“Registered disciple?”
Ma Donggui was stunned. He looked Yan Hong up and down, as if he was thinking for a moment, then quickly nodded.
“Alright, no problem. Since Junior Brother Jiang Li has spoken, I’ll agree on behalf of my master. This is just a registered disciple position after all.”
He did not know who Yan Hong was, but since Jiang Li had come to visit, he had to give him face.
Looking back at the past, Jiang Li had barely obtained the status of a registered disciple after three months of testing pills and constantly being at the risk of “death”. Now, with his status, he could get it with a few words.
The difference in status was so great that it made people feel helpless.
Of course, this was also because he had found the right person.
With Ma Donggui’s influence in the Foreign Affairs Hall, he could even arrange for one or two people to be supervisors in the sect’s spirit stone mine. That was a top-notch job in the Foreign Affairs Hall.
Helping him become a registered disciple was naturally a simple task.
“Senior Brother Ma is so kind. I’m truly grateful.”
Jiang Li thanked him repeatedly, but after a pause, he put on an expression that showed he had something to say but was hesitant.
“However, this thick-skinned Junior Brother has one more favor to ask.”
“This matter is quite troublesome and might make Senior Brother feel troubled. I’ll apologize in advance.”
“Perhaps Senior Brother Ma can take a look at this first.”
Jiang Li smiled as he spoke, explaining that he had something to ask of the other party. After that, he pressed a metal token on the table and pushed it towards the other party.
Jiang Li had spent a lot of effort to throw Yan Hong into the Foreign Affairs Hall, but it was not just to make him a registered disciple to run errands.
What Jiang Li needed was for Yan Hong to make use of the name of the sect and protect him when doing business outside.
But to grasp his own benefits, freedom and power were essential.
The best situation was to let them open another store in one of the large trading centers in the Great Mountain Region and let Yan Hong manage it.
In regards to this, the price Jiang Li offered was fourteen hours of scripture imparting time.
Jiang Li indicated that he was willing to use the token awarded to the first place in the Qi Refinement realm to exchange for a token that was only two hours long.
When Ma Donggui heard that Jiang Li still had something to ask of him, he was originally a little unhappy.
However, his eyes immediately widened when he saw the token Jiang Li pushed over.
When he saw this gaze, the smile on Jiang Li’s face became even more brilliant. He knew that the other party was already moved.
Jiang Li immediately stated his needs.
A store that completely conformed to the rules of the Scripture Storage Valley and was under the name of the Foreign Affairs Hall. It would be protected by the sect but was independently managed.
Hearing this request, even Ma Donggui showed hesitation.
This was no longer a request that he could make his own call. Even the other elders of the Foreign Affairs Hall did not have the authority to approve it. It had to be approved by his master, the Head Elder of the Foreign Affairs Hall, personally.
Jiang Li’s request was really not small.
Ma Donggui looked down at the token, weighing the pros and cons in his heart.
First, it was certain that he could handle this matter.
Or rather, besides him, it would be difficult for Jiang Li to find anyone in the Foreign Affairs Hall. Those ordinary elders did not have the authority to make such a decision.
However, given how much the Head Elder of the Foreign Affairs Hall doted on him, as long as he put in a good word, it was very likely to succeed. If he was unlucky and failed, he could at most beg for it.
In addition, he did not intend to reject this deal.
One had to know that cultivators with dual-attribute spiritual roots were already relatively rare among cultivators.
Cultivators with mutated spiritual roots were even rarer than that. In the entire Scripture Storage Valley, if all the inner and outer sect disciples were to gather together, the number of mutated spiritual roots would be less than five.
In contrast to their precious and powerful abilities, relevant inheritances were hard to find.
Even if the cultivators with dual-attribute spiritual roots, including Jiang Li, could not find cultivation methods and Dao techniques that completely matched their attributes, they could still cultivate and use a single-attribute inheritance.
However, it was different for mutated spiritual root cultivators.
Ma Donggui, who was sitting in front of Jiang Li, might have been a disciple of the sect for seven or eight years, but it was very likely that he had grasped fewer spell techniques than Jiang Li.
