Chapter 38: The Path of Robbery—Her Cultivation Is Just About Stealing Money…

Lian Mu had nothing to do recently, so she stayed in the Library Pavilion. The senior disciple in charge already recognized her and didn’t stop her from coming in.

He couldn’t understand why a sword cultivator like Lian Mu kept running to the Library Pavilion every day. Later, he overheard others talking about how she had a reputation for being lazy back on Cold Arrival Peak. She was probably caught slacking off at Yinxiang Peak and had now changed locations.

That explanation made the most sense.

Lian Mu was unaware of how she was perceived by the senior disciple in the Library Pavilion. She only knew that since he recognized her, she no longer had to spend money borrowing a temporary jade token. Even though borrowing one only cost ten spirit stones, ten spirit stones were still money—saving where she could was always best.

Recently, she had been studying artifact refinement knowledge above the fifth tier, but the results weren’t promising. For some reason, whenever she tried to replicate the methods in the books to craft a small spirit artifact for practice, she would feel dizzy. The best she could manage was a sixth-tier artifact, and despite all her efforts, she hadn’t improved. Instead, she had wasted a lot of Magical Beast materials.

Lian Mu wasn’t bothered about wasting Magical Beast materials—after all, she could always find ways to get them for free.

She couldn’t figure out the cause of her struggles, but she had a bad habit: the more unattainable something was, the more she wanted it. So, in the past few days, she hadn’t even returned to Qingzhu Courtyard. During the day, she stayed in the Library Pavilion, and at night, she went to Star-Plucking Tower to hunt Magical Beasts. When she got tired, she simply rested in the room designated for Artifact Refiners.

The body cultivator known as “Eighteen-Year-Old” was shocked. “Are you in a bad mood lately?”

Lian Mu walked out carrying a Spatial Pouch stuffed full of Magical Beast materials, her expression blank. “Not really, I just suddenly find Magical Beasts annoying.”

Even the black-clad bounty issuer was struggling to keep a straight face, but he didn’t dare say anything in front of the two of them. “…”

Damn it, this girl treated cultivation as robbery. She treated their Star-Plucking Tower’s bounty list as a free pass to loot Magical Beast materials.

Whenever she took on a bounty, the Magical Beast was left with nothing but dust afterward—there wasn’t even a scrap left for them to collect.

Her strength was formidable, and with Eighteen-Year-Old accompanying her, there was no telling how many bounties they took in a single night.

From what he could see, Eighteen-Year-Old was only interested in fighting and had no interest in rewards, meaning all the benefits landed in Lian Mu’s lap. Not only did she take all the Magical Beast materials, but she also collected all the bounty rewards. The black-clad man couldn’t even imagine how comfortably she was living now.

But for the time being, there was nothing they could do about it. It was normal for hunters to damage bounty-designated parts while killing Magical Beasts. It wasn’t like they could ask the hunters to be extra careful—Magical Beasts weren’t like people who could hold back in a fight. Any hesitation could lead to failure.

And Lian Mu had found a loophole in the system.

She was the first person in Star-Plucking Tower’s history to operate like this. No one had ever thought of stripping bounty-designated Magical Beasts of their materials before handing them in.

Star-Plucking Tower had always made money from collecting Magical Beast materials. They were used to being the ones profiting from others, yet now, they were being robbed blind by this “Cultivation Is Just a Money Grab” girl.

At that moment, the black-clad man finally understood the meaning behind her name.

Her cultivation wasn’t about pursuing the sword path—it was the path of taking money.

“What’s wrong with him?”

Lian Mu glanced at the black-clad man, who suddenly had a look of enlightenment on his face, and found it odd.

Eighteen-Year-Old had no idea either. “Who knows? People dressed in all black here are never normal.”

The two of them simply walked away, ignoring the black-clad man.

As she walked, Lian Mu continued thinking about artifact refinement. Eighteen-Year-Old checked the time and turned to her. “I have to go. See you later.”

“Leaving so early?” Lian Mu asked.

“Family’s keeping a close eye on me lately, got some stuff to deal with.”

Lian Mu: “…”

This was the first time she had heard the phrase “family’s keeping a close eye on me” since arriving in this world.

But she didn’t ask further. She had her own matters to handle. After parting ways with Eighteen-Year-Old, she went straight to the Artifact Refiners’ room to continue working on a fifth-tier spirit artifact.

Failing a few more times didn’t matter—maybe next time, she would succeed.

With that mindset, Lian Mu never gave up. She even planned to take a closer look at fifth-tier swords when the elders took them to the Sword Pavilion.

Of course, the elders wouldn’t allow someone with triple spiritual roots like her to take a fifth-tier sword. She could only look.

