I sat opposite Madame Purple, acting nervous. I wasn’t sure if my true form was revealed or if Crimson Poppy kept it to herself.

I hoped they didn’t talk to each other about recent sales, but they probably did. One thing I knew for sure, was that Madame Purple was not the boss or even one of the high-up people of this secret organization. Her Cultivation was too low even if it was at the higher end of Golden Core.

Even the guards in the Old House felt stronger than her, and the guides were at the peak, just a step away from the Spirit Realm.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the entire thing was organized by an Elder, or even a Grand Elder, as a source of extra income. It was great when you could just make your own money, but passive income was always better.

I stared at the woman in silence as she looked through some papers.

“Ah, here it is…” She said after some time. “Vilya… We found her. It wasn’t easy, but we managed. Would you like to know her location or do you wish us to bring her to you?”

[That’s an option?]

“Yes. It’s an extra 50 SSS. Delivery in a few hours guaranteed.”

[Oh, I’ll take that option then. Here…] I handed over the money and Madam Purple took it and put it away.

“Pleasure doing business.” She said and then pulled a lever on her table and soon a man entered the room. “Bring our guest to the waiting room and get the extraction team ready.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” The guy answered and gestured for me to follow. We picked a tunnel, a different one than the last time, and exited in a nicely furnished room.

“Please, make yourself comfortable.” He said. “If there is anything you need, just ring the bell here and a maid will come.” He pointed at a small golden bell on the table near a sofa.

[Oh, thank you. I’ll do that.]

He nodded and then left the same way we came. I was left alone. I looked around. Trying to assess my situation.

The place wasn’t too bad. It was a square room, about 5 by 5 meters and nearly as tall, with everything a cozy waiting room might need. There were paintings of landscapes on the wall, animal rugs on the floor, comfortable furniture to sit on, and even a chandelier on the ceiling, just instead of light bulbs or candles, it had glowing yellow crystals giving off gentle light.

There wasn’t much to do in the room, unfortunately. I looked at the golden bell but refrained from ringing it. Whatever a maid could do for me wouldn’t be good enough, unless it was to bring me a glass of water. Any food or refreshments would be lacking since I was pretty sure they weren’t going to spend copious amounts of money to bring me a snack that would fit me. Any Mortal food would just be a waste.

I closed my eyes and began to Cultivate. Another cycle among countless. It didn’t take much time to complete the action, transforming naked Qi into Soul Essence. The real time-sink came from regenerating that Qi back.

Since I was fated to be stuck in the Sect for ten years, I decided I might as well Cultivate properly. Proper gear was required for optimal growth, and by expending some of my wealth, I could construct a chamber lined with Void Stone to increase the concentration of Qi inside. An extra Cultivation mat with various arrays could help concentrate that Qi further and force it into the Cultivator sitting on top. It was the best way to boost the regeneration.

Sure, there existed some pills that could allow the body to absorb it even faster, but they weren’t worth it for the price and duration. It was a minor boost at best and helped most to those just beginning Cultivation. A Golden Core Cultivator was already well attuned to Qi and could absorb it as quickly as the density of it around him allowed.

That’s why areas with denser Base Qi were always preferred over pills. They were better in every way.

I completed another cycle as hours went by when suddenly I heard the doors open and people stepped inside. I opened my eyes and saw two women enter, only one of which I recognized.

[Vilya… It’s been a while.] I smiled.

The girl frowned and then blinked a few times while looking at me, almost as if she was unsure if what she was seeing was correct.

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“Gerald?”

[In the flesh.] I said and stood up. She was slightly taller than me.

“I’ll be outside if you need me.” Her guide said and left the room.

As soon as she left, Vilya stepped closer, her expression full of concern. “What happened to you? You look awful.” She held my hand and began examining my scrawny body. Everything shrank.

[Oh, this? It’s a technique, don’t worry. I just didn’t want to attract too much attention.]

I released the transformation and my body began to expand. I grew from a kid-like body to a massive giant. The once loose robe stretched to its limits, and only by stopping myself from reaching my full form did I stop it from tearing.

“It’s really you?” Her eyes opened wide and then began to moisten. She threw herself around my waist and sobbed. “I was so scared! I thought you died. I ran as fast as I could to tell the Elders, but they didn’t believe me. They even scanned my Soul to confirm I was telling the truth, but by the time they organized, it was already too late. I really thought you were gone!”

