Inside the study, Yu Qing's mind was calm and focused, his consciousness already submerged into his sea of Spirit. Before him, the System interface shimmered into view.
"Two whole months without any major 'spending,' plus what I'd saved before…" Yu Qing's gaze landed on the number tucked in the corner of the interface, and the corner of his mouth curved in satisfaction. "Finally scraped the yin yang points back up to three hundred thousand."
The Yin Yang Sect had just been founded; it was the moment to pour in resources. These three hundred thousand yin yang points could buy exactly what was needed!
He opened the System Mall with practiced ease. With a whoosh, six item icons of varying radiance and aura lined up before his eyes:
1. Condensing Origin Pill (bottle): Slightly increases cultivation speed for Spirit Elders and below, stabilizes Foundations, no side effects. (Price: 500 yin yang points)
2. Class-5 spirit tool · Gale Pulse Cannon Blueprint: Offensive spirit tool; inject spirit power to fire compressed wind bullets, considerable might. (Price: 3,000 yin yang points)
3. Iron Essence (five hundred jin): High-purity metallic material, usable for forging, construction, or spirit tool research. (Price: 100 yin yang points)
4. ten-thousand-year spirit ring (Wind Spirit Finch): Taken from a twelve-thousand-year Wind Spirit Finch, suited to agility-attack system, wind-attribute Spirits. (Price: 8,000 yin yang points)
5. Flora Spirit Fertilizer: Special medicinal fertilizer, slightly accelerates herb growth and mildly boosts potency. (Price: 1,200 yin yang points)
6. spirit source (Price: 10,000 yin yang points each)
"Oh? Everything that just restocked is actually useful!" Yu Qing's eyes lit up. Whether it was pills to raise the cultivation speed of low-level Disciples, blueprints and Materials to arm the force, fertilizer to accelerate herb growth, or spirit sources to raise Spirit Bone years (for his own use), all were urgently needed. That Wind Spirit Finch spirit ring was useless to him and his Dao Companions, but it could be kept for future Disciples who qualified.
Without hesitation, Yu Qing waved a hand. "System, buy them all!"
[Ding! Purchase successful! A total of 23,300 yin yang points deducted; items delivered to System space.]
A pile of goodies arrived in an instant, putting Yu Qing in an excellent mood. Seeing he still had over two hundred eighty thousand points left, he decided to strike while the iron was hot and see if he could refresh something even better.
"System, refresh the mall!"
Light flashed and the list changed. The new slots were mostly herbs, Ores, and other basic resources—useful, but not what he wanted most. He frowned and refreshed again.
Second, third… he refreshed five times in a row, each refresh now costing double. The daily five refreshes were used up, costing nearly one hundred twenty thousand yin yang points, yet the haul made him feel it was worth every point!
In those five refreshes he not only snagged another three spirit sources but also a Body Refining manual that made his eyes light up—
Heavenly Origin Body Refinement Art: An ancient Body Tempering method that draws heaven-and-earth Origin Qi to temper the physique and solidify Foundations. Entry is relatively easy, demands little Aptitude, but progress in the Late Stage is slow; Major Achievement requires tremendous perseverance and great Opportunity. (Appraisal: extremely high potential, upper limit even higher than the host's Thousand Refinements Method, but far more widely applicable—ideal for mass-training of grassroots members.)
"Excellent stuff!" Yu Qing was delighted. His Thousand Refinements Method was powerful, but its demands on spirit power and physique were too high for general use. This Heavenly Origin Body Refinement Art filled that gap perfectly; it could become the core Body Refining Cultivation Technique of the Yin Yang Sect, comprehensively elevating the fitness and cultivation potential of the congregation!
With the five refreshes used up, about one hundred eighty thousand yin yang points remained. Yu Qing drew a deep breath and turned his gaze to the corner of System space where five pink, heart-shaped chests glowed, treasured carefully all this time.
They were Affection Treasure Chests—rewards from the System when Duan Xin, Zi Ruyi, and A Rou's affection for him reached 90. A Rou, perhaps because she was his first five-star Dao Companion or perhaps due to the special nature of a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast (Xiao Wu's mother?), had actually given him three!
Yu Qing reached out, fingertips brushing the warm pink chests, a mix of complexity and reluctance in his eyes.
These chests carried the unconditional love and trust of his three wives; they were testimonies of emotion. He had originally intended to keep them forever.
"But… the purpose of a chest is to be opened," he murmured, his gaze gradually hardening. "May what comes out be worthy of their feelings."
He picked up the chest belonging to Duan Xin first. It was warm in his hand, as though carrying her body heat. He opened it gently.
Pink light flashed and vanished; the chest dissolved, replaced by an ancient, heavy tome whose cover seemed inlaid with dragon scales. A vast, majestic aura surged forth!
Heavenly Dragon Transformation: A Dragon Clan secret Body Refining method to transform into a dragon. Visualize the True Dragon, use spirit power and blood as guides to draw Dragon Qi to temper the body. Divided into nine transformations; each completed transformation brings evolution of physique, blood, and spirit power, the Spirit also moving closer to the Dragon Clan. Should the ninth and final transformation be completed, one sheds the mortal body entirely, becomes a True Dragon, and gains control over a Law! (Warning: practitioner must possess a top-tier dragon-type Spirit; otherwise Dragon Qi backlashes with extreme danger!)
"Holy—!" Even with Yu Qing's composure he couldn't help swearing, eyes filled with disbelief.
This Heavenly Dragon Transformation was tailor-made for Duan Xin! Her Spirit was the Crimson Flame Dragon Lizard (evolved through Dual Cultivation into the Crimson Flame Red Dragon), already carrying an extremely thin Dragon Clan Bloodline. If she kept purifying and sublimating with this method, her future achievements were limitless! Becoming a True Dragon and wielding a Law? That was virtually a straight road to Divine Rank!
