Chapter 27: Farming Favor Debt Points (2)

Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Farming Favor Debt Points (2)

"There’s something ahead."

The three of them moved forward carefully.

The fragrant scent grew stronger, and now... mixed with a faint trace of old decay.

After a few more steps, the passage opened into a dry stone room and they saw...

...a corpse sat against the far wall.

It had already turned into dried bones and tattered robes, but the remaining pressure around it was not ordinary.

Even in death, a faint oppressive feeling lingered in the chamber.

This was not some outer disciple or ordinary cultivator who had accidentally fallen down here.

Whoever this person had been, their cultivation while alive was clearly far above the Qi Refinement realm.

Han Jin’s expression turned solemn.

"This... corpse should be at least Foundation Establishment... Maybe higher."

Su Qin also grew cautious.

She did not immediately touch anything and instead scanned the surroundings first.

Besides the corpse, there were only a few items left that had not completely decayed.

A dull black ring on the skeleton’s finger.

And two jade slips placed neatly beside the body, as if they had been prepared before death.

Han Jin stepped forward first and carefully removed the ring.

After sending in a trace of spiritual sense, his eyes sharpened.

"...A spatial ring."

Su Qin’s breathing paused.

Even Li Jian’s gaze froze for a moment.

A spatial ring was not something an ordinary outer disciple could ever hope to own.

In the Purple Shade Sect, most outer disciples still used cloth pouches or at best a crude storage bag.

A true spatial ring contained an independent space inside it and could store items far more conveniently and safely.

Even among inner disciples, only those with decent backgrounds or special contributions would have one.

In the market, a low-grade spatial ring could easily cost hundreds of mid-grade spirit stones... enough to make many outer disciples go bankrupt several times over.

Finding one here was already a huge opportunity.

Han Jin checked the inside of the ring next.

"Not much left. A few damaged bottles, some scattered spirit stones, and these two jade slips were probably the most important things he wanted to leave behind."

He picked up the two jade slips and probed them one after another.

After a while, his face became rather strange.

"These two techniques..."

Su Qin leaned closer.

"What is it?"

Han Jin was silent for a moment, then spoke slowly.

"One seems to be a dual cultivation technique."

Hearing that, Su Qin’s expression immediately turned complicated.

Her eyes flickered toward Han Jin for a brief instant before she looked away again.

Han Jin continued.

"The other one is much more extreme. It is a foundation-forging method that requires the cultivator to cripple his own yang root. In exchange, the severed vitality is forced back into the dantian and meridians to create a stronger foundation."

The cave became quiet.

Li Jian’s mouth twitched slightly as he understood what it meant.

’Damn... Cripple your own little brother... in exchange for a stronger foundation?’

That kind of technique was clearly a desperate, unorthodox path.

For some cultivators who no longer cared about descendants or dual cultivation, it might be considered a brutal shortcut.

For Li Jian, it was completely useless.

Han Jin put down the second jade slip with a faint look of disgust.

"This one is too vicious. Even if the foundation it creates is decent, the price is not something a normal man would accept."

Su Qin also frowned.

"Who would even keep a technique like that?"

Li Jian looked at the two jade slips and already had his own thoughts.

The dual cultivation technique was useful.

The self-crippling foundation method was not.

And the spatial ring... that was the most valuable of all.

He did not immediately reach for them.

Instead, he stood there calmly, eyes lowering slightly as he began to consider how to divide these things.

Because this time, the opportunity in front of them was no longer just a few leftover herbs.

It was something that could generate a much larger Favor Debt.

Li Jian coughed lightly and stepped forward.

"I’ll take the spatial ring and the dual cultivation technique."

Han Jin and Su Qin both looked at him.

For a moment, the stone room stayed quiet.

The spatial ring alone was already valuable enough to cause a fight among outer disciples.

Adding a usable dual cultivation technique on top of that should have been even more sensitive.

But Li Jian’s tone was calm, as if he was only stating something reasonable.

Then he picked up the second jade slip and held it out toward Han Jin.

"This one, Senior Brother Han can take."

Su Qin’s eyes widened slightly.

"You’re giving him that?"

Li Jian nodded.

"I have no use for a technique that requires crippling my own yang root. Keeping it would only waste it."

Han Jin looked down at the jade slip in Li Jian’s hand.

Surprisingly, he did not object.

There was no outburst, no cold sneer, no attempt to snatch the spatial ring.

He simply stared at the jade slip for a while, his expression turning strange and unreadable.

It was not exactly desire, and not exactly rejection either.

More like he was looking at something that had touched a thought he did not want to say out loud.

After a moment, he reached out and took it.

"...Alright."

That was all he said.

The system reacted immediately.

[Ding!]

[Detected: Host has given a clear benefit to Han Jin.]

[The benefit involves a foundation-forging technique left behind by a high-level cultivator.]

[Favor Debt from Han Jin: 1,785 → 2,285]

Li Jian’s eyes flickered.

’500 points...’

Just from handing over a technique he couldn’t use.

That was a huge jump.

But judging by the enormous amount of Favor Debt he had gained, it seemed that this technique was far from ordinary.

He quietly stored the spatial ring onto his own finger and put the dual cultivation jade slip away.

On the surface, his expression remained unchanged.

Inside, however, he was already calculating.

The spatial ring was a real treasure.

The dual cultivation technique suited him.

And the leftover vicious method had just turned into another 500 points of debt.

Su Qin looked between the two of them, still a little shocked that Han Jin had accepted it so easily.

"You... really want that technique?"

Han Jin lowered his eyes to the jade slip.

That unknown expression remained on his face.

"I didn’t say I would practice it."

He paused, then added in a colder voice, "But a technique is still a technique. There’s no reason to throw it away. And if the opportunity is right, I could even sell it for quite a price."

Li Jian glanced at him once and said nothing more.

In his heart, though, the smile had already formed.

’Oh Senior Brother Han... Whether you use it or not doesn’t matter. You already accepted it.’

’And that means you already owe me more.’

Then Li Jian smile and spoke.

"Let’s keep moving. If this cultivator died here, there may still be something deeper inside."

Han Jin and Su Qin nodded.

Soon,

The three of them left the stone room and continued along the passage behind the corpse.

The air here was different from before. It was no longer just damp and cold.

A faint pressing force began to weigh on their bodies, as if something in the depths was slowly testing their foundations.

Han Jin’s expression grew more serious.

"Be careful. This pressure isn’t ordinary."