They embraced in silence, not knowing how much time had passed. Suddenly, Zhuang Buzhou glanced at the empty hall, smiled slightly and said, "Yueru, the guest has arrived."
"This time, I will conduct the transaction. You can observe how I do it. Later, if I'm not around and a guest arrives, you will handle the transaction. I have already granted you the authority within Beyond to conduct time transactions and sales."
Within Beyond, his will was everything.
"A guest has arrived?"
Li Yueru blinked her eyes when she heard this, showing a strong interest.
"Yes, let's go."
Zhuang Buzhou smiled calmly. With a thought, both his and Li Yueru's faces and figures became indistinct. In Beyond, no one could pry, and there was no need to worry about their identities being exposed.
Zhuang Buzhou sat behind the counter, while Li Yueru stood quietly beside him.
Swish!!
In the hall, a ripple appeared, followed by a very old figure walking in.
"So it's him."
Zhuang Buzhou understood.
Qingyun City has four great Families: the Zhang Family, the Liu family, the Zhao Family, and the Sun Family. Each Family has a Legacy spanning over several hundred years, with vast enterprises. They have experienced ups and downs, but now, they stand as the most powerful Families in Qingyun City.
The person who arrived was none other than the Old Ancestor of the Zhao Family, an old lady, respectfully called Grandmother within the Zhao Family and referred to as Old Madam Zhao by outsiders. She possessed exceptional cunning, was meticulous, and had a knack for generating wealth. The Zhao Family's current prosperity was largely due to her indispensable efforts.
However, she was already very old, ninety-two years old.
She had lived for ninety-two years.
Her end was probably not far off.
Nevertheless, Zhuang Buzhou subconsciously glanced at her remaining time.
"Seven years, three months, sixteen days, three hours, eleven minutes, six seconds, five seconds, four seconds..."
"A hundred years of lifespan, she is a Spirit Master."
A hint of surprise flashed in Zhuang Buzhou's eyes, but it vanished the next second. If this Zhao Family Grandmother were an ordinary person, it would be difficult for her to have a hundred-year lifespan. Only a Spirit Master could theoretically live to the hundred-year limit. The premise was that they didn't die unexpectedly or from a cursed relic.
Therefore, he could almost confirm that this Zhao Family Grandmother should be a Spirit Master.
Her aura was much more subtle and profound than that of an ordinary person.
"Welcome to Beyond."
These thoughts quickly flashed through his mind, and then he smiled and spoke.
"Is this Beyond? Can one buy time and lifespan here?"
The Zhao Family Grandmother looked around curiously, with an uncontrollable excitement in her heart.
She was secretly shocked: There really is a Beyond. Those people didn't lie. Beyond really exists. That Old Liu really obtained time here, allowing him to extend his life. Time can actually be traded. Then, can a Spirit Master's lifespan really be increased? Does a Spirit Master truly have a path forward, a future?
She suppressed the shock in her heart.
She walked to the counter, looking at Zhuang Buzhou and Li Yueru, trying to remember their appearance, but she couldn't. This made her even more cautious, and at the same time, her heart filled with more awe and anticipation.
"This old woman's surname is Zhao, Zhao Yue'e. Greetings, Lord of Beyond."
Zhao Yue'e took a deep breath and said.
"Fellow Daoist Zhao, you are too polite. Coming to my Beyond means you are a guest. My surname is Zhuang. You can call me Mr. Zhuang. What can I do for you, Fellow Daoist Zhao?"
Zhuang Buzhou smiled calmly.
"I heard that one can buy time and lifespan here."
Zhao Yue'e asked with a hint of apprehension.
Regarding life extension, no one could remain unmoved, especially a Spirit Master.
Spirit Masters are bitter . Only by contracting a cursed relic and becoming a Spirit Master will their lifespan increase to a hundred years. However, afterward, no matter what Realm they are in, there is almost no way to increase their lifespan further. This is because a cursed relic is not their Spiritual Root; it is always an external object obtained through a contract, and it also contains a cursed relic.
A hundred years is long for ordinary people, but for a Cultivator, it is short-lived.
Innate has one hundred years, Foundation Establishment two hundred years, Earth Fiend four hundred years, Heavenly Gang eight hundred years, Soul Gathering one thousand six hundred years, Soul Condensation three thousand two hundred years. True Spirit Realm six thousand four hundred years, Proof of Dao Realm twelve thousand eight hundred years, Primordial Realm, eternal life.
However, a Spirit Master, who achieves their status by contracting a cursed relic, only has a hundred years, and perhaps not even that.
No matter how powerful you are, eventually, when your lifespan runs out, you will die. Upon death, all accumulated power returns to the cursed relic. This is a contract: life belongs to the Spirit Master, death belongs to the cursed relic.
Therefore, in the cultivation world, there is a saying: 'Ironclad cursed relics, flowing Spirit Masters.'
A cursed relic, as the number of contractors increases, its own Rank and power will become stronger.
It is said that a Spirit Master's inability to gain lifespan when breaking through a Realm is the greatest heavenly cursed relic of the cursed relic.
