"Are you selling or buying items?"
Dong Yue glanced up at Wang Jianqiang, her stunning face cold and indifferent.
"Disciple wishes to purchase the formulas for the Body Nourishing Pill and the Green Spirit Pill."
Wang Jianqiang paid no mind to the tone of this outer sect elder.
Elder Dong’s temperament was simply like this—it wasn’t directed at him alone but at everyone.
Hearing his words, Dong Yue’s expression flickered slightly.
The External Affairs Hall was the sole place in the Joy Union Sect’s outer sect for buying and selling items. Since Wang Jianqiang had taken up pill refining as a secondary path, his visits here had become frequent.
Coupled with his notable reputation in the outer sect,
even though Dong Yue was aloof by nature and never paid special attention to any outer sect disciple, she still remembered him quite well.
If she recalled correctly, Wang Jianqiang was only a first-tier low-grade alchemist, wasn’t he?
Both the Body Nourishing Pill and the Green Spirit Pill were first-tier mid-grade pills—and among the finest of their rank at that.
Even an ordinary first-tier mid-grade alchemist would find them extremely difficult to refine.
What was a first-tier low-grade alchemist doing buying formulas for these two pills?
Had his alchemy skills broken through?
At this thought, Dong Yue shook her head inwardly.
What a pity. A first-tier mid-grade alchemist wasn’t anything special.
Not to mention mid-grade, even first-tier high-grade alchemists numbered no less than eighty or a hundred in the outer sect alone.
A few of the more talented among them hadn’t even reached forty years of age.
She knew Wang Jianqiang trained with relentless diligence, but sometimes, effort alone wasn’t enough to yield results.
In the path of cultivation, innate talent was paramount.
Whether in alchemy or cultivation, Wang Jianqiang’s aptitude was simply too poor.
Often, ten years of bitter training on his part couldn’t match a single month of practice for a true prodigy.
She could already foresee the scene years from now—Wang Jianqiang reaching the end of his lifespan, reduced to a handful of dust.
Cultivation was like walking a tightrope. Some fell at the very start, while others held on longer. But unless one crossed to the other side, all were ultimately failures.
A shadow of melancholy flashed across her face before vanishing just as quickly.
She retrieved two jade slips from her storage ring and tossed them over. "Two hundred spirit stones."
"Many thanks, Elder."
Wang Jianqiang accepted the jade slips, purchased some additional herbs, then bowed and took his leave.
As he turned, his gaze swept imperceptibly over Dong Yue’s chest before he hurried away.
……
"Name: Dong Yue
Gender: Female
Age: 175/200
Root Bone: Metal Heavenly Spirit Root
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment (Great Perfection)
Current Karma Value: 0"
After leaving the External Affairs Hall, Wang Jianqiang recalled the data that had surfaced in his mind when he saw Dong Yue, and a flicker of astonishment crossed his face.
This Elder Dong actually possessed the rare Heavenly Spirit Root!
Normally, those with a Heavenly Spirit Root could break through to the Core Formation stage with ease.
Yet Elder Dong was stuck at Foundation Establishment’s Great Perfection, unable to advance even as her lifespan neared its end.
This defied reason.
After pondering for a moment, Wang Jianqiang shook his head and dismissed the thought.
For him right now, nothing was more important than improving his cultivation.
……
Back in his residence, Wang Jianqiang took out the Body Nourishing Pill formula.
Ever since discovering the ailment in his body, he had been restless, unable to set his mind at ease.
After some research, he had learned of a pill that could nourish and heal the body—precisely this Body Nourishing Pill.
For his particular condition, this pill was said to have miraculous effects.
If he wanted to rid himself of this hidden affliction, this pill was absolutely indispensable.
Pressing the jade slip to his forehead, he absorbed the information within—the method for refining the Body Nourishing Pill.
Just as he was about to study it carefully, the system’s voice suddenly rang out.
"Ding. Detected inferior pill formula. Optimizing and upgrading the formula requires 10 cultivation points. Proceed?"
Wang Jianqiang paused, then answered without hesitation.
"Yes."
"Ding. The Body Nourishing Pill formula has been successfully optimized and upgraded to the Perfect Body Nourishing Pill formula."
A stream of information materialized in his mind.
Wang Jianqiang immediately focused on analyzing it.
After comparing the two, he found that the perfected version’s efficacy was several times greater than the original, yet the refining difficulty hadn’t increased.
In fact, the required ingredients had been streamlined, reducing the cost.
Even more astonishing—the perfected pill contained no pill toxins!
All pills carried some degree of toxicity.
High-quality pills merely had less toxicity, not none at all.
If a cultivator consumed too many pills in a short time, the accumulated toxins would become stubbornly entrenched in the body.
Left unchecked, they could halt progress or even corrode one’s cultivation, causing regression.
Normally, cultivators had to expend significant time purging these toxins after refining a batch of pills, slowing their overall progress.
But the system’s perfected pills not only boosted efficacy and lowered costs—they eliminated the need to worry about toxins entirely.
One could refine and consume them without restraint, increasing cultivation efficiency tenfold or more.
If this were made public, it would drive any cultivator to madness!
"As expected of the system’s work!"
Wang Jianqiang praised, then took out his pill furnace and began refining.
Half a day later, the pills were complete. With a wave of his hand, three glossy pills shot out from the furnace.
He caught them swiftly.
Before he could inspect them, a mechanical voice sounded in his mind.
"Ding. Successful pill refinement. Gained 1 cultivation point."
Wang Jianqiang froze, then grinned in delight.
So refining pills counted as arduous cultivation?
He had been struggling to find ways to earn cultivation points—this discovery solved his biggest problem.
Snapping back to the present, he swallowed one Perfect Body Nourishing Pill.
As its effects took hold, he felt his body being nourished.
A warm sensation spread through his abdomen, and even his vision seemed sharper.
"Incredible potency."
His eyes gleamed as he consumed the remaining two pills.
By the end of the day, he felt significantly better.
If Chen Jiaojiao were here now, he’d make sure she learned the meaning of true vigor—and that one should never mock the elderly for their poverty.
But teaching her a lesson could wait.
For now, his top priority was reaching Foundation Establishment.
Pills were only a temporary fix.
Once he broke through, his physique would undergo a transformation, and all hidden ailments would vanish.
Moreover, Foundation Establishment would extend his lifespan to two hundred years.
With renewed determination, he took out the second jade slip.
As expected, after absorbing its contents, the system’s voice chimed again.
"Ding. Detected inferior pill formula. Optimizing and upgrading requires 10 cultivation points. Proceed?"
"Yes."
"Ding. Optimization successful. The Green Spirit Pill formula has been upgraded to the Perfect Green Spirit Pill formula."
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
ither go to a cultivation world where a single sword strike can defeat ten thousand enemies. Or they travel back to historical dynasties to alter history and wield imperial power. At the very least, they'd go back a few decades to get rich using their future knowledge and build a harem. Who the hell would transmigrate here!
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
