“I can’t go on.”
“Hang on, we’re almost there.”
“Just a little farther. Prepare to sprint!”
“Hey!”
Zhang Ze used the last of his strength to carry Chen Qin to the mountaintop.
“That was so thrilling. Senior Brother really knows how to have fun.”
Chen Qin sat on the ground, wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, and smiled at Zhang Ze.
“Right? Instead of taking the Teleportation Array, we came by the cliffs on the other side and climbed Little Divine Peak with our bare hands. How interesting.”
Little Ball seemed to find it interesting too. It hopped around Zhang Ze twice, then jumped back into his pocket.
【The map of Little Divine Peak has been completely unlocked. Reward Issued.】
At this Moment, a month had passed since the Spirit Snake Flotilla was bombed.
Apart from a few people in the know, the message released both inside and outside the Sect was that Zhang Ze’s Master, Li Guanqi, was wise and mighty, saw through the Illusionary Realm, and seized the entire Demonic Path Branch Headquarters in one fell swoop.
Zhang Ze was actually very satisfied with this result, and even wished for nothing more.
After all, if his Master had been the one to lead the charge, the Demonic Path remnants could do little more than gnash their teeth. And after gnashing them for two days, their mouths would get tired and that would be the end of it.
But if the Demonic Path found out that he had done it, he probably would not be able to leave the Sect before reaching the Golden Core Stage.
There would definitely be a whole host of Demonic Path cultivators waiting for him outside the mountain, eager to take his Dog Head.
During that month, Zhang Ze had remained in the Sect and had not gone down the mountain.
For one thing, he was taking the opportunity to lie low. Who knew whether some deranged Demonic Path cultivator might use this Disciple of his to satisfy a bloodlust?
Of course, the other reason was that he was broke.
To bomb the Spirit Snake Flotilla, Zhang Ze had spent all his cultivation points and Exchange Points.
Then, during the Loot Box Opening lottery, he chose three Sword Embryos that could only be used by Golden Core Stage cultivators.
The Sect’s rewards naturally included him as well: a large number of Contribution Points, along with the reward Zheng Yi had promised him after he advanced to Foundation Establishment and Golden Core.
The problem was that all these rewards belonged to the Ancient Method Cultivation system.
They differed somewhat from his Deep Blue point-allocation style of Cultivating Immortality.
The System Tasks triggered in the Outer Sect had become Chicken Ribs. They were all tasks like helping Elder Wang steal tea leaves from the Pavilion Master—difficult, with meager rewards.
Although Zhang Ze could now enter and leave the Inner Sect freely because of some special authorization, perhaps because the Inner Sect had been developed too perfectly,
he had not encountered any fortuitous encounters like Senior Sword Spirit of the Heart Refining Cave.
The System’s Exchange Points had accumulated somewhat again, but he had no way to obtain cultivation points.
It was not as though he had never begged the System to suddenly issue tasks such as a Chunin Exam, a martial arts tournament, the third stage of Battle Qi, or a great victory at the auction house.
But the System ignored him completely, acting aloof and cold.
Helpless, Zhang Ze could only turn his attention back to Ancient Method Cultivation and Chen Qin, the central loli of the City of Thousand Mechanisms task.
There were no shortcuts in Ancient Method Cultivation during the Qi Refining Stage. Drawing qi into the body, tempering the physique, and refining the Divine Soul all required taking one step at a time.
Thus, Zhang Ze’s life had returned to the state it had been in when he had first entered the Sword Sect.
In the morning, he went to the Martial Arts field to practice his swordsmanship. At noon, he vanished without a trace. In the Afternoon, he took Chen Qin Climbing Mountain, exploring the Map. At night, he soaked in a medicinal bath while researching his Cultivation Method.
It was not that he excluded Lin Feng from the fun. Lin Feng had simply been acting mysterious lately. Apart from occasionally borrowing a few Cultivation Methods from Zhang Ze, he could not be seen all day.
Whenever Zhang Ze asked, Lin Feng never explained clearly. He only told Zhang Ze that he also had a Big undertaking to carry out.
Who knew who Brother Feng had set his sights on this time?
“What are you thinking about, Senior Brother?”
Chen Qin’s voice interrupted Zhang Ze’s thoughts as she pulled him toward Mei’er.
At the Mountaintop of Little Divine Peak was a Cave Secret Realm. Mei’er had been Waiting there for the two of them for quite some time.
Mei’er had Discovered this Secret Realm herself. When she found it, Zhang Ze’s side had also triggered an Achievement.
【The Treasure of the Imperial Uncle】
According to Mei’er, this Secret Realm was not large, and there were no Mechanisms inside.
