No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Director Wang's voice was all kindness on the surface, but Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen felt an icy chill creep down their spines.

“This guy…” Zhang Yu thought, “From the start, he never intended for us to spend that money freely.”

“Even if we’d scraped together the money months in advance to buy a Heavenly Spirit Root, we’d still have to get past him.”

“So... from the moment he transferred us that money nine months ago, we’ve only been able to cultivate under his watchful eye, with his permission.”

“He’s been playing us from the beginning.”

“No wonder. No wonder he didn’t get the contract notarized by a Righteous God… He never planned on following it to the letter.”

“What we thought gave us more freedom actually gave him fewer constraints.”

Zhang Yu suddenly understood. For aristocrats in Songyang City, notarizing a contract with a Righteous God was a way to ensure it would be honored.

But for someone like Wang Yin, a top-tier elite, his wealth and influence alone could enforce a contract at the first floor level. Letting a Righteous God witness it would only restrict him further.

Things like monitoring other people's accounts and freezing their funds clearly crossed the line—but Wang Yin clearly had divine backing to pull it off. In this moment, Zhang Yu felt like everything he’d worked for over the past nine months—every scrap of cultivation resources he’d gathered to achieve Heavenly Spirit Root Foundation—was now clutched tightly in Wang Yin’s grasp.

Suppressing his rising fury, Zhang Yu said, “Ah-Zhen wanted me to hold onto the money before her body switch.”

Director Wang tried to dissuade them: “It’s just a new body, not death. No need to be so dramatic.”

“I’ll keep an eye on the account for you both. Don’t worry.”

When the call ended, a wave of crushing pressure came crashing down on Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.

For nine months, Wang Yin had been manipulating and guiding them, weaving invisible chains around them.

Now those chains were tightening, layer upon layer of suffocating force pressing down, seeking to trap and bind them completely.

Yet the more pressure he felt, the more Zhang Yu sensed the Meditative Image of the Sacrificial Ox in his mind stirring to life.

Everything that happened today struck like a bolt of lightning, rousing the ox completely—it began to thrash, to roll, to roar.

And with that familiar sensation, Zhang Yu felt his brain, muscles, and blood all becoming more alive.

…

Level 1111 of Oasis Tower.

Wang Yin ended the call and muttered to himself, “What’s this brat trying to pull?”

“I thought he’d finally learned obedience…”

“Now it looks like he’s just gotten better at acting in front of me.”

“A big transfer like this out of nowhere—trying to establish Foundation early? Pulling something behind my back?”

After a moment of thought, Wang Yin still wasn’t reassured about Bai Zhenzhen.

She was, after all, promised goods for a higher-up. There could be no mistakes.

So he gave the order to Chi He outside: “Go to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s apartment. Bring her back.”

Chi He bowed and left immediately.

Moments later, he arrived at their luxurious apartment with a team.

He casually swiped his phone and the apartment door unlocked by itself. They entered without resistance.

But after a thorough search, Chi He frowned and reported to Wang Yin: “Director Wang, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen are gone.”

Wang Yin’s eyes narrowed. “Lock down every major exit in Songyang City.”

“You personally track them down. Let me know if you need backup.”

…

On the street.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen watched surveillance footage on their phone—footage recorded by hidden cameras they had planted in their apartment.

Seeing Chi He leading the squad, Bai Zhenzhen frowned. “Wang Yin is suspicious, as expected.”

“They can’t find us now, but next they’ll likely deploy their forces and search the entire city.”

Zhang Yu grabbed her hand and took off running toward the outskirts. “Go! They have Righteous Gods backing them—they’re already on our trail.”

Bai Zhenzhen growled, “That bastard Wang Yin… Not only monitoring and freezing accounts, but at the slightest sign of trouble, he sends people to arrest us?”

Fu Ji analyzed calmly, “This guy isn’t like the people you’ve dealt with before—Zhou Chechen, Zhou Yang, or even Song Xu.”

“Those enemies still had to play by First Floor rules, to some extent.”

“But Wang Yin? He came down here to crush this place beneath his feet.”

“The rules down here are nothing but tissue paper to him.”

“Hell, even Evil Gods are more law-abiding than him.”

Zhang Yu now deeply understood why Kunxu enforced such strict control on who from the upper floors could descend.

Just one young master was already so unrestrained. What if more came down?

When the rules of the First Floor no longer bind people like that, they’ll always opt for the fastest, most direct solution to get what they want.

Right now, Zhang Yu felt like a giant beast was on his heels—Wang Yin, relentlessly closing in, unwilling to leave him any room to breathe.

But the greater the pressure, the faster his Heart Technique circulated. The Meditative Image of the Sacrificial Ox in his mind grew even more excited.

“We can’t just run and wait for death. If we keep fleeing like this, they’ll catch up eventually.”

Even as he ran, Zhang Yu called Deng Bingding. “About what we discussed earlier… I agree.”

“Get moving now. Send everyone to Songyang City.”

Deng Bingding replied, “The Righteous Gods can only help on the network side. They can’t descend to fight directly.”

“Our combat personnel are scattered across the First Floor, and it’ll take at least six hours to gather enough force in Songyang.”

Zhang Yu knew that pulling people together across twenty million square kilometers in six hours wasn’t slow—but it was still too long.

“I’m in trouble,” he said. “People from Oasis Group are hunting me down.”

Deng Bingding’s brow furrowed. “Did Wang Yin discover our plan? Did Zhang Yu slip up? Or… do we have a leak?”

She didn’t have time to figure it out. “I’ll have the Inspection Squad buy you time.”

“Just hang in there. Wait until our people arrive before making a move.”

