Dao of Money

Han Qingshi had not expected the sixth floor to be this enjoyable.

When he first arrived, he had assumed it would be another oppressive wasteland filled with demonic qi and tedious battles meant to wear cultivators down. Concentrated demonic regions were nothing new to him. Frostpeak Sect frequently launched expeditions to eradicate demonic clans and rogue sects, and he had participated in several such campaigns since his early years.

But this was different.

There was something exhilarating about charging headfirst into a horde of thousands of zombies and emerging alive from the chaos. The endless tide of undead, the screams, the crushing pressure from every direction—it forced every instinct awake.

It was intoxicating.

The rush of battle coursed through his veins each time he cut down dozens at once, metallic qi tearing through rotting bodies while demonic sand swirled around him. Unlike disciplined enemies, the hordes never retreated, never hesitated. They came endlessly, demanding strength without pause.

And Han Qingshi loved it.

What made it even better was the rankings.

Despite slaughtering countless zombies, he had remained at second place for a long time, held there by one name—Chen Ren. The man had dominated the rankings with absurd consistency until, suddenly, his rank dropped probably because he had returned to the city, likely to purchase supplies or artifacts.

Han Qingshi had noticed immediately.

He did not believe in luck when it came to strength. No one reached the top of the pagoda through coincidence alone. Skill, resolve, and ruthless efficiency were always behind such achievements.

Which meant Chen Ren would rise again. So Han Qingshi did what came naturally. He hunted harder.

He pushed deeper into the desert, cutting through horde after horde, consolidating his position before his rival could reclaim the top rank. Each kill felt like sharpening a blade meant for an eventual clash.

That was when he saw them.

A group of sand elementals moved through the black desert, their massive worm-like bodies tearing through the dunes as if the earth itself feared them. Even from afar, their presence distorted the demonic qi around them.

Han Qingshi’s eyes lit up.

One glance was enough to ignite his desire for battle.

He wondered how many tokens each would give.

When he returned to his junior disciples and suggested they hunt the elementals, however, their reactions disappointed him. Fear spread across their faces and hesitation was clear in their eyes.

Han Qingshi frowned.

Disciples of Frostpeak Sect were meant to face any challenge placed before them, even if it cost their lives.

How else were they supposed to grow?

That was Han Qingshi’s belief. Strength was not cultivated through safety but through danger. Yet even he understood limits. Taking on multiple sand elementals alone was not bravery—it was recklessness. Even for him, such a battle could easily spiral beyond control.

So he restrained himself, considering how he might persuade his disciples to assist him, when an unexpected visitor arrived.

Princess Yanyue.

Han Qingshi’s relationship with the royal family was neither hostile nor friendly. They existed in separate worlds. While princes and princesses concerned themselves with politics and influence, he pursued strength alone. Because of that, he was rarely involved in royal affairs.

Which was precisely why her visit surprised him.

When he learned she carried a proposal to reach the seventh floor—one originating from Chen Ren of all people—his interest was immediately piqued.

He listened to her, and the more he listened, the more his eyes sharpened.

The plan… was not bad.

In fact, it was daring in a way he appreciated.

He already knew rumors about the Zombie Queen and the city hidden within the desert. He had suspected the lift to the seventh floor would be located there, but Princess Yanyue brought far more detailed information than he possessed. Each piece filled gaps he had not realized existed.

But what truly caught his attention was one particular request.

She wanted him to lure sand elementals toward the city.

To crash them into the walls.

Han Qingshi almost laughed when he heard it.

That alone would have been enough for him to agree. Convincing his disciples afterward would be easy since there was a reason to hunt then now.

Yet as she continued explaining, the proposal only became more appealing.

Not only would he get to drive sand elementals into fortified walls, he would also fight elite undead within the city itself… and possibly distract the Zombie Queen.

A battle against a ruler of the floor. His blood stirred at the thought. And then came the final detail.

Princess Yanyue calmly mentioned that the other Guardian sects were also involved, and that there was a significant chance they might betray both her and Chen Ren.

Han Qingshi smiled at that.

That made things far more interesting.

She wanted the Frostpeak Sect on her side and even offered incentives for it. Truthfully, those rewards were good—generous enough that many would have agreed without hesitation—but what interested Han Qingshi the most was something else entirely.

Chen Ren.

The plan had come from him.

