Chapter 527 (3): Calm and Free of Depraved Thoughts

When summer arrived...

Only Shi Rou was looking after business in the two shops on Dragon Riding Alley.

Pei Qian had already left the private school, and this was something that Zhu Lian had agreed to. As such, Shi Rou didn't say anything about it.

After Pei Qian left school, Zhou Mili naturally followed her to Downtrodden Mountain as well.

The two shops immediately went from lively and bustling to quiet and lonely, causing Shi Rou to feel slightly unaccustomed.

Wei Bo was frequently paying secret visits to Downtrodden Mountain during recent times, and Zheng Dafeng would often leave the extravagant residence that he had built for himself at the foot of the mountain as well, heading over to visit Zhu Lian.

The Lotus Flower Blessed Land had been split into four, with Downtrodden Mountain obtaining one of the resulting blessed lands.

This was naturally a good outcome, but there were also troubles that accompanied it. That was, a blessed land needed to "eat money" if it were to maintain a stable heaven and earth — it needed to absorb an exorbitant amount of immortal coins.

This was especially the case if a low-level blessed land with piddling amounts of spiritual energy were to be elevated into a medium-level blessed land that could allow the people inside to cultivate. The people maintaining the blessed land would need to continually feed it immortal coins to achieve this goal. To put it simply, a blessed land was like a bottomless abyss for immortal coins.

However, if a blessed land were maintained properly — like the Cloud Cave Blessed Land owned by the Jiang Clan of the Parasol Leaf Continent's Jade Tablet Sect — the upside was also very evident. A blessed land would voraciously engulf immortal coins in the beginning, but after evolving into a high-level blessed land and achieving relative stability, deities would start to appear and assist in stabilizing the spiritual energy of the blessed land. At the same time, cultivation forces would also appear and start to gather spiritual energy. Not only had the Cloud Cave Blessed Land not bankrupted the Jiang Clan, but it was even providing a huge amount of lasting wealth and repaying the Jiang Clan's huge investment.

The local cultivators in the blessed land, as well as the various types of natural treasures birthed and nurtured by the spiritual energy in the blessed land, were all sources of wealth.

Wei Bo, Zhu Lian, and Zheng Dafeng had been discussing these matters recently, trying to work out how they should manage this blessed land that they were temporarily calling the Lotus Root Blessed Land. As for the actual name, they naturally needed to wait until Chen Ping'an returned before settling on something.

The region encapsulated by this small blessed land was the Lotus Flower Blessed Land's Southern Garden Nation.

This region had a population of twenty million people.

The spiritual energy in the Lotus Root Blessed Land had already been much more abundant than before when Downtrodden Mountain had received it, with the blessed land hovering between a low-level blessed land and a medium-level blessed land. This signified that all living beings in the Southern Garden Nation, be they humans or spirits, would have a chance to cultivate.

The problem was that, as long as the Lotus Root Blessed Land failed to become a medium-level blessed land, it would be unable to retain spiritual energy even if the emperor and imperial court of the Southern Garden Nation appointed mountain gods and river gods. The spiritual energy would gradually disperse, and it would be impossible to track down. Even a great mountain god like Wei Bo would be unable to detect traces of the disappearing spiritual energy, to say nothing of trying to prevent it.

That being the case, the most important consideration right now was how they should throw money at the Lotus Root Blessed Land to transform it into a medium-level blessed land. Throwing money at the blessed land was good, but there was a lot to consider regarding how to throw this money and where to throw it. It wasn't the case that one could randomly throw buckets of immortal coins at the blessed land. If the immortal coins were provided properly, one grain rain coin might lead to a retention of eight lesser heat coins' worth of spiritual energy. If the immortal coins were provided haphazardly, however, one grain rain coin might only lead to a retention of four or five lesser heat coins' worth of spiritual energy. And this was if they were fortunate.

Everything was relatively okay during normal times, but Downtrodden Mountain's lack of wealth was immediately exposed once it encountered matters like this. It was even more exposed than the time they had constructed a mountain-protection formation for Downtrodden Mountain.

In fact, there were even more difficult questions to answer before they even got to the difficult question of where to throw the immortal coins. That was, who should they borrow money from, and how much should they borrow?

Only after they answered these two questions could they think about how they should sign a contract with Zhong Qiu and the emperor of the Southern Garden Nation, as well as the miscellaneous matters of secretly disseminating spirit tools, immortal treasures, cultivation techniques, and so on. When all of this was done, they could teach the imperial court of the Southern Garden Nation how to adhere to etiquette and perform ceremonies when appointing mountain gods and river gods.

At the same time, they could also think about how Downtrodden Mountain would obtain benefits from the Lotus Root Blessed Land, making sure they didn't drain the pond to catch the fish, and pondering how the medium-level blessed land could advance to a high-level blessed land, nurturing many earth immortal cultivators that Downtrodden Mountain could recruit in the future.

This would force Downtrodden Mountain to become the so-called heavens, one that established meticulous rules and regulations for the Lotus Root Blessed Land.

