Mystical Pagoda Space

Xiao Huohuo suppressed the anger in his heart, but kept a smile on his face. "Junior Brother Lu Ren, how about this? Name your price, and we'll make a private deal directly!"

He had to obtain the Aperture Opening Pill in Lu Ren's hands and become the first disciple to open his apertures. Perhaps then he could even earn the attention of the sect elders.

First place was always the most eye-catching.

He had heard that every time someone opened their apertures, elders would pay attention. The first few to do so could even receive sect rewards.

Lu Ren pondered for a moment before saying, "Senior Brother Xiao, since you're so sincere, I'll give you a sincere price too: one hundred thousand Copper Coins!"

"One hundred thousand Copper Coins?"

Hearing that price, Xiao Huohuo's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in shock.

"Does Senior Brother think my price is too low? That's true—after all, so many people want my Aperture Opening Pill. How about two hundred thousand Copper Coins?"

Lu Ren could not help saying.

"Two hundred thousand Copper Coins?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Huohuo nearly spat out blood and could not speak for a long while.

This guy had increased the price he named tenfold in one breath.

He might have money, but he was not stupid.

Only a fool would spend two hundred thousand Copper Coins on a single Aperture Opening Pill.

"Junior Brother Lu Ren, you'd better keep that Aperture Opening Pill for yourself!"

With a smile in his eyes, Xiao Huohuo prepared to leave.

"Senior Brother!"

Lu Ren stopped Xiao Huohuo and pointed at the longsword on the table, asking tentatively, "Do you want that Fire Spirit Sword?"

"You want to sell it to me?"

Xiao Huohuo's eyes widened. "That was the Saintess's meeting gift to you, and you actually want to sell it to me?"

"The meeting gift Master gave me belongs to me. Naturally, I can sell it!"

Lu Ren smiled faintly.

He possessed the pagoda and had endless time to cultivate. What he lacked were resources. Since he had no use for the Fire Spirit Sword right now, he might as well sell it in exchange for resources.

For a moment, Xiao Huohuo was tempted. Only after a long while did he say, "Junior Brother Lu Ren, this is a Low-grade Spirit Artifact. It's worth at least one million Copper Coins, but I can't come up with that much money right away!"

Though his family background was extraordinary, he had not yet come of age. The monthly allowance his Lineage gave him was only one hundred thousand Copper Coins.

At present, he only had two hundred thousand Copper Coins on him.

"It doesn't matter if you can't pay it all at once. You can pay in installments!"

Lu Ren said.

"What does paying in installments mean?"

Xiao Huohuo looked utterly confused.

Lu Ren explained, "You can pay me twenty percent first. As for the remaining eighty percent, you can pay it over a year. Of course, I'll charge you a little interest. What do you think of ten percent interest?"

Xiao Huohuo had never heard of installments before, but he understood Lu Ren's meaning and nodded. "Fine. I'll give you two hundred thousand Copper Coins first, then repay the remaining eight hundred thousand Copper Coins over ten months. I'll give you eighty-eight thousand Copper Coins each month!"

He would definitely follow the fire attribute path in the future, and the Fire Spirit Sword suited him perfectly. Once he successfully opened his apertures, his Lineage would give him an even larger monthly allowance.

He could afford one million. Besides, he would get to enjoy the Fire Spirit Sword's power in advance.

"Then let's draw up an agreement!"

After saying that, Lu Ren immediately took out paper and brush, wrote up the agreement, and had both parties leave their marks on it.

"Here are money notes worth two hundred thousand Copper Coins. Take them!"

Xiao Huohuo took out twenty money notes from his person, each worth ten thousand Copper Coins.

These money notes were recognized currency throughout Jiangyun Kingdom.

Once the transaction was complete, Xiao Huohuo left with the Fire Spirit Sword.

Lu Ren tucked the twenty money notes into his robes and began emptying his mind.

Immediately afterward, a familiar stabbing pain surged through his mind.

The next moment, the scene before him changed, and he found himself in a Heaven and Earth Law space.

The space was a void of nothingness. There was only a crude thatched hut, along with several huge stones and broken pieces of wood scattered around.

This was the Pagoda Space.

Even if he stayed here for three or five years, only the time of a single breath would pass outside, and his lifespan would not be affected in the slightest.

