Inside the main hall.
When everyone learned that the sect still had seventy low-grade spirit stones,
their expressions eased considerably.
Though losing ten low-grade spirit stones for nothing was rather hard to accept,
thinking that they still had seventy low-grade spirit stones made it seem less serious. They could simply treat it as paying to ward off disaster.
Yet when he saw their relieved expressions,
Grand Hua Daoist shook his head bitterly.
In an instant, every disciple in the main hall fell silent again.
Not seventy spirit stones?
Seventy taels of gold?
Everyone's feelings grew complicated.
This was indeed somewhat thorny.
"Seventy taels of gold? Though the difference is quite large, if we work hard, it isn't impossible to earn it within two months."
Su Changyu spoke with a grave expression.
He looked every inch the senior disciple, responsible and dependable.
Hearing this, everyone truly calmed down.
Having seventy taels of gold was still not bad.
They were only short thirty taels of gold. If everyone gave it their all, there was still hope.
But the next moment, Grand Hua Daoist's expression turned even uglier.
In an instant, Su Changyu swallowed.
His eyes filled with disbelief.
"Sect Leader, don't tell me there are only seventy taels of silver."
Su Changyu's face was full of disbelief.
If it was seventy taels of silver, then they might as well stop dreaming.
With seventy taels of gold, they could still work hard and strive to earn thirty taels of gold within two months. There was still a sliver of hope.
But seventy taels of silver?
What the hell was there left to play?
Yet just as everyone thought there were only seventy taels of silver, Grand Hua Daoist shook his head bitterly once more.
Su Changyu: ""
Xu Luochen: ""
Wang Zhuoyu: ""
Chen Lingrou: ""
Silence.
Silence.
The great hall sank into profound despair.
Seventy copper coins?
What the hell.
Are you kidding me?
At first, everyone had thought seventy taels of silver was already the bottom line for the Qingyun Dao Sect.
But unexpectedly, Grand Hua Daoist never disappointed.
Seventy copper coins?
What the hell was there left to play?
Do you even know what the hell means?
The Qingyun Dao Sect's annual net income was only around thirty taels of gold.
Though the Qingyun Dao Sect was an immortal sect, it was the worst of the worst. Earning thirty taels of gold in a year was already quite impressive.
There were only eight people in the sect from top to bottom. No mines, no land—they could only grow a little spirit rice to earn a meager income.
How were they supposed to scrape together so much money in two months?
Even selling themselves might not be enough.
"That's not right, Sect Leader. Our Dao Sect may indeed be poor, but not this poor, right? What about the savings we've accumulated over the years?"
Someone refused to believe it. The Dao Sect might be poor, but surely not this poor?
A dignified immortal sect, with only seventy copper coins in its reserves?
Even some escort agencies in the secular world probably had more than seventy copper coins.
Hearing this, Grand Hua Daoist could not help growing angry.
"Luo Chen, what do you mean by that? Do you think your master has been lining his own pockets?"
Grand Hua Daoist spoke somewhat irritably.
"This disciple wouldn't dare."
Xu Luochen immediately shrank back.
But Su Changyu stared fixedly at his unreliable master.
"Sect Leader, I believe you would never line your own pockets, but the Dao Sect cannot possibly have only seventy copper coins left. Please tell us the truth."
Su Changyu vaguely felt that things could not be this simple.
At these words, Grand Hua Daoist wanted to open his mouth and retort, but under Su Changyu's gaze, he could not help feeling somewhat guilty.
"Actually, our sect originally had some savings."
"But later, I thought keeping silver on hand was a waste, and when your master went down the mountain last time, I discovered this novel thing at the foot of the mountain called the Cultivation Fund. They said that if you deposited money into the fund, you would receive returns every month—and quite substantial returns at that."
"Your master figured that someone would safeguard our money for us and even give us returns. Wasn't that a sure profit?"
"So I used all the silver to buy the fund."
Grand Hua Daoist spoke somewhat hesitantly.
"A fund? What is that?"
"Master, then go withdraw it now."
"That's right. Forget the returns—hurry up and take it out."
Everyone spoke at once. Learning that there had been some family wealth left, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Yet Grand Hua Daoist said helplessly,
"I want to withdraw it too, but the moment I deposited the money, by the second month, I couldn't find anyone anymore."
Grand Hua Daoist said miserably.
Whenever this matter was mentioned, he felt awful. He had spent his life hunting eagles, only to have his eyes pecked out by one in a ditch this time.
"Sect Leader, you really are..."
"Sect Leader, how much silver did you invest?"
Everyone was both helpless and curious.
"Not too much, not too little—about two hundred taels of gold."
Grand Hua Daoist answered somewhat awkwardly.
"Two hundred taels of gold?"
"Gasp!"
Cries of shock rang out.
Everyone simply could not believe it.
For one thing, the sum was far too outrageous. For another, how could the Qingyun Dao Sect possibly have two hundred taels of gold?
What did two hundred taels of gold even mean?
If the sect ate lavish meals of fish and meat every day, maintaining normal high standards, it would cost at most one tael of silver a day.
That was only thirty taels of silver a month.
At most four taels of gold a year.
They could eat lavishly for fifty whole years.
Fifty years.
How many fifty years did a person have in life?
So blue, so thin, like mushrooms.
"Sect Leader, did you say that wrong? Two hundred taels of gold? How could our Qingyun Dao Sect possibly have that much money?"
Wang Zhuoyu found it hard to believe.
Not just him—who among those present would believe it?
"One hundred and twenty taels of gold were borrowed."
Grand Hua Daoist's voice was rather low, and he did not dare answer loudly.
Gasp!
Everyone sucked in a cold breath.
One hundred and twenty taels of gold had been borrowed?
What did that mean?
Stunned!
Stunned!
Stunned!
Everyone was completely stunned.
Did this mean that not only did they have to gather one hundred taels of gold within two months to resolve this trouble, but they also had to gather another one hundred and twenty taels of gold to resolve another trouble?
Grand Hua Daoist lowered his head. He truly felt somewhat embarrassed.
Originally, he had not planned to tell them about this matter. After all, the sect's financial authority rested entirely in his hands, and no one would audit the accounts.
But now that this had happened, he had no choice but to say it.
The great hall was deathly silent.
Everyone felt weighed down.
Grand Hua Daoist did not know what to say either.
Neither did anyone else.
At last, Grand Hua Daoist drew a deep breath before slowly speaking.
"No matter what, your master will certainly think of every possible way. I called you here today in hopes that we can put our heads together and come up with a solution. If it truly comes to nothing, your master can only take a desperate gamble and make a trip to the Jinglin Mountain Range."
Grand Hua Daoist said this.
But once these words were spoken, everyone felt even more helpless.
The Jinglin Mountain Range was a notorious demon beast mountain range. Only desperate outlaws would venture into such mountains to hunt demon beasts for spirit stones. It was fraught with danger.
How could they possibly let their master go to such a dangerous place?
But they truly did not know what to say.
"Forget it. Go back on your own and see whether you can think of some solution. Changyu, stay behind. Your master has something to instruct you on."
Before you continue