Dao of Money

Chen Ren ended up spending six full days on the third floor.

He had planned to reach the fourth floor in four days, but that idea did not last long. There was simply too much to explore.

The alchemy lab alone took time looting, and beyond that, there were many other places the merchant had mentioned. Some were hidden deep in the jungle, while others were simply vague locations and he only found the treasures there because he was careful in his search.

The pagoda absorbed every item a cultivator carried if they died inside it. Because of that, Chen Ren found many scattered remains. Broken armor lay half-buried under soil. Old swords were lodged in tree roots. Cracked artifacts were hidden in beast lairs, mixed with bones and dried blood. Many of these finds had nothing to do with the information he bought.

They were discovered because he kept his sensing technique active almost all the time. His qi brushed through the ground, tree trunks, and stone walls as he moved, revealing things that would otherwise stay hidden.

He fought many beasts during these six days. Each fight helped him adjust to his new strength and speed. His movements were faster than before, and his control over lightning grew steadier with each battle.

None of the beasts lasted long against him. Their deaths were quick and clean. After each fight, he harvested useful parts and smiled at the tokens granted by the pagoda.

The amount depended on the beast’s tier, and stronger ones were always worth the effort.

But as he kept hauling everything inside his ring, it soon started to become full. That was when the beast codex proved its worth. By checking it, he learned which parts of the beasts were valuable and which were useless.

He stopped collecting blindly and became more selective. At the same time, he began drawing a rough map of the third floor.

He marked known paths, dangerous zones, and beast lairs.

According to both the merchant and Princess Yanyue, those lairs would always respawn their inhabitants. For Chen Ren, that meant a steady source of tokens, materials, and future profit.

Although he had not yet found a way to move down a floor, Chen Ren was certain one existed. The pagoda never gave without taking, but it also never sealed paths forever. All the information he had gathered would matter later, and he kept it stored carefully in his spatial ring.

During his time on the third floor, he ran into other cultivators more than once. Most of them came from small sects, minor clans, or were lone rogues. Some had seen him pulling treasures out of the ground. Others simply thought he looked rich enough to rob. None of them lasted long. After beating them, he tightened them up with vines, and lifted them into the trees, where the jungle beasts would eventually find them. Chen Ren did not stay to watch.

He was moving through the pagoda slowly, but that pace worked in his favor. By now, most of the Guardian Sect disciples and the truly strong cultivators had already moved upward. The jungle felt quieter because of it and he had no competition. He could explore without constantly watching his back and as a result of that, he accomplished far more than he expected.

And finally on the fifth day, he decided it was time to move on.

The lift to the fourth floor wasn’t a secret. Some good cultivators had carved marks into tree trunks, guiding anyone who knew how to read them. But secrecy was not the real problem anymore. Control was.

After all, if there were good cultivators, the bad and greedy ones outnumber them easily.

Chen Ren stood on a large boulder and looked down at the scene below. A group of men had taken over the lift area. Weaker cultivators lined up in front of them, handing over tokens one by one. One hundred tokens per person. The lift could carry about twenty at a time, and it returned every half hour.

Beside them lay the massive corpse of a bear, its body already cooling. It was the boss beast that guarded the lift, a creature that respawned every three hours. Whenever it did, the men killed it again and again, turning access into a business.

Chen Ren watched quietly. He had to say the business was profitable. Disgusting, but profitable.

If it were not for how low it felt, he might have done the same himself.

As he watched them, Wang Jun’s voice drifted up from his side. “What are you going to do?”

Chen Ren didn’t look away from the lift. “I’m not paying them,” he said calmly. “They’re all peak qi refinement realm at best. I can knock some sense into them.”

Wang Jun laughed. “Good. You’re finally learning how to deal with trash.”

Chen Ren stepped off the boulder the next second and walked straight toward the lift. A loose line waited there.

Cultivators moved forward one by one, handing over their tokens before being allowed onto the platform. Giving up the tokens only took thinking about transferring it once, and the system did the rest, so the group controlling the lift were making a lot of tokens easily.

Chen Ren didn’t join the line.

He walked past them.

A few heads turned. Murmurs followed him as he headed straight for the lift. One of the men guarding it noticed and stepped forward.

“Hey,” the man snapped. “Where do you think you’re going? It’s a hundred tokens for the ride.”

Chen Ren stopped and turned. Every eye in the clearing fixed on him.

“I’m not paying,” he said. “Not to someone so weak.”

