No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

As Zhang Yu manipulated his Martial Qi and the Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill, the armored giant before him trembled, then began to throw punches and kicks, executing a series of martial techniques.

Each strike, wrapped in the power of the Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill, caused gusts of wind and peals of thunder to burst out from the Formless Golem. The strength it unleashed clearly surpassed that of an ordinary Formless Golem.

Zhang Yu mused to himself, “Once shaped, the liquid metal created by the Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill is the strongest metal I can currently produce.”

“Its defensive strength is far greater than that of my flesh under normal conditions.”

“Only when I’m down to the last drop of blood and empowered by the Earth-Wood Saint Body can I surpass the Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill in sheer defense.”

Looking at the Formless Golem clad in golden armor before him, Zhang Yu decided to name this upgraded version the Golden Armor Warrior.

“If I add Azure Sand to the Golden Armor Warrior’s enhancements, even a single unit could take on ten regular Formless Golems.”

“And if I combine it with the Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force…”

Zhang Yu recalled that his Martial Saint Body could also be infused into his Martial Qi—which meant it could empower the Golden Armor Warrior too.

“In pure close combat, an average Foundation Establishment cultivator might not even stand a chance against my Golden Armor Warrior.”But a moment later, Zhang Yu shook off these thoughts.

“What am I thinking? So what if it’s good at fighting?”

“Let’s test its performance on the job site.”

With a flicker of thought, the golden armor covering the Golem’s body retracted, and a massive golden hammer materialized in its hand.

As Martial Qi surged, the hammer swung with a sharp whistling wind, leaving afterimages in the air with each swing.

“The Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill can be reshaped into various tools as needed. This definitely improves work efficiency.”

While Zhang Yu pondered, the Golden Armor Warrior’s hammer morphed again, cycling through a series of different tools.

…

Days went by as Zhang Yu remained immersed in study and cultivation.

One day in his dorm, while he was deep in practice within a simulated laboratory in the Spiritual Realm, he was abruptly pulled out by a string of incessant spam messages.

A tall figure—clearly female, though barely clothed—appeared before him. She looked at him and asked, “What do you think?”

Zhang Yu hesitated. “You… you’re Wen Wuya?”

The Spiritual Realm projection of Wen Wuya nodded and gave her chest a squeeze. “Zhang Yu, you were right.”

“Ever since I became a woman, Bai Zhenzhen actually talks to me more.”

“But I think the image could still be optimized. Help me tweak it—make me look like Bai Zhenzhen’s ideal type.”

Zhang Yu sighed. “Come on… how am I supposed to help you with that?”

Wen Wuya waved her hand nonchalantly. “I’ve shared my projection’s appearance adjustment function with you.”

“You can just tweak it directly on my projection. I’ll get plastic surgery to match whatever model you come up with.”

Zhang Yu, not eager to keep looking at Wen Wuya’s flesh form, turned his head away. “This is too much trouble.”

Wen Wuya shrugged. “What’s so troublesome about it? Some people change their appearance dozens of times a day. It’s just a shell. Swapping it out—or patching it up—is no big deal.”

Zhang Yu couldn’t empathize at all with the logic of the wealthy and replied helplessly, “I’m not really good at this kind of thing.”

“Ten spirit coins,” Wen Wuya said calmly.

Zhang Yu immediately straightened. “I’ll do my best.”

Wen Wuya beckoned. “Alright, hurry up. If something’s the wrong size, just make adjustments right on my projection.”

“Yeah, like that. That’s the shape.”

“Oh? Is that so? Bai Zhenzhen likes this size?”

“Classical aesthetics, huh? Some Nascent Soul cultivators are into that now.”

“So Bai Zhenzhen is into retro styles?”

…

Second Floor of Kunxu.

Shuizhou’s Demon-Kin Vocational Academy.

As Zhang Yu walked along the streets, he turned to Shi Yunxiang beside him and asked, “This one’s a pharmaceutical project, right?”

“But on my way here, I didn’t see many medicinal fields.”

Shi Yunxiang walked beside him, and as the two passed through, the demon-kin around them quickly stepped aside. The looks they gave Zhang Yu and Shi Yunxiang brimmed with deference.

What surprised Zhang Yu, though, was that the local demon-kin seemed to be primarily of the Rat lineage.

Looking around, he saw giant upright rats strolling through the streets everywhere.

Hearing Zhang Yu’s question, Shi Yunxiang chuckled, glanced at the rat demon-kin nearby, and casually asked, “Anyone want to tell us what this area’s specialty is?”

A rat demon raised its hand. Shi Yunxiang nodded and turned to Zhang Yu. “There you have it. That’s the specialty.”

Zhang Yu: “Huh?”

Shi Yunxiang continued, “Medicinal ingredients aren’t limited to plants. Some animals are used in pharmaceuticals too.”

Zhang Yu glanced around at the rat demon-kin. “You mean these rat demon-kin are used in processing?”

Shi Yunxiang waved dismissively. “Demon-kin rats are way too expensive compared to demon beasts.”

Zhang Yu nodded. Oddly enough, that reasoning felt very… Kunxu. Still, it was easier to accept than using sentient beings. At least demon beasts were more like animals and lacked true sapience.

