Immortality Starts With Investment

Chapter 7: Dragon Elephant Fist

Ye Chen recalled that his father had been a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining, holding a respectable position in the family and enjoying relative wealth. His father had always been fond of him, so before Ye Chen left, he had been given a generous sum of twenty low-grade spirit stones. Now, using only fifteen low-grade spirit stones to buy the pills felt like a breeze.

After the transaction was complete, Ye Chen felt quite pleased. With enough pills at hand, he no longer needed to waste precious system feedback opportunities on low-grade Qi Gathering Pills. Instead, he could offer Lin Keʼer something far more valuable.

Ye Chen didnʼt rush back. He continued to stroll down the street, keeping an eye out for beautiful women. But he only wandered along the main street, avoiding the more secluded areas.

The safety of Silver Moon Market was only relative. Every month, there were still a few cultivators found dead, their bodies discovered in the outskirts. The marketʼs overseers couldnʼt be bothered to track down the culprits, instead just occasionally finding some rogue cultivators in the wild to blame and hanging them by the roadside as scapegoats. This gave Ye Chen a sense of déjà vu.

As the saying goes: ”A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall.” With the system at his disposal and a promising future ahead, why would he risk his life foolishly?

After wandering the main street for a while, Ye Chen observed the bustling cultivators entering and exiting the surrounding shops. Among them were quite a few female cultivators. However, system didnʼt react to most of them. Either their looks or physiques didnʼt meet the standards, or they werenʼt virgins. Only a few of them passed the systemʼs criteria, but the rewards were just two or three times the usual. The highest was five times.

While these women were certainly beautiful, Ye Chen couldnʼt be bothered to spare them a glance. After all, the system could only trigger once a week, and he had to choose the best option available. For now, it seemed Lin Keʼer was still the most suitable target. He couldnʼt give up on her just yet.

One Leaf Pill Shop.

This was the Ye familyʼs pill store. Manager Zhang sat on the second floor, gazing at the spirit stones before him. As he listened to his subordinatesʼ reports, a smile slowly crept onto his face.

Ye Chen had indeed fallen for the trap. And the fact that this boy had a father who was a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining meant his wallet would last quite a while before being sucked dry.

Manager Zhang had already stopped bothering with deliberately targeting Ye Chen. Instead, he planned to keep pressing Ye Chen with endless tasks to gradually wear his wealth down.

With a constant flow of spirit stones in and out, Manager Zhang was going to make a huge profit. All he had to do was wait for Ye Chenʼs spirit stones to run out, causing him to explode in a fit of desperation. Even if Ye Chenʼs father invested heavily to support him, Manager Zhang was confident that he could easily expose Ye Chenʼs lack of ability by forcing him to refine pills in front of everyone.

In Manager Zhangʼs mind, Ye Chen had already fallen completely into his grasp. He could destroy him at any time, so there was need to worry too much about it.

...

Back in his room, Ye Chen immediately began rummaging through his belongings. It didnʼt take long before he found a jade slip.

The Dragon Elephant Fist!

This was an external martial art. The Qi Refining stage was essentially the process of guiding the spirit qi to cleanse the body, removing the impurities of a mortal frame, and eventually achieving true spiritual foundation at the Foundation Establishment stage. A strong body was crucial for this process.

However, most cultivation techniques had minimal effect on improving the physical body, which was why it was essential to practice an external martial art to cultivate both internally and externally. This would not only enhance combat strength but also increase the chances of successfully reaching the Foundation Establishment in the future. The earlier one began, the better.

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However, martial arts techniques like this were not cheap. The Dragon Elephant Fist was bought by Ye Chenʼs father for three mid-grade spirit stones. It was a simplified version of a technique passed down from a sect far more powerful than the Green Cloud Sect. Rumors had it that such techniques were deliberately sold by large sects for various reasons.

On one hand, it served as a means of screening potential disciples. If a genius cultivated it well, they could be invited to join the sect. There was also a rumor that these techniques had hidden weaknesses that could be countered by their original counterparts.

Whether the rumors were true or not, Ye Chen didnʼt know. What mattered was that the Dragon Elephant Fist could temper the bones and tendons, making it an extremely valuable external martial art. After Ye Chen had come to this world, his time had been consumed with pill refining, and he hadnʼt had a chance to learn it.

