No Money to Cultivate Immortality? - Chapter 802 (Patreon)

Chapter 802: The Old Days Graveyard, Lord Fuxian’s Hidden Legacy

“Going to the Old Days Graveyard? Put in charge of soul cultivator maintenance?”

When True Lord Wuxiang heard where Zhang Yu was headed, he was shocked. “That’s no different from being sent to sweep floors in the logistics department! Humiliation—blatant, naked humiliation!”

On the other side, when the veteran member of Martial Group One, Shen Qingyun, found out, she looked just as stunned.

She thought to herself, “Zhang Yu is someone Bu Daojun personally asked for. Is the pavilion tearing its face off with Bu Daojun?”

Martial Group Three’s leader, Qu Yizhi, stared at the news in disbelief. “With Bu Daojun’s temper, getting slapped in the face like this… wouldn’t she flip the heavens?”

Many cultivators in the Imperial Law Pavilion had similar thoughts. The looks that had once been envy and jealousy toward Zhang Yu gradually turned into the gleeful gaze of people waiting for a show.

And the group members who had been crowding around Zhang Yu only moments ago backed away in the blink of an eye, retreating completely.

“This is obviously the Pavilion Master and the others making an example—pressing Zhang Yu down,” True Lord Wuxiang thought. “Better stay far away from him next, or I’ll get dragged in too.”

For a time, everyone in Martial Group One, without even discussing it, distanced themselves from Zhang Yu while quietly watching him, waiting for the storm they expected to break at any moment.

But to everyone’s surprise, Bu Yingshu never appeared. No one caused trouble. And Zhang Yu acted as if nothing had happened—each day he kept doing the work in front of him, waiting for his appointment a week later, calm to an almost unsettling degree.

Watching this, the same guess flashed through everyone’s mind.

“Bu Daojun abandoned Zhang Yu?”

“If that’s true, then Zhang Yu will probably spend his entire life stuck in the Old Days Graveyard.”

Some people were also worried about performance evaluations after Zhang Yu left.

Because they knew that once Zhang Yu was gone, they might have to work overtime every day—not because upper management was especially evil, but because Zhang Yu had set the pace too hard.

…

Inside the office.

In Zhang Yu’s mind, Fu Ji said, “It was absolutely the Pavilion Master. Without his approval, how could they demote you to a place like the Old Days Graveyard?”

Zhanxian said, “You’ve probably been dragged into a struggle between dao lineages. You’re the chicken they picked to kill as a warning.”

Zhang Yu nodded slightly. He knew that to outsiders, even if he seemed favored by Bu Yingshu, he was still just a cultivator from the lower realm, with nothing visibly “important” on him.

“Outsiders don’t know what my relationship with Bu Yingshu really is, and they definitely don’t know about my Dao Seed Codex, or Bu Yingshu’s Dao Seed—Myriad Laws Immortal Clan.”

“They’re going to underestimate how important I am to her.”

“So using me as the knife… makes sense.”

Thinking back on his own experience, Zhang Yu felt that whether it was the Adjudication lineage or the Innate lineage, someone like him—no background, no seniority, and from the lower realm—really was the most suitable target to make an example of.

Just then, on the other end of the Law Realm, Yu Xinghan said, “Zhang Yu, I checked the info on the Old Days Graveyard. It’s the biggest hub on the sect layers for corpse inventory and soul cultivator circulation—basically a wholesale market.”

“A massive number of newly-born soul cultivators keep pouring in. Every day, cultivators from the major sects go there to purchase souls and bid on Ghost Kings…”

Yu Xinghan understood that if a cultivator specialized in using soul cultivators, or in immortal dao tech involving corpses, bones, blood, and souls, then the Old Days Graveyard was convenient—a place to buy many cultivation resources cheaply.

But for Myriad Laws Sect cultivators like them, those resources weren’t very useful.

Worse, the environment inside that graveyard micro-world—specifically built to preserve corpse inventory and soul cultivators—was filled with yin energy, ghost arrays, killing aura, and more. It would actually hinder their cultivation.

Of course, if the pay was high enough, Yu Xinghan didn’t think doing a few years of “business travel” there would be a big deal.

But…

“The Imperial Law Pavilion’s Ghost Letter Department is responsible for managing soul cultivators…” Yu Xinghan thought. “And the techniques the Imperial Law Pavilion audits include soul-cultivator-related methods, so they always need soul cultivators to participate in testing.”

