Poverty

"What are you waiting for? You can leave."

"Huh? Elder Sister, what about the reward for restoring the hall?"

"Haven't I already given it to you, that divine consciousness strengthening technique?"

Lei Kongming felt a bit disappointed that he didn't get any other reward. He knew the technique he received was very valuable, so he reminded himself not to be too greedy in the future but then.....

"Elder Sister, can you lend me a few million spirit stones?" asked Lei Kongming shamelessly, completely forgetting his recent reminder to himself about not being greedy.

Su Zhiyuan glared at Lei Kongming and said, "Xiao Ming, do you think that spirit stones grow on trees?"

Lei Kongming looked towards the direction of the spiritual herb farm. Although there was a wall blocking his view, Lei Kongming's action told Su Zhiyuan that he was eyeing her spiritual herb farm.

"Don't even think about it. Do you really think you're the only one suffering from poverty?" said Su Zhiyuan warily.

"My Green Orb is not less greedy than your Black Orb. You know yourself how many resources it needs. Those herbs might look like a lot, but at my realm, they can only help me meet my basic needs. Otherwise, why would I give you these mortal items to restore the hall?"

Hearing Su Zhiyuan scolding, Lei Kongming felt a little embarrassed. He scratched the back of his head while maintaining an awkward smile. He also noticed that all the items in the hall were mortal stuff, aside from the furnace, whose level he couldn't understand. The rest of the things here weren't even qualified to be considered first-grade materials.

"Elder Sister, I will take my leave," said Lei Kongming with a respectful salute as he turned to leave.

"Xiao Ming, remember, if you want to use the Qi gathering formation, you have to pay for it."

Lei Kongming froze in his steps, his whole body stiffening as his eyes widened. He felt as if he had been adopted by a beautiful, rich woman and was dreaming about his future luxurious life while sitting in an expensive car. Then suddenly, the beautiful, rich woman told him that he had to pay for everything he used.

"Elder Sister, what do you mean?" said Lei Kongming as he stiffly turned back like a zombie.

"Xiao Ming, with the absorption speed of your Black Orb, it will only take a few months for you to suck the spiritual vein of the 8th peak dry. That's why you have to pay the spirit stones according to how much Qi you have absorbed so that I can replenish the spiritual vein and prevent it from drying up," said Su Zhiyuan while rubbing her forehead. At this moment, she felt Lei Kongming was really very dumb, not trying to analyze the problem and only asking why.

Lei Kongming opened his mouth but couldn't argue because Su Zhiyuan was correct. The spiritual vein of the 8th peak was the property of Purple Cloud Palace, and draining it dry would make him a life-and-death enemy of the Purple Cloud Palace. Su Zhiyuan also used it to grow her spiritual herbs, and refusing to replenish the spiritual vein might strain his relationship with her.

"Elder Sister, can I pay it later? I currently don't have a single spirit stone."

Su Zhiyuan rolled her eyes and said, "Don't worry about it. Consider it my gift for your successful breakthrough to the Foundation Building realm."

Lei Kongming felt very happy knowing his debt was forgiven.

....

Returning to his hut, Lei Kongming realized that he hadn't asked about his incomplete past life memories.

After some careful thinking, he discovered that it might be related to his strength. In his first life, he was a mortal, which might explain why he remembered everything about it when he became a Qi Refining realm cultivator. Now that he is a Foundation Building cultivator and is able to recall the memories of his second life before he became a Foundation Building cultivator.

Lei Kongming sat on the futon and opened the divine consciousness strengthening technique. After reading it, he threw it away angrily.

"No side effects! Su Zhiyuan! It has something scarier than side effects," said Lei Kongming angrily, gritting his teeth.

"This stupid technique needs to consume a lot of Qi to practice. Elder Sister, do you think I'm not poor enough already that you send another gold-swallowing beast?"

At this moment, Lei Kongming wanted to go back to Su Zhiyuan's courtyard, hold her down, and smack her until she begged for mercy. But in the end, he held himself back because he respects the old and loves the young.

'It definitely wasn't because I don't have enough strength to even touch Su Zhiyuan's clothes,' affirmed Lei Kongming to himself with great confidence.

*Sigh* After some time, Lei Kongming heaved a heavy sigh and honestly pick the divine consciousness strengthening technique again.

"Sigh, I have to practice this technique no matter what the cost. After all, whether I can lose my virginity early depends on this technique."

Lei Kongming started running his Qi according to the Divine Consciousness Strengthening Technique. At first, he didn't feel anything, but soon he felt like he was in a furnace. He tried to adjust himself, but then suddenly he started feeling that his body was getting cold.

As time passed, the burning sensation of the furnace returned. This cycle continued until Lei Kongming felt tired and decided to stop his cultivation.

Waking up, the first thing he realized was that he was exhausted. His whole body was covered in sweat, and all the Qi stored in his Dantian was gone. Thankfully, it was just some exhaustion due to lack of Qi and not anything serious.

Lei Kongming then started studying his body and divine consciousness to see the effects of the strengthening technique. He noticed that the hot and cold feelings he had felt earlier didn't come from his body but from his divine consciousness.