“This is the power of the contract, representing fairness and justice,” Zhuang Buzhou said with a smile to Zhao Yue'e.
With a thought, golden time gold coins, round on the outside and square on the inside, appeared from his body. The front depicted the Time-Space River, while the back showed the Other Shore Flower. As soon as they appeared, they solidified into physical form. These were time gold coins, also known as other shore coins.
Ding, ding, ding!
With crisp sounds, they naturally fell into the left tray, each coin representing one day. A total of 12,630 other shore coins neatly stacked in the tray, glittering brightly. As these other shore coins fell into the tray, the tilted balance immediately returned to equilibrium at a visible speed.
Swish!
Immediately after, the left and right trays of the balance rotated. The more than ten thousand other shore coins flew from the left to the right, and then from the right to the left, entering Zhao Yue'e's body.
With each coin that integrated, Zhao Yue'e felt her time increasing, her life increasing. Her originally limited Lifespan was truly extended.
“Thirty-four and a half years, my Lifespan has truly increased.”
This was a subtle sensation, especially clear within the Other Shore Space.
The joy of having her life extended completely filled her heart. Her originally aging body seemed to regain vitality all at once.
“Congratulations, your remaining time has increased. However, this is not a restoration of youth; it merely allows your life to continue. Barring any accidents, you still have forty-one years of remaining time.”
Zhuang Buzhou said with a smile.
“Thank you, Mr. Zhuang, for allowing me to break through my fated tribulation. Before this, I was preparing to make one last gamble in the Endless Sea.” Zhao Yue'e's face showed a relaxed smile. With her Lifespan extended, restoring her youthful appearance would be much simpler than under normal circumstances. For example, Beautifying Pills and Youth Preservation Pills could both restore one's youthful appearance.
“Fellow Daoist, may we meet again if fate allows.”
Zhuang Buzhou nodded slightly and said, “The Other Shore Gate is always open, welcoming all fated individuals under heaven.”
Although it was only trading time now, it might be different in the future. Moreover, she was a Spirit Master, and a Spirit Master's time could also be increased in the Other Shore.
Zhao Yue'e was just the first guest today.
Not long after she left, someone else came in.
This time, it was an ordinary person. An ordinary farmer from a nearby village.
He didn't look old, but his face was weathered, and his appearance had a significant age gap from his actual age. This was life maturing a person. In his twenties, he carried the vicissitudes of someone in his thirties. After entering and learning that he could exchange time for money, he unhesitatingly chose to exchange fifteen years of his Lifespan for a sum of money.
During this process, there was no fear, only ecstasy.
And this was not the first; subsequently, people continuously entered the Other Shore.
The rich chose to buy time, while the poor chose to sell time.
Money circulated in the Other Shore, and time rapidly increased and accumulated on Zhuang Buzhou.
This time, the transactions were no longer limited to gamblers but covered all walks of life and social strata in Qingyun City.
“The powerful buy life with money, and ordinary people exchange life for money. Is it worth it?”
Li Yueru watched the continuous transactions, and when another ordinary person joyfully took away the money exchanged for time, she couldn't help but murmur to herself.
“In this world, no one has ever truly seen through the words 'wealth and power.' If one truly saw through them, they would realize that piled gold and jade are merely mud and rubble that cannot be taken into the coffin, and fine wine and delicacies are just foul sweat and excrement that cannot be contained within the skin.”
“Those grand halls and magnificent palaces are merely structures that cannot be built on a mountain of literature, and those splendid robes and fur coats are just white fluff that cannot cling to a skull.”
“But people live, and they must live. With elders above and wives and children below, they must bear the heavy burden for their families. Money is the ladder that changes their fate; it can improve their family's conditions and create a better future for their children. Those who cannot afford to study can go to school, and those who cannot be cured can invite doctors and get prescriptions. For them, exchanging time for money is worth it.”
“For the powerful, money can be earned again, but if Lifespan is gone, then nothing exists. Weighing the pros and cons, it is naturally worth it.”
“How can a fish know the joy of a fish if you are not a fish?!”
Zhuang Buzhou said calmly.
He had long seen through these things. He didn't need to concern himself with other matters; the Other Shore Space was only responsible for facilitating their time transactions. As for what changes would occur in their lives after the transaction, and what their future would hold, that was up to them.
Fate always changes inadvertently.
The Other Shore has no distinction between good and evil; he needs time, and the Other Shore needs time.
Swish!
Just then, a figure stepped into the Other Shore.
“Oh, it's her.”
Zhuang Buzhou looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
The person who arrived was very familiar; it was none other than Meng Xianliu, whom he had met earlier in the Red Chamber.
He instinctively looked at her Lifespan.
Three thousand eight hundred ninety-three years, eight months, sixteen days, thirteen hours, twenty-seven minutes, nineteen seconds, eighteen seconds, seventeen seconds.
“More than three thousand years. She is a powerful Cultivator above the True Spirit Realm, a top-tier Cultivator.”