Zhu Lian, Zheng Dafeng, and Wei Bo each proposed a detailed plan before comparing their notes and addressing the mistakes and oversights.

Afterward, Zhu Lian sent a rare letter to Lu Baixiang, saying that he could start to accumulate immortal coins in addition to building relationships with other forces.

As for the letter addressed to Wei Xian, this could simply be sent to Cui Dongshan. In fact, this letter was somewhat addressed to Cui Dongshan anyway. In any case, there was no need to hold back when it came to their young master's disciple.

The letter addressed to the Jade Tablet Sect's Sui Youbian was delivered using an expensive intercontinental messenger flying sword, causing Zhu Lian to curse under his breath.

The letter told Sui Youbian to have some conscience, reminding her to send some immortal treasures to Downtrodden Mountain as long as this didn't affect her cultivation.

Business was business for Wei Bo. He was willing to borrow money from the various forces that the imperial court of the Great Li Empire was already relatively familiar with, but after the Lotus Root Blessed Land became a medium-level blessed land, a percentage of its income needed to be shared with him, similar to their agreement regarding Ox Horn Mountain.

Zhu Lian started to play hardball, insisting that Wei Bo needed to provide enough grain rain coins first. Moreover, Wei Bo could only receive ten percent of the Lotus Root Blessed Land's income at most, not the twenty percent that he had suggested. Not only that, but Zhu Lian even wanted to add a term limit to this agreement, setting it at one thousand years. If Wei Bo wanted to continue receiving a share of the blessed land's income after that, then he needed to offer additional grain rain coins at that time. As for the specific amount, this was something they could discuss in the future.

Zheng Dafeng naturally supported Zhu Lian's position.

Wei Bo continued to slowly negotiate with the two of them as he relied on his secret networks to borrow huge sums of money.

Zhu Lian and Zheng Dafeng didn't say anything about Wei Bo's actions. The great mountain god was naturally able to maintain a fine balance.

Regarding the various possibilities that could arise following Cui Dongshan's receipt of the secret letter, the three of them were in agreement in the sense that Cui Dongshan definitely wasn't allowed to become involved in the income of the blessed land no matter how many immortal coins he was willing to offer. This was the case even if Cui Dongshan interacted with Downtrodden Mountain as a lender.

The three of them met again today, and as they sat in Zhu Lian's small courtyard, Wei Bo sighed and said slowly, "I've calculated the amount we need. We need at least two thousand grain rain coins and at most three thousand grain rain coins to transform the Lotus Root Blessed Land into a medium-level blessed land. The longer this is delayed, the more immortal coins will be required."

"We still haven't received the response letters from Old Dragon City's Fan Clan and Sun Clan yet," Zhu Lian said.

According to their discussions, it was best that interest was added if these two clans were willing to lend money to Downtrodden Mountain, with Downtrodden Mountain promising to repay the loan according to the deals. If the two clans were willing to donate large sums of grain rain coins, however, then they could obtain ten percent of the blessed land's income between them. Alternatively, they could obtain five percent of the blessed land's income between them and be slowly repaid half of their investments with no interest. Of course, Zhu Liang, Zheng Dafeng, and Wei Bo also considered the worst-case scenario where the two clans politely declined Downtrodden Mountain's offer due to a perceived low return on investment or slow return on investment.

Ruan Qiong had already returned to the Dragon Spring Prefecture from one of the Great Li Empire's new mountains, but the three of them didn't even think about asking the neighboring Dragon Spring Sword Sect for money. None of them would suggest this, as it was unsuitable for the two forces to become overly involved with each other. Chen Ping'an was ultimately the true owner of Downtrodden Mountain, so all of their plans needed to first and foremost take into account his position.

"We might as well ask Wei Bo to host another Night Travel Banquet," Zheng Dafeng suggested with a chuckle. "Every immortal coin counts, after all. And after advancing to the Unpolished Jade Tier in a few days' time, we can host yet another Night Travel Banquet. That way, we'll earn two small piles of immortal coins."

"It's not quite appropriate to be so shameless, is it?" Wei Bo asked in exasperation.

Zheng Dafeng turned around to look at Zhu Lian, asking with a smile, "Do you think this is appropriate?"

"I feel like it's quite appropriate," Zhu Lian replied with a serious expression.

Wei Bo smiled and said, "Alright, then I'll host another Night Travel Banquet and accept some additional immortal coins and spirit tools."

"When Ox Horn Mountain reopens its treasure shop in the future, I feel like it will truly be a little shameless if we sell the treasures that we just received for a high price," Zheng Dafeng remarked.

"I'll act as the shopkeeper and sell them," Zhu Lian volunteered with a chuckle. "There's no need for Mountain God Wei to appear in the shop, so what is there to be afraid of? If it's necessary, we can even have Cloud Drape Mountain announce that Mountain God Wei's residence was targeted by thieves and completely emptied out."

Wei Bo massaged his glabella and said, "It's better to open the shop before we host the Mountain and Water Night Travel Banquet. We're acting shamelessly anyway, so we might as well let everyone know that we're really strapped for money right now."

