“Oh, right, didn’t we save a black cat yesterday? I wonder how it’s doing.”
Chen Huaian got up to check the shoebox.
The black cat, still dazed from getting kicked in the head inside the shoebox, immediately perked up, ready to be cute and get close to Chen Huaian.
Just then.
Buzz!
The phone on the coffee table suddenly vibrated with a notification sound.
Chen Huaian sat back down on the sofa.
The black cat in the shoebox felt its heart sink again and continued to lie there.
[Your electronic girlfriend is under attack by a Heart Demon!]
Chen Huaian was startled and opened the small room. He saw Li Qingran sitting cross-legged on the bed, her face pale, her brows furrowed, beads of sweat covering her cheeks and forehead, dark energy gathering between her eyebrows, her lips turning blue, clearly in pain.
“Does the Qi Refinement stage have Heart Demons too?” Chen Huaian was at a loss.
He had read quite a few novels where the main characters only encountered Heart Demons in higher realms.
There wasn’t anyone who encountered them at the Qi Refinement stage, was there?
Opening Li Qingran’s status bar, the Heart Demon negative status explained:
[Heart Demon Growth: Heart Demons are unrelated to one’s realm; they arise from thewithin a cultivator’s mind. Obsessions, evil thoughts, greed, etc., can all become Heart Demons. Heart Demons can spontaneously arise from a cultivator’s experiences or be influenced by some demonic techniques, causing cultivators who don’t originally have Heart Demons to develop them. To dispel a Heart Demon, one must break thein their heart.]
“So that’s how it is? Then what desire is troubling Li Qingran?”
Chen Huaian recalled Li Qingran’s background information.
Apart from her parents being harmed by villains, the greatest blow on her cultivation journey must have been the group from Chixiao Peak. Or perhaps, the entire Bluecloud Sect was a huge nightmare for her. Knowing the source is one thing, but how to dispel it is another matter.
He hadn’t forgotten this was a game, so he started poking around looking for the recharge page.
This game had a very absurd aspect—aside from the openly available store, all other functions that required payment were hidden, such as protecting Li Qingran. These weren’t permanent features; he could only access them by following the storyline until the game automatically showed him the recharge button, allowing him to solve Li Qingran’s troubles through spending money.
It was frustrating!
The game developers always gave the impression of being hypocritical.
“Forget it, couldn’t find it. When in doubt, use Heavenly Fortune Divination!” Chen Huaian directly opened the game customer service.
[This divination costs 100¥, and you will gain a <Fortune Deficit> status. Do you wish to proceed with the divination?]
“Divine!”
[Divining the Heavenly Fortune…]
In the Cangyun Realm, the winds changed abruptly.
“Sss—! It’s that powerful figure again. They divined the Heavenly Fortune once at noon today, and now again!?”
“What major event is happening in the Cangyun Realm?”
“There’s another divine pill emerging from Wanshan Mountain, followed by spiritual light soaring into the sky. That senior’s divination might be related to these two anomalies…”
“The Central Continent Secret Realm is opening… What a time of troubles, sigh!”
…
Ten Thousand Sword Pavilion.
Master Su Qinian held his sword and stood atop Sword Peak Mountain. His white robes fluttered in the wind, his white hair dancing wildly, eyes slightly closed as he gazed towards Wanshan Mountain. His demeanor exuded the air of a great master.
But this air did not last long.
The next second, he burst out cursing:
“Damn Bluecloud Sect, go to hell, you get all the benefits from Wanshan Mountain? Just wait, I’ll make sure you regret it when the Central Continent Secret Realm opens this time!”
“Master!”
An elder of the Sword Pavilion descended from his flying sword, bowing: “Master, there are two major matters!”
“What is it?” Su Qinian’s expression turned serious, calmly stroking his beard.
“Master, we’re out of funds,” the elder hesitated, his face pale.
“Huh?” Su Qinian was stunned: “If you run out of spirit stones, just dig in the back mountain!”
“It’s just… the spirit stones are gone, completely dug out…”
“Damn it? How quickly!” Su Qinian lost his composure.
