Yun Ze did not answer immediately, but asked for a day to consider.
This two thousand spirit stones, though seemingly easy to earn, was risky if the sword qi within his body proved harmful. He would not dare to take the money!
Yun Ze took the spirit stones and found Tie Shan to extend his closed-door cultivation room for another day. He needed to first determine if the sword qi within him was indeed harmful.
Tie Shan dared not ask further. This time, he only charged nine spirit stones before leading Yun Ze back to the same cultivation room and extending the time by one day with a jade token.
He even spoke of an immediate kinship and not charging service fees between brothers.
Yun Ze knew that Tie Shan was merely trying to curry favor, seeing his extraordinary relationship with Wei Lanshu.
He did not expose the pretense, as every spirit stone saved was a spirit stone earned!
Re-entering the stone chamber, Yun Ze wasted no time. After sitting cross-legged in meditation, he focused his mind on his qi sea.
Two strands of sword qi appeared before his eyes again, just as he had seen them last. The two strands of sword qi remained separated, with no contact between them.
Yun Ze attempted to mobilize his own sword qi and found that its use was as normal as ever, perhaps even slightly stronger, as if it had been refined during its collision with the other sword qi.
He then mobilized his spiritual energy again to touch the other sword qi.
The moment the two came into contact, his qi sea churned violently. The sword qi, like a startled tiger whose rear had been touched, directly counterattacked, churning his qi sea into chaos!
"Pfft!"
Yun Ze spat out another mouthful of blood. The third vortex in his qi sea was almost scattered, showing signs of a potential realm drop!
His qi sea, having just been expanded, was inherently unstable. Coupled with the two instances of qi sea turbulence, it was only thanks to the Immortal Ascension Brew that he could maintain stability.
In fact, when Yun Ze used the Immortal Ascension Brew to expand his qi sea, he was also laying a foundation, making the base of his qi sea extremely solid.
Anyone else would have likely been severely injured and dropped a realm by now.
"What in the world is this thing?"
Yun Ze cursed after recovering, "It won't even let me touch it, and it just stays in my qi sea? What kind of logic is that?"
No!
This was just one strand of sword qi. If Wei Lanshu truly transferred most of her sword qi to him, would he not become a second Wei Lanshu?
This sword qi was overbearing, but he did not wish to live in such pain for his entire life like Wei Lanshu!
It seemed this deal could not be made.
He still needed to find a way to expel this sword qi from his body.
Just as Yun Ze was about to withdraw his consciousness from his qi sea, he suddenly stopped.
He felt his own sword qi; it seemed to have grown stronger again!
What was going on?
After his qi sea stabilized, Yun Ze once again observed the two strands of sword qi. As time passed, he gradually discovered something.
His own sword qi seemed to be absorbing the other strand of sword qi!
Although the progress was slow, there was indeed a transfer of power, a gradual shift from one to the other!
This meant…
Yun Ze opened his eyes, a glint of joy flashing in his pupils!
This deal was feasible! He could even use it to increase his own strength!
It was a win-win situation!
However, it was a pity…
The normal transfer between the two strands of sword qi was too slow. It seemed to require him to forcibly agitate it and cause his qi sea to churn to accelerate the transfer.
But who could withstand the constant churning of their qi sea?
He would have to take it slow.
At the current pace, it would take him at least a year to completely digest this strand of sword qi.
If he traded once a year with Wei Lanshu, she would surely not wait that long.
Fortunately, his qi sea was large enough to accommodate more. He would deal with it when he reached his limit.
A smile crept onto Yun Ze's lips. He did not rush to leave the cultivation room, but closed his eyes to rest and continue cultivating.
The recent turbulence had brought him to the brink of a realm drop. If he did not stabilize his cultivation, he feared he might drop a realm with another push from that old woman!
He would leave them waiting for a while!
One day later…
Yun Ze emerged from the cultivation room, precisely on time, and immediately spotted the two individuals waiting outside.
Wei Lanshu appeared calm, while the old woman, addressed as Li Po, looked displeased, as if she had been waiting impatiently.
"I've thought about it."
Yun Ze walked up to Wei Lanshu and said, "Our transaction can continue, but there are a few points I need to clarify beforehand."
"Speak!"
Wei Lanshu, though seemingly composed, could not hide her excitement, her eyes filled with eagerness and anticipation.
"First, two thousand spirit stones per session, no delays. Payment before the touch."
"Agreed!"
"Second, this matter is not to be revealed to anyone, except those who already know."
"No!"
Before Wei Lanshu could speak, Li Po interjected, "Miss's family members must be informed."
"They are not allowed either."
