Chapter 33: A Conscience Awakens

"Oh, right, didn't I save a black cat yesterday? I wonder how it's doing now."

Chen Huai'an stood up, about to check on the shoe box.

Inside the shoe box, the black cat, still dazed from being kicked, perked up at the sound, ready to charm Chen Huai'an and get closer to him.

Just then.

Buzz—!

The phone on the coffee table vibrated with a notification.

Chen Huai'an sat back down on the sofa.

The black cat's heart sank again, and it lay back down.

[Your electronic girlfriend is under attack by inner demons!]

Chen Huai'an was startled. He opened the game's interface and saw Li Qingran sitting cross-legged on the bed, her face pale, brows furrowed, and covered in fine beads of sweat. Her forehead was dark, her lips were bluish, and her delicate face was clearly filled with pain.

"Do inner demons appear during the Qi Refining stage?" Chen Huai'an was at a loss.

He had read many novels, and in those stories, the protagonists usually encountered inner demons at higher cultivation levels.

Who would face inner demons during the Qi Refining stage?

Opening Li Qingran's status bar, the explanation for the inner demon debuff gave him some clarity:

[Inner Demons Arise: Inner demons are not related to cultivation level but are born from the cultivator's . Obsessions, evil thoughts, greed, and more can all become inner demons. Inner demons can arise spontaneously from a cultivator's experiences or be induced by certain demonic cultivation techniques, causing even those without inner demons to develop them. To dispel inner demons, one must resolve the underlying .]

"Is that so? Then what thoughts are troubling Li Qingran?"

Chen Huai'an recalled Li Qingran's background.

Aside from her parents being killed by villains, the biggest blow to her cultivation journey was undoubtedly the people of Chixiao Peak. In fact, the entire Qingyun Sect was a nightmare for her. Knowing the source was one thing, but figuring out how to resolve it was another.

He hadn't forgotten that this was a game, so he began poking around, looking for the recharge page.

This game had another absurd feature—aside from the obvious in-game store, all other paid features were hidden. For example, protecting Li Qingran wasn't a permanent option. Only by following the storyline and waiting for the game to prompt a recharge button could he spend money to solve her problems.

It was so annoying!

The game developers always gave off the vibe of trying to have their cake and eat it too.

"Forget it, I can't find it. When in doubt, divine the heavens!" Chen Huai'an directly opened the game's customer service.

[This divination will cost 100¥ and grant you a debuff. Proceed?]

"Proceed!"

[Divining the heavens…]

Cangyun Realm, where winds and clouds suddenly shifted.

"Hiss—! That great being again? They divined the heavens at noon, and now they're doing it again!?"

"Is something major about to happen in Cangyun Realm?"

"First, a divine pill appeared in Wanshan, then a spiritual light shot into the sky. That senior's divination might be related to these two phenomena…"

"The Central Continent's secret realm is about to open… Troubled times indeed, sigh—!"

...

Sword Pavilion.

Sect Master Su Qinian stood atop Sword Peak, his arms crossed, holding a sword. Dressed in white, his robes fluttered in the wind, his long white hair dancing wildly. His eyes narrowed as he gazed toward Wanshan, exuding the demeanor of a true master.

However, this masterful demeanor didn't last long.

The next second, he cursed:

"Damn Qingyun Sect, damn heavens! All the good stuff goes to Wanshan, huh? Just you wait, I'll make you regret it during the Central Continent's secret realm!"

"Sect Master!"

A Sword Pavilion elder descended from his flying sword and bowed. "Sect Master, two major events!"

"What is it?" Su Qinian straightened his expression, calmly stroking his beard.

"Sect Master, we're out of money." The elder hesitated, his face pale.

"Huh?" Su Qinian was stunned. "If we're out of spirit stones, go dig them up from the back mountain!"

"That's the thing… the spirit stones are gone. The mine's exhausted…"

"Damn it! So soon?" Su Qinian couldn't hold back.

This wasn't entirely unexpected.

