"Three days..."
Ye Qingbei pondered for a moment before nodding.
"Then I will trouble Senior Mike." Ye Qingbei said solemnly, cupping his fists.
"This two thousand taels of silver is an advance payment for you, Senior." Ye Qingbei took out two thousand-tael banknotes and handed them to Mike. He then bought himself a new set of clothes.
He wanted to buy new clothes for Liu Dongyue and Shi Ming as well, but Mike didn't know their sizes, so he decided to give them money to buy their own clothes when they returned.
"I'm back."
After returning to Changsheng Temple, Mike called out.
However, Shi Ming and Yun Qianzhun seemed to be off somewhere, while Liu Dongyue was chopping firewood.
He was wielding a hatchet that was already getting dull from use.
"Uncle Master." Liu Dongyue quickly stood up and greeted.
"Why are you still using this dull hatchet when you have the axe from Tai Xuan Holy Land?" Mike couldn't help but laugh as he looked at the shiny, powerful axe lying nearby, unused. He could tell that Liu Dongyue was hesitant to use the new weapon.
"Ah..." Liu Dongyue froze. Could he really use the 47th-ranked axe from the Divine Weapon List to chop wood?
It didn't seem appropriate.
If Tai Xuan Holy Land found out, they might get angry. Plus, the axe would eventually be taken back by Tai Xuan Holy Land, and Liu Dongyue didn't want to risk damaging it. The Holy Land had just given it to him; if he broke it, the consequences would be severe.
"Look at you, being so stingy. Let me tell you, Uncle Master is a rich man now. The days at Changsheng Temple are about to improve." Mike casually tossed ten taels of silver into Liu Dongyue's arms. "Tomorrow, take Shi Ming and Yun Qianzhun with you and buy new clothes for your fellow disciples."
"Thank you, Uncle Master." Liu Dongyue's eyes lit up as he looked at the silver.
He thought, "This is a miracle! Mike actually gave me money!"
"Focus on your cultivation. Strive to reach that supreme, shattered realm, and take me with you to ascend." Mike patted Liu Dongyue on the shoulder, encouraging him.
"Huh?" Liu Dongyue was stunned.
"Ten taels of silver and you want me to ascend? That's asking too much!" he thought, bewildered.
"Uncle Master, don't joke around," Liu Dongyue chuckled awkwardly. "The techniques at Changsheng Temple are mostly useless now, and the ones that still work are mediocre. With those, it's impossible to ascend."
"Ah, yes," Mike replied, realizing Liu Dongyue was right. With the spiritual energy of heaven and earth blocked, most of Changsheng Temple's techniques were practically useless, and only a few could still be practiced.
However, Mike found it strange that, even though the others couldn't cultivate spiritual energy, he could still generate it. Could it be that he had a rare physique?
He figured he would have to look into this issue more seriously. If he didn't figure it out, ascending would be impossible, and he wouldn't be able to return to Earth to enjoy his over thirty million in wealth.
"Wait for me to research it," Mike said, tossing a final comment before heading inside.
Now, Mike had more pressing matters to attend to.
He was planning to create a storage pouch.
For a half-finished storage pouch, Mike only needed to use his soul to inscribe the runes.
Having already made a Seven-Treasure Gourd, Mike was somewhat familiar with the process.
Just two hours later, Mike breathed a sigh of relief—his storage pouch was complete!
A puff of black smoke rose from the pouch, indicating it was finished.
"This much space?" Mike marveled at the size of the pouch, estimating it could hold at least ten cubic meters.
"Wait…" Mike glanced at the instruction manual and said in confusion, "The manual says a completed pouch should release blue smoke, but mine is emitting black smoke?"
"Should I put something inside to test it?" Mike grabbed a banknote, but then stopped halfway.
"What if something goes wrong and the banknote gets ruined?" he thought, deciding against it. Instead, he planned to test it with something of lesser value.
At that moment, Yun Qianzhun's voice called out, "Uncle Master, dinner's ready! We have chicken legs tonight!"
"How embarrassing," Mike muttered as he received the banknote and tucked it into his sleeve. A warm smile spread across his face.
This left Ye Qingbei slightly stunned.
Ye Qingbei felt Mike was truly different from the experts he had met before.
Very... unique.
Mike, now with money in hand, didn't rush back to Changsheng Temple but instead visited the 'Divine Mechanism Merchant Guild.'
The Divine Mechanism Merchant Guild was a massive force across the Divine Que Kingdom, and it was known for being able to sell anything.
Mike had originally gone to buy a storage pouch.
When Ye Ziying had used one earlier, Mike had been envious.
However, a storage pouch only one cubic meter in size cost fifty thousand taels of silver, and that price shocked Mike. It was far too expensive.
Even if he used all his earnings, he wouldn't be able to afford it.
Just as Mike was about to give up, he saw that they were also selling half-finished storage pouches, designed for spiritual artifact masters. They could buy these and inscribe the runes themselves to complete the pouch.
The price was only five hundred taels each.
Without hesitation, Mike bought one.
If he couldn't afford a finished product, he would just make it himself.
He also ordered meat, vegetables, rice, and seasonings from the guild, arranging for them to be delivered to Changsheng Temple.