That night, as expected, she pulled another all-nighter. Lian Mu felt like she would collapse if she didn’t rest soon. After completing her last step, she returned to Gui Xian Sect just before sunrise.

As soon as she lay down on her bed, she felt a tingling sensation—just like before, as if something was scratching at her.

Previously, she had dismissed it as hallucinations from exhaustion. But this time, she distinctly felt something cold against her neck.

Lian Mu had had enough. She sat up and flipped her entire bed over.

And then—she saw a pair of round, beady green eyes staring back at her.

“…”

The little black scorpion Ji Mingyue had taken away a month ago had returned.

Lian Mu picked up the black scorpion. It seemed slightly plumper than before, and its shell was glossy and dark. It had clearly been well-fed.

“Why are you back?” Without hesitation, she tossed it out the door. “I can’t afford to keep you!”

She was already struggling to survive, and now it wanted to freeload off her?

With a loud “bang,” the door shut. Lian Mu tidied up her bed and went back to sleep.

Without interruptions, she slept exceptionally well. Maybe she had killed too many Magical Beasts lately, because even in her dreams, she was hunting them. She even dreamt of species she had never seen before.

The next morning, when she stepped outside, the black scorpion was gone.

She didn’t dwell on it—today was the day the new disciples went to the Sword Pavilion to choose their swords.

When she arrived at the gathering area, most of the disciples were already there.

Murong Yi waved his silver fan, his gaze sweeping over the disciples. The moment he saw Lian Mu, he was momentarily stunned.

“Did you go out stealing these past few days?”

At his words, everyone turned to look at Lian Mu. Dark circles hung under both of her eyes, but her gaze was strangely resolute.

“No.” Lian Mu said. “Elder, let’s not waste time. We should go.”

Murong Yi: “…”

She seemed more eager than anyone else.

After a brief silence, Murong Yi led the disciples toward Thousand-Spirit Peak.

Today, the peak master had lifted the barrier for the whole sect to enter freely, but to prevent any incidents, the path down the mountain was sealed, and patrols had been increased.

As they entered Thousand-Spirit Peak, countless unseen eyes observed them.

Many disciples felt uncomfortable—sword cultivators were highly sensitive to their surroundings, trained to react to ambushes. Being watched so intensely made them instinctively want to draw their swords.

“Are the people from Thousand-Spirit Peak always this eerie?”

“They’re probably worried about spirit artifacts being stolen. There was an incident before where even the combined efforts of Cold Arrival Peak and Suiqiu Peak couldn’t recover the stolen item.”

Lian Mu was used to it. She had been stared at just like this when she visited Thousand-Spirit Peak to see Xu Xianxing before.

The Sword Pavilion was near the Spirit Tower. Unlike the tower’s radiant glow, the pavilion had a simple, weathered appearance, half-suspended over a cliff, like a silent elder who had endured countless hardships.

Murong Yi kicked open the gate of the Sword Pavilion and motioned for the disciples to enter.

The Artifact Refiner guarding the door was furious: “…”

So if the door breaks, you sword cultivators aren’t the ones fixing it, huh?!

Lian Mu was the first to rush in. The inside of the Sword Pavilion was spacious, and right at the center, a row of swords hung suspended, each one gleaming with an icy light—at a glance, they were all fine swords.

Before she could reach out for the one that immediately caught her eye, Murong Yi pulled her back. “What’s the rush? Don’t touch randomly.”

Murong Yi continued, “You can’t just take a sword because you like it. You have to choose one that matches your spiritual root. Also, if the sword you choose refuses to go with you, you’ll have to pick another.”

The swords in the Sword Pavilion were all left behind by predecessors. Some had former masters who perished, and their swords were then collected here. Choosing a sword was not just about the person selecting it—the sword, too, would choose its wielder.

After giving his instructions, he let the disciples spread out while he stood guard at the entrance.

Murong Yi stood on the left, and the Artifact Refiner guarding the door stood on the right. Their eyes met.

The gatekeeper struggled to speak, “Um… next time, could you open the door a little more gently?”

Murong Yi raised an eyebrow. “Something wrong?”

The gatekeeper hesitated. “…Nothing.”

Sword cultivators were terrifying—even their gazes carried killing intent. His master had not lied.

—

“Is this a sword personally forged by Grandmaster Yuan? Incredible!”

“It’s from a branch family of the Yuan clan, but even so, he’s still a top-tier Artifact Refiner.”

“I wish I could live in the Sword Pavilion. Imagine waking up to all these fine swords every day!”

“Too bad we can only pick one.”

“How many do you want? With that attitude, no sword will choose you.”

