The sect market, at the exchange counter.
"Granduncle, after deducting five points for the exchange fee, we've converted it all into 589 Contribution Points. Please take them."
The disciple on duty respectfully handed Chen Xian's token back to him.
Taking the token, Chen Xian swept it with his Dao sense. When he saw the three-digit balance inside, he could barely keep the corners of his mouth from curling up.
He finally had money!
This should be enough to cover the pills he needed to cultivate at the Dao Disciple Realm.
Next, he just had to cultivate with all his might and break through to the Dao Master Realm, solving his pressing longevity problem.
With only two and a half years left to live, he was genuinely panicking.
As he walked out of the exchange counter, the distant, resonant toll of bells rang in his ears. It was a reminder that the sect market was closing.
His gaze turned toward the distant Mystic Cloud Peak, faintly glowing in the dark.
Chen Xian suddenly realized there was a problem.
How was he supposed to get to the Dining Hall for a meal, then back to Mystic Cloud Peak to sleep?
He had left late, and most people had already gone. Every so often, a disciple flew swiftly across the sky.
He wanted to catch a ride on someone's Tailwind Sword, but he couldn't exactly grab them and drag them down from a hundred meters in the air, could he?
The Dining Hall was halfway up Morning Sun Peak in the outer sect, while Sunset Valley lay at its foot. The climb up would take about an hour on foot.
"Ah... fine. I'll walk."
Chen Xian suddenly regretted reclaiming the Swift as Flying trait.
Just as he was about to climb the mountain, someone behind him called out.
"Granduncle, Granduncle, wait for me!"
The voice sounded familiar. Chen Xian turned around in confusion and saw Jian Shan and Duan Cui jogging toward him.
Chen Xian's heart stirred. Pill Peak wasn't far from Sword Peak. He could ask Jian Shan to take him along since they were headed the same way.
"Granduncle, I finally caught up with you."
Jian Shan wiped the sweat from his forehead. Judging by the look of him, he seemed to have been chasing after Chen Xian for a while.
"What do you want with me?"
Chen Xian stroked his beard, smiling.
If it weren't for this kid, he never would have thought to raise the price of the Blood Sugar Hawthorn tenfold!
He'd made a tidy sum today, and even this swindler of a kid seemed more agreeable now.
Jian Shan and Duan Cui exchanged a glance, then knelt before Chen Xian in unison and shouted, "We're willing to serve at your side and do your bidding, Granduncle!"
Chen Xian's hand paused. His eyes narrowed as he studied their faces.
Under his cloudy gaze, the two began to feel uneasy.
Duan Cui thought, Granduncle's eyes are as though he can see right through Jian Shan and me.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Chen Xian said, "Go on. What are you after?"
Jian Shan froze for a moment, then put on his trademark smile. "Granduncle is a senior of the sect. The two of us only wish to serve you and repay your kindness. We have no other motives!"
Duan Cui stared at his good friend Jian Shan, dumbfounded. He knew Jian Shan was shameless, but he never thought he'd go so far as to say he wanted to serve Granduncle!
He couldn't bring himself to say that.
At the thought, his cheeks warmed. But his face was dark to begin with, and it was nighttime, so no one could tell he was blushing.
"You really are a slippery one. If you won't tell me the truth, then I'm leaving."
Chen Xian shook his head, his expression suddenly stern.
Seeing that Granduncle was really about to leave, Jian Shan hesitated for a moment, then hurriedly spoke up. "Granduncle, we want to follow you..."
He paused, but Chen Xian remained unmoved.
"...and learn how to make money from you!"
As soon as he finished, he nudged the dazed Duan Cui beside him with his elbow and whispered, "Junior Brother Duan, this is your only chance."
Duan Cui came back to himself and quickly chimed in. "We beg you to take us in, Granduncle. We'll repay your kindness!"
Unlike Jian Shan, who was an Inner Sect disciple and a Pill Master, he was an outer sect disciple. If he couldn't reach the Dao Master Realm and enter the Inner Sect within three years of joining, he would have to leave the sect, return to the mortal world, and become a Rogue Cultivator.
He knew he had little talent for cultivation and would need vast resources to push himself to the Dao Master Realm.
But there was one problem: he had no money.
Although he knew how to make Forging Black Iron Hammers, the profits were meager, nowhere near enough to support his cultivation.
