Twenty low-grade spirit stones. In the past, if Lin Ke''er had received such a sum, she would have been thrilled and unable to sleep for days. But today, as she looked at the twenty spirit stones, she felt a sense of indifference. Twenty low-grade spirit stones couldn''t buy a single spell, nor could they buy a storage bag. In comparison, it felt pitifully small.


    Meanwhile, Ye Chen seemed to have completely fallen under Lu Jing''s spell. She had returned for days, yet he hadn''t come to see her even once. It was clearly Ye Chen who had betrayed her. Was she really supposed to be the one to make the first move and find him?


    Lin Ke''er couldn''t bring herself to do such a thing. Upon returning to her courtyard, Lin Ke''er was greeted by the fragrant smell of stewed meat. It was coming from Lu Jing''s room.


    The scent only made Lin Ke''er grit her teeth in frustration. She knew full well that Lu Jing, as a talisman apprentice, had never learned anything truly useful. Her life had always been a struggle, never affording the luxury of eating beast meat more than a few times a month.


    Yet now, in the few days Lin Ke''er had been back, Lu Jing seemed to be enjoying beast meat almost every day. The significant change in Lu Jing''s financial situation could only be due to Ye Chen.


    At that moment, Lu Jing, hearing the noise in the courtyard, opened the door to peek out. Upon seeing Lin Ke''er, she smiled faintly and closed the door without a word. The two women''s relationship had never been particularly close since they were simply co-tenants.


    But now, with Ye Chen in the picture, even the usual politeness had disappeared. To Lin Ke''er, Lu Jing''s smile felt nothing short of a provocation.


    -I''ve stolen your sim. What can you do about it?


    As Lin Ke''er brooded over it, her anger grew with every passing thought. She couldn''t focus on her cultivation. Lying in bed, she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Until the middle of the night, when she suddenly sat upright. She could no longer bear it. That shameless woman, Lu Jing, how dare she steal Ye Chen and then provoke her?


    All the while, Lin Ke''er had been angry, ignoring Ye Chen. But that had played right into Lu Jing''s hands. This was no longer just a matter of resources. It was a matter of dignity.


    Compared to her, Lu Jing was vulgar and shallow. She had simply failed to see it before. Lu Jing wanted to steal him? Fine. She would take Ye Chen back, and leave Lu Jing with nothing but an empty basket. Lin Ke''er was filled with confidence.


    After all, even when she had been cold and distant, Ye Chen had been utterly captivated by her. Now that she was taking the initiative, there was no way he would refuse. That precious two meatballs that Lu Jing was so proud of? In front of her, it meant nothing. Once she took Ye Chen back, Lu Jing would never get a single thing from him again.


    With this in mind, Lin Ke''er decided that the next day, she would find Ye Chen. After making up her mind, Lin Ke''er finally felt at ease enough to sleep. She even dreamed that night for the first time in a long time. In her dream, she saw Ye Chen kneeling before her, apologizing for his betrayal. He offered countless gifts, enough to help her break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, in hopes of gaining her forgiveness.


    In the dream, Lin Ke''er smiled joyously.


    …


    Upon waking up in the morning, Ye Chen glanced down. As expected, just like every day, he felt his "thing” full of vitality and strength.


    Of course, Lu Jing played a part in this too, with her frequent acts of kindness. To be honest, with Ye Chen''s methods, he could easily win Lu Jing over.


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    However, the system had certain requirements for matching targets. Ye Chen wasn''t sure that once he got Lu Jing, she would continue to have tenfold returns. And right now, there weren''t many stable, high-return channels.


    At Silver Moon Market, there were so many female cultivators, but Ye Chen had only met three who could give him at least tenfold rewards.


    As for Sun Ruoxin, he hadn''t even interacted with her yet. Lin Ke''er might still head into the mountains. So, to be safe, it was better not to do anything just yet. He would wait for a more stable, higher-return channel before moving forward.


    Ye Chen was confident in his willpower. As for the girls out on the street, Ye Chen wasn''t interested. Inside the buildings, there were indeed many beautiful female cultivators. But he had heard they practiced all sorts of strange and harmful techniques. Spending too much time with them could damage one''s foundation.


    Ye Chen''s talent was already average, and even with high-grade pills, his cultivation was progressing slowly. He had no intention of ruining his foundation by indulging in such distractions. So, he decided against it.


    Instead, Ye Chen focused on finding any treasures that could improve his spiritual root. Even a small improvement could lead to a massive boost once he received higher feedback. He had already heard that such treasures existed in this world. But they were incredibly high-end. Far beyond what the lower ranks of the cultivation world could even imagine.


    Ye Chen wasn''t disappointed by this. He just feared that the cultivation world might not have these items at all. As long as there were any, with the help of the system''s feedback and resource accumulation, he was confident he could eventually obtain them. Once he did, if he paired that with a high-multiplier female cultivator… wouldn''t that be the perfect combination for a meteoric rise?


    In any case, Ye Chen was full of hope for his future.


    ...


    In the afternoon, Ye Chen went to Manager Zhang''s office to hand over the task. Five hundred low-grade Qi-Nourishing Pills, not a single one less. As before, they were bought from the same person who had sold Ye Chen the pills last time, at a price 30% cheaper than market value.


    However, Manager Zhang was growing more and more indifferent to Ye Chen. Even though Ye Chen had broken through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining, there was nothing remarkable about it. After all, as a family disciple, reaching the mid-stage of Qi Refining at his age was already considered slow.


    Moreover, Manager Zhang had heard that Ye Chen had found another object of his affections. It was said that Ye Chen even uttered words like, "To love someone is to give everything without hesitation," which only made Manager Zhang inwardly condemn Ye Chen.


    This guy was beyond saving. Even if Ye Chen was a genius, he was bound to suffer greatly from women one day. Not to mention, Ye Chen''s talent was already poor. Such a person wasn''t worth paying much attention to. All that was needed was to slowly milk him dry, then find an opportunity to expose his true nature.


    What really piqued Manager Zhang''s curiosity now was just how many spirit stones Ye Chen''s father had prepared for him. Ye Chen had been spending lavishly on women and buying pills with his own money to complete tasks. Such heavy expenses, yet he still seemed to still have considerable wealth left. It was absurd.


    Was Ye Chen''s father spoiling him too much? But it was precisely because of this overindulgence that Ye Chen had turned out to be such a failure. Manager Zhang was certain that Ye Chen wouldn''t last long.


    …


    If Ye Chen knew that Manager Zhang was waiting for him to collapse, he would surely laugh. The plans to squeeze him dry were only sending more benefits his way. Even if this world were to crumble, Ye Chen wouldn''t be in danger.


    In the afternoon, Ye Chen continued his pill refining routine. After finishing one batch, there was a knock on his door. The maid delivered a message, informing him that a female cultivator named Lin Ke''er had come to visit.


    Ye Chen nodded, acknowledging the message, but made no move to go out. Instead, he continued heating the furnace, preparing for the second batch of pills.


    Lin Ke''er had come after only three days. That surprised Ye Chen a little. But what of it? He would deal with her once he finished refining the pills. Outside the back door of One Leaf Pill Shop, Lin Ke''er stood, waiting to be let in.


    However, when Lin Ke''er heard the maid''s response, her expression changed.


    "Master Ye is refining pills right now…"


    Hearing that she would have to wait, Lin Ke''er felt a flicker of dissatisfaction. In the past, whenever she came to find Ye Chen, she had never had to wait. But thinking of Lu Jing, Lin Ke''er clenched her teeth and patiently stood outside the door. Her mood, however, was far from calm. Ye Chen was being too much! What pill could possibly be more important than greeting her?