A Huge Sum of Money

"You needn't come to Iron Refining Peak yourself. I'll come find you—I'm setting out now. Where are you at the moment?" Wu Gang's voice carried a trace of urgency.

"Alright. Then let's meet at the sect's Mission Hall later."

After explaining where they would meet, Bai Lan looked at Le Qing, who had been following close behind her, and spoke blandly. "Ahead is Azure Origin Sect territory. There's no need for you to keep following me."

Le Qing froze, looked around, and only then realized that he had already left the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

"Hmph, I didn't need you to remind me." Le Qing snorted.

Bai Lan raised a brow slightly. "When facing your creditor, you'd best show some respect."

Le Qing's expression stiffened. He said nothing more, merely striding off in the opposite direction.

An extra three hundred Spirit Stones coming in every month meant that, at the very least, her cultivation resources during the Qi Refining stage would no longer be so tight.

She could even indulge a little, using two or three Spirit Stones at once to assist her cultivation and speed up her progress.

By then, Wu Gang had anxiously paced more than a dozen circles outside the Mission Hall before he finally spotted Bai Lan hurrying over, dusty from the road.

In order to verify as soon as possible whether a Qi Refining level two cultivator could truly slaughter fifty-seven Whirlwind Tortoises in half a month, he had practically raced over aboard a flying spiritual artifact.

Amid the stream of people coming and going outside the outer sect Mission Hall, the wounded young woman dressed in outer sect servant garb swiftly caught Wu Gang's attention.

He stepped forward and asked eagerly, "Junior Sister, y-you're that Junior Sister at Qi Refining level two?"

Qi Refining level two had already become her prefix?

"...That's me." Bai Lan nodded.

"Check the goods. I happened to kill two extra Ironclad Rhinoceroses—see whether they're useful. If not, forget it." Bai Lan handed over a Storage Bag.

Storage Bags could not be placed inside other Storage Bags, but the Void Stone could contain all things, so naturally it could hold Storage Bags as well.

The two Storage Bags of the old skeleton at the bottom of the cliff, the two Storage Bags she had successively robbed from Long Aotian, plus the three Storage Bags she had obtained today after killing those three Rogue Cultivators.

Bai Lan already had a full seven Storage Bags on her.

Hanging them all outside would be far too conspicuous. It was safer to put them all inside the Void Stone.

Wu Gang sent his spiritual sense into the Storage Bag for a look. After a long while, he raised his head and stared at Bai Lan in astonishment. "No, Junior Sister, y-you really did it?"

"How could it be fake?" Bai Lan's gaze was puzzled.

The woman's eyes were innocent and crystal clear.

Had the System not personally seen how Bai Lan slaughtered demonic beasts without even blinking, it would have been fooled by those clean, clear eyes too.

Wu Gang looked away and patted his forehead before lowering his head again and sending his spiritual sense into the Storage Bag for another look.

He must have opened it wrong. He would try opening it again.

The second time his spiritual sense entered the Storage Bag, he still saw a dense heap of Whirlwind Tortoise corpses. Their shells were all perfectly intact, every one of them excellent material for artifact refining.

Leaving aside how dangerous the Hundred Thousand Mountains were, many disciples in the middle Qi Refining stage did not dare venture there alone. They had to travel in groups of three or four to ensure their safety.

To keep searching for the same type of demonic beast, hunt it in the most flawless manner, dissect it, store it, then afterward deal with the bloodstains and the lingering scent on one's body to avoid drawing even stronger demonic beasts—

None of that could be accomplished in a day or two.

One had to know that Whirlwind Tortoises generally preferred living in groups.

Even now, Wu Gang could not imagine how someone at Qi Refining level two had hunted Whirlwind Tortoises.

After a long while, Wu Gang finally accepted the truth and exclaimed in shock.

"Junior Sister, you are truly extraordinary!"

"You flatter me. Let's discuss the price first." Bai Lan smiled faintly. "If the price is right, we can work together for the long term. This probably isn't the only kind of material you need, is it?"

