Fairy, don't be afraid, I'm about to begin my strategy.

The main peak of the outer sect of Lingyun Sect, a first-class meditation room.

The Spirit Gathering Array slowly activated, drawing in a surge of spiritual energy from heaven and earth. Due to the intense concentration of spiritual energy, it transformed into a thick fog that swirled around the female cultivator.

The female cultivator wore an exquisite gray-blue Taoist robe, her long black hair styled in a tassel bun with fine strands cascading down, adding to her gentle and refined beauty. Coupled with the swirling spiritual energy and mist, she appeared ethereal and otherworldly, exuding a hazy beauty that would invariably elicit a gasp from unsuspecting onlookers: "A fairy!"

This was none other than Shen Mo, who controlled Chen Qingqing.

Not lacking spirit stones, Shen Mo used his financial power to arrange the best Grade A meditation room and high-quality pills to aid Chen Qingqing's cultivation. Chen Qingqing's cultivation speed was finally no longer as slow as before; in less than a month, she broke through to the third level of the Qi Refining Realm.

After that, the pace of cultivation slowed down.

Sure enough, no matter the world, the idea that spending money makes you stronger remains unchanged.

Shen Mo brought up the character panel and looked at the virtual character sitting cross-legged on the game interface. There was a seed-shaped phantom hidden in its head, but he didn't understand why.

This illusory image had been discovered long ago, but its origin remained a mystery. Without any explanation, it simply remained quietly hidden in Chen Qingqing's mind.

Since there is no second character that can be controlled, Shen Mo cannot verify whether all those who are controlled will have this.

Since it wouldn't have any impact anyway, Shen Mo didn't bother to dwell on it.

Cultivation is a slow and steady process, like grinding tofu; it can't be rushed. But Shen Mo, who loves to cause trouble and get himself into trouble, obviously can't sit still.

After much thought, the key to breaking through the outer sect really lies with Wang Rui, so controlling Wang Rui remains the primary objective.

As long as Wang Rui is under control, both Chen Qingqing's revenge mission and entering the inner sect will become much easier.

[Dislike rating: 80 points]

Strategy Points: 10

[Character Relationship: Arch-enemies]

Seeing that Wang Rui's character card had increased his dislike level to 80 points, but strangely, his strategy value had also increased by 10 points, Shen Mo was very puzzled.

The relationships between characters are getting worse, but the romance points are actually increasing.

After reflecting on his confrontation with Wang Rui, Shen Mo came to a rather absurd conclusion.

When the enemy submits, your strategy points will increase.

Wow, this game system is something else!

Given his current relationship with Wang Rui, threats alone are clearly no longer enough to subdue him.

To find a breakthrough with Wang Rui, we must change our approach!

If coercion fails, then the only option is seduction—no, I mean, bribery!

Shen Mo went through Wang Rui's private messages one by one again.

[Information 3: Wang Rui urgently needs a Gengjin Spirit Crystal to break through to the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment.]

Invest spirit stones to obtain more detailed information.

[Information 3①: Gengjin Spirit Crystal is an excellent choice for cultivators with a metal-attribute Dharma Body to break through to the Crystallization Realm.]

[Information 3, Part 2: Gengjin Spirit Crystals are extremely rare; they can be obtained from the Yushan Secret Realm.]

Upon seeing the words "Yushan Secret Realm," Shen Mo felt a slight sense of familiarity.

[Information 7, Part 3: Wang Rui seems to have a plan to collude with the Demonic Sect to ambush and kill his fellow disciples in the Yushan Secret Realm.]

It seems that Wang Rui is also playing a game, but it's a bit of a pity that we don't know his full plan.

Looking back now, the reason why Wang Rui was unwilling to really fight to the death with him was not only because he didn't want to escalate the situation, but also because he was concerned about his years of planning.

He followed the instructions of the Elder Wuxiang and painstakingly joined the Lingyun Sect, which must have been part of a grand scheme.

Wang Rui probably didn't expect someone to suddenly appear and cause trouble. If it were Shen Mo, he would also want to kill the other party and fight to the death.

Although they didn't know Wang Rui's detailed plan, as long as they got their hands on the Gengjin Spirit Crystal, they could naturally manipulate the other party.

The game system has limited information, so we need to look at other aspects.

After extensive inquiries, it was discovered that the so-called Lushan Secret Realm is an ancient secret realm in Lingzhou, which is open once every thirty years and only allows cultivators below the Crystallization Realm to enter.

Lingyun Sect has 10 spots each time, but powerful families take 5 of them, and the remaining spots are decided by the outer sect competition.

