Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Correct Way to Use a Cheat
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"A predecessor's grotto-mansion?"
After hearing Zhao Xuhe's proposal, Lu Yang shook his head.
"Senior Brother, I appreciate your enthusiastic invitation, but my divine abilities are lacking. Right now, I just want to focus wholeheartedly on my cultivation."
"Oh?"
Zhao Xuhe narrowed his eyes upon hearing this.
"Junior Brother, could it be that you don't trust me?"
"Senior Brother, you're overthinking it. I simply haven't learned any divine abilities yet and possess no combat prowess. If I went with you, I would only hold you back."
Lu Yang's reason was perfectly logical.
After all, not long after joining the sect, he had started speculating on the Death-Substituting Yin Puppets, even using his cultivation method loan from the Scripture Repository Pavilion as collateral. Zhao Xuhe was well aware of this.
"...In that case, forget it."
Zhao Xuhe shook his head, his expression turning cold.
At this moment, killing intent had already sprouted in his heart. After all, he had lost everything, down to his last pair of pants, while Lu Yang had managed to make a profit and exit early.
How could he accept this?
More importantly, the principal for the contribution points Lu Yang had earned was borrowed from him. Rounding up, that money should have been his!
"Fine, I'll let you hold onto it for now..."
Zhao Xuhe sneered inwardly. "He only knows how to cultivate, without learning any combat abilities. Does he think he's in one of those righteous sects where he can cultivate in peace? Once I've dealt with the matter on Coiling Dragon Island, I'll find a chance to sneak into his grotto-mansion late at night and kill him. Those contribution points will still be mine!"
"If I'm not mistaken, that Zhao fellow is probably already thinking of how to deal with me."
Leaving Zhao Xuhe's grotto-mansion, Lu Yang swaggered toward the Scripture Repository Pavilion, having already guessed Zhao Xuhe's thoughts, yet he wasn't the least bit flustered.
After all, he hadn't been idle these past few days.
While others were frantically speculating on the Death-Substituting Yin Puppets, he had turned a deaf ear to the outside world, bought a large batch of spirit pills, and gone directly into secluded cultivation.
The fourth to sixth levels of the Qi Refining Realm were considered the middle stage. There were no bottlenecks; as long as one spent money on pills, a breakthrough was possible.
Having made a killing of ten thousand contribution points, Lu Yang was naturally not stingy. Thus, he had already broken through to the sixth level of the Qi Refining Realm, reaching the peak of the middle stage.
On a side note, he had also used contribution points to exchange for a Dust Cleansing Pill and cured the venereal disease his original body came with.
As it turned out, the greatest incurable disease in a person's life was poverty.
The reason Yu Suzhen in his first life was killed by her own venereal disease was, in the end, due to a lack of money.
As for the middle-stage bottleneck, he had wanted to see if he could break through using the Innate Primal Qi, but unfortunately, perhaps because the amount wasn't sufficient, the effect was negligible.
From this, it was clear that he probably wasn't the only one Liu Xin had screwed over back then.
As for not learning any divine abilities, that was, of course, just to fool Zhao Xuhe.
In his previous life, he had relied on setting up an array and a sneak attack to barely suppress Zhao Xuhe when he was exhausted. This life, however, wouldn't be so troublesome.
Even in a direct confrontation, he was confident he could escape!
"Senior Brother Wang, have you been well?"
Arriving at the Scripture Repository Pavilion, Lu Yang skillfully took out a wine gourd and smiled.
"Top-quality Drunken Flower Brew. I got this especially for you, Senior Brother."
"...It's you again, kid."
At the entrance of the Scripture Repository Pavilion, the aged-looking Wang Bairong's eye twitched slightly upon hearing this, and he sighed with emotion.
"Drunken Flower Brew, fifty contribution points a gourd."
"You've really struck it rich, kid."
In this life, Lu Yang had made a point of building a good relationship with Wang Bairong.
At first, Wang Bairong had been cold and dismissive toward him, but ever since the Death-Substituting Yin Puppet market crashed, this old senior brother of the Scripture Repository Pavilion's attitude toward him had improved significantly.
The reason was also very simple.
Because right before the crash, he had persuaded Wang Bairong to sell off a portion of the stock he had hoarded, allowing him to avoid the fate of bankruptcy.
Ever since then, Wang Bairong had been incredibly grateful to him.
