He finished the beast with a clean strike—and felt the familiar and uncomfortable feeling of hollow emptiness settle into his body.

  Qi exhaustion.

  Letting out a slow breath, Li Yuan placed the corpse inside his Spatial Ring before changing location, after which he sat down to recover.

  Low on Qi Reserves, and with the sun going down in the horizon, he should have gone back to the sect. But this time, he instead pulled out a few spirit stones, crushed them In his palm, and let the pure Qi flood into his meridians.

  He circulated the Qi through his meridians till they adapted to his body and were completely absorbed by him, filling up his Qi reserves. A bit wasteful? Perhaps. But for once, he did not care.

  Then, he got up and continued hunting.

  After all, he needed those points to upgrade his Veil of Borrowed Heaven to Complete Perfection.

  Because from what he has observed so far, all of his techniques that reach Complete Perfection go through an immense boost in ability. And so, he wanted his Veil of Borrowed Heaven to reach that level as well.

  After all, he would soon be entering the Outer-Belt of the Forbidden Forest. A place where 2nd-grade Spirit Beasts are everywhere.

  And as strong as he was, he was under no delusions that he could fight off a 2nd-grade Spirit Beast. Even one at the early-stage.

  Hence, taking his stealth technique to the next stage was non-negotiable.

  It's not even as if his Veil of Borrowed Heaven wasn't at an incredibly advanced level. With how far his technique had come, he was confident that he would be able to hide his presence against even Peak Foundation Establishment cultivators. But as it just so happened, Spirit Beasts tended to be more perceptive than human cultivators in general.

  Inside the Outer Belt, the margin between unnoticed movement and instant death would be razor-thin. And the only thing standing between those two outcomes would be Veil of Borrowed Heaven.

  So… he hunted.

  He hunted till the day became night and the night became day once again. Beasts after beasts fell to his blade. Their bodies harvested harvest for valuable parts, their right ears placed inside his spatial ring for Merit Points, and finally, their corpses fed to the Stele.

  Points accumulated, and his Veil of Borrowed Heaven got better and better until he was only a few points away from reaching Complete Perfection.

  It wasn't even as if he truly needed to hurry.

  Time was on his side.

  Spirit beasts didn't break through quickly. Especially not across major realms. From what he'd seen—and calculated—the Treasure-Seeking Rat would need weeks, maybe even months, to break through from the Peak Stage of 1st grade to the Early Stage of 2nd grade.

  There was just no way that the Inner Sect disciple and his rat would be going into the Outer Belt area anytime soon.

  He had time. But he was just feeling too impatient to wait.

  What if something went wrong? What if his own actions caused a butterfly effect that led to some other cultivator finding that place first?

  That pool of Heavy Spirit Water was worth millions of spirit stones at the very least. And he would be damned if he let it slip through his fingers.

  Then, in the middle of a pursuit of yet another Spirit Beast, he slowed as he heard footsteps and voices?

  That made him frown as this place was quite close to the Outer Belt of the Forbidden Forest. If there was a line separating those two areas, then this was it.

  If two or more outer sect disciples had entered this place by mistake, then he should tell them to leave before they ended up turning into some spirit beast's lunch.

  So, Li Yuan paused his hunt and slipped into the shadow of a gnarled tree and peered through the brush.

  There were two of them. Inner Sect disciples, judging by their robes. A man and a woman, moving cautiously through the forest.

  The man was at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, while the girl was at the Peak of Qi Condensation. Very close to making a break through to the next major realm.

  His gaze rose in surprise as he glanced at them. Or more precisely, at the halos hovering above their heads.

  The man's halo glowed purple. The woman's on the other hand, was pitch black in colour.

  This was the second purple halo that Li Yuan has seen recently. Had they suddenly become common or what?

  But something about the scene made him frown. Something didn't seem right here. So, he focused on their halos and saw a vision.

  ——

  Mo Ling was frustrated by his lack of talent compared to his younger brother. Yes, he has broken through to foundation Establishment in his early twenties. But his younger brother has achieved the same in his late teens. Four years before him even.

