"You went through all that trouble just to buy a few beads?!" Pan Dadao was shocked when he learned of Chen Xia's intentions.
"These aren't ordinary beads. They're glowing Spirit Qi Pearls," Chen Xia lazily replied, half-lying down.
Pan Dadao swallowed and still did not understand. "But as far as I know, these Spirit Qi Pearls are materials for artifact forging. Other than being expensive, they don't have many advantages and are more like playthings for wealthy families. Do you really need to buy them?"
Pan Dadao tried to dissuade Chen Xia in a reasonable manner.
Chen Xia was a typical lazybones. "Spirit Qi Pearls can emit dazzling rainbow lights. That's their biggest advantage."
"Their importance to me is like flying swords are to sword cultivators, pills are to alchemists, water is to fish, and shit is to dogs."
"You understand what I'm saying, right?"
Pan Dadao was stunned for a moment before slowly nodding his head in a seemingly comprehensible yet uncomprehending manner. "They do seem very important."
Just the example of shit being important to dogs was self-explanatory.
Pan Dadao didn't try to discourage Chen Xia any further. Now his relationship with Chen Xia was becoming better and their interactions more casual.
If Pan Dadao were to describe it himself, he would say he had been upgraded from a leg-hugger to a thigh-hugger. Overall, it was still a significant improvement that left Pan Dadao very satisfied.
Now he even dared to look Chen Xia in the eye when speaking to him. This made him feel awesome and he would stand with his hands on his hips when facing other junior elders.
He really did have something to be awesome about.
After all, the other junior elders didn't even dare look Chen Xia in the eye when speaking to him.
In the past couple of days, more and more preparatory disciples had come to deliver spirit stones. Some brought over a hundred disciples, all from prestigious sects.
The least brought ten spirit stones, which was still decent.
So far, no preparatory disciple had only contributed a few spirit stones, probably because they were afraid of angering Chen Xia.
In just the past few days, the income from spirit stones was already close to ten thousand. The spirit stones were all piled up in the cave like a small mountain.
When Pan Dadao first entered, he was so frightened by the sight of the mountain of spirit stones that he was speechless for a long time.
He had never seen so many spirit stones in his life before. Yet after just taking a stroll out, Chen Xia had earned this much in a few short days!
Chen Xia waved his hand casually and said, "I promised you 10%, so pick a few hundred jin for yourself."
In fact, what Pan Dadao did was very simple. He just helped spread the word. But Chen Xia wasn't petty. Since he had promised 10%, he would deliver.
It was only 10% of the spirit stones anyway, truly nothing.
But Pan Dadao didn't think the same way. His hands trembled as he held his lapel. He never imagined making money could be so easy.
All he had to do was casually spread the word?
And counting the spirit stones by the jin was really no problem?
Pan Dadao's lips quivered. He found it somewhat unbelievable and sought confirmation by asking again, "Can I really take that much? You won't be unhappy, right? I'm fine with taking less."
Chen Xia lazily replied, "It's only 10%. Take it if you want. What's the big deal? If you find it troublesome now and don't want to take it, you can come get your 10% share after all the spirit stones have been collected."
"No...no trouble at all!" Pan Dadao quickly waved his hand, grinning from ear to ear.
So this was the benefit of being a bootlicker?
10% of 10,000 spirit stones was 1,000. Though not a huge amount for great cultivators, for a junior elder at the Mountain Moving Realm like Pan Dadao, it was enough savings for hundreds of years.
Still, Pan Dadao didn't dare take too much. He took even less, only filling his storage treasure with 600 spirit stones before stopping with a smile.
"Thank you, thank you!"
Pan Dadao's mentality was quite broad, though his mind didn't work well sometimes.
Chen Xia didn't say much more. It was Pan Dadao's own choice to take less anyway.
He sauntered up and prepared to order the Spirit Qi Pearls since delivery would take several months.
Pan Dadao also happily returned to his own cave residence, planning to hide away the obtained spirit stones as money for his retirement.
The remaining preparatory disciples also gradually turned in spirit stones to Chen Xia.
There was no movement among the formal disciples. The Law Enforcement Elder seemed to have let the matter go with no oversight. No gossip seemed to be circulating either.
Chen Xia seemed to have become the local bully of the preparatory disciples' area, swallowing up the entire business without anyone daring to say no.
Until the third month.
Thirty formal disciples came swaggering over to Chen Xia's cave residence entrance without much preamble and issued a challenge.
Chen Xia lazily walked out from his cave and glanced over the thirty formal disciples, asking in puzzlement, "Free-for-all or one-on-one?"
Twenty-eight of the formal disciples moved back, leaving the two core disciples, Emperor Capital and Qiu Li.
Emperor Capital grandly flicked his golden-yellow sleeve and shouted, "Let's duel!"
Qiu Li said little and just gave a flat "Mm" in agreement.
Qiu Li was supposed to come alone, but he had forcibly dragged Emperor Capital along, unwilling to take the beating alone.
Their friendship ran deep enough that they never forgot to pull each other into a beating.
In fact, both harbored the desire to challenge Chen Xia since they were core disciples of the same batch. If you claimed there was no dissatisfaction, that would definitely be a lie.
Now after cultivating for another 500 years and reaching the Turning the Tide realm, they wanted to test their skills even more.
In short, their skin itched for a beating.
Otherwise, if they themselves weren't willing, the Law Enforcement Elder really couldn't make them come.
Chen Xia looked at them in puzzlement, seeming slightly bewildered. "You really want to duel?"
Emperor Capital heavily nodded. "Five hundred years have passed. Now that I have reached Turning the Tide, I want to test myself against you even more!"
"I still suggest you two come at me together," Chen Xia flatly said, his expression unmoving as he continued, "Because I have also reached Turning the Tide."
Emperor Capital and Qiu Li's eyes instantly froze over and their breathing grew heavy. For a moment, they even considered just leaving, but seeing the audience, they quickly steeled themselves and feigned calmness.
"Since we're both at Turning the Tide, naturally we should determine a winner."
"Alright, let's make it quick. I don't really want to waste time with you two," Chen Xia still spoke flatly.
"Good!" Emperor Capital loudly exclaimed. With one hand, he solemnly pulled up his golden sleeve robe. His expression was severe as he extended his hand outwards and sternly announced, "I will suppress this area, so Qiu Li, you attack first!"
Qiu Li was completely bewildered next to him. "You're making a big fuss just to blurt that out?"
Emperor Capital's expression remained unchanged as he continued speaking gravely, "You attack first, and I will suppress this area to guard against sneak attacks from others."
"I can also suppress the area," Qiu Li objected strongly.
Why did he have to go first to take the beating? That made no sense!
The two stared at each other without anything else to say except eye contact.
Chen Xia, leaning against the door frame, suddenly straightened up and took a step forward.
A tremendous aura instantly arrived, the pressure of Turning the Tide erupting in that moment. The ground shook and the clouds seemed to tilt.
"Come at me together."
He spoke this flatly.
Then in the next moment, he was in front of Emperor Capital.
By the time Emperor Capital reacted, he was already flying back over a kilometer away, crashing into the pits between hills.
Boom!
A deafening sound came from his side. He turned in puzzlement to look.
Qiu Li was also there.
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