Last month, he had known the back mountain's spirit stone mine was nearing depletion.

He just didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

For now, he could only reassure: "Leave this to me. I'll figure out a way to get more spirit stones. Anything else?"

The Sword Pavilion was already poor enough, known as the poorest sect in Cangyun Realm. Relying on the back mountain's spirit stone mine and a few other ventures, they had barely managed to get by. Now, with the Central Continent's secret realm approaching, the sect was in dire need of resources to prepare, making things even worse.

It seemed they'd have to sell some assets…

Su Qinian instinctively reached for the flying sword at his waist.

Clang—!

The sword let out a sharp cry, trembling violently.

"And…" The elder swallowed hard. "Our sect's guardian beast is in heat. It's requesting to go out for mating… It says if we don't let it out, it'll dig up all the spiritual herbs in the back mountain."

Su Qinian's mouth twitched.

Going to the Beast Sect for mating would cost money, and the beast wouldn't settle for ordinary creatures.

But the heat issue couldn't be ignored either—the spiritual herbs were money! Letting the guardian beast out would endanger the outer disciples' safety. That wasn't an option either!

In that case…

He instinctively reached for the flying sword at his waist, his face showing a pained expression as he closed his eyes and said, "Neuter it."

"What?!" The elder was horrified.

Su Qinian suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp with sword intent, a murderous aura erupting as he growled, "Damn it, tell that beast that the sect's broke. It better hold it in, or I'll neuter it!"

Sect guardian beasts were usually male creatures raised from infancy by the sect, known for their strong offensive capabilities. Neutering them would stunt their growth and diminish their aggression.

The elder left with a bitter expression.

If the sect master had been pushed to this point, it truly meant the sect was in dire straits.

Su Qinian continued to stand on the cliff, staring into the distance.

Outwardly calm,

his right hand was already reaching into his storage bag, feeling for the nightclothes inside…

"Alright, time to figure out how to make some money."

...

[Divination complete!]

[To dispel Li Qingran's inner demons, she must return to Qingyun Sect and sever all ties with Chixiao Peak.]

[Li Qingran is suffering from inner demon backlash, and her cultivation is about to regress. Please use the Meridian Opening Needle and the Supreme Heart Protection Pill to stabilize her realm (There is no risk in using the Meridian Opening Needle this time, and the Supreme Heart Protection Pill is a free gift. Use with confidence.)]

[You have gained the debuff for 24 hours.]

...

"A supreme-grade pill for free? Holy cow! Have the game developers grown a conscience?" Chen Huai'an was seeing this game's generosity for the first time. Even if it was a plot-driven freebie, it still felt a bit unusual to him.

A flash of blue light.

The Supreme Heart Protection Pill appeared on the table.

At the same time, thousands of miles away, in Qingyun Sect.

Chixiao Peak's second disciple, Xiao Yifeng, had just returned to his cave, happily taking out his alchemy furnace.

"This Supreme Heart Protection Pill is finally mine! The high-grade and mid-grade ones I bought before weren't enough for me to figure out the refining secrets, but this one will definitely do the trick." Xiao Yifeng smirked.

Although Qingyun Sect had the Heart Protection Pill recipe,

each alchemist's techniques differed, resulting in varying pill qualities. Ordinary alchemy methods could only produce low-grade to high-grade pills. Only those master alchemists who had developed their own unique methods could refine supreme-grade and even immortal-grade pills.

These methods were naturally closely guarded secrets, extremely valuable.

And very few could reverse-engineer these details from the pills themselves.

Coincidentally, he was such a genius.

"Once I figure out how to refine the Supreme Heart Protection Pill, junior sister will definitely admire me even more!" With that thought, Xiao Yifeng felt that spending his entire fortune on a single Supreme Heart Protection Pill wasn't so painful after all.

He reached into his storage bag.

His face gradually paled:

"It's gone? All the pills I bought…

My Supreme Heart Protection Pill… is gone?!"