“Buying soul cultivators and maintaining soul cultivators—both are for meeting audit needs.”

“If it were procurement, fine. But it’s maintenance.”

In Yu Xinghan’s eyes, the money, authority, and influence in that job were far below Zhang Yu’s original level-3 sect-affairs position doing martial-path audits. It was a clear case of a ‘promotion’ that was actually a demotion.

And job-content problems weren’t even the worst part.

“I also saw the newest news,” Yu Xinghan continued. “It looks like the Old Days Graveyard is still doing post-war reconstruction.”

On the other end of the Law Realm, Ye Xingli was also talking with Zhang Yu and Yu Xinghan.

Clearly, whether it was Ye Xingli or Yu Xinghan, both were extremely focused on Zhang Yu’s promotion and his new post.

Ye Xingli said, “That immortal battle from before didn’t just happen in the lower realm. It also happened on the sect layers.”

“Not only were many micro-worlds shattered in the clash between immortals—apparently even Zhongji Heaven, the center of the sect layers, almost got punched into collapse.”

“The Old Days Graveyard was one of the micro-worlds that got caught in the blast.”

Zhang Yu nodded slightly. He knew the immortal battle Ye Xingli meant was the one involving Dao-ge… or rather, the immortal Ying Xintian, who seized Kunxu’s sixth layer and then fought many immortals.

At that moment, Zhang Yu’s mind again filled with the scene he had once witnessed in the lower realm.

Back then, he had only seen fragments—like staring through fog, unable to make out the true shape of that war.

But even those fragments were enough to let every observer feel how terrifyingly powerful immortals were.

What Zhang Yu hadn’t realized then was that the battle in the lower realm was only one part of a larger war.

While that battle raged, within the sect layers at the same time… the power Ying Xintian left behind was also clashing with the immortals. The battlefield spanned layers eleven through twenty and spilled into countless micro-worlds.

“The Old Days Graveyard was damaged in that war—more than fifty percent of its area,” Ye Xingli said.

“About half its spatial structure was twisted by immortals into a chaotic maze of warped space that’s hard to investigate.”

“A huge amount of ancient corpse inventory, graves, and related equipment vanished inside. It’s said there are even extremely old bodies in there—ones that have existed since the Old Days Graveyard was founded.”

Ye Xingli sighed. “Warped space, missing corpse inventory, plus massive leaking killing aura… the Old Days Graveyard’s safety level has dropped sharply.”

Yu Xinghan nodded. When he checked the news in the Law Realm, he also saw plenty of reports about cultivators going missing in the Old Days Graveyard.

They said that because the space there was twisted, even cultivators who stayed inside the safe zones could, after turning a corner, opening a door, or just turning around once… suddenly be dragged into the depths of the spatial maze and never appear again.

Yu Xinghan also saw that several major sects had pushed forward repair plans for the Old Days Graveyard, and had organized exploration teams to probe the deeper maze, searching for lost key supplies.

But because there was no true powerhouse leading it, and because of mutual buck-passing, accusations, and profit-grabbing between factions… both exploration and repairs were crawling along at a painfully slow pace.

Yu Xinghan thought, “If an immortal wanted to repair it, it would probably be finished fast, right?”

But he understood: since no immortal came down to fix it, it meant immortals judged the benefits of repairing the Old Days Graveyard to be far less than the cost of their effort.

Ye Xingli said, “Anyway, the Old Days Graveyard has low returns and a dangerous environment… is there really no way to transfer you somewhere else?”

Yu Xinghan asked, “What did Bu Daojun say?”

Zhang Yu shook his head. “I haven’t been able to contact her yet.”

Hearing that, Yu Xinghan and Ye Xingli both felt their hearts sink. They worried Bu Yingshu might simply forget Zhang Yu now.

Ye Xingli said, “Junior Brother, should you ask around and find out Bu Daojun’s attitude?”

Yu Xinghan said, “Zhang Yu, why not go directly and request an audience? At least see her once.”

In Yu Xinghan’s view, Zhang Yu should hurry over—no matter what it took—and flatter Bu Yingshu until she was thoroughly pleased, because right now she might be the only patron who could save him.

Otherwise, the Old Days Graveyard was poor and dangerous, and if he stayed there too long, he might really be forgotten forever.

But Zhang Yu shook his head and said, “No need.”

Zhang Yu knew that with his relationship to Bu Yingshu, she would never abandon him lightly. If he couldn’t reach her right now, there had to be a reason.

