Chapter 1006: Lucky Money

Having finished with Immortal Fairy, Lu Yang stepped outside and immediately encountered Yun Mengmeng.

"Happy New Year, Second Boss."

As she spoke, Yun Mengmeng extended her hand and blinked at Lu Yang, leaving him utterly bewildered.

"Second Boss, it's time for the New Year's money," Yun Mengmeng whispered, a hint of shyness in her voice. It felt a bit awkward to ask for such a thing.

"Red envelope? Hold on, Sister Mengmeng, shouldn't *you* be giving *me* New Year's money, considering both our cultivation levels and ages?"

Yun Mengmeng retorted confidently, "But you're the Second Boss, and I'm the Third Boss!"

"I..."

Yun Mengmeng's logic left Lu Yang speechless. With no other option, he begrudgingly handed over the New Year's money.

It wasn't a large sum, but the gesture was what mattered.

"Happy New Year, Fourth Junior Brother."

Senior Sister Gantian also arrived and gave Lu Yang New Year's money.

"Wait, Xiaotian, try this," Yun Mengmeng said, handing Gantian a paper packet.

"What's this?"

Gantian unwrapped the packet to find melon seeds, peanuts, candied winter melon, and similar treats inside.

"Heh heh, I did my research; these are exactly the things you should eat for the New Year," Yun Mengmeng boasted. To prepare these items, she had meticulously noted which families had the tastiest melon seeds and peanuts throughout the year, learning all their secrets.

"You get some too, Second Boss," Yun Mengmeng said, giving Lu Yang a bag of treats as well.

"Thank you."

Lu Yang popped a melon seed into his mouth, and a rush of dense spiritual energy immediately surged to the top of his head.

"Where did you get these melon seeds?" Lu Yang asked, astonished. Could such a tiny seed really contain so much spiritual energy?

"Oh, I set aside a plot in the herb garden for things like sunflowers and peanuts," she explained casually. "I typically cultivate them with top-grade spirit stones and water them with Grand Unity True Water. The little Medicine Kings also help look after them."

Yun Mengmeng said this offhandedly. She wasn't an indolent cultivator ignorant of basic farming; quite the opposite. She prioritized food quality, believing that only what she grew herself could reach the highest standard.

Indeed, no one else's melon seeds could compare to the quality of those grown by Yun Mengmeng.

Cultivating sunflowers with top-grade spirit stones — even Lu Yang, with his vast fortune, felt a tremor when he heard that.

"Did Senior Sister give you pocket money to spend it like *that*?" he wondered.

"Speaking of delicious things, I have some too, grown by this immortal. Consider it your New Year's money," Immortal Fairy chimed in.

Seeing Lu Yang's astonishment at Yun Mengmeng's sunflowers, Immortal Fairy decided she couldn't let the Third Boss outshine her.

From who-knows-where, she produced a golden apple, presenting it to Lu Yang with both hands. "Happy New Year, Second Boss! This is your New Year's gift."

An immortal's blessing, an emperor's gift, and a caring boss – Lu Yang felt overwhelmed by such an honor.

"Thank you, Fairy," Lu Yang said, taking the apple. It had a delicate fragrance. *Even if it was grown by an immortal, it's just a fruit, right? It should be fine.*

"Fairy, since when have you been growing apples?" Lu Yang asked, curious. It was one thing for Yun Mengmeng to grow sunflowers in the herb garden, which he didn't usually see, but how could Immortal Fairy, who resided in a spiritual space, cultivate apples?

"What apple? This is an embryonic Immortal Dao Fruit," Immortal Fairy corrected, looking at Lu Yang expectantly. "If you eat it, you'll possess an embryonic Immortal Dao Fruit!"

Lu Yang nearly dropped the embryonic Immortal Dao Fruit in shock, trembling slightly.

*Could an embryonic Immortal Dao Fruit really be obtained so easily?*

If news of this got out, cultivators in the Tribulation Transcendence stage would tear each other apart for it.

Immortal Fairy chuckled triumphantly. "Do you think just *anyone* can gain an embryonic Immortal Dao Fruit by eating this? It only works for you, Second Boss."

"No thanks."

