Chapter 36 - 25: 50 Years of Cultivation!

Chapter 36: Chapter 25: 50 Years of Cultivation!

Inside Mu Xiaoyu’s bedroom in Xuanzhen Temple, Li Yinsheng and Mu Xiaoyu sat across from each other at a desk.

"Senior Brother, are you saying you’re here to give me this month’s allowance?" Mu Xiaoyu asked earnestly.

"I’ve already told you three times," Li Yinsheng replied, somewhat helpless.

Mu Xiaoyu pointed at the talismanic coins piled into a small mountain on the desk. "All of these?"

"All of them," Li Yinsheng nodded.

"How many talismanic coins is this in total?" she asked.

"Roughly ninety thousand," Li Yinsheng said. "Combined with what you already have, it should be exactly one hundred thousand."

His tone was absolute when he said "exactly one hundred thousand." Due to the Wealth of Cultivation mission, he could see Mu Xiaoyu’s savings. Furthermore, ever since she bought snacks last time, she hadn’t spent a single talismanic coin.

Faced with the talismanic coins on the desk, Mu Xiaoyu propped her elbows on the table and rested her delicate face in her hands. She looked completely serious and remained silent for a long time before asking a question that made Li Yinsheng fall silent as well.

"Senior Brother, are you trying to buy me to be your servant girl?"

"No," Li Yinsheng replied after his silence. "Why would you think that?"

"If one talismanic coin is worth ten taels of silver, then one hundred thousand talismanic coins is one million taels of silver," Mu Xiaoyu explained earnestly. "When my family buys servant girls and household staff, they cost less than one hundred taels each.

"Logically speaking, if a Commandery Princess like me were to marry, the total betrothal gifts combined should only amount to a few tens of thousands of taels. It wouldn’t exceed one hundred thousand.

"Senior Brother, you’re suddenly giving me a million taels, which is more than ten times the amount of a betrothal gift. The only thing I can think of is that you want to outright buy me as your servant girl."

Mu Xiaoyu counted on her fingers as she calculated.

Li Yinsheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He raised a hand and tapped her on the head. "What are you thinking? Do I look like I need a servant girl?"

Mu Xiaoyu clutched her head, looking at him with teary eyes.

"The reason I’m giving you so much this time is because someone delivered money to us," Li Yinsheng explained with a smile.

"They delivered this much? There’s actually such a good person in this world?!" Mu Xiaoyu even forgot the pain in her head.

Li Yinsheng gave her a simple explanation of what had happened today. Although Mu Xiaoyu looked as if she barely understood when he mentioned things like "Spirit Charm," "Spirit Refining Array," "Spirit Gathering Array," and "Spiritual Eye," she managed to grasp the general idea by the end.

"So what you’re saying is that the bad guys from the neighboring Daoist Temple came to our mountain to steal things. Then, you caught them, detained the thieves, and told their people to pay compensation." Mu Xiaoyu tried to reiterate it using her own understanding. "These talismanic coins are the thieves’ first compensation payment, and there will be more later, right?"

"Smart," Li Yinsheng nodded.

"Then I can’t take this money!" Mu Xiaoyu bobbed her head emphatically. "It’s their compensation to the Daoist Temple, and you were the one who demanded it, Senior Brother. How can you give it to me!" Pausing for a moment, she added quietly, "I’m not saying I don’t want any, but... this is too much. Just sharing a tiny bit with me is enough. I haven’t even finished most of the snacks I bought last time."

Li Yinsheng raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected the little girl to be both gluttonous and lazy, yet still quite principled. However, she simply had to accept these talismanic coins. If she didn’t take them, how was he supposed to progress... how was he supposed to practice his Cultivation!

Li Yinsheng knew very well that the people of Yellow Crane Temple might pay up honestly, but counting on them to do so was highly unlikely. When the time came, they would most likely have to clash using their own methods. Although his Cultivation wasn’t bad, aside from an Upper Grade Magical Artifact that had just undergone Refinement, he was otherwise at the level of an ordinary young Cultivator in his twenties. He didn’t even know a slightly advanced Magic.

Under these circumstances, if the other side sent a Cultivator whose Cultivation was only slightly inferior to his but who was extremely skilled in Magical Combat, it would be truly troublesome. However, as long as his junior sister accepted these one hundred thousand talismanic coins, the next two tier goals for Wealth of Cultivation would instantly be completed. Then, he would be locked in the Grotto Heaven to train bitterly for fifty years, allowing him to give the people from Yellow Crane Temple a massive surprise when they came knocking!

Therefore, his junior sister absolutely had to accept these one hundred thousand talismanic coins today.

Shifting his thoughts, Li Yinsheng patted Mu Xiaoyu’s head and asked, "Junior Sister, do you really not want these talismanic coins?"

