Starting My Immortal Life by Upgrading Buildings

Chapter 106: Survival Rules of the Water Dragon Sect

"In fact, three years ago, it was the right decision not to rely on talisman drawing to join the Water Dragon Sect."

Xu Fugui slowly spoke while puffing on his dry tobacco pipe. "If you had joined the Water Dragon Sect back then, most likely you'd have been left on Sifang Island, drawing talismans all day. Although you'd have some freedom, it wouldn't be true freedom."

"They only give you four days off each month, and going out requires prior approval."

"Every month, you'll be assigned tasks. If you finish them early, then fine. Otherwise, you'll have to focus solely on drawing talismans."

Isn't that just being a working mule? Ji Yuan couldn’t help but ask, "Then in that case, does the Water Dragon Sect at least issue spirit stones as standard pay every month?"

"Of course they do."

Xu Fugui chuckled through his beard. "If there weren't any spirit stones, who would be willing to stay there? With things as they are now, those who seek stability and dislike fighting all choose to stay on Sifang Island for peaceful cultivation."

So actually, joining through talisman drawing isn’t entirely a bad option. But then again, joining a Cultivation Sect just to be a workhorse—

Might as well smash his head and be done with it.

Besides, given the nature of the Water Dragon Sect, drawing three high-grade talismans for the sect and only getting one talisman’s worth of spirit stones in return would be considered generous.

Drawing and selling talismans himself earned him more and offered more freedom.

Peaceful cultivation—so long as one didn’t stir up trouble, peaceful cultivation was possible anywhere.

"If you joined the Water Dragon Sect through strength like you did, you'd be assigned to Hatchling Dragon Island. Unless something major happens in the sect that requires centralized deployment, you'll follow sect orders. Otherwise, we're free during regular times."

"There are two key points: first, don’t break sect rules. Second, you must accumulate one hundred merit points every year."

"Merit points?"

It was the first time Ji Yuan had heard of such a thing.

"Yeah. To earn merit points, you go to Qianji Island to take on tasks. There are all sorts of missions. Every completed task earns you merit points. It's not hard to reach a hundred a year. If you need to travel somewhere, check Qianji Island to see if there's a task related to that place. If it’s a simple one, just take it and complete it along the way."

Xu Fugui paused for a moment, seemingly pondering something, before continuing, "For example, some Foundation Establishment seniors might want to drink Lingyue Wine from Lingyue City but don’t want to go themselves. So, they’ll post a task on Qianji Island."

"If you happen to have business in Lingyue City, you can accept that task and earn merit points along the way."

"Of course, if you want to cultivate within the sect, don’t want to go out, and don’t want to take on complicated tasks, you can also earn merit points by submitting talismans or pills. That works too."

Oh, so it’s pay-to-win.

Auto-complete quests.

Ji Yuan couldn't help but sigh—what a damned considerate sect.

Even a microtransaction system was already in place.

Ji Yuan had made up his mind.

Tasks?

Not even a dog would do them!

Pay-to-win was the way—just hand in a few talismans each year to meet the requirement and spend the rest of the time improving his strength.

As for the top priority after joining the sect, it was, of course, building the Foundation.

Nothing else mattered more than Foundation Establishment.

"Alright, anything else I should be aware of?"

Ji Yuan asked further.

"Other matters are just minor. You’ll find out once you reach the Water Dragon Sect. I’ll introduce a senior to you then. Make sure you’re well prepared. It would be awkward if you fail to get in."

Xu Fugui said with a meaningful smile.

No worries.

If I can't kill the beast, I’ll use the Ascension Token to get in.

Either way, I’ve got a backup—Ji Yuan smiled and nodded.

"Alright."

"Hmm, only a few days left. Go back and prepare properly."

Xu Fugui gave a polite dismissal, and Ji Yuan had no choice but to stand up and leave.

Some time later, after he returned home and sat down, he was still pondering the Water Dragon Sect’s rule change. He definitely had to inform Du Wanyi about it so she could prepare in advance.

That was essential.

Originally, four of them had formed an alliance in the same year.

Now only two remained. Yao Jingfeng’s life or death was still unknown.

Ji Yuan cherished that bond and might need Du Wanyi's help after joining the Water Dragon Sect.

Whether she would tell others didn’t worry Ji Yuan.

It would be best if she didn’t. But if she did—then let it be a final test.

One piece of news could reveal someone’s true character.

Either way, he gained something.

Also, he needed to make another trip to Misty Island.

Last time he left in a rush, he hadn’t had time to handle the spiritual chickens, pigs, or fish.

He also had to inform Big Toad to guard the place.

Ji Yuan planned to return to Misty Island for secluded cultivation after settling into the Water Dragon Sect.

Since that was the case, he might as well tell Du Wanyi on the way.

Time was pressing, so Ji Yuan left immediately.

Within less than an hour, Ji Yuan had already arrived and was seated in Du Wanyi's home.

She gave Ji Yuan a once-over with her alluring peach blossom eyes. Seeing her fourth brother safe and sound, she finally let out a long breath. "I thought you’d forgotten all about the selection."

"Second Sister, you're joking."

Ji Yuan said, then asked, "With less than ten days left until the Water Dragon Sect’s selection, have you heard any news?"

