No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

At this moment, within the Supreme Purity Realm…

Zhang Yu was immersed in a simulation experiment aimed at upgrading the Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill.

As the equipment roared to life and streams of fire blazed forth, the pill’s form continued to shift under the intense heat.

Zhang Yu was utilizing his newly mastered Qi Node Phase-Change Technique to test phase transitions of the pill—solid to liquid, liquid to gas, and back again.

If successful, the Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill would be able to shift between these three states at will, integrating seamlessly with a cultivator’s Martial Qi and transforming in tandem with it, unlocking a wide range of powerful applications.

Once I train this Artifact Refinement technique to level twenty, I’ll try upgrading my Taiyi Liquid Gold Pills in the real world, Zhang Yu thought. Might even be able to fuse the ones I already have into one.

He frowned. The Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might has devastating power and excellent control, but it’s still lacking defensively.

Recalling the last battle, Zhang Yu reflected, Especially against attacks like the Great Sun Aspects—neither the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might nor the Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force could block it.

I can’t keep relying on my body to tank everything.

I need better defenses.Zhang Yu had no illusions—now that his strength had advanced to the point where he could compete on a military level, his artifacts had to evolve as well. They needed to patch every hole in his capabilities.

That meant not just defenses against techniques like the Great Sun Aspects, but also improvements in battlefield mobility, reconnaissance, stealth, and more.

…

While Zhang Yu was deep in self-improvement…

In the depths of the Spiritual Realm…

Daoist Magneto was reviewing the latest project reports with a touch of surprise.

The effort to crack the Nascent Soul-level Yin Artifact had made rapid progress at first.

But the deeper they went, the slower things became—the sigils involved grew exponentially complex, making the work increasingly difficult for everyone involved.

However, the latest report showed a breakthrough. A student named Zhang Pianpian had made significant progress and even uncovered unique patterns in the Yin Artifact’s sigil structures.

“This’ll really speed things up. If everyone adopts Zhang Pianpian’s methods, we might fully crack this artifact in just a few more days.”

Daoist Magneto’s interest in Zhang Pianpian deepened.

A glance at her file revealed a noteworthy connection—Zhang Yu.

“They’ve known each other since high school…”

“They even moved in together after starting university…”

“Seems like they’ve been supporting each other ever since.”

But what truly surprised Daoist Magneto was how much of Zhang Pianpian’s file was restricted.

“Even I can’t access it?”

Still, experience had sharpened Daoist Magneto’s instincts. Using indirect clues and the Spiritual Realm’s data-sifting capabilities via the Nine-Heavens Solar Yang Pagoda, she reached a few educated conclusions.

“Does she have ties to the Wanmin Division?” she mused. “And it looks like Zhang Pianpian has access to some high-grade Spiritual Realm abodes—she’s using their computational resources to speed up the decryption.”

“Someone with that level of access must have powerful connections.”

“Could Zhang Yu’s rapid Artifact Refinement progress also be related to this?”

“But Zhang Yu isn’t even in the Sigil Department… is he just getting special help from Zhang Pianpian?”

“Maybe she owes him a huge debt and is paying it back?”

Daoist Magneto shook her head—there wasn’t enough intel to untangle the full picture yet.

Still, she chuckled to herself. “Civil Engineering, Artifact Refinement, and now Sigils too… my disciple really does get around.”

…

Inside the dormitory.

Within the Supreme Purity Realm.

The realm was now shrouded in layers of mist, radiating a sense of mystery—as if touched by the heavens themselves.

Zhang Pianpian slowly opened her eyes inside the grand hall, thinking, Now that the side hall has simulation capabilities, I can fully disguise the Supreme Purity Realm as a Heavenly Court resource.

Daoist Magneto has likely fallen for it.

That means Zhang Yu’s breakthroughs in Artifact Refinement, even if they draw attention, won’t seem suspicious to her anymore.

A smile tugged at her lips—but she quickly pushed it aside and refocused on the sigil studies before her.

Time is running out.

I need to pick up the pace.

…

Inside the Civil Engineering Department’s office…

Director Gao was reviewing Zhang Yu’s latest project status.

He nodded in satisfaction. “This kid’s getting more and more competent.”

“Next time, I should introduce him to more people.”

“After all, the more projects he lands, the more money he makes—and the further he’ll get on the Immortal Path.”

At this point, Director Gao figured even if Zhang Yu didn’t lead his team to a top-three finish in the cross-university competition this year, it wouldn’t matter.

He’s still just a junior.

“There are seven more competitions ahead.”

Director Gao could already envision Zhang Yu leading the team to dominate the Civil Engineering contest for the next seven years—driving up the company’s stock, winning bids left and right.

After graduation, Zhang Yu would pursue a master’s and doctorate under his guidance, eventually becoming a Nascent Soul cultivator and his top disciple.

