Chapter 35 - 10: Langya Secret Realm

Ye Zhaozhao was practically in tears. She couldn’t help but complain, "Master, the people at the Spiritual Artifact Pavilion are being completely unreasonable! I gave them nothing but good ideas, and didn’t their sales volume increase significantly? Now that something has gone wrong, they want me to take the blame."

She felt incredibly wronged. In the world she lived in before her transmigration, many people ran similar promotions, and they never faced any consequences!

Sheng Yuan said softly, "Junior Sister, your ideas are indeed quite good. However, you took things too far. Take the blind box event, for example. What would it have mattered if you hadn’t hidden the grand prize? Even if someone else won it, the pavilion would still turn a profit overall. But you insisted on holding back the grand prize. That is just..."

He couldn’t bring himself to say anything harsh, so he fell silent. His junior sister had already been punished for her mistakes, and he didn’t have the heart to scold her further. He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Judging by the ideas Manager Qiu had mentioned, Zhaozhao was actually a business prodigy. It was just that she was too young, and without proper guidance, she had inevitably gone astray. If those novel events were run honestly, they would still be highly attractive and could rake in handsome profits. Unfortunately, Zhaozhao always felt the need to add deceitful tricks, single-handedly ruining their reputation.

Ye Zhaozhao pursed her lips, still feeling defiant on the inside, though she wore a grievance-filled expression. "Eldest Senior Brother, are you blaming me too? I just wanted to earn more Spirit Stones so I could help everyone out!

"Or are you blaming me for framing Eldest Senior Sister? I was truly just angry in the moment and only wanted to teach her a tiny lesson!"

As she spoke, her eyes turned remarkably red. She fought to hold back her tears, letting them brim in her eyes, making her look incredibly pitiful.

"Eldest Senior Brother, don’t scold Junior Sister! She’s so young; how could she understand these things?" Chang Le’an said anxiously.

The moment he saw Ye Zhaozhao’s tears, he couldn’t utter a single word of blame. He had become Master Lingxu’s True Disciple not long before Ye Zhaozhao joined the sect. Since they entered around the same time, it was inevitable that they spent a lot of time together. Among all the people in their sect, Chang Le’an was closest to Ye Zhaozhao. He even harbored a faint, secret crush on her. Seeing her like this made his heart ache immensely, leaving no room for any other thoughts.

At this moment, Master Lingxu slowly spoke up. "Putting everything else aside, these Spirit Stones must be returned. Zhaozhao, make sure you deliver the Spirit Stones to the Law Enforcement Hall within seven days."

Ye Zhaozhao was on the verge of tears. "Master, I really don’t have that many Spirit Stones left..." At best, she only had less than half of the amount on hand.

Master Lingxu sighed. "The Sect Leader has given the order, so as your master, it is not my place to argue."

Ye Zhaozhao looked at him expectantly. "Master, could you..."

"I’m going to check on your Second Senior Brother." Master Lingxu actually turned and walked away.

Ye Zhaozhao gritted her teeth. She had gifted Master Lingxu so many valuable items as tokens of respect, yet now that she needed to pay back the Spirit Stones, he didn’t want to help in the slightest. She had no idea how Li Shuang had managed to tolerate such a master for so long. The thought that Li Shuang no longer had to put up with him made her grind her teeth even harder. After all her scheming and snatching, what had she actually gained?!

Ye Zhaozhao collected herself and looked toward Sheng Yuan and Chang Le’an. Fortunately, they did not disappoint her.

Chang Le’an said without hesitation, "Junior Sister, I’ll give you everything I have."

Sheng Yuan chimed in, "I will try to figure something out for you as well."

Only then did Ye Zhaozhao feel slightly better, but how much wealth could Sheng Yuan and Chang Le’an possibly have between them? Thinking about the massive shortfall in Spirit Stones, her small face scrunched up in distress.

She was already frustrated and distraught when the system’s voice suddenly rang in her head.

"The host’s Cultivation is about to regress to the Early-stage Nascent Soul. Please work hard to earn more Cultivation."

Ye Zhaozhao’s expression shifted. She had been so stressed about the Spirit Stones that she hadn’t even noticed her Cultivation had regressed once again! Her relationship with Li Shuang was a zero-sum game; as one fell, the other rose. If her Cultivation was dropping, then what about Li Shuang’s?

"A significant amount was lost during the extraction and dissipation process, but Li Shuang’s Cultivation has now recovered to the Qi Refining Eighth Level," the system replied.

Qi Refining Eighth Level...

