Interest?

The Yue family had once been a thoroughly intellectual household. Both of Yue Wen's parents were professors at River City University.

His father specialized in ancient history, while his mother studied the writing systems of other worlds.

Before they disappeared, his father had explored ruins from the previous spiritual energy era, while his mother had researched the scripts of otherworldly creatures. Their work overlapped in many areas, and they had collaborated on numerous research projects, earning a modest reputation in academic circles across Northern Sky Province.

Before the Spiritual Qi Catastrophe, legends from around the world were regarded as nothing more than myths invented by the ancients. It was only in the centuries after the Spiritual Qi Catastrophe that humanity gradually began to understand that those ancient myths might have been real events from the previous spiritual energy era, distorted over time as they were passed down.

By unraveling those myths and legends, they might uncover the true history of ancient times, learn more about cultivation, or even discover ruins left behind by the previous spiritual energy era and unearth ancient immortal treasures.

The Snake Mountain Tiger Tomb had been one of his father-in-law's research subjects.

One of the four forbidden lands of immortal treasures lay in the south, known as the Ten Thousand Mountains.

It was a vast cluster of countless mountain ranges. After the Spiritual Qi Catastrophe, its space had mutated, and numerous realms had converged there, transforming it into a chaotic forbidden zone overrun by supernatural creatures from myriad worlds.

Yet that spatial chaos also made it possible to find many otherworldly treasures there, earning it its status as a forbidden land of immortal treasures.

Every peak in the Ten Thousand Mountains had its own sinister entities. In the most dangerous areas, the survival rate was even lower than in the Whale-Swallowing Demon Sea. Snake Mountain was one of its mysterious locations.

After years of fieldwork and investigation, his father had collected numerous folk legends circulating in the south and finally reconstructed Snake Mountain's historical background.

It dated back to the height of the previous spiritual energy era, nearly six thousand years ago. The Ten Thousand Mountains might not yet have formed at the time. Instead, the area had been a rich, fertile land within the region once called the Southern Frontier.

One day, an otherworldly Snake Kingdom had suddenly descended.

The Snake Kingdom's ruler was a nine-headed demonic serpent whose strength rivaled the Divine Realm, commanding countless snake demons. If they spread, they would bring a tremendous disaster upon the Southern Frontier.

At that critical moment, a half-human, half-tiger hero of the Nine Li had stepped forward. After a grueling, perilous battle, he had finally suppressed the entire Snake Kingdom beneath a towering mountain. Later, the people of the Southern Frontier had elevated that hero to the throne, honoring him as the Nine Li Tiger Heavenly Emperor. He had protected the Southern Frontier for a thousand years.

As the Tiger Heavenly Emperor approached death, he worried that the demons within Snake Mountain would escape after he was gone. He had simply built his tomb atop Snake Mountain and constructed an immense formation, using his own bones to continue suppressing the Snake Kingdom.

The place had thus become known as the Snake Mountain Tiger Tomb.

The emblem of snakes encircling a tiger had been carved into the Tiger Tomb's rock walls.

Later, the Southern Frontier had undergone sweeping transformations, and the Ten Thousand Mountains had risen as a forbidden land of immortal treasures. Yet the Tiger Heavenly Emperor's name had continued to circulate in the south. Even now, many places worshipped the Nine Li Emperor to protect their homes and ward off evil-a tradition that had originated with him.

But...

What secret did that card bearing the Tiger Tomb's emblem hold?

Perhaps he would only find out by taking it into the Ten Thousand Mountains himself.

His father had mentioned it even in a moment of crisis, so it was very likely connected to their disappearance.

But if the fourth realm was the minimum requirement for entering the Wasteland Zone, then entering a forbidden land of immortal treasures required at least the seventh realm. Anyone below that level who stepped inside would be courting death.

That was why Yue Wen was so desperate to grow stronger.

Every sword strike he had used to slay the lantern monsters had carried his longing for his parents.

He had never shown anyone the black card because his father had warned him not to, but that restriction did not apply to this sheet of hide.

So.

Why not ask the miraculous Da Long?

Within the black-and-gold palace illuminated by blazing golden flames, Yue Wen once again saw Da Long coiled upon its enormous chair.

It remained as lofty and imposing as ever.

"King Big Dragon, I'm back!" he greeted it casually.

Da Long seemed to have given up on him. It could not even be bothered to respond, merely staring at him with flaming eyes.

"I came to ask you about something." Yue Wen held up the purple hide. "Do you know what this is?"

"A stinking piece of skin." Undisguised disgust appeared in Da Long's eyes. "It belongs to the Demon Race... Smells like it came from an armpit. The sweatiest part. Look closely and you might even find hair follicles on it. Scratch it a little and you might get grime under your nails..."

"Enough, enough. You don't need to be that specific." Yue Wen hurriedly stopped it.