But Ye Chen didnʼt plan to learn it either. These kinds of jade slips were one-time use only. Once you finished studying, the slip would shatter, and it was bound by a vow of the Dao Heart, thus preventing anyone from passing on the knowledge.

Given this, Ye Chen decided he would pass the Dragon Elephant Fist on to Lin Keʼer. The technique wasnʼt bad at all, and it had cost three mid-grade spirit stones to acquire. What would happen if the ten-times return occurred? What kind of martial art would he get back? Could it even produce the original version?

Ye Chen was deeply curious. Unfortunately, he had just gifted something yesterday. He would have to wait six more days for the cooldown period to pass. But Ye Chen wasnʼt in a hurry. Every day, he practiced steadily, refining pills and quietly improving his cultivation.

...

The second week.

Ye Chen arrived early at the pill shop. His familyʼs pill shop wasnʼt large, only two stories tall. It primarily sold the pills sent by the family and purchased various herbs, especially Silver Moon Grass. The name Silver Moon Market came from this very grass.

Silver Moon Grass grew abundantly in the local mountains. It was the main ingredient for refining the Clear Meridian Pill. As the name suggested, this pill could cleanse the toxins and impurities accumulated in a cultivatorʼs meridians. It was highly favored by cultivators in the later stages of Qi Refining.

Ordinary cultivators could never afford it. They barely had enough pills to consume for themselves, let alone spare any spirit stones for Clear Meridian Pills. After all, the threat of pill toxins was far less frightening than poverty.

Ye Chen waited quietly for a moment. A female cultivator entered the shop, dressed in somewhat gaudy attire, though she appeared to be of an older age. Upon seeing Ye Chen, her eyes brightened, and she quickly approached, ”Fellow Daoist Ye….”

She knew Ye Chen all too well. A young alchemist, and most notably, a simp. Ever since that scandalous Lin Keʼer had entangled him, Ye Chen had been rushing to send her pills every day.

Seeing Ye Chen now, the female cultivator subtly tugged at her collar, trying to flaunt her advantages. If she could capture Ye Chenʼs attention, would she ever have to worry about pills again?

However, Ye Chen glanced at her and noticed the lack of any reaction from his system. Taking a step back, he responded with cold indifference.

Her intentions, Ye Chen obviously knew.

The female cultivatorʼs pride was wounded, but she didnʼt dare to speak up. Seething internally, she turned and went to the back to tidy up.

At that moment, Lin Keʼer also arrived for her shift. She was still wearing the same white dress, exuding a subtle, ethereal aura. Her long hair flowed, radiant and beautiful.

Upon spotting Ye Chen, Lin Keʼer appeared slightly surprised. But her expression quickly softened, and she smiled sweetly. Her eyes curved into crescent moons, showing how happy she was to see him: ”Fellow Daoist Ye, youʼve come out of seclusion? Iʼm sure youʼve had great gains!”

Ye Chen wasnʼt in the mood for pleasantries with Lin Keʼer, who was the kind of woman that would never speak a word of truth to him.

His sole focus was on claiming his reward. So, he immediately spoke up: ”I have a gift for you, Fairy Lin.”

Lin Keʼer was slightly taken aback. Ye Chen, who had always been somewhat unsolicited, had taken the initiative to give her a gift? It must be another batch of pills.

Of course, Lin Keʼer didnʼt want to turn it down. However, Ye Chen had already gifted her ten low-grade Qi Gathering Pills last time. She still had three left, having consumed one a day, and hadnʼt finished them all yet. If she accepted more now, wouldnʼt it make her seem a bit greedy?

Meanwhile, another female cultivator who was tidying up the counter overheard this and clenched her teeth in frustration.

...

Lin Keʼer, however, was decisive and shook her head: ”I truly appreciate your kindness, Fellow Daoist Ye. But I still have three of the pills you gave me last time left to consume. So thereʼs no need for you to spend any more.”

Lin Keʼer had made up her mind. She wouldnʼt accept the gift this time. She needed to set an image. She didnʼt want Ye Chen to think that she was just after his pills. Sometimes, you must take a step back to leap three steps forward.

The female cultivator beside her grew even more frustrated. In her heart, she shouted: Why am I not as good as Lin Keʼer? Send them to me, send them to me! I really want them!