When the new system messages appeared before him, Shi Long's eyes opened wide in surprise as he hurriedly checked what changed. He seemed like a guy who received very important mail concerning his future.
'Finally! My luck is working in my favor! Ling Xia is a protagonist with a huge halo behind him. If the system said that it added all of his belongings, it's possible to find a cheat item in it!' Shi Long's mind burst in excitement like a dog whose owner had just thrown a big treat.
The ointment and the pill which Ling Xia left for him were placed at the back of his mind.
Who wouldn't be excited about it? He knew full well that those protagonists have golden fingers that allow them faster progress than a normal, hardworking cultivator.
An ancestor who cultivated for 1000 years? Ha! Look how a protagonist reaches the same level as that ancestor in less than a decade.
Sometimes when reading that kind of event in a novel, Shi Long could only take pity on those old monsters that were meant to be stepping stones for the rise of the protagonist.
'Good thing, I'm about to be their benefactor. Going against a protagonist is like going against the Author's Will. It's even more terrifying than Heaven's Will! As their ally, their backer and someone who can get them out of difficult situations, I might probably be forgotten if their growth surpassed me but I won't be counted in the dead bodies that they're going to pile up!'
Wild with joy at the prospect, Shi Long would surely dance if not for his injured and bandaged state. He might be mistaken for a malicious spirit if someone passed by him.
"Anyway, here goes." Shi Long grinned jubilantly. His eyes brilliantly shone in anticipation.
[Welcome to the Leech Store!]
[The one-time 90% discount for Host's First Purchase is still in effect]
That second line was also one of the reasons why he completely focused on the Leech Store upon being notified about Ling Xia's belongings. He was going to see the most expensive cheat item he has on his person and buy it with a 90% discount!
[1. Low-grade Spirit Gathering Pill - 5 Leech Points
2. Low-grade Offensive Talisman - 20 Leech Points
3. Low-grade Defensive Talisman - 20 Leech Points
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.
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13. Human-grade Spirit Herb Index - 50 Leech Points
14. Human-grade Bestiary Index - 50 Leech Points
14. Art of Healing Manual - 100 Leech Points
15. Way of Acupuncture Scripture - 150 Leech Points
16. High-grade Acupuncture Needles - 300 Leech Points
17. High-grade Spirit Gathering Pill - 500 Leech Points (Stock: 4)
18. Harmony Lake Secret Manual (Spirit Gathering Realm Edition) - 1000 Leech Points]
19. Sky Opening Method – 10000 Leech Points]
When he first checked the Leech Store, the item listed in it only reached 12. After the encounter with a protagonist, 7 more items have been added.
Although a little disappointed, Shi Long kept his hopes up as he read the new entries.
Wanting to see Ling Xia's cheat item, Shi Long's eyes fell on the most expensive one; the Sky Opening Method.
However, upon seeing its price, he winced in lamentation.
His meager 122 points wouldn't be able to afford it even with the 90% discount.
He would need to complete the same mission nine more times to afford it. However, not only it was unclear if the mission could be repeated, but also, a protagonist was someone one wouldn't find easily like weeds on the ground. They're probably even rarer than a precious treasure appearing in the world.
Shaking his head at the impossibility to get that 'Sky Opening Method', Shi Long turned his attention to the second most expensive item on the list, the Harmony Lake Secret Manual (Spirit Gathering Realm Edition).
'Harmony Lake. Is it related to the Harmony Lake Palace that was destroyed 6 years ago?' Upon reading that name, Shi Long stopped and thought back to the knowledge about a sect with the same name in his mind.
Since he's a person who regressed from five years in the future, that event only happened one year ago in the current timeline. It was still fresh in everyone's minds.
That piece of news shocked every Righteous Sect in their region. His sect, the Mighty Dragon Sect is also considered a part of the Righteous Sects.
However, who knows how righteous one should be to be called a Righteous Sect? Fighting evil? Detesting unorthodox and evil sects who use despicable methods to further their cultivation? Preventing every injustice in the world?
From the novels Shi Long had read during his time on Earth, more often than not, righteous sects were the most villainous sects in the world who couldn't bear to see the protagonist grow beyond their control. They're hypocrites beyond belief with their self-righteousness bloating out their asses. They only believed what they deemed righteous.
But as someone weak enough to only be considered trash, he's ignorant about the true state of the cultivators. His world, before he died, only revolved around the Outer Court of the Mighty Dragon Sect.
Either way, whether the Harmony Lake Palace was truly righteous or not, no one will be able to find the answer anymore. Their previous sect grounds have been destroyed and razed to the ground after what's left of it was ransacked by those who went to see the state of the once-prosperous sect to fish for anything valuable left behind.
Shi Long took a while as he recalled some hazy memories about what happened to that sect.
The Harmony Lake Palace was destroyed in just one night. The most prominent news that reached his ears was that neither elder nor disciple was spared from the massacre.
The Sect Master, Shiu Xiuying, was celebrated by the whole region to have achieved a breakthrough in the Spirit Formation Realm and formed the legendary Golden Spirit Core the morning before the attack happened.
