Using me as a favor

"If you refine spiritual artifacts like these, you can sell them cheaply first, then charge for cross-world communication. For example, you could build a shared forum. After buying the artifacts cheaply, cultivators would have to pay to enter this forum. Ten low-grade spirit stones a month would do.

"Once you have the capability, keep developing these spiritual artifacts and add more functions. Cross-world communication is one of them. You could also create more advanced imaging functions, letting people record their wonderful lives across worlds, and charge for that function too..."

"Free things are always the most expensive. Remember that. Don't chase small, immediate profits. Look instead at all the paid services that come after the free offer. Of course, you can't go too far, or it could backfire."

Suoluo and Qiye listened with surging excitement, their eyes blazing. Qiye even took out a jade slip and recorded everything Chi Yu said in it.

Chi Yu concluded, "Making money really is easy. It just depends on who thinks of a good idea first."

Suoluo's attitude toward Chi Yu gained another measure of respect. He and Qiye both knew that someone who could share such good ideas so readily must sincerely want to help them, without holding anything back. What a radiant character he had. From that moment on, the brothers had already submitted to him in their hearts.

Suoluo said decisively, "We choose this approach. But we'll need to study this spiritual artifact you mentioned carefully. If there's anything we don't understand, may we come ask you?"

Chi Yu scratched his head. "I was just throwing ideas out there. Honestly, I don't even know whether it can be refined. It's fine if you choose this one, but you can't blame me if it fails."

The brothers nodded vigorously. "Of course!!"

In the end, both left satisfied.

Little Ball looked at Chi Yu with admiration. "How do you know so much?"

Chi Yu said mysteriously, "Because I'm Long Aotian! Hahahahaha!"

As he spoke, he dissolved into laughter.

Little Ball: "..."

So what did that have to do with his name?

Still, why was this person always so happy?

After dinner, Little Ball went to the palace to visit His Highness.

Since he had left, none of the lamp wicks in the great hall had been replaced, leaving it pitch-black.

Little Ball deftly replaced the wicks, and the great hall immediately became as bright as day.

Carrying a lamp into the inner hall, Little Ball saw Xie Xiyi sitting by the window. The zither had been dismantled, its strings coiled and sprung off to one side.

Xie Xiyi's shoulders and back were straight, and he remained elegant, but Little Ball still managed to detect a trace of gloom.

He set down the lamp, not daring to offer comfort.

This was the Obsessive Heart Venerable Shangshan had spoken of. Once he set his sights on something, he would never give it up, and that ran counter to the essence of Chan.

His Highness really wasn't suited to being a Buddha-son. This little flaw would have been harmless if he became their Great Xia's emperor, but why make him a Buddha-son?

Little Ball didn't know the inside story, and his father hadn't told him either. It didn't matter, though. He wasn't that curious.

Little Ball told Xie Xiyi about what had happened that day, hoping to cheer him up.

Xie Xiyi looked thoughtful. "From the sound of it, he's a good dragon."

Little Ball corrected him. "Your Highness, his name is Long Aotian."

Xie Xiyi smiled faintly and said mildly, "He's a fish now."

Little Ball: "..."

He had forgotten that His Highness also had a rebellious streak.

Author's note:

Little Puppy Fish: After all those twists and turns, I still ended up a fish qaq

Little 1: Fish Aotian

Chapter 25: Using me as a favor

Chi Yu finished his cultivation for the day. To be honest, he was a little troubled.

He appeared to be at Foundation Establishment, but his cultivation was actually flimsy. It had come entirely from the Forbidden Curse pouring cultivation back into him, rather than from his own steady efforts. For that reason, cultivating always felt ungrounded. More importantly, he lacked a primary cultivation method.

What he had now was the cultivation method used by the Tianyan Sect's outer disciples. Its grade was what it was, and it didn't suit him particularly well either. Ling Hezhou had given it to him for cultivation during the Qi Refining Stage. Now that he had reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, it was completely inadequate.

But cultivation methods weren't exactly things you could find lying around everywhere.

Chi Yu understood that it was time to go out and look around. After all, if Long Aotian stayed cooped up at home, opportunities wouldn't fall from the sky!

So after eating lunch and washing the dishes, Chi Yu prepared to go out.

Little Ball was very attached to him now. Seeing him about to leave, he hurried after him and asked, "Where are you going?"

Chi Yu answered, "Out for a stroll."

After a moment's thought, he asked, "Want to come? I'll take you out to have some fun."

Little Ball considered it before saying, "We should be cultivating at this hour. Why go out to play?"

Chi Yu said, "Listen, that's not normal. You're a ten-year-old kid first and a cultivator last. Do you know what a ten-year-old kid should be doing?"

Little Ball asked curiously, "What?"

Chi Yu declared confidently, "Playing in the mud, climbing trees to raid birds' nests, fishing for crayfish in the river. There's bound to be something you can play. Is cultivating every day any fun? Cultivators have to discard the false and preserve the true, but you have to know what's false and what's true first, don't you? It's like studying Buddhism. Buddhism emphasizes transcending the world, but to transcend it, you have to enter it first before you can leave it, right?"

