No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

“When you used the terrain to trap me, you also trapped yourselves.”

Zhang Yu sneered as he watched Bu Ziran retreat all the way to the barrier wall. He had already summoned four Formless Golems—two on each side—to block any escape.

Watching Zhang Yu charge at him, Bu Ziran wanted to scream, Don’t come any closer!

He wasn’t afraid of Zhang Yu—he was afraid of his own teammates.

Especially since Zhang Yu looked like he was taking a shower in blood lightning, shockwaves, and Silver Palms, completely unfazed by the barrage.

Bu Ziran simply didn’t have the ability to tank hits like that.

Fortunately, Ma Xuan quickly reassured him in their EyeNet group chat: “Relax, we’ve shared our attack targets. Every move is tagged, so we won’t accidentally hit you.”

In the visual field provided by Ma Xuan’s Law Husk Eyes, four types of markers danced across the screen: a palm, a blood drop, a gust, and a little sword—each representing one team member’s attack.

Every tag showed the predicted landing point of an attack, allowing them to coordinate better and minimize friendly fire.

But no matter how careful they were, some hits were inevitable in a melee like this.A sword swing deflected a wave of blood lightning. Bu Ziran checked his Law Husk—durability down to 32%. The pain hit him like a gut punch.

“Watch it! Don’t hit me!”

But the next second, Zhang Yu was already upon him again, Formless Cloud Qi dragging more shockwaves into a crashing strike.

Qi and sword aura clashed in a deafening burst.

After tangling with Bu Ziran for a bit, Zhang Yu dismissed all his humanoid Martial Qi constructs. This saved mana and, more importantly, left Bu Ziran more exposed to friendly attacks without the constructs blocking anyone’s line of fire.

“Just as I thought. Getting close to him weakens Ma Xuan’s team’s attacks quite a bit.”

Zhang Yu wasn’t using Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force. He relied solely on his Formless Cloud Qi to redirect incoming spells, smashing them toward Bu Ziran again and again.

Within seconds, Zhang Yu was soaked in blood. His qi turned crimson, wrapping around him like flame.

“Maybe I can refuel a bit…”

Blood lightning bolts from Finger-Flicking Bloodshock shredded holes in his defenses, but their speed dropped noticeably.

Zhang Yu clapped his palm forward. The swirling mist pulled the bolts together, spun them into a crimson orb—then he swallowed it whole.

His eyes bulged. “Damn, how many pills did you guys take? That’s some potent stuff!”

As medicinal power surged through him, rapidly restoring stamina and mana, Zhang Yu burst into laughter. He scooped up a mouthful of scattered Silver Sand and gulped it down too.

He tilted his head, grinning. “Not much nutrition, but works fine for body-hardenin’.”

Watching Zhang Yu casually eat their Silver Sand like popcorn, Ma Xuan was livid. “Keep attacking! He’s close to collapsing!”

Zhang Yu kept chugging down blood essence and Silver Sand to boost his healing and body. But his Formless Cloud Qi was being torn apart. His injuries deepened, his flesh torn and bloodied. What was once white mist had gone red, then dark red—now it blazed around him like a smoldering fire.

Bu Ziran felt worse than he looked.

Zhang Yu was redirecting every incoming attack—blood lightning, shockwaves, silver limbs—straight at him.

Combined with the occasional friendly fire, it felt like he was being ganged up on by Zhang Yu and his own teammates.

Durability alerts from his Law Husk kept pouring in, sending chills down his spine worse than the cold in Zhang Yu’s qi.

“Goddamn it…”

Bu Ziran slashed out frantically. Looking at Zhang Yu’s mangled figure, he fumed: “Why?! Why aren’t you down yet?! Why won’t you just surrender?!”

Yang Yan was having the same thought. Firing off more blood lightning while checking his mana tab, he hesitated.

This guy’s gotta be at his limit. I shouldn’t waste more spirit coins…

Ji Susu, too, was wavering. What if we kill him? The compensation is outrageous.

Though Zhang Yu looked battered and barely holding on, he refused to drop. The more he staggered, the more cautious they grew.

“Zhang Yu!” Ma Xuan shouted. “If you don’t surrender, you’ll go bankrupt! You got money to treat those injuries?”

Zhang Yu grinned and beckoned. “Hurry up. You’re running out of time.”

Despite his condition, his Earth-Wood Saint Body kept cranking his resistances up. The enemy attacks felt weaker and weaker. His injuries weren’t getting worse—in fact, thanks to the Sacrificial Oxheart Technique, he was slowly healing.

Another flurry of explosive collisions—hundreds of strikes in a blink.

Their bills kept rising, Law Husk durability plummeted, and more Silver Sand vanished into Zhang Yu’s gut.

At this point, Ma Xuan’s team felt like they were dumping spirit coins into a black hole. Zhang Yu just wouldn’t go down.

Worse, even when they amped up their attacks, Zhang Yu’s injuries grew, sure—but he still didn’t fall.

Finally, Bu Ziran snapped. His Law Husk was down to 21%—it wasn’t built for tanking.

“Enough! Someone switch with me! Or split the repair cost!”

The other three pretended not to hear.

