Chapter 88: Contract
Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Contract
In the palace at the very peak of Cyan Dragon Mountain.
The little cyan dragon’s massive body coiled around the beams and pillars, its scale-covered head, as large as a horse-drawn carriage, stretching out to Fenglan Master as if seeking favor.
Even though she was alone, Fenglan Master still wore her veil. She stroked the little cyan dragon’s head, a distant look in her eyes. "Back then, if Senior Brother Xu hadn’t volunteered to stay behind and cover our retreat... Little Qing, do you think we would have escaped safely?"
Two hundred years ago, the Blood Shadow Sect invaded the Jiuche Kingdom, and the various nations of the Western Wilderness simply stood by and watched.
At the critical moment, Senior Brother Xu had told her to lead the disciples of the Celestial Profound Sect to evacuate first, while he remained behind alone to hold back the enemy, ultimately perishing.
Just now, it was the story of Wang Li dying in battle for the Immortal City that had reminded her of her Senior Brother. That was why she had decided to let the Wang family atone for their misdeeds with this merit, sending a voice transmission to Dai Sangyu to show the Wang family some leniency.
A human-like expression appeared in the little cyan dragon’s eyes. It affectionately nuzzled Fenglan Master, as if comforting her and telling her not to dwell on the past.
Fenglan Master sighed, then picked up a pile of items beside her and began to examine them carefully.
This pile of items was, in fact, precisely what Li Ping had ’accidentally’ dropped in that Storage Bag at the Ten Thousand Laws Tower.
After waiting for several days without the owner appearing, Han Xingyan, in an effort to find the owner and return the Storage Bag, had no choice but to open it. He hoped to identify its owner from the items within.
But to his surprise, aside from some common Pills, the other items inside looked incredibly sinister—not things that would be used by Orthodox Cultivators.
He then realized something was wrong and immediately turned the Storage Bag and its contents over to the Immortal City.
Since it involved a Demon Cultivator, no one dared to be careless. After passing through several hands, it finally ended up before Fenglan Master.
With Fenglan Master’s Mid-stage Core Formation Divine Sense, the numerous markers left by the Demon Cultivator naturally couldn’t escape her notice.
And based on the style of the items in the bag and the technique used for the markers, she easily determined that this Demon Cultivator was from the Blood Shadow Sect!
The other items in the bag were all commonly used by Demon Cultivators, making it impossible to trace the identity of this individual. Her gaze finally fell upon the only Dharma Artifact in the bag: the Celestial Secret Mirror.
The Celestial Secret Mirror came in a main and a subordinate pair. A Cultivator holding one could communicate instantaneously with the other, even if they were thousands of miles apart.
The one before her should be the main mirror.
"If I can break the Restriction on the main mirror, I might be able to wipe out the entire hidden Demon Cultivator organization in one fell swoop!" Fenglan Master’s expression grew solemn.
Her Senior Brother had died at the hands of Demon Cultivators, and her grand-disciple had been humiliated by them. Even with her good temper and dislike for conflict, she had long since become irreconcilably opposed to Demon Cultivators!
However, with her attainments in the Array Dao, it would be very difficult for her to find a way to break the Celestial Secret Mirror’s Restriction.
And if she tried to force it recklessly, the Celestial Secret Mirror would self-destruct.
Of course, breaking the Celestial Secret Mirror’s Restriction was one thing.
On the other hand, Fenglan Master was also quite suspicious about the purpose of this Storage Bag that had been delivered to her doorstep.
’Is this meant to help me? Is it bait? Is someone trying to divert disaster my way? Or...?’ Lost in a sea of doubts, Fenglan Master couldn’t figure out the intentions of the person who sent the Storage Bag.
...
「At the foot of Cyan Dragon Mountain.」
Two streaks of Escape Light sped down from the mountain. The light dissipated, revealing Meng Qingyi and Junior Brother Ye.
