Chapter 5 - 10X Rewards

Wan’er choked on my words, her cheeks turning pink. "Y-You... you shameless scoundrel! If she dies of cold on your desolate peak, I will hold you personally responsible."

"Rest assured, Senior Sister. I take very good care of my women—er, my disciples."

Ignoring Wan’er’s murderous, blushing glare, Lu Chen turned to Qingxue. She swayed as the adrenaline wore off, her knees threatening to buckle.

Without hesitation, Lu Chen bent, slipped one arm beneath her shoulders and the other under her knees, and scooped her light, emaciated frame into his arms.

Qingxue stiffened and gasped. "M-Master... I am filthy... your robes—"

"Dirt washes off, little disciple," Lu Chen murmured, sending a gentle stream of warm Core Formation qi into her back to soothe the pain. "Close your eyes. We are going home."

Her tense muscles slowly, almost miraculously, relaxed against his chest. Her head slumped against his shoulder, and she slipped into an exhausted slumber.

[Unprecedented safety/warmth, Affection +5, Current 20/100 (Tier 1: Growing Devotion)]

Lu Chen grinned and summoned his flying sword. The jade blade appeared beneath his boots, carrying him into the azure sky in a streak of green lightning, leaving the plaza, and a flustered Senior Sister, behind.

Lonely Cloud Peak was as desolate as ever, ancient, moss-covered pavilions perched above misty precipices, groves of jade bamboo and wild spirit herbs, a thick natural spirit vein, and unmaintained gardens giving the place a rustic, overgrown charm.

Lu Chen carried Qingxue into the main courtyard, kicked open the cleanest guest pavilion, and laid her on a soft, silk-lined bamboo bed.

Taking a wet towel infused with spirit spring water, I gently wiped away the thick grime, soot, and dried blood from her face. As the filth receded, the breathtaking reality of her features became unmistakable... high, delicate cheekbones, skin as pale and pure as uncarved mutton-fat jade, and thick, raven lashes resting over porcelain eyelids.

Even asleep and emaciated, she looked like a fallen immortal princess.

A genuine protagonist-grade jade beauty.

Now, it was time for business.

I reached into my spatial ring and rummaged through my meager savings. Because of my mediocre talent, I had hoarded various basic pills over the years, hoping one of them might accidentally dissolve my bottleneck.

My fingers brushed past a wooden jade box.

Opening it, I found a single, pale-green medicinal pill inside, emitting a bitter, earthy fragrance.

[Item: Marrow Cleansing Pill]

[Grade: Mortal / Low Spirit Grade]

[Effect: A harsh, basic pill used by outer sect recruits to expel mundane impurities from the flesh and open rudimentary meridians. Extremely painful to digest; modest efficacy.]

It was the cheapest, most standard cleansing pill in the entire Mystic Cloud Sect, the kind of pill an elder like Zhao Cang wouldn’t even feed to his pet spirit dogs. But for a mortal girl with clogged veins, it was an unobtainable celestial treasure.

More importantly, the system’s golden text was practically vibrating in my eyes:

[First-Time Investment Special: Guaranteed 10x Critical Evolution.]

A few moments later, Shen Qingxue stirred. Her long lashes trembled, and her dark, obsidian eyes fluttered open.

For a fraction of a second, panic flared in her pupils as she scrambled to sit up, her hand instinctively clutching at her side as if reaching for a dagger.

But when her eyes landed on the pristine, incense-scented room, and then on me sitting leisurely by the bedside, pouring two cups of warm tea, her defensive posture slowly melted.

"Master..." she croaked softly, clutching the silk blanket to her chest.

"Awake?" I smiled warmly, handing her a steaming cup of tea. "Drink. It’s brewed with morning dew from spirit bamboo. It will soothe your parched throat."

She took the cup with two trembling hands and took a tiny sip. The warmth spread through her chest, bringing a faint, healthy flush to her pale cheeks.

"Master... why did you save me?" she asked quietly, staring down into the green liquid. "The deacon was right. My father... my entire clan was slaughtered because we were too weak. I ran across three mortal kingdoms, starved, and begged, only to be told my roots were useless waste. What can a cripple like me ever offer you?"

