Li Yuan woke with a violent gasp.
For a brief, terrifying moment, he felt the ice spear punch through his chest al over again. Feel it puncture his heart before the cold Yin Qi flooded the rest of his organs, shutting them all down one by one as his life slipped away.
His hand unconsciously shot to his chest and he let out a sigh of relief as he found it completely fine with large wound or blood. His breathing finally calming down.
"…just a nightmare," he reminded himself. But try as he might, his thoughts went back to the fight all over again. Of watching Zi Mo in that heavily injured stage. Of his own death.
His fists clenched as he forced himself to inhale slowly and sit up. His gaze then shifted to the rest of the room, taking it in properly for perhaps the first time. As last night, he and Zi Mo had been too busy exploring each other's bodies to properly appreciate the residence Peak Mistress Wu Yuechan had gifted them.
He could hardly even remember entering this house, let alone entering this room.
Now, in the quiet light of morning, Li Yuan finally had the chance to look around properly. And his eyes narrowed slightly as he noticed that the entire room was made of ice.
The wall, the floor, the pillars… the chair, the table, and even the bed he was sleeping upon was made of ice. Though thankfully, the mattress and blanket weren't.
He swung his legs off the bed and stood, his bare feet touched the icy floor and felt no cold at all, making him blink in confusion.
For a moment he assumed it was simply because of his pseudo-Yin physique, which had already adapted his body to colder environments. But curiosity tugged at him, and he stepped closer to one of the icy walls before placing his palm flat against the smooth surface.
Still no cold. The ice felt perfectly neutral beneath his hand. Neither cold, nor hot. And after some more testing, he deduced that this was not real ice, but either some kind of Low-grade treasure that mimicked the appearance of Ice, or artificially made with Yin-Qi to have such a property.
Using Spirit Residue Technique Confirmed that dense and stable Qi energy flowed through the entire house. In fact, the Qi was so stable that he could tell this entire structure was going to last for centuries if not millenia. Maybe even longer.
Li Yuan scratched lightly at his jaw as he studied the flowing Qi a little longer before dismissing the entire thing. As long as the ice didn't melt and fell upon him while he was sleeping, he didn't particularly care.
He turned back toward the bed where the other side was empty and sighed in disappointment. He'd wanted to cuddle with Zi Mo this early in the morning. But he had no idea where she was.
Li Yuan's eyes flicked briefly toward the door. "Zi Mo?" He called out. But received no reply. He waited for a moment before calling again, a little louder this time. "…Zi Mo?" Once again, there was no reply.
A faint sigh slipped from his lips. Seems like there would no cuddling for him today.
A small wave of disappointment stirred somewhere in his chest. After waking from that nightmare, the simple comfort of pulling her close, feeling her warmth against his skin and burying his face in her hair would have been nice.
Instead, the room felt too quiet. And he felt lonely.
He rubbed the back of his neck and pushed the thought aside. 'She probably had something important to do.' He thought. 'Maybe fill up paperwork for the ownership of this mountain. Or something.'
Li Yuan dressed quickly before stepping out of the bedroom to explore the rest of the residence.
The house was… simple. Two bedrooms, a meditation chamber, a storage room, a living room to welcome guests, and an empty room. That was about it.
There were no elaborate decorations or ornate carvings. The structure was clearly designed with practicality in mind rather than comfort. A place suitable for an aesthetic cultivator.
He intended to change that in the future. After all, while cultivation was indeed important, there was far more to life than just that. He could already imagine a garden outside the house. A soft, comfortable rug placed on the floor. And maybe a few paintings of him and Zi Mo together to liven up the house a bit.
As he finished touring the house, something slowly dawned on him. 'Wait… where's the fucking kitchen?' He checked a second time. And found that there was indeed no kitchen in the house.
Li Yuan was left confused for a moment, before he realised something. This residence was clearly been designed for a Golden Core cultivator. At that stage, cultivators no longer needed to eat or drink to survive.