Meng Qingyi looked at the prostrated members of the Wang family and said solemnly, "Master is merciful. In light of the Wang family’s generations of service to the Immortal City, she has pardoned you."
Hearing this, Wang Quyan and the others kneeling on the ground knew they had escaped disaster this time. A great weight lifted from their hearts.
They all kowtowed and shouted, "Thank you, Master!"
Some with weaker constitutions even began to sob quietly.
"However, although Master has pardoned you this once, the laws of the Immortal City cannot be ignored!" Junior Brother Ye, standing to the side, waited for them to calm down before speaking. "The Spirit Stones you swindled from the Loose Cultivators must be returned to them. According to the Immortal City’s records, a total of 105 Loose Cultivators have claimed to be defrauded."
At this point, Junior Brother Ye paused to glance at Meng Qingyi’s expression. Seeing no objection from her, he continued, "In the future, there may be more Loose Cultivators who haven’t been fully accounted for who will also come for a refund. So the number may be higher than 105. You must prepare the corresponding amount of Spirit Stones by the end of the year."
"105? And possibly more?" Wang Quyan was dumbfounded.
He had been fully involved when the old ancestor swindled Spirit Stones from the Loose Cultivators, and he knew that there were only 34 victims in total. This new number was definitely wrong.
He didn’t dare to refute the words of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, so he could only look imploringly at Meng Qingyi.
But Meng Qingyi just said coolly, "These Spirit Stones... whether you sell your assets or borrow the money, you must gather enough to compensate those Loose Cultivators by the end of the year."
Wang Quyan sighed inwardly but could only obediently agree on the surface. "Yes."
There were 105 Loose Cultivators seeking compensation from the Wang family, but Wang Quyan claimed they had only swindled 34 in total. Meng Qingyi couldn’t tell who was telling the truth.
But the Wang family was the party at fault. Even if they were unwilling, they had to pay compensation according to the number provided.
Who could they blame for getting caught red-handed?
To quell the matter, they had no choice but to suffer a financial loss to avoid a greater disaster.
However, several families, including the Meng family, had already decided to protect the Wang family. So, if the Wang family couldn’t come up with that many Spirit Stones, they would join forces to help them through this crisis.
But they would only step in on the condition that the Wang family first did everything in their power, emptying their entire coffers to gather the Spirit Stones.
Heaven helps those who help themselves!
...
The methods of Cultivators were far beyond what mortals could imagine.
Only a few days had passed, and for the cost of less than ten Spirit Stones, Li Ping’s cave residence had been completely rebuilt.
Compared to the original, the layout of the new cave residence was vastly different.
First, the hundred-mu pond had been restored to its former state, filled with mountain spring water. It was surrounded by uniquely shaped rockeries, and two pavilions for receiving guests stood beside it, creating a unique and artistic atmosphere.
The houses that originally flanked the pond were gone. Now, only dozens of well-arranged buildings remained deep within the residence, occupying several hundred mu of land. These included Li Ping’s training chamber, Talisman Making Room, and Alchemy room, as well as Bai Lin’s own quarters.
Besides these, the rest of the land had been leveled into Spiritual Land, which could be used for planting Spirit Grass in the future.
After the cave residence was rebuilt, Bai Lin eagerly went to find Cheng Yao to get help with replanting the Spirit Medicine and buying spirit fish.
Li Ping, however, received two visitors. The ones who came to see him were Zhang Tie and his master, Old Man Lin.
"Have a seat, Old Man Lin!" Li Ping said with a cheerful laugh.
Hearing this, the tall Old Man Lin sat down, looking slightly ill at ease. Zhang Tie sat down beside him.
Before Li Ping’s Foundation Establishment, Li Ping had called him Old Man Lin, and he had called Li Ping ’Brat Li’. Now, Li Ping still called him Old Man Lin, but he no longer dared to call Li Ping ’Brat Li’.
At first, he had even respectfully called Li Ping ’Senior’, but after Li Ping persuaded him otherwise, he had switched to calling him Fellow Daoist.