Zhang Yu said, “I have a few more requests.”

“I need what we agreed on, now.”

“I also want a secret account. And I need 60 million in interest-free loans.”

“Also, I need help hiding my whereabouts…”

Though Zhang Yu was making outrageous demands, Deng Bingding stayed calm. “I can set up a secret account immediately and assign people to protect it.”

“But as for the money… Our budget’s pretty strained lately.”

She thought of Spark Zhenren raking in overtime pay, and the many contract workers they were employing.

“I can offer up to 25 million in interest-free loans right now. Anything more will need approval, and that’ll take five to ten business days.”

Zhang Yu frowned. Still too slow.

“I can’t just wait for the Righteous Gods. That’s a dead end.”

“I need to reach Foundation as soon as possible and get stronger.”

“It’s come to this… The only way forward is to fully unleash both mine and Ah-Zhen’s Immortal Path potential and charge toward Heavenly Spirit Root Foundation.”

…

Elsewhere, Chi He led over a dozen Qi Refining–peak experts, hot on Zhang Yu’s trail.

They were fed an endless stream of surveillance screenshots, phone signal logs, and network data—every clue pointing them ever closer.

Among them, Ye Mantian looked positively gleeful. He didn’t know what Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had done to anger Director Wang, but the upcoming arrest felt like sweet revenge.

They surrounded the GPS location—but the marked spot was empty.

Chi He frowned. “What’s going on?”

A voice from his phone answered—it was a Righteous God.

“They’re being protected by another Righteous God.”

“But it doesn’t matter. I have eyes and ears all over Songyang City. They can forge some data, but not everything.”

“They won’t escape.”

In the Divine Power Network, the two Righteous Gods clashed behind the scenes, causing Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s data to flicker in and out.

Even with the false trails, cross-referencing the city’s data slowly revealed their escape route.

But just then, a group from the Songyang Inspection Squad blocked their path.

“Routine check. Please cooperate.”

Chi He replied, “I know your captain very well—”

“Please cooperate,” the squad member said coldly.

“I’ll call someone then, okay? Director Wang.”

Chi He didn’t wait for an answer. He was already calling Wang Yin.

At the mention of “Director Wang,” the squad members all paused and waited in silence.

…

In the sewers.

With Deng Bingding’s loan approved, the secret account held 25 million—but that was far short of the 58 million needed for a Heavenly Spirit Root.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen moved quickly through the tunnels, phones in hand, downloading loan apps one after another.

Bai Zhenzhen’s fingers danced in a blur. “Yuzi, found another one—can get 300K from this.”

Zhang Yu tapped her link. “I just got 250K from ‘SafeLoan.’ Try it too.”

Last year, their Immortal Path potential was tapped out. All borrowing limits maxed.

But now, with their Foundation Licenses and Oasis Group’s marketing, their Immortal Path potential had skyrocketed—exploding, even.

As they sprinted and borrowed, that vast, surging potential funneled into Zhang Yu’s account.

His funds soared—25 million… 28 million… 30 million… 40 million…

But eventually stalled at 43 million.

Bai Zhenzhen frowned. “We’ve hit all the lending platforms. We’re still 15 million short of affording a Heavenly Spirit Root.”

Zhang Yu’s brow furrowed—then suddenly lit up. “No… We still have backup potential.”

…

At White Dragon High School.

Yu Xinghan glanced at his buzzing phone. It was a message from Zhang Yu:

“I’m Zhang Yu, the strongest high schooler on Kunxu’s First Floor. I’m in an emergency and need money to reach Foundation. Lend me now and I’ll pay back 1.3x.”

“Insane,” Yu muttered, locking his screen.

But moments later, he still called to confirm—and once sure, sighed and transferred the money.

“You better actually pay back 1.3x. That’s my hard-earned 100K.”

…

At Purple Cloud High.

Le Mulan blinked at the message, then made a call to confirm.

As she transferred money, she thought: “If Zhang Yu succeeds in Foundation…”

“Then his body becomes a Foundation Ancestor’s material…”

She found herself getting excited.

…

Qian Shen looked at his parents. “Mom, Dad, I want to lend Zhang Yu some money.”

“You think he’s scamming us?”

“No way.”

“Maybe some 550-point flunkie would lie.”

“But a 660+ competition champion and Foundation exam winner? No way.”

“Investing in the strongest student of the Gaokao system? Guaranteed returns.”

…

In the Spiritual Realm.

Mo Tianyi sent out a group message: “Confirmed. Zhang Yu urgently needs money to break through.”

“Everyone got their paychecks, right? Lend what you can.”

“He’s one of the rare geniuses to rise from poverty. His Foundation isn’t easy…”

…

In the Protected Zone.

Xiong Wenwu checked his phone. “An’an, I’ll send him money. You keep yours safe.”

An’an pouted. “I just got 2,500 yuan. At 1.3x return, that’s 3,250!”

…

In a shabby rental.

Zhao Tianxing’s mother read the message, her joy slowly turning calm.

Just then, Zhao Tianxing’s voice came from the computer: “Mom, call to verify.”

“If it’s really from Zhang Yu, lend him the money you scraped together to buy me out.”

“I trust him.”

“He’ll repay 1.3x. And we need that money.”

…

On the corporate battlefield.

Xinghuo Zhenren blinked as a message appeared in his Law Husk Eyes.

“Borrowing to reach Foundation? Is he really clashing with that Oasis bastard?”

He verified the message, then muttered, “My disciple’s got guts.”

He moved to transfer funds—then remembered his money was all with his daughter.

He sent a message to Li Xuelian: “Lend Zhang Yu some money.”