They talked a bit more, but Yu Xinghan and Ye Xingli were naturally helpless in the face of the situation, and both felt anxious for Zhang Yu’s present and future.

Zhang Yu, however, remained calm and steady, as if this “promotion” didn’t trouble him at all.

After ending the call with his companions, Zhang Yu looked at his desk and thought, “Zhanxian, do you think the Old Days Graveyard’s situation might be something Dao-ge did on purpose?”

Zhanxian said, “I’m not sure. But if… the Patriarch deliberately twisted the Old Days Graveyard’s spatial structure… then he might be hiding something.”

Zhang Yu rubbed his chin. “Then why didn’t the immortals repair it? Why let the lower cultivators explore slowly and fix it slowly?”

Zhanxian replied, “There are only two possibilities.”

“Either what the Patriarch hid isn’t that valuable to immortals—so it’s not worth them doing it personally. Or… immortals believe operating like this maximizes profit.”

Zhang Yu murmured, “The Old Days Graveyard is both Dao-ge’s battlefield ruins, and my destination after promotion.”

“Both colliding in one place… is it coincidence, or some kind of mutual attraction?”

After reading part of Oxheart Sage’s memories, Zhang Yu understood dao lineages a little more.

He knew a dao lineage was like gravity—everything in Kunxu was influenced by it.

“Me encountering the Sage’s techniques, encountering the Sage’s memories, and encountering the things Dao-ge left behind… that process must also be under a dao lineage’s influence.”

But whether that influence was good or bad, and whether there were other human factors behind it, was still something Zhang Yu couldn’t see clearly.

“Either way, the top priority next… is breaking through to Divine Transformation.”

Even though many people in the Imperial Law Pavilion saw this promotion as a bright-sounding demotion—an attempt to suppress Zhang Yu…

To Zhang Yu, as long as he could be promoted and obtain a Divine Transformation license, it was a good thing.

“If I’m going to push into Divine Transformation, I need to build a Divine Transformation Pool.”

Zhang Yu ran through the process in his mind.

“There are two ways to break through to Divine Transformation.”

“The first, and most common, is to directly purchase a customized primordial spirit and use it to replace my original Nascent Soul, forcing a breakthrough into Divine Transformation.”

“The second is to refine my own Nascent Soul into a primordial spirit.”

Zhang Yu thought, “Comparing the two: buying a primordial spirit is fast, cheaper, and stable in quality, but the ceiling is limited. Later, breaking into Refining Void will be full of obstacles.”

“Refining my Nascent Soul into a primordial spirit means time, effort, and money… and especially inside the sect, you can buy more sect-only cultivation resources. The upper limit is higher, but the resources you burn are far greater.”

His gaze swept across the Law Realm interface, looking at proposals for primordial-spirit architecture, the Divine Transformation Pool, an Anti-Demon Wall, out-of-body stabilization equipment, seclusion life-support equipment, primordial-spirit insurance…

“All money,” Zhang Yu thought with a sigh as he picked and chose.

“Starting next week, I’ll be stationed long-term at the Old Days Graveyard. Looks like all the gear for my Divine Transformation push will have to be installed there too.”

Zhang Yu had already decided: once he arrived at the Old Days Graveyard, he would go all-in on breaking through to Divine Transformation, and everything else could wait until he succeeded.

Then his heart stirred again.

“Before I head to the Old Days Graveyard… should I first go claim the legacy Lord Fuxian left behind?”

Zhang Yu asked Zhanxian, “Can I go take Lord Fuxian’s legacy now?”

Zhanxian replied, “You’re already fourth job grade. You can go to the fourteenth layer, so you can take it. I also recommend you collect it as soon as possible—the longer you delay, the higher the chance Master’s legacy gets exposed.”

Zhang Yu nodded slightly. Zhanxian, as his clone, understood his situation perfectly and also knew the details of Lord Fuxian’s legacy. If Zhanxian believed there was no issue in collecting it, then it should be fine.

Just as Zhang Yu planned to head out after work and make a trip to the fourteenth layer, a message from Bu Yingshu suddenly popped up before his eyes.

Bu Yingshu: I have something for you.

…

Even before Zhang Yu met the Pavilion Master of the Imperial Law Pavilion, Bu Yingshu already knew about Zhang Yu’s promotion arrangement.

When she saw it, the first thing she felt was anger.

“Who’s stirring trouble in the shadows?”

Her first suspicion was her older brother, Bu Zhenting.