Wu Gang nodded vigorously. "Indeed, indeed. Though Junior Sister's fifty-seven Whirlwind Tortoises are somewhat numerous, the most important part—the shells—has not been damaged at all. Even if I cannot use so many beast materials myself, plenty of fellow disciples would be willing to buy them from me at market price."

"The market price for low-grade Whirlwind Tortoises is around thirty Spirit Stones. Junior Sister's tortoise materials are all top quality, so I'll purchase this batch at thirty-five Spirit Stones per tortoise, including those two Ironclad Rhinoceroses. How does that sound?"

After pondering briefly, Wu Gang estimated a price. "That comes to a total of two thousand and sixty-five Spirit Stones. What do you think, Junior Sister?"

During this trip into the Hundred Thousand Mountains to hunt demonic beasts, Bai Lan had spent more than half a month there. Aside from what she used for cultivation, she had consumed a full fifty or sixty Spirit Stones just replenishing her spiritual power during battle.

The Spirit Stones she had previously extorted from Bai Ling had already been completely used up.

And now, two thousand Spirit Stones had come in at once...

This business could be done long-term! It was insanely profitable!

The System lit a candle for the demonic beasts within the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Perhaps it was not that hunting demonic beasts was such a profitable business, but that the host was simply too efficient.

"Since we're going to work together for the long term, I naturally trust Senior Brother Wu's character. Let's settle it at this price." Bai Lan nodded.

Spirit Stones in one hand, goods in the other.

Although Wu Gang was only in the Qi Refining stage, he was generous with his spending.

There were always greater people beyond people, and higher heavens beyond the heavens. Wu Gang was a clever man, and he naturally guessed that the young woman before him must have encountered some extraordinary opportunity.

In the cultivation world, the greatest taboo was probing into another person's opportunities and private matters, so he naturally would not ask further.

But he was still curious!!!

Wu Gang very much wanted to witness Bai Lan in battle, but found it awkward to ask.

After hesitating as if he wanted to speak but stopped himself for quite a while, Wu Gang finally could not resist probing, "Junior Sister is such a heaven-blessed genius, yet you are only a Steward Disciple. Could it be your spirit roots..."

"Indeed. I have Five Spirit Roots." Bai Lan nodded, making no attempt to hide it.

"Alas, Junior Sister, there is no need to be upset over this. Thousands of years ago, there were still predecessors with Five Spirit Roots who formed Golden Cores and even reached the Nascent Soul stage." Wu Gang sighed and comforted Bai Lan.

After all, Five Spirit Roots were widely recognized as trash aptitude. Cultivation progressed at a snail's pace, and many people could not even establish their foundation before their lifespan ran out.

Bai Lan merely shook her head.

She had spent a full two or three hours rerolling this Five Spirit Roots aptitude.

A dazzling rainbow black! That was proof of her genius!

"This time, I will be entering seclusion to refine artifacts. At the shortest, it will take a month; at the longest, three or four. Once I emerge, I will contact Junior Sister with a Sound Transmission Talisman."

After Wu Gang and Bai Lan exchanged Sound Transmission Talismans, he hurriedly returned to Iron Refining Peak with the Storage Bag full of materials.

Bai Lan noticed that the Flying Artifact he had used when leaving seemed to be a compass.

Those at the Qi Refining stage could not fly on swords, because the spiritual energy within their bodies was insufficient to support prolonged flight through the air.

However, there were also quite a few flying spirit artifacts on the market for Qi Refining stage disciples. One only needed to insert Spirit Stones for them to operate.

Bai Lan pondered for a while, then nodded.

Got it. A Flying Artifact was a car, and Spirit Stones were fuel.

Perhaps she ought to consider getting herself a means of transportation too?

"Have you heard? A female disciple under True Person Qing Xuan of Jade Purity Peak was expelled from the sect by True Person Qing Xuan!"

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