There were only some Formations to remove dampness and insects, along with many, many books.
But Mei’er refused to tell Zhang Ze and Chen Qin what kind of books they were. She only said that she had taken care of all of them.
Helpless, Zhang Ze could only go ask Grandpa Wang.
Unexpectedly, Grandpa Wang really did know.
According to one of Grandpa Wang’s historical Short Stories,
four generations before his own, there had been a Senior Sister who founded a book club.
Every day during her free time between classes, she would take her fellow Junior Sisters from the same generation to read and write books.
At first, she even received commendations from the Elders.
But the good times did not last. This Senior Sister was reported.
Originally, that jealous person had only wanted to disgust her a little.
Unexpectedly, the investigation Discovered that all the books this Senior Sister had the female Disciples write and read every day were Erotic Books.
Although the Elders’ anti-pornography campaign was thunderous, this Senior Sister still managed to transfer most of her precious collection out under the protection of her various Junior Sisters.
She even announced that she had hidden these books somewhere in the Sect. Whoever found them could inherit her treasure.
After that, many Disciples tried to find them, but all their efforts came to nothing under the Elders’ severe crackdown.
As time passed, apart from people like Old Wang, no one remembered the matter anymore.
Zhang Ze looked at Sister Mei’er with deep suspicion. What Sister Mei’er claimed to have “taken care of” probably meant that she had hidden all the books herself.
Mei’er turned her head away, avoiding Zhang Ze’s Eyes. “Young Lady, the things are all ready. Let’s begin.”
Because the environment inside this Cave Secret Realm was suitable, Chen Qin had made it her secret base. Recently, she had been making some Thousand Mechanisms Mechanisms here.
“Senior Brother, do you think this will work? Would it be better to make it permanently active?”
Chen Qin showed Zhang Ze the Little Thing she had finished making yesterday.
It was a Little Thing resembling a Sword Hilt. Its Mechanism Structure was simple, consisting only of a switch for a Formation and some structures for Adjusting its size and tightness.
“If we make it permanently active, the Material consumption will be too expensive.
“Those Rogue Cultivators won’t be willing to buy it.
“How effective is it? Have you tried it yet?”
Zhang Ze asked.
“No. I wanted to wait for Senior Brother to come and open it together.”
Chen Qin Handed the strange Mechanism Sword Hilt to Zhang Ze.
Zhang Ze pressed the Sword Hilt onto the iron sword in his hand. After securing it firmly, he triggered the Mechanism on the Sword Hilt with his finger.
A streak of flowing light began at the Sword Hilt and spread along the blade.
Soon, the entire iron sword was covered by a thin, blood-red mist. Within the Blood Mist, Dark Red lightning vaguely coursed.
Mei’er cried out in astonishment upon seeing it.
“An Energy Barrier that grants a Magic Tool extra Spiritual Energy? That is an ability of a Golden Core Stage Cultivator. Young Lady, how did you do it?”
“I actually did nothing. I only designed a switch. Senior Brother figured out the Magic Array.” Chen Qin smiled sheepishly.
“It’s fake, Sister Mei’er. They’re just Special Effects.”
Zhang Ze reached out and touched the Blood Mist, but nothing happened.
“I dismantled the Heavenly Sect’s Shining Light Array and combined it with the mist poison technique I obtained from the Spirit Snake Flotilla.”
“I removed the damage-dealing part of the Formation, then basically just combined the rest. I kept only the Special Effects, and that was it.”
“The color can even be changed.”
Zhang Ze took a Chip from Chen Qin and inserted it into the Mechanism. The red smoke and lightning immediately changed color.
“But what use is this? It has no Power.” Mei’er was puzzled.
“But it looks cool.” Zhang Ze Casually flicked his sword, and the flowing light on the blade traced out streaks of afterimages. “As long as it looks cool, someone will definitely buy it.”
Mei’er thought about it and decided that he was indeed right.
The first time she saw this thing, she had also wanted it badly.
“If we Develop a few more Special Effects versions and add color-changing functions, who knows how many Spirit Stones we can earn?” Zhang Ze removed the Sword Hilt and tossed it up and down in his hand.
“But wait. We are not short of Spirit Stones. Is it necessary to spend our time earning Spirit Stones?”
What Mei’er said sounded very ostentatious, but it was simply the truth.
Her Young Lady, Chen Qin, was one of the most elite Second-generation Immortals on the entire continent of the Four Continents.
What did being poor feel like? Sorry, she had never experienced it.
“But someone else is short of them,” Zhang Ze said.