She can offer me a 10x return multiplier, a harem slot, and an express ticket to the Nascent Soul realm, obviously.

Naturally, that wasn’t what I said.

I looked straight into her wounded, guarded eyes, my expression carrying boundless gentleness. "A tiger does not lose its fangs just because it is trapped in a pit, Qingxue. You climbed ten thousand steps on bleeding knees not for immortality, but for strength. For vengeance."

She gasped, her fingers tightening around the porcelain teacup.

"I don’t care about your past, nor do I care about who wronged you," I said softly, retrieving the small wooden box and placing it directly into her scarred, delicate palm. "A master’s duty is not to judge the disciple’s burden, but to give her the sword to sever it. Take this."

Shen Qingxue looked down and cautiously opened the wooden box. The faint herbal fragrance of the Marrow Cleansing Pill drifted up.

"This is..."

"A Marrow Cleansing Pill," I said casually, as if handing over a piece of candy. "It will burn. It will wash the mortal poison from your bones and force open your clogged meridians. From this day forth, you are no longer a mortal beggar. You are Shen Qingxue, first disciple of Lonely Cloud Peak."

Tears...hot, uncontainable tears...welled up in those proud, terrifying eyes for the very first time.

In the mortal kingdom, cultivators looked upon mortals like ants, stepping on them without a second thought. Her enemies had treated her like cattle. Yet this handsome, transcendent immortal master had shielded her from the elders, brought her to his mountain, treated her wounds, and handed her an immortal pill without demanding a single oath of slavery or blood contract like others would have... instead, he took her as his disciple.

THUD!

Shen Qingxue scrambled out of bed, fell onto her knees before me, and pressed her forehead against the polished wooden floor.

"Disciple Shen Qingxue... thanks Master for the grace of rebirth!" she sobbed, her voice trembling with raw devotion. "In this life, if Qingxue ever betrays Master, may the heavens strike my soul into ash, never to enter the cycle of reincarnation!"

DING!

A deafening, euphoric cascade of golden system notifications exploded in my head: [Target Shen Qingxue has experienced an emotional breakthrough!]

[Affection skyrocketing: +40!]

[Current Affection: 60/100 (Tier 2: Boundless Devotion / Absolute Loyalty)!]

[Investment Multiplier upgraded: 5x unlocked!]

[Gift Confirmed: Low-Grade Marrow Cleansing Pill bestowed upon Target Shen Qingxue!]

[Triggering First-Time Investment Special: Guaranteed 10x Critical Evolution!]

[Reward mutating...]

[Critical Mutation Success! Low-Grade Marrow cleansing Pill has evolved into: Heaven-Grade Nirvana Dragon-Bone Elixir!]

[Reward deposited safely. Ready for Host retrieval!]

Heaven-Grade Nirvana Dragon-Bone Elixir?!

My heart did three consecutive backflips inside my chest. A Heaven-Grade elixir! Even the Sect Master of our entire Mystic Cloud Sect probably hadn’t touched a Heaven-Grade pill in a century.

With this, my three-year Core Formation bottleneck wasn’t just going to break, it was going to be pulverized into dust.

Looking down at the weeping, devout girl kneeling at my feet, I leaned forward and rested a warm, comforting hand on her messy raven hair.

"Stand up, foolish girl," I said with a tender smile, helping her back to the bed. "Swallow the pill and begin your purification. Your Master will be in the courtyard, watching over you."

"Yes, Master!" she nodded fiercely, clutching the wooden box against her chest like it was the most precious holy relic in the universe.

I turned and calmly walked out of the pavilion, sliding the wooden doors shut behind me.

The second the doors clicked closed, the transcendent immortal facade melted completely off my face. A massive, shameless grin spread from ear to ear as I rubbed my hands together like a starving bandit who had just hijacked the imperial treasury.

"System," I whispered eagerly, my eyes gleaming with greed. "Withdraw the Heaven-Grade Nirvana Dragon-Bone Elixir! Tonight, your Master is breaking through."