The man’s face twisted. “You dare—”

Chen Ren moved before the sentence finished.

His fist drove into the man’s stomach. Lightning burst on impact. There was a sharp crack, like dry wood snapping. The man’s eyes went wide as the air left his lungs. Chen Ren grabbed him, slammed him down into the dirt, then kicked him hard.

The body flew back and hit a boulder with a dull thud. Blood spilled from the man’s mouth and he didn’t move again.

The clearing instantly went silent.

The rest of the group stared at Chen Ren, frozen in place. No one reached for a weapon. No one stepped forward. They looked at him as if they couldn’t believe what had happened for a second.

Chen Ren almost wished one of them would try something, but when they didn’t, he said calmly, “He’s not dead. Anyone else think they can stop me?”

For a moment, no one spoke. One cultivator took a shaky step forward, but his legs started trembling halfway. Chen Ren smiled at that and turned away, walking toward the lift without another glance.

The lift itself was a wide circular platform made of dark stone, with faint runes carved along its edges. They glowed softly, pulsing like a slow heartbeat. Thick chains extended upward into the misty sky, though Chen Ren could tell they were more symbolic than functional. This thing was clearly driven by formations, not mechanics.

As his foot touched the platform, his bracelet buzzed lightly.

[Lift access confirmed.][Next ascent in progress.]

A few cultivators immediately broke away from the line and rushed onto the lift, taking advantage of the stunned group. Others immediately jumped on the group charging them, taking advantage to beat them as the situation spiraled. Chen Ren didn’t interfere. He simply watched with mild interest. Karma always showed itself, he guessed.

The platform soon gave a low hum and began to rise.

After that, no one spoke. The cultivators who boarded with him stood far apart, giving him a wide circle of empty space. Some avoided even looking at him.

As the lift climbed higher and rose above the mountain, the jungle below slowly shrank. Massive trees turned into dark green dots, and the winding paths disappeared beneath the canopy. A few people gasped, gripping the edge of the platform as the height became clear.

Then, without warning, a familiar burning sensation washed over everyone.

The air twisted, and the world seemed to fold in on itself for a brief second.

When the feeling passed, cold stabbed into Chen Ren’s back. He opened his eyes and saw white everywhere. Snow enveloped everything and cold wind blew across the space.

His bracelet buzzed again.

[You have entered the Fourth Floor.]

Chen Ren exhaled slowly, watching the frost form in the air.

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“Fuck,” Wang Jun cursed at his side. “I hate the cold!”

***

Anji felt like she was staring straight at death in the sky.

A giant three eyed squid-like creature circled above her at terrifying speed, its massive body cutting through the freezing air as if it belonged there. Every time she tried to line up a shot with her gun, it was already gone, a blur of pale blue against the white sky. She fired anyway.

The gun kicked against her shoulder, bullets streaking upward—only to smash into snow-covered rock and ice around the peak of the small mountain she stood on.

“Damn it,” she muttered, steadying her breath.

The squid opened its mouth. Cold mist poured out, thick and heavy, and the next moment spears of ice shot toward them like rain. Anji reacted on instinct. Her finger squeezed the trigger again and again, the rapid-fire enchantment activating. Bullets shattered several ice spears midair, sending shards flying, but she did not hit all of them.

The ones that slipped past were taken care of by Li Qingxue. Arrows whistled through the air beside Anji, striking ice with sharp cracks. Pieces fell and shattered around them, chunks of ice bouncing across the ground. The cold bit into Anji’s fingers, but she didn’t dare slow down.

She looked up again. The squid was already moving.

“It’s too quick,” Qingxue said, her voice tight. “And too big. Should we run?”

Anji shook her head without looking at her. “No. We can’t.” Her eyes stayed locked on the beast. “If you can hold it for a few seconds, I can kill it.”

Before Qingxue could respond, Li Qingfeng shouted from the side. “Leave it to me!”

Anji’s heart jumped.

Qingfeng charged forward without hesitation, sprinting across the uneven ice. Wind gathered around his legs as he pushed off the ground, launching himself upward. Anji and Qingxue fired together—bullets and arrows hitting the squid’s back—but the attacks barely slowed it.

Anji clicked her tongue and swapped cartridges in one smooth motion. Special rounds slid into place.

Above them, Qingfeng reached the squid. Rock formed over his arms as he raised them to strike. The squid screeched and released a blast of freezing breath. Ice crawled over Qingfeng’s arm, locking it in place.