When he was fighting in the sect, he used the Five Heart Lightning over and over. It was not that he did not want to use other spell techniques, but it was very likely that he did not know other moves.
With his status, it was naturally impossible for him to not obtain the lightning attribute inheritance in the Scripture Storage Pavilion.
However, it was precisely because mutated lightning spiritual roots were rare that there were not many such predecessors in the Scripture Storage Valley.
Therefore, the Scripture Storage Valley’s Scripture Imparting Hall became his final hope.
Amongst the many disciples of the Scripture Storage Valley, everyone wanted to obtain the inheritance token.
In the Scripture Imparting Hall, if one was lucky, there was a chance that a peerless cultivation method would be passed down.
If he was unlucky, it could guarantee that he would be able to obtain an ancient high-grade inheritance and reach a higher level of enlightenment at least.
As for the Scripture Imparting Hall, to the lightning spiritual root disciple, Ma Donggui, it was not as simple as just icing on the cake. His requirements were the most rigid. He could not avoid it unless he stopped cultivating.
“Your request is acceptable! However, I want that 24-hour Scripture token!”
Ma Donggui licked his lips. His gaze moved away from the token and he looked into Jiang Li’s eyes as he spoke.
Presumably, he had learned the content of Jiang Li’s reward from the Head Elder of the Foreign Affairs Hall.
The Scripture Hall token could be exchanged for with the contributions of all the inner sect disciples, but the price was extremely high. Even he, the disciple of the Foreign Affairs Hall’s Head Elder, could not easily afford it.
The truth was that the fourteen hours of scripture imparting that Jiang Li quoted was already enough.
However, the 24 hour token could allow him to listen to the scripture for an entire day and night. It was something that he had never attempted in all these years.
He had to fight for it no matter what.
Of course, Ma Donggui was not going overboard. Jiang Li’s status was not inferior to his, and his talent in body cultivation was so exaggerated. There was no benefit in offending Jiang Li.
So before Jiang Li could speak, he continued.
“Junior Brother, don’t be angry. I’m not a greedy person. Let me explain first. If you’re not satisfied, then we can continue with your earlier suggestion.”
Jiang Li smiled and nodded, waiting very calmly for the other party to throw out his side of the bargain.
“Junior Brother Yan Hong is proficient in the ways of merchants. You should understand that wanting to run a store is definitely not something that can be done with just a safety net.”
“Whether the transportation is safe or not, whether the speed is fast or slow, whether the goods are complete or not, whether the quality is good or bad, whether there are stable and cheap supply channels, the finished processing after the purchase of materials, and many other aspects.”
“If you want to run a successful store, you need a lot of other support.”
Although Ma Donggui had never really learned these things in the Foreign Affairs Hall, he had been exposed to these things for many years and knew quite a bit of basic common knowledge.
Jiang Li glanced at Yan Hong, and his expression was filled with extreme excitement and worry.
He was excited because the price the other party was talking about was simply something he dreamed of. If these things were gathered together, it was equivalent to getting a hen that could lay spirit stones everyday.
For a shop with such conditions, even a fool would find it hard to lose spirit stones.
On the other hand, he was worried about how precious the things that Jiang Li had sacrificed would be if he was able to obtain such generous conditions.
“Senior Brother Ma, what do you mean?” Jiang Li asked the obvious.
“If Junior Brother Jiang Li is willing, you can give me a 24-hour Scripture Hall token.”
“In return, Junior Brother’s store will receive the same treatment as the sect’s own branch stores. The goods in the Foreign Affairs Hall will be bought by you at their original price.”
“Due to the fact that this store will manage its own spirit stones, if Junior Brother Jiang Li doesn’t have enough spirit stones to fill up the stock, the Foreign Affairs Hall can still lend another batch of goods first to make your shop look bustling.”
Jiang Li smiled and was very satisfied with this. He took back the 16-hour token and pressed the 24-hour token on the table.
“In that case, I’ll have to trouble Senior Brother Ma.”
Ma Donggui was overjoyed, and he also handed a token that was only two hours long to Jiang Li.
As expected of the disciple of the Head Elder of the Foreign Affairs Hall, he was straightforward.