Unfortunately, he was still very much stuck in the Qi Condensation Realm. Which meant he still needed food.
'Good thing I keep supplies in my spatial rings.'
A few minutes later, Li Yuan sat at a small ice table with a simple breakfast laid out before him—dried spirit meat, a few pieces of flatbread, and a bottle of lightly infused spirit water.
He ate slowly while gazing out through the window at the frozen mountains surrounding the residence. He could even see a spirit lake in the distance, and the sun rising in the distant horizon. The view was rather magical.
As he finished his meal, he frowned as he saw that Zi Mo still hadn't returned.
'We need to create a rule in the house. Morning time is cuddling time.' He thought with a fond smile. He considered calling her communication jade token to ask about her whereabouts but then decided against it as he didn't want to come off as needy or controlling.
Instead, he stepped outside and summoned his flying sword. The blade being one of the treasures he'd found in the Qin family treasury. The blade appeared beneath his feet and lifting smoothly into the air. He climbed atop it, and the sword surged forward.
Crystal Yin Mountain unfolded beneath him, and from the air, its scale became immediately obvious. It was enormous. And that's despite the fact that the mountain wasn't even a separate mountain but was part of the vast mountain that was known as the Snow Peak.
This made him happy as land had been an incredibly valuable commodity in his previous world. And getting his hands on an entire mountain made him truly happy.
Before long, Li Yuan spotted a spirit lake and descended to study it. Even before landing, he could already sense the density of spiritual energy surrounding it. Li Yuan stepped onto the shoreline and crouched slightly. And then his face twitched.
"Top-grade 1st-Tier Spirit Lake." He said, shaking his head in disbelief.
Back in his home prefecture, there had only been one lake of this quality. And it belonged to the Bai family, the most powerful family in the entire Prefecture.
Yet here… his gaze swept across the mountain slope and he saw two more lakes of similar quality not far away. Li Yuan shook his head before pulling out a notebook from his spatial ring. Then, he began writing.
Location of the Spirit lake, it's estimated size, qi density, and expected spirit stone output. Only after finishing did his gaze drift around the lake's edge and took note of the spirit herbs that seemed to be everywhere.
Most were low-grade herbs useful only for Qi Condensation cultivators. But scattered among them were rarer plants, herbs suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators. A few even possessed faint spiritual auras strong enough to assist early Golden Core cultivators.
His brows slowly rose. If outer sect disciples discovered herbs like these, they would start killing each other over them. Yet here they were. Growing freely, untouched. As if whoever had been in charge of this place couldn't even be bothered to pluck them.
That thought was highlighted by the fact that laying on the shoreline, alongside the herbs, were large clusters of spirit stones. Tens of thousands of spirit stones. Just… sitting there.
Li Yuan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "…Strange." He muttered.
Perhaps whoever previously oversaw this mountain only visited once every few years to harvest resources. That would explain the spirit stones. But then his eyes settled on one of the older herbs again and he noticed that some of them were several decades old, having matured a long time ago.
'…this doesn't make sense.' He thought… 'Unless the person in charge of this place didn't recognise the value of those herbs.'
Li Yuan snorted quietly at that thought. As if.
Still, their incompetence was his gain. And so, Li Yuan carefully documented everything. Spirit lakes. Spirit stone quantities. And the various herbs growing around. After finishing his documentation, he climbed atop his flying sword once more and continued surveying the mountain.
The rest of the day passed quickly as he flew across valleys, cliffs, and frozen ridges, mapping every resource he could find.
By the time the sun reached the top of the sky, his findings had become staggering.
1 Mid-grade 2nd-Tier Spirit Lake.3 Low-grade 2nd-Tier Spirit Lakes.9 Top-grade 1st-Tier Spirit Lakes.28 Mid-grade 1st-Tier Spirit Lakes.93 Low-grade 1st-Tier Spirit Lakes.
