Chapter 122: Chapter 122 - The Immaculate Lotus-Heart Pill and the Shameless Payment

After whispering a few more shameless words to Tang Yuyan, Lu Canghai finally remembered that he had come here for more than teasing her and moving his chair closer.

The change was sudden.

Lu Canghai looked toward Zhuge Wenqing.

"Right, old Zhuge."

Zhuge Wenqing raised his brows.

Lu Canghai tapped the table lightly.

"Have your people found out what changed about the mystic realm?"

The first floor quieted.

Even Yan Zhaolie, whose anger had been burning quietly, looked over.

Zhuge Wenqing was stunned for half a breath, then he smiled.

"As perceptive as ever."

The jade beads on his abacus clicked softly beneath his fingers.

"I was wondering when you would ask."

Lu Canghai leaned back.

"If even the air around Azure-Jade City feels heavier, then either I have grown old, or something beneath the ground has grown restless."

Tang Yuyan’s expression became colder.

The other elders also slowly became serious.

They had all sensed the shift.

The pressure coming from the direction of the mystic realm was slightly stronger than previous openings.

But because the change was faint, and because the opening had not officially begun, many had treated it as an ordinary fluctuation.

Now that Lu Canghai pointed it out, the matter no longer felt so simple.

Zhuge Wenqing sighed.

"The pressure coming from the entrance is indeed stronger than before."

Yan Zhaolie frowned.

"How much stronger?"

"Not enough to frighten people away," Zhuge Wenqing said. "But enough to make those who remember the old records uncomfortable."

The room became quieter.

Old records were rarely comforting.

Zhuge Wenqing moved one jade bead on his abacus.

"As all of you know, the Fallen-Star Sanctuary opens once every hundred years."

The name fell into the hall like a stone dropped into still water.

Fallen-Star Sanctuary. A mystic realm that had existed longer than many sect histories.

Every hundred years, its outer formation loosened. Ancient outposts appeared through the fog, boundary pillars reawakened, and cultivators from different sects and clans entered to search for ancient artifacts, mutated herbs, lost inheritances, and whatever else had survived inside.

Zhuge Wenqing continued, "This opening has already deviated from previous records. The entrance pressure is heavier. The outer formation trembled once last night. The miasma readings taken by my Zhuge Clan are also unstable."

An elder from a smaller sect frowned.

"You are saying this entry will be more dangerous?"

"I am saying," Zhuge Wenqing replied mildly, "that those who enter while assuming it is the same as past records may not live long enough to correct themselves."

No one spoke for a moment.

The words were gentle. The meaning was not.

Lu Canghai looked at him.

"Have you still not found the true origin of the Fallen-Star Sanctuary?"

Zhuge Wenqing shook his head.

"We lack too much information."

His fingers rested on the abacus.

"The earliest records already describe it as a ruin. No one knows whether it was once a sect, a battlefield, a fallen palace, or a fragment of something that should not have landed in this world."

Lu Canghai’s expression became thoughtful.

Zhuge Wenqing then said, "But there is one thing I can say with certainty."

The elders looked at him.

"This time, prepare more Immaculate Lotus-Heart Pills."

Several expressions changed.

Even Yan Zhaolie’s face turned more solemn.

The Immaculate Lotus-Heart Pill was not a casual pill. It was one of the most important preparations for entering the Fallen-Star Sanctuary.

Inside the mystic realm, there were scattered ruined outposts. Those outposts were relatively safe.

They contained ancient, degraded purification arrays that still functioned in fragments. As long as cultivators remained inside the old boundaries, the danger was lower.

But treasure was rarely placed where people could drink tea safely.

The true opportunities lay beyond the boundary pillars.

And beyond those pillars, the air changed.

The red fog began there.

Ashen-Blood Miasma.

It was corrosive, heavy, and alive in a way no one liked describing too closely.

Many young cultivators entering for the first time thought they could resist it by holding their breath or circulating protective Qi.

Most learned quickly.

Some learned too late.

The Immaculate Lotus-Heart Pill was the safest known protection.

After being swallowed, the pill produced a thin white lotus-light barrier that clung closely to the body like a second skin.

When Ashen-Blood Miasma touched that barrier, it hissed and consumed the pill’s energy instead of the cultivator’s flesh, Qi, or spirit.

The higher the pill grade, the longer the protection lasted.

The lower the grade, the faster the barrier thinned.

And once the barrier broke, the miasma did not politely wait for the cultivator to retreat.

This was also one of the reasons all forces gathered before entering.

Not every sect could refine Immaculate Lotus-Heart Pills. Even among those that could, not every batch was trustworthy.

In the Fallen-Star Sanctuary, a bad pill was not merely expensive.

It was a coffin that had not yet been carved.

For this reason, many gazes slowly turned toward Tang Yuyan.