Han Qingshi had not yet met the man, but this felt like an excellent opportunity to understand what kind of person he was. From the structure of the plan alone, Chen Ren appeared clever and calculating, someone capable of seeing several steps ahead. Those were qualities Han Qingshi respected deeply, because every old cultivator who survived long enough eventually possessed both cunning and foresight. Strength alone never carried anyone to the end.

But beyond curiosity, there was another appeal.

The plan created an opportunity to undermine both the Soaring Sword Sect and the Thunderblade Sect.

Han Qingshi bore no personal grudge against either of them; their conflict was simply the natural rivalry between Guardian sects. Still, every Guardian sect present in the pagoda was a direct competitor. If there existed a chance to weaken rivals before reaching the upper floors, it was foolish not to take it. That was exactly what his father would have done, and Han Qingshi had no intention of allowing unnecessary competition to grow stronger ahead of him.

After all, the higher floors would not tolerate weakness.

So he considered the proposal carefully and discussed it with his fellow disciples. The conclusion came quickly. If the Soaring Sword Sect and Thunderblade Sect truly intended to cooperate, then sooner or later they would turn that alliance against Frostpeak Sect as well. Han Qingshi understood sect politics well enough to know jealousy ran deep—his sect consistently produced the strongest cultivators of their generation, and others would never ignore an opportunity to suppress them.

In that light, siding with Princess Yanyue and Chen Ren was not merely advantageous.

It was the safest decision.

And it gave him the perfect excuse to challenge the sand elementals, even if his junior disciples were far less enthusiastic about the idea.

That was probably one of the most fun experiences Han Qingshi had ever had. It reminded him of the first time he fought wyverns—the same rush of danger, the same exhilaration of standing against something massive and unstoppable.

His only complaint was that he wasn’t allowed to kill the sand elementals.

The enormous worm-like creatures would have made magnificent trophies outside the pagoda. Their scales alone would have been priceless, and mounting one of their cores back at the sect would have earned him endless praise. Unfortunately, the plan required them to be alive. Instead of slaying them, Han Qingshi had been told to tame and direct them toward the city.

Fortunately, that part had not been difficult.

He had not tamed them in any traditional beast-binding manner. There were no contracts or spiritual seals involved. Han Qingshi simply used his chains. After subduing the creatures with sheer force, he wrapped the enchanted chains around their bodies and guided their movement through pressure and pain. With their massive size, once he secured a position on their backs, there was little they could do to throw him off.

It did take time, especially since he needed more than one sand elemental. His junior disciples did not specialize in chain techniques like he did, so they struggled at first. But after the elementals were beaten into submission, they became far more cooperative, allowing riders to remain on their backs without constant resistance.

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Once everything was prepared, they rode toward the city.

Han Qingshi had already confirmed the city’s location earlier. Finding it again was simple as it was the only structure standing in the endless black desert. As the walls came into view, his junior disciples quickly leapt off the elementals, retreating to safer positions as planned.

Han Qingshi, however, stayed.

He continued riding, grinning as he directed the raging creatures forward. The sand elementals tore through wandering zombie hordes, their massive bodies crushing undead beneath them before slamming straight into the city walls.

He felt the qi array protecting the walls tremble under the impact.

That alone told him the plan was working.

Satisfied, Han Qingshi finally jumped off the elemental’s back and retreated far from the chaos outside the walls. Dust and demonic qi swirled behind him as the beasts continued their rampage.

Then he simply waited, exactly as he had been asked to do.

He was soon joined by the rest of his sect members, and together they watched the chaos unfold outside the city walls.

Thunderblade Sect, Soaring Sword Sect, Princess Yanyue, her subordinates, and Chen Ren all moved toward the opening created in the gates. Han Qingshi’s attention, however, stayed mostly on Chen Ren.

He watched the man run across the back of a sand elemental, lightning flashing from his hands as he fired a bolt straight into another elemental’s mouth. Moments later, Chen Ren grabbed onto a flying sword and slipped through the gap in the gate with a cat clinging to his back.

It was not an especially graceful display. In fact, half the time the man looked tense and anxious rather than heroic.

But he wasn’t a coward.

And more importantly, he knew when to take risks.

Han Qingshi silently observed every movement, committing it all to memory. He judged people through battle, not words, and what he saw told him enough—Chen Ren was clever, adaptable, and willing to gamble when necessary.

More death knights soon began leaping down from the walls, their armored forms gathering to defend the breach. Seeing that, Han Qingshi decided it was time.

He turned toward his junior disciples. “Let’s go.”

At once, they moved.

