Chapter 54: A New Business Venture Discovered! Spirit Stones for Favors Hard to Repay (1/2)

Above the heavens, lightning blazed. The seventh heavenly tribulation bolt twisted like a silver dragon, tearing through the void with devastating force and crashing down.

“Boom!” A thunderous roar exploded.

The ground trembled violently as dust surged into the sky. The entire mountain seemed to quake.

Ye Qingning stood proudly in front of the male cultivator, facing the heavenly lightning head-on, letting that mountain-splitting, stone-cracking power strike her body.

The lightning was blinding. Under its baptism, Ye Qingning’s figure almost turned translucent, her bones visible through her skin.

Thin red welts appeared across her body from the power of the lightning, but Ye Qingning clearly felt the overwhelming force washing over her, flushing out impurities from her meridians.

Typically, a cultivator must cleanse their meridians before reaching Foundation Establishment. She had skipped the Qi Refining stage and jumped straight to Foundation Establishment without ever cleansing them. But now, by tempering her body with heavenly lightning, she was achieving the same result.

At last, she was experiencing this before reaching the Golden Core stage.

As thunderbolts kept falling, Ye Qingning felt as though she could hear the roaring of her blood rushing through her veins. With each strike, impurities were expelled completely.

Her once-fragile heart meridian—repaired by the Breath-Nurturing Divine Stone—was becoming increasingly resilient under the lightning’s tempering. Her internal meridians had even doubled in width.

Sensing the transformation in her body, Ye Qingning felt a wave of excitement. She actively absorbed the thunder, using her lightning spiritual root to convert the vast energy into her own spiritual power.

Brilliant streaks of lightning slashed across the sky, accompanied by deafening roars, yet to Wan Jin, it all felt utterly silent.

In his pupils, the blue-robed girl stood firm against the wind, her robes fluttering and her black hair flying like ribbons. She resembled a goddess descending to the mortal world, exuding a majestic aura that seemed to dominate all creation.

Even the heavenly tribulation could not harm her, as if with a single command, she could make heaven and earth tremble.

Wan Zhao wiped her moist eyes. Wan Jin was her only younger brother—her full-blooded brother—and the last family she had in this world.

How wonderful. Her dear Jin was finally saved.

In the sect’s forbidden rear mountain, the most secret and central location, resided not only reclusive elders and legendary ancestors, but also the sect’s guardian beasts.

Xuan Yangzi, a Supreme Elder of immense seniority, lived atop a towering peak within the rear mountain. From this vantage, even without extending his divine sense, he could see the distant Enlightenment Peak, capturing the entire Dao field at a glance.

“Promising! Exceptionally promising! My little disciple who hasn’t even officially entered the sect is already taking heavenly tribulation on someone else’s behalf!”

“Good, good! She’s bound to be famous in the sect now. You three—go take good care of your little junior sister, and don’t let anyone else steal her away!”

Lu Linyuan responded respectfully. It was his first time witnessing someone struck by heavenly lightning yet looking so excited.

Every cultivator faces tribulation. For the old man to have accepted a disciple with a lightning spiritual root—well, that was a blessing for all three of them.

Wen Shushu, as elegant as his name suggested, wore a pale blue long robe and carried a green jade flute at his waist. Though a cultivator, he looked every bit the graceful scholar. He was also Xuan Yangzi’s first disciple.

But behind that refined appearance hid a living gossip machine.

No rumor in the sect escaped his ears. If you wanted to know anyone’s secrets, you only had to ask him.

Hearing his master’s comment, Wen Shushu kindly reminded, “Master, taking her as your disciple won’t be easy.”

“I heard that on the day she joined the inner sect, Pei Yin personally sent Shen Xuanli to welcome her. I won’t say more—just think about what that means.”

“And also Elder Tianji—did you not notice something strange about him these past couple of days? I heard he recently spent a fortune on thousand-year spiritual wood and is building a new courtyard on his peak. It looks like he’s preparing a residence for a disciple… but Elder Tianji doesn’t have any disciples.”

Xuan Yangzi was stunned.

That brat Pei Yin actually wants to steal his sweet disciple?

And that old fossil Tianji too?!

This was outrageous!