This was somewhat expected.
Last month, he knew the spirit stones in the back mountain would be depleted soon,
but he didn’t expect it to happen so fast.
For now, he could only reassure: “I’ll take care of this. I’ll find a way to get more spirit stones. Is there anything else?”
The Sword Pavilion was already poor, known as the poorest sect in the Cangyun Realm. Relying on the spirit stone mine in the back mountain and some businesses, they could barely survive, but now with the Central Continent Secret Realm about to open, every resource was needed for preparations, making things even worse.
They could only sell some assets…
Su Qinian subconsciously pressed the hilt of his flying sword.
Clang!
The sword emitted a sharp sound and shivered violently.
“There’s also…” The elder swallowed hard: “Our sect’s guardian beast is in heat and wants to go out for mating… If we don’t let it out, it will uproot all the spirit herbs in our back mountain.”
Su Qinian’s mouth twitched at this news.
Mating with beasts from the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect requires payment, and ordinary beasts wouldn’t be satisfactory.
Money! What about the basic safety of the outer sect disciples if the guardian beast is let out?
Not possible!
Since that’s the case…
He subconsciously pressed the hilt of his flying sword, his face showing sorrow as he closed his eyes and said, “Castrate it.”
“What?!” The elder was shocked.
Su Qinian abruptly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with sword qi and killing intent, roaring: “Damn it, tell that beast that the sect has no money, so it better hold back. If it can’t hold back, I’ll castrate it!”
Sect guardian beasts were usually male beasts raised from infancy with strong aggression. Castrating them would affect their development and reduce their combativeness.
The elder walked away with a grimace.
Since the Master had been forced to this extent, it truly proved that the sect was running out of resources.
Su Qinian continued standing on the cliff, seemingly calm,
but his right hand was already reaching into his storage bag to feel the nightclothes inside…
“Well, I need to think of a way to get some money.”
…
[Heavenly Fortune Divination Complete!]
[To dispel Li Qingran’s Heart Demon, she needs to return to the Bluecloud Sect and sever all ties with Chixiao Peak.]
[Li Qingran is suffering from Heart Demon backlash, her cultivation is about to regress. Please use the Pulse-Opening Needle and Supreme Heart-Protecting Pill to help stabilize her realm (using the Pulse-Opening Needle carries no risk, and the Supreme Heart-Protecting Pill is a gift, please use it with confidence.)]
[You have obtained the ‘Fortune Deficit’ status for 24 hours]
…
“Free Supreme Heart-Protecting Pills? Oh my God! Has the game developer finally shown some conscience?” This was the first time Chen Huaian saw the game being so generous, even giving out free items for plot purposes, which made him a bit uncomfortable.
A flash of light.
The Supreme Heart-Protecting Pill appeared on the table.
At the same time, thousands of miles away at the Bluecloud Sect.
Xiao Yifeng, the second disciple of Chixiao Peak, had just returned to his cave and happily took out his alchemy furnace.
“I finally managed to buy this Supreme Heart-Protecting Pill! The superior-grade ones I bought before weren’t enough for me to figure out the refinement technique. This time, it will definitely work.” Xiao Yifeng smirked.
Although the Bluecloud Sect had the formula for Heart-Protecting Pills,
each alchemist had different techniques, leading to variations in the quality of the pills. Ordinary methods could only produce pills from inferior to superior grade, while only alchemy masters who had developed their own techniques could produce supreme-grade and immortal-grade pills.
These techniques were closely guarded secrets, extremely valuable.
Rarely could someone deduce these details from the pills themselves.
Fortunately, he was such a genius.
“If I figure out how to refine the Supreme Heart-Protecting Pill, my Junior Sister will surely admire me even more!” With this thought, Xiao Yifeng suddenly found it less painful to spend everything on buying a Supreme Heart-Protecting Pill.
He reached into his storage bag.
His face gradually turned pale:
“It’s gone, all the pills I bought are gone?!
My Supreme Heart-Protecting Pill… is gone?!”
