Cultivating Immortality: What kind of cheat can you use if you don't have money?

Chapter 99 Good People Don't Live Long

"Let me think about it." Li Qingyi was silent for a moment before giving an ambiguous answer.

A hint of disappointment flashed in Ling'er's eyes.

She didn't understand. What was there to think about? It was simply a matter of willingness or unwillingness.

Her eyes were lowered, and the stray hairs on her forehead concealed all the emotions in her eyes.

Li Qingyi had already secretly decided to use the twenty spirit stones she had just obtained from Chen Feng to conduct another simulation.

He needed to know what he would face if he followed Ling'er back to the Zhao family in order to make the safest choice.

"Let's go back first." He stood up.

"No, Brother Qingyi." Ling'er also stood up, her voice very soft, "I want to walk around alone and have some peace and quiet."

After saying that, she didn't look at Li Qingyi again, turned around and left the teahouse, her slender figure quickly blending into the crowd downstairs.

Li Qingyi looked in the direction she left, somewhat puzzled.

"What's wrong with this girl again?"

He paid for the tea, stood at the entrance of the teahouse, and looked at the bustling street. In the end, he could only attribute it to "the unpredictable nature of a young girl's heart."

"Never mind, let's take care of business first." He composed himself.

The most urgent task right now is to accumulate enough contribution points to exchange for 'pseudo-human skin'.

With that item, we'll have more security when we go to the Zhao family.

Six thousand two hundred and fifty contribution points are still needed...

He estimated that by taking on a few high-paying tasks, he should be able to earn the money quickly.

He took out his upgraded Yellow-level assassin token and used his divine sense to carefully filter through the mission list.

Soon, a task caught his attention:

[Killing an evil cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining - Mingwen]

[Last known location: South of Xuanze City, near the Luo family in Yuqing Mountain.]

[Reward: 2,000 contribution points.]

"Evil cultivators... the Luo family." Li Qingyi repeated in a low voice, her brows slightly furrowed.

"Is this going to be another one of those awful tasks like last time?"

He couldn't help but recall the time he was tricked by false information and almost died in the cave.

"If Ling'er hadn't sought out Master Minghao, things would likely have turned out very badly."

His gaze returned to the street corner where Ling'er had disappeared, a complex mix of emotions welling up within him.

Some things, when they involve too many factors, are indeed difficult to explain clearly.

Li Qingyi discovered that once a lie is told, countless lies are needed to cover it up.

Whether it's the Green Puppet or his own disguise, it's ultimately a secret that's hard to reveal to others.

To ensure the reliability of the intelligence, Li Qingyi used her Yellow-level assassin privileges to begin tracing the source of the intelligence for this mission.

After some steps, the information appeared:

The intelligence was provided by a "spy" who had infiltrated the Luo family.

He continued to examine the file of this "surprise agent":

Code Name: Memory

Real name: Luo Yi

[Cultivation Level: Qi Refining Level 2]

[Time of joining Tingyuge: Two years and six months ago]

[Recent Activities: Information transmission has been stable, with no abnormal records.]

"Two and a half years of infiltration, information stable..." Li Qingyi pondered.

"This sounds more credible than the last one. But... caution is still advised."

"Yuqing Mountain Luo Family..." He pondered the place name, deciding to make another preparation.

He moved swiftly and returned to the Tingyu Pavilion branch in Xuan Ce City, where he found Mu Chunfeng drinking tea.

Seeing that he had returned with a calm expression, Mu Chunfeng's heart began to pound.

"OP, what's going on here...?"

Li Qingyi's concise and shocking words:

"Tell me all the information about the Luo family of Yuqing Mountain, down to the smallest detail."

Upon hearing this, Mu Chunfeng's face flashed with an extremely unnatural expression, but she quickly concealed it.

He hesitated for a moment, then spoke to report to his superior:

"Replying to the host, the Luo family is a medium-sized cultivation family outside Xuan Ce City, entrenched in the Yu Qing Mountain area."

The strongest member of the clan is their ancestor, whose cultivation level is at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

The family mainly makes a living by cultivating low-grade spiritual herbs and operating a few mundane businesses; they are generally quite law-abiding.

He paused, his tone becoming somewhat strange:

"Speaking of which... today is a joyous occasion for the Luo family."

A direct descendant of their family just arrived at the Qiu family in Xuan Ce City this morning to fetch his bride. The Luo family should be holding a grand banquet right now, with guests filling the house.

"Uh..." Li Qingyi was taken aback.

In the morning, his mind was entirely on Zhang Qi, and he didn't pay any attention to the wedding procession in the city.

"The Qiu family? The Qiu family that brought Zhang Fang to Huanzhulou to apologize before?"

"Exactly." Mu Chunfeng nodded, then, as if he had thought of something, a hesitant expression appeared on his face. Finally, he tentatively spoke:

"Master, today is, after all, a joyous occasion for the Luo family, with many guests in attendance. If we were to... well, start a bloodbath at this time, splattering blood in the wedding hall, I'm afraid... it wouldn't have a good impact. Could we... postpone it for a day or two?"

Li Qingyi: "???"

He didn't immediately understand what Mu Chunfeng was saying.

"Go on a killing spree? Splatter blood at the wedding hall? When did I ever say I wanted to wipe out an entire family? Am I that kind of vicious and wicked person?"

He looked at Mu Chunfeng with a bewildered expression, his tone filled with incomprehension:

"Chief Mu, I'll give you a chance to rephrase your words. What...did you just say?"

Mu Chunfeng's heart skipped a beat when he saw Li Qingyi's face darken.

