Chapter 155: One Million Contribution Points

As for whether the formation could block the Divine Sense of a Nascent Soul cultivator? Li Meng didn’t know. And frankly, he didn’t want to find out.

Three days later. Qi Wu Mountain.

A figure clad in pristine white robes emerged from a cave halfway up the mountain. The noon sun hung high in the sky, baking the stone face of the cliff. Li Meng raised a hand to shield his eyes from the blinding glare.

“Mas… Master?”

His gaze drifted inadvertently toward the cliff’s edge, and he froze. A graceful silhouette stood against the backdrop of the endless sky. She wore a regal purple palace dress that fluttered gently in the wind. Even from behind, her aura was breathtaking—an intoxicating blend of elegance and nobility that demanded reverence.

Li Meng hadn’t expected her to be here. He hurriedly stepped forward, cupping his hands in a deep salute. “Master, why have you come?”

Ruo Shui turned slowly to face her only disciple. A complex mix of annoyance and resignation flashed in her cool eyes.

“Do you truly not know why I am here?” she asked, her voice like ice clinking in a glass. “To dare covet a Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasure… I honestly don’t know where you get the nerve.”

She sighed softly. “If it weren’t for the two Seniors overseeing the Western Region Desert, and the fact that the Wind Controlling Bead is relatively niche—useful mostly as a feng shui suppression object rather than a weapon—you would be dead. It holds little appeal for Nascent Soul monsters. That is the only reason you, a mere ant, managed to pick up such a bargain. Otherwise, this desert would have already been turned to glass by a war between giants.”

Li Meng let out an awkward, sheepish chuckle. He obediently retrieved the Wind Controlling Bead from his storage. “Master, you should keep it. It’s safer with you.”

Truthfully, Li Meng wasn’t that attached to the bead. He had snatched it purely out of instinct—it was the first time he’d seen a Heaven-reaching Treasure, and greed had gotten the better of him. But once the adrenaline faded, he realized the bead was a ‘hot potato.’ A treasure of this caliber was a death sentence for a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He couldn’t protect it.

Ruo Shui flicked her sleeve. The bead flew from Li Meng’s palm and vanished into her sleeve. Seeing the lingering reluctance on her disciple’s face, a rare trace of amusement softened her gaze.

“The Wind Controlling Bead is useless to you. In your hands, it’s nothing more than a dangerous paperweight,” she said. “However, the Sect rewards merit. Once we return, you will be awarded one million contribution points.”

One million? Li Meng’s eyes lit up like lanterns. He bowed deeply again, this time with genuine enthusiasm. “Thank you, Master!”

One million contribution points was roughly equivalent to two hundred thousand Spirit Stones. Sure, a Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasure was worth far more than that on the open market, but Li Meng wasn’t greedy enough to ignore reality. The bead could suppress the feng shui of an entire region. If placed within the Joyous Union Sect, the sect’s spiritual aura would flourish, benefiting every disciple. For a Foundation Establishment junior to receive such a massive payout for handing over a strategic nuke he couldn’t use anyway? It was a steal.

“Master, may I return to the Sect now?” Li Meng asked, hopeful.

Ruo Shui glanced at him, her expression turning cryptic. Her body dissolved into a streak of water-blue escape light, shooting toward the horizon.

“Go to Yellow Wind Valley.”

Her voice, soft yet cool, echoed between heaven and earth, lingering in Li Meng’s ears long after she was gone.

Li Meng stood at the cliff’s edge, watching the blue light fade into the distance. He sighed and pulled out a geomancy map. “Yellow Wind Valley…”

He scanned the parchment. “Not far.” It was about ten thousand li to the northwest. A stone’s throw for a cultivator.

“Strange,” Li Meng muttered, furrowing his brow. “Why are only Foundation Establishment cultivators gathering?” If the rumors were true and a Bodhi Tree—a Grandmaster divine object—had appeared, even Soul Formation monsters shouldn’t be qualified to touch it. Why send the small fry?

“Guess I’ll go find out.” If his Master wanted him there, something big was about to go down.

Li Meng summoned his sword and soared upward, riding the wind toward the northwest. From an altitude of a thousand meters, the desert below looked like an endless ocean of gold.

While flying, Li Meng checked his system interface. [Target: Xia Qian] [Luck: 1,500 (Rising)]

Heaven-sent fortune. The death calamity has passed.

“I suppose I was her fortune,” Li Meng mused, a faint smile touching his lips. He couldn’t let Xia Qian go. She was too valuable. Now that he had the Yellow Sand King captured in his gourd, he had leverage. He could negotiate with the Tianshi Mansion. Without the Wind Controlling Bead, the demon was worth far less, but Li Meng had his own methods. He could artificially boost the creature’s ability to suppress local feng shui, making it valuable again. If all went well, he’d be taking Xia Qian back up the mountain with him.

Western Region Desert. Black Mountain Stronghold.

Located deep in the desert’s hinterlands, Black Mountain Stronghold was the only human settlement for thousands of miles. It was a city without mortals. Every resident was a cultivator.

Centuries ago, it had been nothing more than a campsite for a few Rogue Cultivators. Over time, more drifters gathered, turning the camp into a village, and the village into a fortress. Now, it stood as the primary logistics hub for hunters seeking Demon Beasts in the dunes.

Night fell over the stronghold. The streets were quiet, save for the whistling of wind. Occasionally, a streak of sword light would tear through the dark sky, vanishing into the city below as another hunter returned with their prey.