The ponytailed Daoist nun giggled. "The way to make big money is to sell mana!"
"One strand of mana, a million coins."
Wang Quan was stunned. "Mana can be traded?"
"A million coins for one strand? That expensive?"
Before he began refining mana, the Drowning Lower Court had given him ten Green Beetle coins a day.
After he registered as an official qi-refining cultivator, the lower court gave him a hundred coins a day.
And now, he could refine a strand of [Bright Moon Mana] in less than four days.
If he had money to prepare better materials, he could refine mana even faster.
The ponytailed Daoist nun chuckled. "The lower court has a spell called [Parting Chaos]. It can sever mana and limbs without damaging them."
"So naturally, mana can be sold."
"An ordinary cultivator can only refine one strand of mana a month."
"And to refine that strand, they have to swallow secret medicines, prepare all kinds of supporting implements, and even rent other cultivators' internal organs."
"The cost of producing one strand a month that way comes to about a million."
"If they speed things up and refine two strands a month, or even more, the investment snowballs."
"Is a million expensive? Not at all."
"Under normal circumstances, proper cultivators never sell their mana. Only unaffiliated cultivators in the Land of Seeking Immortality whose lifespans are nearing their end sell mana to leave some money for their descendants."
Wang Quan understood.
The ponytailed Daoist nun continued, "The way to make small money is through lower court assignments-tilling fields!"
"This assignment looks beneath your dignity, and really is beneath your dignity, but if you learn a spell called the Land-Tilling Art and toil for a day, you can still earn two or three thousand Green Beetle coins."
Wang Quan thanked her.
The ponytailed Daoist nun chuckled. "If you want to sell mana, you can come to me."
"All right!"
After they exchanged contact details, Wang Quan headed to the Scripture Repository with a mind full of worries.
This time, for once, he did not study Daoist scriptures. Instead, he sank into thought.
For me, the most profitable method really is selling mana.
Others needed a month to produce a strand of mana, while he could produce one in three or four days.
Moreover, he did not need to rent anyone else's organs or implements to cultivate while refining mana, so his costs were close to zero.
Still, selling once or twice wouldn't matter.
If I sell too often, someone with an agenda is bound to notice.
But I can sell one strand for some starting capital, then make a [Plain Moon Paper-Cutting Box] to help me cast all sorts of spells and improve my mana-refining efficiency.
The [Plain Moon Paper-Cutting Box] was an implement specifically designed to store various kinds of paper, and it was a great help in casting the [Plain Moon Paper-Cutting Art].
Even making a box of the lowest grade, however, cost several hundred thousand Green Beetle coins.
Still, this was a necessary investment he could not do without.
Once I refine my second strand of mana, I'll find the ponytailed Daoist nun and sell one.
After that, I won't sell mana anymore.
I have the [First-Rank Dao Seal], so I refine mana quickly. From now on, I just need to cultivate diligently and accumulate plenty of mana. Then I'll naturally be able to venture out, either earning money to buy heavenly secrets or gathering essences directly to improve my heavenly secrets.
With that thought, he relaxed and once again devoted himself to studying Daoist scriptures.
This time, his efficiency in studying the scriptures improved again.
In barely four hours, he mastered a new volume of Daoist scripture.
Over the next three or four days, Wang Quan studied Daoist scriptures during the day and gathered qi to refine mana at night. When studying tired him out, he went to the Technique Transmission Hall and analyzed a few spells. Although he did not practice them, the more spells he understood, the better he would know how to counter them if he encountered them later.
The days passed like this, and on the fourth day, he refined his second strand of mana.
After learning [Parting Chaos], he contacted the ponytailed Daoist nun.
The moment he sent the message, she replied, "Where are you?"
"At the entrance to the Scripture Repository!"
"Wait a moment. I'll be right there!"
Within the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the ponytailed Daoist nun came whistling over with wind beneath her feet, carrying a white jade box and a paper contract.
The contract was simple: money in one hand, mana in the other.
Through her token, the ponytailed Daoist nun transferred a million Green Beetle coins directly to Wang Quan.