Few whispers came from reliable eyewitnesses that stated about the supposed survival or even the victorious comeback of the sect. That should be the outcome had the Sect Master not been lured out by the fleeing enemies and killed by a Trap Formation setup beforehand to deal with him.
It was said that she got too overconfident in her strength, opting to chase and find the culprit of the sudden assault.
Although her body wasn't recovered, Shiu Xiuying was believed to have died from that trap and that turned the victorious table back into a defeated one. The morning after, every member of her sect was massacred without any survivor found on site.
Nobody knows the identity of the attackers but one speculation said that they were attacked because of the threat of having a Golden Spirit Core.
Their vault was raided but only the cultivation manuals and cultivation resources were taken.
Coincidentally, the Mighty Dragon Sect five years in the future also produced someone who formed a Golden Spirit Core during the breakthrough to the Spirit Formation Realm.
Even as a lowly Outer Court disciple, Shi Long heard of that event. It was marked as a joyous occasion for the sect that he even got rewarded with Low-grade Spirit Gathering Pills by the Outer Sect Elders, encouraging him to do better.
That person who attained it was the Legacy Disciple of the Mighty Dragon Sect, Long Ruxiao.
The next day after that joyous event, the once Mighty Dragon Sect was also attacked and an enormous number of disciples died.
Shi Long was not privy to the result of the attack because he spent his time hiding and was ultimately killed when they were found beneath the Sunlit Lake.
Also, the reason for the attack was unknown to him. Remembering the Harmony Lake Palace at this moment made Shi Long start to suspect that the two attacks were connected.
Coincidence it may be, the connection was there. The attainment of forming a Golden Spirit Core.
About the fate of that Legacy Disciple, Shi Long was too weak to know that. He hadn't glimpsed even just a shadow of Long Ruxiao. Everything he heard about the Legacy Disciple of his sect was also from the mouths of other Outer Court disciples.
Having reached this point of thought, Shi Long let out a helpless sigh before his eyes regained their usual glow.
'I don't need to think about that incident at the moment. At least I am privy to the information that 5 years from now, this Mighty Dragon Sect will experience the same thing as the Harmony Lake Palace. What I need to do for now is to look for more protagonists to leech as well as prepare myself an escape route before that day comes! Ling Xia's identity could also wait! He's either a surviving Harmony Lake Palace disciple or someone connected to the attacker. Determining which of the two is he wouldn't really benefit me at the moment.'
Shi Long shook his head and pushed the incident in the future as well as Ling Xia to the back of his head.
One of those two issues involved a Spirit Formation Realm, what is he to do as a Spirit Gathering Realm disciple? Even if he told everyone that he regressed from the future, who would believe him without proof? Better to think of his future advancement and his incredible misfortune than the future of the sect.
If he reached that level before the incident befalls the sect then that's for the future him to decide what to do.
"Harmony Lake Secret Manual." Shi Long muttered before tapping the 18th item on the list.
Given Hai Tuo's personality. The arrogant twerp was probably waiting for him to show up inside the sect grounds. He needed to make some sort of breakthrough in his cultivation before going back to defend himself.
All things considered, angering Hai Tuo also led him to meet Ling Xia, if not for that, he would've been worked until exhaustion by that twerp without any good compensation. A small part of him was nagging him that he should be thankful that the twerp chased him out.
"As if I will thank him! He has a red halo. For all I know, he's going to bring trouble to a protagonist in the future. That's the common setting of villainous characters, isn't it?" Shi Long arduously shook his head, throwing the twerp's annoying face to the back of his mind.
For him at this moment, the Sky Opening Method would have to wait. It wouldn't disappear from the list anyway.
The only downside was he needed to accumulate the full 10000 points to get it in the future. If he's not wrong, that method was what Ling Xia used to open his 'eternally' blocked meridians. If Shi Long could learn it by himself, he would be able to open his 'eternally' blocked meridians without needing to wait for that straw hat-wearing protagonist to return.
[Host has selected Harmony Lake Secret Manual (Spirit Gathering Realm Edition).]
[Price adjusted from 1000 to 100 (90% discount]
[Note: Every Book/Manual from the Leech Store doesn't have a Physical Copy. The information will be downloaded to the Host's brain.]
[Do you wish to purchase it?]
'I see. It was probably copied by the system by being near Ling Xia. It could produce other items by itself but not Cultivation Manuals and Books. It is considered knowledge. That's more convenient than having me read it from a Physical Copy and try to understand it by my own.' Shi Long nodded in satisfaction.
[Purchase successful!]
[Leech Points: 122>22]
[Harmony Lake Secret Manual (Spirit Gathering Realm Edition) is now being downloaded to the Host's brain.]
[Warning: Host may experience a huge headache during the downloading process.]
[The System is suggesting for Host to sleep.]
[Do you want the System's help with that?]
'I knew it! There's no way a system-related item wouldn't be accompanied by some sort of backlash to me!'
"Hurry up!" Shi Long shouted to the system before the huge headache it warned him about assaulted his head.
[The System has used an effective tranquilizer for Host.]
[Leech Points: 22>20]
'Huh?! I needed points for that?!'
If not for the headache and his consciousness that was slowly slipping away, Shi Long would've coughed out a mouthful of blood. Blessed be his luck.