The fine rain softly falls onto the hillside, soaking the four thatched huts. Droplets slide down the eaves, and all is tranquil and serene.

Creak! Liou Yuan, who had just broken through to Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer last night and spent the night stabilizing his realm, stretched and pushed open the door of his hut.

He was met right at the doorway by the misty drizzle swaying off the eaves.

He reached out and caught it, letting his fingers be moistened by the rain.

Liou Yuan pinched his damp fingertips and laughed, "To see this gentle rain in the dead of winter—now that’s magical."

Just as Liou Yuan was marveling at it—

Whoosh! A streak of light shot from the summit of the Fifth Peak, piercing the sky.

Liou Yuan caught sight of that light in his peripheral vision and couldn’t help but feel envious.

"Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators can roam freely through the sky—truly enviable."

Scenes like this, in his previous life, Liou Yuan wouldn’t even dare to imagine.

Now, reborn in this world, he was determined to experience what it was like to really fly in the sky.

By now, the stream of light from the Fifth Peak had already passed through the rain and landed atop Xiaopei Mountain.

Liou Yuan looked closely; wasn’t it the Inner Sect disciple Fang Yu, who brought them into the sect?

After his breakthrough last night, Liou Yuan had been pondering how to report his advancement so he could claim his merit point reward.

Who could have expected Fang Yu to show up today?

Liou Yuan’s face instantly filled with a smile; he thought to himself, "He must be here to bring me my merit point reward."

As he mused, he already strode towards Fang Yu, greeting him respectfully, "Mr. Fang!"

Fang Yu, with Foundation Establishment Cultivation, didn’t need to consciously activate his aura.

Simply standing atop the hill, a powerful energy naturally radiated from him, covering the slope where the disciples lived.

The disciples still inside the huts were startled from their cultivation and soon stepped outside.

At the hilltop, Qiu Ming and two others, closest to Fang Yu, also came out, just in time to see Fang Yu standing with Liou Yuan.

The three greeted Mr. Fang in unison.

Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators held transcendent status in the outside world, and at Five Extremes Mountain, they earned the respect of Outer Sect disciples.

"No need for formality!" Fang Yu nodded in reply.

He didn’t waste words. After looking at Liou Yuan, he quickly said, "I’ve come this time specifically to bring Mr. Liou the reward for breaking through to Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer."

The disciples, who’d been puzzling over Fang Yu’s sudden visit, all erupted in a stir.

"What! It’s only been how long? Not even two months and he already broke through to Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer? I’m still miles away from that!"

"Look who they’re talking about—it’s Liou Yuan!"

"Oh, that explains it."

...

The ripple of excitement caused by the news quickly quieted down as soon as they heard the name Liou Yuan.

The disciples’ expressions were all perfectly reasonable, as if it was only natural.

Ever since Liou Yuan had a duel with Qiu Ming last month, these new disciples had lumped Liou Yuan in with Qiu Ming as another genius.

"I was saying, Liou Yuan must have a Four-Star Star Acupoint, if not a Five-Star Star Acupoint."

"Let me guess right—look, even Four-Star Star Acupoint’s Fu Xueping and Xie Miaobo haven’t broken through yet."

Those comments reached Fu Xueping and Xie Miaobo, and their feelings were easy to imagine.

The two exchanged bitter smiles.

If it were anyone else, they’d be unwilling to accept it—but it’s Liou Yuan.

Qiu Ming wasn’t surprised at all. Of their batch, no one was clearer about Liou Yuan’s background than Qiu Ming.

In his view, Liou Yuan being stronger than Fu Xueping and Xie Miaobo was obvious.

Breaking through first to Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer was inevitable.

"Congrats! You owe us a drink!" Qiu Ming crossed his arms and loudly winked at Liou Yuan.

"Get lost!" Liou Yuan wasn’t going to play along, waving his hand quickly to tell Qiu Ming to shut up.

The Five Extremes Mountain’s wine wasn’t cheap—brewed from spirit medicine, spirit brew cost a Star Stone per jar. Like he could afford it!

After brushing off Qiu Ming, Liou Yuan put on a sincere smile and looked at Fang Yu, "Thank you, Mr. Fang, for making the trip. I’m overwhelmed."

Fang Yu didn’t see the slightest trace of nervousness on Liou Yuan’s face and couldn’t help but be amused, inwardly cursing, "Overwhelmed, my ass."

He thought for a moment, then glanced around, frowning.