But there are also benefits. By contracting a cursed relic, one can completely rely on the power of the cursed relic to gain power that would take normal Cultivators decades or even centuries to accumulate in the shortest amount of time. A top-tier cursed relic can even forcefully suppress and kill a powerful orthodox Lianqishi (Qi Refiner).
Of course, whether there are other ways to increase lifespan is not within Zhuang Buzhou's consideration.
Yes, that's for sure.
However, this has nothing to do with him, nor with ordinary Spirit Masters.
"That's right. As long as you can pay a sufficient price, Beyond can naturally fulfill your wish, even if it's to buy time."
Zhuang Buzhou quickly reined in his thoughts and said with a smile, "If you want to buy time, you need to follow the rule of 'an inch of time is an inch of gold.' One catty of gold can buy one day of time. Here, transactions are measured in time coins, also known as other shore coins. Any item can be exchanged or used to buy time."
"One catty of gold for one day?"
Zhao Yue'e's pupils slightly contracted when she heard this.
She was not like Liu Old Lord from before. As a Spirit Master, she was even more aware of the preciousness of gold. It was a valuable item that could contain and suppress cursed relics. Among any Spirit Masters, it was also hard currency. Just like the silver talisman coins and gold symbol coins Zhuang Buzhou had seen before. Their essence was refined from gold and silver, inscribed with special incense power, and not talisman paper.
One catty of gold for one day, this price was not low.
The reason why strange occurrences generally don't appear in wealthy families is because they have enough gold and silver at home. Even Liu Old Lord knew to use shelves and boxes made of gold and silver to place cursed relics. To some extent, such information was not a secret among certain people.
"I'll use other items for the transaction. You can see how much these items are worth."
Zhao Yue'e took a deep breath, calmed the turbulent waves in her heart, and then said.
With a thought, under the power of Beyond, various items belonging to Zhao Yue'e quickly appeared in the hall.
Three thousand catties of gold, four hundred thousand taels of silver, one thousand scrolls of various classics and books, among which ordinary poetry and classical texts accounted for several hundred scrolls, with less than a dozen scrolls truly related to cultivation. There were also more than a dozen cursed relics, and so on.
The quantity was considerable, and at a glance, it was truly dazzling.
"Do you want to exchange all of these?"
Zhuang Buzhou calmly looked at Zhao Yue'e and asked.
He then explained the rules of the transaction to her. Once a transaction began, it meant that there was no regret, and a contract had to be signed.
"Transaction!!"
Zhao Yue'e took a deep breath and said decisively with a heavy nod.
This was the accumulation of generations of the Zhao Family, as well as the resources she had desperately acquired. Naturally, they were very precious, but compared to her own lifespan, everything was worth it.
"Three thousand catties of gold, three thousand other shore coins. Four hundred thousand taels of silver, which is four thousand coins. Nine hundred seventy-six scrolls of ordinary poetry and classical texts, valued at ten coins. Fifteen scrolls of cultivation classics, three thousand one hundred twenty coins. Thirteen cursed relics, all Yellow Rank, six of Ninth Grade, three of Eighth Grade, three of Seventh Grade, one of Sixth Grade, valued at two thousand five hundred coins. In total, the other shore coins exchanged are twelve thousand six hundred thirty."
"If you want to exchange all of it for time and lifespan, you can obtain thirty-four and a half years of time."
Zhuang Buzhou quickly estimated the value of the items before him. There might be some discrepancies, but the general estimate was correct.
"Thirty-four and a half years? How much lifespan do I have left now?"
Zhao Yue'e's aged body couldn't help but tremble. Even she, facing such a large amount of time, absolutely couldn't maintain her inner calm.
Thirty-four and a half years, if she obtained this, she could instantly surpass the hundred-year life calamity.
"You still have seven years, three months, sixteen days, two hours, fifty-four minutes, forty-seven seconds, forty-six seconds, forty-five seconds..." Zhuang Buzhou smiled calmly, stating a number. The constantly receding seconds afterward gave one a chilling sensation.
Her back felt cold.
"Do I really only have a few years left? As expected, the Spirit Master's life calamity is already close at hand. However, if I can add thirty-four years, I will have over forty years of remaining time."
"Mr. Zhuang, I want to trade."
Zhao Yue'e took a deep breath and said decisively.
"Very good. This is the contract. Please read it carefully. If there are no problems, then sign and seal it, and the transaction will begin."
Zhuang Buzhou smiled faintly, waved his hand, and took out the contract, handing it to Zhao Yue'e.
The contract was as simple and straightforward as ever.
On the 'A' side, a 'Zhuang' character was already present.
"The contract is fine. I'll sign it."
Zhao Yue'e quickly read through the contract. Such a simple contract, even ordinary people could understand its meaning. Even if you were illiterate, the contract could make you understand its meaning.
Soon, she signed and sealed it, pressing her handprint.
Swish!!
As the contract was signed, a golden light flashed on the contract scroll, and a golden scale appeared on the counter. There were two trays at the ends of the scale. At this moment, with a flash of light on one of the trays, the gold, silver, ancient books, and cursed relics that Zhao Yue'e had brought for the transaction naturally fell onto the right side, and then the scale tilted to the right.