Cultivation Is Money-Grabbing C46

Chapter 46: Identity Reveal – Secretly Snacking on Magical Beast Materials

Late at night, in the thirteenth residence of Clear Bamboo Courtyard, a sudden thud broke the silence inside the room.

The person on the bed sat up in shock and immediately lit the night lamp.

As the warm glow illuminated the room, Lian Mu scanned her surroundings, but there was nothing unusual.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead, her heart still pounding.

The seventh time.

This was the seventh time she had dreamt of fighting magical beasts—only to die in the dream and wake up in reality.

She wasn’t sure when it started, but these dreams had been plaguing her for a while now. At first, she thought it was because she had spent too much time at Star-Plucking Tower, that it was just her subconscious replaying things she had seen. But later, she realized these dreams were becoming increasingly real, and the magical beasts in them were ones she had never encountered before.

Worse, when she woke up, she felt as if her spiritual energy had been drained.

Lian Mu got out of bed, rummaged through her bamboo cabinet, and pulled out a pile of small porcelain bottles. She poured out over a dozen pills and swallowed them all.

She checked the bottom of the bottle—empty.

These pills were all refined using magical beast cores and were originally meant to sustain her spiritual energy for half a month per pill. But recently, she had been consuming an excessive amount of spiritual energy while refining artifacts, and coupled with these bizarre dreams, a dozen pills barely lasted her a few days.

Not only that, but she had also noticed that her spiritual energy was depleting at an alarming rate. Sometimes, in the middle of refining an artifact, she would feel dizzy, her dantian throbbing with pain.

She had searched the sect’s library for answers, but her access was limited to the lower levels, and she found nothing related to her condition.

The Feng family’s secret records only mentioned that magical beast cores could replenish spiritual energy, along with a bunch of irrelevant alchemy formulas that weren’t useful to her.

Lian Mu had a strong hunch that the answer to her condition lay in the upper six floors of the library pavilion.

But only cultivators with at least a single spiritual root could enter those levels. There was no way she could borrow a guest token from a single spiritual root disciple.

Among the Heaven-grade spiritual root cultivators who had access, she only knew Xu Xianxing—but as an artifact refiner, he was only allowed into the sections related to artifact crafting. The alchemy section was off-limits to him.

…Wait, she also knew Ji Mingyue.

Borrowing Ji Mingyue’s guest token was out of the question, but as a Heaven-grade spiritual root alchemy cultivator, she probably knew a lot. Lian Mu could try asking her directly.

With a plan in mind, she decided to seek Ji Mingyue out the next day.

After taking the pills, Lian Mu was wide awake. Every time she closed her eyes, images of magical beasts filled her mind.

She sat cross-legged on the floor, a simple wooden table beside her. Green Bean was curled up on a pagoda-shaped fluorite stone, sleeping soundly. Hearing her movements, the little scorpion’s eyes flickered before it climbed onto her lap.

Lian Mu pulled out her spatial pouch. With nothing better to do, she decided to process some magical beast materials.

She had previously spent a fortune on a small forge for refining artifacts, but after realizing it was too low-grade to be useful for sword forging, she had tossed it into her spatial pouch.

Now was a good time to test it out on magical beast materials.

She took out a magic crystal knife and began slicing through a pile of materials. The knife had been purchased from Xu Xianxing at a “friendship price” of ten thousand spirit stones and was incredibly convenient to use.

Due to her recent energy drain, Lian Mu had learned a cost-saving trick—before refining an artifact, she would cut off a small piece of the magical beast material and conduct a fusion test. If the materials blended well, the chances of a successful refinement were significantly higher, reducing waste.

Green Bean watched her intently, its eyes following every movement. As Lian Mu set a piece of magical beast material aside, the little scorpion sneakily pulled it closer with its pincers and started munching.

Lian Mu was only experimenting, casually forging the fused materials into all sorts of odd shapes. She glanced around at her empty room and had an idea—why not use the leftover scraps to make some furniture? Low-grade materials didn’t require much spiritual energy to shape.

After finishing a broom handle, she instinctively reached for another piece of material—only to feel something cold and rough.

Looking down, she saw that Green Bean had gnawed a chunk out of a golden beast spirit armor, leaving it covered in bite marks.

The scorpion blinked, and their eyes met. The room fell into an awkward silence.

“…”

Lian Mu: “Are you… stealing my materials?”

No wonder it had been following her around—it was just after her magical beast supplies.

But… it could actually bite through golden beast spirit armor?

She wasn’t sure what kind of scorpion this was, but if it could eat magical beast materials, perhaps it was a type of magical beast itself?

Lian Mu narrowed her eyes at the black scorpion, wondering if any part of its body could be used as a valuable material.

Sensing imminent danger, Green Bean bolted, scurrying under the bed.

Lian Mu: “…”

After tidying up her forge, she noted down the materials that had successfully fused. When she looked up again, the sky had already brightened.

—

Yinxiang Peak

At the entrance of the mountain, two senior disciples blocked the path, their expressions oddly hesitant.

“Junior Sister Lian, the Peak Master has ordered that sword cultivators are strictly forbidden from loitering at Yinxiang Peak.”

Lian Mu had come early in the morning. “Senior brothers, I’m not here to slack off. I’m looking for someone—your Heaven-grade spiritual root alchemy cultivator. Is she around?”

One of the senior brothers hesitated before responding, “Well… Junior Sister Ji has indeed returned recently. Hold on a moment.”

The other senior brother took out a Fish-and-Goose Stone and stepped aside to communicate. After a brief exchange, he returned and said, “Junior Sister Ji asks you to wait for her at the third residence of Hundred Flowers Courtyard. She’ll be there shortly.”

