[Ji Wuqing had finally finished scolding Ji Xiaosong and only then remembered that you were still nearby.]
[Seeing that you were cultivating, she did not disturb you.]
[But she was extremely curious and wanted to know what technique you were practicing.]
[So she pressed two fingers together and swiped them across her eyes. No one knew what divine art she had used; golden patterns began to flow through her eyes.]
[When you completed a full cycle of circulation and finished regulating your breathing, Ji Wuqing said to you,]
“Was that a fifth-grade Qi Refining Art you were practicing just now?”
“That’s right.”
[Ji Wuqing had lived for several hundred years and had reached the late stage of the Heaven-Ascending Realm.]
[She also came from a prestigious clan and was a direct daughter of the main branch, backed by immense resources and surrounded by renowned masters.]
[She had comprehended many divine abilities. With her family’s foundation behind her, she did not need to spend time adapting divine arts herself. She only had to study the divine arts in the clan’s collection that corresponded to the divine abilities she had already comprehended.]
[That was why she could tell what cultivation technique you were practicing, and you did not find it strange.]
“Your Immortal Root is only fifth-grade. Practicing a fifth-grade Qi Refining Art is far too slow…”
[Ji Wuqing had misjudged the grade of your Immortal Root.]
[She had based her judgment on your cultivation speed.]
[Your cultivation speed was that of a normal seventh-grade Immortal Root, combined with the Winged Race’s innate talent and supreme fire affinity. On the surface, it looked like that of a fifth-grade Immortal Root.]
[In reality, your cultivation speed should be doubled on top of that, because you also had the “Grow Stronger Just by Breathing!” ability.]
[As she spoke, Ji Wuqing pulled Ji Xiaosong, who was preparing to sneak away, back through the air and grabbed him by the collar at the nape of his neck.]
“Take my clan token to the Myriad Books Pavilion and bring back a third-grade fire-element Qi Refining Art. Hurry up!”
“Cousin, you’re making me run errands again. Can’t you just use voice transmission or a projection?”
“Do you think my divine power is free? Go, or I’ll report to the clan that you illegally built structures on the mountain!”
“Fine, fine, fine! I’m going! I’m going!”
[Ji Wuqing really was not joking.]
[On a first-class star, energies such as true qi, essence qi, and divine power were actually bought with money!]
[Without paying, one could not absorb immortal qi, and once one used up their energy, it would not recover.]
[The Ji Clan was no exception. In fact, they did not even receive a discount.]
[Before the Sacred Dragon Society, all living beings were charged equally.]
[It was not that second-class stars did not charge for immortal qi. Why not go to a second-class star, then?]
[The problem was that immortal qi on second-class stars was too thin. The higher one’s cultivation realm, the more sharply one’s rate of advancement declined. Most cultivators simply could not endure that.]
“So, who’s your sweetheart?”
[While Ji Xiaosong was off running the errand, Ji Wuqing’s gossip-loving spirit flared up again.]
“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t know her.”
“Is she beautiful?”
“The most beautiful woman in the Five Regions!”
“How does she compare to me?”
[You seriously sized up Ji Wuqing.]
[Seeing this, Ji Wuqing immediately lifted her chin, puffed out her chest, stood straight, and struck her best pose.]
“They each have their own charms. She should be slightly better-looking than you.”
“What?! Is her cultivation higher than mine?”
“Now you’re joking. How could someone in the Void Realm possibly surpass you, no matter how talented she is? Still, she has already arrived in the Material Realm. Perhaps she’ll surpass you in the future.”
“Unacceptable! Looks like I have to find a way to become an Immortal Lord!”
“Have you hit a bottleneck?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Do you think just anyone can become an Immortal Lord?”
“But your talent is so excellent.”
“If Heaven does not favor you, no amount of talent will help.”
[The two of you chatted for a while.]
[A short time later, Ji Xiaosong came running back, panting heavily, with a jade slip in his hand.]
“The Threefold Flame Body-Tempering Mystical Art. This Qi Refining Art has many marvelous features. Practice it well.”
[The best Qi Refining Arts were actually fourth-grade ones. That was because, like divine arts, once a Qi Refining Art reached the third grade, it became linked to a divine ability.]
[Unless one comprehended the divine ability corresponding to a third-grade Qi Refining Art, one could not practice it.]
[But the Threefold Flame Body-Tempering Mystical Art that Ji Wuqing had given you was special. It did not require the practitioner to comprehend any specific divine ability; as long as they possessed a divine ability, they could practice it.]
“I’ve seen you use divine arts before, so you should be able to practice this technique. Although my perception tells me that you’re only at the Core Formation Realm, you must be hiding your cultivation, right? Loose cultivators often do that—pretending to be weak so they can catch people off guard. I understand, I understand.”
[That was what people who loved gossip were like. They were always fond of filling in the blanks with their own assumptions.]
“Actually, my clan does have first-grade cultivation techniques, but techniques of that level aren’t available to just anyone—not even direct clan members. They also come with requirements regarding divine abilities, so I can’t give one to you for now.”
[You smiled.]
“That’s fine. A third-grade technique is already excellent.”
[You casually flipped through the jade slip and discovered that the Threefold Flame Body-Tempering Mystical Art could condense Samadhi True Fire within the body during Qi refinement.]
[The true fire could be used in battle as well as to temper the physical body, further strengthening it!]
[Furthermore, this Qi Refining Art was extremely useful for artifact forging. From then on, you would no longer need to worry about whether there was earthfire available. Samadhi True Fire was far superior to earthfire!]
[The Threefold Flame Body-Tempering Mystical Art had even more wonders beyond these. It also came with a variety of killing moves and spells.]
[One could say that a cultivator who mastered only this Qi Refining Art would have more than enough to make their way through the martial world for an entire lifetime.]
[Of course, for someone like you, who had so many traits that you could practically grab them by the handful, none of that mattered. What mattered was whether it could increase your cultivation speed.]
[Ji Wuqing was preparing to leave the mountain.]
[She had long since reached a bottleneck in her cultivation realm and rarely came to Ancient Firmament Mountain to cultivate. Most of the time, she traveled around challenging others. She had even left Vermilion Violet Star to explore other planets and search for treasures, hoping to find an opportunity for a breakthrough.]
“Oh, right. Here’s something for you, so you won’t be bored while cultivating.”
[Ji Wuqing took out a silver scroll.]
“What is this?”
“A product of the Sacred Dragon Society—the Celestial River Monthly. It updates once a day, and you can use it to read about all sorts of major events taking place in the Celestial River galaxy.”
“A… a newspaper?”
“Newspaper? This isn’t paper. It’s refined from special materials, and it’s very expensive. You also have to pay a monthly subscription fee to read it. But don’t worry—I’ve already paid for three hundred years upfront.”
[After asking how much the monthly fee was, you realized just how valuable Ji Wuqing’s gift was.]
“Miss Wuqing has already helped me so much. I can’t accept another gift this expensive.”
“To my Ji Clan, this is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. You can be polite with me, but there’s no need to be polite with my clan!
At the Ji Clan, eat our food, drink our wine, and use our things as much as you like. Just don’t work for my father or the Ji Clan!”
“What? Do you have some grudge against the Ji Clan?”
[Something flickered in Ji Wuqing’s eyes. She opened her mouth, but seemed to find the matter difficult to explain.]
“Anyway, just do as I say. You don’t need to feel burdened at all. I’m leaving!”
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
