No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Daoist Tianzhang said in surprise, “Yin Jiurao gave you 25 spirit coins for a single session?”

“You sure it wasn’t you giving her 25 spirit coins?”

To Daoist Tianzhang, the idea that Zhang Yu would have to pay Yin Jiurao for being cultivated on was completely absurd—utterly contrary to the Dao of Yin and Yang and the natural order.

Zhang Yu hesitated slightly, glancing at his classmates nearby.

Daoist Tianzhang raised a hand and activated a Soundproof Sigil. “Go ahead. They can’t hear you now.”

Off to the side, Gongshu Jin, Ying Xin, and Yu Xinghan all let out a long sigh, lamenting the fact that they couldn’t hear the juicy details.

Though they had some idea about Zhang Yu selling seeds to a Pharmacology Department professor, even Yu Xinghan had never heard the full story.

And with how profitable this business was, how could he not be interested?

Staring at the projected text before him, Yu Xinghan thought to himself, “Ah… the poorer you are, the less likely you are to hear how the rich make their money.”

The projection under the Soundproof Sigil displayed:Would you like to pay 30 spirit coins to hear the soundproofed content?

Zhang Yu said, “What Professor Yin Jiurao paid for was…”

“On-site inspection…”

“A firm grip…”

“Extracted in an instant…”

“That’s the value of 25 spirit coins.”

Zhang Yu said proudly, “If it’s a Yin Artifact, it takes more time and effort. The price should go up.”

Daoist Tianzhang furrowed his brows in thought.

Zhang Yu was speaking with such calm and clarity, even encouraging him to verify the price with Yin Jiurao directly. Clearly, he wasn’t lying.

Still, proper verification was necessary.

Of course, to avoid alerting anyone, Daoist Tianzhang had no intention of directly asking Yin Jiurao about Zhang Yu’s pricing.

Instead, he chose to look over Yin Jiurao’s latest published paper, hoping to find some clues there.

After all, for a Pharmacology Department professor to buy materials from Zhang Yu and personally handle the collection and verification, it had to be closely tied to her research.

And a researcher’s most recent paper is often the clearest window into their current direction.

A stream of images and text flickered rapidly across Daoist Tianzhang’s eye-sockets as he scanned the entire paper in seconds.

Thanks to his accelerated mental faculties and strong comprehension skills, he swiftly finished reading it.

Truth be told, he didn’t fully understand it.

Cross-disciplinary reading was never easy. As an expert in the Sigil Department, it was only natural that he couldn’t quickly grasp the intricacies of a Pharmacology paper.

Daoist Tianzhang understood this wasn’t like ancient times, when cultivators could simply comprehend the Dao and spontaneously grasp Great Truths.

Nowadays, cultivation research in all fields had become increasingly deep and complex. Even university professors, with great effort, might only achieve breakthroughs in narrow areas.

If the sages of the past carved peaks of understanding, then today’s researchers were perhaps studying the strange way a single blade of grass leaned on the mountaintop.

One couldn’t say one was better than the other, but one thing was clear—the age of earthshaking results with a single discovery was long gone.

Even so, though he didn’t understand all the technical details, Daoist Tianzhang grasped the general gist: the paper dealt with the relationship between pharmacological adaptability, genetic material, bloodlines, and Immortal Dao elements.

And the experimental material came from Zhang Yu.

Clearly, the 25-spirit-coin quote was likely accurate.

Thinking it troublesome, Daoist Tianzhang looked at Zhang Yu and said, “25 spirit coins is too expensive. We can’t pay that.”

“Also, we don’t need the post-experiment product. You can take it home and sell it to whomever you want.”

Zhang Yu said, “It’s already out. It’s not fresh anymore. Who would buy it?”

Daoist Tianzhang replied, “Three spirit coins, tops.”

He reminded Zhang Yu, “Once testing begins on our side, it’s all about volume. Three coins is generous.”

Zhang Yu naturally refused. The two haggled for a while, but couldn’t reach an agreement.

So Daoist Tianzhang simply turned away from Zhang Yu and looked at Yu Xinghan beside him.

He thought, “Zhang Yu’s not the only test subject here.”

Recalling the scan data from earlier, he saw Yu Xinghan was just as promising.

Daoist Tianzhang put away the Soundproof Sigil and said to Yu Xinghan, “You… were about to drop out earlier, weren’t you?”

Zhang Yu didn’t mind at all. With so many test candidates, how could he stop someone else from being chosen?

Yu Xinghan, however, was shaken. Thinking of the progress Zhang Yu had just made, he suddenly stepped forward from behind Ying Xin and Gongshu Jin.

With a solemn expression, Yu Xinghan said, “For the school… and for the advancement of Immortal Dao technology, I’ll do my part!”