The Tang Clan was one of the few powers capable of refining stable, high-grade Immaculate Lotus-Heart Pills.

More importantly, Tang Clan pills were famous for being precise.

The Tang Clan was calculative, but they were not careless. If they agreed to refine a pill, the pill would work as promised.

That was why many forces were willing to deal with them even when the price made their hearts ache.

A middle-aged elder immediately smiled toward Tang Yuyan.

"Miss Tang, regarding this entry, my Green River Sect will naturally rely on your clan’s skill again. If our disciples encounter Tang Clan juniors inside, they will help within reason."

Another elder followed.

"My Cloud Crane Pavilion will remember this favor. Should our disciples find excess spirit herbs suitable for poison refinement, we will offer them first to the Tang Clan."

A third elder coughed lightly.

"Our disciples are not many, but they are good at scouting. If Miss Tang’s side needs information inside the sanctuary, we can share what we find."

One by one, promises began appearing.

No one said they were begging for pills.

Everyone simply expressed friendship very sincerely.

Tang Yuyan listened without changing expression.

Her face remained cold. Her fingers lightly touched the rim of her teacup.

After several elders finished speaking, she finally said, "The Tang Clan will refine according to capacity. Materials first. Payment second. Favors recorded separately."

The elders nodded quickly.

This was already agreement. A reasonable price plus favor. That was the Tang Clan’s usual way.

They did not bleed people dry in one transaction.

They preferred making others remember that their lives had once depended on Tang Clan pills.

That kind of debt lasted longer than spirit stones.

Tang Yuyan then turned her gaze toward Lu Canghai.

"And you?"

Lu Canghai blinked.

Tang Yuyan looked at him coldly.

"Does Radiant Sky Sect not need my Tang Clan’s help?"

The room became quiet again.

Several elders subtly looked over.

They wanted to see whether Lu Canghai would bargain, offer a favor, or shamelessly ask for credit.

Lu Canghai’s expression froze.

Then his face became pained.

He pressed one hand to his chest as if struck by grief.

"Yuyan."

Tang Yuyan’s eyes narrowed.

Lu Canghai sighed deeply.

"As you know, this old man is poor."

Tang Yuyan stared at him.

The elders stared at him.

Yan Zhaolie stared at him with growing suspicion.

Lu Canghai continued with great sorrow, "Spirit stones are vulgar, treasures are few, and my sleeves are cleaner than my conscience."

Tang Yuyan’s fingers tightened slightly around the cup.

Lu Canghai looked at her sincerely.

"So if payment is required, this old man can only pay with himself."

The room froze.

Zhuge Wenqing’s abacus stopped clicking.

Several elders forgot to breathe.

Yan Zhaolie’s face twisted.

Tang Yuyan’s face instantly turned red.

No one knew if it was from anger, embarrassment, or both.

"Lu Canghai."

Her voice became very calm.

A thin needle appeared between her fingers.

The needle carried a faint violet glimmer.

Several elders immediately sat straighter.

They recognized Tang Yuyan too well.

That needle was not for decoration.

Lu Canghai looked at it.

Then smiled.

"You still like using the left-hand hidden needle when embarrassed."

Tang Yuyan’s eyes sharpened.

The needle moved.

Fast.

But before it could reach Lu Canghai’s side, his hand had already caught her wrist.

The movement was effortless.

The needle stopped an inch from his robe.

The first floor fell silent.

Tang Yuyan’s eyes widened slightly.

Lu Canghai looked at her hand, then at her.

His smile softened.

"You really have become smoother."

Tang Yuyan’s face was still red.

Lu Canghai continued, "Sharper too."

Then, with his other hand, he lightly tapped her forehead.

"Still like the old you."

Tang Yuyan froze completely.

The elders’ shoulders began trembling.

It was rare. Too rare.

The cold Tang Yuyan, who could make cultivators lower their heads with one glance, had actually suffered a grievance in public.

And the only person in the cultivation world who dared do this was probably Lu Canghai.

Several elders wanted to laugh.

They truly wanted to.

Unfortunately, Tang Yuyan slowly turned her gaze toward them.

The laughter died before birth.

Every elder became solemn at once.

Tang Yuyan withdrew her hand from Lu Canghai’s grip.

Her expression turned icy.

"This time’s pill refinement will be more expensive."

The elders froze.

Their hearts went cold.

Then, almost at the same time, they turned their gazes toward Lu Canghai.

The meaning was clear.

Why did you provoke her?

Why did you implicate all of us?

Why is your shamelessness being paid for with our spirit stones?

Lu Canghai stroked his beard calmly.

"Important pills should naturally be expensive."

Yan Zhaolie finally could not hold back.

"Then you pay the difference."

Lu Canghai looked at him.

"I already offered myself."

Yan Zhaolie nearly spat blood.

Tang Yuyan’s needle reappeared.