“Maybe one day, we’ll go to war together in the university-level battles and reshape the entire Civil Engineering landscape…”

As Director Gao drifted into pleasant daydreams, a message came in from Daoist Magneto.

Daoist Magneto: Old Wang’s last disciple in the Security Department didn’t graduate. Did you know?

Director Gao: Yeah. Specialized too hard, right?

Daoist Magneto: A promising student… shame it turned out like this.

Daoist Magneto: Luckily, the kid had a dual degree.

Daoist Magneto: He might’ve failed to graduate from Security, but he still has the other degree. Otherwise, ten years of schooling would’ve gone to waste.

Director Gao: Why bring this up now?

Daoist Magneto: I’ve been thinking… dual degrees are becoming more popular at other schools. One major just isn’t enough for cultivators anymore.

Daoist Magneto: To be blunt—if one major has poor job prospects, the other can serve as a backup.

Daoist Magneto: Studying both at once saves time, builds cross-disciplinary thinking, expands one’s network. It’s a competitive edge, don’t you think?

Director Gao frowned slightly, pondering before replying: The current coursework is already intense. Hard to convince students to add another major.

Daoist Magneto: The two of us combined can’t outvote one student?

Daoist Magneto: We’ve been friends for centuries. Of course you’ll support me.

Daoist Magneto: You’re not saying no… are you?

Daoist Magneto: Old Gao?

Director Gao stared at the messages and furrowed his brow. “What’s she playing at? Don’t tell me…”

While he hesitated and fretted, another message came through:

Daoist Magneto: I’ll talk to Feng Tingting tomorrow—get her to enroll in the Civil Engineering Department for a second degree.

Daoist Magneto: That way she’ll be dual-trained in Artifact Refinement and Civil Engineering. A plug-and-play, cross-functional talent. Perfect for the intelligent construction field.

Director Gao’s eyes lit up. He was clearly all for having a skilled Artifact Refinement student join his department.

At the same time, he sighed inwardly.

What was I even worried about?

Magneto and I go way back. She’s the head of Artifact Refinement, with a whole department full of geniuses—why would she poach students from Civil Engineering?

With that, he replied: No problem. I’ll personally handle the arrangements.

…

In the Spiritual Realm, Daoist Magneto smiled as she read Director Gao’s message.

Over the next few days, the Yin Artifact’s decryption sped up dramatically, pushing the project into high gear.

By mid-February, Daoist Magneto stood with a team of researchers, surrounding the Artifact Spirit within the Spiritual Realm.

The Artifact Spirit no longer displayed any independent thought—floating like a blank slate before them.

After leading the team this far, Daoist Magneto had successfully suppressed most of the Artifact Spirit’s intelligence, reducing it from the level of an eighteen-year-old to that of a five-year-old.

She had chosen this gentle suppression method over brute-force control, hoping to preserve the artifact’s natural functions and better understand the complex workings of its high-level intelligence.

A violent takeover would’ve destroyed priceless data.

For Daoist Magneto and Wanfa University, gaining full control over a single Nascent Soul Yin Artifact wasn’t the goal.

Cracking the technologies of Pleasure and Harmony University—and those of Divine Lord Nectar—that was what truly mattered.

A nearby Sigil Department professor spoke up. “Phase One is complete. Now we just need to run a battery of experiments. If we gather enough data, we might eventually reverse-engineer the techniques of Pleasure and Harmony University. Who knows—Wanfa might even open its own Dual Cultivation Academy someday.”

Daoist Magneto chuckled. “If that happens, you’ll be the founding father of Wanfa’s Dual Cultivation studies.”

But as trials continued, Daoist Magneto found that the artifact’s activation had strict requirements.

“Too high a cultivation level doesn’t work. Too low doesn’t either.”

“Divine Lord Nectar really was picky. Even after resetting the Yin Artifact, he embedded tons of screening protocols.”

She thought for a moment. “Right now, students seem like the ideal test subjects.”

“Maybe Divine Lord Nectar designed this artifact specifically for interacting with students.”

A Sigil Department professor nodded. “Let’s call for student volunteers.”

One student’s eyes lit up. “Professor, how much are you paying for this?”

“Paying?” the professor laughed. “This is a Nascent Soul-level Yin Artifact with its intelligence suppressed. Talking to it could bring you all sorts of insights. You should be paying us.”

He paused. “Let’s not announce this publicly. Gotta leave some dignity for Divine Lord Nectar.”

“Send out word quietly. Let students apply by paying a fee.”

A student asked, “If it’s under the radar… which students should we notify?”

The professor thought for a moment. “Top ten from each department. Anyone interested can sign up.”

He turned to Daoist Magneto. “What do you think?”

Daoist Magneto nodded. “Let’s start with that. See how it goes.”