I, Thanks To My Unlimited Investment, Am Admired By All Races

Nightfall.

Eight hundred miles east of Blackstone City, in an unnamed valley.

The area was tranquil, with a spring flowing gently at its center. Under the moonlight, the water shimmered like a silver ribbon stretching into the distance.

In the spring, atop a boulder, sat a young man dressed in a pristine white kasaya. He sat cross-legged with his palms open to the sky, radiating an aura of serene brilliance.

He sat quietly, exuding an ethereal presence, like a celestial being exiled to the mortal realm.

Such a transcendent air might have seemed out of place on a monk, but at this moment, it felt utterly natural and harmonious.

“This person definitely isn’t Fa Zhao!”

Standing in the shadows, Li Xun furrowed his brows.

Since arriving in this world, he hadn’t encountered many monks. But even if he hadn’t eaten pork, he’d at least seen pigs run. The aura of this man’s cultivation technique was nothing like what one would expect from someone of the Buddhist sect.

Ethereal yet domineering, this person felt more like an imperial scion than a monk.

“Immortal, what should we do now?”

Beside him, Jiang Taixuan transmitted his question through spiritual sound.

“Let’s go,” Li Xun replied, a hint of disappointment in his tone. He had traveled all this way, only to realize he had stepped right into someone else’s trap.

It left him feeling a bit unlucky.

Fortunately, he had realized this early. Had he lingered any longer, he might have been ensnared in someone else’s scheme.

Though he could strike now and kill the man before him, Li Xun didn’t see the point. The opponent was strong, and it would take significant effort to deal with him.

Rather than wasting time and energy disrupting this plot, he felt it was more prudent to take this information to the Crown Prince of the Great Zhou Empire.

Who knew?

Perhaps this information could be leveraged as an investment opportunity.

If it worked out, it would be an unexpected windfall.

Even if it didn’t, this news alone should be worth a Dao Weapon. After all, it might save both the Crown Prince and the Third Princess of the Great Zhou Empire.

Their lives were undoubtedly valuable.

Just as Li Xun was about to turn away—

The monk sitting on the boulder opened his eyes. He was ethereally handsome, exuding an otherworldly aura, as if he were a reincarnated celestial being.

“Greetings, esteemed lay practitioners.”

Fa Zhao clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, looking toward the shadows where Li Xun and Jiang Taixuan stood. His expression carried a serene smile.

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have discovered a purple-level investable person. Invest one Heavenly Yin Soul-Devouring Pill to receive one Hun Tian Pill.]

As Fa Zhao’s voice echoed, Li Xun’s system chimed in his mind.

‘What the… another purple investment?’

Li Xun’s expression turned odd.

He had stood there observing Fa Zhao for a while, yet the system had remained silent. But just as he was about to leave, it suddenly notified him of this investment opportunity.

This was unusual.

Unlike with Jiang Taixuan, where the system waited until Li Xun had the low-grade spiritual treasure in hand to prompt an investment, Li Xun had possessed the Heavenly Yin Soul-Devouring Pill for some time.

The pill was a potent poison capable of easily killing a Life and Death Realm cultivator, though Li Xun wasn’t sure from whose storage ring he had obtained it.

Since the pill was already in his possession, the anomaly wasn’t on his end.

It must be with Fa Zhao.

“How did you notice us?”

Li Xun didn’t dwell on the matter long. He stepped out of the shadows with Jiang Taixuan. At this moment, the monk before them seemed slightly different.

A faint Buddhist aura now emanated from him, making him appear a bit more like an actual monk.

“In Buddhism, there is a divine ability known as the Heavenly Eye.”

Fa Zhao’s robes fluttered as he spoke, ethereal and serene. He made no effort to hide the truth from Li Xun.

“Interesting,” Li Xun said casually.

While he and Jiang Taixuan had fully concealed their auras, they hadn’t made themselves invisible. Against a monk trained in ocular techniques, it was indeed difficult to remain undetected.

“Something about you feels off. To me, you don’t seem like the real Fa Zhao,” Li Xun said, voicing his speculation.

“Your insight is keen,” Fa Zhao replied with a faintly bitter smile. He looked down at his own body and spoke softly, “The real Fa Zhao has been dead for three years. This body is nothing more than someone else’s external incarnation.”

“Now, I am nothing more than a fragment of a soul. My awakening this time has a single purpose,” Fa Zhao said softly.

“To destroy this body?” Li Xun asked.

Hearing this, Fa Zhao’s expression froze momentarily before chanting a Buddhist mantra. “Nothing escapes your discerning eyes, Lay Practitioner. Indeed, I no longer wish for this vessel to incite further chaos and bloodshed.

“The Great Bright Monastery is a thing of the past, and it is fitting for this body to draw the final chapter for it.”

“I can help you,” Li Xun offered.

This time, he fully understood why Fa Zhao needed the Heavenly Yin Soul-Devouring Pill.

“Good,” Fa Zhao said, clasping his hands together and bowing slightly toward Li Xun. From his palm floated a jade tablet, which landed gently in front of Li Xun.

“Destroying this body is an easy task for you, but it will entangle you in significant karma. Consider this jade tablet a small token of gratitude.

“Within it is the location of the method to cultivate the Indestructible Golden Body from the Great Bright Monastery’s teachings.”

“A Saint-level body refinement technique?”

Li Xun glanced at the contents of the jade tablet, and his expression shifted.

His current body refinement technique, the Jade and Golden Glaze Technique, was something Ye Han had helped him obtain. He had thought that acquiring a Heaven-level technique in the future would already be a fortunate opportunity.

He hadn’t expected to come across the whereabouts of a Saint-level body refinement technique today.

“Indeed,” Fa Zhao affirmed with a nod.

“You mentioned earlier that someone turned your body into an external incarnation. Could it have been the Champion Marquis of the Great Chu Dynasty?” Li Xun seemed to realize something and asked again.

Fa Zhao said nothing but nodded lightly.

“So, it really is him…”

Li Xun clicked his tongue. Ever since arriving in Yunzhou, the name he had heard most often was that of the Champion Marquis.

Although they had never met, the Champion Marquis’ reputation preceded him, and his name was as familiar as thunderclaps.

The karma Fa Zhao spoke of likely referred to the Champion Marquis. Destroying his external incarnation and ruining his plans would certainly provoke his wrath.

“Fortunately, I have a Heavenly Yin Soul-Devouring Pill here. It should be more than sufficient to destroy this body.”

Li Xun didn’t hesitate for long and directly tossed the pill toward Fa Zhao.

“Many thanks, Lay Practitioner,” Fa Zhao said, expressing his gratitude once again. He reached out to catch the pill, preparing to consume it.

But just as the pill neared his mouth—

Fa Zhao’s expression suddenly changed. The serene and harmonious aura around him was replaced by one that was wild and domineering. His eyes grew cold, and an overwhelming pressure filled the valley.

Boom!

Fa Zhao crushed the pill in his hand, letting the powder spill through his fingers and scatter to the ground.

In a voice as cold as ice, he uttered, “How dare you!”

The words seemed directed at Li Xun, but also, strangely, at the fragment of Fa Zhao’s soul.