He could not smell anything himself, but if Da Long kept going, he might no longer want to hold it.

He was merely puzzled as to why a piece of skin like this had ended up at an antiquities shop, then in the hands of an ordinary employee like Zhang Wei, drawing the attention of all sorts of people...

He continued, "Then do you know what it's used for?"

"Well." Da Long's eyes shifted as it considered briefly, then answered, "Of course I do. Detailed information costs five Evil-Suppressing Money coins. Instructions for use cost ten."

"You charge for everything?" Yue Wen stamped his foot. "We've known each other so long. Doesn't our friendship count for anything?"

"Goodbye." Da Long immediately began to close its eyes.

"Fine, fine, I'll pay." Yue Wen hurriedly summoned five Evil-Suppressing Money coins and tossed them over. "I'll hear what it does first, then decide whether I want the instructions."

Scarlet flames flickered in Da Long's eyes, and the Evil-Suppressing Money in midair instantly burned, turning into a wisp of golden smoke that it inhaled through its nostrils.

"Whew..." After accepting the Evil-Suppressing Money, it slowly spoke. "Barriers separate realms, preventing messages from passing between them. Some demons with crude methods and low cultivation tear off their own skin and have someone carry it away. That lets them send messages at any time, even across realm barriers. There are unread messages on this piece of skin."

"So this is a tool the Demon Race uses to communicate across realms?" Yue Wen finally understood. After a moment's thought, he tossed over another ten Evil-Suppressing Money coins. "Here. I want the instructions."

He genuinely wanted to know what was written on the demonic hide. Having just reaped a substantial haul at the East City Cemetery, he did not begrudge the expense.

"Hai-"

Da Long uttered a single word in Dragon Tongue. It seemed to be only one sound, yet it appeared to contain a wealth of complex information compressed into the form of Dao resonance.

A Visualization Diagram instantly appeared in Yue Wen's mind, containing the spell for using the demonic hide.

"Every demon that tears off its skin has its own encryption spell, known only to those it informs," Da Long added. "But this method is exceptionally crude. For this king, a single glance is enough to decipher it. Whether you can comprehend it is your own concern."

"All right,

"I know you're very impressive. You don't need to worry about the rest." Yue Wen waved impatiently.

Since Da Long seemed to know everything, he took out the half-piece of the black-and-gold skull and asked, "Do you recognize this?"

"Somewhat harder trash," Da Long said after a casual glance.

"Oh." Yue Wen put it away sheepishly.

Apparently, it did not recognize everything. A treasure had to be of a certain quality just to earn a "crude" appraisal from it.

"By the way." Da Long suddenly remembered something else. "I considered your request to pay in installments last time, and I decided I could give you a chance. But you cannot simply pay in installments as you please. I will have to charge some interest."

"Oh?" Yue Wen eyed it warily. "How much interest are you planning to charge?"

"For the Astral Realm section of the cultivation method, priced at three hundred and ninety-nine, you may pay me twenty Evil-Suppressing Money coins each month, over twenty months." Da Long asked, "How does that sound?"

"You mean..." Yue Wen blinked. "For a cultivation method priced at three hundred and ninety-nine, I'd pay four hundred Evil-Suppressing Money coins over twenty months? You'd charge me a grand total of one coin in interest?"

"If you find that unacceptable, forget the matter." Da Long said coldly, "I will not let you owe me money for nothing!"

"I accept! You can pass me the cultivation method right now." Yue Wen agreed at once. "Charging interest is outrageous, but for the sake of our friendship, I'm willing to let you earn that extra money!"

He immediately summoned twenty Evil-Suppressing Money coins and tossed them over.

Well, damn.

Da Long might understand cultivation, but it definitely didn't understand the human world.

It might look pitch-black, but compared to those capitalists, it was practically Snow White.

Another cold utterance in Dragon Tongue imprinted the Visualization Diagram in Yue Wen's mind. "Hai-"

Although he had spent nearly all his savings, monthly installments of twenty Evil-Suppressing Money coins were not too much of a burden for him now. Once the agency officially opened, they would probably be no trouble at all.

This way, as soon as he reached the peak of the Unity Realm, he could begin his breakthrough.

If he really waited until he had saved all three hundred and ninety-nine Evil-Suppressing Money coins, then gathered the many materials required to advance to the Astral Realm, who knew how much time the whole process would take?

That would delay his cultivation progress far too much.

Now, even Da Long upon its throne looked rather handsome to Yue Wen.

Da Long clearly had no intention of responding to his affectionate gaze, however. With their business concluded, it immediately snorted coldly. "You may withdraw."

The space instantly went pitch-black.

Lights out.

As his consciousness returned, Yue Wen opened his eyes and found a notification on his phone.

An unread message had arrived from "Young Hero Qi Roams the Martial World with His Sword."