Shi Yunxiang added, “Rat demon-kin only make up about one percent of the ingredients. The bulk comes from demon beasts. That way, they can still slap the label ‘Shuizhou Rat Demon Formula’ on it.”

Zhang Yu looked at Shi Yunxiang’s nonchalant expression and couldn’t help but ask, “Don’t you find it hard to accept using demon-kin to make medicine?”

Shi Yunxiang cut him off, tone stern: “Lions are lions, rats are rats. Even if we’re both demon-kin, we’re entirely different species.”

After repeated explanations, Zhang Yu began to understand. Though demon-kin seemed united outwardly, there was a strict hierarchy within—one built on disdain.

Rat demon-kin, as a weaker group, sat firmly at the bottom beneath lion and tiger demon-kin.

Shi Yunxiang reminded him, “There are a lot of demon-kin here. Don’t lump all their bloodlines together—that’s a serious taboo among them.”

Fu Ji giggled. “Honestly, classifying everything non-human as ‘demon-kin’ was always human arrogance—an instinctive bias against other races. The demon-kin tribes just huddled together to survive in Kunxu.”

Zhang Yu nodded slightly. The inner politics of the demon-kin were clearly far more complex than he had ever imagined.

Later, at the outdoor worksite, after coordinating with the demon-kin workers, Zhang Yu and Shi Yunxiang began construction.

Shi Yunxiang darted back and forth, transporting loads of building materials.

Zhang Yu, meanwhile, unleashed a sweep of Martial Qi, transforming into twenty Formless Golems. The squad moved like a miniature construction crew, diligently working away.

Shi Yunxiang watched in awe. “Zhang Yu’s progressing so fast.”

“At this rate, he might lead us into the top five in the next civil engineering competition.”

Just then, the ground quaked—and a towering beast, over ten meters tall, burst into the site.

Shi Yunxiang scanned it and thought grimly, “A Foundation-Stage beast from the pasture? It actually escaped?”

“With that presence… its physical strength must be level 20. I can’t take it head-on.”

He knew that even with the same level of muscle strength, beasts with naturally larger builds always had the upper hand in physical power.

“We can’t let it reach the site.”

He was just about to intercept it when a flash of gold streaked forward like lightning, landing before the beast with a thunderous boom.

The golden figure collided with the beast—but held firm. Not only did it stop the charge, it repelled the monster backward.

It was Zhang Yu’s Golden Armor Warrior.

The beast’s claws screeched across the golden armor, but failed to leave a mark.

Empowered by a level 20 Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill and the Martial Saint Body, the Golden Armor Warrior ignored every blow. Its dense power, absorbed and rebounded by the Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force, overwhelmed the beast.

It stood like an indestructible puppet, enduring the beast’s frenzy. Blow after blow, it pummeled the monster until it was knocked back dozens of meters.

At last, the beast collapsed, gaze trembling, no longer daring to stand.

Nearby, several demon-kin staff members rushed over. When they saw the subdued beast and the Golden Armor Warrior guarding the site, respect filled their eyes.

“I heard students from Wanfa University are working here.”

“To subdue a Foundation-Stage beast this quickly… no wonder they’re from one of the Top Ten Academies.”

But as they stepped forward to offer thanks, the Golden Armor Warrior dissolved into a swirl of golden and white Qi, returning to the site.

They stared in shock.

“That was just a Martial Qi construct?”

“Just a single strand of Qi with that much power? This is the strength of the Ten Academies?”

After finishing the Shuizhou demon-kin cooperation project, Zhang Yu immediately set off for his next assignment.

In dorm construction for vocational students—he was there.

At a law husk factory leaking hostile energy—it was the Golden Armor Warrior performing emergency repairs.

Even deep inside tombs—it was Zhang Yu excavating corpses.

As for artifact refinement, Zhang Yu continued both study and practice. Every time he returned to Wanfa University City, he rushed to the simulated lab in the Spiritual Realm.

…

June.

Inside the artifact refinement lab.

Zhang Yu was in the middle of crafting a Groundfiend Bottle.

Though he had recently mastered many artifact refinement techniques, he hadn’t created physical artifacts for all of them—his funds were limited, after all.

He chose the Groundfiend Bottle because…

He thought, “Once it’s done, it can gather hostile energies and handle polluted environments. It can also store and refine materials. I can even use it for concrete mixing—this will seriously boost my income.”

“It’s basically a game-changer.”

However, crafting the Groundfiend Bottle required handling and refining Earthfiend Qi, which was extremely hazardous.

Even with his current physique and resistance, Zhang Yu took every precaution, fully focused.

Hours passed. Finally, with a flash of light, a bottle appeared in his palm—gleaming and glass-like.

Intricate mana circuits crisscrossed its surface, pulsing faintly with bluish-white light.

Inside the bottle, he could see a swirling mass of lightning-like Earthfiend Qi, flowing like a living creature.

Zhang Yu glanced at the parameters projected in his EyeNet.

“Remaining Mana: 99%, Usable Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes.”

“Earthfiend Element: 100%...”

“Storage Capacity: 100%…”

“Current Mode: None”

A smile curved Zhang Yu’s lips.

“A level-20 Groundfiend Bottle… success.”