Conducting Transactions

He looked Mo Yuanjiao up and down.

Have you started cultivating? Why don't I see any cultivation base on you? Could it be that, despite having a single Fire Spiritual Root, you still haven't drawn Qi into your body after all this time?

Unexpectedly, this was what caught his attention. Thinking of the Peach Leaf Pendant he was wearing, Mo Yuanjiao had no intention of telling him the truth; otherwise, it would expose the fact that he was already at the ninth level of Qi Refining. He felt that, for the time being, he couldn't let his cousin know just how incredibly fast their sect's cultivation speed was.

So he simply said,

That is not important. Anyway, if you ever need anything in the future, just tell me.

Saying this, fearing Li Zhouxuan would not believe him, he specifically took out a Voice Transmission Talisman from the storage pouch in his robes and handed it over.

Look at this. Is this not the same kind of Voice Transmission Talisman our sect used to reply to you before?

Li Zhouxuan took it and, upon inspection, found that it was indeed exactly the same as the one he had received previously.

Although Mo Yuanjiao had been very playful and somewhat unreliable since childhood, it was impossible for him to lie about something like this.

After all, if he had not joined the sect, where would he get such an expensive talisman?

Thus, Li Zhouxuan guessed that Mo Yuanjiao's cultivation in the sect probably was not going very smoothly, which was why he had not drawn Qi into his body after so long.

Even though he had a single spiritual root, who could say for sure when it came to cultivation? Perhaps drawing Qi into his body was just particularly difficult for him.

Therefore, he stopped asking Mo Yuanjiao about his cultivation. Instead, holding the Voice Transmission Talisman, he asked,

Is your sect very wealthy?

Hearing this, Mo Yuanjiao hesitated for a moment. Looking at him, he wondered to himself: should I answer truthfully, or should I exaggerate a bit? If I say we are very poor, will my Emperor cousin look down on our sect and think it is not an existence worth befriending?

After pondering for a moment, he replied,

It is... it is alright, I guess.

Seeing Mo Yuanjiao think before answering, Li Zhouxuan mused, Could this kid be hiding his sect's wealth?

He then stared at Mo Yuanjiao and said with a look of realization,

It seems your sect is indeed very wealthy.

Mo Yuanjiao was a bit dumbfounded. Did he not just say it was alright?

How did he interpret that as very wealthy?

Was it too late to change his tune and say they were actually very poor?

However, before Mo Yuanjiao could say anything, Li Zhouxuan asked another question,

How strong is your Sect Master?

Hearing this, Mo Yuanjiao decisively and frantically shook his head.

Not strong, not strong at all. Our Sect Master's cultivation is not high in the slightest.

Yet, he saw Li Zhouxuan nod in realization once again.

It seems your Sect Master is quite strong as well.

Mo Yuanjiao was speechless.

Was it too late to take back his offer to let his Emperor cousin ask him any questions?

Having teased his younger cousin, Li Zhouxuan chuckled inwardly. He then told Mo Yuanjiao to head back first, saying he would look for him if anything came up.

Mo Yuanjiao, who had long been feeling uncomfortable from the restrictive atmosphere of the imperial palace, immediately bid farewell to Li Zhouxuan upon hearing the order and fled as if he had wings.

Watching his retreating figure, Li Zhouxuan calmly tucked the Voice Transmission Talisman into his robes.

Now that he knew Mo Yuanjiao had joined that sect, he did not actually need to ask him anything else.

Just from the fact that this young master of the General's Manor had rejected the Three Great Sects to stay in that small sect for so long, and was now even willing to enter the imperial palace—a place he usually resisted fiercely—for the sake of this sect, one could tell that this sect was definitely not ordinary.

Even though Mo Yuanjiao was still quite young.

However, he absolutely refused to believe that General Mo's son could be so easily deceived, let alone become dead set on a hopeless, rundown sect.

It was just that this sect was undeniably wealthy...

Still, thinking about the Voice Transmission Talisman tucked inside his robe, Li Zhouxuan couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

To think that a mere disciple who hadn't even drawn Qi into their body could casually whip out something as valuable as a Voice Transmission Talisman...

While Mo Yuanjiao was busy running around the royal capital gathering intelligence, the members of the Lingxian Sect, thousands of miles away, were not sitting idle either.

They were all hard at work studying the Four Arts of Cultivation.

Those who could already independently refine pills or draw talismans, such as Sun Yigao and Liu Chun, had begun mass production.

These were the tasks Liu Yunan had recently assigned to everyone.

Lin Xiao had previously instructed him that it was time to start preparing the goods for the trade deal he had negotiated with the cultivation world's Duobao Pavilion.

He had even handed the trading credentials over to Liu Yunan.

Lin Xiao had also left strict instructions: if the goods were ready but he had not yet emerged from his closed-door cultivation, Senior Liao was to take someone over to complete the transaction.

Thus, the entire sect was currently pouring their efforts into preparing the merchandise.

Of course, this was only done so long as it didn't interfere with their regular cultivation.

As for Sun Yigao, although he was a fast learner, repeating the process over and over served as excellent practice.

Meanwhile, over at the sect's spirit fields, crops were being harvested and planted, batch after batch.

The main people in charge of this were Lin Dayou and Lin Yun, who led a group of elders from various families that had recently begun their cultivation journeys.

The older generation, who had initially struggled to adapt to reading and cultivating, experienced a sudden shift when they witnessed the convenient spells used for farming. Their enthusiasm and efficiency skyrocketed instantly.

They began pulling all-nighters, studying overtime every single day.

Whenever they encountered a concept they couldn't grasp, it felt like a cat was scratching at their hearts; they simply had to figure it out right then and there!

As a result, they would march next door and shake their soundly sleeping children and grandchildren awake, demanding answers to their questions.

With the elderly working so incredibly hard, how could the younger generation dare to slack off?

Thus, another fervent wave of studying swept through the entire Lingxian Sect.

Once a sufficient quantity of basic goods had been accumulated within the sect, Liu Yunan sorted and packed everything away. He then asked Senior Liao to take him to the cultivation world.

Since traveling via the teleportation array hardly took any time at all, Liu Yunan decided it was best to go by himself first.

He didn't dare suggest bringing anyone else along.

The teleportation array was simply too expensive to use.

While making this round trip wouldn't result in a loss, it would leave them with practically zero profit.

Had he not been worried that the Duobao Pavilion might think they had abandoned the deal after such a long period of silence, he would have preferred to wait a bit longer before making the trip.

Liao Pantu had originally wanted to pay out of his own pocket to bring Sun Yigao along, but unfortunately, Sun Yigao was tied up with his duties at the private school.

Furthermore, he was incredibly busy even during his free time.

In the end, Liao Pantu had to regretfully drop the idea, figuring he would just take the boy over for a fun trip whenever he finally had some downtime.

As a result, Liu Yunan became the second outsider to step foot into Liao Pantu's cave dwelling.

This time around, however, they didn't waste any time.

Upon noticing the three exhausted Qi Refining cultivators leaning on each other within the illusion outside his cave dwelling, Liao Pantu casually waved his hand to open a portal. He then tossed them out at a location far away from where he and Liu Yunan intended to exit.

After that, he took Liu Yunan straight to Yuanling City.

On the way to the Many Treasures Pavilion, Liu Yunan was extremely cautious. He steered clear of any commotion, avoided making eye contact with anyone, and refused to linger anywhere. Under the guidance of Senior Liao, he headed straight to the Many Treasures Pavilion.

After completing his transaction, he merely took a brief stroll down the street where the pavilion was located before returning to Xiushui Village.