  If everything remained the same, then the family would pour most of their resources into his younger brother. They would help his younger brother reach Golden Core, while he, with his lesser talent who only reach Peak of Foundation Establishment much later in life, and then get stuck there.

  His family was only an 8th grade family, so buying a Golden Core pill was extremely difficult for them. They could buy one for his brother after decades of accumulation. But would they do the same for him? Most likely not.

  This thought worried him greatly, and led to his inability to sleep. So, he got up and walked around. Dark thoughts churned in his mind as he contemplated whether he should arrange an accident for his younger brother.

  But, estranged as they've become over the years, his younger brother was still his younger brother, and even he had limits on which lines he would not cross. Plus… if his family learned about it… the thought was enough to make him shudder.

  It was then, that he saw her by pure chance. Because she was cultivating deep into the forest in the middle of the night. And usually, no one would come by this area even during the day let alone in the middle of the night.

  She was cultivating. But her cultivation was very different from any other than he'd known. From what he could tell, she was absorbing Essence from the Moon itself. And she was doing so without any cultivation method.

  No. She was simply… absorbing the moon essence into her body without having the need to refine it.

  This… this was definitely a physique of some kind.

  Over the next few days, he would research various physiques, and finally learn the name of the physique that the girl likely had.

  Primordial Moon Essence Body.

  It was a physique that lets the physique owner naturally refine lunar essence into primal Yin Qi, increasing her cultivation by leaps and bounds with a single night of cultivation.

  Except, as was the case with many Yin related physiques, taking the girl's Vital Yin would bestow him immense benefits. And Primordial Moon Essence Body was an incredibly old and rare physique, so the benefits were just as amazing.

  Namely: taking the girl's vital Yin would instantly upgrade one's meridian quality by one whole level. An average cultivator would become a genius, while a genius would become a super-genius.

  Aside from that, there were a few other minor benefits. But they were nothing compared to the secondary and last major benefit of snatching the physique for himself.

  Which was an increased success rate of major breakthroughs by 30–40%

  Yes, whether it was Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, or Nascent Soul. It didn't matter. As long as he reached the peak of his current realm, he would have a 30-40% chance of making the next breakthrough without even taking any breakthrough pills.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Take a breakthrough pill on top of that, and his ascension would be all but confirmed.

  A few days later, he just happened to run into the girl while she was out meditating in the meditation cliff. They talked for a bit, and being a major realm above her, he was able to help her quite a bit with her cultivation problems. And so, they became acquainted.

  What followed was months of patient manipulation. Warm smiles, help offered here and there freely, shared cultivation sessions, all done in order to carefully cultivate a trust between them.

  He could not snatch her vital Yin in the middle of the sect. After all, the Inner Sect was not like the Outer Sect. The elders actually paid attention to the disciples staying here. And harming another inner sect disciple was strictly prohibited, and was strictly investigated, with the one in the wrong being severely punished, and at times, even crippled before being kicked out of the sect.

  So, he had to lure her out of the sect. After an entire year had passed, he saw his chance.

  The girl was close to breaking through to Foundation Establishment. And he told her about the presence of a rare herb that would help in her breakthrough. The girl was suspicious, of course, but trust built over an entire year was not so easily discarded. And she fooled herself into believing that he meant her no harm.

  And so… they were finally here. Sitting in a cave that he had isolated from the outside world with the help of a formation that kept both the sound and visuals from leaking out.

  The formation would also help him block the girl's cultivation, and ensure that she does not uses her Qi to self destruct.

  After an entire year of careful manipulation, it was finally time for him to get his due.

  The vision showed the rest without mercy. The girl cluelessly asking about the rare herb he'd promised her. The man's mask finally slipping. The futile resistance. Then… the rape.

  In the aftermath, the man gained a surge of power, breaking through three entire minor realms in a single leap as his cultivation soared while his meridians were broken down and remade into something of much higher quality.

  The girl would be silenced afterward, while the man would returned to the sect as a changed person.

