Chapter 16: Do You Know What This Is?

In the end, Qin Yueran gritted her teeth and clicked to upgrade.

She silently reminded herself: If you’re reluctant to spend a few points, you won’t be able to earn more.

After repeating this to herself several times, she finally managed to convince herself, and her hesitation began to fade.

The inn’s upgrade proceeded swiftly, accompanied by a rumbling sound. Ten seconds later, the entire inn was transformed.

Qin Yueran noticed the front desk was now much farther from the entrance, and the concrete floor had been replaced by bright ceramic tiles.

The previous fluorescent tubes had been swapped for elegant chandeliers, exuding a high-class ambiance.

Glancing at the inn’s interface, Qin Yueran saw that two additional floors had been added, with her room still on the topmost floor.

The number of rooms per floor had increased as well—six more single rooms and three more doubles.

This meant each floor now contained fifteen rooms.

The upgrade also gifted two unlocked single rooms.

However, this was still insufficient, so Qin Yueran spent ten thousand points to unlock all the newly added rooms on the second floor.

By her calculations, this would just accommodate twenty people.

Wiping away her nervous sweat, Qin Yueran sighed in relief: “That was close, I thought I’d have to spend more points.”

Current balance: nearly two thousand.

While Qin Yueran silently mourned the points she had spent, Shi Qingyu and the others grew increasingly excited as the island drew nearer.

Their return journey was far from peaceful; they encountered several waves of monsters they couldn’t easily shake off, forcing them into battle.

Otherwise, they would have reached the Immortal Island much sooner.

The disciples of the Tianji Sect had already learned of this place in advance from Shi Qingyu and her group.

Therefore, even when a flood of new information suddenly filled their minds upon entering the island’s vicinity, they assimilated it quickly.

Meanwhile, another group of four travelers were far more cautious. Although the information suggested this was merely a resting and dining spot, they found it hard to believe.

After all, the sudden appearance of such a place within the Black Mist Realm was suspicious.

Though they felt the spiritual energy of the island and regained some of their powers, they found they could not use their spiritual energy here.

The four were scattered cultivators who had met on the road, believing that traveling together would provide greater strength and security.

In the Black Mist Realm, unity clearly improved one’s chances of survival, and betrayal was rare.

What’s more, they had sworn a Heavenly Dao oath, making betrayal even less likely.

At this moment, all four were nursing various injuries, and faced with potential danger, they knew they had to stick together.

Zong Anze frowned—the raft they were on seemed only able to move in one direction. When he tried to row toward a closer shore, it felt as if something was blocking their way.

However, the additional information they had also mentioned only one landing point on the island was open.

Was the raft forcing them to head toward that specific shore?

Zong Anze and his companions grew even more vigilant, fearing an ambush upon landing.

Yet, when they finally reached the island, they saw another group—dressed in the garb of the Tianji Sect’s disciples.

Surprisingly, Zong Anze and his group relaxed slightly. The Tianji Sect had a good reputation; aside from being protective of their own, they had no other major flaws.

If they could explore together, their chances of safety would improve significantly.

Clearly, the other group noticed them as well.

Zong Anze’s group waited as the Tianji Sect disciples approached the shore. The four of them bowed respectfully, and Zong Anze spoke, “Greetings, fellow cultivators of the Tianji Sect. The situation on this island is unknown; may we explore together?”

After asking, he and the others appeared anxious.

Though the Tianji Sect disciples were not heartless, it was uncertain whether they would accept a few strangers into their group—most cultivators feared betrayal.

Shi Qingyu glanced at them, returned their greeting, and said calmly, “There is no danger on this Immortal Island. My junior brothers and sisters and I visited just a few days ago.”

Seeing that they seemed about to ask more, Shi Qingyu furrowed her brow. Thinking of her master’s injuries, she chose not to explain further, saying, “We have urgent matters and will go ahead…” She then glanced at Gu Yuanyuan and gave a subtle signal.

Gu Yuanyuan caught the hint, stepped forward, and recounted what had happened a few days prior. At the end, she said, “Boss Qin is very formidable. This entire place belongs to her. Once we stepped into the area, she must have known we were here.

“In other words, if she wanted to kill us, she wouldn’t need to wait for us to land.”

Seeing their varied expressions, Gu Yuanyuan added, “Of course, you don’t have to believe me. I’ll go ahead and meet up with my senior sister and the others.”

With that, she turned and headed toward the inn.

While Gu Yuanyuan was briefing Zong Anze, Shi Qingyu had already led Sui Fu and the other disciples to the inn’s entrance.

Qin Yueran, burdened with new worries, brightened when she saw them and muttered, “Finally arrived. I hope they spend a lot here so I can afford to buy a high-level humanoid staff.”

This was her new concern—she lacked employees.

High-level humanoid staff cost ten thousand points each, and she didn’t have that many points at the moment.

Seeing the red numbers indicating her point deficit, Qin Yueran shed tears of poverty once again.

She could only afford low-level employees, but she didn’t want those—they weren’t intelligent enough. So she resolved to work hard to earn enough points for a high-level employee.

She didn’t need many right now—just one to help serve dishes in the restaurant.

The inn’s rooms could be cleaned with a single click, so employees weren’t necessary for that.

However, the one-click cleaning function cost two thousand points per month, though the first month was free.

There was also an automatic cleaning detection feature, but it required even more points. She could wait until there were more rooms before investing in that.

Qin Yueran and Huhu sat inside the restaurant—one at the counter, the other at a table—both watching as the newcomers approached.

When Shi Qingyu and Cheng Shuangshuang saw Qin Yueran, their eyes lit up in two ways—they both thought she seemed more attractive.

Shaking off unrelated thoughts, Shi Qingyu approached Qin Yueran and pursed her lips, asking, “Boss Qin, do you have any higher-grade pills? My master is seriously injured.”

While Shi Qingyu spoke with Qin Yueran, Cheng Shuangshuang led her junior siblings to the machines to exchange points.

Qin Yueran recalled the healing method she had recently learned and felt an urge to try it.

“Let me see if I have any,” she said.

Following her impulse to attempt treatment, she accessed the warehouse to check if any guests had left behind higher-grade pills that could be processed.

Huhu had already jumped down from the table to inspect the injured. It transmitted a message to Qin Yueran: “Xiao Ran, something’s wrong! His wound is contaminated... No matter how good the medicine is, it won’t heal unless the contamination is removed first.”

Qin Yueran stepped out from behind the counter. “Let me take a look at your master.”

At this moment, Sui Fu was being carried on the back of a male disciple. Hearing Qin Yueran’s words, Shi Qingyu paused briefly before leading her to Sui Fu.

“Junior brother, put the master down so Boss Qin can examine her,” Shi Qingyu said.

Since Boss Qin wanted to see her, she must have medical skills—perhaps even be a skilled medical cultivator.

Obediently, the male disciple laid Sui Fu flat on the ground. Qin Yueran examined the wound, which was indeed covered by a layer of black substance.

“Do you know what this is?” Qin Yueran asked, pointing at the black mist swirling around Sui Fu’s wound, then looked up at Shi Qingyu.