If I stay in the Hehuan Sect, I'll live off the pampered daughters of the Heavenly Pride Sect.

"Alright, stop standing, sit down. Try your Senior Sister Ruan Yan's cooking. This 'Clear Lotus Silver Leaf Spirit Tea' was personally picked by her from thousands of miles away outside the sect."

Mo Chengyue sat down, watching the two people opposite him being all lovey-dovey and exchanging glances. He felt like a 1,000-watt light bulb, the kind with its own background music.

Xie Buci took a sip of tea before lazily asking the question.

"Speak, you wouldn't come here without a reason. What brings you here today?"

Mo Chengyue picked up his teacup, sighed deeply, and began his performance.

"Senior brother, you have no idea what kind of life I had on this trip to Ten Thousand Weapons Mountain!"

He began his performance.

"To complete the glorious 'sending warmth' mission you assigned me, I'm going all out!"

"You know I'm timid and my cultivation level is low. But to support Senior Sister Xiao, I insisted on being on the front lines!"

"Faced with those ferocious guards, I threw out talismans like they were free!"

"Flash Talismans, Wind Blade Talismans, Slow Talismans, Vine Binding Talismans... hundreds of them! The scene was like fireworks during Chinese New Year!"

Mo Chengyue spoke with great emotion, as if he had returned to that battlefield of blood and fire.

"In the end, the person was rescued, and warmth was delivered. But me... I'm broke!"

He clutched his chest, his face contorted with heartache.

"Senior brother, regarding the loan for those few hundred spirit talismans... could you consider it as part of the operating expenses for this 'Sending Warmth' project and reimburse me?"

Xie Buci was stunned.

Can you do this?

He looked at Mo Chengyue's face, which was filled with the words "I have bled for the organization, I have been wounded for the organization," and his lips twitched.

However, upon further reflection, he realized that this "investment" in Xiao Qinghan was originally his idea.

Mo Chengyue did indeed put in some effort.

He waved his hand, looking quite magnanimous.

"You little rascal, you're practically throwing those abacus beads at my face."

"Alright, alright, consider those talismans a gift from your senior brother. You don't need to return them."

He waved his hand, clearly in a good mood.

"Consider this as funding for the 'Sending Warmth' project!"

"You said it yourself!" Mo Chengyue immediately replied, afraid that he would go back on his word.

"A gentleman's word is as good as his bond!" Xie Buci said with a laugh.

Xie Buci put down his teacup and asked, "By the way, what magical artifact did you finally obtain at Wanqi Mountain?"

Upon hearing this, Mo Chengyue's face immediately fell, his expression filled with sorrow.

"Don't mention it, senior brother."

He pulled the dark, unremarkable metal lump out of his storage bag and slammed it onto the table.

"This is it."

"A piece of scrap metal, worthless. You wouldn't even want to use it to crack walnuts."

"Xiao Qinghan got a mid-grade spiritual weapon, Su Qingying got a mid-grade spiritual weapon, and even those two prodigies got high-grade spiritual weapons."

"I didn't get anything, and I even lost half my life."

Xie Buci stared at the lump of iron, stunned for a moment, and then burst into a deafening burst of wild laughter.

"Hahahahaha!"

He laughed so hard he almost fell over, and tears were welling up in his eyes.

"Scrap metal! Hahaha, junior brother, you're truly my source of joy!"

The senior sister Ruan Yan next to her also covered her mouth, laughing so hard that her chest heaved.

Mo Chengyue's face darkened, practically screaming "Are you being impolite?"

Xie Buci finally managed to stop laughing and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.

Instead of continuing to mock him as Mo Chengyue had expected, he picked up the lump of iron with interest and weighed it in his hand, his expression becoming somewhat amused.

"I have to say, it's quite heavy."

He casually tossed the lump of iron back onto the table, then pointed to himself, took something out of his storage bag, and slapped it on the table.

It was a... broken stone.

It's dusty and unremarkable; even a dog wouldn't give it a second glance if you left it on the roadside.

"See that?"

Xie Buci pointed to the broken stone, a hint of mystery in his smile.

"Back in the day, all I got was this broken stone."

"I told you this when we were at Yingtian Peak! I never thought you would follow the same evil path as me."

He suppressed his smile and lowered his voice, saying, "But junior brother, I must remind you of something."

"Wanqi Mountain is a very strange place. The more ordinary something is, the less spiritual energy it contains, the more likely it is to hide a great secret."

"I've studied this broken rock for decades and haven't figured it out at all, but it's just hard. Even my natal flying sword can't leave a mark on it."

He pointed to Mo Chengyue's lump of iron: "You're the same, you piece of scrap iron."

"Keep it for now, don't actually use it to crack walnuts. Who knows, one day it might be your greatest opportunity."

After saying that, he burst into laughter again: "Of course, it's also possible that we're just unlucky chosen ones."

"What an amazing 'Sleeping Dragon and Phoenix Chick' combination! Hahaha, we truly are worthy of being taught by the same master!"

Upon hearing this, Mo Chengyue couldn't help but laugh.

The unpleasant feeling that had been weighing on his mind because of the lightning tribulation vanished instantly.

He discovered that sometimes happiness is that simple.

Seeing others worse off than yourself is enough.

Laughter is contagious.

Seeing Xie Buci and Mo Chengyue laughing heartily, Senior Sister Ruan Yan also giggled, leaning softly against Xie Buci, her posture charming and alluring.

Mo Chengyue glanced at it and sighed inwardly once again.

Senior brother, you really enjoyed that meal!

After the laughter and commotion subsided, Mo Chengyue finally remembered the important matter he had come for today.

He stopped smiling and his expression became serious.

"Senior brother, the reason I came today is actually to ask you about the tribulation in the Golden Core stage."

He looked directly into Xie Buci's eyes and asked in a deep voice, "What exactly does that lightning tribulation feel like?"

Upon hearing the words "thunder tribulation," a barely perceptible hint of seriousness flashed across Xie Buci's usually carefree and playful eyes.

But he quickly masked it with a smile.

"A tribulation of lightning?"

He swirled his teacup, speaking as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

"Hey, that thing sounds scary, but it's really nothing special."

"To put it bluntly, it's just getting struck by lightning a few times."

"When the time comes, find a scenic spot, strike a cool pose, and let it chop you down."

"Of course, just being struck isn't enough. You also need to use your cultivation techniques to channel a small amount of lightning power into your dantian to refine your golden core. That's what it means to make the most of it."

Mo Chengyue's eyes lit up.

"What kind of technique?"

Xie Buci put down his wine glass, a meaningful smile appearing on his face.

"The True Technique of Controlling Thunder in the Nine Heavens".

When he said the name, his eyes darted around, as if he were recalling something from the past.

"Speaking of which, I obtained this cultivation technique through a transaction."

He was lost in memories.

"A long time ago, back when I was just like you are now, a novice in the Foundation Establishment stage, just starting to cultivate ancient techniques."

"At that time, a senior sister in the Golden Core stage in the sect who also practiced ancient methods found me."

"She told me that ancient cultivators must undergo a tribulation of lightning to form their core, and to survive, they must cultivate the art of controlling lightning."

She said she could pass on the "Nine Heavens Thunder Control True Technique" to me, but on one condition.

Mo Chengyue pricked up his ears.

Here it comes, he loves hearing this kind of gossip.

Xie Buci paused, then lowered his voice slightly: "Her condition is that once I have mastered the ancient method, my first dual cultivation session must be with her."

Mo Chengyue's pupils dilated.

What kind of insane operation is this? You can buy cultivation techniques in installments, and the down payment is... yourself?