Ye Zhaozhao clenched her fists tightly. That meager level of Cultivation was still not worth mentioning. But Li Shuang had just begun her reincarnation! The Cultivation she was gaining right now had all been painstakingly schemed for by Ye Zhaozhao. That was her blood, sweat, and tears!

Ye Zhaozhao felt as if her heart was bleeding. And then there was the Spirit Treasure Pavilion incident—if Li Shuang had just obediently fallen for her trap, none of this subsequent mess would have happened!

Li Shuang! Li Shuang! Was that woman born just to be her nemesis?!

"A reminder: if the host’s Cultivation drops below the Nascent Soul Stage, the system will issue a punishment." The system’s voice was unusually icy.

Ye Zhaozhao shuddered. If her Cultivation fell any further, she would actually be subjected to a system punishment... Ever since she joined Lingxu Peak, it had been smooth sailing. She had never experienced a system punishment before. However, her intuition told her it was a taste she was better off not trying!

"I know!" Ye Zhaozhao agreed through gritted teeth.

Only then did the system go back dormant.

Ye Zhaozhao couldn’t help but grit her teeth again. Her Cultivation absolutely could not regress any further. Li Shuang was already at the Qi Refining Eighth Level. Once she reached the Qi Refining Tenth Level, she would be preparing for Foundation Establishment. Ye Zhaozhao was not going to let Li Shuang’s Cultivation continue to grow. This time, she would end her before she could achieve Foundation Establishment.

She would kill her! That way, she could seize all of Li Shuang’s luck! Then she would never have to live in fear again. However, this time, she needed to be far more careful with her scheming. She could absolutely not afford to leave any traces behind.

Although Ye Zhaozhao’s belly was full of malicious schemes, her body was still injured. Even with the aid of Elixir Pills, she had to stay in bed for several days before she could get up. The moment she got out of bed, disciples from the Law Enforcement Hall arrived to demand the Spirit Stones.

Ye Zhaozhao emptied her own purse, as well as Sheng Yuan’s and Chang Le’an’s, but it still didn’t amount to even half of the required sum. Sheng Yuan even steeled his heart and used his authority as the Eldest Senior Brother to misappropriate the resources meant for the ordinary disciples of Lingxu Peak. He converted all of it into Spirit Stones for Ye Zhaozhao, yet it was still not enough.

Left with no other choice, Ye Zhaozhao racked her brains to write down several modern business ideas. She had originally planned to save these concepts until she accumulated enough capital to implement them herself in the future. But now, she was forced to bring them out early. Fortunately, the Spiritual Artifact Pavilion was quite happy to accept these ideas as payment, and with that, the debt was finally settled.

However, Lingxu Peak had been completely bled dry by Ye Zhaozhao. As the Eldest Senior Brother, Sheng Yuan clearly felt the mounting dissatisfaction directed at him from everyone on the peak. He smiled bitterly but found himself entirely powerless. It was a fact that he had misappropriated others’ resources for Ye Zhaozhao’s sake, so it was only natural that the ordinary disciples resented him.

But he couldn’t just stand by and watch Zhaozhao’s reputation be dragged through the mud!

On the other hand, the disciples’ food, clothing, and daily necessities still needed to be arranged. Their daily training needed to be scheduled. Initially, without their Eldest Senior Sister, he had barely managed to keep things running. Now that he had exhausted their resources for Ye Zhaozhao’s sake, Lingxu Peak instantly plunged into chaos.

Sheng Yuan felt a wave of dazed disbelief wash over him. His Eldest Senior Sister... on top of her own Cultivation, had she actually managed to handle all these matters so effortlessly? On the other peaks, the respective Peak Masters would provide a certain level of assistance. But on Lingxu Peak, Master Lingxu was a complete absentee manager. Now, all the pressure fell squarely on Sheng Yuan’s shoulders. Back when Li Shuang was around, she had shouldered all the burdens alone, never letting them worry about anything other than their Cultivation. Now that it was his turn... Sheng Yuan felt as if he were trapped in a quagmire, completely unable to find a way out no matter which way he turned.

After making an effort to soothe the emotions of the ordinary disciples, Sheng Yuan was trying to figure out how to replenish the lost resources.

Ye Zhaozhao and Chang Le’an walked in.

Chang Le’an spoke loudly, "Eldest Senior Brother, Zhaozhao and I have found a way to make up for the deficit."

Sheng Yuan was taken aback. "What way?"

A subtle glint flashed through Ye Zhaozhao’s eyes. "Eldest Senior Brother, have you forgotten? The Langya Secret Realm is about to open, and it is filled with countless Spirit Grasses and treasures. Third Senior Brother possesses astonishing luck; he can easily pick up a ton of valuables just by walking around. Are we really worried about not being able to make up the deficit?"