"I want them, but I can’t take this many. Plus, I can’t even finish spending what I have now," Mu Xiaoyu said.

"Actually, there’s a very important consideration behind me giving you these talismanic coins," Li Yinsheng said solemnly. "Junior Sister, the neighboring Daoist Temple might come attacking our doors tomorrow.

"Even if they don’t come tomorrow, they will definitely come in the future. I don’t have absolute confidence in winning. If I lose when the time comes, Xuanzhen Temple might have to disband."

"Why?!" Mu Xiaoyu’s eyes widened. "Those people came to steal things. Not only do they not want to pay compensation, but they also want to beat people up and disband our Xuanzhen Temple? This is completely unreasonable!

"If they were under my father’s jurisdiction, I’d have my father lock them all in prison and behead them one by one!" she added, clenching her fists fiercely.

"Getting angry won’t help," Li Yinsheng ruffled her hair. "If I lose, they’ll definitely loot all of the temple’s property, wouldn’t you agree?"

"Mhm!" Mu Xiaoyu nodded. "They’re so bad, they definitely would!"

"But you’re just a new disciple who has only practiced Cultivation for a month. They definitely won’t expect you to be hiding one hundred thousand talismanic coins on your person," Li Yinsheng guided her patiently.

"Oh!" Mu Xiaoyu’s large eyes suddenly lit up. She felt like she had an epiphany.

"So you actually want me to temporarily safe-keep these talismanic coins, Senior Brother! If you beat them all, we’ll be fine. If...

"If you don’t win, then we still have these talismanic coins left!"

"Half right," Li Yinsheng said. "I’m not asking you to temporarily safe-keep them. I’m truly giving them to you, so you have to hide them well.

"You don’t need to feel like you’re taking too much either. In the future, if the Daoist Temple needs to spend money on anything, you can pitch in!"

He wasn’t sure if Mu Xiaoyu’s "temporarily safe-keep" comment would affect the mission. If his cheat didn’t count these one hundred thousand talismanic coins as Mu Xiaoyu’s savings because of that, he would have to start over. Of course, he didn’t actually plan on making Mu Xiaoyu pay for anything. After the one-hundred-thousand talismanic coins tier, there was still the final tier of three hundred thousand talismanic coins.

Furthermore, truthfully speaking, if he wanted Mu Xiaoyu to aim for a B Class or even A Class evaluation when she participated in the Lesser Yang Dao Examination in the future, a budget of three hundred thousand talismanic coins might not even be enough. A single Upper Grade Magical Artifact alone would cost over a hundred thousand talismanic coins.

"Then leave it to me, Senior Brother!" Mu Xiaoyu’s face was filled with determination. "I will definitely hide these talismanic coins well!"

The moment she spoke those words, Li Yinsheng suddenly felt the familiar, resonant chime of a great bell echoing in his mind. A scroll popped up before his eyes, and golden text surfaced.

[Master of the Cave Heaven: Mu Xiaoyu

Cultivation Aspiration: Of the four essentials of Cultivation—Method, Wealth, Companion, and Land—"Wealth" is the most crucial! As the saying goes...

Cultivation Rewards:

Obtain 1,000 talismanic coins, rewarded with 1 year of Cultivation; (Achieved)

Obtain 3,000 talismanic coins, rewarded with 3 years of Cultivation; (Achieved)

Obtain 10,000 talismanic coins, rewarded with 10 years of Cultivation; (Achieved)

Obtain 30,000 talismanic coins, rewarded with 20 years of Cultivation; (Achieved)

Obtain 100,000 talismanic coins, rewarded with 30 years of Cultivation; (Achieved)

Obtain 300,000 talismanic coins, rewarded with 50 years of Cultivation

Current talismanic coin savings: 100,000 coins]

Afterward, the scroll faded away. The scenery before Li Yinsheng’s eyes shifted, and he found himself sitting on the White Jade Platform. New golden text surfaced on the white jade.

[The Master of the Cave Heaven has accumulated a massive amount of talismanic coins. Cultivation Aspiration is nearing completion. A reward of fifty years of Cultivation has been issued this time. Please practice Cultivation on your own to claim it.]

"This Grotto Heaven really isn’t smart at all," Li Yinsheng grumbled. "Every time, I get dragged in the exact instant it’s completed, regardless of whether I want to claim it right away or not."

However, this wasn’t a big deal. After all, through his repeated testing, he had found that no matter how many years passed inside the Grotto Heaven, the time outside would not change.

"PHEW..."

Li Yinsheng gently exhaled. As he circulated the Qingxuan Scripture and the True Blood Secret Scripture, he recalled all the handwritten notes from senior Daoists that he had read over the past month. Even with a lengthy period for practice within the Grotto Heaven and without depleting his Heart and Spirit, breaking through to become a Daoist was not something he could be careless about.

He had to be completely prepared!