Bu Ziran was furious. He tried to dodge, but Zhang Yu was on him instantly. In seconds, his durability dropped to 20%.

“What the hell is wrong with you?! You trying to die?!”

But the next moment, Zhang Yu’s body swelled—he had activated both the War Demon Life-Draining Technique and Endless Spring and Autumn Meditation, pushing his physical stats to the brink.

The former’s drawbacks worsened his wounds, triggering another surge from his Earth-Wood Saint Body, sending his resistances soaring.

Under four-way thinking, Zhang Yu activated every defensive Technique he had. His damage resistance hit maximum.

Boom!

He took Bu Ziran’s flurry of sword aura, let Ma Xuan’s team hammer his back and sides—and charged.

He shattered Bu Ziran’s sword aura, grabbed the man by the head, and smashed him into the ground.

As Zhang Yu and Bu Ziran brawled on the floor, Ma Xuan’s team hesitated, afraid to hit their own teammate.

Crack.

Bu Ziran’s Law Husk twisted. At 19% durability, it suffered a critical failure.

Mana backfired. Bu Ziran froze.

Zhang Yu ripped off his Law Husk arm and slammed a blow into his dantian. The cold venom from earlier burst forth, freezing Bu Ziran stiff.

Suppressing him for now, Zhang Yu turned to the others, bloodied face grinning.

“Who’s next?”

They looked at the torn-off Law Husk, at Bu Ziran frozen solid. In that moment, Ma Xuan’s team didn’t see an opponent—they saw invoices.

Then Zhang Yu’s gaze locked onto them, red as flame, and they felt like they were the ones being surrounded.

Ma Xuan shook off the illusion and frowned.

“Huh? The external tremors are gone?”

Earlier, he’d sensed the walls quaking under attack. But now, it was still.

She’s not attacking… she’s reinforcing? Shi Huaiyu’s thickened the barrier?

What, is she planning to trap us in here with him? That’s her plan?! What happened to sportsmanship?!

While Ma Xuan reeled, the sand beside Zhang Yu exploded—Xiao Qingxuan crawled out.

They dug their way in?

Xiao Qingxuan glanced at the bloodied Zhang Yu, then at the downed Bu Ziran, eyes wide.

He placed a hand on Zhang Yu’s shoulder and whispered via EyeNet, “Let me heal you. But don’t tell anyone. Only during the match.”

“Heal? What, are you a doctor?” Zhang Yu replied privately.

“My parents aren’t doctors,” Xiao Qingxuan said calmly. “But the Golden Core who once possessed me—back in his time, every cultivator knew some healing. His era was chaotic, techniques were crude, but his ancient medical skills still work.”

“Ancient medicine?” Zhang Yu blinked. “History class said that stuff’s a scam. No standards. Misuse can worsen injuries…”

He worried the guy might actually break him.

“That’s just modern pharmaceutical companies slandering ancient medicine to monopolize the market,” Xiao Qingxuan said coolly.

“Relax. I’m using Five Qi Organ-Refining Technique to harmonize your internal organs. Helps speed up recovery. Huh? Your body’s already self-healing fast? Even better.”

Zhang Yu felt his organs humming under the Technique, wounds sealing more quickly. “What’s the principle behind this?”

“Five-element organ harmonization,” Xiao Qingxuan replied. “Don’t ask how. I know about bacteria and cells too—but I can’t explain how they’re related. Just know that ancient medicine and modern Immortal Dao healthcare aren’t the same thing.”

The whole exchange lasted mere seconds as Xiao Qingxuan applied the treatment.

Meanwhile, Ma Xuan contacted Ji Yuanshu and Cong Na.

Ji Yuanshu: What’s the situation?

Ma Xuan: Bu Ziran’s down.

Ji Yuanshu: And Zhang Yu?

Ma Xuan: Still fighting.

Ji Yuanshu: ????

Ji Yuanshu was stunned.

“You’ve been beating on Zhang Yu for over twenty seconds. Four upperclassmen against a sophomore… and you got counter-killed?”

Are you throwing this match?!

But Ji Yuanshu knew better than to say anything divisive right now.

“Shi Huaiyu is chasing me and Cong Na. Cong Na’s too slow—she’s about to be caught. What now?”

Ma Xuan hadn’t expected everything to shift so fast.

Zhang Yu and Xiao Qingxuan were already attacking again. Martial Qi in the shape of dragons erupted from Xiao Qingxuan, sweeping through the barrier chamber.

Zhang Yu moved at his side, intercepting attacks.

Xiao Qingxuan kept slapping him with bursts of Five Qi Organ-Refining Technique, accelerating his healing.

With the Sacrificial Oxheart Technique and Earth-Wood Saint Body backing it up, Zhang Yu’s condition stabilized. He maintained high defense and output.

Their tandem offense-defense rhythm turned Ma Xuan’s team into money-bleeding machines. The two never flagged, never showed weakness.

When Cong Na got captured outside, Bu Ziran finally spoke up in the group chat:

Bu Ziran: Just give up. Don’t waste more money.

Bu Ziran: Four versus six. It’s already over.

Yang Yan: Give up.

Ji Susu: I surrender.

Ji Yuanshu: ????

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