I'm in the world of cultivation, and I get a system for becoming a wealthy urban tycoon?

The mountain path between the peaks of the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect's entry-level disciples.

The starlight and moonlight poured down from the sky like water, turning the bluestone-paved mountain path into a cool, frosty white.

The night wind rustled through the dense forest on both sides, the branches and leaves whispering softly and continuously, as if countless unseen shadows were whispering in the darkness.

Li Yao walked ahead with a livid face and heavy, hurried steps.

His boots pounded on the bluestone slabs, each step carrying a venting force that echoed dully on the silent mountain path.

The moonlight shone on his profile, clearly revealing his gloomy expression.

Li Feng followed silently behind, keeping a distance of three steps, neither in a hurry nor a slow pace.

His expression remained as calm as a stagnant pool, revealing no emotion whatsoever, except for the occasional flicker of his deep brown eyes in the moonlight.

Silence pressed down on the mountain road, like a taut string.

Li Yao suddenly stopped, swung his right hand hard, and punched a branch extending from a crooked old tree next to him.

boom!

The spiritual energy, combined with brute force, poured out, instantly snapping the arm-thick branch in two, scattering wood chips and leaf fragments everywhere.

The wood fibers at the break point stick out unevenly, like a broken bone.

The tree canopy overhead, bearing the weight, trembled violently, and dew and withered leaves cascaded down, hitting their shoulders and soaking half of their clothes.

Li Yao was completely unaware.

"Damn it!" His expression twisted for a moment, a dark undercurrent of anger and malice surging in his eyes, his chest heaving violently. "That guy surnamed Lu is going too far! That look in his eyes... Brother, did you see that? That look in his eyes shows he doesn't respect the Li family at all!"

He had never been treated like this in his entire life.

Within the family's territory, he was the direct descendant of the Li family, and wherever he went, he was surrounded by followers and respected by everyone.

Even after entering the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect, when his fellow disciples on the introductory disciple peak heard that he was from the Li family, a family of Golden Core cultivators, they were all very polite to him.

But today, the way Lu Yang looked at him was as indifferent as if he were looking at a completely unrelated weed by the roadside.

That wasn't disgust, hostility, or even contempt.

It was a kind of indifference that came from the bone, as if in Lu Yang's world, Li Yao was not worth taking seriously at all.

This feeling is a hundred times worse than being verbally abused to your face!

Li Feng did not speak.

He stood quietly in place, watching Li Yao vent his anger and curses for a while, until the other's breathing gradually became less rapid, before he slowly spoke.

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a calm and authoritative quality: "Cousin, I've told you before, the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect is a place where hidden talents abound, not just a small tract of land under our Li family's control. This is not a place where you can do as you please."

Li Yao suddenly turned his head to look at Li Feng.

He looked at his cousin's expression; it was calm, gentle, like an elder patiently teaching a naive child.

That's disgusting!

Li Yao cursed inwardly.

He found his cousin's hypocrisy disgusting. Just now at the auction house entrance, instead of supporting him, a direct descendant of the same clan, the cousin bowed to Lu Yang on his behalf and even dragged him away.

That pull still makes his shoulder ache slightly.

If he weren't weaker than his cousin, he would have loved to teach him a lesson.

Li Yao suppressed his surging anger and forced an impatient smile: "A powerful figure or aristocratic family with the surname Lu... I've never heard of a single one. As for Lu Yang, his background is probably just so-so."

Upon hearing this, Li Feng frowned.

Looking at his cousin's matter-of-fact expression, a deep sense of helplessness welled up inside him.

He suppressed the overwhelming weariness in his heart and slowly said, "First, do you really believe that a Qi Refining stage cultivator with an ordinary background could spend 125,000 low-grade spirit stones without batting an eye at an auction to bid for top-grade pills and rare treasures?"

Li Yao frowned and gave a soft snort.

"Secondly," Li Feng held up his second finger, his tone still unhurried, "when that girl from the Qin family introduced our Li family as a Golden Core clan at the auction house entrance, did you notice Lu Yang's expression? His face didn't change at all. He genuinely didn't care. This shows that in his view, a Golden Core clan poses no threat to him. He has at least a power on par with the Li family behind him."

Li Yao's expression began to darken.

Li Feng didn't give him a chance to interrupt, continuing slowly and deliberately: "Third, it's true that there aren't any major families with the surname Lu or Golden Core cultivators under the jurisdiction of the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect. But how do you know that Lu Yang's background is definitely under the jurisdiction of the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect? Aren't there plenty of precedents of cultivators from other top forces in Qin Prefecture coming to our sect to study? Even if they're not from Qin Prefecture—the Eastern Region is so vast, which corner doesn't have one or two hidden major forces?"

After stating these three points, he looked directly into Li Yao's eyes, his gaze carrying a heavy sense of oppression.

