Xu Luoshui had been slowly promoting the Heavenly Silkworm Stockings within the sect.
The ones who liked them the most were the senior sisters who had partners. They especially loved how they looked and felt. Matching clothes were also catching on among them, quietly becoming a trend.
Even Mu Qingling had worn a pair of cloud-patterned white stockings that made her look even taller and more elegant. The cold beauty of her appearance was fully highlighted by the outfit.
Though she said a few scolding words to Xu Luoshui, deep down she clearly enjoyed it.
After all, what girl didn't like pretty clothes?
The whole vibe in the inner sect started to shift. More and more female disciples were wearing clothing that differed from the standard uniform. Walking gracefully around the sect in silken stockings, they stood out wherever they went.
Some of the old-fashioned elders even started calling Xu Luoshui a hidden agent sent by the demonic sects to stir things up.
But those voices were quickly drowned out by the female disciples.
******
One day, Mu Qingling came to visit Xu Luoshui's cave.
"Junior Sister, I found the information you asked me to look into."
"Really? Thank you so much, Senior Sister. This has been weighing on me for a long time. If it can be solved, I honestly don't even know how to repay you."
Mu Qingling could tell she was truly happy. It was sincere.
And it made sense. What Xu Luoshui had asked her to investigate was a heavenly treasure that could restore one's origin essence.
This was no small matter. It directly affected the main body's cultivation. It was crucial for the future.
Thanks to the sect's Scripture Pavilion, she had already picked out the most suitable cultivation method for her main body—Four Seasons Longevity Art.
It was designed for cultivators with four spiritual roots. While the technique wasn't powerful and the speed of improvement was average, its greatest strength was the huge increase in lifespan.
For Cheng Qian, that was everything.
From the very first day he arrived in this world, he had understood something that many cultivators only realized on their deathbed.
It wasn't about being a sword cultivator or having a single spiritual root.
What truly mattered... was living long enough.
So from the beginning, he had focused on cultivation techniques that extended life.
He had to use spirit stones and pills to brute-force his way up in cultivation anyways. So, pairing that with a life-extending method gave him the best return. And considering he might have to rely on his clones to move things forward in the future, he needed more time.
Unless he reached the very peak, where he could control everything through his clones, he would have to keep using these different identities to gather resources through planning.
That could take a very long time. And it would be ridiculous if, after setting everything up, the main body simply ran out of time and died.
Lifespan was everything.
"Don't get too excited just yet, Junior Sister."
Seeing the slight confusion on Xu Luoshui's face, Mu Qingling continued.
"This time, what I found is a second-rank treasure called Dragonbone Frost Liquid. It's definitely powerful enough to repair your cousin's essence. This kind of item is normally used by cultivators at the Golden Core realm."
"I understand, Senior Sister. I know getting something like that won't come easy. Just tell me where it is."
She had already planned to find alternate sources for these things. As long as she could get more of these pills and treasures while she still had some influence, she would take every chance. And she had even reserved essence replenishing pill from the sect leader, though it required sect contribution points. She wasn't thinking about that for now, but she knew she'd have the chance in the future.
She also intended to ask her master for some of these treasures once she reached the peak of Qi Refining. Maybe she could even fake a situation and trick some out of him.
"It belongs to the Yu family. Their ancestor had a lucky encounter in the past. Not only did he get the chance to reach Golden Core, he also obtained a few rare treasures. One of them was the Dragonbone Frost Liquid."
"The Yu family?" she repeated.
"Yes. But I don't recommend approaching them directly. I'm worried they might take advantage of this weak spot of yours. They could use it to force you into something you don't want to do."
"I understand, Senior Sister. I'll take my time and think it through."
As Xu Luoshui fell into thought, Mu Qingling seemed to make a decision about something.
"Junior Sister, there's something I'm not sure I should say."
"Please say it, Senior Sister."
"The sibling bond between you and Cheng Qian is truly admirable. What he's done for you... it's inspiring.
"But the truth is, even if his origin is restored, his talent is limited. It'll be hard for him to go far on the path of cultivation. He may not even reach Foundation Establishment. Sometimes reality is just that cruel, and there's nothing we can do about it.
"Our path as cultivators is about defying the heavens and seizing life from fate. If you carry this burden with you..."
"I understand what you're saying, Senior Sister. But I can't convince myself to give up. At least not right now. I'll think things through carefully."
Xu Luoshui gave Mu Qingling a few perfumes and outfits as a gift, then saw her off.
In her eyes, the fact that the treasure was in the Yu family was actually good news.
It'd be even better if Yu Dazhi heard about it. If things turned out as her senior sister feared, and they tried to pressure her with it, that would be ideal.
For now, though, there was no rush. Just knowing where it was gave her a start. What she needed to focus on now was pushing forward with the clothing project.
High talent, the ability to earn spirit stones, and a legitimate background—only a woman like that can be truly captivating.
******
On the other side, Cheng Qian was still spending his days in the outer sect's bookstore, looking through anything that mentioned restoring life essence.
Unfortunately, such things were rare. They were all heavenly treasures or spiritual items of great value. Even the pills required massive amounts of rare ingredients and cost a fortune.
Looking at his third-layer Qi Refining cultivation, Cheng Qian let out a sigh. He had poured in a huge amount of pills and herbs, but his progress was painfully slow.
He wanted to test just how much a damaged origin could affect cultivation.
The good news: he could still cultivate. The bad news: the speed was abysmal.
Luckily, he had a naturally easygoing personality and a calm, relaxed mindset. If not, seeing how many resources he had burned for such little progress might've made him give up entirely.
******
Meanwhile, Xu Luoshui returned to the inner sect market and headed up to the second floor of the Yu family's shop.
She flipped through the account books in her hands. Reading the market's response from these records had almost become second nature to her.
She adjusted her sales strategy and production output based on these shifts.
"We need to expand both production and sales."
"Hmm?" Yu Dazhi looked up from resting his head on Xu Luoshui's legs.
"Sales are still going up. Soon I'll also launch combo sales. For example, buying a limited-edition perfume will come with a matching outfit."
"Amazing. What a genius idea. I didn't expect Senior Sister to be so clever. It's really not like..."
"Not like the daughter of a spiritual rice farmer, right? Hmph. Since I was little, I've worked in the marketplace with my mother. I learned under an old shopkeeper, and I was the one managing our family's money from a young age. You people from big families can't even imagine how much a place like that can shape a person."
Yu Dazhi smiled awkwardly. Great—he had just said what he was really thinking out loud.
"Senior Sister is brilliant. Truly brilliant. I misspoke."
"Anyway, I'm planning to open a clothing store with Senior Sister Xiuyun. It'll focus on making outfits that match our perfumes."
"That sounds expensive."
"You're thinking too small. Who are we? Soon to be leaders of this sect. Right now, just using a few spirit stones, we can win these senior sisters to our side. In the future, they'll be tied to us even more tightly. So stop only looking at the immediate gains. You're from a big family. How can you be so narrow-minded?"
Yu Dazhi scratched his head. 'I've been too busy staring at your legs. Who could focus on business strategy right now?'
"Yes, yes, I wasn't thinking clearly."
And just like that, she officially started another plan—this one targeting the major families.
She had actually come up with another plan earlier, one aimed at the lowest levels of society. She had considered lending out money with outrageous interest or exploiting the desperate.
But then she thought about how poor her main body used to be.
So she gave up on that.
Better to deal with these families or late-stage Qi Refining cultivators. At least they had some spirit stones to spend.