Jiang Shaoling narrowed his eyes. The old man had summoned the three of them to the rear mountain to cook, and now he was rambling about that frail and delicate girl again.

Let Pei Yin take her in—perfect. The old man should find a different disciple already.

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Chapter 54: A New Business Venture Discovered! Spirit Stones for Favors Hard to Repay (2/2)

Let that delicate sickly girl become Shen Xuanli’s little junior sister. Sounds about right.

Becoming Elder Tianji’s disciple wouldn’t be bad either—that old man was notoriously strict. She’d definitely have her share of hardship.

On the main peak, Pei Yin and Shen Xuanli were also observing the tribulation. From start to finish, they had seen everything.

As the lightning dissipated, they both sensed that Ye Qingning was on the verge of a breakthrough.

Ye Qingning’s eyes sparkled with joy—she could clearly feel her Foundation Establishment cultivation loosening, a sign that she was not far from breaking through to the Golden Core stage.

All of this was thanks to the heavenly tribulation.

Looking at Wan Jin again, after the lightning, his aura surged as he advanced from the Nascent Soul stage to the Out-of-Body stage.

Moments ago he’d looked a mess, but now, reborn through tribulation, his entire demeanor had changed. His pale eyes were clearer and brighter than ever.

“Ah Jin, you broke through! And safely reached the Out-of-Body stage. Sister is so proud of you.” Wan Zhao was emotional. Her calling herself “Sister” confirmed the system’s earlier assumption.

Only then did Ye Qingning learn that the male cultivator’s name was Wan Jin—and he was Wan Zhao’s younger brother.

Wan Jin nodded slightly and smiled gently, but his words were directed at Ye Qingning.

“This breakthrough was all thanks to your help. If not for you shielding me from the heavenly lightning, I might’ve died in the tribulation.”

“Pfft! Don’t talk about dying! Her name is Ye Qingning. She’s a newly inducted inner sect disciple and currently the only cultivator with a lightning spiritual root. You should definitely thank her properly.”

“Sister is right. I, Wan Jin, will remember this kindness and repay it one day.”

Ye Qingning met his gaze, silently praying he wouldn’t say something like, ‘I cannot repay you except with my life.’

That would’ve killed her on the spot.

While shielding him from the tribulation, she’d actually discovered a new business opportunity. She planned to earn spirit stones by helping others withstand heavenly tribulations in the future.

If everyone started pledging themselves to her in gratitude, the whole cultivation world might end up becoming her harem!

“No need to repay me—really. I also benefited from the lightning. Just treat it as me lending a hand.”

“But if you truly feel guilty and absolutely must repay me… then just give me some spirit stones.” Ye Qingning smiled gently. She didn’t like owing people, and she assumed others didn’t either.

So why not settle it with spirit stones? That way, Wan Jin wouldn’t feel indebted, and she could pay off some of her own debts too. After all, she intended to charge for lightning shielding services moving forward.

If he insisted on repaying the favor, she could treat this as her first official transaction for her new business.

Besides, to the powerful, what are spirit stones? Favors are harder to repay. This way, both parties could be at ease.

Wan Jin and Wan Zhao were stunned.

Any other disciple would’ve stored the favor away, planning to call on it later. But she just wanted spirit stones.

In that moment, the siblings saw Ye Qingning in a whole new light. They didn’t think she was truly greedy for stones, but rather that she didn’t want them to feel beholden. Their favorability toward her soared.

“Alright. I’ll have someone deliver them later. And I’ll remember that I asked you to come today—your help is deeply appreciated.” Wan Zhao affectionately took Ye Qingning’s hand. She’d never liked a fellow female disciple this much before.

Ye Qingning smiled in return. Before leaving, she remembered something important.

“Manager Wan, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”

Wan Zhao was surprised. “Go ahead. If I know the answer, I’ll tell you.”

Ye Qingning said, “I wanted to ask about the list of disciples entering the Cloud Mountain Secret Realm. Is Senior Sister Weiwei’s name on it?”

“I only ask because she’s been so worried lately. I thought I’d ask you on her behalf.”

Wan Zhao paused. She remembered that Weiwei shared a courtyard with Ye Qingning, but didn’t recall seeing her name on the list.

“Alright. Let me check when I return to the Internal Affairs Hall. I’ll send you a message afterward.”