The Interest?

The Yue family had once been a proper family of highly educated professionals. Yue Wen's parents were both professors at Jiangcheng University.

His father specialized in ancient history, while his mother studied Otherworldly Script.

Before they went missing, the couple had each been immersed in their research: his father exploring the ruins of the previous Spiritual Energy Era, and his mother studying the written language of otherworldly creatures. Their fields overlapped in many ways, and they had worked together on numerous projects, earning a modest reputation in their field in Tianbei Prefecture.

Before the Spiritual Energy Catastrophe, the legends from around the world were considered myths invented by the ancients. It was only in the centuries after the catastrophe that humanity gradually began to realize those ancient myths might have been real events from the previous Spiritual Energy Era, gradually distorted as they were passed down.

By examining these myths and legends, it might be possible to uncover the true history of ancient times, learn more about cultivation, and even discover ruins left behind by the previous Spiritual Energy Era and unearth ancient Immortal Treasures.

Snake Mountain Tiger Tomb was one of the subjects Yue Wen's father had investigated.

One of the Four Immortal Treasure Forbidden Lands lay in the south, in a place called the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

It was a vast range made up of countless mountains. After the Spiritual Energy Catastrophe, space had undergone strange changes, and numerous domains had converged there, transforming the area into a chaotic forbidden zone teeming with strange creatures from across the heavens.

Yet because space was in such disarray, many otherworldly treasures could be found there, making it an Immortal Treasure Forbidden Land.

Every mountain in the Hundred Thousand Mountains had its own evil spirits. The most dangerous areas had even lower survival rates than the Whale Swallowing Sea. Snake Mountain was one of its mysterious places.

After years of fieldwork and investigation, Yue Wen's father had collected many folk legends from the southern regions and ultimately pieced together Snake Mountain's history.

It had happened at the peak of the previous Spiritual Energy Era, nearly six thousand years ago. The Hundred Thousand Mountains might not have existed then. Instead, the land had been a fertile, lush plain in a region known in antiquity as the Southern Frontier.

One day, a snake kingdom from another world suddenly descended.

Its ruler was a Nine-Headed Demonic Serpent, whose power rivaled that of the Divine Realm. Countless snake demons served under it, and if they spread unchecked, they would bring immense disaster to the Southern Frontier.

At that critical moment, a half-man, half-tiger hero of the Jiuli Clan stepped forward. After a grueling and perilous battle, he finally used a towering mountain to suppress the entire snake kingdom. The people of the Southern Frontier later hailed the hero as their ruler, honoring him as the Jiuli Tiger Heavenly Emperor. He protected the region for a thousand years.

As the Tiger Heavenly Emperor neared death, he worried that the demons within Snake Mountain might escape after he was gone. So he built his tomb atop the mountain and constructed a vast array, continuing to suppress the snake kingdom with his own bones.

That place came to be known as Snake Mountain Tiger Tomb.

The emblem of snakes coiling around a tiger was carved into the rock walls of the tomb.

In the ages that followed, the land of the Southern Frontier changed beyond recognition, and the Hundred Thousand Mountains rose to become an Immortal Treasure Forbidden Land. Yet the Tiger Heavenly Emperor's name still circulated in the south. In many places, people still worshipped the Jiuli Emperor to protect their homes and ward off evil—a custom that had evolved from his legacy.

But...

What secret did this card bearing the Tiger Tomb emblem hold?

Perhaps he would have to take it into the Hundred Thousand Mountains himself to find out.

His father had mentioned it at a critical moment. It was likely connected to their disappearance.

But if the Fourth Realm was the threshold for entering and leaving the Wasteland Zone, then the threshold for entering and leaving an Immortal Treasure Forbidden Land had to be at least the Seventh Realm. Below that, venturing into a forbidden zone was no different from courting death.

That was why Yue Wen was so eager to grow stronger.

Every sword strike against the Lantern Monster carried his longing for his parents.

He hadn't shown the black card to anyone because his father had specifically told him not to. This piece of cloth, though, didn't come with that concern.

So.

Why not ask the amazing Big Dragon?

In the black-and-gold palace, illuminated by brilliant golden flames, Yue Wen saw the dragon coiled atop the giant chair once more.

Still perched high above him.

"Wang Dalong, I'm back!" he greeted it casually.

The dragon seemed to have given up on him. It couldn't be bothered to reply, merely staring at him with its blazing eyes.

"I came to ask you about something." Yue Wen held up the purple piece of cloth. "Do you know what this thing is?"

"A smelly piece of skin." Unconcealed disgust showed in Big Dragon's eyes. "It belongs to the Demon Race... Smells like it came from an armpit. That spot sweats the most. Take a closer look and you might find hair follicles on it. Pick at it, and you might even get dirt under your fingernails..."

"Okay, okay. You don't have to go into that much detail." Yue Wen quickly cut it off.

