Chen Qiu coughed lightly with some lack of confidence, and then he spoke softly, "Actually, I'm not an ordinary person. I am the current Young Master of a major family from outside of Da Xia, who unexpectedly fell into Da Xia and lost all my Cultivation."
"This led to the problem that I can't open my Lifebound Storage Ring hidden inside my Dantian, as there's no Spiritual Energy to activate it."
"I must use a Secret Technique to extract the Spiritual Energy from Spirit Stones to barely crack open a slit in the Lifebound Storage Ring within my Dantian, thereby retrieving my former wealth."
"Not much, just 100 Spirit Stones."
"You two have been doing business here in Wentiang's market for quite some time, haven't you? Have you earned 100 Spirit Stones? I wonder if you can lend them to me first?"
"Within seven days, I will return them along with the agreed-upon 3,000 Spirit Stones."
"..."
"..."
"..."
As his words fell, the three of them, including Fat Long, all stood in stunned silence, their faces a mix of confusion and embarrassment. Even Fat Long, who was known for his thick skin, felt a bit ashamed as he awkwardly twitched the corners of his mouth.
"Mr. Chen."
After a long silence, the scholar finally spoke in a complex tone, "You guys even scam disabled people, huh? If you're going to scam, can't you at least refine your methods a bit? You should at least try to dress it up. Such a lowly scam makes me feel insulted."
"I'm serious."
Chen Qiu knew his words sounded absurd and could hardly offer any good explanations, so he could only say as sincerely as possible, "I can't provide a more convincing argument. You'll have to judge based on your own experiences."
He really needed those 100 Spirit Stones.
With those stones, he could buy two "Heavenly Dao Retrospective Talismans," then find a corner to hide away, and then reselect the two Heavenly Dao Terms he had previously discarded. By rapidly increasing his Cultivation and then quickly dropping it back to the Qi Refinement Realm first level, he could acquire a large number of Spirit Stones.
From the first level to the eleventh level of the Qi Refinement Realm, there are ten realms, and each realm could grant him three Spirit Stones, making a total of thirty Spirit Stones.
As long as he kept repeating the process of failing Foundation Establishment and starting from scratch, he could obtain an infinite supply of Spirit Stones.
With an initial investment of 100 Spirit Stones, he could earn—
1,000, 10,000, or even 100,000 Spirit Stones!
...
Just like that.
The four of them stood silently at the edge of the cliff, gazing at each other, and the atmosphere gradually became awkward.
Fat Long started to look around in utter despair, it was apparent that the negotiation would collapse soon, and under such circumstances, the others would likely just leave without helping them. They were a full twenty li from Wentiang market!
There were no roads in sight.
It was a godforsaken place where not even birds would relieve themselves.
It would be a significant challenge for them just to get to a populated place without starving to death in this wilderness.
"Alright."
Just then, the seated scholar suddenly nodded, "Mr. Chen, I believe you. I'll lend you the 100 Spirit Stones."
He did not know why, but something suddenly possessed him to take a gamble that the two people before him were not swindlers. Perhaps it was because after waiting in Wentiang market for several years without hope, he had become somewhat desperate. Suddenly, a lifeline had appeared, and even though he knew it could break at any moment, he wanted to grasp it.
At that moment—
'Heavenly Dao Blessing': Responding to the sincere call of the residents, the Heavenly Dao bestows a blessing. Three li west of Fufeng City, beside a stream, a Heavenly Dao Secret Realm will appear, only accessible to Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage sixth level and below.
The type of Secret Realm is 'assault'.
It will open in five days.
An announcement from above the Nine Heavens reached the ears of the few.
-
"Is there actually an 'assault' type Heavenly Dao Secret Realm appearing near Fufeng City?"
A look of surprise crossed the scholar's eyes, then he calmed down and thoughtfully said, "No wonder I've felt recently that quite a number of forces are sending people to Wentiang. But that's not right, does that mean someone can now predict in advance where the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm will appear?"
"It's the Heavenly Dao Terms."
Chen Qiu was also in a good mood at this point and said with a smile, "We received news that the Huang Family of Fufeng City will soon bring into the open a Heavenly Dao Term. Now it seems it's likely within this Heavenly Dao Secret Realm. But such a big commotion has probably made the Huang Family's secret-keeping efforts over these days completely futile."
"Heavenly Dao Terms?"