Nearly eight million spirit stones currently lay untouched within those lakes alone. And that calculation didn't even include the spirit herbs, or the Gu worms, or the countless natural treasures that formed in those regions rich with Yin Qi.
Li Yuan could only shake his head in exasperation at all the waste as his sword carried him back toward the residence. His mind already churning with ideas about creating a Grand formation around the mountain and then mini formations for different quality spirit herbs, for raising Gu worms, maybe even a few Yin-aligned Spirit Beasts.
With the right formation array, he could transform the entire mountain into a paradise for Yin-aligned resources, making it far more valuable than it already was. Then, he paused mid air as he noticed something that he hadn't before.
His Halo… it was shining far brighter than before. But he couldn't remember doing anything to achieve that, except…
'Does my own fortunate encounters also increase my fortune?' He thought, remembering the various valuable Spirit herbs and other treasures he'd found today. Not to mention the Ice Armour that the Peak Mistress gave him yesterday. The thought felt absurd. Because why the heck would his own lucky encounters not increase his fortune?
A huge smile came upon his face as he flew back the rest of the way to his residence. Li Yuan landed quietly outside and stepped inside the house. And the moment he entered, his thoughtful expression softened slightly. Because Zi Mo was back home.
"Welcome home dear." She said with a soft smile. He went forward and placed a kiss on her lips.
"I'm back." He walked over and sat down in the chair opposite her. Then, with a small tug on her wrist, he pulled her toward him. Zi Mo let out a quiet sound of surprise as she was guided onto his lap.
Li Yuan wrapped an arm loosely around her waist and looked up at her. "Where did you disappear to this morning?" he asked curiously.
"I went out to get a gift for you."
He raised an eyebrow. "A gift?"
"Yes. But when I came back, I sensed you flying around the Crystal Yin Mountain." She said. "Since you looked busy, I decided not to disturb you."
"I was surveying our territory." Li Yuan said. "I'll share my findings with you later, as well as my plans for the mountain. But first, tell me about this gift of yours."
Zi Mo reached calmly into her spatial ring. A moment later, a small jade box appeared in her hand. She held it out toward him. "Open it."
Li Yuan accepted the box and flipped the lid open. And his brows furrowed as he saw a single pill inside. Not because he didn't recognise the pill but because he did. Having bought one for his own mother last time, though this one was of a higher quality.
"A Foundation Establishment Pill." He said.
Zi Mo smiled faintly. "Yes, and one of top quality," she said. "It gives you roughly an eighty-five percent chance of breaking through successfully. More importantly, it leaves very few impurities in the body compared to low quality pills."
Her voice carried a hint of pride, and he could tell that she had gone through considerable effort to obtain it. But as she studied his face, her smile slowly faded.
"…You're not happy with it?" She asked slowly.
Li Yuan closed the jade box slowly and exhaled. "That's not it," he said. "The gift is incredibly thoughtful. It's just… not very useful to me right now."
Zi Mo frowned slightly. "What do you mean? You're already at the peak of Qi Condensation," she said. "You could break through to Foundation Establishment at any moment."
"That's true." He nodded.
"Then why wouldn't it be useful?" She asked.
Li Yuan leaned back slightly in the chair, his arm still resting around her waist. "Because I'm not planning to break through yet."
Zi Mo stared at him. "…What? Why not?"
"Because I intend to cultivate my body and my soul as well," he said calmly.
For a moment, she simply looked at him as if she hadn't heard correctly. "What?"
"My plan," Li Yuan said, "is to form three dantians when I break through to Foundation Establishment."
Her eyes narrowed into thin slits at his words but he continued.
"One in my lower abdomen," he said, tapping lightly just below his navel. "That will remain my Qi cultivation dantian." Then he tapped his chest. "One inside my heart. That will be my body cultivation dantian." Finally, he tapped his temple. "And one in my brain. That will serve as my soul cultivation dantian."