"Xiner..." Yu Qing tightened his grip on the codex, voice trembling with excitement. "Once the child is born safely, we'll devote ourselves to Dual Cultivation. If we don't forge a top-tier—no, a Saint-Dragon Spirit—we won't use Yin-Yang Power for anything else!" On the spot he mapped out the road she would travel.
He tucked the Heavenly Dragon Transformation away with care, then picked up the pink Affection Treasure Chest that belonged to Zi Ruyi.
The chest dissolved into motes of violet light, leaving behind a fist-sized, perfectly round purple orb. Inside it stars swirled like a living cosmos, exuding a deep, almost gravitational pull.
Star Spirit Orb: formed from the lingering will of a dead life-star. Refine it and your Spirit can actively absorb stellar power, condensing a unique Spirit-fruit within—the Star Spirit Fruit. Effect: Spirit Masters below Spirit King can rise 1–2 ranks unconditionally (limit three per person). If absorbed by a matching Spirit, it can raise that Spirit's grade (mid-tier and below only, up to high-tier; if already Divine Rank, it advances to Peak).
"Bloody hell, another divine treasure!" Yu Qing exclaimed. Zi Ruyi's Spirit was Purple Cloud Vine, a plant type; if it could absorb starlight and bear fruit, the Zi Family Disciples could be groomed in batches, and one day it could even become a unique resource of the Yin Yang Sect—its value immeasurable.
Finally he looked at the three pink chests lined up in front of A Rou. He drew a deep breath and opened them one after another.
Soft pink flashes burst in succession, and three items hovered before him.
The first was a scroll of lustrous white silk, as soft as jade, embroidered with an ancient script and a vivid moonlit Jade Rabbit.
Jade Rabbit Scripture: the inherited Cultivation Technique of the Moon-Palace Jade-Rabbit clan. It draws in lunar radiance to temper both divine soul and physique. At Peak mastery it can awaken the Jade-Rabbit Bloodline, giving the Spirit—or the body itself—a high chance of evolving into the Divine Rank Taiyin Jade Rabbit (Douluo Continent variant).
The second was a translucent bone, lustrous as glazed jade, its virtual form giving off an otherworldly sheen.
Glazed Body: a secret Body Refining art. Specific ratios of glazed crystals and rare metals must be smelted and their essence absorbed into the flesh, gradually turning the body as pure, flawless and unbreakable as glazed jade, while granting superb affinity and capacity for energy. (Warning: consumes oceans of glazed crystals and special metals—do not attempt without deep pockets!)
The third was a codex of unknown material, neither gold nor jade, its cover showing the interflow of Yin and Yang.
Dual Cultivation Secret Codex: the orthodox Legacy of Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation. It expounds the wondrous principles of mutual nourishment and the meeting of dragon and tiger, containing many Dual Cultivation methods to help Dao Companions advance together, refine spirit power and consolidate Foundation. (System tip: host, you know what to do—about one percent as effective as my own assistance.)
Yu Qing: "!!!"
He read the descriptions word by word, stunned speechless, his mind reeling for a long while.
What... what kind of treasure chests were these? They were tailor-made ultimate gift packs for his three Dao Companions!
Heavenly Dragon Transformation suited Duan Xin perfectly; the Star Spirit Orb matched Zi Ruyi; the Jade Rabbit Scripture aligned flawlessly with A Rou's Soft Bones Demon Rabbit, pointing straight to a Divine Rank evolution. Glazed Body was clearly meant for himself (probably, maybe, presumably), while the Dual Cultivation Secret Codex might as well be for every member of the Yin Yang Sect!
"System..." he complained inwardly, "you planned this all along, didn't you? Waiting for me to open the boxes so you could hand out gifts calibrated for my wives and followers!"
[Ding! Answer: Correct. Items from Affection Treasure Chests have a high probability of aligning with the giver or their associates. This System exists to assist the host and Dao Companions in growing together.] The electronic voice replied without a shred of emotion.
Yu Qing rubbed his forehead, half laughing, half exasperated, yet warmed by a surge of responsibility. The System might be a soulless machine, but its arrangements were thoughtful beyond words.
He suddenly remembered something. "Come to think of it, you haven't given me quests or even spoken much lately. You're nothing like the chatterbox you were during the newbie phase."
[Ding! This is a support-type dao companion system. After the tutorial, main functions are Dual Cultivation assistance, mall exchange, affection monitoring and rewards. Finding Dao Companions, nurturing feelings, exploring the World and handling crises are for the host to tackle. This System only offers necessary aid.]
Yu Qing fell silent, emotions mixed. The good news: no ridiculous threats of obliteration, and he kept full autonomy. The downside: the so-called "sage mode" after Dual Cultivation, the grind of refining Yin-Yang Power, and future tribulations—all of it he had to figure out himself. The System was a powerful tool, not an all-knowing nanny.
"Got it." He asked no more. Compared with the lively sprite he first met, the dao-compensation System he now possessed was an utterly rational program that followed rules to the letter.
His gaze finally settled on the Dual Cultivation Secret Codex. He took it out of the System space; it felt like warm ancient jade, thrumming with a subtle rhythm.
"With this, the Yin Yang Sect finally has a true Legacy art worthy of being called the sect's Foundation." He caressed the cover, eyes glinting.
This round of shopping and unboxing had yielded far more than he imagined—not only solving the resource needs of a fledgling power, but also paving the way for his three wives to reach the Peak!
"Whew... this haul is... absolutely fantastic!" Exhaling in satisfaction, he closed the System interface and withdrew his consciousness from the sea of mind.
Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn (Gk31)