A sage once said, “Some people are part of your history, but not a part of your destiny.”

  Reflecting on this quote from his history, Bubai keenly felt his part in destiny, more so than ever before.

  Destiny – it was a web tangling his heart, a web neither he nor those he cared about could escape from, simply because they didn’t have the strength to overturn everything.

  And the fate of the weak? It was all about sacrifices.

  "Okay?" A familiar emotionless tone, but there was something else mixed in…

  Like a magnet, his attention was attracted to the empty-handed companion coming back into the room uninvited.

  For once, her face... somehow escaped its fate of indifference. It was a natural wonder worth admiration, if it was any other time.

  Bubai bowed his head, softly murmuring, “Fine.”

  The room was as quiet as her bare foot closing the gap between their hearts. Soon, he felt her settling right down beside him on the bed.

  A head rested on his shoulder. Comforting, but its owner still pried open the wound he worked hard to close, “Necessary?”

  Yeah... was it really necessary?

  There was no need to debate on Wei Er’s end. She was a spy, through and through.

  As a witness to the dead Long Batian’s arrival, if this traitor wasn’t dead, she would unquestionably tattle to Jia Shizi, giving that thirsty guy a big handle to bckmail him for more.

  This loose end had to go.

  But Wei Yi… the proof of her loyalty was beyond doubt. Given more time, a foundation realm maid would’ve been added into his good books. As…

  "Her mouth won’t speak, but that doesn’t mean her mind won’t.” Bubai choked out dejectedly. Even he can do it, let alone others.

  Xiao Lan pursed her purplish lips, not saying anything, and simply pcing her cold hand over his.

  Silence reigned over the golden time…

  But moping wasn’t going to solve anything. Plus, he wasn’t a pure and innocent shut-in anymore.

  “Hoo…” Bubai exhaled and fondly patted her comforting hand. “Don’t worry. I’m really fine.”

  Xiao Lan didn't even bother raising her head, instead closing her eyes and finding soce on his shoulder.

  Feeling some peace melt into his heart, Bubai sighed.

  Not letting it get to him, he concentrated on the jade slip he pulled out from his storage space, injected his true Qi, established the connection, and…

  The method to refine the hundred poisons mixture.

  Poison—it was indeed a valuable trump card he could reuse. As...

  Shaking his head, Bubai sent the jade slip back into his storage space. Something to study ter.

  For now, he needed to concentrate on more important matters…

  His consciousness dived into his storage space, sensing the growing sembnce of organization in the piles of loot he had plundered.

  Sorting had been underway ever since his storage space’s expansion.

  His physical body was preoccupied by the hectic night, but any spare calcution power of his mind wasn’t wasted.

  In tandem to his directives, his diligent doll once again proved how she was a useful cog in his machine.

  Even now, she was dutifully scrubbing clean the center of the storage space after moving his pseudo graveyard to its new corner – the other three being...

  The Junk Corner – where the trash that requires proper disposal goes. Stained undies, bloodied rags, used dual cultivation toys, etc.

  The Trade Stash – the money, the wealth of loot to be sold.

  The Doll’s Experimental Home – An Jali’s resting grounds, where his pnts and everything experimental goes.

  Meanwhile, the soon-to-be squeaky clean center will be the new location for combat stuff, trump cards, and other frequently used items.

  Everything else was organized into categories in the cardinal spaces between.

  Of course, organizing everything was just a byproduct of his true goal. His real objective was to find a solution to circumvent losing another to the cruel hands of destiny!

  As they say, the antidote to poison is often found from the source.

  This principle applied not only to poisons but also to many of the mysterious, unsolvable techniques that pervaded this cultivation world!

  Thus, rather than amassing a stockpile of contingency pns and antidotes, sometimes, the wiser strategy was to search the enemy’s possession, either their body or within their stash!

  Seriously, it can’t get any cheaper than sifting through plundered loot. For most grassroot cultivators, finding a solution from the dead was the way to go!

  His logic here was sound.

  The chaotic night and his urgent loot transfer had left him little time to check everything thoroughly, but once he finally did, he immediately discovered something of interest!

  Kept in two jade boxes were a dozen peculiar, solid seeds resembling its illusory counterpart impnted in Xiao Lan.

  If he wasn’t wrong, these should be the seeds of pleasure successfully cultivated by Long Batian.

  Unlike his memory orbs, which were stored in his own totem within the dantian, the seeds of pleasure could actually be stored externally!

  Not only that, they were actually considered to be a valuable tonic for cultivators of the Seed of Pleasure Art!