The scholar shook his head and denied, "No, no, no. This is a Heavenly Dao Secret Realm that only Cultivators below the sixth layer of the Foundation Establishment Stage can enter. It is indeed possible for Heavenly Dao Terms to appear there, but such a low-level Heavenly Dao Secret Realm definitely contains not only Heavenly Dao Terms but other valuable treasures as well."
"Moreover, where the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm will materialize is absolutely unpredictable in advance; only heaven knows."
"The value of Heavenly Dao Terms is very high, with a price of at least 1,000 Spirit Stones. It's an entry that can be passed down through bloodline relations."
"Passed to sons, not daughters; only male direct descendants can inherit it while females cannot, which ensures that generally, a family's Heavenly Dao Terms are rather stable, without the risk of birthing a daughter who marries off and then the family's Heavenly Dao Terms become another's."
"The effects of Heavenly Dao Terms are completely random; they can be both a curse and an inheritance."
"For instance, there might be an entry that increases the speed of cultivating movement techniques by thirty percent."
"Or there might be one that doubles the Sword Control speed."
"Or possibly one that slows down the Sword Flight speed by ten percent, and so on."
"And so on?"
Fat Long opened his mouth in confusion, "Are all Heavenly Dao Terms like this? There are no other effects? Like... having three heads?"
"None," said the scholar, his expression calm as he explained, "Heavenly Dao Terms all relate to the 'cultivation speed' and 'effectiveness of a Cultivation Technique,' either enhancing or reducing them."
"How much they increase or decrease by is completely random."
"There are advantages and disadvantages, all depending on luck."
"Moreover, Heavenly Dao Terms are individual; they almost have no synergistic effects with other terms."
"Just like there's an 'ancient city' about three hundred miles away with a family known as the Qiu Family. Their ancestors managed to obtain several Heavenly Dao Terms in the past, including one that reduced their Sword Flight speed by ninety percent."
"Heavenly Dao Terms are deeply ingrained in one's bloodline and cannot be removed, forcing the members of the Qiu Family to rely entirely on Flying Demon Beasts and official roads for travel; nobody cultivates Sword Flight as it is barely faster than running a few steps."
"And not one Sword Cultivator has emerged from them in a century."
"Most families' inherited Heavenly Dao Terms have both benefits and drawbacks - the battle style and cultivation direction become fixed, and most of the direct descendants can only follow the preset path."
"The advantage is that the family has walked this path countless times and is very smooth at it. The downside is that the weaknesses are too obvious."
"I remember that in Da Xia, there is only one great family whose Heavenly Dao Terms are all positive without a single negative term - that family is the Xia Family, also the current Da Xia Imperial Family."
"That the Xia Family's ancestors managed to continually obtain positive effects from over a dozen Heavenly Dao Terms, without a single negative one, can only mean they were favored by the Heavenly Dao; no other explanation can be found."
"Some small families are very envious of these Heavenly Dao Terms."
"Selling for around 1,000 Spirit Stones is not a problem."
"Especially for families like the Huang Family of Fufeng City, who are at the Foundation Establishment Stage, this counts as a great opportunity. The Huang Family probably doesn't earn 1,000 Spirit Stones in a year, so whether they use it themselves or exchange it for Spirit Stones, it's a good deal."
"But..."
The scholar paused for a moment before speaking softly, "If the news you mentioned is true, then this involves two separate matters. It's indeed the case that the Huang Family has found an imminent Heavenly Dao Term opportunity, but the arrival of Heavenly Dao Terms causes no disturbance whatsoever."
"Fortune favors those who find it."
"And this 'trial' type of Heavenly Dao Secret Realm just happens to be blessed upon Fufeng City."
"Having two Heavenly Dao Secret Realms blessing Fufeng City within just a few days, and with the added arrival of a Heavenly Dao Term, truly is a strange occurrence. Could something big be happening in Fufeng City soon?"
He pondered with some confusion for a good while without reaching any conclusion, then he continued.
"'Trial' type Heavenly Dao Secret Realms are about completing challenges. With each successful challenge, a participant receives a substantial reward, and the risk of death is very low. Such realms can often accommodate a large number of participants."
"Within these five days, various powers within a few hundred miles will likely send people here to let their disciples undergo trials while competing for the opportunity."
"The next five days will be quite lively."
"Mm."
Chen Qiu nodded his head, took the Storage Bag handed to him by the scholar, took a deep breath, and then looked towards the horizon and spoke softly, "First, take me back to Wentian Market."
With his current strength, he wasn't yet capable of fighting for opportunities in this Heavenly Dao Secret Realm.
However, the Secret Realm wouldn't open for another five days.
What the scene would be like in five days was hard to predict.