When Ming Lou and Qi Yu finished their secretive discussion, Qi Yu's more than 100 illusory figures, conjured through the mirror, had already cleaned the entire mountain.
The speed of their work made Yue Zhi Yin, who was watching the commotion, exclaim, "Junior Brother Qi Yu, your ability is truly cheating. By the way, what were you and Ming Lou discussing just now?"
"We were discussing helping the new disciples with less important punishment tasks, like cleaning," Ming Lou said very seriously. "When Master gets angry, he often makes us sweep the entire mountain. How can we possibly finish picking up so many fallen leaves? It's especially difficult for those new disciples who easily make mistakes and annoy him."
"So, I plan to start a business with Junior Brother Qi Yu to complete punishments on their behalf."
Qi Yu held up one finger. "I can control the thoughts and actions of the illusory figures I create. To have one fake person complete a punishment costs one tael of silver. Two fake people cost two taels, and so on."
"Exactly! If Junior Brother Qi Yu can control the thoughts and behaviors of the fake figures, we don't have to worry about the new disciples misbehaving after switching to a fake person," Ming Lou snapped his fingers. "By using this method to earn money, we'll soon have enough to buy the materials for our natal artifacts."
Qi Yu nodded.
Whether it was a human cultivator or a congenital spiritual artifact, anyone who wished to embark on the path of cultivation must possess their own natal artifact.
Talent, in this context, referred to whether a person was a solitary Qin cultivator, an Alchemist, a Talisman Master, or a Body Cultivator on the path of cultivation.
When her talent was previously assessed, the formation of the Bei Yuan Sect indicated that she was suited for Qin cultivation, Alchemy, Talisman Master, and the use of a long whip.
This meant she could focus on these four areas as her primary learning subjects.
Her natal artifacts would therefore be a long whip, a Qin, and a spiritual sword.
In reality, the spiritual sword was not particularly important. She preferred her jade disk artifact for flying.
The jade disk artifact had evolved from her original form. It was comfortable to use, and she could even sit on it when flying.
For combat, her Qin and long whip were sufficient.
Therefore, when forging her natal artifact, she only needed to forge a Qin and a long whip.
Yue Zhi Yin couldn't help but applaud Ming Lou. "You're so amazing, and your money-making method is so brilliant. It's a waste for you to cultivate. You should be a royal merchant!"
Ming Lou agreed with a nod. He then placed his hand on Qi Yu's shoulder and said to her, "Although I have a knack for making money, I am a conscientious person. Junior Brother Qi Yu, this method primarily relies on your abilities. So, the money earned will first be used to forge your natal artifact. Once yours is done, we'll use the remaining money for mine. As for Senior Brother, you don't need to worry about him; his natal artifact is already complete."
"Ah, so, Sixth Senior Brother, you came up with this idea because you were worried I wouldn't have enough money for the materials for my natal artifact?" Qi Yu looked at Ming Lou with some surprise.
"That's right," Ming Lou nodded.
Qi Yu pursed her lips and pondered with a heavy heart whether she should let Ming Lou know that she had lived for over two hundred years and was actually quite wealthy.
Ming Lou mistook Qi Yu's contemplation for gratitude and immediately hugged her. "How is it? Senior Brother dotes on you, right? So, you have to stick with us from now on, understand?"
"Thank you, Sixth Senior Brother, but actually, I'm not short of money." Qi Yu tried to prove her point. "Really? The materials needed to forge a natal artifact, I..."
"You don't need to refuse. I know what you're thinking," Ming Lou said, hugging Qi Yu. "Don't worry, I said you can use it first because you can use it first. You don't need to refuse. Don't be so sensible, be good."
"But..."
"No buts."
"However..."
"And no 'howevers'!"
Seeing Ming Lou's firm stance, Qi Yu closed her mouth. However, she was contemplating that it is impolite not to reciprocate. Since Ming Lou was going to worry about her natal artifact, she would return the favor and make a natal artifact for Senior Brother Ming Lou as well.
With this thought, Qi Yu tentatively tried to gauge Ming Lou's intentions.
"Then, Sixth Senior Brother, what materials do you need for your natal artifact? My natal artifacts are a Qin and a long whip, but because I am of the lightning and ice elements, and my cultivation is already at the late Golden Core stage, I need to incorporate spirit stones of these two elemental energies into the artifact."
Ming Lou toyed with the ordinary spiritual sword he used for communication at his waist.
"I have the gold element Heavenly Spiritual Root, and my talents are sword cultivation and body cultivation. I am also at the late Golden Core stage. My artifact will naturally be a sword. Speaking of which, Senior Brother is like you, possessing dual Heavenly Spiritual Roots. However, Senior Brother is of the wind and water elements, and his cultivation is already at the Nascent Soul stage."
