"You're setting me up here. Everything was fine when Shi Ruobai was doing this, but the moment I become acting sect leader, we're suddenly broke?" Lin Qingyang complained, staring speechlessly at the three people in the hall.
"Actually, the Nine Skies Sect has been broke for years," Jin Buhuan explained. "Our income used to come mainly from collecting rent and helping people eliminate demons. But in recent years, there have been fewer and fewer wild demon creatures, and hardly anyone hires us to eliminate them anymore."
"Can't we still collect rent?" Lin Qingyang asked.
Jin Buhuan sighed. "With the world at peace these days and demon attacks rare, ordinary people don't need the protection of the Immortal Sects as much. So the residents below our mountain have gradually moved to the territories of more prosperous sects with more opportunities. That means less and less rent. With prices rising in recent years, too, the sect has long been spending more than it earns. These past few years, we've only kept things running by borrowing from the Money House owned by the Myriad Spirits Sect."
"Then haven't you tried any other ways of making a living all these years? There are so many magical treasures in the Treasure Pavilion. Why not pick out some we rarely use and sell them?" Lin Qingyang said.
Mo Yan immediately frowned. "The Nine Skies Sect is a renowned major sect, the foremost leader of the righteous path. How would it look if word got out that we were selling magical treasures for money?"
"Then make more of those cultivation-boosting pills from the Cold Moon Pavilion and sell them. Or recruit more outer sect disciples and charge tuition," Lin Qingyang suggested.
But Mo Yan said solemnly, "Patriarch Jiuchen left us an ancestral precept: the purpose of cultivation is to vanquish evil, defend the righteous path, and uphold justice. How could we use it for profit?"
Lin Qingyang was speechless for a moment before complaining, "We can't do this, and we can't do that. Ancestral precepts won't put food on the table."
Mo Yan frowned at him, unable to come up with a rebuttal for the moment.
Jin Buhuan said helplessly, "Back when the Nine Skies Sect stood at the head of the Immortal Sects and demon creatures ran rampant, it wasn't just the people below the mountain. Plenty of smaller sects came begging for our protection with spirit stones and magical artifacts in hand. Money was the last thing we lacked then, so naturally, no one paid it any mind."
"If the Myriad Spirits Sect will lend us money, just keep borrowing," Lin Qingyang said after taking a moment to recover.
"If we could still borrow, I wouldn't have come to you," Jin Buhuan said awkwardly. "We've been taking out new loans to repay the old ones. Over the years, the debt has kept growing while our income has kept falling. I'm afraid we won't even be able to cover the interest next month."
"How much do we owe in total?" Lin Qingyang asked.
"With compound interest, about two million six hundred thousand spirit stones. The annual interest alone is three hundred thousand," Jin Buhuan said.
Lin Qingyang's vision went dark. "You really didn't have to tell me any of this! It's not as if I can do anything about it."
Inside, however, he was screaming. What the hell is this?! I've transmigrated into a cultivation novel, and I still have to deal with a company's financial collapse! So all the previous leaders were fine, but the moment this game of hot potato reaches me, everything falls apart! He began to suspect that Shi Ruobai was only pretending to have amnesia so he could dump this hot potato on him.
Just as Lin Qingyang was considering whether to make a run for it sooner rather than later, Jin Buhuan spoke again. "Actually, there happens to be a way to make some money right now."
"What way?" Lin Qingyang's eyes lit up.
"Yesterday, Cen Ru'an, the sect leader of the Xuanhuang Sect, sent a letter saying that a powerful great demon has appeared in their territory. He wants to hire you to help eliminate it and is willing to pay five hundred thousand spirit stones," Jin Buhuan said.
Lin Qingyang was a little surprised. "After how badly I upset Hua Jin last time, they're still willing to pay to hire me?"
Jin Buhuan explained, "Apparently, this demon creature is extremely powerful. Quite a few people from the Xuanhuang Sect have been injured. They have no other choice, so they want you to step in."
Mo Yan snorted. "Haven't you always called yourself the Immortal Alliance's number one sword cultivator? You've spent all these years idling about. It's time you did some work."
Jin Buhuan nodded as well. "After what happened last time, this is a good opportunity to ease tensions with the Xuanhuang Sect."
Lin Qingyang looked at them helplessly. He had thought he could enjoy a few peaceful days after the previous business was over. He hadn't expected that even as a sect leader, he would have to head out to work.
By the time the meeting ended and he came outside, the sky had begun to darken. Lin Yao floated beside him, introducing the major sects:
"The Xuanhuang Sect is located on Great Wilderness Mountain and specializes in beast taming. In its early days, it was just an obscure little sect in a remote area. Then, three hundred years ago, it entered the demon slave business, and it's been thriving ever since. Later, they also developed the Demon-Locking Ring. Almost all the Demon-Locking Rings on the market now are sold by them."
"These major Immortal Sects are either building teleportation arrays, running money houses, or trading demon slaves. The entire cultivation world is busy making money. Is anyone still cultivating?" Lin Qingyang complained.
"The male lead's Divine Sword Mountain is. They focus on the Sword Dao, but they have close ties with the Myriad Spirits Sect, so they aren't short of money either," Lin Yao explained. "Su Jingui, the sect leader of the Myriad Spirits Sect, is the female lead's father. His sect used to be small, too. It only opened its Money House and grew wealthy after several spiritual stone mines were suddenly discovered in its territory. But the Myriad Spirits Sect has shallow roots and little fighting strength. Su Jingui was afraid other sects would covet his spiritual stone mines, so he simply formed an alliance with Divine Sword Mountain to share the wealth and gain some protection. The female lead later married into Divine Sword Mountain to strengthen that alliance, too."
Lin Qingyang sighed. "So out of all these Immortal Sects, mine has it worst! Not only are we broke, but we're also the first to be wiped out."
"Don't worry, you're not the first. In the original story, the first of the Six Great Sects to be wiped out was actually the Xuanhuang Sect," Lin Yao said. "The Xuanhuang Sect is the heart of the demon slave trade, so after Cang Mo awakened, the first thing he did was destroy it. He also found a way to open the Demon-Locking Rings and freed the demon slaves at Jin Yao Workshop."
"You said it yourself: that was the original story. Now there's no one who'll go wipe them out," Lin Qingyang said.
Back at Clear Wind Pavilion, Lin Qingyang first gave Feng Shu and Feng Yi some instructions, telling them not to slack off while he was away and to cultivate diligently. When he returned to his room, he found dinner already laid out on the table, with several of his favorite dishes. Qi Mo was ladling out soup at the table.
"Dinner's ready," Qi Mo said gently when he saw him return.
It had grown dark, and candles had been lit in the room. In the warm yellow light, with steaming dishes on the table, Lin Qingyang suddenly found the scene very cozy. The two ate together as usual, and Lin Qingyang mentioned his plans to go to the Xuanhuang Sect.
Qi Mo's hand paused around his chopsticks. He nodded and said, "I'll help you pack later."
After they finished dinner as usual, Qi Mo cleared the table while Lin Qingyang curled up comfortably on the soft couch, holding a book and watching him bustle about. Ever since Lin Qingyang had taught him a lesson last time, this little wolf cub had become much better behaved. But why had he suddenly started acting like a little wife? Had Lin Qingyang been too harsh before and frightened him?
As he pondered this, a plate of washed spirit fruit was set on the low table beside him. Lin Qingyang picked one up and took a bite. Still, having someone wait on him like this did seem pretty nice.
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