No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

On the way back to the dorm, Zhang Yu kept experimenting with various gravity settings.

In the end, he settled on the custom mode.

During the day, when class and studying didn’t demand much physically, he activated full-body 20x gravity—intense enough to temper his physique without causing damage. He dubbed it his “Daytime Study Mode.”

For working on the construction site at night, he used a 10x gravity base, with localized boosts of 12x, 15x, or even 18x on sturdier body parts. This was “Night Shift Mode.”

Zhang Yu knew that as his body grew stronger, he’d have to keep increasing the gravity multipliers to maintain a state close to his physical limit.

…

Bathed in blazing flames, Zhang Yu felt every muscle fiber deform in the searing heat. His once-mighty physique turned to ash.

Under crushing pressure, he sensed his bones splintering, one by one, until he was pulverized into sludge.

Through searing agony, blood streamed from his seven apertures. His organs withered, rotted, decayed. He could feel himself dying, step by step.

Zhang Yu jolted awake in the classroom, pulling off his Spiritual Realm Mask. His eye display told him class would start in ten seconds.

He took a deep breath, trying to pull himself out of the mental forge he’d just endured in the spiritual realm.

Thanks to his monthly subscription to Heartforge Pavilion’s Spiritual Realm services—and the consciousness acceleration feature—Zhang Yu could experience over a dozen deaths in every short break between classes.

And under that extreme pressure of simulated death, his level-20 Sacrificial Oxheart Technique was pushed into overdrive every time, hammering away at his Dao Heart.

“Damn it... I’m literally paying money to suffer.”

Zhang Yu’s account balance: 7.3 Nectar Coins

…

Dao Heart, mana, physical strength, spirit root integration, mana quality…

With enough Nectar Coins, Zhang Yu could feel his cultivation surging again.

He couldn’t help but sigh—being rich really was great.

Time flew, and by late October—after another month and a half—his Dao Heart had reached level 12 (51.5%), mana hit 379.3, and his physical strength climbed to level 12.01.

His spirit root integration also reached 80%, giving him more fluid control over both mana and physical strength, while also boosting his efficiency in refining both body and mana.

His mana quality, after digesting numerous high-quality mana sources, climbed to 127%. Whenever he unleashed martial techniques, he could feel his mana lasting longer, and the force behind his Martial Qi getting deadlier.

These surging stats also bumped Zhang Yu’s ranking up again—he rose from seventh place to fourth within just a month and a half.

Now, only Ying Xin, Gongshu Jin, and Ji Yuanshu stood ahead of him.

With his enhanced stats and a gradually higher-level body-refining technique in play, his work efficiency at the construction site naturally increased.

That evening, he returned from a shift with a record haul—0.049 Nectar Coins in one night.

”0.049 a day, 1.47 in a month...”

Zhang Yu frowned. ”Still too slow. I need to speed this up.”

Though his strength was soaring and his income rising, he knew his expenses had also skyrocketed over the past six weeks.

His account now held just 2.69 Nectar Coins.

“Still running a deficit.”

“But I can last until next month.”

“Then I’ll take out another loan—should be enough to survive another month or two.”

“By then, I should be just about ready.”

Aside from boosted stats and increased daily income, Zhang Yu’s biggest achievement was the Earth-Wood Saint Body.

Over the last month and a half, aside from pouring concrete, he’d also worked on rebar placement, mold assembly, material hauling, and other construction tasks.

By rotating through jobs and matching them to the right techniques, he pushed three more Earth-Wood Saint Body (Technique) sets to level 20.

With his earlier Soil-Eating Divine Technique, War Demon Life-Draining Technique, and Limitless Spring and Autumn Meditation, he now had all six required techniques.

Elementary Earth-Wood Saint Body (6/6): Strong resistance to earthquakes, dust, toxins, noise, pressure, cancer, radiation, pollution, high heat, freezing cold, blunt force, slashes, piercing, and hunger. Your body is built for the brutal world of construction. Even suicide would take you a ridiculous amount of effort.

Looking over the Saint Body’s passive traits, Zhang Yu immediately recognized its value—resisting the side effects of construction-based techniques, and shielding against vibration syndrome, black lung, radiation sickness, noise-induced deafness, cancer, and the like.

“But… is that all it’s good for? Just side-effect suppression?”

To someone with strong self-healing like Zhang Yu, most of these resistances didn’t even matter. Honestly, the University Saint Body was still more useful for boosting technique efficiency.

“Still… does any job site actually get this dangerous?”

Shaking his head, he popped a short segment of rebar from his sleeve into his mouth. As his Soil-Eating Divine Technique activated, boosted by the University Saint Body’s digestive might, the metal quickly melted into nutrients for his bones.

After swallowing, he sighed. “The site provides all-you-can-eat cement, but the rest of the materials are harder to come by.”

…

Over the next few days, Zhang Yu kept up his dual grind—studying by day, grinding jobs by night. But one evening…

A sudden tremor rippled through the floor. Zhang Yu felt the ground shudder beneath his feet.