Han Qingshi jumped first, clearing the distance in a single leap. His chains shot forward, wrapping around the body of one of the rampaging sand elementals as he landed on its back. A death knight immediately noticed him and sent an arc of demonic qi slicing toward him, but Han Qingshi simply leapt again, avoiding it with ease before landing atop the elemental’s head.

His chains swung once more, not toward enemies, but backward.

They lashed out toward his sect members, and he felt the familiar pull as they grabbed onto the massive links without hesitation. With a powerful twist of his body, Han Qingshi flung the chains forward with all his strength.

The Frostpeak disciples were swept into the air together.

Using the momentum, they leapt from the elemental’s body and crossed the narrow gap in the broken gate one after another.

Han Qingshi followed immediately behind them. A few death knights attempted to pursue, but their attention was quickly dragged back to the chaos outside—the remaining zombie hordes and the three enraged sand elementals still smashing against the walls.

By the time the undead regained order, the Frostpeak Sect had already entered the city.

Finally reaching inside, Han Qingshi knew he had no time to waste. The others had already moved ahead, and he immediately turned toward his junior disciples.

“You all know the layout of the city,” he said calmly. “You have copies of the map. Take whatever you can and regroup in twenty minutes. I doubt we’ll have more time than that.”

They nodded without hesitation and scattered in different directions, disappearing into the streets.

Left alone, Han Qingshi grinned faintly. His eyes lifted toward the castle rising in the distance. Sooner or later, the Zombie Queen would emerge from there. He had no intention of fighting her directly—at least not today—but he was curious to see what kind of being ruled this entire floor.

For now, he moved. Princess Yanyue had given him a specific task: retrieve the most important thing the Zombie Queen possessed. To do that, he headed straight toward the royal castle.

The streets were mostly empty. A few intelligent zombies lingered inside nearby buildings, peering through broken windows or shuffling along alleyways, but Han Qingshi ignored them entirely. He vaulted over obstacles and rooftops, moving quickly until the castle loomed before him, already thrown into visible chaos.

He did not enter immediately.

Instead, he climbed onto a nearby building and crouched behind a broken stone slab along the rooftop. It wasn’t as high as he would have preferred, but it provided a clear view of the castle gates and the steady stream of zombies rushing in and out.

He spared them only a glance.

His attention shifted upward, studying the windows, entrances, and guard movements as his mind quietly formed a plan for infiltration.

Then, at last, the opportunity arrived.

Shouts and crashing noises echoed through the city, coming directly from the arena connected to the castle.

The next second, an explosion rocked the arena.

The ground trembled beneath Han Qingshi’s feet as smoke burst upward into the sky. From his position, he couldn’t clearly see what was happening inside, but he didn’t need to. The scale of the disturbance alone told him the plan was unfolding exactly as intended.

He watched as death knights and countless normal zombies rushed toward the arena, abandoning their previous posts in panic.

Han Qingshi rose to his feet, ready to move.

But just as he stepped forward, the windows on the upper floors of the castle suddenly shattered.

A figure leapt out.

He only caught a brief glimpse, but it was enough to know who she was.

It was the Zombie Queen.

Her skin was pale, almost unnaturally flawless, and for a fleeting moment he thought she resembled some of the elite female disciples of Frostpeak Sect rather than an undead ruler. The sight lasted only an instant before she vanished from view, rushing toward the arena.

Moments later, an overwhelming surge of demonic qi erupted from that direction, followed by a chilling screech that echoed across the city.

Han Qingshi smiled.

Hopefully, the prisoners would keep her occupied long enough.

Without hesitation, he jumped from the rooftop. His chain shot forward, wrapping around a stone pole, and he swung himself ahead before landing smoothly near the castle entrance. He rushed inside through the now-unguarded gate.

The interior was in chaos.

A few zombies stumbled into his path, but his chains moved faster than thought, slicing through them before they could even react. Bodies collapsed silently behind him as he advanced deeper into the castle.

Fortunately, no death knights appeared. Facing them would have slowed him down considerably, and time was the one thing he did not have.

Even so, more than three dozen zombies fell before he reached the upper floors.

When he finally arrived at the top level, he slowed. A long hallway stretched before him, lined with identical doors. Without hesitation, he moved toward the fourth door and stopped in front of it.

Logic told him opening it would trigger a trap, but he remembered Princess Yanyue’s instructions.

So he pushed the door open.

It swung inward without resistance.

Han Qingshi smiled faintly as he stepped inside and moved his eyes. He had broken into the private library of the Zombie Queen, Vesrya.

***

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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