Lu Yang had grand ambitions; merely becoming a half-immortal wasn't his goal. He was determined to become a true immortal, and specifically, the kind who wouldn't be bullied by Immortal Fairy all day.

If he were to eat the embryonic Immortal Dao Fruit, wouldn't he be forever at Immortal Fairy's mercy?

However, Immortal Fairy never took back a gift she had given. No matter how much Lu Yang protested, she refused to reclaim the embryonic Immortal Dao Fruit.

Lu Yang sighed and reluctantly accepted it for now.

"Where's Senior Sister?"

"Xiaozhi went home," Yun Mengmeng replied, cracking a melon seed. "She said she'll be back on the first day of the New Year."

"Then why didn't *you* go home?"

"Oh, I'm planning to go home on the first day of the New Year."

"Alright then."

"The spirit of the New Year might inspire me to compose new music. I'll take my leave now," Senior Sister Gantian announced, not forgetting her cultivation even during the festive season.

It was the first time both Lu Yang and Yun Mengmeng were spending the New Year at the sect. As they descended the mountain together, they ran into Meng Jingzhou, who was making New Year's visits all over.

Meng Jingzhou's eyes lit up when he spotted Lu Yang. With a flourish, he declared, "Happy New Year, Old Lu! Here's your New Year's money."

"Get outta here!" Lu Yang playfully cursed, aiming a kick, but Meng Jingzhou, who had clearly anticipated it, easily dodged.

After they playfully wrestled for a moment, Lu Yang asked, "Why didn't you go home?"

Meng Jingzhou pocketed the money and rolled his eyes. "It's all because my old ancestor became superstitious after getting a beating in the Buddha Country," he grumbled. "He said I shouldn't go back, that it would easily invite disaster."

Lu Yang shook his head regretfully. "Senior Meng Junzi is such an old man, how can he still believe in such things? He was beaten in the Buddha Country simply because of his bad luck; why does he make it sound like it has anything to do with us?"

"Exactly," Meng Jingzhou wholeheartedly agreed. When they were in the Buddha Country, truly nothing major happened—just the appearance of the Ruthless Sect's Deputy Leader, who was merely at the early Tribulation Transcendence stage. That hardly counted as a big event.

Lu Yang also didn't think it was a big deal, but to be sure, he turned to Yun Mengmeng, who was still cracking melon seeds beside him. "Sister Mengmeng, if you encountered a cultivator at the early Tribulation Transcendence stage in the Buddha Country, would you consider that a big deal?"

Yun Mengmeng sucked on a salty melon seed, a puzzled look on her face. "Why would that be a big deal?"

Seeing Yun Mengmeng confirm his perspective, Lu Yang nodded, reassured that his own understanding wasn't flawed. He then tried to comfort Old Meng, "Seniors tend to get superstitious as they age; try to be understanding."

"Sigh," Meng Jingzhou lamented. As a junior, he had no choice but to follow his elder's wishes.

Mang Gu had returned to his barbarian tribe to celebrate the New Year, so he wasn't at the Dao Seeking Sect.

Su Yiren and Qin Yanran both came to the Dao Seeking Sect for the New Year. Li Haoran's family was happily making dumplings together.

To be precise, the entire family was busy researching how to create a magical artifact for automatic dumpling making.

Upon seeing Lu Yang and Yun Mengmeng, the family greeted them warmly. However, Lu Yang was hesitant to stay for too long, fearing that Immortal Fairy might suddenly decide she wanted to make dumplings too.

Fortunately, during the festive New Year, Immortal Fairy didn't entertain such a dreadful idea as making dumplings. Instead, she merely reminisced about ancient times.

"Speaking of which, wasn't there a New Year custom of putting a copper coin inside dumplings? Whoever found it was supposed to have good luck."

"When *I* made dumplings, I also secretly placed a copper coin inside, promising that whoever found it would be fed by this immortal for an entire year."

"But it's quite strange," she continued, "all the dumplings were eaten, yet none of the four, including Immortal Ying Tian, found the copper coin."

*Who would dare admit they found it?* Lu Yang thought to himself. *If it were me, I'd grit my teeth and swallow that coin.*

"Do you think it's possible," she mused, "that because I made dumplings with star core filling, they might have mistaken the copper coin for another star core and eaten it?"