Facing Bu Yingshu’s questioning, Bu Zhenting spoke smoothly. “Little sister, this has nothing to do with me. Or rather… if you think I did it, would I really do it so sneakily?”

He sighed. “I told you a long time ago—you're too high-profile. Half the time, you haven’t even finished doing something, and you’re already announcing it everywhere, making enemies in every direction.”

“Things succeed in secrecy. You said in front of so many people that you were going to steal someone from the Imperial Law Pavilion—did you really think the Adjudication lineage is your personal backyard?”

Bu Zhenting sighed again. “We’re only an immortal clan, not immortals.”

“And whether it’s the Imperial Law Pavilion, or the cultivators under the Adjudication lineage and Innate lineage… what they respect is our status, not us as people.”

“The moment they feel we’ve done something that doesn’t match that status, even those lower beasts will turn around and bite us.”

Seeing Bu Zhenting’s earnest face and seemingly sincere emotion, Bu Yingshu frowned. “It really wasn’t you?”

Bu Zhenting smiled. “Fine. I’ll help you ask around and find out what happened. How about that?”

After cutting the connection, Bu Zhenting smiled and murmured, “My foolish little sister—aside from luck… you’re truly useless.”

On the other side, Bu Yingshu sighed. Looking at Zhang Yu’s name in her contacts, a trace of embarrassment flashed across her face.

She thought, “Damn it! How am I supposed to talk to Zhang Yu, a lower cultivator, now?”

Remembering what she’d said in front of Zhang Yu before, Bu Yingshu felt like she had lost face completely. She even had the feeling she couldn’t bear to see Zhang Yu again.

“Will this kid think I’m useless?”

“Will he think I was just bragging?”

“Is he going to go hug someone else’s thigh?”

Thought after thought surged up, and the more she thought, the more annoyed she became.

As for Zhang Yu, Bu Yingshu was absolutely unwilling to give him up—because it involved her own talent breakthrough, and the secret tied to the Sage’s memories.

After thinking for a while, Bu Yingshu gradually made up her mind.

“I’ll use both rewards and pressure and keep Zhang Yu close.”

“I can’t let him think I’m useless or incompetent…”

“I can’t let him think I have no voice inside the immortal clan…”

With that, Bu Yingshu summoned a subordinate and said, “Bring out the Qingming Riftspace Immortal Shuttle.”

The subordinate froze. “Daojun… you mean the one with an immortal plaque?”

Bu Yingshu nodded and continued, “After you bring it out, inspect it. If there’s no issue, send it to the Old Days Graveyard. Transfer that immortal shuttle to the Imperial Law Pavilion’s Zhang Yu for his use.”

The subordinate was shocked. “Give… give it to an outsider? Daojun, that shuttle has an immortal plaque. If it crashes and kills someone, what then?”

Bu Yingshu said blandly, “After you transfer it, tell Zhang Yu this: with that immortal shuttle, he can fly wherever he wants in the Old Days Graveyard. If he crashes and kills someone, put it on my head.”

…

Zhang Yu looked at Bu Yingshu’s message and thought, “She’s sending me something? And once I get to the Old Days Graveyard… I pick it up?”

Fu Ji analyzed, “Compensation, probably. Either Bu Yingshu feels this promotion situation wronged you, or she’s afraid you’ll have thoughts, so she’s sending a gift to soothe you.”

Zhang Yu nodded slightly. That did seem likely.

“Is it possible she didn’t contact me for the last couple days because she was embarrassed about last time—after bragging in front of me and not delivering?”

Zhang Yu shook his head. He wasn’t certain.

Though he was curious what Bu Yingshu had sent, his instincts told him it wouldn’t be anything too outrageous—more like a calming gesture.

“In Bu Yingshu’s eyes, she’s my only lifeline right now. A simple appeasement move should be enough.”

He’d find out once he reached the Old Days Graveyard anyway, so he wasn’t in a hurry.

That evening after work, everyone saw Zhang Yu leave the Imperial Law Pavilion office area. Then, with a thunderous boom, he kicked up waves of air and shot straight into the sky, crossing layer after layer of the heavens as he streaked toward Kunxu’s fourteenth layer.

He was going to retrieve the legacy Lord Fuxian had left behind.

With scan after scan through the spirit realm, Zhang Yu—bearing a fourth job grade identity—passed one layer of monitoring after another. He felt the increasingly dense spiritual essence and immortal qi in the air, along with all the subtle shifts in the environment…

At last, he arrived at Kunxu’s fourteenth layer.

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