"Let me check the quality of your mana!"
"If it's good, I'll pay extra!"
"If it isn't, there won't be any extra!"
Wang Quan did not waste time either. He immediately activated [Parting Chaos] and severed the strand of [Bright Moon Mana] he had just refined.
Hazy green and gleaming yellow, the mana drifted like a three-foot silk ribbon.
The ponytailed Daoist nun muttered an incantation. The next second, three-inch beams of red light shot from her eyes as she scrutinized Wang Quan's mana.
After a short while, the red light faded from her eyes. She opened the box and recited a few lines of scripture.
White smoke flew out of the box, wrapped around the strand of mana, and drew it inside.
"The quality of this mana is far better than I imagined!"
"I'll add another hundred thousand Green Beetle coins!"
Delighted, the ponytailed Daoist nun transferred the money to Wang Quan, then asked curiously, "How is this strand of mana so pure?"
"I've bought [Bright Moon Mana] before."
"But yours is the purest strand."
Wang Quan's heart stirred. He had only just refined this strand of mana and had not yet purified it with purple qi.
He had thought it would, at most, be a little purer than other people's mana.
But judging by the ponytailed Daoist nun's reaction, his strand was exceptionally pure.
As expected, the perfect foundational method analyzed by the [First-Rank Dao Seal] really is extraordinary.
At that thought, he smiled. "I purified this strand of mana with purple qi."
Understanding dawned on the ponytailed Daoist nun. "That explains it. Only mana purified with purple qi could be this pure!"
"Compared with the purple qi you used to purify it, these hundred thousand Green Beetle coins really aren't much."
"It's just... the seller won't pay extra."
Wang Quan smiled. "It doesn't matter."
"I only sold a strand because I needed money urgently. I might not sell any more."
The ponytailed Daoist nun nodded. "All right!"
"Remember to come to me next time you need money urgently."
"Sure!"
After completing the transaction, a thought struck Wang Quan. "Senior sister, do you know anyone in the Miscellaneous Goods Hall? I want to buy something."
The ponytailed Daoist nun smiled until her eyes curved into crescents.
That was because those who sold goods in the Miscellaneous Goods Hall earned commissions.
The more they sold, the more they earned.
Wang Quan had just received over a million Green Beetle coins, so he was bound to spend lavishly.
This was an opportunity for her to earn a favor.
"Yes. There's a round-faced Daoist nun there, surnamed Xu. She shares a dormitory with me."
"She's easy to recognize!"
A cup of tea later, Wang Quan arrived at the Miscellaneous Goods Hall.
As luck would have it, the Daoist priest who had given Wang Quan dirty looks a few days earlier was at the counter.
Upon seeing Wang Quan, he frowned, sneered, then turned away to lie down on a nearby chair.
The other Daoist priests and nuns saw his shabby clothes-he did not even have a Daoist robe-and assumed he had come to collect free resources.
Naturally, they did not want to bother with him either.
Wang Quan tapped his token against the table. "Is Senior Sister Xu here?"
A round-faced Daoist nun stood up. "That's me. What do you need?"
Wang Quan smiled. "I'd like to buy something. Your roommate recommended that I come to you!"
Understanding dawned on the round-faced Daoist nun, and her face immediately filled with smiles. "Junior brother, just tell me what you want. I'll make sure you get the best."
"I want to make a [Plain Moon Paper-Cutting Box]. My budget is a million Green Beetle coins. Just prepare what I need within that amount!"
At those words, the round-faced Daoist nun's eyes curved with her smile, while the Daoist priest who had given Wang Quan dirty looks last time stared at him with a dark expression.
Wang Quan met his gaze and smiled.
The Daoist priest's face darkened as he sneered. "Brat, are you tired of living? Trying to provoke me?"
Wang Quan smiled. "I'm not trying to provoke you. I just want to remember your face so I can take my time dealing with you later."
At those words, the expressions of the Daoist priests and nuns shifted slightly, and the same phrase surfaced in all their minds-vengeful to the utmost!
Before you continue