Jiang Li originally only wanted to set up a safe store and get Yan Hong to help him collect some things he needed outside.
However, he did not expect the other party to directly agree to give him a fully equipped logistics store with a good supply chain.
One had to know that it was not difficult for such a store to support a medium-sized cultivation clan. From now on, it would not be an exaggeration to say that their wealth would increase greatly.
After the matter was settled, both sides chatted merrily.
Evidently, both sides were very satisfied with this transaction.
To Jiang Li, as long as the status appeared when he was comprehending the scripture, he could keep the buff forever.
Not to mention the length of two hours, even a minute was more than enough.
The extra time was just sitting in the preaching room and wasting resources. It did not benefit him at all.
To Ma Donggui, there was actually no need for him to pay anything. All he had to do was speak and massage his master’s shoulders and make tea. This matter would be completed easily.
He could use his authority to obtain the scripture token he needed, why not?
After coming out of Ma Donggui’s courtyard, he brought Jiang Li and Yan Hong to settle the procedures for becoming a registered disciple.
In order to express his sincerity, Yan Hong’s registered disciple status was directly registered under the name of the Head Elder. Although it was only a slight difference in name, it was enough to provide Yan Hong with considerable help in his future actions.
After settling the matter, they walked around the Foreign Affairs Hall under Ma Donggui’s lead before bidding farewell and leaving.
Ma Donggui directly promised that he would come to the Foreign Affairs Hall to choose a location for the shops in three days. Jiang Li did not doubt it and left with Yan Hong.
If Jiang Li’s status was low and he had no one to rely on, then not to mention directly handing over the token, he would utterly not have any intention of making a deal.
However, he had the backing of Elder He now. At the very least, no one in the sect would dare to directly take his things without fulfilling their promise.
“Jiang Li, what exactly is the Scripture Hall token you mentioned? It should be an extremely precious treasure, right?”
Yan Hong was still brooding over the “huge” price that Jiang Li had paid.
As an outer sect disciple, he did not have any way to know about the Scripture Imparting Hall.
However, this token could be exchanged for such treatment from the Foreign Affairs Hall. Even if he was beaten to death, he would not believe that it was something ordinary.
Not only did Jiang Li use his connections to make him become a registered disciple of the Foreign Affairs Hall, but he even paid such a price in exchange for such a store to be managed by him.
Yan Hong only felt that he owed this good friend more and more things. If he did not repay this favor, he would not have the face to address Jiang Li as a good brother in the future.
“The Scripture Hall token is a tool used to enter the sect’s mystic realm. It’s my reward from the last sect martial competition.”
“Its value is naturally not small, but don’t feel too pressured. If that store is run properly, it can earn back the amount in five to ten years.”
Jiang Li gave an ideal estimate. Ordinary inner sect disciples would have to work themselves to death for a long time to exchange contribution points for two hours of scripture preaching.
24 hours was a long period of time. If he wanted to use the shops to earn back equivalent spirit stones, he would have to run the shop very well.
Furthermore, sect contribution points could be exchanged for spirit stones, but spirit stones could not be exchanged for sect contribution points.
The Scripture Hall token could not be exchanged for spirit stones, so the difference had to be slightly reduced.
“Also, do you still remember the fifteen ghostwood tree wooden stakes?”
“For different cultivators, the value of resources is not absolute.”
“The token is of average value to me. Instead, it’s the things you collect for me outside that are truly useful. I’m helping you, but you’re helping me too, understand?”
“Right, have the channels outside been opened? How many demons are willing to work for us?”
Jiang Li noticed that his persuasion was of no use, so he simply changed the topic and started discussing serious matters.
This was also the reason why he wanted Yan Hong to open a store outside the sect other than earning spirit stones.
“I’ve asked my subordinates to run around and contact quite a number of places. Those small demons are quite tactful and basically didn’t refuse.”
“However, other than the fox demons, the rat demons, and the yellow-skinned demons, most of the other demons are not interested in gold and silver.”
“They want something beneficial to their cultivation, but the value of medicinal pills and spirit stones is too different from the value of what they provide. We can’t really give it to them.”