The premise was that he had enough food. Otherwise, he would definitely starve to death.

"My body is still too weak. If I can train it until it's strong enough, perhaps I'll be able to open my apertures. My talent may be poor, but then I'll train for ten years. If ten years aren't enough, then a hundred years, a thousand years. I refuse to believe I can't open my apertures!"

Lu Ren thought to himself.

As long as he had enough resources, he could break through within the time of a single breath. At worst, he would just grind it out!

With that thought, Lu Ren left the Pagoda Space, walked out of the dormitory, and headed to the Dining Hall.

The Dining Hall was responsible for the three daily meals of newly inducted disciples.

It was already nearing the Hour of the Monkey, and quite a few newly inducted disciples and older disciples were eating dinner in the Dining Hall.

Lu Ren did not eat. Instead, he went to the Dining Hall's rear kitchen.

The head chef of the rear kitchen was a broad, fat middle-aged man. He looked at Lu Ren strangely and asked, "Disciple, this is the rear kitchen, not a place for eating!"

Without changing expression, Lu Ren slipped a money note into the chef's robes. "I want to buy Spirit Rice!"

The chef glanced at the money note in his robes and discovered that it was worth one thousand Copper Coins. His expression changed abruptly as he looked at Lu Ren with reverence.

Where had this rich young master come from?

He did not dare accept this money!

The chef stuffed the money note back into Lu Ren's hand and said with a smile, "Disciple, just tell me what you need. You'd better take this money back!"

These one thousand Copper Coins were what Lu Ren had painstakingly saved from carrying dishes until he dropped. Now that he had sold the Fire Spirit Sword, he did not care about a mere thousand Copper Coins.

"I never take back money I've given away. I do have a favor to ask. I want to buy two hundred thousand Copper Coins' worth of Spirit Rice!"

Lu Ren said with great wealth and swagger.

This Spirit Rice differed from ordinary rice. It contained spiritual energy and was extremely suitable for people about to become Martial Artists.

One jin of Spirit Rice was enough for one person to eat three meals a day for five days.

Naturally, it was also extremely expensive.

"You want to buy that much Spirit Rice?"

The chef's face was filled with shock and disbelief.

Fifty Copper Coins could buy one jin of Spirit Rice. Two hundred thousand Copper Coins meant four thousand jin of Spirit Rice.

If one person ate it all, it would last for twenty thousand days.

"Does your Dining Hall have it? I want it now!"

Lu Ren said.

"Yes, of course we do!"

The chef did not dare ask why Lu Ren needed so much Spirit Rice. Instead, he led him to the grain storage behind the hall, where bags upon bags of Spirit Rice were piled up, at least a hundred sacks in total.

"Disciple, two hundred thousand Copper Coins can buy four thousand jin of Spirit Rice. Each sack weighs one hundred jin, making forty sacks altogether. But how will you take them away?"

The chef asked curiously.

Lu Ren walked over to a sack of Spirit Rice and placed his palm against it. In an instant, he stored it within the Pagoda Space.

"Could this disciple have a spatial artifact on him?"

Seeing the Spirit Rice vanish into thin air, the chef's jaw nearly hit the floor.

A spatial artifact was an artifact that contained a space within it, allowing one to store personal belongings inside.

Earrings, rings, bracelets, jade pendants, money pouches, and the like could all be made into spatial artifacts, but their prices were exceedingly high.

Anyone who possessed a spatial artifact was either wealthy or noble.

After storing all thirty-nine remaining sacks of Spirit Rice in the Pagoda Space, Lu Ren handed the money notes to the chef. "Here are two hundred thousand Copper Coins. I'll come to you to buy Spirit Rice again in the future. I hope you can keep this secret for me!"

With that, Lu Ren left the rear kitchen. After finishing dinner in the Dining Hall, he returned to his dormitory and entered the Pagoda Space once more.

Looking at the neatly arranged sacks of Spirit Rice, Lu Ren's heart was filled with a sense of security.

"This Spirit Rice is enough to last me nearly twenty thousand days. Twenty thousand days is fifty-five years. I refuse to believe I can't open my apertures!"

With that thought, Lu Ren began grinding away with all his might.