"If someone has none of the seven emotions and six desires, you could say he's reached the Buddha's state. But if someone has none of the seven emotions and six desires, he isn't human.

"Look at the radical in the character for Buddha. What is it? A person! Buddha comes from humanity, so if you want to become a Buddha, you first need the seven emotions and six desires. You have to be human first.

"And humans have the seven emotions and six desires. So you can't just cultivate. You also have to enter the mortal world. The mortal world means pure joy. Learning joy is the first step toward entering Chan and studying Buddhism."

Little Ball stared at him in shock. "Brother Aotian-ge, you're only six years older than me. Why do you know so much?"

Chi Yu lifted his chin proudly, his smile radiant. "How else could I have gotten into the Dao Truth Class? That's the difference between us. But don't feel inferior. Stay by my side and you'll learn a thing or two. Take me as your role model. That's how you'll become a dependable adult."

Although Chi Yu's words ran completely counter to the modesty and humility the imperial family had always pursued, Little Ball inexplicably didn't dislike them. Instead, he quite liked the way Chi Yu spoke. His eyes shone as he said, "I understand. I'll take you as my role model."

The moment he finished speaking, a clear voice came from behind them. "Little Ball."

Chi Yu turned and saw Little Ball's prince. His smile remained unchanged. "Oh, it's you, senior brother. Good afternoon."

Little Ball ran over. "Your Highness, when did you get here?"

Xie Xiyi glanced at him, his voice cool and clear. "You two were quite absorbed in your conversation. I've been standing here so long, and you both acted as though you hadn't seen me."

Chi Yu offered a sweet-tongued compliment. "That must be because your cultivation is so profound, senior brother, that you've completely concealed your presence. Unlike me. I still can't conceal my aura or suppress my breathing, and my footsteps are as heavy as an ox's. You could probably spot me from a li away."

Despite this flattery, Xie Xiyi's face showed little expression. "Where are you taking him?"

Chi Yu paused. He had only intended to stroll around and see whether any opportunities would be cowed by his domineering aura into dropping straight into his hands, while taking Little Ball around along the way. At Xie Xiyi's question, his sense of responsibility welled up, so he said, "To play on the mountain behind us. There's a river there. I'll take him to catch shrimp, fish, and crabs."

Xie Xiyi offered a flat assessment. "Boring."

Chi Yu looked at him pityingly. "You think it's boring because you're not a child anymore. You're already a boring adult with no dreams."

He laughed again and held out his hand to Little Ball. "But we're different. We're both minors. We're still children, and children are allowed their innocence! Come on, Little Ball. Your big brother will take you shrimp fishing!"

Little Ball looked at Xie Xiyi, then at Chi Yu. In the end, he boldly placed his hand in Chi Yu's, apologizing as he said, "Your Highness, I'll be right back."

That was what he said, but he clearly wouldn't be returning anytime soon.

Xie Xiyi lowered his eyes and said nothing more, turning to walk in the opposite direction.

He was required to visit the Anuttara Buddhist Sect once every seven days to listen to sutra recitations.

There were many Buddhist sects on the Zizai Continent, but Anuttara lived up to its name. It was indeed the continent's Buddhist sect of supreme, perfect enlightenment, and therefore held him to extremely high standards.

Xie Xiyi didn't want to be this Buddha-son, and he scoffed all the more at Chan Master Ruoku's prophecy.

But everyone believed Ruoku, simply because he had attained knowledge of the passing and rebirth of sentient beings and could see the cycles of karmic retribution. He had declared with absolute certainty that Xie Xiyi would tread across mountains of corpses and seas of blood to establish an unsurpassed demonic realm, a hell on earth.

Just that one sentence had decided his future.

Xie Xiyi searched his heart and found no such interest. Raised from childhood with an emperor's education, he had only intended to become a relatively outstanding mortal emperor. He had no obsession with neither arising nor perishing, or with ascension to the Immortal Realm.

With such a prophecy cast upon him, Xie Xiyi was instead amazed that he could still sit here listening to people recite sutras.

Fine. Since I can't be emperor anyway, I might as well coast along here for now.

Xie Xiyi made no effort to hide his lax attitude in this regard.

Still, that dragon did have some insight. He ought to be the Buddha-son instead.

At that thought, Xie Xiyi's golden eyes flickered, and he grew thoughtful.

Chi Yu had no idea what Xie Xiyi was thinking. Walking with Little Ball on the mountain behind the Chan Sect, he found a perfectly straight wooden stick. His eyes lit up as he picked it up and exclaimed in delight, "Holy shit! Little Ball, look! So straight! So long!"

Little Ball examined it. "It is very long, but it doesn't contain much spiritual energy. It isn't from a Pippala Tree either, so it won't grant sudden enlightenment. It's useless."

Chi Yu: "..."

Sometimes this is exactly what I hate about you cultivators.

Chi Yu said earnestly, "Look more closely. Doesn't seeing it give you a sense of pure joy? A wooden stick this long! This straight!"

Little Ball took the stick from Chi Yu, thinking, There must be some Chan insight in this. He tried to feel it with all his heart... and seemed to feel a trace of comfort. After all, it was so long and so straight.