"To think that I've lived for decades in vain, yet I'm not as perceptive as a young lad like you. If you hadn't enlightened me, I'm afraid I would have already suffered from cultivation deviation by now."
"Not at all, Senior Brother. You mustn't sell yourself short."
Lu Yang shook his head.
"As the saying goes, 'Good advice cannot persuade a ghost damned to die.' I advised many people that day, but only you, Senior Brother, truly listened."
"Your courage to pull back from the brink is a form of wisdom in itself."
"Mm..."
Hearing this, Wang Bairong narrowed his eyes and stroked his beard. Although he knew Lu Yang was deliberately flattering him, the words were incredibly pleasing to his ears.
Following that, the two set up a table and chairs and began to drink together.
Wang Bairong didn't stand on ceremony, pouring a full cup of Drunken Flower Brew and downing it in one go before slowly speaking.
"Kid, what are you really after?"
This was the only question on Wang Bairong's mind right now.
"We're not related in any way. Don't tell me you actually believed those ridiculous rumors outside, thinking that an old man like me is some hidden expert in the Scripture Repository Pavilion, waiting for a fated person?"
"Of course not."
While pouring more wine for Wang Bairong, Lu Yang chuckled.
"There is a saying, 'An elder in the home is like a treasure.' I just feel that for Senior Brother to have lived to such an old age in the Primal Saint Sect, you must have some skill. And since you work in the Scripture Repository Pavilion, perhaps you could offer me some guidance on cultivation methods and divine abilities..."
Lu Yang spoke with utmost sincerity.
Wang Bairong listened without comment, simply continuing to pour wine. As he drank, he began to complain about the sect's shameless act of harvesting its disciples this time.
"They're simply beasts!"
"And what a coincidence, they chose to crack down right when the price reached its peak. This was definitely premeditated! There are villains among the sect's upper echelons!"
Lu Yang poured more wine while casually agreeing.
Only after Wang Bairong had drunk a fair amount and was starting to sway his head did he lower his voice.
"Senior Brother, I came this time hoping to select a cultivation method and a divine ability."
"Do you have any recommendations? The more powerful the divine ability, the better!"
"I knew you were after something, kid!"
Wang Bairong chuckled, saying smugly, "But you've certainly come to the right person!"
Lu Yang hurriedly cupped his hands.
"I ask for Senior Brother's guidance."
"First off, you can forget about any truly supreme divine abilities. Our Scripture Repository Pavilion is just a branch of Heaven Mending Peak; the power of its methods and abilities is limited."
"The truly formidable divine abilities are all on Sacred Fire Cliff. Only true disciples can learn them!"
"But that's to be expected. Disciples like us in the early and middle stages of Qi Refining are just the sect's workhorses. How could we possibly be taught powerful divine abilities?"
After all, what's the point of a workhorse knowing so much? Knowing too much is detrimental to unity.
As for true disciples, they are the ones who have truly entered the sect's official ranks, the elites who will inherit the sect's legacy in the future. Naturally, they receive entirely different treatment.
"Isn't there a compromise?"
Lu Yang asked in a low voice.
"Of course there is!"
Wang Bairong smiled faintly. He had worked in the Scripture Repository Pavilion for over forty years. With such experience, there wasn't a single cultivation method or divine ability in the pavilion that he didn't know of.
Although he didn't know their specific contents, he was crystal clear on their effects after they were mastered.
"In our Scripture Repository Pavilion, there are really only three divine abilities that are truly powerful once mastered. And every single one of them has severe side effects."
"Side effects?"
At this point, Wang Bairong's expression became extremely solemn as he said in a deep voice, "For example, I know of one divine ability called the 'Heavenly Devil Blood Transformation Divine Light.' It greatly increases a magical treasure's power by using one's own body as a sacrifice. But upon mastery, not only does it shorten your lifespan, but you can also no longer continue to cultivate. It's tantamount to severing your own path to immortality."
"Tell me, are those side effects severe or not?"
Wang Bairong's original intention was to scare Lu Yang off, but he never expected that after hearing his warning, Lu Yang wasn't the least bit disappointed. On the contrary, he grew even more excited.
"Such a divine ability is practically made for me!"
The side effects were indeed severe, but no matter how severe, they were limited to this life. And what did the side effects of this life have to do with the me of the next life?
He seemed to have found the correct way to use the Book of a Hundred Lives!
(End of this chapter)