  Each seed was an amalgamation of qi, vitality, and essence. These could be absorbed by a Seed of Pleasure cultivator to heal injuries, recover lost vitality, or advance their cultivation!

  As, every single one of these seeds represented a life of torment and suffering.

  Whether Bubai wanted to capitalize on these seeds was another issue altogether.

  There is a secret market for trading them, but any sales was essentially supporting the cause of these cultivators who enjoy putting a green hat on other men.

  Even if Bubai threw moral concerns out the window, he still saw value in saving them, just in case.

  After all, they might be the key to counteracting Xiao Lan’s seed of pleasure!

  Of course, for the time being, Bubai dared not let these seeds contact Xiao Lan in any way.

  Who knew what reaction they might provoke? What if her illusory seed of pleasure absorbed the solid seed and solidifies?! That would be tantamount to sending Xiao Lan to her death!

  Consequently, if he wants to use these seeds, he first must understand their properties and true functionality.

  To achieve this, the key was the Seed of Pleasure Art.

  If he could find a copy of this method, there might be a chance to resolve the cursed seed once and for all!

  Hence why he was scouring all the jade slips found in Long Batian’s stash...

  “Death Pgue, Water Ghost Steps, Yin Messenger, Death Howl, Vine Blossoming Spell...”

  A few random spells and techniques, most strangely requiring baleful Qi as a foundation. These were perhaps the evidence of somebody’s murder of Deathshade Sect disciples.

  Then, there were some pill formus...

  “Qi Condensation Pill, Qi Nourishment Pill, Minor Vitality Pill, Body Tempering Pill, Small Bigu Pill, Laxative Pill...”

  Ah, it wasn’t hard to guess these most likely belonged to some dead blokes from the Millennial Lotus Alchemy Sect or its subsidiaries.

  As... that was it. It seemed he was destined to find no cultivation methods.

  It was disappointing, but not entirely unexpected.

  After all, techniques could still be found interchangeably between sects, but cultivation methods were far more tightly guarded than techniques themselves.

  The reason? Methods formed the bedrock upon which all cultivation practices and tools relied.

  Without the proper foundation, even if a cultivator got their hands on certain exclusive techniques, they wouldn’t be able to use it!

  Thus, sects prioritized controlling access to these foundations that nurtured the energy wellspring.

  By doing so, not only did it lessen the chance of leakage, they were also essentially controlling their disciple’s lifelines!

  As, this meant Bubai was left with no choice but to consider purchasing the Seed of Pleasure Art from the Book Pavilion.

  But, there were two issues.

  One – The initial part of any foundation establishment method came at a steep price.

  Two – Even if he acquired the method, there was no guarantee it could solve his dilemma. Why?

  Well, poison can indeed combat poison, but how in Merlin’s beard is he supposed to cultivate a second cultivation method?

  Ugh. He really wanted to bang her head and ask why he didn’t simply walk down the path of svery from the very gecko.

  Now, the Seed of Pleasure Art could indeed serve as a reference, but it was not a definitive solution in itself.

  Well… if all else fails, he can try to trade the seeds of pleasure for the method or possible solutions.

  Heavenly oaths were strict but not absolute. There’s a reason why so many fragmentary methods circuted among loose cultivators.

  “Jali, add the two boxes containing the seeds of pleasure to the trade stash.”

  “Yes, my king.”

  While his doll shuffled about to clean her hands and deliver the jade boxes to the designated corner, Bubai set his mind on the critical issues at hand.

  There was… a lot. It almost seemed all his woes and problems chose to come in a bundle at this critical juncture.

  Of course, some problems he could postpone, but...

  If he deyed solving Xiao Lan’s problem any longer, he’ll probably have to push back any chance of solving it until after the Inner Sect Exchange!

  Yes, this meant more time to guide him towards the best solution. However…

  Patience can bring fortune, yet it also courted trouble from fickle fate.

  Some things were best grasped in his own hands before it was too te. So… he can only try that.

  If it works… then there will be no need to seek out another awry path!

  Bubai grasped fate in his hands. Before fate could react, she was pushed down and pinned beneath him.

  Appraising the beautiful face giving him the professional look of a counselor, Bubai softly confessed, “There’s something I’ve always been meaning to give you. It might solve the problem…”

  It might not was left unsaid, but the iceberg’s strict face melted down to her usual emotionless poker face.

  Embracing his neck, she lightly tugged him closer, urging lightly, “Give it to me.”