Silence fell in the room as Zi Mo continued to stare at him with narrowed eyes. Finally, she spoke up. "…Have you gone mad?"
Li Yuan blinked. Then his eyes narrowed slightly. "…Watch your words."
Zi Mo's lips pressed together tightly as she glared back at him, clearly annoyed. For a long moment neither of them spoke, then finally, she exhaled slowly.
"…Fine. That was rude of me," she admitted. "I apologise."
Li Yuan said nothing, but the tension in his shoulders eased slightly. And Zi Mo folded her arms.
"But… explain something to me," she said. "Do you have any idea how difficult body cultivation is?"
Li Yuan shrugged slightly. "No. But from what I've heard, it's slightly harder than Qi cultivation."
"That's putting it mildly." She said "Are you aware that the entire Body Peak of the sect doesn't have a single late-stage Golden Core cultivator, let alone a Peak stage one."
Li Yuan's brows rose slightly. He had not known that.
"Listen to me carefully, Yuan. Cultivation becomes harder with every realm you advance. So hard that before I met you, even with my special physique, reaching Nascent Soul in my lifetime had seemed like nothing more than a distant dream." Her gaze met his. "That should tell you how difficult cultivation at higher realms truly is."
Li Yuan remained silent, waiting for her to continue.
"And body cultivation makes it even worse," she continued. "The resources required are enormous. The pain alone causes most cultivators to abandon the path. To cultivate both Body and Qi at the same time… even those in the Body Peak only have a few rare exceptions who do that. And none of them ever go far in their cultivation."
Her voice lowered. "Now add soul cultivation on top of that." She shook her head slowly. "Soul cultivation is the rarest and most difficult path of all. Very few cultivators even attempt it. The techniques are scarce, the dangers are enormous as a single mistake can permanently damage your soul."
She leaned forward slightly, her eyes locked onto his. "If you attempt to cultivate Qi, body, and soul simultaneously… I'm not sure you'll even reach Golden Core Realm in your lifetime let alone the Nascent Soul that you're currently destined for.
The two of them remained quiet for a long moment afterward. And seeing that he still wasn't convinced, Zi Mo continued.
"Yes, if you succeed, you would become far stronger than your peers." She said. "But you're already stronger than your peers. So what's the point?"
Li Yuan said nothing and Zi Mo placed the jade box back into his hands.
"Just break through normally, Yuan." she said. "Use the pill, and build a stable foundation. Do it for me, please." Her voice softened slightly. "Don't ruin your future chasing something impossible."
Li Yuan stared down at the jade box for a long moment. Then finally, he released a sigh. He closed the lid and gently pushed it back toward her.
"No." He said, "I've already decided. This is the path I'm going to walk."
Zi Mo's eyes hardened immediately. Her fingers slowly tightened around the jade box hard enough that it start to creak.
"You're being reckless, Yuan. Please reconsider."
"No. As I said, I've made my decision. And I'm going to stick to it."
Zi Mo stood abruptly. "If you do this, you'll be destroying your own future!"
Li Yuan rose as well, his expression equally stubborn. "I will not. Have more faith in me! I'm not an idiot. If I did not believe I could do this, then I would not have chosen this path."
"This is madness!" Zi Mo replied, and the two of them argued for a good while after that. Their first major argument since they got together.
Finally, Zi Mo clenched the jade box tightly and turned away, her shoulders heaving in anger. "Fine." She said, her voice carried a sharp edge now. "If you're determined to throw your life away, then I won't stop you. Go to hell for all I care!"
With that she stormed out of the door and slammed it shut behind her.
The house fell silent once again in her departure. And Li Yuan stood there alone in the empty living room, staring at the closed door. After a long moment, he sighed and looked up at his halo that burned just as brightly as before.
During the argument, he'd wondered if he should tell her about his cheat abilities. If he did, then maybe she would've believed in him, and not felt that he was acting recklessly. But this was not a decision he could make hastily, so he decided against it. And now, Zi Mo was gone. Probably worried and angry at him.