He’d originally intended to use Liou Yuan’s breakthrough as an opportunity to really motivate these new disciples.

He’d even prepared what to say in advance.

Who knew that hearing Liou Yuan’s breakthrough, not a single disciple showed any emotional reaction.

Fang Yu was a bit stifled by this.

But thinking it over, Fang Yu realized why.

"Ah, I nearly forgot how Liou Yuan performed these past days."

Fang Yu quietly berated himself for miscalculating.

Still, since he was here, he had to finish his job.

He first asked Liou Yuan for his Outer Sect disciple token, and using the Jade Scroll in his hand, brushed it over the token, handing it back and reminding, "Forty merit points have been recorded on your token."

"Here at Five Extremes Mountain, merit points are handier than Star Stones. Whether it’s magical artifacts, magic, or elixirs, you can exchange merit points for all of them."

"Understood, senior!" Liou Yuan happily rubbed his token and nodded repeatedly.

These days hadn’t been in vain; he’d long since grasped just how important merit points were.

Then Fang Yu took out two Star Stones and handed them to Liou Yuan.

"It’s time to distribute this month’s cultivation resources—I’ll give you yours early. From now on, you can get two Star Stones each month."

"Since you broke through to Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer, don’t slack off. Keep striving for Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer."

"I definitely won’t let you down, Mr. Fang!" Liou Yuan replied loudly as he grabbed the Star Stones without a pause.

Before leaving, Fang Yu gave another round of encouragement to the surrounding disciples.

Whether it was useful or not, he’d come anyway.

After finishing, Fang Yu left, rather frustrated that he hadn’t achieved the effect he’d hoped for.

After Fang Yu departed, Qiu Ming and the others gathered around Liou Yuan.

Fu Xueping glanced up at the summit of Five Extremes Mountain, which pierced deep into the clouds, and said with some confusion, "Mr. Fang didn’t look too happy!"

Qiu Ming remained as straightforward as ever, scoffing, "How could he not be? The faster we cultivate, the more merit points he gets to distribute. Not happy, my foot."

The way he said it seemed absolutely logical.

"Miss Fu, you’re overthinking it. Qiu Ming makes sense," Xie Miaobo fully agreed with Qiu Ming.

Liou Yuan didn’t have time to chat—one hand rubbing his token loaded with forty merit points, the other clutching two Star Stones, grinning ear to ear.

He was already planning how to make the most of his merit points.

"With Auspicious Star in charge, just the stellar energy inside Five Extremes Mountain and the brilliance from the sky’s stars are more than I can absorb now."

"I don’t need to exchange merit points for Star Stones to assist cultivation for the time being."

"Better hold onto these merit points—they’ll be invaluable later."

Plus, Liou Yuan’s monthly Star Stones had increased to two, basically covering his monthly consumption.

If he really ran short, swapping merit points for Star Stones would still be timely.

After all, exchanging merit points for Star Stones was effortless; but trading Star Stones for merit points wasn’t nearly as easy.

So what did Liou Yuan need most now?

Obviously, a handy weapon—and a brush for practicing Talismanic Skill.

The giant sword he’d custom-made in Yanhe City hadn’t been brought to Five Extremes Mountain.

That thing was just a regular weapon; in a place packed with cultivators like Five Extremes Mountain, it was no better than scrap iron.

Liou Yuan planned to use merit point quests as an excuse to leave the sect and take the Fixed Star Compass with him.

The outside world was dangerous—how could he manage without a suitable magical artifact?

Of course, the Yellow Jade Buddhist Beads counted too, but that was a defense magical artifact. What Liou Yuan wanted was a weapon.

"It’s about my safety—this isn’t the place to skimp!" Liou Yuan decided that a magical artifact was a must-buy item.

The other thing was the brush for drawing talismans.

Without a spiritual brush, the Talismanic Skill magic just wouldn’t unleash its full power.

"If I buy a magical artifact and inscribe the Sharp Gold Talisman talismanic skill on it, its power will definitely go up a notch."

"That’s a way to increase my strength."

"Anyway, since I’ve learned Talismanic Skill, sooner or later I need a proper brush."

So a spiritual brush was Liou Yuan’s second must-have purchase.

The good thing was, Five Extremes Mountain had all the goods, and they could all be exchanged for merit points.

"In Five Extremes Mountain, merit points are more useful than Star Stones," Liou Yuan thought cheerfully.