Qi Yu was curious. "Senior Brother is so powerful at such a young age. What is Senior Brother's natal artifact?"
Yue Zhi Yin heard this, spread his palm, and a sword formed from water appeared within it.
The sword looked soft and weak, but in reality, it was extremely sharp.
And it couldn't be broken no matter how it was bent.
It seemed to contain an inexhaustible power.
Qi Yu looked at it for a while before withdrawing her gaze. Yue Zhi Yin offered Qi Yu a suggestion, "You can use the finest Ice Heart Stone and Cold Cicada Silk to make the Qin, with ice element spirit stones. As for the long whip, you can use the Heavenly Thunder Lock, melt it and combine it with lightning spirit stones, to forge a Thunder Whip."
Qi Yu nodded thoughtfully, imitating Yue Zhi Yin's posture as she pondered. "In that case, for Ming Lou's artifact, we can use Vajra Profound Jade and gold element spirit stones."
Ming Lou, on the side, meticulously recorded with a notebook and charcoal, muttering in confusion as he wrote, "Ice Heart Stone, Cold Cicada Silk, Heavenly Thunder Lock, all these are from the Northern Sea... The Northern Sea is guarded by a stingy Dragon Prince, and these things are very expensive. Senior Brother, you have ill intentions, only suggesting expensive items."
"And Junior Brother Qi Yu, you too. That Vajra Profound Jade, do you know how much it costs? That's from the number one treasure pavilion in the cultivation world, Yu Qing Pavilion! This item is worth thousands of gold, and the most difficult part isn't the price, but whether you can even get in."
"That's true," Yue Zhi Yin smoothly steered the conversation to Yu Qing Pavilion. "It is rumored that all the treasures sold in Yu Qing Pavilion are unique. This leads to a situation where the highest bidder wins. However, to be eligible to enter and buy something, one must first purchase an item at the Yu Qing Pavilion auction."
Ming Lou was getting a headache.
"Yes, but to participate in the Yu Qing Pavilion auction, you first need to bring a treasure and act as a seller. After selling your item, you can then participate in the bidding."
He became more and more indignant as he spoke. "In the end, this is a black market, costing money for everything, and what you buy isn't even an item, but just status. I wonder who is behind Yu Qing Pavilion? So greedy!"
Qi Yu, the owner of Yu Qing Pavilion, thought, "...Perhaps the person who opened Yu Qing Pavilion just had a youthful indiscretion and a slight hobby of lacking money, which led them to set these rules."
She said this while awkwardly scratching her head.
When she was in the Xuan Yue Sect before, she noticed that people in the Xuan Yue Sect often fought over gold and silver. Curious about what was so good about these things, she casually exchanged some jade stones from the mountain for silver.
Later, she discovered that opening a shop and selling rare materials and treasures could earn her more silver and gold, which could be inlaid onto her original form, making her look better. Thus, she... opened Yu Qing Pavilion.
She didn't have any talent for making gold or silver.
She had simply lived for a long time.
"Why don't we go to Yu Qing Pavilion now?" Ming Lou suggested. "Actually, I also think Vajra Profound Jade is quite good. Let's register there as sellers and see what things they are auctioning."
"I actually think we should go to the Northern Sea first." Qi Yu didn't really want to sell things on her own territory and then spend money to buy things from her own territory. "After all, although Vajra Profound Jade is rare, so much time has passed. What if the Dragon Prince has some? Dragons love to hoard treasures."
Ming Lou nodded, thinking it made sense.
"...I still think we should go to Yu Qing Pavilion first," Yue Zhi Yin interjected silently. "What if, after so much time, Yu Qing Pavilion has changed its rules? Dealing with the Dragon Clan is not easy, and Yu Qing Pavilion is closer."
"...Yu Qing Pavilion will not change its rules." Qi Yu was firm. "Let's go to the Northern Sea first."
"Let's go to Yu Qing Pavilion first." Yue Zhi Yin was also quite resolute.
Ming Lou looked at Qi Yu, then at Yue Zhi Yin, wondering why they were arguing about such a matter.
Qi Yu put her hands on her hips and looked at Yue Zhi Yin. "Senior Brother, why are you so certain that Yu Qing Pavilion might change its rules? And you say dealing with the Northern Sea is difficult, have you negotiated with them before?"
"And you?" Yue Zhi Yin raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so sure that Yu Qing Pavilion hasn't changed its rules? Have you been there?"
Qi Yu fell silent.
Yue Zhi Yin also remained silent.
Ming Lou looked left and right. "...So, Senior Brother, Junior Brother Qi Yu, where are we going first?"