That wasn't some well-intentioned advice, but a blunt, unquestionable command:

"I advise you not to have too many inappropriate thoughts. I'm telling you one last time, this is the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect, not the Li family. Everything must be done according to the sect's rules!"

Li Yao's face turned pale and then flushed.

He took a deep breath; the air still carried the astringent smell of sap from the broken branches, but the tightness in his chest made him feel suffocated, unable to exhale or swallow.

After a long pause, he forced a stiff, cold laugh: "I never said I wouldn't abide by the sect's rules. Cousin, you're overthinking it."

Li Feng stared at him for a few seconds, seemingly trying to determine how credible his statement was.

He finally breathed a slight sigh of relief and nodded.

What he feared most was this arrogant cousin who, relying on the Li family's reputation, bullied his fellow disciples in the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect.

Playing this game on the sect's territory will not only get him into trouble, but could also implicate the entire Li family.

"It's good that you know."

Li Yao said no more, simply stating, "I'm going back now. Cousin, you should go back and rest early too."

After saying that, he turned and stepped onto the fork in the road leading to the residence of the new disciples.

The side road was narrower than the main mountain road, and the trees on both sides were denser, with moonlight filtered through the branches and leaves into fine spots that sprinkled on the road surface.

His footsteps faded into the distance along the path until they were completely swallowed up by the low chirping of night insects.

Once the gaze from Li Feng behind him had completely disappeared, Li Yao finally slowed down.

The calm on his face was like cracked porcelain, peeling away bit by bit to reveal the shadows beneath.

Moonlight filtered through the narrow gaps in the trees overhead, casting dappled light and shadow on his somber face.

He felt that his cousin was overthinking things.

What if Lu Yang is just bluffing?

What if he was just a lucky minor cultivator who happened to stumble upon some incredible opportunity and received a large sum of spirit stones?

This possibility cannot be ruled out.

And if you think about it carefully, where does a disciple in the mid-stage of Qi Refining get such confidence?

He might have been faking it all from beginning to end!

He would not give up until he found out exactly who Lu Yang was!

My cousin is unreliable.

He gritted his teeth and crushed a withered leaf under his foot, the crisp sound particularly clear in the silence.

Since that's the case, then find someone to investigate it yourself.

He wanted to see if this guy surnamed Lu really had such a powerful backer.

……

Wang Da and Wang San escorted Lu Yang all the way to the entrance of the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect.

The stone-carved auspicious beasts on both sides of the mountain gate have cold, hard lines under the moonlight. The pale golden light emitted by the spirit array flows slowly between the claws and teeth of the auspicious beasts, bright and dark like breathing.

Lu Yang stepped through the mountain gate and never looked back.

The two figures behind them then disappeared into the night, like two drops of water falling into a deep pool, vanishing without a trace.

There is still a considerable amount of mountain road leading from the mountain gate to the accommodations on the side of Xuanjin Peak.

The night breeze had cooled completely, carrying the crisp scent of grass and trees and the damp aroma of mountain springs as it brushed against my face.

Lu Yang walked up the stone steps, his steps steady and composed.

After walking this distance in the night wind, the excitement and ecstasy that had been churning in his chest all night finally subsided, like boiling water gradually calming down in the cold air.

Back at his residence, Lu Yang closed the door behind him. The room was quiet, and moonlight filtered through the window paper, casting a hazy silver-gray hue over the interior.

Lu Yang walked straight into the cultivation room and sat down cross-legged on the futon.

He took out the wooden bottle containing the empty Azure Jade Liquid from his storage bag.

Holding the wooden bottle in my palm, I could almost feel the faint spiritual energy emanating from the drop of liquid inside through the thin wooden walls.

He didn't want to wait for such a rare and precious treasure; he couldn't wait to keep it in his storage bag and look at it for even one more day.

He flicked the cork off with his thumb.

Almost at the same instant, a surge of spiritual energy, so dense it was almost tangible, gushed out from the bottle's opening.

The spiritual energy is incredibly rich in layers, containing the sweetness of flowers and grasses, the refreshing coolness of mountain springs, and the mellow richness of thousand-year-old spiritual wood. Deep within these layers, there is also an indescribable coolness, a refreshing sensation that penetrates to the very marrow.

Without hesitation, Lu Yang brought the wooden bottle to his lips and tilted his head back to pour it out.

The sensation of the Azure Jade Liquid sliding from the bottle's mouth onto the tip of the tongue was unexpectedly cool, like a snowflake melting on the tongue's surface.

As it slid down his throat, it left a clear and cool path, and he could clearly feel it sliding down from his throat to his esophagus and then to his abdomen.

Then, the rich spiritual energy suddenly spread out, flowing along the meridians to the limbs and bones.

At the same time, that special cool aura, like a wisp of smoke without temperature, passed through the meridians and surged into the sea of ​​consciousness deep between the eyebrows.

Lu Yang closed his eyes and quietly circulated his internal energy.

