“I'm taking your precious nephew, do you agree?” Hall Master Ping chuckled. “However, the Formation in this Gold Vault was set by me. They’ve Cultivated quite well, so it wouldn’t make sense not to choose two of them.”
“Hmm, you fatty, you actually set up a Formation on your body to suppress your Cultivation. Interesting. Come to my Xiongjin Mountain.” Hall Master Ping waved at Senior Brother.
“You,” she then said to Lei Jiashu, “your Formation is also proficient, so come along too.”
With a sweep of her left and right hands, Wang Dahei and Lei Jiashu instantly stood beside Hall Master Ping. Without any visible movement from her, a cloud of mist enveloped the three, exiting the main hall and disappearing.
Qian Duoduo was still thinking about not saying goodbye to Senior Brother and Eighth Senior Brother when Tang Honggong swept him with his large sleeve, “We’re leaving too.”
Qian Duoduo was immediately grabbed to his side like a leaf, soaring through the clouds and mist, exiting the Gold Vault.
A moment later, Qian Duoduo and Tang Honggong landed on Mengyuan Mountain, behind a dense bamboo forest, in front of a two-story pavilion.
On a rock in front of the building, “Mountain Gate” was carved.
Tang Honggong lightly coughed.
Immediately, a blue-robed youth rushed out of the pavilion and bowed to Tang Honggong, “Greetings, Palace Lord.”
“This is Jin Buhuan. Take him to process his Outer Sect Disciple identity. As for his residence—let him choose it himself.”
Hearing Tang Honggong say the words “choose himself,” the blue-robed youth’s body trembled, and he quickly replied, “Understood.”
“Dajiu, I’m not convinced,” Qian Duoduo said in a muffled voice. “The sect has no reason to take over the lending business.”
At this moment, Qian Duoduo realized his face had been hot the entire time. He didn't dare to look up or breathe out, but his red face betrayed his inner feelings.
The purple-robed Sect Leader must have seen it.
Even if he saw it, Qian Duoduo wasn't afraid.
Although this Sect Leader spoke with such righteousness, he was actually the most ruthless. With just a movement of his lips, he cut off their source of wealth.
“If you didn’t rely on the Gold Vault, do you think you could have succeeded in the lending business?” Tang Honggong asked with a calm expression, his hands clasped behind his back.
“Very difficult,” Qian Duoduo thought for a moment and answered truthfully. He knew that without the Gold Vault, the lending business would definitely not have succeeded.
“You few gray-robed Disciples are at the lowest level of strength, and even self-preservation is difficult. No matter how bold others are, if they hand money over to you, they have to consider the consequence of losing both their person and their money. If you are gone, will the Soul contract signed with you be useful?”
“Ultimately, the reason the lending business could rise was that the Gold Vault played a decisive role. Is the Gold Vault yours? No. It belongs to the sect,” Zhangzuo Dajiu continued.
“But wasn’t the Gold Vault idle before?” Qian Duoduo was still fuming.
“Right. The Gold Vault belongs to the sect, it belongs to everyone, and it can be idle. But if you use it, why should the profits you gain belong to you?”
“We haven’t shortchanged the sect’s storage fees by a single cent.”
“If the storage fees were short by even a cent, you wouldn’t have been able to continue long ago. We’re talking about the portion you yourselves received, those two points.”
“Is someone eyeing this portion?” The difference of those two points was precisely the driving force behind their efforts.
“Someone eyeing it?” Zhangzuo Dajiu laughed aloud, “Many people are eyeing it. When it wasn’t big enough, perhaps no one cared. But you’re earning two to three hundred thousand a day, far exceeding the income of an Elder, even richer than me, a Palace Lord.”
“How is that possible?” Qian Duoduo was surprised.
“Of course it’s possible. The Cultivation fees for each level are public. You can check them. Some Elders not only hope the sect takes over the lending business but also advocate for confiscating all your past earnings.”
Qian Duoduo immediately bristled, jumping up, “That’s unfair! Why?!”
If all their hard-earned money was taken away, they would have worked for nothing these past days.
Qian Duoduo would become a pauper again.
“One person disagreed,” Zhangzuo Dajiu said slowly.
“Who?” Qian Duoduo wanted to know who this good person was.
“The Sect Leader.”
It was him, the purple-robed Sect Leader. So, this Sect Leader had a clear sense of justice and wasn't confused at all. Qian Duoduo thought this and his impression of the Sect Leader immediately improved greatly.
“Sect Leader, brilliant!” Qian Duoduo praised from the bottom of his heart.
Tang Honggong took two steps. “The Sect Leader said that if your income were confiscated, no one would think of new methods in the future. Don’t just see that you’ve made money; you should also see that you’ve brought double the profit to the sect. If anyone has the ability to come up with a new way to make money that benefits both the sect and the individual, the individual’s gains do not need to be handed over.”