He sighed and looked around the house that felt far more emptier in Zi Mo's absence. 'Might as well go out to get some fresh air.'
—————
Li Yuan drifted through the market district of the Snow Peak City. The place was as lively and crowded as always, and he had placed all his belongings within his spatial rings, lest he gets pickpocketed.
Li Yuan wandered slowly through the crowd, observing the fortunes and misfortunes drifting above people's heads in case he notices anything interesting.
Before long, he arrived in front of a small stall selling musical instruments. Having seen this exact place in a halo before. Flutes, zithers, and simple wooden drums were laid out across a cloth-covered table. The man running the stall looked half-asleep, leaning back in his chair while idly chewing on a reed.
Li Yuan stepped closer, and his gaze drifted across the instruments until it settled on a beautiful flute lying near the edge of the table. He picked it up and examined it casually, confirming that it was indeed the flute he'd seen in the vision.
After learning of its price, he tossed three silver coins without any bargaining and walked away. He did not stop walking until he had put a good distance between himself and the stall. Only then did he finally examine the instrument properly.
A small twist of Qi slid through the bamboo, and the hidden mechanism inside the flute clicked softly. The bamboo split neatly along a concealed seam. And a thin strip of parchment slid out.
Li Yuan glanced at it briefly. It was a treasure map. Of the worst kind. Following the marked locations along the way, the person who bought the flute would've arrived at a place with a Demonic Inheritance and died to body possession.
Li Yuan stared at it for a moment before snorting softly. Then, he summoned a small flame with a flick of Qi and the parchment curled instantly as the fire consumed it. The bamboo flute followed soon after, burning down to ash in seconds, which was then scattered across the stone path with the wind.
Li Yuan dusted his hands lightly and continued walking.
Over the next hour he wandered through the city, occasionally pausing whenever he noticed halos worth investigating.
A merchant nearly lost a pouch of gold coins—Li Yuan quietly picked it up and returned it, collecting the small ripple of fortune from the act. A young boy tripped near a stairway that would have broken his arm, and Li Yuan caught him before he fell. A gambler about to lose his entire savings received a quiet word of warning and left.
Little things. Small nudges that allowed him to collect the scattered threads of fortune drifting through the city. But as time passed, his initial enthusiasm slowly faded.
Most of the fortunes were worthless to him. With the resources now available to him on Crystal Yin Mountain, low-value opportunities no longer meant much.
Earlier in his life he would have eagerly chased a chance to obtain a low-grade spirit herb worth twenty spirit stones. Now? That same herb barely felt worth the effort.
Many of the yellow halos led to trivial gains. And the green halos were rare enough that he had only seen a single one the entire day. Even that one had required traveling across three entire prefectures to take advantage of the opportunity. So Li Yuan had dismissed it without hesitation.
Purple halos were even rarer. And he doubted he would see one even if he searched the city for an entire week.
Eventually his wandering steps brought him to a familiar place. The orphanage. The old wooden building stood quietly at the end of the street. Children's laughter drifted faintly into the evening air.
Li Yuan slowed as he approached and noticed the old matron sitting outside the doorway, knitting a thick wool sweater. Her wrinkled hands moved steadily through the yarn while a handful of children chased each other across the courtyard.
She noticed him almost immediately. And the moment she recognised him, she hurriedly stood and bowed deeply. "Young lord!"
Li Yuan waved his hand dismissively. "Be at ease," he said as he stepped closer and sat down beside her on the worn wooden bench and watched the children playing in the courtyard.
They looked… healthier. Their clothes were cleaner than before, and the broken window panes he remembered from his previous visit had been repaired. Even the courtyard fence had been patched up.
The matron had clearly used the money he left behind wisely and that alone lifted his mood greatly.
"How have things been?" he asked and the old woman smiled warmly.
"They're doing much better," she replied. "Three of them were even adopted last week."