The original chaotic consciousness, bound within the physical body, was like a handful of water trapped in a jar.

That cool feeling was the spring rain poured onto the jar.

Under this nourishment, the divine consciousness expands, swells, and extends outward at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Like a seed sprouting silently, its roots extending outward inch by inch.

Time flows on.

After an unknown amount of time, the expansion of divine consciousness touched upon an invisible boundary.

Then--

boom!!

A clap of thunder boomed in the sea of ​​consciousness.

It was a roar that erupted from the depths of the soul, vast and pure.

Immediately afterwards, a dazzling golden light shone in his sea of ​​consciousness, surging like a tide and illuminating the entire space of consciousness as bright as day.

Lu Yang clearly felt that one of the shackles on him had shattered.

The divine consciousness broke free from the constraints of the physical body and spread outwards.

This feeling was both unfamiliar and awe-inspiring.

After he began cultivating, he could only sense his own body and the flow of spiritual energy within it; he could only see the outside world through his eyes, hear it through his ears, and touch it through his skin.

But it's different now.

He could "see" everything around him even with his eyes closed.

Within a radius of several feet, every speck of dust suspended in the air, every fiber pattern on the window paper, and every insect flying past the window were vividly revealed in his perception.

It was even more detailed and three-dimensional than what he could see with his eyes, as if everything was directly reflected in his consciousness, without distance or separation.

This is divine consciousness!

An ability that only Foundation Establishment stage cultivators are entitled to possess!

And he, a cultivator at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, mastered it ahead of time!

Lu Yang slowly opened his eyes, which seemed even darker and deeper than before.

A slow smile crept onto his lips.

As his cultivation level continues to improve, the range of his divine sense will continue to expand!

Compared to other cultivators of the same level, his range and strength of divine sense are simply not on the same starting line!

Lu Yang exhaled a breath of stale air, gently suppressing his excitement, and slowly stood up.

Outside the window, the sky was already turning white.

A ray of early morning sunlight peeked out from the eastern mountaintop, passing through the window paper carved with cloud patterns and casting several pale golden beams of light on the floor of the cultivation room.

Countless tiny dust particles tumbled and floated slowly within the beam of light, as if performing a silent ritual before the start of a new day.

Lu Yang took out his sect token, lightly tapped it with his fingertip, and infused it with a small amount of spiritual energy, sending a message to Qin Nanyue's telepathic mark:

"Senior Sister Qin, do you have a moment? I need your help with something."

The token swelled slightly, and a few breaths later, Qin Nanyue responded crisply: "If you have time, just say what it is."

Lu Yang smiled slightly and continued to transmit his voice: "I want to exchange some spirit stones for some contribution points, and then borrow your authority to help me purchase some cultivation techniques, spells, and top-grade magic artifacts."

He came up with the idea on his way home last night.

He had millions of spirit stones in his hands, but in the sect's contribution point system, the higher the grade of the good items, the more identity and authority were required to exchange them.

As a newly initiated outer disciple, he didn't have the authority to exchange for this item.

But Qin Nanyue is different; she's in the top ten of the outer sect, and her authority is much higher than his.

With her help, he could completely bypass the access restrictions on top-grade Xuan-level cultivation techniques and spells, as well as top-grade first-level pills and magic treasures.

Qin Nanyue: "You want me to help you exchange them? Cultivation techniques and spells won't work; you need to swear an oath to the Heavenly Dao when exchanging them, and they can only be used by yourself and cannot be given away. However, pills, talismans, and magic treasures can be given away."

Lu Yang frowned slightly as he read the telepathic message.

I originally planned to get both cultivation techniques and spells sorted out at the same time, but it seems that this approach won't work out for now.

However, it's not a bad deal if you can exchange pills, talismans, and magic weapons.

He continued to transmit his voice, "Alright, then help me exchange for pills, talismans, and magic weapons."

Qin Nanyue's voice carried a hint of hesitation this time: "Are you sure? There's a three-fold difference in the price of spirit stones for contribution points, it's too expensive."

Lu Yang's smile deepened, and he said in a relaxed tone, "It's alright, I have plenty of spirit stones."

…………

In the outer gate area, inside a cultivation room of a residence near the peak.

Qin Nanyue sat cross-legged on a futon, her long black hair casually tied back with a wooden hairpin, a few strands of hair sticking to her fair neck.

After hearing Lu Yang's telepathic message, the corner of her mouth twitched violently.

I have a feeling this guy is showing off to her!

But ironically, she really couldn't refute this boast.

At yesterday's auction, they spent 125,000 low-grade spirit stones without batting an eye.

Just think about it and you'll know how rich this guy is.

She took a deep breath and tapped the token heavily with her fingertip: "Okay. Let's meet at the outer gate square and go to the Affairs Hall to exchange for contribution points together."

After sending the telepathic message, she stood up abruptly, grabbed the outer robe hanging on the wall, put it on, and walked out of the cultivation room.