"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."
or! A blessing for those who struggle with love, a guidebook for dating novices. Quickly match with your dream goddess! Complete walkthroughs earn rewards, and perfect walkthroughs unlock limited achievements!】 Shen Yi, an ordinary office worker, accidentally downloads a mini-game called Dating Simulator. The mini-game is simple: randomly search for dating targets, simulate dates, and receive rewards upon successful confession. Rewards include but are not limited to money, attributes, and skills. The higher the evaluation, the better the rewards, with perfect ratings unlocking mysterious achievements. Shen Yi plans to use this mysterious mini-game to continuously pursue targets and improve himself, making his life better and better. ...... However, after several successful walkthroughs, Shen Yi suddenly notices something strange - the targets he previously simulated dating seem to be searching for him in real life?
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