Two of his three years had already passed, and he had only just reached the Second Realm Heaven of the Dao Disciple Realm.
He still had one more realm to cross, then the barrier to break through. He could see no hope at all.
The Granduncle before him might have lost his cultivation, but he knew how to make money. If Duan Cui could follow him...
He thought of his parents, who had done everything they could to send him down the Ten Thousand Li Inquiry Road.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Duan Cui knocked his head hard against the ground three times. His forehead turned purple in an instant. "This junior wants to learn how to make the medicinal candied hawthorn, sir. Please give me a chance."
"That's more like it! Just tell me the truth. I'm not going to eat you."
Only then did Chen Xian nod. His sharp gaze roamed over the two of them, and in just a few glances, he got a rough sense of their characters.
Jian Shan was cunning and clever, while Duan Cui was honest and dependable. Each had his strengths and weaknesses, and their personalities complemented each other perfectly.
Besides, he really did need one or two people to lend a hand.
The candied hawthorn was already proving popular, and the profits were substantial. He certainly wouldn't be giving up this cash cow anytime soon.
But he couldn't keep making Blood Sugar Hawthorn and then personally coming to the market to sell it every time.
That would cut into his cultivation time, putting the cart before the horse.
With two people helping him sell it, he could save himself a lot of trouble and would only have to give them a share of the profits.
At that thought, he decided to take them both on.
He looked at the two of them and said mildly, "I can take you in."
Jian Shan and Duan Cui immediately broke into smiles.
Before they could even get a word of thanks out, Chen Xian changed tack.
"But I can't teach you how to make the Blood Sugar Hawthorn just yet."
Jian Shan froze, his expression stiffening. Duan Cui simply nodded. How could such a profitable trade secret be handed over to them just like that?
Jian Shan fell silent, so Duan Cui spoke up first.
"Jian Shan and I will work hard and do our best to earn your approval as soon as possible, Granduncle."
Jian Shan realized he had been too eager and quickly composed himself. "This disciple understands!"
Granduncle had said he couldn't teach them yet, which meant he might teach them later.
"Good. I won't have you work for nothing, either. Help me sell the candied hawthorn, and each of you will get a twenty-percent share."
Chen Xian was quite pleased with their attitude, so he was generous in return.
He immediately handed over forty percent of the profits.
But he didn't mind. As long as he earned enough to buy the resources he needed for cultivation, that was all that mattered.
Jian Shan's eyes lit up. A twenty-percent share each was quite a lot!
He had seen with his own eyes how the Blood Sugar Hawthorn had sold out almost the instant it was put on display. There was no shortage of buyers.
It was practically free money.
Duan Cui also lifted his head sharply, never expecting Granduncle to be so generous.
"Thank you, Granduncle!"
"All right, get up."
Chen Xian nodded, smiling as he stroked his beard.
"Remember this: for now, the two of you and I are partners. We have no master-disciple relationship. Aside from selling the candied hawthorn, you must not use my name to do anything."
He added the warning to avoid bringing trouble upon himself.
"This disciple understands!" Jian Shan and Duan Cui quickly nodded.
They wouldn't dare use Granduncle's name to do anything bad. If they were found out, they wouldn't even need Granduncle to act—the sect master would slap them both to death.
The Sword Sect valued respect for one's elders above all else.
"Shall we go to the Dining Hall for dinner together? It's my treat."
Chen Xian invited them, then touched the candied hawthorn he had tucked away. He remembered he had to give some to Wei An, the Dining Hall steward.
"Granduncle, please!"
Jian Shan raised a hand, and a golden glint shot into the air, rapidly growing until it became a small Flying Boat that drifted down to the ground.
The Flying Boat wasn't large, about the size of a little fishing boat, but there was plenty of room for two or three people.
"Mm." Chen Xian glanced at Jian Shan.
This kid was clearly loaded!
A Flying Boat cost at least a thousand Contribution Points. As expected, not a single alchemist was broke.
Chen Xian wasn't jealous of Jian Shan. He had the Masterful Pill Crafting trait. Once he broke through to the Sword Master Realm and solved his longevity problem, he could set about becoming a Pill Master.
Others could only choose one path of cultivation, but he was different.
As long as he had enough Copy Points and room in his trait slots, he could cultivate whatever he wanted!