He hadn't smelled anything, but if Big Dragon kept going, he wasn't sure he'd want to touch it either.

He just couldn't understand why a piece of skin like this had ended up in an antiques shop, then fallen into the hands of an ordinary employee like Zhang Wei, only to attract the covetous attention of all sorts of people...

He went on to ask, "Do you know what it's used for?"

"Well..." Big Dragon's eyes shifted as it thought for a moment, then replied, "Of course I do. Five Demon Suppressing Coins for its exact details, ten for instructions on how to use it."

"You charge for everything?" Yue Wen stamped his foot. "We've known each other for so long. Is there no friendship between us at all?"

"Goodbye." Big Dragon immediately started closing its eyes.

"Fine, fine." Yue Wen quickly offered up five Demon Suppressing Coins and tossed them over. "I'll hear what it's for first, then decide whether I want the instructions."

A flash of crimson fire in Big Dragon's eyes was enough to set the coins ablaze. They turned into a wisp of golden smoke, which it inhaled through its nostrils.

"Phew..." After pocketing the coins, it slowly began to explain. "Domains are separated by barriers that prevent messages from passing through. Some demons and monsters have crude methods and low cultivation, so they tear off their own skin and have someone carry it away. That way, they can still send messages whenever they want, even across domain barriers. There's an unread message on this piece."

"So this is a communication device the Demon Race uses to contact other worlds?" Yue Wen finally understood. After a moment's thought, he tossed over ten more Demon Suppressing Coins. "Here. I want the instructions."

He did want to know what was written on the demon skin. He'd also gained a lot from the cemetery in the eastern part of the city, so he didn't mind spending the money.

"Haah—"

Big Dragon uttered a single draconic syllable. It sounded like just one sound, yet seemed to contain a wealth of complex information, compressed into the form of Dao rhyme.

A Visualization Diagram appeared in Yue Wen's mind in an instant. It showed the incantation for using the demon skin.

"Every demon that tears off its skin has a unique encrypted incantation. Only those it has contacted can know it," Big Dragon added. "But this method is crude beyond belief. I could crack it with one glance. Whether you can figure it out is your problem."

"Right, right. I know you're impressive. You don't have to worry about the rest." Yue Wen waved dismissively.

Since Big Dragon seemed to know everything, he took out the half Black Gold Skull and asked, "Do you recognize this?"

"Just a chunk of tougher trash," Big Dragon said after a casual glance.

"Oh." Yue Wen put it away, disappointed.

So it didn't recognize everything. At the very least, a treasure had to be of some quality to earn a "crude" from Big Dragon.

"Oh, right." Big Dragon suddenly seemed to remember something. "I've thought about your request to pay in installments. I think I can give you a chance after all. But you can't just pay whenever you like. I'll need to charge some interest."

"Oh?" Yue Wen watched it warily. "How much interest are you planning to charge?"

"The Gang Realm Cultivation Method is worth 399 Demon Suppressing Coins. If you pay in installments, you can give me twenty coins a month for twenty months." Big Dragon asked, "How does that sound?"

"You mean..." Yue Wen blinked. "A Cultivation Method worth 399, repaid over twenty months at a total of 400 Demon Suppressing Coins? So you're charging me just one extra coin in interest?"

"If you can't accept that, then forget it," Big Dragon said coldly. "I won't let you run up a debt for nothing!"

"I accept! You can transmit the Cultivation Method to me right now," Yue Wen agreed immediately. "Charging interest is outrageous, but for the sake of our friendship, I'm willing to let you make that extra coin!"

He immediately offered up twenty Demon Suppressing Coins and tossed them over.

Good grief.

Big Dragon might know a lot about cultivation, but it definitely knew nothing about the human world.

The creature might have looked pitch-black, but compared to those capitalists, it was practically Snow White.

Another icy draconic syllable, and the Visualization Diagram was etched into Yue Wen's mind. "Haah—"

He'd spent most of his savings, but twenty Demon Suppressing Coins a month wouldn't be too much of a burden for him right now. Once the agency officially opened, he'd have even less trouble paying.

That meant that as soon as he reached the peak of the Unity Realm, he could start breaking through.

If he waited until he'd saved up 399 Demon Suppressing Coins, then started preparing all the materials needed to advance to the Gang Realm, who knew how much more time that would take?

His cultivation progress would fall far behind.

Now, as Yue Wen looked at Big Dragon on its throne, even its features seemed rather pleasing.

But Big Dragon clearly had no interest in returning his suggestive gaze. Once they had finished their business, it snorted coldly. "You may leave."

The space immediately went pitch-black.

Lights out.

His Spiritual Sense returned. Yue Wen opened his eyes and saw a notification on his phone.

An unread message was from "Young Hero Qi, Sword in Hand, Roaming the Rivers and Lakes."

Good morning!