Starting from the two realms, cultivating immortality by taming beasts

Chapter 9 The Harm of Immortal Loans

Following the Sifang Bridge upwards, a shimmering tributary of Jingyuan West Lake slowly came into Chen Beiwu's view.

Along the riverbank, groups of monks gathered, ignoring the "No Fishing" signs and secretly fishing in the secluded, overgrown area.

In the era of the Immortal Alliance, fishing was not difficult; the difficulty lay in finding lakes that held spiritual energy.

The Jingyuan River spans three states and is home to countless spirit fish. Even treasure fish comparable to Golden Core cultivators are occasionally seen there, making it a sacred place in the hearts of many fish enthusiasts.

Every year, some lucky individuals in the Meteor Dragon Palace catch second-tier spirit fish in the Tranquil Abyss River, achieving a class leap.

However, this sacred place belongs to the Immortal Alliance, and ordinary cultivators who want to enter it to fish must pay a high fishing fee.

As far as Chen Beiwu knew, even fishing in the outer area of ​​Jingyuan River, that is, in Jingyuan West Lake, would cost at least one spirit stone per hour, a price that most people could not afford. This was why he had previously refused Xu Ziqing's invitation.

Of course, the bigger reason was that he didn't want to trigger a rainbow adventure (a sliver) in the vast and boundless Jingyuan River, even if the probability of triggering it was not high.

Gazing at the wary figures in the distance, Chen Beiwu thought to himself, "My luck's not bad today; I can earn some extra money again."

Not every angler can afford the high cost of fishing, especially in the relatively poor Farcool County.

Some anglers, in order to exploit loopholes, went to the remote tributaries of Jingyuan West Lake, specifically the area where fishing was prohibited by the Immortal Alliance World Hall, to secretly fish.

In order to curb the increasingly rampant illegal fishing, Shiyidian in Yuankong County introduced a reward system for reporting illegal fishing several years ago: residents can receive official rewards by taking photos and uploading photos of others' illegal fishing activities.

The rewards from Shiyi Hall seemed neither much nor little, but Chen Beiwu was quite lucky, and he could occasionally see others fishing illegally when he passed by Sifang Bridge.

By reporting illegal fishing, he can earn about one spirit stone a month, which is equivalent to his mother's salary for half a month of embroidery at home.

Chen Beiwu took out his phone, snapped a photo of the bushes, uploaded it to the official platform of Shiyidian, entered the detailed time and location to report it, then turned around gracefully and took a step forward.

"Plop." A clump of bird droppings landed right where he had been standing.

Seeing this, Chen Beiwu showed no surprise.

Although the Nine Breaths Qi Absorption technique he cultivated was incredibly powerful, capable of seizing the creation of heaven and earth and nurturing one's own destiny, it was not without its drawbacks.

After each fortuitous encounter, he may encounter misfortune.

What does that mean?

Good fortune and misfortune are intertwined. While he was using his supernatural powers to accumulate good luck, some bad luck and disasters were also brewing.

Normally, his luck is good, but once he turns his accumulated luck into a fortuitous encounter, the bad luck and disasters that were previously suppressed by his luck will erupt as calamities.

However, with the blessing of the supreme treasure Nine Breaths Chaos, even if Chen Beiwu's luck falls to rock bottom several times and calamities erupt, the result will be unexpectedly lucky.

For example, Chen Beiwu was unlucky once and got into a car accident. He was injured and unable to go to school. Then, he learned that a vicious murder had occurred at the school that day, resulting in four deaths and eighteen injuries. One of the victims was the student sitting behind him.

Looking back, Chen Beiwu felt very fortunate. If he hadn't been involved in that car accident, he might have become one of the victims.

"Unfortunately, I can only slightly activate a trace of the power of the Nine Breaths of Chaos at the moment." Chen Beiwu glanced down at the bird droppings on the ground.

Possessing a priceless treasure, he wouldn't stand idly by and watch his calamity gradually brew and grow with his fortune.

Through years of exploration, he can now draw upon the power of the Nine Breaths Chaos to release accumulated calamities and misfortunes as misfortune, that is, to turn calamities into minor disasters. This is also the reason why Chen Beiwu encountered the Furious Bird today.

"Hey, fellow cultivator, need a cultivation loan?"

A flyer was suddenly handed to me from the side, with eight large, bold characters that stood out: "Easy Loans, Lend You a Lifetime!"

"No need." Chen Beiwu waved his hand, didn't even look up, and walked away.

Purchasing the Frost-Reducing Pill requires a large amount of spirit stones, but he wouldn't stoop to the level of a cultivation loan.

These days, every cultivator knows one thing: you can touch anything within the Immortal Alliance, except for Immortal Cultivation Loans.

The interest rates for "Cultivation Loans" are terrifying, starting at 10%, and if the borrower has poor credit, the interest rate can even soar to 25%.

Most importantly, unlike the spirit beast loans that the Immortal Alliance uses to incentivize gifted students, cultivation loans accrue compound interest, with both principal and interest calculated together. Ordinary people simply cannot repay such loans, and their descendants may even be required to continue repaying them after their death.

To sum up the "Cultivation Loan" in one sentence: one loan is passed down through three generations, and the loan continues even after the person dies.

Unless the borrower miraculously breaks through a cultivation realm in a short period of time, the cultivation loan is a bottomless pit.

It is precisely for this reason that some cultivators in the Immortal Alliance directly refer to the Immortal Cultivation Loan as "Undying Bone," meaning that this loan devours people without shedding blood, squeezing even the bone marrow clean.

However, in order to embark on the path of cultivation and achieve immortality, every year a large number of cultivators in the Immortal Alliance take chances and try to obtain cultivation loans, ultimately ending up with their families ruined and their lives destroyed.

Chen Beiwu returned to the entrance of the residential area and saw a beautiful figure walking out of the elevator.

She wore a long dress, the hem of which swayed in the wind, revealing glimpses of her long, beautiful legs, which shimmered with a cool white luster in the sunlight, making her look like a classical beauty who had stepped out of a painting.

"Long time no see, Xiao Wu." Chen Qin was slightly taken aback before greeting him.

She seemed to realize something was wrong, her gaze fixed on Chen Beiwu's flowing hair, her whole being somewhat dazed.

Seeing this, Chen Beiwu looked down and checked his clothes. "Sister Qin, what's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

The reason he called Chen Qin "Sister Qin" was not because she was three years older than him, but because Chen Qin's family lived right across from the Chen family's house. Their acquaintance could be traced back to their infancy, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were childhood sweethearts.

Upon hearing this, Chen Qin snapped out of her daze, her voice rising in surprise as she asked, "You've broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining?"

"Yes, I just broke through not long ago." Chen Beiwu nodded, his expression complicated.

Fate is fickle. If it weren't for the burden of her family, with Sister Qin's talent, she might be a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator by now.

Both failed to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Mom chose to give up the path of cultivation and leave the opportunity to the next generation, while Aunt Chen chose to take out a cultivation loan and continue to gamble.

As a time traveler, Chen Beiwu could understand Aunt Chen's desire for immortality and cultivation, but unfortunately, she failed in her gamble and died from her injuries a few days later, leaving Sister Qin with an insurmountable mountain of debt.

Under the oppression of this mountain, Sister Qin dropped out of school early, turning from a promising cultivator with the potential to reach the Foundation Establishment stage into a musician at Ya Yun Xuan, essentially having no chance to pursue the path of immortality.

(End of this chapter)