The life-or-death question Qian Duoduo mentioned in the Gold Vault earlier perfectly aligned with Tang Honggong’s thoughts.
As the youngest Palace Lord, he often felt that the Refining Spirit Sect was stagnant and weaker in strength compared to the other two sects on the Lower Road, always wanting to change something.
But after much balancing, he still focused his energy on his own Cultivation.
If he lacked strength but wanted to reform, no one would listen to him.
Although his own nephew was merely a handyman, he had implemented new methods and brought about changes in the Gold Vault, achieving considerable results. This greatly pleased Tang Honggong.
Qian Duoduo mumbled, “But they still took away the lending business.”
Actually, what he was thinking was, “If I beg the Sect Leader nicely, will he give the lending business back to us?”
“Alas, don’t just look at our name, Refining Spirit Sect. There are many people and many matters, and money is needed everywhere—and we also lack money.”
“The sect is short on money?” Qian Duoduo didn’t believe such deceptive nonsense.
“Think about it, how much is the monthly Cultivation fee for nearly a million people in the entire sect? Roads need to be repaired, buildings need to be built, Magic Treasures need to be refined, Formations need to be set up, Medicinal Pills need to be produced. Most importantly, there are also the Ba Ling Sect and Shengling Sect, two sworn enemies outside the sect, that need to be guarded against at all times. If a fight breaks out, who knows how much money it will cost. Tell me, which of these doesn’t require money, and which one can function with less money?”
Zhangzuo Dajiu looked into Qian Duoduo’s eyes as he spoke. What he said was somewhat complicated; the matters of the Palace Lord and Sect Leader were too far removed from Qian Duoduo, and just thinking about them gave Qian Duoduo a headache.
Although Qian Duoduo couldn’t cheer up, he chose to trust his Dajiu.
Patting Qian Duoduo’s shoulder, Tang Honggong said, “Remember what you said, don’t forget your goal. Qinglong District, C-Shen, is still waiting for you.”
After speaking, his body swayed, like a long rainbow, rushing towards the mountaintop.
Seeing Tang Honggong leave, the blue-robed youth breathed a sigh of relief and greeted enthusiastically, “My name is Wu Binghuo. Junior Brother, this way, please—was the lending business that’s recently caused a sensation throughout the sect your idea? As expected of our Mengyuan Mountain’s original Xiong Jun, even temporarily residing in the Gold Vault, he can still alarm the Sect Leader’s esteemed presence.”
Entering the pavilion, Wu Binghuo handed Qian Duoduo a Storage Pouch.
The Storage Pouch was a spatial Magic Treasure, one zhang square inside, containing the Outer Sect Disciple’s clothing.
“Mengyuan Mountain, besides the main peak, also has smaller secondary peaks. The Outer Sect of Mengyuan Mountain is divided into twelve districts in total,” Wu Binghuo handed over a Jade Slip, which contained a map of the Outer Sect area. The Inner Sect and the mountaintop were blank.
“From Zi Rat to Hai Pig, each district has different characteristics, with thousands of small courtyards. Each dot on the map represents a small courtyard. The lit dots are occupied. The unlit ones are empty. I wonder what kind of environment Junior Brother prefers, whether he likes quiet or bustling, whether he likes shade or sun?”
Qian Duoduo listened to Wu Binghuo’s introduction, his Spiritual Awareness scanning the map, but he felt nothing. A little quiet, a little bustling, shady or sunny side, it didn't matter, as long as his Cultivation grew quickly.
The various districts were quite far apart. Some were a li or two away. The courtyards themselves weren’t connected by walls, ensuring that practicing cultivation wouldn’t disturb others.
“What river is this?” Qian Duoduo looked at a white ribbon-like stream winding down from the mountain, passing through the Zi Rat, Chen Dragon, and Shen Monkey districts of the Outer Sect.
“This is Mengyuan River,” Wu Binghuo suggested, “How about I take Junior Brother to see it?”
“No need. I’ll go myself. I’ll choose this courtyard right by the river.” Qian Duoduo used his Spiritual Awareness to light up his chosen courtyard.
For Jin Buhuan, the Outer Sect was familiar. For Qian Duoduo, however, the Outer Sect was unfamiliar. He would slowly adapt to this new place.
After walking a few steps, Wu Binghuo called from behind, “Junior Brother, if you need anything, you can find me anytime.”
As dusk approached, Qian Duoduo walked on the Outer Sect road, and a rich Spiritual Qi wafted towards him. This place was indeed more suitable for Cultivation than the Gold Vault courtyard, and it was like heaven compared to the Jail.
As he walked, Qian Duoduo involuntarily entered a state of Cultivation.
Ah, this Outer Sect isn’t bad after all. A new beginning.