  His own cultivation would soar and he would swiftly be accepted as a Core Disciple of the Sect. Reaching Golden Realm in a decade, and having a high possibility to reach Nascent Soul within a lifetime.

  ——

  The vision ended and Li Yuan opened his eyes. A complicated expression flickering through his eyes.

  "So that's how it is," he murmured.

  He was not truly surprised by the man's decision to do what he did. By this point, he had learned enough of this world to know that such desires were common. And should the other male cultivators learn of this, instead of blaming the man for what he did, they would instead congratulate him for taking the golden opportunity when it presented itself.

  No. What surprised him was his own desire to take the girl's vital yin for himself.

  After all, while his current cultivation speed was incredibly fast, it was not because of his own abilities but thanks to the Stele, which allowed him to learn a cultivation technique that would've other wise been impossible for him. Not to mention all the other rare cultivation herbs he had at his disposal.

  Remove all those from the equation, and what's left is a boy with subpar meridians whose talent would place him as below average within the Outer sect.

  Right now, that was not much of a problem. But what would happen once he starts ascending through the ranks. Once he reaches Golden Core, Nascent Soul and further beyond.

  He had no doubt in his mind that the stronger he grows, the more and more his natural talent would start holding him back.

  With that in mind, was he really meant to do nothing here.

  The man had a purple halo above him. Which clearly showed that this was a great opportunity. One that he could snatch for himself.

  He walked over to a nearby pond and looked down at his reflection.

  The man he recognised was not the one from his past world. But Li Yuan. The young scion of the Li Family. But… did that mean that he would have to change himself to fit this world better.

  He stared at his reflection for a long, long moment, before he finally brought his hands down to cup a handful of water and splashed it on his face.

  Nah. Fuck that.

  As tempting as it was to take advantage of this opportunity, he would not do it.

  He was not going to turn himself into a monster just so he could go from Ching Chong level of cultivation to Ding Dong level of cultivation.

  He took a deep breath, and finally felt at peace with himself.

  Plus, as interesting as this opportunity was, with his cheat abilities, he had no doubt that he would be able to gain other opportunities that would increase his cultivation talent in the future.

  He just needed to take it easy, and wait for the right opportunity to present itself.

  With that thought, he covered himself completely with the Veil of Borrowed Heaven, and walked toward the cave that was currently invisible to him thanks to the Formation hiding it from his eyes.

  Time to subvert the formation, and put another young master in his place. Which was six feet below the earth. Or, in this case, into his Stele.

  —————

  Mo Ling had already crossed the line. And there was no going back from this.

  Ruo Lin was pressed back against cold stone, her breath coming out in soft sobs. The formation hummed softly beneath her skin, suppressing her qi, pinning her cultivation down to stop her from killing herself.

  "Stop," she cried out again, voice hoarse. "Senior brother, please—"

  Her words meant nothing.

  He tore at her robes with impatient hands, fabric ripping under his grip until her milk chambers were revealed to his eyes. She fought him as best she could, her legs kicking weakly at him but with her cultivation sealed, it was futile resistance.

  "Senior brother. Why are you doing this?" She asked, her face twisted from the pain and betrayal as she used her arms to cover the peaks of her milk chambers.

  Looking at those eyes gazing at him with so much pain, Mo Ling paused for a moment. Then he snarled, frustration crawling on his face.

  Had he really spent an entire year on her… just to hesitate now?

  The thought infuriated him.

  He shoved her wrists aside and leaned in, his breath heavy from lust as he took a good look at her naked form. Somewhere deep inside, a quieter part of him recoiled at his actions as it tried to remind him of the memories of shared cultivation sessions, of the laughter they had shared together. Of late-night conversations under moonlight.

  He crushed that part without mercy.

  This is my future, he told himself. The heavens themselves had placed this in his path. To turn back now just because of some foolish sentimentality would be the height of idiocy.

  With a tug, he tore of the last bit of clothes and finally got a look at her red peach even as she tried to cover it with her thighs the very next moment.

