This heavy rain lasted for a long time, and its range was vast.

Almost all twelve prefectures under the Jin Dynasty, including Qingyou Prefecture and Jiangyang Prefecture, were hit by this rainstorm.

It brought considerable disaster to the common people, but for Liou Yuan who was traveling, it was a huge convenience.

Amidst the rain, he could fully display his Treading Flowing Waves body technique.

The rain around him, when he activated Treading Flowing Waves with all his might, not only failed to touch his clothes but formed a circular water barrier to protect him.

Traveling alone in the downpour between heaven and earth, Liou Yuan was like a lone boat on a vast sea, gaining new insights into Treading Flowing Waves.

He felt that the breakthrough for this body technique wasn’t far off.

Seven days later, Liou Yuan returned to Five Extremes Mountain.

His travel-worn figure passed through the Mist Array in front of Five Extremes Mountain and dashed straight for Fifth Peak Shoushan Tower.

Inside the tower, there were still three disciples led by Wei Miaomeng.

As soon as Liou Yuan entered, Wei Miaomeng threw him a bewitching glance and said with a charming smile, "Mr. Liou, you’re finally back."

"This time, three of the brothers who went to support the Jin Dynasty died there—Sister here was so worried about you these days."

Wei Miaomeng’s words were for show; Liou Yuan figured she’d probably said the same thing to Qiu Ming.

Too bad I’m not a fool like Qiu Ming. Not a word of hers do I believe.

"Slut!" Looking at Wei Miaomeng’s seductive face, Liou Yuan cursed in his heart, then squeezed out a smile and replied, "Thanks to Miss Wei’s blessing, I’ve returned safe and sound. And really, not seeing you for a month, I find Miss Wei all the more dear."

Liou Yuan didn’t want more small talk and went straight to business, removing his Outer Sect waist token and handing it to Wei Miaomeng: "I’m here to claim my mission contribution point reward."

"Thanks for your trouble, Miss Wei."

"My pleasure." Wei Miaomeng replied smoothly, her hands still moving without pause.

To be stationed at Shoushan Tower so long—if nothing else—proves she’s got no problem with work efficiency.

After updating the contribution records, Wei Miaomeng took out a jade scroll, swiped it over Liou Yuan’s waist token, then handed it back to him.

"Fifteen contribution points in total—the extra five points were specially instructed by Protector Zhao."

"Protector Zhao?" Liou Yuan raised his brow, reattaching the token to his waist, his expression unchanged.

Zhao Zhuoran’s move was pretty much expected.

It was Liou Yuan who discovered Star Evil’s presence—and even provided the final location as well.

Merit should be rewarded; Zhao Zhuoran ought to do something.

For personal reasons, Liou Yuan had also taken Zhao Feiyue along to share in the credit so she could get the Jin Dynasty’s reward.

Zhao Zhuoran’s gesture here, then, is a payback for that favor.

So, both for public and private reasons, Liou Yuan fully deserved his five extra contribution points.

"The Zhao Family really are a decent bunch." Liou Yuan’s impression of the Zhaos rose a notch.

Wei Miaomeng didn’t ask further about Protector Zhao’s extra reward.

To have worked at Shoushan Tower this long, she well knew what to ask and what not to ask—especially when it involved Foundation Establishment cultivators.

In fact, the more she looked at Liou Yuan, the more pleasing he seemed.

Earlier, when she teased Qiu Ming, Wei Miaomeng had definitely been craving his Primordial Yang as a Five-Star Star Acupoint talent.

Now, looking at Liou Yuan, her craving exceeded even that for Qiu Ming.

"He has a Foundation Establishment background, and even got Zhao Zhuoran’s favor."

"His face isn’t bad, and his talent is almost on par with Qiu Ming of the Five Elements Star Acupoints."

"Most important is, his Primordial Yang aura is vibrant; for dual cultivation, he’s no less than any Five-Star disciple taken for harvesting."

The more she thought about it, the more the waves in Wei Miaomeng’s eyes seemed about to overflow.

Yet Liou Yuan was completely unmoved, pretending not to notice her gaze, tucking away his waist token as if nothing happened, and calmly bidding Wei Miaomeng farewell.

Even as he left he was musing, "This Wei Miaomeng—she’s a natural for dual cultivation. That seductive vibe of hers could melt a man’s bones."

"She’s surely interested in Foundation Establishment dual cultivation techniques."

"When her cultivation’s a bit higher, if I hand her the Yin Yang Crossing Skill, it’s sure to fetch a good price."

Liou Yuan still had a Foundation Establishment dual cultivation technique and had been worrying about how to cash in on it; seeing Wei Miaomeng now had sparked his thoughts.

Of course—not now.

