Chapter 26: The Veins of Purple Gold

On the second day, after returning the cultivation technique, Lin Yang went to find Master Liu.

He entered the assembly hall, saw Master Liu engaged in conversation with another, and sat down quietly to wait his turn.

Next to him lay a stack of account books—all the shops’ revenues for the month. The total sum exceeded twenty thousand spirit stones. Yet, the expenditures were equally high; once wages for the shop workers and operational costs were deducted, the profit was barely thirty percent.

Lin Yang studied the ledgers and discerned a key issue: the operations of the Yellow Maple Valley’s shops were bloated and inefficient. Where a single professional transport team should suffice, each of the dozen or so market shops maintained its own, resulting in a surplus of transport crews. The turnover among the transport team members was high; people came and went constantly, leading to poor cooperation and slow delivery times.

Moreover, the raw materials purchased by the shops were scattered and of inconsistent quality. If not for the threat of force, Lin Yang wondered, who would come to buy from them at all?

He suddenly saw a brilliant opportunity for profit, but decided to put that aside; the urgent matter at hand was to find a suitable place for cultivation. He doubted the future availability of resources—after all, the further one advanced, the more attribute points were needed.

He continued to pore over the ledgers, identifying problems. Halfway through, Master Liu finished his conversation and departed with the other cultivator.

As soon as Master Liu was free, Lin Yang approached him. “Senior Brother Liu, I have something to discuss with you.”

“If I can help, I will,” Master Liu replied.

“I need a place rich in the five elemental auras,” Lin Yang explained. “My cultivation method is rather unique—the more abundant the five elements, the faster my progress.”

Master Liu pondered for a moment. “That’s quite a tall order. There doesn’t seem to be such a place on all of Mount Taiyue… Let me think.” He considered the mountain’s geography.

“I recall now—in the southern part of Mount Taiyue, there’s a vein of purple-gold ore. Nearby runs a great river, forming a large lake. There are even some low-grade spiritual herbs growing there. That nearly covers four of the five auras—only fire is missing.” Master Liu had found a solution.

“If you transplant some fire-attribute spiritual plants and set up an earth-fire furnace, you’ll have all five elements present,” he concluded.

“I’ll do just that. Senior Brother Liu, please make the arrangements,” Lin Yang decided without hesitation.

“Very well. I’ll handle everything. From now on, you’ll be stationed at the purple-gold ore vein.” Master Liu handed him a letter of introduction.

“Thank you, Senior Brother Liu. I’ll take my leave.” Accepting the letter, Lin Yang flew out of the assembly hall.

“He’s still just a child—always so impatient,” Master Liu remarked with a faint smile.

Back at his quarters, Lin Yang packed his belongings and informed Zhang Renhao of his departure.

On his way out of the valley, he was stopped by Senior Sister Hongfu.

“Junior Brother Lin, what’s the rush? You’re leaving so quickly,” she asked curiously.

“I’ve business at the purple-gold ore vein in the south. I’m heading there now.”

“What sort of business? Why so urgent?”

“It’s nothing important, really. I just tend to travel quickly.”

“By the way, Senior Sister, where have you been? You just got back,” Lin Yang asked, curiosity piqued.

“You’ve grown bold, daring to question your senior sister after just a few days apart.” Hongfu blushed, visibly flustered.

“Senior Sister, are you seeing someone?” Lin Yang asked with interest.

“What do you mean, ‘seeing someone’?” She didn’t quite understand.

“Oh, it’s like being engaged—as in fiancés,” Lin Yang explained awkwardly.

Hongfu’s cheeks turned crimson. “Since when is my business any concern of yours? Don’t you dare talk about this, or I’ll make you regret it.”

Lin Yang, bemused by her bashfulness, thought to himself that women, no matter the world, could be equally unreasonable.

“All right, I won’t say a word. Senior Sister, I have matters to attend to—farewell.” He stepped onto his flying sword and soared through the sect’s array, leaving Yellow Maple Valley behind.

Standing atop his sword, Lin Yang pondered Hongfu’s situation.

“With my Golden Yuan Pill, Senior Sister Hongfu will likely form her core ahead of schedule. I wonder if Dong Yan’er will be born early as well.” He had never considered interfering with their romance—after all, a Nascent Soul ancestor could snuff him out with a single blow. If they ever found out he meddled, he’d be dead for sure. Besides, if people love each other, why stand in their way? Often, it’s just a matter of getting past one’s own inner obstacles.

As the saying goes, it’s better to demolish a temple than break up a marriage. Only through experience can people truly understand; theory alone is useless without living through it.

Many in this world grasp principles but falter at putting them into practice. People often find ways to justify their choices, to ease their consciences—like a woman who knows a man is no good, yet convinces herself he loves her, interpreting his every action as proof of affection. Such rationalizations are called wishful thinking.

Lost in thought, Lin Yang landed in a small town—a gathering place for cultivators—because he couldn’t find his way.

He passed through the protective array and descended from the sky.

By chance, he landed right in front of a restaurant. (Believe it if you will.)

The locals, seeing him descend from the heavens, recognized him as a Foundation Establishment cultivator and hurriedly cleared a path, wary of inviting misfortune.

Entering the restaurant, Lin Yang felt, for a moment, as though he were a chivalrous hero—though he quickly dismissed the notion.

“Waiter, bring out a few of your signature dishes, and slice up two catties of beef.”

“Right away, honored guest.” The reply did not come from the waiter, but the proprietor himself, who dashed into the kitchen and called for everyone’s attention.

“Stop everything! I have instructions!”

“But the dishes are already cooking—what’s going on?”

“A Foundation Establishment cultivator just arrived outside. Give it your all—we can’t risk offending him, or we’ll all be in trouble,” the proprietor warned.

“Yes, yes, right away!” The chefs dropped what they were doing, dumped the half-cooked dishes, scrubbed their woks half a dozen times, and threw themselves into preparing the new order with vigor.

Lin Yang heard all of this and couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened, but there was nothing he could do; in this world of cultivation, strength was the only law.

Within mere moments, several dishes were brought out. Their color and fragrance far surpassed any so-called gourmet dishes from his previous life—perhaps because, in this world, every dish brimmed with spiritual energy.

Through the window, Lin Yang noticed a boy outside, gazing longingly at the food.

The boy’s clothes were patched all over but immaculately clean. His thin frame betrayed a lack of nourishment.

In his previous life, Lin Yang had pitied stray kittens and puppies; here, though he’d only killed those who threatened him, the sight of such a pitiable child stirred his compassion.

He mocked himself inwardly: “No, my mindset hasn’t shifted yet—this is the dark world of cultivation.”

He struggled for a moment.

“To hell with this ‘dark world of cultivation’—I’ll live as I please. Life is meant to be lived boldly.” Lin Yang beckoned the boy over.

…