  "To think," he muttered, licking his lips as his yang rod rose to full mast, his voice shaking with anticipation, "all of this… just waiting for me."

  He reached for his robes and removed them from his body. Almost tearing them off in his hurry. Then, he removed the protective artefacts and placed them on the side.

  With her cultivation closed, it wasn't like the Ruo Lin could put up any resistance. And with the Formation working at full capacity, no one would even know that there was a cave here in the first place, let alone what was going on inside it.

  "And for what little it's worth," he said stiffly, as he aligned his Yang Rod with the thin slit. A single push and the world would be his. "I am sorry."

  Just as he was about to open her up and plunder her vital yin for all it was worth, a voice answered from behind him. A voice that should not have been there in the first place.

  "Are you really?"

  Mo Ling froze.

  The words were calm. Almost amused.

  He spun around.

  A boy stood behind him wearing the outer sect robes of their Sect. Looking rather plain and unremarkable. Except the boy was here. Somehow having known about the formation, and having entered it without his permission or knowledge.

  And… the boy was now standing directly atop the formation plate.

  Mo Ling's blood ran cold.

  "That's… how?" he snapped. "How did you get past the formation? How did you even know it was there?"

  "You'd like to know that," the boy replied lightly, a grin tugging at his lips. "Wouldn't you, weather boy?"

  Before Mo Ling could react, qi surged from the boy. Not against him, but at the formation plate beneath his feat.

  The formation flipped ownership in an instant. The same formation that shut down Ruo Lin's cultivation till this very moment, now betrayed him and did the same to him as he lost control over all his Qi in an instant.

  The sudden emptiness was terrifying. Mo Ling staggered, gasping in shock as all his strength vanished in an instant.

  "No—!" He lunged forward, pure instinct driving him.

  The boy let out a lazy scoff and kicked him in the chest. Mo Ling fell over, gasping from pain and the sudden lack of air.

  No. This could not be. Not when he was so close.

  His gaze shifted to Ruo Lin in the distance who had now regained her senses and was glaring at him with a gaze filled with hatred.

  'Maybe… maybe if I could take the girl as a hostage, then I could reverse this situation.' He thought. But before he could make his move, a thin line appeared across his shoulder.

  Mo Ling didn't even feel it at first. Then his arm separated from his body and hit the ground with a soft thud.

  For a moment, Mo Ling simply stared at his arm in disbelief. Then, his pained scream filled the cave. Before he could process the agony, steel flashed again. And another arm separated itself from his torso.

  Then his legs gave way, no longer attached to his thighs as they were, and he collapsed on the ground, choking from the pain and despair.

  'Why? Why had everything gone wrong?' He thought as he dealt with the mind numbing agony. 'What have I even done wrong? Wasn't it the heaven's will to show me Luo Rin's special Physique? I am just doing what anyone else would've done. So why am I being punished?'

  Then, a boot landed in front of his face.

  With great difficulty, he gazed up to meet the eyes of the boy who had destroyed everything. Everything!

  Mo Ling opened his mouth to vent. To curse. To scream at this bastard who took everything from him. But the boy didn't even give him the chance to do so.

  The blade rose once more and then fell. His head rolled free from his shoulders, eyes still wide with disbelief.

  And silence reclaimed the cave.

  —————

  Li Yuan wiped his blade clean on Mo Ling's robes, the motion slow and deliberate in order to not spook the near-rape victim in the cave. When the steel was clean once again, he flicked and sheathed it.

  He stared at the corpse for a moment. Wondering if this is the kind of person he would've become if he didn't have his bullshit cheats to help him along.

  He remembered the original Li Yuan's desperation when the other outer sect disciples bullied and extorted him out of his spirit stones. And the answer he found in his heart, was most likely yes.

  Only someone who has truly been powerless by his circumstances could understand the depths a person would fall to in order to gain just a smidgen more control over their life. And a greater cultivation offered them that control and more. Much more.