In other words, to obtain the Gengjin Spirit Crystal, one needs to rank in the top five in the outer sect competition.

With just over a year left before the opening of the Lushan Secret Realm, Shen Mo needs to reach the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment Realm within the next year to have a chance.

Given Chen Qingqing's current talent, this is clearly impossible, even with an unlimited supply of resources.

Since Chen Qingqing isn't suitable, let's find someone else!

Currently, among the outer sect members ranked by cultivation level, besides Wang Rui, another acquaintance of Shen Mo is Lin Zhixia, who has a chance to enter the top five.

Thinking of the gentle and beautiful fairy he had teased, a small plan to win her over gradually took shape in Shen Mo's mind.

[Information 1: Wang Rui considers Lin Zhixia his personal possession and forbids anyone from approaching her, but He Daoren once warned him that there are other hidden details about Lin Zhixia's background.]

After reviewing the information about Lin Zhixia, Shen Mo discovered that her background was not simple, and even He Daoren was quite wary of her!

[Spend 100 spirit stones to unlock a private message for the character Lin Zhixia.]

"Yes."

[Information 2: Lin Zhixia seems to have a close relationship with Lin Jingshu, an elder of the Inner Sect Council.]

An elder of the Inner Sect Council, this is truly a top-tier figure among top-tier figures.

Keep investing spirit stones!

[Information 2①: Although Lin Jingshu is Lin Zhixia's mother, she has not shown excessive intimacy towards Lin Zhixia.]

[Information 2②: Lin Jingshu's aloofness made Lin Zhixia lack a sense of security from a young age, and she always tried to prove herself to gain Lin Jingshu's attention.]

[Information 2.3: Lin Jingshu's estrangement from Lin Zhixia seems to be related to Lin Zhixia's father, but Lin's mother has never mentioned it.]

The plus sign after information 2③ is missing, indicating that the acquisition of this information is also limited.

Afterwards, Shen Mo used spirit stones to obtain more detailed information about Lin Zhixia.

[Information 1: Lin Zhitian naturally dislikes close contact with the opposite sex, and her senior brother's harassment makes her miserable.]

Because of her desire for her mother's attention, Lin Zhixia developed unusual feelings for the same sex, but became increasingly averse to contact with the opposite sex.

It seems that finding an opportunity to get closer to Lin Zhixia and build a good relationship might be able to open up connections within the inner sect!

After all, this girl grew up in the inner sect and only entered the outer sect after cultivating. We can get more information about the inner sect from her.

Intelligence is always the most crucial thing!

When it comes to gathering intelligence, Bai Xiaofeng is naturally more adept.

Shen Mo told Bai Xiaofeng about the information he needed to find about Lin Zhixia, and then hid in the library of the General Affairs Department. In addition to the cultivation techniques needed by outer disciples, there were also many miscellaneous books in the library.

These miscellaneous books are all strange and interesting stories, notes on the supernatural, and travelogues written by cultivators, such as the book "Strange Tales of Immortal Journey" written by the True Monarch Xiayin.

Although it doesn't offer much help in cultivation, the book is exceptionally rich in content and quite interesting. It can help Shen Mo understand this world and also pass the time.

It only costs a few spirit stones to borrow, which is quite a bargain.

The Xuanqiong Realm comprises nine provinces and eight wastelands, a vast territory encompassing all things!

Besides the human race, there is also the demon race, and there are also a large number of sea creatures in the endless sea.

Human cultivators are divided into two paths: the righteous and the demonic, as well as a Buddhist kingdom that occupies a province, also known as the Buddhist sect.

Besides the conflict between the righteous and demonic factions in Lingzhou, there are also some cultivation kingdoms eyeing the situation covetously. It can be said that the situation is intricate and difficult to unravel.

These books about the Xuanqiong Realm contain complex and vast amounts of information, which gave Shen Mo a huge headache and made him feel more tired than when he was in class.

Just as Shen Mo was still engrossed in his studies until the end of time, Bai Xiaofeng finally sent some news!

Lin Zhixia is a low-key person, and her daily life can be described as extremely monotonous, even lacking.

She spends almost all her time in the herb garden learning techniques for cultivating spiritual plants and rarely goes out.

Their lives are extremely regular, unchanged for ten years.

Moreover, he hardly interacts with people, and it seems he doesn't have a single friend in all these years.

This woman is truly a model NPC; with such a regular lifestyle, getting close to her would be extremely difficult.

If Shen Mo hadn't known Lin Zhixia's private information, he really wouldn't have been able to find a way to break through her!

The herb garden—it seems I'll have to visit this place often!

It seems that Chen Qingqing herself is also learning techniques such as cultivating spiritual plants!