He’d wait until Wei Miaomeng reached Qi Cultivation Eighth or Ninth Layer; by then, she’d need Foundation Establishment techniques.

Only then, by offering the Yin Yang Crossing Skill, could he really raise the price.

"No hurry," Liou Yuan thought to himself.

Liou Yuan’s figure vanished into Shoushan Tower.

The two male disciples working alongside Wei Miaomeng at Shoushan Tower immediately started teasing her.

"Miss Wei, your power’s slipping—even a young guy like that won’t fall for you now."

"Back in the day, just one wink from you had those guys head over heels. That Liou Yuan’s willpower is something else."

The two were long used to Wei Miaomeng using her post to seduce male disciples and harvest their Primordial Yang.

They even looked a bit amused that she’d failed this time.

"What’s the rush?" Wei Miaomeng didn’t mind one bit, her tone idle and unhurried.

She lifted her soft chin with both hands, little fingers at her lips as she sucked them delicately—a most tantalizing gesture.

"This sort of thing, you take your time."

Liou Yuan, having claimed his contribution points, went to Fifth Peak and traded ten points for thirty Star Stones.

This month the Auspicious Star was in charge—next month it could be the Evil Star. So to be safe, Liou Yuan stocked up on Star Stones for the next two months and then headed straight back to Xiaopei Mountain.

He found the huts on the hillside all tightly shut; in the daytime, barely anyone could be seen outside.

Qiu Ming, Fu Xueping, and Xie Miaobo all had ’Do Not Disturb’ signs hanging on their doors.

"Time’s running out; everyone’s working hard to try for a breakthrough in the next couple months," Liou Yuan observed clearly.

They’d all been at Five Extremes Mountain for a year and had first-hand experience of how hard contribution points were to earn.

Just as Fang Yu had told them at entry, after this year, they’d never find such easy contribution opportunities again.

"Perfect—everyone’s focused on cultivation, no noisy distractions."

"With just over two months left, I can concentrate on my own cultivation."

He tightened his Storage Bag at his waist and ducked into his hut, hanging up his own ’Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door.

Then he sat down on the floor.

Crash! He dumped more than thirty freshly-traded Star Stones all over the ground.

After that, Liou Yuan lay back by the window and began cultivating with the star energy inside Five Extremes Mountain—and the Star Stones.

As soon as he activated Yunwu Prefecture, Liou Yuan felt a difference.

The Spiritual Qi pouring into his Gold Acupoint at the chest was more than double his previous speed.

With the help of his Water Acupoint at the brow, he felt his current cultivation speed could really catch up with the Five-Star Star Acupoint geniuses.

Of course, in terms of pure speed, he was still a bit behind the true Five-Star Star Acupoint types.

But Liou Yuan’s real advantage: he could train normally whether under the Evil Star or Auspicious Star.

That way, he could still keep up with the Five-Star Star Acupoint disciples.

"I’m basically a variant Five-Star Star Acupoint as well," Liou Yuan quipped, not sure if it was self-mockery or pride.

He then stilled his mind and fully immersed himself in cultivation.

The only sound left in the room was the deep rumble of the Five Mansions within his body.

This closed-door training frenzy wasn’t just happening on Xiaopei Mountain.

The whole batch of disciples who entered Five Extremes Mountain last year had all begun closed cultivation together.

Whether they had Five-Star, Four-Star, or Three-Star Star Acupoints, all were going all out, hoping to make the most of the final stretch.

The senior disciples at Five Extremes Mountain had seen this all before—it was business as usual.

Only occasionally would a few old hands discuss, out of boredom, which of last year’s seven Five-Star Star Acupoint disciples would be first to break through to Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer.

Some enterprising disciples even started a betting pool on the seven Five-Star Star Acupoint disciples.

Even Miss Wei at Shoushan Tower put some Star Stones down.

With the Evil Star’s stretch of continuous reign now past, Five Extremes Mountain seemed to return to its usual calm routine.

But after the newly inducted disciples had been in closed training for a month, a rumor spread through the Outer Sect of Five Extremes Mountain.

It was said that Inner Sect disciple Liou Zhen had discovered a small ore vein in Yongquan Town—Cyan Jade Iron Ore Vein.

The Inner Sect’s Artifact Refining Pavilion’s vice head went personally to investigate and concluded that the vein ran almost ten miles underground, making it rather sizable among small deposits.

Once this was known, the Artifact Refining Pavilions of all five Inner Peaks sent their disciples to Yongquan Town to start mining operations.

Shoushan Tower also issued mining tasks: ten thousand catties of Cyan Jade Iron earned you three contribution points, one and a half times the usual reward.

Even old-timers who’d always looked down on mining jobs couldn’t resist and began flocking to Yongquan Town.

Thus, a hot mining boom swept across Five Extremes Mountain for a time.