The next moment, Daoist Tianzhang flicked out a burst of power, and the previously deactivated Yin Artifact reactivated.

Nectar Maiden Forty-Eight had been anxious, afraid something terrible would happen due to her failure to perform.

Now, feeling Daoist Tianzhang’s command, she sprang into action like a rabid beast, lunging at Yu Xinghan.

Fueled by both disdain for work and terror of idleness, Nectar Maiden Forty-Eight now only had interest in simple, low-exertion tasks.

Yu Xinghan fit that profile perfectly.

“Based on the data, this guy must have low resistance too.”

“But better safe than sorry…”

The Yin Artifact dissolved into a cloud of glowing mist, quickly enveloping Yu Xinghan from head to toe.

That confirmed for Nectar Maiden Forty-Eight that this one wasn’t on the Non-Interference List.

“Watch me finish this in seconds!”

As the mist surrounded him, Yu Xinghan thought proudly, “Finally, my years of training in speed can shine!”

Since high school, when he started selling seeds as a side hustle, Yu Xinghan had gradually honed his Dao Heart through persistent self-discipline and overcoming carnal urges.

Through constant practice and external learning, he realized some truths.

For example, when selling seeds, the same pay meant that the faster he worked, the more he earned per hour.

The less time it took, the less it disrupted study and cultivation.

And in Dual Cultivation, what was more profitable—one session per hour or ten?

The answer was obvious.

“That’s why Dual Cultivation should charge per session, not by time!” Yu Xinghan thought.

“That’s what they mean by ‘speed breaks all techniques!’”

With that in mind, he had trained endlessly to increase his speed.

Back when he still dreamed about Pleasure and Harmony University, he imagined one day attending the Thousand Cultivators Convention with his friends.

He dreamed… of standing tall while Zhang Yu proudly declared he’d cultivated five times, Gongshu Jin admitted to three, and Li Xiao looked down in shame for failing even once—so he could say, “Ten times!”

Now, embraced by the warm glow of the light mist, his consciousness drifting between wake and sleep, Yu Xinghan thought, “If Zhang Yu advanced this much… how much stronger could I become with even more successful sessions?”

Just as he was lost in thought, he felt his mana being drawn out in torrents toward the Yin Artifact.

Within seconds, Nectar Maiden felt she had fully drained his mana dry.

She looked at Yu Xinghan in mild surprise.

“So fast. His resistance is low, sure—but this is something else.”

“This is total release… mental serenity… and pure sincerity.”

“This kid… might have already achieved some accumulation on the Yin-Yang Dao through countless self-study sessions.”

Though she had judged both Zhang Yu and Yu Xinghan as weak earlier, that weakness in resistance didn’t necessarily mean inferiority.

In typical mutual Dual Cultivation, speed mattered greatly—after all, maximizing sessions per unit time was always a crucial metric.

And in one-sided extraction scenarios, speed was even more critical.

To Nectar Maiden, Yu Xinghan was a far more ideal work target than Zhang Yu.

But this kind of speed was more altruistic—it only benefitted both parties if both operated at high speed.

In one-sided extraction, higher resistance was an asset.

As she pondered this, Nectar Maiden had already completed two sessions—draining not only all of Yu Xinghan’s mana but also a significant amount of his blood essence.

Only then did she return, activating her internal spirit-circuit to digest the harvest.

With a soft puff, Yu Xinghan collapsed to the floor, his face pale and sunken.

Zhang Yu and the others quickly rushed to help him up, shouting, “Xinghan! Are you okay?”

Daoist Tianzhang watched with surprise.

“There was no mana rebound like with Zhang Yu. So it wasn’t mutual Dual Cultivation?”

“Just… pure one-way extraction?”

“Maybe the rules of this differ depending on Divine Lord Nectar’s understanding of the Yin-Yang Dao…”

As Daoist Tianzhang was deep in thought, Zhang Yu cried out, “Yu Xinghan’s about to die! Do something!”

“Don’t worry,” said Daoist Tianzhang. “We’ll have the medical team take care of him.”

Yu Xinghan gasped, “This experiment is too dangerous. It’s a major safety risk for all the student testers.”

Daoist Tianzhang said, “Don’t worry. If you have any issues afterward, come to us anytime. We’ll treat you.”

Yu Xinghan said, “This isn’t just about me!”

“That’s right!” Zhang Yu stood beside him. “This isn’t just Yu Xinghan’s problem.”

Hearing that, Gongshu Jin and Ying Xin also stepped forward behind them.

Watching the Civil Engineering students echo each other, Daoist Tianzhang said mildly, “Fine. We’ll compensate you.”

Yu Xinghan’s eyes lit up. His pale face instantly regained color. “How much?”