Xie Linlang knew exactly what was in his Mustard Seed Realm, so he curiously asked, “What pill does he want?”
Le Qingping: “I’m not sure, either. It seems to be some kind of meditation pill that enhances comprehension and profound insights.”
Xie Linlang recalled it after a brief moment and understood Gao Chunqiu’s intent.
He was indeed skilled at refining a pill called the Time Turning Pill, which embodied the idea of turning time to one’s favor. For spells requiring aptitude or insights, consuming one Time Turning Pill produced remarkable effects.
This pill required a special material, and Xie Linlang had only refined a single batch before the ingredients ran out, rendering it discontinued.
He had sold off a portion of the refined Time Turning Pills, handed another portion to Jiuxia Mountain, and tossed a few into the Mustard Seed Realm as reserves.
Le Qingping: “By the way, your victory in the Grand Pill Competition counts as a contribution to our Rune House. Though we can’t issue Contribution Points or anything, we can sell you some Talismans and Array Disks. Interested?”
The woman spoke with a beaming smile, finally revealing her true intent with an expression of unmistakable cunning. “Even an elusive Great Demon from the Demon Race has emerged. Clearly, this trip to the True Realm will be fraught with dangers. Don’t you want to prepare a bit more?”
Xie Linlang smiled faintly. “Bring the catalog; I’ll take a look.”
Though Le Qingping’s cultivation was low, her master was the overseer of the Rune House. Even with her master temporarily absent, Le Qingping wielded considerable authority.
With her help, Xie Linlang accessed the Rune House’s more profound and powerful internal Talismans—some even drawn with heavenly materials, earthly treasures, or the hides and bones of high-rank demonic beasts. A single glance could captivate one with the flickering demonic light upon them.
This was a domain unfamiliar to Xie Linlang.
Seeing the faint shock and awe on Xie Linlang’s face, Le Qingping felt a swell of pride deep inside. Who wouldn’t revel in their sect’s might and intimidation?
“Which one catches your eye?”
“The Contribution Points for exchange must be pricey, right?”
Le Qingping flashed her teeth in a brilliant grin. “You can take a loan.”
Xie Linlang: “I’m not a true inheriting disciple—can I even get a loan?”
Le Qingping cleared her throat and whispered, “You can borrow from us!”
If official channels wouldn’t lend, there were always underground money houses—or rather, qualified disciples who could help with collateral.
Xie Linlang’s interest piqued. “Tell me in detail how your lending works.”
Le Qingping promptly laid out a scheme: Xie Linlang could pledge his Magic Artifacts and pills to true inheriting disciples like herself, borrow sufficient Contribution Points, purchase the desired Talismans, and then repay her principal plus interest.
It sounded straightforward, but disciple-to-disciple transactions required Senior Brother Zheng’s signature and seal, from which Senior Brother Zheng would skim a cut of Contribution Points as handling fees.
If Xie Linlang couldn’t repay the debt, there was no need to worry. The sect would bundle it and sell it to other disciples. Once another disciple bought the debt, Xie Linlang could use that money to find ways to earn resources for repayment.
If he still failed to settle it, no matter—when the sect opened its gates to recruit new disciples in a few years, as a senior who had already been in the sect for some time, he could always con a few incoming Qi Refining newbies. He could collateralize their Class Hours Points or force them into junk debts, gaining another shot at it.
In short, as long as Xie Linlang stayed alive and intended to repay, Silent Night Palace would facilitate his financing.
Xie Linlang drew in a sharp breath upon hearing this. “So the sect supports its disciples like this?”
Had he not witnessed a cultivator directly turning into a Black-Armored Cultivator with his own eyes, had he not heard the Red-beaked Sparrows speak of Senior Brother Fang’s deeds, would he have thought Silent Night Palace a paradise for cultivators?
Even laden with debts, the resources earned through pledging various items were real. The Demonic Qi and cultivation in one’s body were real. The realm and magic power were real!
Even burdened by massive debts, as long as one advanced to high ranks, there was capital to turn things around—or even… truly ascend to the Immortal Realm one day. What then of a lower realm sect’s debts? Hah, defaulting would be no issue.
This venerable one is already an immortal. How dare you lower realm rabble disturb me with your trifles? You court death.
But the reality?
Xie Linlang lowered his gaze. All defaulters were devoured by Silent Night Palace, transformed into Black-Armored, masked puppet cultivators. Did Le Qingping know? Did Hong Kui know?
Even if low-rank disciples were clueless, the high-rank ones surely had it all figured out.
Silent Night Palace’s Mountain-Protecting Grand Formation could help disciples withstand Heavenly Tribulations—an excuse for high-rank cultivators to remain in the sect for prolonged secluded cultivation. While cultivating away, even if they turned into Black-Armored Cultivators, no one would be the wiser.
Xie Linlang looked up, his eyes falling on the black-tiled, sloping eaves outside the window—like countless chisels effortlessly carving the palace’s disciples into the shapes Silent Night Palace desired.
After a long moment, he smiled and said, “Alright, I’ll take the loan.”
How could one obtain the tiger cub without entering the tiger’s den? Perhaps Pei Ji was entangled in these very chains, struggling bitterly.
Xie Linlang thought to himself that he did not fear death—he had even been struck to death and Dao dissipation by Thunder Tribulation once. Now that Pei Ji was in the mortal world, what did he have to fear?
Le Qingping was delighted. “How much do you want to borrow?”
Xie Linlang countered, “How many Contribution Points and Class Hours Points can you gather?”
Le Qingping blinked. “You mean…?”
Xie Linlang smiled faintly. “Every quota you can muster—I want it all.”
He pointed to that high-rank Talisman Booklet. “Everything in here below Soul Transformation level runes—I want the full set. Calculate the price.”
