After listening to Lin Changsheng's analysis, the appreciation in Qing Chen's eyes deepened.
"Rise."
Lin Changsheng stood and respectfully waited to one side, his head lowered in silence.
He knew his master was about to question him.
Sure enough.
"What you said is right. The Demon Lotus Sect owes its present standing to my efforts alone. But it is good that you can see that."
"You just spoke of mobilizing every resource to gather supplies for my cultivation." Qing Chen considered the meaning behind Lin Changsheng's words as he looked at him. "Have you already been doing this?"
Lin Changsheng's spirits lifted.
At last, the question I've been waiting for.
He immediately bowed and answered, "Master, throughout my years overseeing the Demon Lotus Sect, I have been doing just that. I have never stopped!"
"I used sect missions and purchasing channels, and stored everything in the Second Secret Treasury in Demon Lotus City, with approval after inspections by Su Zixuan, Xu Jiuling, Grandmaster Budong, and the others. My thought was to give you a surprise once the stockpile reached a certain amount."
Qing Chen raised an eyebrow. "Oh? A surprise?"
Lin Changsheng raised his head. "I know well how powerful your cultivation techniques are, Master. The Brahma Demon-Refining Art and those six demon banners require vast quantities of qi and blood and white bone essence. So over these years, in the sect's name, I have made large-scale purchases through the Qiongzhou Merchant Alliance, the Blissful Union Tower's black market, and even secret dealings with certain rogue cultivator factions and market wards."
He stepped forward, took a jade slip from inside his robes, and presented it with both hands. "These are the records of every purchase I have handled during this period. Please look them over, Master."
Qing Chen accepted it