The sky was covered with clouds, and the mountains were rushing backward like a rolling curtain. The raindrops pattered on the spiritual shield used to hold the flying sword and protect it from the wind.
*Ta-da-ta-da-*
Dressed in the ***Black Star*** Sect uniform, Ye Anping held a brush and sketched something into a ledger as his flying sword broke through the sky and clouds.
After leaving **Duchun City**, he took his sister and Liang Zhu with his daughter with him and hit the road. A month and a half passed by in the blink of an eye.
Now that he was bored and had nothing to do, he calculated the gains from his trip to the ***Dragon House***.
He got four hundred thousand spirit stones from *Jiang Mansion*'s warehouse, as well as some precious treasures; took one storage bag from the demonic cultivators; earned one hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones without any loss for treating Li Longling's eyes; plus some miscellaneous income from managing the ***Dragon Slayers Society***. Overall, in Ye Anping's pockets ended up a little more than nine hundred thousand.
"Hmm... Almost nine hundred and thirty thousand spirit stones. A bit low."
Hearing Ye Anping's muttering, Liang Zhu, who was flying beside him, rolled his eyes and glanced toward him, with the nagging feeling that his sixth brother was showing off his superiority.
In half a year, he earned a net profit of nine hundred and thirty thousand spirit stones and still said it was not enough?
Liang Zhu really wanted to give him a slap on the back of his head now. This guy simply didn't know how fortunate he was. He muttered in his heart:
---I set up an ambush for that white-haired girl in the back mountain of the ***Black Star*** Sect just for twenty thousand spirit stones.
---I worked as a bodyguard for the leader of the ***Dragon Slayers Society***, just for free food and accommodation plus two thousand spirit stones a month. Not to mention, I was almost killed by your little sister.
---Do you treat spirit stones as marbles? Ordinary cultivators would probably need to go without food or drink for thirty or forty years to save over nine hundred thousand spirit stones.
A mid-stage *Foundation Building* demonic cultivator's bounty on the black market was only around seventy to eighty thousand per head; five heads would be around four hundred thousand. As for bounties on *Nascent Soul* stage cultivators, they were indeed more expensive, with prices starting at five hundred thousand spirit stones. But if it weren't for Li Feng showing mercy back then, he would have found his end up there too.
Of course, Liang Zhu didn't dare to slap him on the back of the head. After all, he and Ating would live in his house from now on. So, he just rolled his eyes in disdain. "Not enough? It's enough for both of you to use until you reach the *Core Formation* stage."
"No, it's not enough." Ye Anping shook his head and turned to the side, saying, "*Nine-colored Bell Orchid*, *Ice Anemone*, *Corroding Heart Mushroom*, *Thorny Blood Vine*, and *East Sea Pearl*. Brother Liang, do you think you can buy two of each with nine hundred thousand?"
After hearing this list of materials, Liang Zhu raised his eyebrows and glanced at Pei Lianxue, slightly confused. "One of you has two spiritual roots, and the other has three spiritual roots. Want to form a first-grade *Golden Core*?"
"If you're going to form the *Core*, you must go for the best."
"You're aiming too high." Liang Zhu clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "The sixty-four tribulations of a top-grade *Golden Core* will turn you two into ashes."
Ye Anping shrugged, not denying.
Not to mention that the rare heavenly treasures required for refining a top-grade *Golden Core* were extremely scarce; just those sixty-four tribulations alone were already difficult to endure. Cultivators with poor aptitude had insufficient Qi reserves and simply could not withstand them.
For both he and Pei Lianxue, in order to withstand these sixty-four tribulations, he had to come up with a solution.
As for this solution...
Ye Anping said lightly, "We'll just expand the Qi reserve with the *Origin Spirit Sword*."
Liang Zhu's expression became even more weird. Why did his sixth brother always confidently say these things that ordinary cultivators could only dream of?
Whether it was a first-grade *Golden Core* or a spiritual treasure, these were things that cultivators would only boast about over a glass of wine.
These two things could only be obtained when all three elements---the right time, the right place, and the right people---came together.
In the last millennium, among tens of millions of cultivators, only about fifty people produced top-grade *Golden Core*. Those who were alive to this day, without exception, were regarded as deities. Possessing a spiritual treasure was even rarer, with only twenty of them recorded in the *Treasure Registry*.