He thought he had offended the other party by pleading for the Luo family, and immediately broke out in a cold sweat, bowing deeply to apologize:

"It was my fault for speaking out! I shouldn't have pleaded for the Luo family! Please forgive me, Your Excellency! You may leave whenever you wish, Your Excellency, without question!"

Li Qingyi: "..."

"Am I the kind of vicious and wicked person, Chief Mu?"

Mu Chunfeng felt even more flustered, but his years of experience allowed him to immediately put on an extremely sincere expression and say decisively:

"You are mistaken, OP! You are highly skilled, have exceptional strategic acumen, and are considerate of your subordinates. You are a peerless hero with a magnanimous spirit as majestic as a mountain!"

How could he be such a wicked and evil person? I was just being foolish, judging a gentleman by my own petty standards!

Li Qingyi: "..."

People can actually laugh when they are extremely speechless.

Li Qingyi was both amused and annoyed by Mu Chunfeng's shameless flattery and the stark contrast between his previous and subsequent behavior.

He was too lazy to play games with this slippery fellow anymore, so he simply tossed his assassin's token over and said irritably:

See for yourself!

Mu Chunfeng took the token and saw the mission message "Kill the evil cultivator clearly," as well as the location marked "Luo Family." A hint of embarrassment flashed across his face.

"Oh...I see!" Mu Chunfeng chuckled dryly, quickly returning the token with both hands and bowing his head in apology.

"It was my foolishness that led me to misunderstand you! I apologize!"

Li Qingyi took back the token and looked at him with a half-smile:

"Misunderstanding? Tell me, what have you misunderstood?"

Mu Chunfeng forced a smile and said:

"Last time you asked me about Lu Zhenxuan, not long after, Lu Zhenxuan was ambushed and killed by Li Qingyi... uh, by that young master Li in Tianqing Gorge."

So when you suddenly asked about the Luo family, I... I subconsciously assumed...

"Did you think I was going to slaughter the Luo family again?" Li Qingyi finished his sentence for him, her tone tinged with mockery.

Mu Chunfeng nodded.

Li Qingyi shook her head, then suddenly adopted a seemingly amiable demeanor:

"Chief Mu, as your superior, it seems I haven't shown you enough concern."

Look, I don't even know what relatives you have, which family you come from, or what grudges you've had in the past.

This is truly my fault as the original poster. Why don't you tell me the details now?

Upon hearing this, Mu Chunfeng was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat. She immediately bowed deeply, her voice trembling.

"My lord! I truly meant no harm and spoke without thinking! I had no other intention! Please understand!"

Seeing Mu Chunfeng's apprehensive appearance, Li Qingyi suddenly felt somewhat bored.

His original intention was just to tease this quick-witted subordinate and give him a little warning, but he didn't expect the other party to react so strongly.

"Is this what the hierarchy is like in the ancient cultivation world? You can't even joke around with someone. It's so boring."

For some reason, he felt a pang of nostalgia for his past life's close friends with whom he could tease and banter.

"Alright, get up." Li Qingyi waved her hand, her tone returning to normal.

"I was just asking casually, I didn't mean anything by it. Don't make it sound like I'm some kind of ruthless killer."

Li Qingyi turned around, preparing to leave.

"OP!" Mu Chunfeng's voice suddenly came from behind.

Li Qingyi paused slightly, but did not turn around: "Speak."

Mu Chunfeng took a deep breath and said in a low voice:

"Since you are going to the Luo family, you will inevitably have to fight that evil cultivator... I have a favor to ask."

"speak."

"I earnestly hope that the Lord of the Pavilion will... refrain from starting a war within the Luo family as much as possible."

After Mu Chunfeng finished speaking, he immediately added:

"Of course, if the situation is urgent, you should prioritize your own safety and the mission! This request... is purely out of my personal consideration."

Li Qingyi turned around and looked at him sharply: "Reason."

Mu Chunfeng lowered her head, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly said:

"Many years ago, when my cultivation was low, I encountered a great calamity and almost died."

It was the Luo family patriarch who saved my life. This matter… the Luo family patriarch may have long forgotten, but I… will never forget it.

Upon hearing this, a knowing glint flashed in Li Qingyi's eyes:

"So when you asked me to come a couple of days later, was it because you were thinking of returning a favor?"

Mu Chunfeng suddenly knelt down on one knee with a "plop," burying his head deep in the ground.

"Yes! I did have selfish motives! Please punish me, Master!"

As Li Qingyi watched him kneeling on the ground, many thoughts flashed through her mind.

Mu Chunfeng is shrewd, slick, and good at reading people, but he also has his bottom line and principles.

Today's performance gave him a somewhat new understanding of this person.

"This will not be repeated."

In the end, Li Qingyi simply uttered four words.

Mu Chunfeng's body stiffened, and he abruptly looked up. "Thank you, Master!"

Before he could say anything more, Li Qingyi's figure had already disappeared at the door of the inner room, leaving only a barely perceptible breeze.

Mu Chunfeng slowly stood up, staring blankly in the direction Li Qingyi had left.

"The poster really has a sharp tongue but a soft heart," he muttered to himself, his tone complex.

"Such a temperament is extremely rare in the cultivation world where people are devoured without spitting out the bones."

It's a pity... good people often don't live long in this kind of world, my dear poster.

After saying that, Mu Chunfeng reached into his robes, fumbled for a moment, and slowly pulled out a cool-to-the-touch token.

The front of the token is engraved with three large characters—Zhenyang Tower.

Looking at the token, Mu Chunfeng's eyes were unfathomable.

Finally, he abruptly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, only a resolute look remained in his eyes.

Mu Chunfeng's five fingers tightened, and the muscles in his arms bulged slightly.

Click—!

The token was crushed in his palm, turning into a wisp of dust that fell through his fingers.