No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

When Zhang Yu returned to the dorm and shared his idea, Zhang Pianpian told him to wait a moment, then sent over a document.

Zhang Yu asked curiously, “What’s this?”

Zhang Pianpian replied, “The pharmaceutical factory that exploded belongs to the Mingsin Group.”

“Mingsin Group is technically a subsidiary of the Pill Cauldron Sect, one of the Ten Major Sects. Its main role on the Second Floor is to produce pharmaceuticals for the upper floors.”

“What I sent you is a list of the factory’s equipment, building materials, and interior finishes.”

“There’s also a list of the raw materials they procure.”

She added, “But having the names isn’t enough. You’ll need to actually recognize the stuff.”

Zhang Yu skimmed through the materials list. With his Civil Engineering coursework, he figured he could identify about seventy to eighty percent.

“But these pharmaceutical raw materials…”

He suddenly thought of Le Mulan.

So that very afternoon, after school, Zhang Yu sought her out, asking for help in researching the properties and identification methods of various ingredients.

Le Mulan, being a student in the Pharmacology Department, was able to help. Drawing on both her own knowledge and resources from the Grand Library, she gradually assisted Zhang Yu in identifying most of the raw materials.

In the following days, aside from working, Zhang Yu spent his time picking, identifying, and eating.

To carve out more time, he even requested leave from his department.

The Civil Engineering Department approved it quickly.

After all, what’s wrong with a student skipping class to earn extra cash? Especially for a project belonging to the department itself.

…

Inside the factory grounds.

“Another meal!”

Zhang Yu picked up several metal fragments and swallowed them in one gulp. He thought to himself, “Third-grade Spiritual Alloy. Used for valves in high-temperature, high-pressure environments.”

“Perfect for reinforcing my bones.”

As the Soil-Eating Divine Technique activated, he felt a subtle weight settle into his hand bones. Their density and mass had both increased ever so slightly.

Moments later, he grabbed a handful of black shards and swallowed them: “Polymer composites. Used in high-wear environments for cushioning parts—great for strengthening joints.”

“Corrosionbane Membrane Marrow—a bio-material made from refined parasites. Resistant to acid, alkali, and high temperatures. High toughness and shock resistance. Originally used in pharmaceutical filtration. Now, let’s refine it into my periosteum.”

Since repairs in the factory zone were only expected to last about fifteen days—and with networking and surveillance likely to resume even earlier—Zhang Yu made a clear eating plan.

“Rather than nibble on everything and end up half-baked all over…”

“Better to focus on a few materials and prioritize bone reinforcement.”

Once his dietary priorities were set, Zhang Yu resembled a customer at a seafood buffet who locked onto one specific item and gorged himself silly.

With every round of consumption, he felt his bones becoming tougher and denser. His body grew noticeably heavier.

But he didn’t ignore drugs and raw pharmaceutical ingredients either.

Especially after hearing from Zhang Pianpian that the factory’s products were intended for upper-floor clients—it piqued his interest even more.

“This is an extract of Blacknight Orchid—it improves hearing and vision with long-term use.”

“This one’s a concentrate from Purplewhite Herb, enhances the fire-aspect of mana.”

“This here is Jingxue Essence, extracted from Jingxue Grass, meant to boost bodily responsiveness…”

Yet after identifying and trying more and more materials, Zhang Yu began to feel disappointed.

“It’s a mass-production factory, after all. Just eating raw materials? Feels like a waste of my time.”

So in the end, he shifted focus to leaked semi-finished products.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to scavenge completed pills—those had already been swept up by the factory during the initial disaster relief.

The problem with semi-finished drugs was unpredictability. Whether they worked, and how they worked, was anyone’s guess until after ingestion.

Thankfully, with the drug list from Zhang Pianpian and Le Mulan’s help, Zhang Yu confirmed that nothing from this factory should exceed what his University Saint Body could handle.

So he began trying them one by one, like drawing a lottery every day.

There was a black, paste-like substance—after eating it, he felt a stirring in his Qi Sea. His Spirit Root integration seemed to improve slightly.

A yellow powder caused intense itching beneath his skin—he sprouted a few scales and had to pull them out in alarm.

Some batches lightened his Sea of Consciousness and enhanced the flow of his techniques.

Others caused his limbs to stretch and crack—he bulked up by a whole size class, pushing his baseline height to 2.05 meters. He had to actively compress his frame to fit in again.

In short, the semi-finished drugs were wildly inconsistent in appearance and effect. Zhang Yu could only keep tasting and experimenting, his body gradually reinforced here and there.

But the most memorable find was a single golden pill—the only completed product he’d come across during the entire factory project.

The moment he swallowed it, his whole body surged with energy and vitality. He couldn’t even describe the feeling of restored vigor.

Later, with Zhang Pianpian and Le Mulan’s help, he learned it was a Longevity Elixir.

Swallowing it had extended his lifespan by approximately one year.

“Longevity Elixir?”

Upon learning that, Zhang Yu found it extremely odd. “That drug wasn’t on the factory’s official product list, was it?”

