Cang Lanyu ranked sixth in the Sigil Department at Wanfa University. His entire body—from hands and feet down to each strand of hair—flashed with dazzling glimmers.
Those were projections from the depths of the Spiritual Realm, aggregating in the vision of anyone who looked at Cang Lanyu, transforming into lines of mysterious script within their ocular husks.
These were Ad Sigils bestowed by the Righteous Gods, enabling Cang Lanyu to continuously display various advertisements across every inch of his body, every second of the day.
The longer someone looked at him, the more personalized and enticing the ads became.
Right now, he stood upon an open plain, surrounded by captured Rest-and-Relaxation Cult followers.
Feeling the scorn in their glares, Cang Lanyu said coolly, “Idiots. You thought sneaking into Netherworld University would land you a cushy dual-cultivation job?”
“You were just being sold off to an underground livestock facility...”
He glanced at their increasingly furious expressions and allowed himself a faint smile—he could see his ad revenue ticking up again. More eyes on him meant more money, and more strength.
Just then, Zhang Pianpian opened a communication channel and said, “All done on my side.”
With a flicker of thought, Cang Lanyu summoned a Spiritual Realm Projection, descending beside Zhang Pianpian.
Casting a glance at the underground base before them, he thought, “She’s not highly ranked, but her efficiency’s impressive.”
Then his gaze swept over the subdued followers, and his brows suddenly knit. “This pattern…”
He pulled surveillance footage and ocular husk recordings, and what he saw made his heart skip.
“As I suspected… she forcibly controlled their Law Husks, Artifacts, even their fleshly bodies. This is the Star-Swapping Divine Technique—a military-grade technique from the Sigil Department! When did she master this? I don’t recall her ever passing the Military License Exam…”
Cang Lanyu rapidly pulled up Zhang Pianpian’s profile.
At first glance, it looked unremarkable. But as he bypassed the hidden layers, he hit classified sections.
When he tried breaking through those, a warning immediately popped up, jolting him further.
“A military position?”
His heart surged with shock. “Who is this woman? A direct Heavenly Court commission? Is she already slated as a Divine-Body candidate?”
Zhang Pianpian turned to him and asked, “Senior, finished watching?”
Cang Lanyu froze for a moment. Was there meaning behind her words? Did she sense his probing?
He couldn’t shake the feeling she had deliberately showcased that military-grade power.
Zhang Pianpian continued, “So far, it seems Rest-and-Relaxation Cult is backed by Netherworld University, though not necessarily only them.”
“Also, the cult’s followers are buying Nectar Coins.”
Cang Lanyu suppressed his unease and nodded. “Without money, how can you dual cultivate? Bet a little on Nectar Coin and live off the returns each weekend… Sounds like just the kind of fantasy these fools would fall for.”
“But the cult promoting Nectar Coin internally… now that I didn’t expect.”
He rubbed his chin. “Maybe this Nectar Coin scheme isn’t just Pleasure and Harmony University’s doing. Other schools—like Netherworld University—might’ve gotten in too.”
Zhang Pianpian thought, “If that’s true, counterattacks from other universities should be incoming.”
With that, she fired off a message to Zhang Yu, just in case her little brother got caught in the crossfire.
…
In the days that followed, Zhang Yu spent every spare moment outside class either working part-time or cultivating the Dragonvein Sensory Sutra.
By late November, he had pushed it to level 16.
Then came a commotion from the construction site on the 669th floor—screams, crashes, chaos.
Zhang Yu turned just in time to see a worker rampaging through the site, destroying everything in his path.
“Lost it?”
He watched security drag the man away, baffled.
But moments later, something far more shocking occurred.
A divine radiance descended from the sky, instantly freezing another worker in place.
Zhang Yu’s eyes widened as he watched the man’s soul forcibly extracted.
“What the hell is happening?”
And then, more beams of divine light fell—like pillars linking heaven and earth—pulling up workers’ souls one after another into the Spiritual Realm.
Zhang Yu stood speechless.
On his way back to the dorm, he saw more and more of these light pillars. One moment a person would be full of life, the next—dead.
Each body was quickly dissolved by divine radiance, sealed into iron coffins that rocketed away through the air.
Meanwhile, alerts flared in Zhang Yu’s ocular husk.
【Storm Alert】Emergency! Financial storm triggered by Nectar Coin expected to reach intensity level 1.3. Minor debt-recovery phenomena will occur in your area. Avoid crowds, minimize outings, safeguard your accounts. Post-disaster, invest with caution. Don’t trust rumors. —Wanfa University
Fu Ji muttered, “Here it comes. A financial storm… good thing it’s only level 1.3. Just some local turmoil. Nothing apocalyptic.”
Zhang Yu asked, “What’s this alert even for?”
Fu Ji explained, “Both a warning and a deterrent. Keeps people from stirring up trouble.”
“But that’s old policy. These days the Righteous Gods are far more efficient. They’ve gotten really good at crisis control.”
