One Billion Ink Stones

Hearing Linley's words, Jess came to a sudden realization and reflected self-deprecatingly, "You're right, I was a bit too hasty."

He then continued with an embarrassed expression, "But I've already told her some things about you, Linley. Will that have any impact?"

"Haha."

Linley gave a light laugh and said with an indifferent expression, "This is nothing, and it's good to properly remind her of the Tianlan Tribe's strength so she doesn't get any other ideas."

As the two of them were chatting, a knock sounded at the front courtyard.

Linley instructed a maidservant, "Go and see who it is."

The maidservant nodded to open the door, and a moment later returned leading a female upper God with orange hair and a plump figure. She had a large, round, chubby face and a slovenly, unkempt appearance. Introducing herself as Julie, she had accepted the One-star Demon mission posted by Linley, and she herself was even a Five-star Demon.

"This sealing Magic Array is cracked like this..."

The moment this Five-star Demon—who looked like an ordinary middle-aged aunt, and indeed was one—opened her mouth, she reeled off a large amount of professional Magic Array terminology. Linley felt it somewhat strenuous after listening to just a few words.

"Exquisite... How come I never thought of that before..."

Jess was different. He listened with rapt attention, looking at the older woman's face as if she were a priceless treasure, his eyes shining with greedy brilliance. Suddenly, he felt that this middle-aged woman with a fat appearance and a large round face was extremely charming, possessing the unique temperament exuded by knowledge.

He was somewhat infatuated!

The charm of God-level powerhouses was centered around the soul. Some people would inexplicably fall in love at first sight and be kindred spirits, just like right now.

Julie had only been explaining for a few minutes when she suddenly stopped, the content only accounting for about one percent of the entire seal.

Linley was all right, but Jess was as anxious as a monkey, urging, "Hurry up and continue! We're right at the exciting part!"

"Sigh!"

Julie let out a sigh.

She looked at Linley and said with an intriguing expression, "This sealing Magic Array is rather niche. I dare say that even Magic Array masters with the strength of six-star or even Seven-star Demons would find it very difficult to crack."

Linley frowned. He was a bit unsure whether this older woman was trying to hoodwink him.

Magic Array masters were not necessarily powerhouses at the level of six-star or Seven-star Demons. Even upper Gods who had refined Godheads were quite normal; this was a different matter from cultivation talent. There was a certain connection, but it was not absolute.

Linley said calmly and unhurriedly, "It doesn't matter. I already stated during the mission that even if you can only crack a portion, you will still receive partial compensation."

Julie shook her head and smiled, "Who said it wouldn't work? It's just that this Magic Array is too difficult and complex, and it wasted many years of my time."

Linley seemed to understand her meaning a little, and he slightly furrowed his brow. "So you mean..."

Julie said, "You'll have to pay more!"

Linley and Jess came to a sudden realization. This older woman was going to raise her price on the spot!

Linley helplessness showed as he asked, "How much money do you want?"

Julie looked around the surrounding environment and smiled, "One billion Ink Stones! You'll have to go and resubmit the Demon mission so you don't renege on the debt!"

Jess jumped up in shock and shouted loudly, "Are you kidding me! One billion Ink Stones? Why don't you go rob Blood Peak Castle!"

"Of course because I can't rob them, you really are stupid."

Julie laughed dismissively.

Jess was both angry and annoyed, yet he was left speechless.

Linley shook his head and said calmly, "It's a pity I don't have that many Ink Stones. I can only give you a portion of the bounty reward as a thank you."

Julie smiled and said unconcernedly, "Fine then, earning a little is better than nothing. You can just slowly wait for someone else to crack the rest."

Linley did not get angry. This kind of matter relied on mutual consent, and he couldn't be bothered to bargain, on the spot taking out one million Ink Stones to give to her.

"I live in the west of the city..."

Before leaving, Julie left an address, saying that whenever Linley had the money he could go look for her to obtain the complete version of the cracking method.

Jess stamped his feet on the spot in anger with a flushed face, shouting, "This woman is simply committing robbery! Does she even understand what one billion Ink Stones means?!"

Linley, the person directly involved, felt no anger and merely said lightly, "It's just a string of numbers."

Jess wore a quirky expression, looking somewhat unconvinced as he said, "But the two of us combined couldn't scrape together this string of numbers!"

Linley nodded and confessed frankly, "That's true. I don't deny that, but as long as it's worth the price, no matter how many Ink Stones there are, they are merely external possessions."

Jess was stunned, gradually digesting the words as he stared at Linley with wide, incredulous eyes. "Ah? You really intend to gather one billion Ink Stones for her? Just for a Space Ring that hides who knows what inside? To put it bluntly, all together it might not even be worth one billion Ink Stones. If it were me, I'd just give up. Why go to all this trouble? Or you could slowly crack it yourself bit by bit in the future. After a few million years, you'd manage it eventually, right!"

Linley shook his head in denial, saying, "Julie's explanation made me realize that I previously underestimated Camilla's accomplishments in Magic Arrays. The original seal she set up is based on the two completely opposing divine powers of life and death. It's not something you can just casually attempt to crack simply by having two divine avatars. Moreover, these two powers match and fit my own attributes. If I can completely master the principles within them rather than simply copying and using them, it will also be of immense benefit to my cultivation of the Life Law and Death Rule. By comparison, what is inside the Space Ring is actually unimportant. What I care about is the process."

After saying all this, Linley patted Jess on the shoulder and said earnestly, "We already have a permanent residence in the city, and any expenditure of Ink Stones is worthwhile as long as it benefits cultivation. Being indefinitely stuck at a realm without a breakthrough will also affect one's confidence. Trading time for Ink Stones is not worth it."

"Sigh..."

Jess let out a helpless sigh and said, "Fine then, what you said sounds somewhat reasonable."

Linley could tell that Jess was saying one thing while thinking another, probably still feeling that they got the short end of the stick. If it were Jess, he certainly wouldn't do this, but Linley didn't say much about it; people simply had different personal ideas.

Linley smiled and said, "Haha, you brat actually have some talent in Magic Arrays as well. Study hard, and in the future you might even become a Magic Array master and make a living off this skill."

After Jess bid farewell and left, Linley's Life and Death God Avatars began repeatedly deducing Julie's provided method for cracking the seal.

In Linley's view, trading a million Ink Stones for a bit of insight and inspiration was already worth far more than its value.

This could also prove that Julie's attainments in Magic Arrays were definitely not some fraudulent, shoddy goods, but rather possessed true substance, which was why Linley was quite tolerant of her.

One Linley in green robes and one Linley in black robes sat cross-legged facing each other, a Magic Array resting beneath them that circulated green and black lusters while remaining distinctly separate from one another.

Linley murmured softly, "The convergence of life and death..."

Although the two could not comprehend different rules, their soul essence was identical. With shared memories and by drawing inferences from one another, both gained insights and harvests.

Time flowed on without ever stopping, and in the blink of an eye, a hundred years passed.