yu kept shaking his head. “No, no way. Even in this state, he’s got Law Husks, artifacts, powerful Techniques, and who knows how many hidden cards.”

“I don’t even have a flying sword, a Law Husk, or a Divine Spirit Root. How can I possibly take him on?”

Deng Bingding scowled but didn’t argue. She knew he was bargaining.

She wasn’t surprised. In Kunxu, nobody did anything for free.

If someone asked for nothing, that would be suspicious in itself.

She said generously, “I can get you a 20 million interest-free loan to support this operation.”

Zhang Yu muttered to himself, “Twenty million to take on Director Wang? These Righteous Gods really are stingy.”

So he shook his head again. “It’s not that I’m unwilling, it’s just that I’m not strong enough.”

“At my level, I’d probably need a military-grade flying sword, or a military-grade Law Husk, or a Divine Spirit Root, or even a military-grade Technique just to stand a chance.”

Deng Bingding thought, “Military-grade equipment? This kid’s appetite is outrageous.”

She replied, “You don’t need all that to defeat him.”

“We’ll lend you an artifact that can heavily damage his soul. Once his soul is injured, there’s no way to heal it on the First Floor—he’ll be forced to retreat.”

Zhang Yu said, “I’m just worried I don’t have what it takes. Maybe I’d be better off feeding you information about Director Wang instead...”

After some back-and-forth, Zhang Yu gradually discovered Deng Bingding’s limits.

Physical resources were hard for her to provide.

But digital cultivation manuals and technique copyrights? Those she could offer freely.

As for Law Husk and artifact rentals—also doable.

Eventually, she promised that if Zhang Yu agreed to act, he’d receive the 20 million interest-free loan, a Foundation-tier Law Husk, and three Foundation-tier Techniques.

The Law Husk would be the Flood Dragon Spinal Core he’d seen during the Foundation Establishment exam.

And the Techniques—especially one of them—were the true prize.

One was a pre-military-grade Technique, recently reclassified as expert-grade due to advancements in Immortal Dao technology. It hadn’t even hit the market yet.

Deng Bingding said, “Foundation-tier Techniques are rare on the First Floor. This pre-military-grade Technique is even more so.”

“If not for special circumstances, even if other Foundation cultivators spent tens of millions, they still might not get their hands on it.”

Zhang Yu had to admit—he was very tempted.

She added, “The other two Techniques will match what you practiced during Qi Refining. We’ll give you access to their Foundation-level versions so you can continue your cultivation.”

Zhang Yu’s current Techniques had all hit the bottleneck at level 10—the Qi Refining ceiling.

But if he broke into Foundation, he could push two of them beyond that, up to level 20.

In other words...

“If I enter Foundation, I’ll be able to choose two Techniques and push them beyond level 10 right away.”

But if Zhang Yu chose to just provide intel and act as an informant, the best they’d give him was a few hundred thousand to a million in loans.

As Deng Bingding put it—they weren’t short on intelligence.

What they lacked was someone brave enough to strike at Wang Yin.

Zhang Yu didn’t give a definitive answer. He said he needed time to consider, planning to talk with Bai Zhenzhen and Fu Ji first.

Deng Bingding said coolly, “Then I’ll await your good news.”

“As soon as you agree, I’ll get the 20 million loan processed right away.”

As tempted as he was, Zhang Yu still didn’t agree right away.

After hanging up, he explained everything to Bai Zhenzhen and Fu Ji again—just in case they’d missed anything.

Fu Ji said, “Three Foundation Techniques, and one of them is pre-military-grade.”

“Not bad at all.”

Bai Zhenzhen added, “But fighting Wang Yin head-on is a huge risk. He knows us well. We know nothing about his trump cards.”

“Even if we win... we’ll be marked for life.”

Fu Ji said, “If you decide to fight Wang Yin, Foundation is a must.”

“Even if you don’t, just reaching Foundation gives you more security and leverage.”

“Either way, you can’t delay any longer.”

“Take advantage of this lull and establish your Foundation now.”

“Zhang Yu, let Bai Zhenzhen transfer you the money so you can buy your Divine Spirit Root.”

Zhang Yu knew that between the two of them, he was better suited for Foundation right now—thanks to the Feathered Tome.

If he got the right Techniques, his combat power would rise fast and pay dividends immediately.

“Ah-Zhen’s Foundation will have to wait.”

Without this incident, he wouldn’t have wanted to use her money or take out a huge loan with interest.

He could’ve saved up in a few more months.

But with everything changing so fast, he had no choice but to push forward.

Bai Zhenzhen didn’t hesitate. She pulled out her phone to transfer the funds.

In Kunxu, their bank accounts were their cultivation resources—their Immortal Dao capital.

And for a Divine Spirit Root-based Foundation breakthrough, anything less than 58 million simply wasn’t enough.

“Luckily, after nine months of saving, Ah-Zhen and I together have enough to afford it.”

But not long after she initiated the transfer, Bai Zhenzhen discovered her funds had been frozen.

Right then, Director Wang called.

“Ah-Zhen, why are you suddenly sending so much money to Zhang Yu?”

He laughed. “When the company gave you that lump sum, I worried you might go on a spending spree.”

“So I set a talisman to freeze large transfers and notify me.”

“You’re transferring this much... are you trying to establish Foundation?”

“Why didn’t you tell me first?”

“Foundation breakthroughs are risky. If you’re going to do it, you must come to Oasis Tower and let me protect you.”