Chapter 314: A Thousand Gold Toss
“Don’t tell anyone about this.” Jiang Li said to Daoist Dongxu.
Still shaken from the dream, Daoist Dongxu nodded mechanically, agreeing to everything Jiang Li said without a trace of resistance.
Jiang Li figured the man needed time to recover, so he patted his shoulder and left the secret realm.
【Claim mission reward?】
The final reward of the Dongxu Secret Realm was listening to Daoist Dongxu recount his dream—Jiang Li had already completed the task.
“Claim it.”
A manual titled A Thousand Gold Toss appeared in Jiang Li’s hand.
He flipped through it and found it to be quite the interesting technique.
“I, an old man, bitterly regret that all my cultivation was built upon pills, without any hard work of my own. As a result, my foundation is unstable, and I’m always at a disadvantage in fights with those at the same stage. Fortunately, I possess an unmatched talent for business. After years of effort, I’ve built a massive trading guild that brings in endless Spirit Stones.”
“I spent a hundred years in seclusion and finally grasped the Dao of Ascension through wealth. I wrote this manual to commemorate that.”
“This technique is called A Thousand Gold Toss. It allows Spirit Stones to be converted into power and launched in attacks—the more Spirit Stones, the greater the power.”
He flipped to the final page of the manual, where it read:
“I fought a fearsome enemy and spent all my wealth. The guild went bankrupt, so I’m selling this technique at a bargain price.”
“…This technique should be called Bankruptcy Blast.”
Jiang Li felt this was another useless cultivation technique.
Couldn’t the system give out something actually helpful? It kept dishing out these gimmicks every day—Bai Hongtu wouldn’t even cultivate them!
“I found a funny technique. You wanna try it?” Jiang Li handed the manual to Bai Hongtu.
Bai Hongtu flipped through it and dismissed it with a frown. “Not a chance.”
Jiang Li shrugged. See? Even Bai Hongtu wouldn’t touch it.
After thinking for a moment, Bai Hongtu summoned a brush and made some edits. “I tweaked the technique a bit.”
“The Spirit Stone-to-power conversion rate was way too low. After my revision, efficiency increases by eighty percent.”
Jiang Li glanced through it—Bai Hongtu was right. The new version drastically improved Spirit Stone utilization. “I’d call this writing a brand-new technique, not just editing.”
“You’re not thinking of cultivating it, are you?” Bai Hongtu asked with a trace of anxiety.
Jiang Li was puzzled. “Why would I cultivate this? Using up all the Spirit Stones in the Nine Provinces wouldn’t give me the same power as a few random punches.”
Bai Hongtu sighed in relief. If Jiang Li really cultivated this, it would probably cause a Spirit Stone shortage across the Nine Provinces and trigger an economic crisis.
The system also rewarded Jiang Li with a Heavenly Infant Fruit.
The Heavenly Infant Fruit was great for refining one’s Nascent Soul. For Nascent Soul–stage cultivators, eating one would make their soul even more complete.
The Human Sovereign Hall had a whole bunch of them planted out back.
【Activating Source Borrowing Point feature】
“How many do you want to borrow?” Jiang Li looked at the long line of question marks under his Source Points and generously asked the system if it needed a loan.
The system didn’t answer his question, instead offering a guide for the new feature.
Jiang Li scanned the system instructions. The rules were pure highway robbery.
The system could lend Source Points to the host with no upper limit, but they had to be repaid within a year—with forty percent interest.
Pure loan sharking.
Jiang Li had no need for that kind of feature.
“Where are you going?” Bai Hongtu asked.
“To the Profound Secret Realm, to study the Dao of Dreams.”
In the Nine Provinces, the one most familiar with the Dao of Dreams was none other than Dream Dweller Meng Chun, master of the Profound Secret Realm.
…
“Your Majesty, you cannot abandon me! Have you forgotten our vows under the moon and sea?”
A gorgeously dressed woman sobbed miserably. Judging from her attire, she was the empress.
