In the end, Zhuanshui Pingqiu decided to lend Ju Hua the clan contribution points.
For one thing, Zhuanshui Pingqiu knew perfectly well that Zhuanshui Juhua had chosen to ask him, and no one else, because he was certain Pingqiu would lend him the points!
Zhuanshui Juhua's meaning was clear: lend me these contribution points, and our grudge will be settled. Refuse, and I'll remember it. If anything happens in the future, don't blame me for disregarding our ties as fellow clan members!
There was no need to say it outright. As a Loose Immortal who had lived for a hundred thousand years, Zhuanshui Pingqiu could see the heart of the matter at a glance!
Besides, although ten billion clan contribution points was a lot, at Zhuanshui Pingqiu's current stage, it couldn't accomplish anything for him.
What Zhuanshui Pingqiu wanted most now was, of course, to improve his strength and weather a few more rounds of the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations. But how could improving one's strength be so easy?
Magic treasures, cultivation techniques and secret arts, and the realm of the Dao: these were the three factors that determined a Loose Immortal's strength. Zhuanshui Pingqiu had already taken the first two as far as his abilities allowed. Investing ten billion clan contribution points in either would barely make a ripple.
As for the realm of the Dao, there was no need to even mention it. That depended entirely on one's opportunities and comprehension!
In the end, Ju Hua offered to leave an IOU, and that finally made Zhuanshui Pingqiu resolve himself.
Even after leaving an IOU, Ju Hua could still renege on the debt. But in Zhuanshui Pingqiu's eyes, it was a handle he could use against him, no matter what!
A thousand years from now, if Ju Hua had become a million-year Loose Immortal, then his reputation would be at stake, and he likely wouldn't care about a mere ten billion clan contribution points.
If Ju Hua hadn't become a million-year Loose Immortal, that would be even simpler. Zhuanshui Pingqiu could just take the IOU to his door and demand repayment!
After Ju Hua left the IOU, Zhuanshui Pingqiu tossed a token into his hand. Ju Hua gave it a quick check, then put it away.
"Cousin, I'll remember your help this time. Farewell!" Ju Hua called, cupping his hands from a distance. Without waiting for Zhuanshui Pingqiu to say anything more, he rode the clouds away at speed.
"..."
Watching Ju Hua disappear into the distance, Zhuanshui Pingqiu's face twitched slightly.
He lingered among the clouds for a while, then soon returned to his residence.
Half an hour later—
Atop a towering mountain within the Zhuanshui Clan's lands, Ju Hua and Zhuanshui Qiu arrived together, riding the clouds.
At the mountain's peak stood a magnificent palace. It had seven stories, each narrower than the one below, and from afar it looked like a colossal tower reaching into the heavens!
Of course, it wasn't a palace, much less a giant tower. This was the Zhuanshui Clan's Library Pavilion!
"Big Brother, where did you go just now?" Zhuanshui Qiu asked curiously outside the Library Pavilion.
"To borrow clan contribution points!" Ju Hua said with a smile.
"How many did you borrow?"
"Ten billion!"
"Ten billion?! When did you make such a good friend in the clan?" A trace of confusion appeared on Zhuanshui Qiu's face.
"He's not exactly a good friend. Zhuanshui Pingqiu lent them to me," Ju Hua said.
"Immortal Pingqiu? Why would he lend them to you?" Zhuanshui Qiu wanted to ask more, but Ju Hua had already strode toward the Library Pavilion. With no choice, she hurried after him.
Just as Ju Hua was about to enter the Library Pavilion, a calm voice sounded in his ear.
"Loose Immortals may enter the first six floors; Myriad Manifestations may enter the first four!"
"..."
Ju Hua said nothing. He simply bowed slightly toward the empty air, then stepped inside. Zhuanshui Qiu followed close behind.
Not long after they entered the Library Pavilion, Ju Hua turned to Zhuanshui Qiu and said, "Little Sister, your big brother came into a windfall this time. Pick any flying technique worth up to a hundred million clan contribution points!"
"That's too much. I'll just pick one," Zhuanshui Qiu said, then hurried deeper into the Library Pavilion.
"..."
Ju Hua smiled and shook his head, then began searching the Library Pavilion as well.
Ninety-nine percent of the books on the first six floors of the Zhuanshui Clan's Library Pavilion were divine abilities and secret arts suited to Qi Refiners. There were only nineteen divine abilities suited to the God-Fiend Path.
None of those nineteen were dazzling greater divine abilities, but every one of them was outrageously expensive. So far, Ju Hua had chosen only two of the most widely circulated ones to cultivate.
They were Law of Heaven and Earth and Three Heads and Six Arms!
Though these two divine abilities were the most widely circulated, they also offered the most noticeable boost in strength. Few accomplished experts who cultivated the God-Fiend Path had not practiced them.
Ju Hua had never intended to choose a divine ability on this trip. His target was cultivation techniques and secret arts.
The books on each floor of the Library Pavilion weren't absolutely better or worse than those on the others. It was just that the higher the floor, the more complete the cultivation techniques and secret arts became.
For example, the Great Sorrow Sword Art had only its first stance on the first floor, its first two stances on the second, and its first three on the third, and so on.
No matter how peerless a genius was, they couldn't comprehend a Dao Domain Realm while still at the Zifu level. Even Ji Ning, the protagonist of Desolate Era, only comprehended the Domain of the Sword at the Myriad Manifestation True Person level. So there was no need to worry that this way of storing the books would hold back a genius.
In fact, before the sixth floor, no one in the Zhuanshui Clan had ever found the cultivation techniques and secret arts they obtained insufficient!
If such a genius really did appear, the Zhuanshui Clan would treasure them like a jewel. Making an exception and opening a higher floor of the Library Pavilion would be a small matter!
Ju Hua didn't linger on the lower floors. He climbed straight to the sixth floor of the Library Pavilion.
Given the way the Zhuanshui Clan's Library Pavilion was arranged, the books on the sixth floor were at least suited to Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals. There were even many incomplete Celestial Immortal-level secret arts, such as the Great Sorrow Sword Art!
The Great Sorrow Sword Art on the sixth floor still wasn't complete. But it had more than just its first six stances; this version contained a full eight!
Ju Hua guessed that mastering all of the first six stances of the Great Sorrow Sword Art would nearly grant someone the strength to rival a Celestial Immortal!
If all eight stances were mastered, they would probably be among the strongest Celestial Immortals!
It was said that when the Zhuanshui Clan had first established itself in Great Xia, the first six floors of the Library Pavilion contained only the first six stances of the Great Sorrow Sword Art. But later, an extraordinarily peerless Loose Immortal had broken through the limit twice in succession and mastered the eighth stance. Only then had the Zhuanshui Clan changed its rules, moving a number of Celestial Immortal-level cultivation techniques and secret arts on the sixth floor up two levels.
For example, the Great Sorrow Sword Art had gone from six stances to eight!
Ju Hua's goal in coming to the Library Pavilion was clear: cultivation techniques and secret arts that contained the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
The Zhuanshui Clan had many cultivation techniques and secret arts, but very few of them contained a Great Dao. And restricting his search to the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth made the pickings even slimmer.
So there weren't many options for Ju Hua to choose from. After searching for a while, he soon found two cultivation techniques and secret arts that met his requirements.
"Shift Technique, Void-Breaking Sword Art!" Ju Hua looked at the two books before him, hesitating for a moment.