Li Yuan nodded slowly. "I'm glad to hear that."
Not having anything else to say, he sat quietly for a while, watching the children play. Eventually, one of them noticed him and wandered over.
A young girl with messy hair and dirt-smudged cheeks stopped a few steps away from him, staring up curiously. "Who are you?" she asked bluntly.
The matron immediately looked horrified. "This is an immortal lord Yu're!" she scolded. "You must show respect!"
Li Yuan almost waved the formality away. But the thought paused halfway through his mind. Other cultivators would not be nearly as forgiving. And if the girl grew up thinking immortals were casual acquaintances rather than distant authorities, that misunderstanding might one day cost her dearly.
So he said nothing. And simply nodded as the girl hurriedly attempted a clumsy bow.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"I'm Xiao Yu!" The girl replied with a confident smile. "Are you really an immortal?"
Well, not really. A Qi Condensation cultivator didn't have that much of a longer lifespan than a mortal. But he doubted she would understand the difference so he simply nodded.
"Do you have a sword?" She asked curiously and he nodded, a smile forming on his own lips as he indulged the girl.
They spoke for a few minutes after that. With the girl chattering freely, questioning this and that and answering his occasional questions with childish enthusiasm.
Eventually the conversation drifted toward cultivation.
"Do you want to become a immortal too?" he asked.
The girl nodded eagerly. "Yes!"
"Why?" He asked curiously.
"Because immortals are rich." The girl replied cheerfully.
Li Yuan blinked. "Oh. So you want to become rich as well. And what would you do with that money?"
"I want to buy lots of dolls," she continued seriously. "The nice ones with silk dresses."
He stared at her for a moment before a quiet chuckle escaped him. "Well," he said, gently waving her back toward the courtyard, "you'd better start cultivating soon then, or the other immortals will buy all your dolls and leave nothing for you."
The girl looked horrified at that thought, and they chatted a bit more before the girl lost interest and ran back to the others happily.
Li Yuan watched the children play around for a while longer before turning back to the matron. "Does the sect ever send someone to awaken the meridians of the orphans?" he asked.
The matron looked completely baffled by the question. "…Why would the sect do that?" Her tone carried genuine confusion, as though the idea itself made no sense.
Li Yuan simply nodded slowly. Not really surprised by this.
"I see." He said nothing more, but the thought quietly settled in the back of his mind. Maybe he could change that in the future and give a chance to these orphans so that they climb higher in life.
They continued sitting there for a while longer. The laughter of children drifted across the courtyard as the sky slowly darkened into night.
The longer he sat there watching them play, the lighter he felt. And the tension from earlier in the day gradually faded. The argument with Zi Mo. The frustration. The lingering unease from the nightmare. All of it slowly loosened its grip over him as he felt at peace.
Eventually he saw that it was about to go dark and stood up.
"Do you need any more funds?" he asked the matron and she shook her head quickly.
"We're fine for now," she said gratefully. "But thank you for asking, Young Lord."
Li Yuan nodded. "If you ever need anything," he said, "send word to Li Yuan at the Snow Peak."
The matron bowed deeply again and he gave the courtyard one last glance. The children were still playing. And the girl, Xiao Yu, was laughing as she chased the others around the yard,.
The thought of her wanting to cultivate simply to buy dolls made him chuckle quietly to himself, then he turned and left.
By the time he returned to Crystal Yin Mountain, the night had fully settled over the peaks. And the ice residence glowed faintly beneath the moonlight as he stepped inside.
He paused briefly in the doorway as he sensed no one inside. Zi Mo still hadn't returned. Li Yuan sighed softly as the warmth from earlier in the evening faded from his chest.
"…I suppose I'll just have to wait till she returns." He thought as he stepped inside the house. And then… he suddenly froze, then looked up at his halo.
Above his head, the bright glow that had followed him all day suddenly collapsed inward, and in the next instant… his halo turned pitch black.