One Billion Ink Stones

Hearing Linley's words, Jess chastised himself with sudden realization, "You're right, I was a bit too hasty."

He then added sheepishly, "But I've already introduced some things about you to her. Will that cause any problems?"

"Haha."

Linley chuckled, replying indifferently, "It's nothing. Besides, it's good to remind her of the Tianlan Tribe's strength appropriately, so she doesn't get any other ideas."

As the two were chatting, a knock sounded at the front door.

Linley instructed a maid, "Go see who it is."

The maid nodded and opened the door. A moment later, she returned with a plump, orange-haired woman who was a High-God. She had a large, round face and a slovenly, unkempt appearance. Introducing herself as Julie, she had accepted a One-star Demon mission from Linley, and she herself was a Five-star Demon.

"This sealed Magic Array is broken down like this..."

As soon as this Five-star Demon, who looked like a middle-aged woman and indeed was one, opened her mouth, she launched into a barrage of complex Magic Array terminology. After only a few sentences, Linley found it difficult to follow.

"Brilliant... How did I not think of this before..."

Jess, on the other hand, was captivated, listening with rapt attention. His gaze towards the woman was like that of a treasure hunter, shining with greedy light. Suddenly, he found this middle-aged woman, with her plump exterior and round face, incredibly charming – it was the unique aura of knowledge.

He was becoming infatuated!

The charm of God-level powerhouses primarily emanated from their souls. Some people would inexplicably fall in love at first sight, their hearts resonating, just like now.

Julie's explanation lasted only a few minutes before she abruptly stopped. The content covered only about one percent of the entire seal.

Linley was alright, but Jess became anxious like a restless monkey, urging, "Hurry up and continue! It was getting to the exciting part!"

"Sigh!"

Julie sighed.

She looked at Linley, her expression filled with unspoken meaning, and said, " this sealed Magic Array is quite obscure. I dare say many Magic Array masters with the strength of Six-star or even Seven-star Demons would find it difficult to break."

Linley frowned, unsure if this woman was trying to trick him.

A Magic Array master wasn't necessarily a Six-star or Seven-star Demon-level powerhouse. It was also normal for High-Gods who had refined a Divine Spark to be Magic Array masters. These were different things from cultivation talent; they were related but not absolute.

Linley said calmly, "It's fine. As I mentioned in the mission, even if only a part can be broken, I will still provide partial reward."

Julie shook her head and smiled, "Who says it's not possible? 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, his brow furrowing slightly, "So, you mean..."

Julie said, "You need to pay more!"

Linley and Jess understood with a sudden realization. This woman was trying to inflate the price!

Linley, feeling helpless, asked, "How much do you want?"

Julie looked around the surroundings and said with a smile, "Ten billion Ink Stones! You'll have to resubmit the demon mission to avoid any reneging!"

Jess jumped up in shock, exclaiming loudly, "Are you kidding me! Ten billion Ink Stones? Why don't you just rob Blood Peak Castle!"

"Of course, it's because I can't rob it. You're really stupid,"

Julie mocked dismissively.

Jess was both angry and annoyed, but he was speechless.

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

Julie smiled, completely unconcerned, "Alright, it's good to earn a little. You can wait for others to break it with the rest."

Linley wasn't angry. This kind of thing depended on mutual agreement, and he was too lazy to haggle. He immediately gave her one million Ink Stones.

"I live on the west side of the city..."

Before leaving, Julie left her address, saying that Linley could find her when he had the money to get the complete cracking method.

Jess stamped his feet on the spot in anger, his face flushing red, and he grumbled, "This woman is practically robbing us! Does she even understand what ten billion Ink Stones means!"

Linley, the person involved, wasn't angry. He simply said with a light tone, "It's just a string of numbers."

Jess's expression was strange, and he said with a hint of indignation, "But even combined, we don't have that string of numbers!"

Linley nodded and frankly admitted, "Yes, I don't deny that. But as long as it's worth it, any amount of Ink Stones is just external wealth."

Jess was stunned. Gradually, he came to his senses, his eyes widening as he looked at Linley in disbelief, saying, "Huh? You're actually planning to gather ten billion Ink Stones for her? Just for a spatial ring that might not even contain anything? To put it bluntly, it might not even be worth ten billion Ink Stones. If it were me, I'd just give up. Why go through all this trouble? Or I'd just break it myself bit by bit. After a few million years, it should be possible!"

Linley shook his head and denied, "Julie's explanation made me realize that I underestimated Camilla's Magic Array attainments. The original seal she set was based on two opposing Divine Powers, Life and Death. It's not something that can be attempted to be broken just by having two Divine Avatars. Moreover, these two powers match my attributes perfectly. If I can fully grasp the principles behind them, rather than simply copying and using them, it would be greatly beneficial for my cultivation of the Life Rule and Death Rule. In comparison, what's inside the spatial ring is no longer important. What I care about is the process."

After explaining, Linley patted Jess's shoulder and said earnestly, "We already have permanent housing in the city. Any further expenditure of Ink Stones that benefits my cultivation is worth it. Getting stuck at a certain level without breakthrough for a long time can also affect confidence. It's not worth exchanging time for Ink Stones."

"Sigh..."

Jess sighed helplessly, "Alright, what you're saying does make some sense."

Linley could see that Jess wasn't entirely convinced and probably still felt it was a loss. If it were him, he wouldn't do it this way. He didn't say much more about it, as these were individual thoughts.

Linley smiled and said, "Haha, you have some talent in Magic Arrays too, young man. Study hard, and perhaps you can become a Magic Array master in the future and make a living from it."

After Jess bid farewell and left, Linley's Life and Death God Avatars began to deduce Julie's method of breaking the seal repeatedly.

In Linley's opinion, spending a million Ink Stones for a bit of insight and inspiration was already well worth the price.

This also proved that Julie's Magic Array attainments were not some scam or fake product, but that she possessed genuine skill. Therefore, Linley was quite tolerant of her.

One Linley in green robes and another Linley in black robes sat cross-legged, with a Magic Array beneath them, flowing with green and black light, yet clearly distinct from each other.

Linley murmured to himself, "The convergence of life and death..."

Although they couldn't comprehend each other's foreign rules, their souls were the same in essence. With shared memories and the ability to learn from each other's experiences, they both gained inspiration.

Time flowed ceaselessly, and a century passed in the blink of an eye.