Zheng Dafeng clicked his tongue in wonder and remarked, "Killing two birds with one stone, huh? If people mistakenly think that you need immortal coins to help increase your chances of advancing to the Unpolished Jade Tier, then hosting a second Night Travel Banquet will naturally possess a deeper meaning. That being the case, we might even receive the same amount of treasures as the first time."

Zhu Lian and Zheng Dafeng exchanged a smile.

Afterward, the three of them started to discuss the fine details of how to elevate the Lotus Root Blessed Land to a medium-level blessed land.

After visiting the Lotus Root Blessed Land's Southern Garden Nation with Pei Qian before, Zhu Lian had visited again by himself afterward. However, opening and closing the entrance of a blessed land was no simple matter, as doing so would lead to a significant outflow of spiritual energy, very easily damaging the foundation of the Lotus Root Blessed Land if care wasn't taken. Thus, one needed to be extremely cautious when entering this brand-new blessed land.

Zhu Lian had visited Imperial Preceptor Zhong Qiu, and with Zhong Qiu's introduction, he had gained an audience with the emperor of the Southern Garden Nation. Their discussion hadn't gone smoothly, but it hadn't been too hostile either. In the end, it was Zhong Qiu who had indirectly resolved the slight discord, appearing to ask about Zhu Lian's identity and inquiring whether he was the fabled Young Master Zhu Lian. Zhu Lian had neither confirmed nor denied this, but the expression and gaze of the emperor had immediately changed, becoming far less hesitant than before.

Zhu Lian was an otherworldly immortal now, so the emperor of the Southern Garden Nation was naturally very apprehensive of him.

If the otherworldly immortal who had descended from the heavens were genuinely Zhu Lian, then the emperor would feel nothing but fear.

The reason for this was very simple. Which martial arts maniac in history had challenged and killed nine other superior grandmasters? Moreover, the battleground was none other than the capital of the Southern Garden Nation!

Who wouldn't be afraid when discussing business with this kind of person?

In the end, Zhu Lian had casually said to the emperor that there existed heavens beyond heavens, and that the immortality of the outside world wasn't something that the Lotus Flower Blessed Land could compare to. So many past emperors had died despite refining alchemical pills and cultivating immortal techniques, and this was simply because they had failed to grasp the correct methods.

And thus, the fear in the emperor's eyes had transformed into yearning and fervor.

Imperial Preceptor Zhong Qiu had appeared extremely anxious, yet he hadn't interjected or said anything at the time.

After discussing the important matters pertaining to the Lotus Root Blessed Land, there was another important matter for the three people in the small courtyard to discuss.

This was in relation to Pei Qian's martial arts cultivation.

There was a lot of screaming and crying.

The second floor of the bamboo building was filled with these sounds almost every single day.

Wei Bo was slightly worried about Pei Qian's personality changing drastically as a result of this. Who would take responsibility when Chen Ping'an returned to Downtrodden Mountain in the future?

Zheng Dafeng said he was nothing more than a doorkeeper of the mountain, so it would naturally be Steward Zhu Lian who had to bear the brunt of the responsibility. Zhu Lian said he was unable to shoulder this himself, so they were better off letting the bamboo building's Senior Cui Cheng shoulder the responsibility. Wei Bo was left slightly speechless.

After hesitating for a long time, Wei Bo finally said, "If Chen Ping'an genuinely gets angry, I can simply run away and hide at Cloud Drape Mountain. Where can the two of you run?"

Zheng Dafeng glanced at Zhu Lian and replied, "My place is at least a bit further from the bamboo building."

Zhu Lian smiled faintly and said in reassurance, "Alright, in all seriousness, there won't be any major problems. If there truly are major problems, then they'll be inevitable ones that no one could have stopped. Perhaps things would have been better if Young Master were present, but since he isn't here, and given that things have already come to this, we can only observe the situation and take action accordingly."

Wei Bo walked away with a headache.

Zheng Dafeng thought for a moment before leaving the mountain and heading to the small town.

He visited the Yang Family's medicine shop, but he wasn't there to borrow money. Instead, he was there to ask about some key watch-outs regarding the management of a blessed land.

The smoking old man didn't respond to Zheng Dafeng's trivial and miscellaneous questions, instead asking with a derisive chuckle, "Are you genuinely treating Downtrodden Mountain as your home?"

"I feel like it's pretty good," the hunchbacked man replied with a smile.

"You can write a letter to the Northern Complete Reed Continent's Lion Peak regarding these trivial matters. Li Liu will give you the answers," Old Man Yang said.

Zheng Dafeng nodded in understanding.

He then asked, "Can I use that half a kilo of True Qi Talismans on someone else?"

"Whatever you please," Old Man Yang replied.

Zheng Dafeng stood up and left.

After arriving in the medicine shop out the front, the hunchbacked man leaned on the counter and grinned widely as he spoke a few words with his junior sister, causing his junior brother to feel so stifled that he wanted to punch someone.