“Hmph! You’re just a pretty face, nothing more. You dared to seduce my heart—how can I tolerate you?”
The emperor flung his sleeve and shoved the empress aside, turning to embrace another woman.
“My beloved consort is far more useful than you. Her advice has greatly benefited the court, helping me strengthen my rule and grow the nation!”
The empress stared at the consort in disbelief. “So those questions you asked me were really about state affairs?!”
The consort looked down on her with disdain. “Dear sister, you can’t just say things like that. My sleepless nights spent figuring out how to manage court politics were all to ease His Majesty’s burdens.”
The emperor gazed at the consort with affection. “Beloved, you’ve worked so hard.”
As soon as Jiang Li stepped into the Profound Secret Realm, he saw this scene and thought he had gone to the wrong place.
Looking closer, he realized the empress was actually Meng Chun.
“I came to experience mortal life, but I didn’t expect to run into such a foolish emperor!”
The empress—Meng Chun—spoke coldly, glaring down at the two.
“Guards! The empress has gone mad! Throw her in the Cold Palace!” the emperor shouted.
“Throw me in the Cold Palace?” The empress let out a cold laugh.
“Go ahead. Try me!”
Her aura surged—Nascent Soul Stage… Soul Formation Stage… Integration Stage!
“Y-you’re at the Integration Stage?!”
The emperor and consort clung to each other, unable to believe that the once gentle and naive empress—so easily bullied—was actually a top-tier powerhouse.
“Empress, I truly loved you!” The emperor shoved the consort aside, trying to get close to the empress.
“Love me?”
The empress slapped him away with a cold smile.
The consort immediately began kowtowing, begging for forgiveness. “Dear sister, we joined the palace together. Please spare me! I won’t dare again!”
“Spare you…” The empress’s expression turned cruel. She was just about to punish her sweet little sister—when Jiang Li’s cough interrupted her.
“Ahem… alright, I think the show’s over.”
Jiang Li found the palace drama so awkward it made his toes curl.
Meng Chun’s cheeks flushed. She quickly dispelled the characters she had conjured.
She’d just been amusing herself and didn’t expect anyone to show up in the secret realm.
“Turning dreams into reality… Senior Meng Chun’s mastery of the Dao of Dreams is truly extraordinary.” Jiang Li cupped his hands in praise.
Even if the Profound Secret Realm weren’t open, Jiang Li had the means to enter.
Wearing empress robes, Meng Chun exuded a unique charm. Her eyes held countless secrets, and she gracefully bowed to Jiang Li. Her flowing scarlet gown spread across the floor like a dazzling bloom.
“Your Majesty flatters me. I’m merely a remnant soul. These are just minor tricks I can use within the secret realm.”
“This is no minor trick. Even after learning the Dao of Dreams, Bai Hongtu couldn’t replicate what you just did.”
“What brings Your Majesty here?” Meng Chun pretended it hadn’t been her playing that role just now.
“I have a question, and I’d like to study the Dao of Dreams.” Jiang Li recounted Daoist Dongxu’s dream.
“Well, this is quite the novelty.” Meng Chun clicked her tongue in amazement. She’d never heard of anything like it.
She conjured two wooden chairs and a table. “Please, Your Majesty, have a seat.”
“Dreams reflect one’s inner world and soul. Perhaps it was a resonance between different versions of Daoist Dongxu’s soul that allowed him to witness his own death in another world.”
“In that sense, it was both a dream and a memory.”
“Is it possible to use dreams as a bridge to reach parallel worlds?”
Meng Chun pondered a moment, then hesitated. “Strictly speaking, it shouldn’t be possible. Daoist Dongxu’s dream involved past events, and had very little actual connection to parallel worlds.”
“But the fact that the First Emperor could sense your presence… that already defies common logic.”
“If the rules don’t apply, then anything becomes possible.”
Jiang Li nodded. That matched his own suspicions.
“That’s why I’ve come to you, Senior, to learn the Dao of Dreams.”