Zhuang Buzhou's heart skipped a beat. Only the True Spirit Realm could possess such a vast amount of Lifespan. Regardless of her specific cultivation level, she was at least in the True Spirit Realm. This was certain. Otherwise, she must have consumed some Heaven And Earth Treasure that increased Lifespan. Of course, anything was possible.
Various thoughts flashed through his mind, but his face showed no trace of them.
“This is the Other Shore.”
Meng Xianliu looked around, secretly astonished.
Upon stepping into this Other Shore Space, she immediately felt that her connection with the world seemed to be suddenly cut off. Her cultivation and Spell power seemed to be suppressed and restricted by an invisible force. Here, she felt like an ordinary person. Divine Abilities and Spells could not be cast.
“Indeed, it's incredible. What is the origin of this Other Shore? Is it Mysterious, or is there some other force behind it? Trading time... how can time be bought and sold here? Who has such ability to pry open the Time-Space River?”
Meng Xianliu secretly pondered these thoughts.
Time could actually be bought and sold; she had never even heard of such a thing before.
And to achieve this, what an incredible power it would require, simply unimaginable.
At least, she couldn't do it, nor did she know anyone who could.
But something Mysterious was possibly capable of it.
“That's right, this is the Other Shore. Anyone who enters the Other Shore can choose to buy time or sell time here. Here, all transactions are free, voluntary, fair, and just.”
Zhuang Buzhou smiled faintly, then changed his tone: “However, given your situation, Fellow Daoist, I'm afraid there's no need to buy more time. Your Lifespan is still very abundant.”
Thousands of years were enough for anything. Even if Lifespan wasn't enough in the future, that was a matter for later; there was no need to rush now.
“I want to sell one year of time. Can we make a trade?”
Meng Xianliu looked at the furnishings in the pavilion and suddenly spoke, her voice clear and ethereal, like a celestial being.
“If you sell one year, you will receive one jin of gold.”
Zhuang Buzhou calmly took out a contract and handed it to Meng Xianliu.
Meng Xianliu glanced at the contract, did not hesitate, and directly signed and fingerprinted it.
Immediately, the balance of fairness appeared. One year of Lifespan was directly extracted from Meng Xianliu, turning into 365 glittering other shore coins that fell into the tray. On the other side, a gold bar appeared, exactly one jin, no more, no less.
“It really did strip away one year of Lifespan.”
Meng Xianliu didn't care about the gold in front of her at all, but she clearly felt that her Lifespan had indeed been deprived by one year. It was a subtle sensation, and the time coins that flew out from her body were real and not false.
“I want to buy two years of time.”
Meng Xianliu spoke again.
“To buy time, it's one jin of gold per day, so seven hundred and thirty jin of gold.”
Zhuang Buzhou continued.
“Here is the gold.”
With a wave of Meng Xianliu's hand, gold bars naturally appeared before them.
Zhuang Buzhou took out another contract, and after she signed it, the balance of fairness appeared once again. This time, 730 other shore coins flew out from his body, fell into the tray, and then quickly transferred to Meng Xianliu's body.
“Time has increased, Lifespan has extended.”
Meng Xianliu subtly sensed that her Lifespan had indeed increased.
Magical, incredible.
“Selling time, one jin of gold per year. Buying time, one jin of gold per day. What a good business,” Meng Xianliu said with a sigh.
“The trade is fair, free, and voluntary.”
Zhuang Buzhou smiled faintly and said, “Fellow Daoist, you didn't come just to verify if my Other Shore can truly trade time, did you?”
“The Other Shore suddenly appeared, what is its purpose? What is the origin of the Other Shore?”
Meng Xianliu asked.
“The Other Shore is Karma. If there is Karma, one comes; if Karma is exhausted, one leaves. Here, only time is traded; it does not involve grievances. It does not interfere with reality. No Karma, no karmic retribution. The sea of suffering is boundless, the Other Shore is before you,” Zhuang Buzhou said calmly.
“I hope so.”
Meng Xianliu heard this and said noncommittally.
She stood up, ready to leave.
“This other shore card is for you. If you wish to come to the Other Shore in the future, you can enter and exit through this card.”
Zhuang Buzhou watched her, pondered slightly, then handed over an other shore card. Regardless of why Meng Xianliu had appeared in the Red Chamber before, or what her relationship with the Red Chamber was, he clearly felt at the time that a large reason he was able to leave the Red Chamber safely was because of her.
Therefore, he had to acknowledge this favor.
No matter what her true identity was, this other shore card had to be given.
“Thank you for the Lord of Beyond's kindness. If I have a need in the future, I will come.”
Meng Xianliu saw it and did not decline, taking the other shore card. After thanking him, she left directly.
In her view, only a corner of the Other Shore's Mysterious veil had been lifted, yet she felt it was increasingly incredible. If it truly was Mysterious, then it was definitely a forbidden existence. But its significance was extremely great.