A group of disciples gathered around the suspended swords, discussing excitedly.

Meanwhile, Lian Mu quietly stepped away and wandered around on her own.

She had a foundation in artifact refining, so she used her spiritual energy to probe some of the swords. However, there were others she couldn’t sense at all—perhaps due to a large difference in grade.

Eventually, she discovered a wall of swords ranked Fifth Grade or higher. She approached, attempting to probe them with her spiritual energy. At first, she encountered some resistance, but after forcibly breaking through the barrier, she finally sensed the spiritual energy within.

She had read in books that low-grade spiritual artifacts often contained extracted spirit ore, whereas higher-grade ones were primarily made from Magical Beast materials. For example, Third Grade spiritual artifacts were almost entirely crafted from Magical Beast materials, with nothing mixed in to ensure purity.

The sword before her brimmed with spiritual energy, vastly different from any other she had encountered. Unlike her current weapon, Fortune, this sword contained pure, untainted spiritual energy—energy derived solely from a Magical Beast.

It seemed the key factor was the grade of the Magical Beast material. Using high-grade spirit ore as a substitute simply wouldn’t work.

Currently, she was still in the first level of the Star-Plucking Tower, trying to gather more Magical Beast materials before moving up. However, the beasts on this level were already falling behind her artifact refinement progress. She had considered compensating with high-grade spirit ore, but after many attempts, she had failed to integrate it properly.

Now that she had seen a true Fifth Grade spiritual artifact, she finally understood the gap in quality between Magical Beast materials.

Lian Mu glanced back. The others were still selecting their swords. She withdrew her hand and casually rejoined the group.

Some disciples had already found suitable swords and begun resonance. Others remained motionless, clearly having commissioned an Artifact Refiner to forge their swords before arriving. A one-to-one crafted sword would always be superior to a previously owned one, as it was tailored to the wielder.

As a Three-Spiritual-Root cultivator, the sword she could use would typically fall between Sixth and Tenth Grade. Higher-grade swords wouldn’t be approved for her to take.

She examined the Sixth Grade swords on the suspended wall but found none she liked. Testing a few, she realized none felt as good as her Fortune.

She was tempted by higher-grade swords, but the current situation didn’t allow for it.

When she entered, she noticed that the Sword Pavilion had three levels. Naturally, the swords on this level wouldn’t compare to those above.

She probably wouldn’t have the chance to reach the second or third floors in this lifetime, but she could slowly learn and forge higher-grade swords herself. It was unlikely, but not impossible.

People needed aspirations. What if she succeeded? After all, learning more never hurt.

—

“You were in such a hurry earlier. Why are you just standing there now?”

Murong Yi, having timed the selection process, entered and saw Lian Mu frozen in place. He spoke slowly.

“I can’t find what I want,” Lian Mu replied.

Murong Yi nodded. “I heard from the elders about the sword you used in your entrance re-examination. It’s indeed quite good. Compared to that, the swords here don’t suit you.”

After a brief moment of thought, he led Lian Mu to another wall. With a flick of his silver fan, he broke through a barrier. “These swords were about to be sent to the second floor. You can choose from here.”

So there was a hidden stash.

Lian Mu’s eyes lit up. “Are these Fifth Grade or higher?”

“Sixth Grade. You’re a Three-Spiritual-Root cultivator, so don’t even think about using a sword beyond your grade. The difference in rank would be too much for you to handle—it could seriously harm your body.” Murong Yi instructed, “Try releasing your spiritual energy. If a sword chooses you, you can establish resonance immediately.”

Following his instructions, Lian Mu gathered spiritual energy in her hand and spread it out.

She miscalculated. Her energy flooded the entire first floor.

In an instant, every sword on the wall in front of her trembled.

Murong Yi: “?”

The next moment, all the swords on the wall flew away, as if scrambling to escape. Some shot straight out of the pavilion, while others took a turn and plummeted off the mountain.

The gatekeeper: “…”

Damn it. If you don’t want them, fine—but throwing them away like this? Weren’t sword cultivators supposed to treasure their swords?!

Now he had to go fetch them.

Murong Yi was stunned. In all his years of guiding disciples, he had never seen anything like this.

Lian Mu was a little embarrassed. She spread her hands and glanced at the wall—only one sword remained, still trembling as if it, too, wanted to flee.

Reacting swiftly, Lian Mu rushed forward and grabbed it before it could escape. Holding it tightly, she declared, “Senior, I’ve chosen this one.”

Murong Yi finally snapped out of his daze. He looked at the sword in her hands and fell into a long silence.

“…At this point, it seems you don’t have any other options.”

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