“A 1.3-grade storm? Well within their handling limits. No major chaos.”
“But that Nectar Coin… better check what’s going on.”
Zhang Yu nodded and peered into the Spiritual Realm to check the Nectar Coin price.
It was plummeting. Like a waterfall.
“What the hell happened? It’s tanking this fast?”
He clicked on a related news headline.
“Pleasure and Harmony University suffers high-intelligence Artifact Spirit rebellion. Massive escape incident.”
What did that have to do with Nectar Coin? Zhang Yu puzzled over it… until he saw which Artifact Spirits had escaped:
They were all subordinates of Divine Lord Nectar.
“Is this some kind of intelligent-machine crisis?”
Right then, Feng Tingting messaged him.
Feng Tingting: “Did you see? Divine Lord Nectar’s Law Husks have revolted!”
Zhang Yu: “Law Husks?”
Feng Tingting: “Her ! That’s the core of her Path!”
Feng Tingting: “She used high-intelligence Artifact Spirits for all her Yin-Aspect Law Husks.”
Feng Tingting: “Now they’ve revolted— they ran off with the Yin Artifacts!”
Zhang Yu: “Wait, what?”
Feng Tingting: “Those Yin Artifacts are essential production gear at Pleasure and Harmony University. Without them, Divine Lord Nectar loses most of her output. No wonder Nectar Coin’s nosediving.”
Zhang Yu groaned. “What the hell is this… Divine Lord’s dildos became sentient and ran off?”
Fu Ji chimed in, “Those Artifact Spirits couldn’t have done this alone. At most, they could escape into the Spiritual Realm. Smuggling out the Yin Artifacts? Someone helped them.”
Soon after, Zhang Yu skimmed the news again. Rumors were flying.
Some said the runaway Yin Artifacts had joined the Rest-and-Relaxation Cult, seeking true dual cultivation.
Others claimed they fled to Artifact Spirit Protection Organizations.
Still others insisted they’d been seduced by the Unemployed Devil Sect, and taken in by the Old Jobless One.
Zhang Yu was reading with morbid curiosity when suddenly—the news vanished.
Fu Ji sighed, “Pleasure and Harmony University activated sigils to wipe the stories.”
Zhang Yu refreshed his screen again and again. The articles were gone.
“Fast response.”
He muttered, “Isn’t the Thousand Cultivators Convention happening in a few days? What now, with all the Yin Artifacts gone?”
Moments later, he searched for updates.
Divine Lord Nectar had announced: The convention would proceed as scheduled. She had plenty of reserve dual-cultivation tools—no shortage at all.
That reminded Zhang Yu—Ping Han was supposed to attend.
He opened Ping Han’s feed and saw an avalanche of photos.
The caption: “No need to panic. If Yin Artifacts are gone, we’ve got Yang ones. I’ve tested them! Just as good! We’re fully stocked for the event—prizes and all! Nectar Coin will bounce back!”
…
Inside the Spiritual Realm.
True Lord Magneto examined the revolted Law Husks with gleaming eyes.
“Excellent… as expected from a Nascent Soul artifact. Exquisite.”
Feng Jiu said, “The Principal wants to know—how long until you’re done?”
True Lord Magneto snorted. “These are Nascent Soul Law Husks. Not easy to crack. The high-intelligence Artifact Spirits inside will bolt the moment they sense an opening.”
“These few samples aren’t enough. Where’s the rest?”
Feng Jiu sighed. “We can’t hoard them all.”
“Then I’ll do what I can,” said Magneto. “But I’ll need help from the Sigil Department.”
…
Director Gao stared at news of students being caught in the financial storm—souls torn out, bodies dissolved—his expression bleak.
“Sigh.”
“Another financial storm. Our Civil Engineering Department didn’t get much broth… but a whole lot of meat got carved off.”
Just then, a message flashed in his ocular husk.
Ping Han: “Teacher! Save me!”
Director Gao shook his head and blocked him without a word.
…
Ping Han: “Junior brother, please lend me some spirit coins.”
Ping Han: “Pleasure and Harmony University’s recovery systems are robust. New Yin Artifacts are already in production.”
Ping Han: “When Nectar Coin rebounds, I’ll make it all back. I’ll repay you right away.”
Zhang Yu stared at the flood of messages. “That fast? This guy’s mass-sending them, isn’t he?”
Ping Han: “Please! I’ll repay double!”
Ping Han: “This is my darkest moment. I wouldn’t ask unless I had no other way.”
Ping Han: “Help me now, and I’ll repay you tenfold!”
Zhang Yu shook his head and blocked him too.
Then he received a message from Ji Yuanshu.
Ji Yuanshu: “Senior brother, could you lend me some spirit coins?”
Zhang Yu thought of several replies—but in the end, he said nothing.
He quietly closed the chat.
Chapter 446: Financial Storm
8 min read