[Haha!] I patted her head. [Your Junior here is not that easy to kill. Have some faith in me.]

Vilya looked at me with red eyes and pouted. “Don’t say that. It sounds weird if you say it like that. You are and will always be my Senior even if you are younger.”

[Semantics…] I waved my hand. [But let’s get back home now, alright? Also, sorry for not introducing you to the Elder. I kind of forgot. My bad.]

She shook her head and buried it into my chest. “It’s okay. It’s my fault too, I should have made an effort to meet your Master.”

[That’s fine. We can do that now, shall we?]

“Yes!”

We left the room and after a quick talk with the guards outside, we were pointed to the exit. It was a different one than I used the first time. They had quite the tunnel network under the Sect.

I also told our guide I was really satisfied with their work and she just smiled and nodded, saying she would deliver the message to her superiors.

[Where were you, anyway? I spent considerable effort to find you.] I asked Vilya after we were back on the main road and I was dressed in my Core Disciple attire. I also grew to my full height which was over two and a half meters tall.

“Sorry.” She lowered her head. “I got temporary work by looking after an Elder’s private garden and helping his wives. I had no contact with the outside world for a while.”

[Ah, that makes sense. I never thought to look that way...]

If she was working for an Elder, there was no way I could find her just by walking around. The fact that those people found her did wonders for their competence in my eyes. They were well worth the money.

[Anyway, we’ll have plenty to talk about, but first, we have to do a little detour.]

“A detour?”

[Yeah, it’s not going to take long. Come here.]

“Oh!”

I picked her up with one hand and held her in a princess carry, close to my chest. I then broke into a run while making sure to avoid colliding with other people on the road. It was not forbidden to run through the Sect, it’s just that most people simply walked. Time was something they had plenty of, and all the things they needed were close, so why hurry?

Anyway, I just wanted to be quickly done with my errand so I ran. We reached the edge of the Sect before long and I opened my Arcane Eyes, scanning the forest.

[No… no… no, ah~! There’s one.]

I quickly made my way through the foliage while keeping a barrier active to prevent any stray branches from scratching Vilya. We soon came face to face with a large rat, one in the Spirit Accumulation Realm, and I just looked at it intensely and it died. Its pitiful Soul was absorbed and I turned around.

[Okay, done. We can go back now.]

“Um… You ran all the way out here to kill that rat?” Vilya asked, beyond confused.

[Not that specific rat, but… Anyway, don’t worry about it.] I just collected a Soul for her so we could continue the treatment, but she didn’t need to know that. I grinned and ran back to a more populated area before putting her down and we resumed our leisurely walk home.

“How did you escape that Elder?” Vilya asked after a moment of silence.

[Escaped?] I scratched my cheek and chuckled. What escape? I bloody ate the guy. But I decided to keep that to myself, at least until we get things back on track.

[It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later. First, we need to get you situated.] I said. [How are you doing? Any changes to your Soul? Any improvements?]

Vilya sighed and shook her head. “No… I tried Cultivating, but it’s hard. The curses are still obstructing me. If I’m going slowly I can somewhat manage, but as soon as I try to Cultivate for real, the energy just bunches up and doesn’t wanna flow. It’s like I have thick plugs in my veins, constraining my flow of Qi.”

[Hmm… Yeah, curses are a bitch to deal with.] I preferred to just cut it off and reform my Soul. But that was really damaging to the person’s Cultivation. Not to mention that I had curses only on the surface while she had them all over her body.

They were much more spread out so they weren’t quite as life-threatening, but they were harder to clear because of that.

[What about the impurities? Can you remove them?] That was the other thing that was wrong with her. The bastardized Passionate Spirit Siphon technique she used absorbed the Soul impurities of others, worsening her Talent. It wasn’t as bad as the curses, but it was still subpar. And she already left the Foundation Building Realm where she could clear them out. She was stuck with them unless something drastic was done.

“No…” She shook her head, her gaze lowered. “They don’t even budge. I really didn’t know what I would do…” She looked at me with moist eyes and I allowed her to hug me while I held my hand on her back.

[It’s not the end of the world…] I said. [I’m sure we’ll come up with something.]

And that something was the ritual that had a 50% failure rate that could end with death. That was the one way I knew could help her, but it was risky. I needed to learn more about it before considering it for real, but that was her best chance.

First, though, we had to get her to reach the peak of the Spirit Accumulation realm. And that’s exactly why I killed the rat. It was time to boost her Cultivation.