The tremor vanished as quickly as it came, but it left him alert. “Was that… an earthquake?”

Moments later, his EyeNet feed displayed a notice of reassurance: there had been an accident in the lower levels of University City—an explosion involving hazardous materials. The situation was now under control.

Zhang Yu thought it was just a one-off incident.

Half an hour later, every worker on the 666th floor was gathered.

Tu Lishan’s image appeared in their EyeNet HUDs.

“We have an emergency job that needs immediate manpower,” he said.

“There was an explosion in the underground sector. We need a team to enter and begin repair work.”

“It’s urgent and carries some risk, but we’re offering quintuple pay. The job should last around half a month...”

The moment “five times the pay” was mentioned, some workers were already pumped. Li Xiao clenched his fists in excitement.

Others frowned and started backing away. Ying Xin shook her head.

“This university’s no charity,” she thought. “Five times the pay? Something’s definitely off.”

Yu Xinghan hesitated. “Zhang Yu, should we go? Five times the rate—one day equals five—but something doesn’t sit right with me…”

Zhang Yu quickly messaged Zhang Pianpian for more info.

Her reply: An explosion hit the underground pharma lab. Several professors have already put out the fire, but the damage is extensive. A lot of raw materials leaked. The school’s sending you in to help with repairs...

After confirming with his sister, Zhang Yu saw the signup notice appear. He glanced at the resistances on his Earth-Wood Saint Body and made his decision.

Turning to Yu Xinghan, he said, “Don’t rush to sign up. Let me go down first and see. If it’s bad, I’ll pull out.”

…

Twenty minutes later, Zhang Yu followed his HUD guidance down to Sublevel 2 of Wanfa University City.

The factory gate was cracked and twisted, its remains sprawled across the floor.

Behind it lay a sea of unrecognizable wreckage.

Tu Lishan’s voice echoed in everyone’s HUDs.

“Due to the explosion, the factory’s spiritual circuits are severed, and the array is down. You won’t be able to connect to the Spiritual Realm Network once inside.”

“We’re sending you schematics and assignments now.”

“Proceed to your designated area according to the map…”

“The fire’s out, but the site’s still dangerous. Stay alert.”

“And remember—everything inside is university and corporate property. You’ll need to sign a confidentiality agreement.”

Before entering, Zhang Yu switched his Chain Diagram to the Earth-Wood Saint Body. Its long list of resistances gave him a sense of security.

With the map in hand, he stepped into the ruins. The air reeked of scorched chemicals, and collapsed structures loomed all around.

Then he froze. Embedded in a wall was a giant palmprint.

Venturing deeper, he saw handprints, fist craters, and sword scars all over the ruins.

“This was supposed to be an accidental explosion?” Zhang Yu muttered. “This looks like a battlefield!”

Fu Ji said, “Heh, yeah, I don’t think this was an accident. Someone attacked this lab.”

Zhang Yu gasped. “Attacked? Who would dare attack a Wanfa University lab?!”

Fu Ji: “Who knows…”

Just then—a thunderous boom. A heatwave erupted nearby, sweeping several workers off their feet.

Zhang Yu watched as Qi Refining laborers were instantly desiccated, their skin charred, collapsing in agony.

Thick plumes of violet smoke poured from the blast site.

Someone shouted, “Toxic materials from the lab are leaking!”

Some tried to flee—until a five-meter-tall Foundation Establishment cultivator barked, “Don’t panic! Stay put! Stick to the repair plan!”

“As long as we restore the spiritual circuits and arrays, the site will be stabilized.”

Under his command, order was reestablished. Zhang Yu joined the efforts, clearing debris.

But he quickly realized—the place was a deathtrap.

Explosions and heatwaves flared up randomly. Toxic materials flowed like chemical soup through the ruins.

Outside the danger zone, Ying Xin frowned. “Just as I thought—nothing good ever comes of this.”

She had followed out of curiosity, and now wondered, “Is five times the pay even enough to cover the hospital bills?”

As the temperature and toxicity worsened, many Qi Refining workers quit. Even a few Foundation Establishment ones withdrew.

Watching Zhang Yu and Li Xiao still hauling materials and pushing deeper into the site, Ying Xin scoffed. “People from the lower floors… they’re really desperate.”

“But this is just gambling with your life.”

To her, their hustle wasn’t admirable—it was pitiful. The kind of all-in effort that only comes from utter desperation. She’d never take such a risky job.

Still, seeing how Zhang Yu and Li Xiao had both climbed the ranks lately, a flicker of understanding passed through her eyes.

“In five months, Zhang Yu went from the teens to seventh place, and now fourth… Just one spot behind me.”

“He’s definitely burning money to do it.”

“But Li Xiao’s already overextended. He’s about to crash.”

She thought about how Li Xiao had been dodging joint cultivation sessions lately with awkward excuses.

Shaking her head, Ying Xin thought, “Looks like Zhang Yu’s about to break too. That’s why he’s risking everything for some extra coins.”