When it came to serious matters, Du Wanyi's expression turned more serious.

"Actually, Fourth Brother, if you hadn’t come, I was about to go find you. A couple of days ago, Dong Qian from the Mutual Aid Association sent a letter through someone. She said that the Water Dragon Sect may accept very few people this year. As for the specific reason, they couldn’t find out. They just advised us to be prepared early."

Just as Old Man Xu Fugui said—the Water Dragon Sect’s Mutual Aid Association couldn’t get any information—Ji Yuan responded, "I did hear something, but Second Sister, you must not tell anyone else."

"Of course. Besides you, who else would I tell?"

Du Wanyi leaned closer, and Ji Yuan could smell her fragrance.

Lowering his gaze, he inadvertently glimpsed a deep cleavage and hurriedly looked away before explaining the change in the Water Dragon Sect's selection rules.

After hearing it, all traces of a smile vanished from Du Wanyi’s face.

She stiffened and sat upright.

"No talismans, no pills—so it's down to raw strength, huh."

"Second Sister, shouldn’t be too hard for you, right?"

Ji Yuan could tell that in the past half-year, Du Wanyi’s cultivation had broken through from the eighth to the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Given her already solid strength, she should be able to single-handedly take down a late-stage first-rank demon beast on land.

"If I risk my life, sure."

Du Wanyi took a deep breath. "No wonder Dong Qian said fewer people would be accepted this year. With rules like this, many won’t dare participate—not just that, there are few late-stage Qi Refining cultivators in Yunyu Marshlands to begin with."

"Hmm, still a few days left. Second Sister, make some final preparations. If you need anything, just let me know."

Ji Yuan didn’t want anything bad to happen to Du Wanyi again.

"Alright, if I need anything, I’ll definitely tell you." Du Wanyi bit her lip and nodded.

"Alright then."

Ji Yuan stood up. "Still a few days left. I’ll go back and prepare too. See you at Shanyu Island."

Every Water Dragon Sect selection for late-stage Qi Refining cultivators was held on that Shanyu Island.

"Okay."

Du Wanyi got up to see him off.

After Ji Yuan's flying boat ascended, he first headed back toward Zengtou Market.

After leaving for a bit, he turned the boat around and headed deep into the Yunyu Marshlands.

By the next day, he returned to the familiar skies above Misty Island.

The aftermath of the Foundation Establishment battle had long since dissipated.

With Li Changhe also gone, the area had returned to its former peace.

Ji Yuan had barely landed his flying boat on Misty Island when he heard Big Toad’s voice coming from deep within the mist.

"Ribbit—"

Ji Yuan said nothing, because—

The spiritual chickens were gone.

Half a spiritual pig remained.

Fortunately, the plot of Spiritual Field was intact.

The medicinal herbs Ji Yuan had planted weren’t destroyed.

Why?

Because Big Toad no longer ate grass—it only ate meat now.

Ji Yuan even wanted to check how many spiritual fish were left in the Fish Pond.

"Thud—"

Big Toad landed heavily beside Ji Yuan.

"Ribbit ribbit—"

Ji Yuan looked at it. A few feathers from a Marsh Reed Chicken still clung to its mouth.

"What about these?"

Ji Yuan pointed to the Chicken Coop.

Big Toad immediately stuck out its tongue, pointing toward the depths of the mist, and then launched into a string of "ribbit ribbit ribbit."

Having lived with it for so long, Ji Yuan could more or less understand its meaning—basically, it claimed it wasn’t the one who ate them.

Some other demon beast sneaked onto the island while it wasn’t paying attention and ate everything.

Ji Yuan said nothing, only jumped up and plucked a few feathers from its mouth.

Big Toad instantly went mute, even banging its head on the ground, looking remorseful.

It had been a while since Ji Yuan had looked at the gluttonous toad this closely. He used to feed it spiritual pig meat daily. This time, it had secretly eaten four spiritual pigs on its own.

Such rich nourishment had clearly caused some changes in its body.

Its size hadn’t increased, but its skin had developed what looked like a thick, stone-like armor. The bulges on its back were even more pronounced.

Most notably, the demonic aura it now emitted was significantly stronger.

This creature had definitely become much stronger than before.

Well, what's eaten is eaten.

They weren’t worth much anyway—especially compared to the demon beasts it had caught recently. If the eaten animals were worth one spirit stone, then the ones it caught had brought Ji Yuan at least ten.

Ji Yuan had made a small fortune recently by selling demon beast corpses.

After checking around and confirming no outsiders had been to the island, he gave Big Toad a thorough set of instructions—he’d be away for a while, and it must guard the island well. No one should be allowed on.

If someone did come and it couldn’t defeat them, then it should flee.

Perhaps thanks to eating too much spiritual pig meat, its intelligence had improved. Big Toad actually nodded in apparent understanding.

Having taken care of everything, Ji Yuan finally rode his flying boat away and returned to Zengtou Market.

This time, he didn’t go anywhere else.

After all, another four days had passed.

Now, less than six days remained until the Water Dragon Sect's selection.

And for cultivators, six days passed in the blink of an eye.

That day.

Ji Yuan awoke from meditation.

The day of the Water Dragon Sect's preliminary selection had finally arrived.