Looking a little nervous, Old Man Lin hesitated before speaking, "Fellow Daoist Li, this boy Zhang Tie told me about the auction. I wanted to ask... is it true that you offered to lend him Spirit Stones?"
Li Ping glanced at Zhang Tie, saw him about to speak but holding back, and waved a hand to stop him. He then said with a smile, "Of course it’s true. If Zhang Tie decides to compete for the Foundation Establishment Pill at this auction, I can lend him 500 Spirit Stones."
In truth, with Li Ping’s wealth, 500 Spirit Stones was nothing. He could have easily taken out 5,000.
However, he had always believed: Heaven helps those who help themselves!
That was why he had only agreed to lend Zhang Tie 500 Spirit Stones. If, even with that much, Zhang Tie still couldn’t cover the remaining shortfall, then Li Ping wouldn’t bother with him!
’He can just obediently wait another five years.’
Hearing this, Old Man Lin couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, his expression no longer tense. He said decisively, "Good! Then this old man thanks you, Fellow Daoist. We’ve decided to compete for the Foundation Establishment Pill at this auction!"
Unlike Old Man Lin’s decisiveness, Zhang Tie’s expression was somewhat conflicted. But he had a simple and honest nature. In his heart, he knew his master and his big brother would never lead him astray.
So, after Old Man Lin finished speaking, Zhang Tie’s expression also became resolute.
His thoughts were simple: ’Master and Big Brother are definitely right. Since they both think I can compete for the Foundation Establishment Pill this time, I’ll listen to them.’
’As for whether this is burning my bridges? Whether the risk is too great? Whether I might fail at Foundation Establishment?’
Zhang Tie didn’t consider these questions. He trusted his master and his big brother!
...
Hearing Old Man Lin’s words, Li Ping nodded slightly and said, "There are 2,310 Spirit Stones in the Foundation Establishment Fund. I’ll lend another 500, which makes 2,810 Spirit Stones. Based on past auctions, the price of a single Foundation Establishment Pill, depending on the intensity of the competition, is roughly between 3,000 and 3,500 Spirit Stones. It rarely exceeds 3,500."
As he spoke, Li Ping’s gaze swept over Old Man Lin and Zhang Tie, reminding them, "So, if you two can scrape together another 700 Spirit Stones on your own, winning the Foundation Establishment Pill will be a near certainty."
Zhang Tie remained silent, but Old Man Lin nodded with a smile. "This old man understands."
Before Li Ping could speak again, he pulled a gray deed from his robes and placed it on the table.
Looking at Li Ping, he smiled and said, "To be honest with you, Fellow Daoist Li, this old man’s entire life savings are tied up in that leatherworking shop I live in. Although the shop is in the Outer City, it’s easily worth a thousand Spirit Stones. This is the deed to the shop. I would like to use it as collateral with you in exchange for one thousand Spirit Stones."
"The shop’s deed?" Li Ping was also moved by Old Man Lin’s decisiveness.
He knew the man had toiled his entire life in the Immortal City just to save up for this one shop. One could only imagine how much it meant to him.
Now, for the sake of Zhang Tie’s Foundation Establishment, he was choosing to directly mortgage the shop to Li Ping.
Glancing at Old Man Lin, whose lips were trembling slightly, Li Ping nodded. "Alright, no problem."
With that, he took the deed from the table.
He was only keeping the deed temporarily. Even if Zhang Tie failed his Foundation Establishment and wasted the Foundation Establishment Pill, he wouldn’t actually take the shop. Instead, he would leave the deed for Zhang Tie before he left the Immortal City.
He accepted the deed now mainly to protect their pride.
Seeing Li Ping accept the deed, Old Man Lin’s expression relaxed, and he looked as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
Afterward, the two bid their farewells and left. For safety’s sake, however, the Spirit Stones remained with Li Ping.
On the day of the auction, Li Ping would bring the Spirit Stones and attend the auction with them.