Upon hearing Chen Tiexin’s words, Lin Yinyin immediately pulled a long face. Having grown up this big, she had never lived in such a shabby house before. It was truly miserable.

Zhang Xian, on the other hand, didn’t mind. It didn’t matter if Spirit Sword Peak was poor; he was rich.

“There’s no need to be disheartened. We may look poor, but everyone’s resources are actually equal. Don’t be fooled by these thatched huts built one after another like some mountain stronghold. The spiritual energy on our Spirit Sword Peak ranks among the top of the seventy-two peaks. Plus, each household has its own private hot spring spiritual pool. Tsk tsk, that’s something other peaks can’t enjoy.”

“If the resources are all the same, then why are we so poor?” Lin Yinyin asked curiously.

Chen Tiexin smiled and suddenly drew the long sword in her hand with a zheng, her movements as gentle as caressing a lover. “Because all the money is spent feeding my wife!”

She lovingly stroked the sword’s spine, where a gold thread as fine as a hair was embedded. “The Profound Gold Sword Pattern needs to be redrawn every year. It allows the sword to perform even better. The material cost alone is fifty contribution points.”

As she spoke, she unfastened the scabbard at her waist, revealing densely packed inscriptions on the inside. “Green Gang wood base, lined with Ice Silkworm silk, then commissioned from a talisman cultivator to inscribe Dust Repelling and Nurturing Incantations—that can’t be done for less than a hundred points.”

“And then there’s the sword tassel, the hilt wrapping, the sword case… and I only bought the basic versions.” At this point, Chen Tiexin lowered her voice a little. “The most expensive part is the full sword maintenance. Minor maintenance every three months, major maintenance once a year. It’s a constant drain of money.”

Lin Yinyin: “…”

“The most outrageous are those lunatics from Cloud-Piercing Peak,” Chen Tiexin suddenly gritted her teeth. “They buy rouge and powder for their lifebound magic swords! They say the sword has a spirit and also needs grooming.”

Just as she was speaking, her long sword suddenly buzzed and trembled violently. Chen Tiexin immediately became flustered and began stroking the sword body affectionately. “Wife, don’t be angry! I’ll definitely get you a new sword case next month! I’ll let you live in a big house.”

Zhang Xian: “…”

“What are these contribution points you mentioned?”

“Five points each for morning and evening classes daily, commonly called ‘roll call.’ Full attendance for the month earns you ten points steadily by month-end; you can take one day off per month. That’s the most basic income.”

She continued counting on her fingers: “Besides that, you can take on tasks for extra income. The Sect’s Mission Hall posts various bounties, like clearing demon beasts, gathering spirit herbs, or appeasing vengeful spirits. The various Peak Masters and Supervisors occasionally also directly assign tasks; the rewards are quite generous too.”

“For example, me coming here today to impart experience to you earns me a five-point reward. It’s considered a cushy job.”

“If you want to study at other peaks, it only costs two points per month as an exchange student fee. Dirt cheap.” Chen Tiexin grinned. “Of course, miscellaneous fees are separate. For example, for alchemy classes at Dan Ding Peak, material fees would add at least another five points.”

Zhang Xian nodded. So this was what Wangya meant by freedom and openness.

“Of course, if you go study at other peaks, you won’t get our Spirit Sword Peak’s full attendance bonus anymore. And our Spirit Sword Peak’s morning class is for learning sword techniques; the evening class is lecturing on the Nine Turns Jade Condensation Sutra.”

“These two courses are quite repetitive. Plus, Master is only a Supervisor; many of those teaching at other peaks are Peak Masters themselves. That’s why there have always been very few people joining our peak.”

“What are these Supervisors and Peak Masters you mentioned?”

“A Peak Master is the master of a peak; their cultivation must reach the late Golden Core stage. Master happens to be stuck at the sixth layer of Golden Core, so she’s a Supervisor.”

“But currently, our Spirit Sword Peak only has Master as the sole Supervisor, so she also acts as the Acting Peak Master simultaneously. Did you really come here knowing nothing?”

“Master’s morning class business is actually pretty good; disciples from other peaks often come to audit. More people attending means she gets more subsidies from the sect.”

“You just said it’s very repetitive, and Master is only a Supervisor. Why would people still come to audit?” Zhang Xian asked again.

Chen Tiexin suddenly lowered her voice and gave Zhang Xian an ambiguous look. “They’re like you; they came for Master.”

Zhang Xian: “?”

Chen Tiexin gestured an exaggerated curve in front of her chest. “The Sword Scripture… Master demonstrates it personally.”

