"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."

for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?

grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)

u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.

with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!