Chapter 236: Spending the Hoard [2]
The notification for the spiritual roots upgrade came next.
[Spiritual Roots upgraded! Elemental Spiritual Roots, Saint Grade - Low → Elemental Spiritual Roots, Saint Grade - Peak. -15,000,000 lust points.]
[Your affinity with Fire, Water, Ice, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Nature, Light, and Dark has increased by 10.]
This time the heat was different.
It spread through his spiritual roots like molten gold, rewriting the very foundation of his connection to the elements.
His perception of the world shifted.
He could feel the earth beneath the cave, the water in the air, the fire in Flare’s bloodline, the wind brushing against the mountain outside.
Everything was clearer now — sharper, deeper, impossibly more refined.
The world around him had not changed, yet it felt entirely different, as though a veil that had always been there had simply ceased to exist.
The cave walls pulsed faintly with the mineral essence locked within the stone. The moisture suspended in the cool air pressed gently against his skin.
Even Flare’s steady breathing nearby carried the unmistakable warmth of phoenix fire, a subtle, flickering ember woven into her very biology that he could now perceive with a startling, intimate precision.
He opened his eyes slowly.
The golden patterns deep within his irises shifted and settled, drinking in the dim light of the cave as though it were full noon.
He exhaled once, long and measured, feeling the new foundation of his spiritual roots hum in quiet, absolute readiness beneath his sternum.
[Lust points: 19,847,200]
’Nineteen million left.’
Not bad. He had spent a staggering fortune in a single sitting, yet the number remaining still carried considerable weight behind it.
He did not dwell on what had been spent. He thought only of what it had purchased.
He pulled up his full status window, letting his gaze move deliberately across each line.
[Name: Damon Arcknight]
[Age: 18]
[Cultivation: Earth Spirit Realm - Fourth Level]
[True Cultivation: King Spirit Realm - First Level]
[Affinities: Fire: 95, Water: 175, Ice: 215, Wind: 215, Earth: 115, Lightning: 445, Nature: 95, Light: 95, Dark: 235, Space: 50, Time: 50, Sword: 115]
[Spiritual Roots: Elemental Spiritual Roots] [Saint Grade - Peak]
[Bloodline: Blood of Incubus Dragon Lord] [Heaven Grade - Mid]
[Physique: Body of Incubus Dragon Lord] [Heaven Grade - Mid]
[Lust points: 19,847,200]
[Harem Members: Ariel Aquaria, Mio Nightrider, Mia Nightrider, Selene Frostborn, Seraphina, Flare]
[Beasts Bonds: Neko [Heavenly White Tiger]]
[Ability: Incubus Touch, Incubus Aura, Incubus Celestial Eyes, Incubus Fluid, Incubus Dream, Polymorph, Dragon Transformation, Incubus Transformation]
He smiled.
’Now for the bloodline and physique.’
"System. What’s the cost to upgrade my bloodline and physique from Heaven Grade Low to Heaven Grade Mid?"
[For Bloodline Upgrade from Heaven Grade - Low to Heaven Grade - Mid, the cost is 2,000,000 Lust Points.]
[For Physique Upgrade from Heaven Grade - Low to Heaven Grade - Mid, the cost is 2,000,000 Lust Points.]
’Four million total.’
"Do it."
[Bloodline upgraded! Blood of Incubus Dragon Lord, Heaven Grade - Low → Heaven Grade - Mid. -2,000,000 lust points.]
[Physique upgraded! Body of Incubus Dragon Lord, Heaven Grade - Low → Heaven Grade - Mid. -2,000,000 lust points.]
The changes were subtle this time.
His bloodline deepened, the Incubus Dragon Lord essence refining itself, becoming purer.
His physique tightened, muscles and bones adjusting to accommodate the increased power.
It was not the violent transformation of the fusion. It was a gentle polishing, a smoothing of rough edges.
He rolled his shoulders, feeling the difference.
’Fifteen million left.’
He turned his attention to the harem.
Ariel, Alena, Mio, Mia, and Selene all had bloodlines and physiques below Heaven Grade.
Ariel’s Sea Princess Bloodline and Physique were Earth Grade - Low.
Alena’s Verdant Alchemist Bloodline and Physique were Mortal Grade - Peak.
Mio’s Void Sniper Bloodline and Physique were Earth Grade - Low.
Mia’s Shadow Queen Bloodline and Physique were Earth Grade - Low.
Selene’s Ice Goddess Bloodline and Physique were Mortal Grade - Low.
They needed upgrades.
"System. What’s the cost for Heaven Grade Universal Bloodline Advancement Pills and Heaven Grade Universal Physique Advancement Pills?"
[Heaven Grade Universal Bloodline Advancement Pill: 1,000,000 Lust Points each.]
[Heaven Grade Universal Physique Advancement Pill: 1,000,000 Lust Points each.]
The price was steep, but not crippling.
’One million each.’
He turned the figure over in his mind, rapid and automatic, the way a merchant tallies coin before a deal is struck.
Five women. Each one needed a bloodline pill. Each one needed a physique pill.
That was ten pills in total, and ten million lust points leaving his reserves in a single transaction.
He glanced at his current balance.
Fifteen million, eight hundred and forty-seven thousand, two hundred. Even after the two upgrades he had just spent on himself, the number remained comfortable.
Ten million would hurt, but it would not cripple him.
He would still have nearly six million left standing when the dust settled, and what he would be buying in return was not merely power — it was foundation.
Permanent, unshakeable foundation for the women who stood at his side.
The calculation took less than a breath to complete.
It was not even a question.
"Buy five Heaven Grade Universal Bloodline Advancement Pills and five Heaven Grade Universal Physique Advancement Pills."
[Purchasing 5x Heaven Grade Universal Bloodline Advancement Pill. -5,000,000 lust points.]
[Purchasing 5x Heaven Grade Universal Physique Advancement Pill. -5,000,000 lust points.]
[Lust points: 9,847,200]
Ten pills materialized in his storage ring, arranged neatly in two rows of five.
He smiled.
’That should bring them all up to Heaven Grade.’
He closed the status window and looked around the cave.
Ariel was still asleep against his side, her face peaceful.
Mio and Mia were tangled together, their breathing slow.
Seraphina remained in meditation near the entrance.
Alena was still sorting herbs.
Flare had not moved.
Damon reached into his storage ring and withdrew one of the bloodline pills, holding it carefully between two fingers.
Crimson and longan-sized, it pulsed with slow inner light, warm against his fingers.
Scarlet energy coiled beneath its surface, carrying a scent of iron, aged sandalwood, and something nameless.
He turned it slowly between his fingers, examining it with his luminous golden eyes.
It was a deceptively simple thing to look at. Small enough to rest comfortably in a child’s palm.
Yet it could permanently rewrite a cultivator’s bloodline to Heaven Grade.
No years of tempering. No trials. Just this — bought with ten million lust points, enough to alter someone’s entire life.
He let out a slow, quiet breath, his gaze drifting from the pill to the sleeping figures around him.
’This will change everything for them.’