About three to five steps away, the Senior Brothers shouted in unison: “Congratulations, Junior Brother, on your first order!”
Their voices were neat and loud, scaring several Spirit Birds on the roadside trees into fluttering away.
The Second Senior Brother rushed forward and took the carrying pole from Qian Duoduo’s shoulder.
Wang Dahei exerted himself and actually picked up Qian Duoduo, saying, “With Junior Brother leading the way, Elder Bi has been taken care of. The Gold Vault’s history turns a new page from this point on. Tonight, let’s splurge a bit and add a dish for everyone: stew two Spirit Chickens.”
Amidst cheers, the treasure chest entered the hall.
Lei Jiashu tore off the seal and was about to throw it away when the Great Master stopped him, “Don’t throw it away, it’s still useful.”
“What use?” Lei Jiashu didn’t understand.
“You’ll know tomorrow,” Wang Dahei said, keeping them in suspense.
...
Back in his room, Qian Duoduo lay flat on his bed, carefully savoring the dinner he just had, realizing for the first time that Spirit Chicken soup could be so delicious.
Liu Lao once said, “Eating meat is not as good as drinking soup, and drinking soup is not as good as smelling the aroma.”
He used to think it was nonsense, but now he felt there was some truth to it.
Tonight’s dinner celebrated the fact that the lending business was halfway through. To be able to drink soup like this every day, he still needed to complete the remaining half. He had to find a way to make people borrow money so they could collect interest.
Qian Duoduo thought to himself, since he was about to have money, he could start using the Spiritual Platform for Cultivation, right?
The Spiritual Platform was the gray cushion by the bed. Beneath the cushion were Spiritual Qi pipelines, leading to every courtyard and Immortal Cave where Cultivators of the Sect resided.
The starting point of the Spiritual Qi pipelines was the Artificer Hall.
Sitting on the cushion, a groove appeared on the side, and Qian Duoduo inserted his token.
The token was new. It clearly wasn't Jin Buhuan’s old one.
The balance in the token was only two hundred. This was his monthly Cultivation fee—Ninth Level of Qi Condensation, two hundred per month.
Gritting his teeth, Qian Duoduo set the Spiritual Qi consumption to ten gold coins per hour.
Activating the switch, a pure and gentle stream of Spiritual Qi flowed from the cushion into his body. Qian Duoduo assumed the posture of the third layer of the Golden Light Condensing Money Art, guiding the Spiritual Qi to open new Spiritual Veins.
As the Spiritual Qi entered his body and a new Spiritual River began to flow, Qian Duoduo instantly understood Jin Buhuan, and why his Immortal Cave in Qinglong District was so simple, almost rudimentary.
Because every single gold coin was swallowed by the Spiritual Platform, transforming into streams of Spiritual Qi.
“Cultivation is so convenient now, and efficiency has greatly improved!” Liu Boli emerged from the Golden Toad, marveling around the Spiritual Platform, “Has the era of consuming Medicinal Pills, absorbing Spirit Stones, and seeking Spirit Mines passed?”
He shook his head, muttering to himself, “Not necessarily. This Spiritual Platform needs to be uniformly manufactured, supplied, and have Spiritual Qi transmitted by the Sect. Outside the Sect, in Secret Realms, or in the wilderness, it won’t work; one still has to solve the Spiritual Qi problem oneself.”
“All things related to Cultivation are linked to money. Money has become the key to Cultivation. There are both advantages and disadvantages to this...”
Qian Duoduo slowly entered a meditative state, concentrating on digging Spiritual Veins. In the end, he only remembered Liu Lao saying, “Times have changed, and times haven’t changed.”
Early the next morning, in the Gold Vault hall, all nine Senior Brothers gathered.
Wang Dahei instructed the other Senior Brothers, “Today, Junior Brother and I will be out. You all work hard and complete the cleaning tasks.”
“Out for what?” asked Second Senior Brother Yi Xiaoyun.
Qian Duoduo was also confused. Going out meant leaving the Sect? With Jin Buhuan’s previous example, he was a little scared.
Pointing to Elder Bi’s treasure chest on the floor—the seal on the chest had been re-affixed—the Great Master said, “We two are going to carry this and tour the Five Immortal Mountains of the Sect, to let everyone know that our Gold Vault has new business: saving money earns interest, and collateral can be used to borrow money.”
So this was what “being out” meant. Qian Duoduo felt relieved. Jin Buhuan might have visited all Five Immortal Mountains. But Qian Duoduo had only been to Mengyuan Mountain and hadn’t visited the others yet.