“Qingfeng!” Anji shouted.

He didn’t stop.

With a roar, he slammed into the squid’s head. The impact echoed across the peak. Blood burst from one of the creature’s eyes, spraying into the air as it thrashed wildly.

The monster screeched and whipped its massive body around, slamming Li Qingfeng into a nearby boulder. The stone cracked on impact as he groaned.

“Brother!” Li Qingxue shouted, already running toward him.

Anji didn’t look away from the beast. She raised her gun and fired.

Three shots hit the ice squid’s body in quick succession. They detonated on contact, and flames rolled across its frozen flesh. Steam burst into the air. The squid roared and inhaled sharply, icy mist pouring from its mouth as it tried to smother the fire.

Anji fired again, aiming straight for one of its eyes.

The squid reacted instantly. Spears of ice shot forward, meeting the bullets midair. The explosions went off above them, shaking the peak. A blast of freezing wind followed, forcing Anji to stagger back, boots sliding over frost-covered stone.

Then the squid’s eyes locked onto her.

It lunged.

For a heartbeat, Anji froze. It was too fast. Too close.

But then, arrows slammed into the squid’s side, knocking it off balance. At the same time, Li Qingfeng burst forward, wind gathering at his legs as he crashed into the beast’s body. The impact gave Anji just enough time.

She threw herself aside, rolling hard across the ground. Cold bit into her bones as she slid to a stop. Without hesitation, she swapped cartridges, hands moving on instinct, and came up firing.

The bullets tore into the squid. Explosions ripped along its body, fire and ice colliding in violent bursts. Li Qingfeng hammered it with his fists from every angle, stone and wind coating his strikes even as the blasts went off around him.

The squid screamed again. Thick mist flooded the area, freezing the air and the ground beneath their feet. Frost crept up Li Qingfeng’s arms, forcing him to retreat.

He landed beside Anji, breathing hard. “This thing… it’s impossible to kill.”

Anji shook her head, eyes still locked on the monster. “No. I think I can finish it now.”

“How?” he asked.

She didn’t answer.

Anji pushed off the ground and charged straight at the beast.

The ice squid was still busy freezing the flames and pulling its body together. Anji steadied her breathing and shifted her stance to get a clean angle. She reached into her pouch and took out another special bullet Feiyu had made for her, then raised her gun and fired.

The bullet struck true.

Vines burst out on impact, thick and fast, wrapping around the squid’s body just as the last of the flames died out. The beast shrieked and thrashed, ice cracking as it tried to tear free. Anji could already see the vines straining. They would not hold for long.

She did not hesitate.

Anji lowered her head, extended one arm, and focused inward. The cold around her faded as she pushed out her soul qi. Thin, invisible threads spilled from her, slipping into the squid’s body. The moment they connected, a wave of sensation hit her. Its soul was spread through its massive form, chaotic and raw.

Anji grabbed hold of the threads of its soul and immediately pulled hard, snapping them apart without mercy.

The ice squid let out a piercing scream that echoed across the peak. Anji stumbled back a step as the sound cut through her ears. Then, just as suddenly, the creature went still. Its body sagged, the vines loosening as all movement stopped.

Anji stared at it, heart pounding.

Seconds passed. It did not move.

She finally let out a long breath she did not realize she had been holding.

Li Qingxue broke the silence, moving towards her with her bow in hand. “Is it… dead? How?”

Anji turned to her and answered simply, “A soul technique. Its soul was weaker than I expected. It couldn’t survive once parts of it were destroyed.”

Both siblings looked at her in silence, eyes wide, as if she had suddenly grown horns. Anji felt heat creep up her face and looked down, embarrassed.

She glanced at her bracelet instead. The notification appeared at once.

[You have been rewarded six hundred tokens for killing the Three-Eyed Tentarch]

It was a pretty good reward, even after splitting it with the other two. She opened the rankings and saw her position jump upward.

[Anji - Rank 38.]

Anji smiled. She had climbed six ranks at once, and was now slowly inching towards the top. But when she was checking the rankings of the ones in front of her, she froze.

Someone unexpected had suddenly appeared in the top ten.

[Chen Ren - Rank 7.]

Anji could swear Sect Leader Chen had been far low in the rankings last she had checked a few hours back, but now he was right in the top? How? She had no idea.

***

A/N - You can read 30 chapters (15 Magus Reborn and 15 Dao of money) on my patreon. Annual subscription is now on too. Also this is Volume 2 last chapter.

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