  He gathered the arms, legs, head and torso of Mo Ling and threw them inside his Spatial ring.

  With how close Veil of Borrowed Heaven already was to Complete Perfection, the points gained from the corpse of a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be more than enough to finish it.

  Then, when he was finally done, he turned.

  Ruo Lin stood several paces away now, a dagger clenched in her hand, its tip trembling as she pointed it at him. With her other arm, she clutched the remnants of her torn robes tight against her chest. Her breathing was shallow as she gazed at him in fear and trepidation.

  After all, he had yet to remove the Formation's control from over her cultivation. Fearing that she might stab him in the back while he was busy dealing with Mo Ling.

  Li Yuan raised his hands a fraction, palms open, and shifted the formation. The suppression lifted instantly.

  Qi rushed back into her meridians. And the girl staggered for a moment, then steadied, the dagger lifting again as if on instinct. He noticed that it didn't tremble anymore.

  He watched her carefully.

  A part of him was wary of her. Fear made people stupid, and desperation only made it worse.

  If she decided to silence him in order to protect her reputation, her future… then… he decided not to think about that scenario.

  Common sense said she wouldn't attack him. But his own experience in dealing with cultivators told him not to trust common sense.

  After all, as Einstein had so aptly said: Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.

  For a long breath, she didn't move. Then, slowly and carefully, she lowered her dagger.

  Good.

  Li Yuan reached into his spatial ring and tossed a bundle of dark cloth toward her. Rogue cultivator robes. The ones he used to wear on his visit to the auction house. They landed at her feet with a soft thud.

  "Put those on," he said softly. Doing his best not to spook her.

  Then he walked out of the cave, his gaze never leaving hers till he was outside the cave.

  Once he was outside, he started to dismantle the formation methodically. Taking out the flags one by one from where they had been buried into the stone and soil. He exhaled through his nose, a smile forming on his face as he collected the Formation flags.

  After all, this was a formation capable of suppressing an early stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

  If sold in the market, it would easily bring him tens of thousands of spirit stones. Not that he had any plans of selling it. Installing it around his courtyard would be a far better use of the formation and serve as an added layer of protection against any idiot who decided to attack him in the future.

  When he returned to the cave, Ruo Lin had already changed into the rogue cultivator's garb. The robes hung loosely on her… except for the few places where they stretched a bit too tight.

  During his absence, the girl had picked up her sword and rested its tip against the stone, both hands on the hilt, her posture guarded as she stared him in wariness.

  They regarded each other in silence as he reentered the cave.

  Li Yuan kept his eyes on her as he collected the last of the flags and the formation plate. When everything was secured, he nodded once. "Farewell." He said before he turned and left the cave.

  Once outside, he vanished beneath Veil of Borrowed Heaven, his presence thinning until even a late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator won't be able to detect him. Then, he hid in the shadows, and watched.

  Ruo Lin emerged cautiously a while later, her every step slow and cautious as her head turned this way and that. As if something or someone might leap out from behind the bushes and ambush her.

  When no such thing happened, she held tightly onto her robes and broke into a hurried walk. It wasn't long before she was running full speed back toward the sect.

  Li Yuan followed at a distance. His Shadow-Cloud Steps easily letting him keep up with her despite her much high cultivation.

  He stayed far enough not to be noticed but close enough to intervene in case she ran into a spirit beast or other unsavoury Sect disciples.

  Finally, she reached the Sect's side gate, and after showing her Identity token, she entered through the gates before quickly rushing in the direction of the Inner Sect Courtyards.

  Only then did he finally stop escorting her.

  His gaze remained on her before she finally left his sight, before he finally entered through the sect gate, and made his way back to his house.

  By the time he reached his own house, exhaustion settled into his bones. The consequence of hunting into the forest for an entire day and night, as well as using Spirit stones time and time again to refill his Qi Reserves.

  He shut the door, leaned his weight against it, and let the tension drain away.

  He intended to take a very good sleep tonight.

  Because tomorrow, he would enter the Outer Belt of the Forbidden Forest.