With his pockets a little heavier, Qingyi walked through the wide streets of Golden Cloud City, his eyes studying every bit of the city with interest.
Only now did he realize its true size, a metropolis he hadn't seen since his death on earth twelve years ago.
Primitive skyscrapers towered dozens of stories high, bearing the symbols of large corporations.
Street performers used their crops to entertain children and merchants set up markets selling exotic crops, rare herbs and various foods.
Most of the passers-by were mortal, but the number of cultivators far exceeded that of the villages near the hut where he lived with his master.
Shaking his head, he began to look for taverns. Most were full, and it was only after walking several blocks that he spotted one with an empty table.
Without hesitation, he immediately went in and took the seat for himself.
"Welcome to the Crescent Moon Pavilion, young master. What can I do for you?"
A waitress approached, her black hair perfectly tied up in an elegant bun and her face covered in heavy make-up.
Qingyi barely paid any attention to her, concentrating on the menu on the table.
The young woman's body was voluptuous, but he really didn't want to choke on the kilograms of powder she wore on her face.
"I'll have a lamb stew accompanied by Qi Refining Spiritual Herbal Tea."
"Certainly, your order will be ready soon," the waitress smiled, leaning towards him and strategically showing off the cleft of her ample cleavage before leaving with a subtle sway of her hips.
Finally alone, Qingyi stretched and looked at his balance of lust points.
His fun with Feixue in the carriage had been quite profitable, bringing him up to 192 lust points, probably enough to advance straight to the foundation realm.
'System,' he called out mentally. 'Can't I really cultivate normally?'
[Yes and no. The whole process of breaking through realms and stages in cultivation is totally controlled by the system and can only be achieved with lust points, but the host must still cultivate to learn to control this power and establish a solid foundation].
'So spending it all on advancement isn't a good option...' Qingyi muttered, well aware of the importance of establishing a powerful foundation before making progress.
This wasn't usually a big problem in the Qi refinement realm, but when he reached the foundation realm, he would need to have a well-established base before taking the next step.
His master had once told him stories of cultivators from the Golden Core realm being defeated by others from the Foundation realm.
The reason was always the same: lack of a solid base.
These defeated people cultivated with the most expensive materials, making one breakthrough after another, and when they reached the limit, they turned out to be much weaker than their peers, suffering from terrible Qi deviation problems.
Obviously, this was not something he wanted.
Qingyi wanted to be one of those protagonists who would defeat villains many kingdoms above his own! Not some loser young master with paper cultivation.
Sighing heavily, he opened the lust store.
{Lust store}
Lust points: 192
Just as his master had described, it really was an almost endless selection of items.
He went through all the categories, his eyes dimming with each price he looked at.
Apparently, his adventures with Feixue had paid off far less than he had initially thought...
"Ah..." Qingyi exhaled, looking at a spirit root on the screen.
[Item: Sword spirit root
Description: A sword spirit root paves the way to the Dao of the sword. The level and price of the spirit root is based on the current level of the user's main spirit root, spirit roots with great affinities can merge.
Price: 100]
His fifth level lightning spirit root was only mediocre, it probably wouldn't even be enough to be accepted into the Ascending Dragon Sect.
Of course, he could change that simply by paying fifty lust points to raise his spirit root to level six, which would put him above average.
That, together with returning his cultivation to the sixth stage of refinement, would probably be enough to be accepted without too much trouble.
But it still wasn't ideal for him.
A lightning spirit root was good, undoubtedly one of the best elemental spirit roots, but he longed for more. And that sword spirit root was probably the best he could have.
Non-elemental spirit roots on their own were already extremely rare, but when combined with other elemental spirit roots, especially with huge affinities like the one between lightning and sword, their rarity and power exploded.
If he managed to have the two as a two-colored spirit root, or even better, if the two merged into a lightning sword spirit root, Qingyi's power and talent would certainly skyrocket to unimaginable levels.
After reflecting for a moment, he just continued to wait for his food, imagining the possibilities that lay ahead of him.
"Little brother..." A sweet, elegant voice sounded from behind him, a hand with long, delicate fingers resting on his shoulder.
"Can we sit here with you? It's the only table with free seats..."
Turning around, Qingyi saw an attractive woman with tanned skin leaning towards him.
Her huge breasts swung gently like full pendulums, heavy and firm, pressing lightly against the fabric that contained them and creating tantalizing shadows.
Her ample cleavage showed off the pale skin untouched by the sun beneath the white dress that clung to every seductive curve of her body, down to a slim waist and culminating in wide hips.
The curve of her voluptuous bottom was visible even from the front as she leaned on the table, her plump, tanned thighs proudly displayed by vertical slits in her dress that revealed glimmers of silky skin that seemed to glow in the soft light of the tavern.
Her full lips, painted a vibrant red, flashed a charming smile, and her face, mature and undeniably attractive, framed deep brown eyes that glowed with warmth and a magnetic intensity.
She was a divine vision of simple beauty compared to Feixue, but she carried a mature and intoxicating charm that few could ignore.
Upon noticing Qingyi's face, her brown eyes widened momentarily, surprise evident in her expression.
A slight blush took over her face, spreading gently across her cheekbones like a sunset over hills.
'Heavens... he's hot...'
'God... she's hot...'
Two thoughts popped into both their minds at once. If they knew what was going on in each other's minds, they would probably burst into laughter at the unexpected synchronicity.
[Name: Hua Feiyan
Age: 27
Corruption: 0
Chastity: Intact
Lust: 0%
Talent: Medium
Reward: Medium
Cultivation: Ninth stage of the IQ refinement realm.
Traits: Dominant, Seductive, Two-faced, Greedy, in love with pretty faces].
[NT: Do you guys also appreciate tanned beauties, or are only pure white ones like jade in your sights? Feiyan painting available in the comments]