“The flesh and blood of demon beasts can be used. Jiang Li, you can get thousands of kilograms of meat by killing a demon. It should be more than enough to provide them half a month each time.”
“In addition, there are a few places that the sect has discovered where evil beings are gathering. The ghosts there have already become quite powerful. Those small demons don’t dare to approach them. This will cause a lot of interference in future work.”
Yan Hong explained the situation outside to Jiang Li. He had already done most of the preparation work, but there were still a few difficulties that had not been resolved.
“Heh, even those little demons want to cultivate to become immortals? They still want things to aid in cultivation, how ignorant.”
Jiang Li was slightly displeased that he could not use the worthless mortal wealth to gain something of value.
“The flesh and blood of demon beasts are not easy to preserve. Moreover, I can’t steadily supply large-scale demon beast corpses. This method is not a long-term solution.”
“How about this? Next time, I’ll talk to Ma Donggui and get him to give us all the cornerstone materials at the spirit stone mine. As long as we fork out some shipping fees, we can get as many as we want.”
“I believe the demons will be happy to receive the scrap materials.”
“As for the gathering place of the ghosts, I’m a disciple of the Demon Vanquishing Hall after all. When the time comes, I’ll personally go there.”
Jiang Li was also a quick-witted person. Especially in terms of being stingy, he was very talented. Soon, he really came up with a solution.
It was just like how the gold mines were mostly excavating stones.
Even in the spirit stone mines, there were no spirit stones everywhere. It also depended on manpower to dig.
Accompanying the production of spirit stones was a large amount of ordinary stones and jade materials that piled up into a mountain.
However, they were not completely ordinary.
These stone and jade materials were buried around the spirit stone mine all year round. After being soaked in spiritual qi, they more or less still carried a bit of spiritual qi.
Among them, large chunks of stone would be used as construction materials to build a cultivator’s sect mansion.
As for the small scraps that were cut and broken, they became complete trash that no one cared about.
It was most suitable to use these things as payment to the weak demons.
As for what he wanted these little demons to do, it was naturally Jiang Li’s usual method.
It was still those low-grade ghost spirits that ordinary cultivators looked down on.
After witnessing Shen Ruoshi’s Earth Dust Scripture, he was shocked by the power of the five earth spikes when they were unleashed.
Breaking through the battle arena was something that would not happen a second time in a normal sect martial competition.
This was the power that she had accumulated for a long time.
Although Jiang Li did not have such a cultivation method, he had the Yin Burial Coffin and his infinite amount of spiritual qi.
It was a waste for ordinary cultivators to spend spirit stones and resources to nurture low-grade ghosts. However, Jiang Li did indeed need more of these ghosts.
As long as he was given a certain amount of time, he could use a large amount of spiritual qi to raise an extremely terrifying army of ghosts.
The other was the coffin.
Under the situation of Jiang Li’s spiritual qi nourishment and a large amount of Yin qi ghosts filling it up, not only did this artifact completely recover its peak state, its grade was infinitely close to the upper limit of a Profound-rank artifact.
Moreover, Jiang Li could sense that the coffin was slowly undergoing a transformation. Perhaps so long as he accumulated enough, it would be able to surmount a realm and advance a step further!
Earth-rank artifact!
In the entire cultivation world of the Great Mountain Region, it was one of the rarest and most precious treasures. Even if Jiang Li became an inner sect disciple, he knew very little about magic treasures of this level.
If the coffin could really advance to an Earth-rank artifact, then he would profit greatly.
Jiang Li had checked later on, and the number of ghosts in the coffin was over 345,000.
As the number of ghosts increased, the concentration of spiritual qi and yin qi in the coffin also increased. The space inside the coffin was several times larger than when it was in Cloud Stream City. With the current size of the space, it would not be a problem to organize a stadium for soccer matches.
This meant that continuously throwing ghosts in was beneficial to the Yin Burial Coffin’s transformation.
Regardless of whether this coffin required 500,000 ghosts, 1,000,000 ghosts, or more to evolve, this was only a matter of accumulation. Jiang Li was determined to achieve it!