Chapter 112

Chapter 112: Taken for Granted

Inside Emotionless Peak, Li Shuang’s eyes turned thoughtful.

After returning with her Contribution Points, her cultivation rose again in a short time. This rise was even greater than before. She jumped straight from early Foundation Establishment to Mid Foundation Establishment.

People know the Foundation Establishment Stage needs far more spiritual power than the Qi Refining Stage. Yet this sudden increase was more than all her earlier gains put together. Even so, the new power was solid and steady. When she used it, there was no awkward pause at all, as if she had earned it through long, hard practice.

A faint thought flickered through her mind: [Every time my cultivation jumps, Ye Zhao Zhao’s cultivation drops.]

This time her growth was huge. [What about Ye Zhao Zhao? Did she fall again?] She planned to check when she had the chance. Her gut told her these gains were not a bad thing, but if she could not figure out why they were happening, she would still care.

She put the question aside for now and began to count her harvest.

Thanks to the furnace’s help, her trip to the Langya Secret Realm had been a complete success. The items she turned in earned her a total of fifteen thousand three hundred Contribution Points inside the sect.

And that was not all. In her storage bag, she still had three Sixth Tier treasures, plus more than a dozen Fourth Tier and Fifth Tier treasures. She did not plan to use those yet. In a crisis, they would be her edge. After all, with the Heaven and Earth Furnace, she could turn resources into what she needed in an instant.

She already knew how to spend the sect Contribution Points. She had stepped into the Foundation Establishment Stage. Upgrading the Black Abyss Sword needed to be put on the schedule. Right now, Black Abyss was a basic First Tier sword. She planned to take Li Li to the Sect Treasury and see which materials fit Li Li best. Once they chose the materials, she could begin the upgrade.

She herself had forged the Dragon Roar Sword before. While she would not call her talent unmatched, she was confident she could forge Black Abyss up to Fourth Tier. After that, she would either keep studying Forging Technique or invite a master smith. The Sword Sect had no shortage of master smiths. If she paid, she could surely ask one to help.

As she thought, she looked at the slowly spinning Heaven and Earth Furnace, and a strange idea flashed through her eyes: [Is this furnace really only for trading one thing for another?] She had a guess she needed to test. She would take the Black Abyss Sword to the Sect Treasury, exchange for upgrade materials, and then try her idea.

If things were as she imagined, then this Heaven and Earth Furnace was truly heaven defying.

Thinking this, she could not sit still.

She had just left Emotionless Peak when she ran into Sheng Yuan, whose eyes carried a shadow of gloom.

Li Shuang frowned. This was Sheng Yuan? In her memory, he was a proper, upright man. After all, she had personally taught this Junior Brother. But now, his whole air had changed. He looked deep and heavy, no longer the child who woke from nightmares in the middle of the night.

Sheng Yuan saw her and walked over: “Senior Sister Li.”

Li Shuang lifted a brow. Their meeting was not a coincidence. Sheng Yuan had waited here on purpose.

She felt there was nothing to say to the people of Ling Xu Peak, but she remembered what Yan Xiao had told her in the secret realm and stopped. Ling Xu Peak was a mess now, and that was not her concern, yet she still worried about Yan Xiao and the others. Sheng Yuan’s gloomy look was probably related to the seized resources. She was curious why he had come. [Does he expect me to step in and manage things for him?]

She said calmly: “Junior Brother Sheng.”

Seeing her cold face, Sheng Yuan’s eyes flashed with blame: “Senior Sister Li, now that Ling Xu Peak is in chaos, you must be happy, right? Half the disciples would rather give up a month of resources than stay. You must be very proud. Do you think Ling Xu Peak cannot work without you?”

Li Shuang looked at him without speaking. His face twisted, his eyes soaked in emotion. He had already lost his clear heart.

She said without expression: “Junior Brother Sheng, what does Ling Xu Peak’s chaos have to do with me?”

His voice suddenly went sharp: “What does it have to do with you? Weren’t you the one who stirred the disciples to make trouble? Your name carries weight. When you call, they answer. Now Ling Xu Peak is truly in chaos. Are you not pleased? Senior Sister Li, Ling Xu Peak reached its current size with your effort too. Are you going to destroy what you built?”

He ground on, voice tight with anger: “I admit, we may have treated you poorly before. Is that why you are taking revenge? Don’t you think what you did is too much?”

He looked up, only to meet a pair of very calm eyes. His heart thumped. Gritting his teeth, he snapped: “I forgot, you practice the Supreme Emotionless Art. You are a person without feelings.”

She let him finish his venting. When he finally stopped, she said mildly: “Sheng Yuan, do you really not know why Ling Xu Peak is in chaos?”

Was it that he did not know, or that blaming others was easier to accept?

His lips trembled. After a long moment, he looked at her and said: “Senior Sister Li, I do not want to argue. In the secret realm, Zhao Zhao and Le An were simple and honest, but you calculated from start to finish, while you gained a lot. I am not asking you for free. Lend me some spirit stones or Contribution Points so I can cover our losses from this trip. I can press down what happened in the secret realm and not make trouble for you.”

Li Shuang stared, surprised. [How did he become like this?]

She shook her head and said with no expression: “As for the secret realm, my Heart Questioning is clear. Instead of saying these strange things to me, you should think about how to calm your people.”

His eyes reddened: “Li Shuang, I am not asking for free. I am only borrowing. When things ease up, I will pay you back. You just returned with a full harvest. Lending me a little is not hard for you. Are you not even willing to help with this small matter?”

Sheng Yuan looked at Li Shuang with deep disappointment: “Were you not once the First Senior Sister who cared for your Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters?”