Had Wang Quan Not Used Them?

The construction site at Qian Xiuyue's manor was rather strange that day:

Many of the spirit monsters working there kept glancing toward the foot of the mountain:

A Daoist stood there, threads growing from his back with a hundred pairs of kidneys hanging from them.

The kidneys pulsed, spilling vital essence that flowed into the furnace.

"What's that Daoist gathering so much vital essence for?"

"That's a good idea he's got. When I'm ready to have a calf, I'll hang a few dozen pairs of kidneys outside my body too, to boost my fighting strength."

One spirit monster's eyes rolled thoughtfully. "Could we rent our kidneys to him too?"

"We aren't using them right now anyway."

At those words, many eyes lit up. "Good idea!"

"We're all a bunch of poor wretches with no use for our kidneys. Renting them to him would earn us a little money!"

With that thought, one spirit monster plucked up its courage and asked, "Sir, how much do you pay to rent kidneys? We'd like to rent ours to you."

Rustle!

Wang Quan closed his Daoist scriptures and smiled. "At the Drowning Dao Lower Court, twenty green beetles will rent you a pair for a day."

The spirit monsters immediately balked. "That cheap?"

"Could you go a little higher? Two hundred green beetles?"

Wang Quan shook his head.

The spirit monsters gave sheepish smiles and went back to tell their companions. In the end, everyone grumbled and cursed. "Humans are such fiercely competitive spirit monsters!"

"A pair of kidneys is important! How can they rent them out so cheaply?"

Wang Quan did not know why ordinary kidneys were so cheap either.

But wasn't cheap better?

With a hundred pairs of kidneys generating vital essence to empower the furnace, Wang Quan felt that, if everything went smoothly, his progress with [Yang Qi Furnace] should increase a hundredfold.

Still, he would have to wait until tomorrow to know the final result.

I feel like I could support a thousand pairs of kidneys!

Too bad I'm out of money!

Over this period, he had taken some wedding and funeral jobs with the Officiant Daoist Nun and earned some money.

But replacing the materials that sheltered his yin spirit, replacing spell-refining materials, replenishing materials for the [Plain Moon Paper-Cutting Box], renting kidneys-everything cost money.

Before he knew it, he had spent it all.

Too bad the Officiant Daoist Nun and the others are still dealing with the anomaly at the Blissful Union House.

There aren't any jobs now, either.

How can I make money? Should I sell a strand of dharma power to replenish my funds?

Wang Quan realized he had fallen into a predicament: he lacked money and time, and even more desperately lacked dharma power and heavenly opportunity.

After letting his thoughts wander for a while, he shook his head and dispelled the distractions. I'll check the results tomorrow.

If they're good, I'll sell a strand of dharma power to replenish my funds, then keep renting kidneys to improve [Yang Qi Furnace].

If the results are mediocre, I'll set this spell aside for now.

He now had over a hundred strands of dharma power and had mastered many spells, giving him the confidence to sell some dharma power occasionally.

A cup of tea's time later, he steadied his mind and returned to poring over the Daoist scriptures.

Before he knew it, night had fallen.

His yin spirit entered the second-layer world. After clearing the evil from the cafeteria's pillars, doors, windows, and walls, he returned to the Present World to refine spells.

Beneath the curtain of night:

Countless threads of moonlight streamed down and were refined into dharma power.

After gathering purple qi, Wang Quan began checking [Yang Qi Furnace].

First, he sensed the condition of his own kidneys.

Then he used [Parting Chaos] to cut the furnace off a rented pair of kidneys and merge it with his own furnace.

The two furnaces merged, greatly expanding their coverage, while his kidneys grew pleasantly warm.

An idea struck him, and he removed the furnaces from the other kidneys as well, merging them all into himself in one go.

In the end, the furnace at his waist covered a third of his lower abdomen.

At the same time, his kidneys grew hot throughout.

He could clearly feel a strange power strengthening the portions of his organs, flesh, kidneys, fascia, and other tissues within the furnace's range.

Though faint, it was steady, continuous, and reliable.

