Everyone ascended, but I didn't get on board

Chapter 221 Angel Investors

The man then withdrew his probing hand, his face full of doubt, and said, "Strange, I really can't find any trace of the system. Could it be that I've made a mistake? No! You clearly left the Spirit Cleansing Pool in less than an hour. How could you not have a system... Could it be..."

He suddenly realized something, his expression changed instantly, he immediately pulled up her hand and placed his fingers on her wrist, his eyes widened in shock as if he had seen a ghost, "You...you are a body cultivator!" There really are body cultivators who have ascended to immortality?
"Uh... I guess so." To be precise, she is well-rounded in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor education.

"I see, no wonder!" The man looked her up and down, as if to confirm something. "Your foundation is solid, and your cultivation level does not seem to be obtained through the Body Transformation Technique. However, the fact that the Heavenly Fortune Book reacts to you does not lessen the suspicion."

He seemed to find her more pleasing to the eye, looking her up and down for a moment before muttering, "I've heard that there's also a bound person in the Western Immortal Realm whose situation is unclear recently. Well, I can't decide this matter either. You can stay in the 'Debt Pavilion' for now, and I'll report this to the Immortal Court before deciding on your fate."

With that, he waved his hand, and instantly a celestial child appeared before them, bowing respectfully. "You may go down with him!"

"Thank you, Immortal Master." Qiu Ci clasped his hands in thanks and nodded before following the fairy boy out of the side hall.

The fairy boy led her through numerous palaces shrouded in celestial mist, winding and turning until they finally stopped in front of a very secluded hut. The fairy boy stepped forward and spoke, his voice the same as the man from the side hall, "Where is Yi Hongyu?"

Soon, a commotion came from the small house ahead. A man in gray robes quickly came out and opened the courtyard gate. His face was somewhat pale, and his expression was respectful. Although there was immortal energy surrounding him, it was extremely faint, even weaker than that of the person who had just ascended. He seemed extremely weak.

"But Steward Yao, what brings you here?" The man clasped his hands in a respectful greeting to the fairy boy.

The fairy boy spoke directly, "This person is new and will be staying here temporarily. Please make arrangements."

As he spoke, the fairy boy's figure vanished; he was probably just a temporary guide puppet.

"Yes!" Yi Hongyu, who came out to greet her, still bowed slightly before turning back to look in her direction. "May I ask how this fellow Daoist is addressed?"

"Chu Qiuci greets the Immortal Master," she said hastily.

"Alas, what kind of immortal am I?" The other party shook his head and said very kindly, "From now on, we can be considered colleagues. My name is Yi Hongyu, and I only ascended a few thousand years earlier than you. Just call me fellow Daoist."

“Fellow Daoist Yi,” Qiu Ci readily agreed.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Chu, you were able to be assigned this 'Spirit Garden' of mine, it seems you were a prodigy who devoted yourself to cultivation in the lower realm. I wonder how many years of system debt Manager Yao has assessed for you?" He said as he stepped aside to invite her into the courtyard.

Qiu Ci immediately understood that this person had also been bound to the system, so he asked directly, "Fellow Daoist Yi, could you tell me what this so-called system loan is all about?"

“It’s normal that you’re not familiar with this since you just ascended to the Immortal Realm.” Yi Hongyu glanced at her and said directly without any intention of hiding anything, “You should know about systems, right? I’m someone who has been bound to a system, just like you. Of course, it’s not just us. In fact, in the three thousand continents of the lower realm, there are basically one or two people bound to systems on each continent. And these so-called systems are actually immortal artifacts that the Immortal Realm deliberately placed there.”

"Oh? Why?" she continued to ask.

"Of course, it's because there are too few immortals in the Celestial Realm," Yi Hongyu said. "You must know that among the countless beings on the three thousand continents, those who can ascend to immortality are extremely rare. On each continent, every few thousand or even tens of thousands of years, less than one person can successfully break through to the Celestial Realm and ascend. And although immortals live long lives, they also face their own tribulations. Those who overcome them continue to live freely, while those who fail suffer the Five Signs of Decay of the Celestial Being. This leads to fewer and fewer orthodox ascending immortals." "And then..."

"And then there's a shortage of people!" he continued seriously. "Immortals have long since transcended the cycle of reincarnation, and apart from ascension, no new population will be born. And those who can ascend are all exceptionally strong individuals, single-mindedly pursuing the ultimate path. Even in the Immortal Realm, they will not stop their cultivation and will continue to pursue even higher realms."

"..."

"But the Immortal Realm is not like the Mortal Realm; its area is more than a hundred times larger than the continents below. Immortals who want to cultivate need magical treasures, elixirs, and various resources. However, a person's energy is limited. In the past, in the Mortal Realm, many people who had no chance of achieving the Great Dao would study these things, and those with the strength could naturally obtain them. But in the Immortal Realm, everyone is a prodigy. Where do these resources come from? And how do we pursue opportunities?"

"so……"

“So the Immortal Realm naturally needs some people to do these chores, and we, who are bound to the system, are the chosen ones.” He sighed and resignedly said, “We were originally destined to be immortals for our entire lives, but because of the system’s connection to our bodies, we were able to come to the Immortal Realm by borrowing the power of immortals. Of course, if you borrow power, you must repay it.”

"Work to pay off debts?" So the system contract is actually an illegal employment contract.

“That’s right.” Yi Hongyu nodded. “The Immortal Realm will determine the time limit for repaying the debt based on the amount of power borrowed. Before this time limit expires, we cannot disobey any order from the Immortal Realm, even if it requires draining all our cultivation.”

"..." Is it this dark?

“Of course, we who ascended to the Eastern Immortal Domain are already considered very lucky.” Yi Hongyu said with a look of relief, “At least it is quite reasonable here and will not exploit us debtors excessively. I heard that the Western Immortal Domain is much more ruthless. All those who are bound to the Western Immortal Domain have to go and mine immortal mines to pay off their debts as soon as they ascend, until their cultivation is exhausted.”

"..." There are even illegal mines!

"So, those of us bound to the system are more like slaves to immortals than immortals!" Yi Hongyu sighed, then rallied again. "Fortunately, I only have ten years of debt left. Once I pay off these last ten years, I can become a true immortal. By the way, Fellow Daoist Chu, how many years were you sentenced to?"

Qiu Ci's lips twitched. The question made it sound like she was going to jail. Just as she was about to answer, a heavenly sound suddenly came from the sky.

She subconsciously turned her head to look, and saw large petals falling from the sky. Suddenly, a large patch of colorful auspicious clouds flew in from the right side of the sky. On the clouds stood more than a dozen fairy maidens with colorful figures. Among the fairy maidens was a woman dressed in gorgeous palace attire. Her profile looked somewhat familiar.

Isn't this the girl I took a bath with before but who didn't wake up for a long time?

Before she could react, Yi Hongyu exclaimed in admiration, "Wow, another powerful individual who ascended through strength! Our Eastern Immortal Domain is about to have another Immortal Lord." His words were full of envy.

So, does this mean that everyone who isn't a Alipay super-rich person receives this kind of high-level treatment?

But she's not some kind of Alipay genius; at most, she's an angel investor who inherited a fortune!