With the round-faced Daoist nun's help, Wang Quan felt considerably more at ease.
That afternoon, he checked his token. The Officiant Daoist Nun still hadn't transferred the money.
Wang Quan frowned, but after a moment's hesitation, he decided not to contact the Officiant Daoist Nun.
At dusk, the Officiant Daoist Nun transferred the money. "Two hundred thousand Green Beetles. Take it!"
Wang Quan said, "Huh?"
"They chose the burial site I prepared. You were supposed to give me fifty thousand Green Beetles."
"Six times the price should be three hundred thousand."
The Officiant Daoist Nun said, "They felt they were paying too much."
"They were only willing to give two hundred thousand."
"Two hundred thousand is actually quite a lot. After all, those skeletal anomalies... weren't proper anomalies."
"Contentment brings lasting happiness!"
Wang Quan fell silent for a moment. "I understand."
The Officiant Daoist Nun said, "The Blissful Union House and the Zhao Household have considerable influence in the Market Ward."
"If they refuse to pay, there's nothing I can do."
"Besides, they both have the entire New Method behind them."
"If you make trouble with them, they'll drag you into the conflict between the New Method and the Old Cultivation Method."
"Then things will get even more troublesome."
Wang Quan sneered.
The Officiant Daoist Nun thought the matter was over, but he didn't.
If we'd created those skeletons to swindle them, then fine, they could refuse to pay.
But those skeletons clearly weren't our doing.
And we solved the problem for them.
They ought to pay!
Refusing to pay? How does that make up for the cultivation time I wasted?
If they won't pay now, are they planning to wait until their next lives?
Killing intent stirred within him.
But he would never confront the Blissful Union House and the Zhao Household head-on.
The burial site he had chosen could not only suppress the skeletal remains and prevent them from becoming anomalies; with a few changes to its arrangement, it could also turn those skeletons into anomalies.
A little later, Wang Quan went to see the round-faced Daoist nun. "Just prepare a hundred thousand's worth of materials to support the [Bright Moon Shines on Me Method]."
The round-faced Daoist nun was taken aback. "Not three hundred thousand anymore?"
Wang Quan nodded. He first transferred the money he owed the Round-Faced Daoist Nun, then said gravely, "The people paying me went back on their word."
"So... I'm a little short."
The round-faced Daoist nun sighed. "Every cultivator in the Market Ward has encountered this sort of thing. You needn't take it to heart."
"Once you're strong enough, they'll offer it up with both hands, perhaps even repay you double."
"If you aren't strong enough, you'll never get that money back in this lifetime. Perhaps you won't get the chance in your next life, either."
"Well... just let it go!"
Wang Quan nodded.
Before long, the round-faced Daoist nun had prepared materials such as [bright moon white jade].
The materials were of average quality and didn't provide the best enhancement, but they were all Wang Quan could afford for now.
The round-faced Daoist nun said, "These materials can improve your mana-refining efficiency by about a third."
"It's just... they won't last long before they're ruined."
Wang Quan smiled. "By the time they wear out, I'll have earned more money. Then I'll get a top-grade set."
The round-faced Daoist nun nodded.
Wang Quan also asked the Daoist Nun to prepare some other materials: Yin Soil, yin wind, yin water, and the like.
The Miscellaneous Goods Hall stocked a full range of goods. With enough money, most things could be obtained.
Once the round-faced Daoist nun had packed everything, Wang Quan picked up the bundle and left.
While there was still daylight, Wang Quan released seven or eight paper eagles.
The paper eagles grabbed bottles containing Yin Soil, yin wind, yin water, and other materials, along with several command banners, then soared into the sky and headed straight for the burial site.
In barely a quarter of an hour, the paper eagles arrived above their destination.
The next moment, they opened their claws.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The white jade bottles shattered one after another.
The next moment:
The Yin Soil, yin water, and other materials seeped into the burial site.
The yin wind merged with the mountain wind.
For an instant, everything nearby seemed to have changed, yet it also seemed as though nothing had changed at all.
But through the Tomb Guardian Beasts, Wang Quan clearly sensed the fifty-two skeletons inside the burial site stir slightly.
Before long, the soil over the burial site churned, swallowing the shattered jade bottles.
The Tomb Guardian Beasts rose, took the command banners in their mouths, and raced across the mountains. Then they found the special positions on Rubble Stone Mountain and the surrounding mountains and planted the banners there.
Once the final command banner was planted in its designated spot, the Tomb Guardian Beasts let out mournful cries and burned to ashes, which the mountain wind scattered.
At that moment, Wang Quan no longer had any eyes there.
He didn't know whether those skeletons would ultimately become anomalies, or how long it would take.
Now, he wanted only to accumulate mana, strengthen himself, and then... never let anyone owe him money.
Night settled:
Wang Quan arranged the various materials that aided mana refinement on the coffin lid.
A little later, he tapped his case, and a pair of spiritually attuned scissors flew out.
The scissors first cut the [bright moon white jade].
The square block of bright moon white jade was soon cut into a White Jade Plate the size of a washbasin.
A brush and ink also flew out of the case, depicting every lunar feature he had sensed on the White Jade Plate: impact craters, volcanoes, ordinary mountain ranges, and more.
More than thirty kinds of features were depicted, each vividly lifelike.
Then he positioned the incense burner and placed a bundle of [bright moon sandalwood incense] in it.
Finally, he planted eight Bright Moon Command Banners around the coffin.
Once everything was ready, he sat upright on the coffin lid and opened his mouth, breathing out streams of [bright moon mana] while chanting scripture.
Bili, bili!
Jili, gulu!
Thirty streams of bright moon mana merged into the White Jade Plate. As he chanted the scripture, thirty Daoist characters describing the bright moon appeared on its surface.
When the scripture ended, the White Jade Plate rose into the air.
The White Jade Plate resonated with the moon in the sky. In an instant, all the moonlight within three or four thousand meters was drawn toward it.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Wang Quan released eight moon phases as well.
The moon phases revolved around the White Jade Plate, instantly expanding its range to ten thousand meters.
Moonlight gathered on the White Jade Plate, forming drifting ribbons.
Wang Quan lit the sandalwood incense. Its smoke rose skyward and reached the White Jade Plate, resembling ropes.
Streams of moonlight slithered down the incense smoke like great serpents, heading into the incense burner.
But the next moment, Wang Quan swallowed them in one gulp.
Whoosh!
The moonlight entered his inner landscape, turning into wisps of mana.
A quarter of an hour...
An hour...
Two hours...
Wang Quan found that his mana-refining efficiency had clearly improved that night.
Before long, he had refined one stream of mana.
He had intended to stop refining mana, study spells, and then contemplate the Daoist Scriptures.
But when he thought of the unpaid debt from that day, he gritted his teeth. "I need more mana."
"If I had a thousand and one streams of mana, would they still dare bully me like this?"
With that thought, he continued refining mana.
He stopped when the sky began to brighten and the moon was about to set.
That night, he had refined a full two streams of mana.
"These were only ordinary support materials worth a hundred thousand."
"If I used top-grade materials worth three hundred thousand, I could refine at least three streams of mana!"
He put his things away and paid homage to the moon.
During this worship, he sensed two lunar features. If he added them to the White Jade Plate tomorrow, he could improve his efficiency again.
The crow flew and the rabbit raced; time slipped by:
In the days that followed, Wang Quan refined mana, gathered purple qi, learned thirty to fifty spells, studied the Daoist Scriptures or earned money with the Officiant Daoist Nun, observed the Daoist priest at the Miscellaneous Goods Hall, and secretly sought information about the Zhao Household and the Blissful Union House.
A month passed in a flash.
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