As for having both at the same time, in his many years of existence, he had only heard of three individuals: the Matriarch of the ***Black Star*** Sect, the previous Holy Emperor, and the Grand Master of the ***Evening Star*** Sect.
People would joke that those three were illegitimate children born from an affair between a true Immortal in the heavens and humans on Earth.
Liang Zhu paused and suddenly raised his eyebrows as if thinking of something. "I happen to have a sword that could be your destined spirit sword. I can sell it to you at a cheap price, what do you say?"
*Xiao Yunluo's sword*... Ye Anping rolled his eyes. "No thanks."
"Thirty percent off."
"Not even if you give it for free."
"Heh..."
Liang Zhu huffed and stopped talking.
Looking at him, Ye Anping felt like laughing. He shook his head and went back to the original topic. "Going back to my question, can you get those precious materials for the top-grade *Golden Core Formation*?"
Liang Zhu was silent for a while, then glanced at him and replied, "Those things have a price but no market. The big families keep a close eye on them, and as soon as they appear on the market, they will swarm to get them. And that includes the black market..."
Ye Anping rolled his eyes and raised his hand to stop him. "You want more money, right?"
"Well..."
"I'll give you a 20% profit. How much difference you can make is up to you. I need two sets."
"Thirty percent."
"Deal!"
Liang Zhu felt that he had bargained for too little and clicked his tongue. "...Tsk, anyway, no matter what, sixth brother, you have to live long."
?
Ye Anping frowned in confusion. "What?"
Liang Zhu turned his head and looked at Ating, who was tied to his back, snoring. "If you die, Ating and I will have to move again."
At this time, Pei Lianxue pouted at Liang Zhu and interrupted him, complaining, "My brother won't die..."
Ye Anping leaned over to pinch her bulging cheeks and said with a smile, "Thank Brother Liang for his blessing."
"Hmph... How much farther?"
"Over this mountain, then across that river..."
"Okay, pretend I didn't ask."
Ye Anping smiled and put the brush and account book away. He sped up the flying sword while glancing at an additional burden in his storage bag.
---*Black Moon Routine* Volume One
This was found in the hiding place of the demonic cultivator Zuo Min from the ***Demonic*** Sect.
In the mid and late stages of the game, *Black Moon Routine* was one of Feng Yu Die's most powerful assets. After the ***Dragon House*** incident, she would get the fragment number one.
But now volumes one and five were in his hands.
With these two, they could already start practicing this technique. However, after Ye Anping took a look at the contents of the first volume, he realized that it was not that easy.
So, after thinking about it, he decided to let his sister try it later.
If she really couldn't practice it, then he would give it to Feng Yu Die in exchange for a few tens of thousands of spirit stones and buy his sister some new clothes.
...
Wandering around like this, the group finally arrived at the gate of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect.
It was almost autumn now, and the mountains were full of green leaves mixed with brown.
The scenery in the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect was still beautiful, and the sky was still pleasant, but...
Ye Anping looked up at the giant mountain gate hand-carved out of pure jade in front of him. His eyes twitched, and he scolded his father in his heart.
Indeed! The ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect was now a sect with a spirit stone vein, no longer that small mountain sect that used to be so poor.
But!
*Dad, couldn't you spend the money more wisely?!*
How about improving food, setting up disciple housing, building more alchemy furnaces, and such?
Why build such an extravagant, pompous gate to make a fool of yourself?!
Ye Anping was rarely taken by surprise, but this time, his guard was knocked down by his own father.
Although a *Core Formation* cultivator, his father resembled those earthy nouveau riche people in his impression with big gold chains around their necks and gaudy rings on their fingers.
Pei Lianxue stared for a while, and since the plaque with the words "***Hundred Lotus*** Sect" hadn't been put up yet, she weakly asked, "Brother, did we go the wrong way?"
Liang Zhu was also looking at the gate and didn't know what to say. After holding back for a while, he finally managed to say one sentence. "Sixth brother, your family is quite rich."
Only Liang Ating spoke frankly. She took Liang Zhu's hand and frowned. "Uncle, this gate is so ugly."
Ye Anping looked at the two jade pillars standing in the barren mountains. Speechless, he shook his head, took out his identity token from his storage bag, and raised it above his head. Then, he stepped through the mountain gate.
"Let's go..."