Touring the Five Immortal Mountains with the treasure chest, using Elder Bi’s seal as a signboard—this idea was truly brilliant! Probably only the Great Master could have thought of it.
However, he wondered what Elder Bi would think when he found out.
“Wait a moment, I’ll write down these two sentences that the Great Master just said and paste them onto the treasure chest,” Lei Jiashu said, blushing, as he took out his brush and ink.
This Eighth Senior Brother was good in every way, except he was thin-skinned and blushed at the slightest thing.
Soon, two golden papers were pasted onto the treasure chest. The left side read “Saving money earns interest,” and the right side read “Collateral can be used to borrow money.”
The Great Master waved his finger, setting up a “Shining Array” for the large characters. The two lines of text then emitted light, visible even from a distance.
Qian Duoduo lifted the treasure chest from the front, and the Great Master was at the back.
The treasure chest was, of course, empty. If it were full, they would be exhausted to death after a day of carrying it.
“Great Master, Junior Brother, keep going!”
“Great Master, Junior Brother, may you succeed immediately!”
“Great Master, Junior Brother, conquer the Five Immortal Mountains and fill the treasure chest!”
...
Amidst joyful and enthusiastic flattery, Qian Duoduo and the Great Master carried the treasure chest and began their mountain tour.
The Martial Arts Stage at the foot of Mengyuan Mountain was still bustling with people.
The Refining Spirit Sect strictly forbade private duels; any grievances could only be publicly resolved on the high platform of the Martial Arts Stage.
This led to people constantly scheduling duels from morning till night at the Martial Arts Stage.
As soon as one pair of rivals left the stage, another pair of enemies jumped on.
To maintain order in duels, there was a self-service number dispenser below the Martial Arts Stage. Those holding bamboo slips numbered one to one hundred would go onto the stage according to their number; cutting in line was strictly prohibited.
On the Martial Arts Stage, one could injure, one could cripple, but one could not kill.
As soon as Qian Duoduo and the Great Master appeared at the Martial Arts Stage, the gazes of the Cultivators watching the battle all turned to them.
In their eyes, this thin and fat pair was too peculiar: not only were they carrying a treasure chest, but the chest had the seal of the Sect’s most solemn Elder pasted on it, and the slogans on both sides flashed— “Saving money earns interest, collateral can be used to borrow money.”
“Isn’t that person in front the former Inner Sect Disciple Jin Buhuan? How did he become a vault attendant?”
“The one behind is Wang Dahei from the Gold Vault. What are they doing? They brought out the Gold Vault’s treasure chest.”
“Saving money, borrowing money? What is all this about? I don’t understand.”
Whispers reached Qian Duoduo’s ears, like summer night mosquitoes.
He glanced back at the Great Master, who kept his round Face straight, ignoring the surrounding discussions. Qian Duoduo decided not to speak either.
A moment later, an Outer Sect Disciple on the high platform struck down his opponent with a palm. The opponent immediately conceded, not waiting for him to deliver a heavy blow.
Just as everyone was commenting, the Great Master suddenly let out a loud roar.
“Good! Well fought!”
Many Cultivators watching the battle couldn’t help but turn their heads, smiling as they looked for who had made that foolish cheer.
Just as they were about to turn their gaze back to the high platform, the Great Master loudly declared, “Do you want to win back your Face? Do you want to advance and Breakthrough? Money can solve all worries. If you want to borrow money, come to the Gold Vault.”
His voice was impassioned, and his expression sincere and fervent.
“Come to the Gold Vault and realize your dreams!” Qian Duoduo yelled, straining his throat, “Borrow early and profit early; borrow late and be bullied.”
After shouting twice, the Great Master steadied the carrying pole, and Qian Duoduo straightened his knees. The two of them sped towards Mengyuan Mountain, leaving behind a group of bewildered onlookers.
“Great Master, how was my shouting just now?” Qian Duoduo quietly asked on the road.
“Very good. You have a lot of talent.”
“Will anyone come to borrow money?” For Qian Duoduo, everything in the Immortal Cultivation World was new. He hadn’t truly understood the power of money yet.
“We spill our blood, and the mosquitoes that want to suck blood will naturally come. Those who don’t come certainly don’t lack blood, and no amount of persuasion will help.”
Qian Duoduo understood the Great Master’s analogy.
He himself was a thirsty mosquito, wanting to absorb abundant Spiritual Qi every day and quickly reach the Ninth Level of Qi Condensation.
He was like this, and others should be the same.