The two senior brothers finally let Lian Mu pass, but not without a parting remark—

“Junior Sister Lian, next time, don’t try to slack off at Yinxiang Peak. Train properly.”

Lian Mu: “……”

Lian Mu was silent for only a moment before walking away. Her reputation was already tainted beyond redemption, so she might as well just take the blame. At least it would help cover up the fact that she was learning alchemy.

Baihua (Hundred Flowers) Garden was not far from the mountain gate. It was a clearing specially designated by the Peak Master of Yinxing Peak as a resting place for alchemy cultivators who practiced refining pills through the night.

As soon as she stepped into Baihua Garden, a mix of floral scents filled the air. The lodging area was nestled in an orchid grove, and the overwhelming fragrance made Lian Mu feel dizzy. She quickly found her designated place and ducked inside.

Once inside, the intense floral aroma dissipated, replaced by a faint medicinal bitterness.

Lian Mu had just sat down when someone pushed the door open and entered right behind her.

“Ji—”

She had only uttered half a name before stopping abruptly upon seeing who it was.

“Who are you?”

A young man with delicate features stood at the doorway. He stopped in his tracks upon seeing her, his gaze filled with wariness and uncertainty.

Lian Mu recognized him instantly. This was the same young man who had sat across from her in the dining hall earlier—the only Body Cultivator with a Heavenly Spiritual Root in Gui Xian Sect within the past hundred years.

That inexplicable sense of familiarity struck her again, but she remained silent.

She couldn’t immediately recall where the familiarity came from, but Wen Yun had already made a connection: “You… were sent by Xu Xianxing to mess with me?”

Lian Mu: “?”

Wen Yun stepped inside, kicking the door shut behind him, sealing the exit.

He raised an eyebrow, his tone playful yet sharp: “Too bad I caught you in the act. Xu Xianxing should’ve at least sent someone smarter.”

At that moment, Lian Mu suddenly realized why he seemed so familiar. That way of speaking—it was unmistakable.

She scrutinized him—short hair, a Body Cultivator, a deep-seated grudge against Artifact Refiners, an attitude that begged for a beating, and a Heavenly Spiritual Root…

“Eighteen years old?”

She asked hesitantly.

Wen Yun paused. “What?”

Now certain she hadn’t mistaken him, Lian Mu listed the facts: “Are you the Body Cultivator from Star-Plucking Pavilion, Eighteen years old?”

Wen Yun froze, then suddenly lunged forward and grabbed her wrist. “Xu Xianxing actually dared to investigate me in secret? What’s your purpose here?”

“It’s not that.” Lian Mu said, “Let go first. This is Yinxing Peak.”

But Wen Yun held on tightly, determined to get an answer. Annoyed by his grip, Lian Mu swung her left fist, landing a punch on his cheek.

“I told you to let go! We can talk properly!”

Caught off guard, Wen Yun took the hit and staggered back two steps.

Finally free, Lian Mu flexed her wrist and began, “I am—”

Before she could finish, the door was pushed open once again.

Ji Mingyue entered, carrying freshly picked spiritual herbs. As soon as she stepped inside, she was met with the sight of two people locked in an intense standoff—one of them sporting a fresh red mark on his face.

Ji Mingyue blinked in confusion. “What happened?”

She had been busy with her studies lately, preparing to submit her last batch of pills to her master. She had been staying at Baihua Garden for convenience and had asked Lian Mu to wait for her here after hearing that she was looking for her.

She hadn’t expected to return to this scene.

Wen Yun spoke first: “She and Xu Xianxing are secretly investigating us.”

At his words, Ji Mingyue’s expression sharpened. She shut the door behind her. “What’s going on?”

Lian Mu: “…So you two know each other.”

Hearing this, Wen Yun turned to Ji Mingyue. “You know her?”

Sensing a misunderstanding, Ji Mingyue set down her basket of spiritual herbs and explained, “Her name is Lian Mu, a Sword Cultivator from Cold Arrival Peak. She escorted me to Stone Wolf Cavern before coming up the mountain. And this is Wen Yun—you should have heard of him. A Body Cultivator with a Heavenly Spiritual Root, and a friend of mine.”

“Lian Mu is here to see me this time.”

With the introductions done, the tension finally eased.

Wen Yun squinted at Lian Mu. “How did you know my identity?”

Meeting his gaze, Lian Mu reached into her Spatial Pouch and pulled out Facai. “What do you think?”

The sight of the sword stunned Wen Yun. “You’re… So it was you! Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Lian Mu: “…”

Wen Yun’s demeanor changed in an instant. Now it was Ji Mingyue’s turn to be confused. “Wait, you two know each other?”

Wen Yun casually moved to stand beside Lian Mu, as if he hadn’t just been punched. “She’s the skilled Sword Cultivator I mentioned before—the one who says cultivation is just a money grab.”

Lian Mu: “So, you’re the Alchemy Cultivator he keeps talking about?”

Ji Mingyue fell silent.

The three of them exchanged glances, momentarily at a loss for words.

In the end, they all reached the same conclusion: This was fate.

Now that everything was out in the open, they skipped the pleasantries and got straight to business.

Lian Mu took out a small notebook. “I came to ask you something. My friend rebuilt her spiritual roots and took up both alchemy and artifact refinement. Lately, she’s been noticing that her spiritual energy is depleting faster and faster. Is there a way to remedy this?”

Ji Mingyue’s brows immediately furrowed. “Your friend rebuilt her spiritual roots and switched paths twice? And on top of that…”

“Yes.”

Ji Mingyue’s expression grew even more serious. Her voice carried a heavy note of concern:

“Your friend is really not taking care of her body.”