Lin Yinyin: “!!!”

Chen Tiexin chuckled slyly. “After all, Master’s books have always been firmly in the top three within our sect.”

“What books?” Zhang Xian was stunned.

Chen Tiexin glanced out the window and casually set up an isolation array to block detection. She then pulled out several exquisitely bound booklets from her bosom. The covers prominently displayed titles like Deadly Love: My Yandere Master Falls for Me, The Yunmiao Sect Outcast: I Refine All Three Realms, and Starting with Being Jilted: The Empress Ends Up as My Palm Darling.

Lin Yinyin curiously leaned over to look and immediately widened her eyes. “Th-this yandere master… why does she look like Master?!”

“Bingo! It is Master.” Chen Tiexin snapped her fingers. “This one is the bestseller this year. Of course, Master often makes cameo appearances as part of harems in other books too. That’s why I said top three.”

After saying that, she even flipped open a book. Inside were accompanying memory crystal images—unmistakably Li Fuxi’s peerless beauty—and from some angles, one could even glimpse the outline of her… profound truths.

Zhang Xian’s mouth twitched. “The sect doesn’t care?”

“Care?” Chen Tiexin scoffed mockingly. “Guess who tacitly allows these books to circulate?”

She mysteriously pointed upwards with her finger. “It’s said that a certain high-ranking figure up there enjoys reading these books very much. As long as you don’t write explicit content, no one investigates.”

Then Chen Tiexin pointed at Lin Yinyin again. “Also, Junior Sister Lin… your memory crystal images have already been sold off. Probably in a few days’ time, there will be books featuring you appearing—like Junior Sister Slacks Off Again? Ended Up Pressed into Cultivation by Me or something similar—so don’t be surprised when it happens later on.”

Lin Yinyin: “Who? Me? I just arrived yesterday!”

“Who do you think took those memory crystal images of Master? Of course it was Senior Brother Da Shi! But it could also have been other reception disciples or just someone passing by anyway… You’ll get used to it eventually,” said Chen Tiexin while taking out a memory crystal stone herself, aiming directly at Lin Yinyin’s face and capturing several close-up shots consecutively before exclaiming appreciatively.

“Tsk tsk tsk… Heavenly beauty indeed! Senior Sister sees great potential in you—you might even manage pushing down Teacher from first place someday soon enough! Let me take some absolutely stunning angled shots for now—we split the profits fifty-fifty after selling them!”

Lin Yinyin: “…”

“And there’s more than just that!” continued Chen Tiexin, divulging further gossip. “Those lunatics over at Heavenly Puppet Peak specialize specifically in crafting puppets modeled after female cultivators’ appearances, calling them lovingly ‘wives’.”

“They’re all a bunch of deadbeat otakus, really… The most outrageous thing, though? They even offer custom services—as long as enough points are paid up front, they can make anyone’s puppet replica!”

“A few years back, someone made a puppet replica of Supervisor Xingxiu, became obsessively infatuated, crossed certain boundaries, and got suppressed heavily by the sect authorities once discovered… Now it is explicitly prohibited to create exact likeness replicas, but it is still possible to customize a fifty percent resemblance without issues.”

“In short, so long as you keep a good grasp on the borderline limits, you won’t get banned.”

“So how about it? Feeling tempted yet? Vividly lifelike ones, oh~ Senior Sister has connections. I guarantee authentic reproduction plus practical usability is assured!”

Zhang Xian was completely dumbfounded now. “Is the Yunmiao Sect really this open-minded?”

Chen Tiexin patted his shoulder earnestly, saying solemnly, “Junior Brother, ah~ Cultivating immortality cultivates carefree freedom, not strict monastic rules… So long as your strength is sufficient, forget the books, even Teacher herself personally—”

“Junior Brother,” interrupted Chen Tiexin, suddenly turning completely righteous-faced again mid-sentence, changing the topic abruptly back to a serious tone. “The Nine Turns Jade Condensation Sutra remains our sect’s supreme treasure. Thus, the amount of experience I shall impart ends here now, for fear of overloading your digestion capacity.”

Zhang Xian adopted a solemn expression immediately, responding respectfully, “Senior Sister, thank you for teaching me.”

Lin Yinyin likewise wore a serious expression, nodding along earnestly.

The next moment…

Li Fuxi’s divine sense descended abruptly upon them all instantly!

“Lin Yinyin, why are you still here? Come quickly inside my quarters now. I shall personally instruct you myself.”

“Oh…” replied Lin Yinyin looking utterly dejected, reluctantly complying.