More importantly, it required no additional cultivation from him, silently saving him a great deal of time.

This spell is good!

By laying the foundation for [Life Cultivation] in advance, it would make his future [Life Cultivation] easier, faster, and more efficient.

Moreover, it also concerned his future [Three Heads and Six Arms].

Then I'll keep cultivating it!

He contacted the Round-Faced Daoist Nun. "Senior sister, I want to sell a strand of dharma power."

"Yes, [Bright Moon Mana]."

The Round-Faced Daoist Nun froze on the other end. "Are you sure?"

"There are plenty of ways to make money. Why sell dharma power? It's so difficult to cultivate. Selling one strand will set you back almost a month. It isn't worth it."

Wang Quan smiled. "It's fine!"

Hearing that, the Round-Faced Daoist Nun stopped trying to persuade him. "All right. I'll have the Red-Crowned Crane bring you a box for storing dharma power in a little while."

"Oh, right. Do you still want kidneys today?"

Wang Quan nodded. "Yes. At least a thousand sets today, and at least a thousand sets every day from now on!"

"All ordinary ones?"

"Yes!"

"Wait a bit. That's too many. I'll need to find a few more people to supply them."

"All right!"

Before long, the Red-Crowned Crane arrived.

Wang Quan placed the kidneys in water jars and stored them in the box.

He also cut off a strand of [Bright Moon Mana] and stored it in a special case.

The Red-Crowned Crane took the boxes and soared away.

The Miscellaneous Goods Hall:

The Round-Faced Daoist Nun contacted several people to rent their kidneys.

For this rental, the Miscellaneous Goods Hall took four green beetles per pair of kidneys, and she took one.

Only the remaining money would reach the people supplying the kidneys.

At that moment, a Daoist sat upright across from her.

He was withered all over, like skin stretched over bones, and was known as the Thin-Waisted Daoist.

A jar hung behind the Thin-Waisted Daoist's head, with hundreds upon thousands of red threads emerging from it and connecting to his waist.

He had supplied the kidneys Wang Quan had used yesterday.

This fellow nurtured over a thousand pairs of kidneys at once.

The Round-Faced Daoist Nun wanted him to supply all his kidneys to Wang Quan, but he kept making excuses. "I have other clients too!"

"If I supply them all to him, someone else will steal my other clients."

"Find a few more people so everyone can share the load!"

Helpless, the Round-Faced Daoist Nun contacted other cultivators who could supply large quantities of kidneys.

A cup of tea's time passed...

A quarter of an hour...

The Red-Crowned Crane came swooping in. "Master, this little bird is exhausted."

"I want a sip of wine to catch my breath!"

The Round-Faced Daoist Nun waved. "Go on. Don't drink too much. You still have things to deliver in a little while!"

"Will do!"

The Red-Crowned Crane set the things down and strutted off to drink.

The Thin-Waisted Daoist opened the box and took out the jars.

The next instant, numerous blood-red threads extended from his waist.

The threads pierced the hundred pairs of kidneys, and a moment later, his expression shifted slightly.

The Round-Faced Daoist Nun raised an eyebrow. "What? Have all these kidneys been overtaxed?"

"But even if they have, it shouldn't matter, right?"

"At worst, you can cut out a few pairs."

The Thin-Waisted Daoist coughed. "Let's put aside whether they've been overtaxed."

"Junior sister, I suddenly think your earlier suggestion was excellent!"

The Round-Faced Daoist Nun said, "Hmm?"

The Thin-Waisted Daoist smiled. "I just thought it over. My other clients aren't as important as your big client!"

"So... I'm willing to supply a thousand pairs of kidneys!"

The Round-Faced Daoist Nun was stunned by his words.

She immediately inspected the kidneys Wang Quan had returned.

What she discovered was:

These kidneys had a rich, healthy color and excellent texture, without any signs of overuse.

In fact, they could be used again right now, without any maintenance through dharma power or spells.

The kidneys other cultivators returned were always overtaxed to some degree and required considerable effort to maintain before they could be used again.

Had Wang Quan not used them?