Zhang Pianpian didn’t explain in her usual detailed way. She simply said, “Longevity is a very special resource. It’s highly sensitive. Don’t ask. Don’t dig. Don’t think too much.”

Zhang Yu could only suppress his suspicions, silently wondering whether the attack on the factory had anything to do with that Longevity Elixir.

Fifteen days passed in the blink of an eye. As the network came back online, arrays were repaired, and surveillance was restored… Zhang Yu found fewer and fewer opportunities to snack on scraps.

Back at the dorm, Yu Xinghan looked him over and asked, “You’ve been working your ass off, but… did you gain weight?”

Zhang Yu replied casually, “Stress eating.”

Yu Xinghan added, “And did you get taller too?”

Zhang Yu shrugged. “Training hard. Late growth spurt.”

Thanks to all the eating, Zhang Yu’s strength had skyrocketed.

With his bones now laced with high-strength materials, every aspect of his performance had improved—far beyond where he was half a month ago.

Zhang Yu thought, “With my current high-density skeleton and the Earth-Wood Saint Body, my durability is through the roof.”

This kind of bone reinforcement wasn’t tied to any Chain Diagram setup—it was compatible with his Earth-Wood Saint Body, University Saint Body, Martial Saint Embryo, and other builds.

As his bones strengthened, so too did his overall physique. At present, his physical strength had reached level 12.31.

His Spirit Root integration had also improved, now sitting at 90%.

His normal height had grown to 2.08 meters, and his weight had increased in tandem—boosting his explosive strength.

Other base stats had also improved: Dao Heart reached level 12 (68.1%), and mana had broken through to 401.1.

Zhang Yu couldn’t help but marvel: “All these materials and medicines… if I’d paid out of pocket, it would’ve cost at least twenty or thirty Spirit Coins.”

His only regret: “Too bad… I can’t take anything to go.”

“Oh well, who packs leftovers from a buffet?”

“Just hope my stats are good enough to crack the top three in class.”

“Once I’m back in class tomorrow, I’ll update my data and see how the rankings shake out.”

It had been half a month since he last attended lectures, relying entirely on Yu Xinghan’s notes to keep up.

Just then, the dorm door opened and in walked Le Mulan.

Zhang Yu quickly said, “Come on, I’ll bleed a bit for you. Your Foundation Establishment exam’s just days away, right?”

Despite being focused on work and consumption, Zhang Yu hadn’t forgotten to donate blood for Le Mulan.

Thanks to his improved diet, his blood had become far more potent—letting Le Mulan ride the wave of his gains.

Yu Xinghan chimed in, “Bro, gimme some too.”

As Zhang Yu began extracting blood, several notifications flashed across his EyeNet.

A theft had occurred in the underground level two sector of the Mingsin Factory. Over 300 tons of supplies were missing. The security team identified workers Zhang Hetian, Zeng Huaian, and over ten others as prime suspects. Under questioning, the suspects confessed…

Zhang Yu read the notice and thought, “300 tons? They really dared? Wait… how did they even move that much? Just those few workers?”

Then another notification popped up.

Worker Zhang Yu, who showed bravery and diligence during the repair project, single-handedly cleared 1,200 tons of debris, has been awarded the title of Model Worker. Commendation issued for encouragement.

Zhang Yu realized: all the scavenging and hauling he’d done—he’d unknowingly moved over a thousand tons.

At the same time, his wages for the past fifteen days were deposited. His balance suddenly shot up to 12.51 Spirit Coins.

As he gazed at the sum, flushed with excitement, a message from Tu Lishan arrived.

“Zhang Yu, you performed well this time.”

“Director Gao has taken an interest in you.”

“Next month, there’s a fieldwork project. The department plans to recruit outstanding students from all years. Are you interested?”

…

When Ying Xin saw Zhang Yu named as a Model Worker, she felt a surge of unease.

Upon confirming through her channels that he’d taken her spot on the field project, she grew indignant.

“Why?”

“Gongshu Jin getting chosen was a given—but Zhang Yu? Why him?”

When she confronted Tu Lishan, he replied with a chuckle, “This time, Director Gao wants students with talent and strength—but also those willing to suffer and work hard for money. Ying, that’s where you fall a little short.”

In his heart, Tu Lishan thought, “You’re only sixth-generation civil engineering—already trying to skip the dirty work and lose the smell of earth? What use do we have for someone like you?”

“The director’s looking for useful tools, not delicate porcelain. With everyone this lazy, how’s the department supposed to stay profitable?”

He smirked to himself, “Just because you train with Gongshu Jin, you think you’re ‘one of them’? You don’t realize—university may be the closest you ever get to the top.”

On the other hand, Ying Xin still refused to accept it.

“I can work hard. I can endure hardship too.”

“And I’m stronger than Zhang Yu! Shouldn’t university reward strength and rankings?”

“I want to challenge him!”

Tu Lishan grinned. “Sure. Let’s see who’s tougher. Who’s willing to work harder.”