Yun Ze's stance was firm. "You and your miss might not abandon me after I've served my purpose, but your family members might. What if…"
"I agree."
Before Yun Ze could finish, Wei Lanshu spoke, accepting his condition.
"Miss!"
"Li Po."
Wei Lanshu turned to the old woman. "Some influential figures within the family would also prefer not to know about my condition. Do you understand what I mean?"
"...Yes."
Wei Lanshu nodded at Li Po, then looked back at Yun Ze. "Anything else?"
"Third, the timing and duration of the transaction are up to me. This matter concerns my life, and there is no room for negotiation!"
"Also agreed."
"Fourth."
Yun Ze stated his final demand. "If anyone attempts to harm me, to take my life, you must protect me completely!"
"I can only do my best."
Wei Lanshu finished speaking and looked at Yun Ze, then added, "Until you cure me, if you die, I will not live."
Yun Ze was startled by these words, and a certain silhouette flashed in his mind.
If only it were her who said this, not this woman…
Alas, this was not a declaration of love.
Li Po frowned upon hearing this, but seeing Wei Lanshu's resolute attitude, she said no more.
As long as the cure was possible!
"Very well!"
Yun Ze's lips curved upwards. "The deal is struck!"
"Then, our next session…"
"You have to let me rest, don't you?"
Yun Ze dared not agree to a daily session and earnestly advised, "Young lady, such matters require moderation!"
Wei Lanshu did not understand these nuances and simply nodded silently.
Li Po, however, rolled her eyes.
This young man had a silver tongue!
After the miss was cured, she would find an opportunity…
"Where will you go after this?" Wei Lanshu asked again. She seemed to enjoy talking and was not the silent type.
"I'll go back and check on things first."
Yun Ze seemed to recall something, his eyes lighting up. He looked at Wei Lanshu. "Oh, right, do you want to acknowledge my sect? So you can find me later."
"Okay."
"Then let's go to where I live first."
Yun Ze said, walking out of the cultivation room. "The path there is steep, so you'll have to keep up with me."
Wei Lanshu did not reply, merely tilting her head in confusion.
Steep path?
They were still a thousand meters below the peak; how could the path be steep?
…
At the same time, outside the cultivation room.
A large group of disciples approached, but stopped a hundred meters away from the cultivation room, not daring to advance further.
The composition of this group was peculiar.
At the front were disciples from the previous year's outer sect, in the middle were disciples from the current year's outer sect, and at the rear, a group of senior outer sect disciples provided support.
Their "support" was more akin to escorting!
The number of disciples from the current year far exceeded that of the previous year, with the former numbering over ninety, while the latter had only about thirty.
A three-fold difference!
Yet, the aura emanating from both groups was worlds apart.
"This is the last location."
The leader of the group looked at the cultivation room, then glanced at the newly admitted outer sect disciples behind him, sighing. "The special and top-grade disciples of this year truly lack courage. Even now, they still dare not step forward?"
The more than ninety disciples remained silent, not uttering a word.
It wasn't that they dared not, but that they could not!
Over the past ten days, they had all gone to the mess hall. However, before they could even enter, they were blocked by these senior disciples from the previous year.
Most of them intended to politely greet them and then enter the mess hall to eat. But the seniors ignored them entirely.
They directly blocked their path, produced a thousand spirit stones, and asked if they dared to engage in a duel.
If they won, the spirit stones were theirs. If they lost, they had to consume a pill and follow the senior for a month.
The pill was not a poison, but a common pill refined by Buddhist practitioners – a Mute Pill, used to aid in the cultivation of silent meditation.
It had no side effects, merely rendering the user unable to speak for a month.
Such a wager seemed like a handout, but if it were a one-on-one match, no disciple would be foolish enough to challenge a senior.
Therefore, the conditions offered were simple: a maximum of ten people could challenge, and if they won, the stakes would be divided. The cultivation level of the challenged was also not high, only at the sixth level of Qi Refining.
Upon hearing this, the outer sect disciples thought, "Hey, this is profitable!"
Thus, ten people would gather to sign up for the challenge, then be defeated, consume the pill, and watch another group of disciples come to challenge…
In just ten days, almost all the newly admitted outer sect disciples were wiped out. They would have to follow these seniors around for the entire month, listening to their provocations, disdain, and even insults, but be unable to retort!
Currently, only three individuals had not yet challenged.
Wei Lanshu, Yun Ze, and Luo Yang!
For ten days, these seniors had scoured the entire outer sect with them, but had not found any trace of these three. Now, only this cultivation room remained.
After much thought, this was the only place they might encounter them.
At present, the newly admitted outer sect disciples had only one thought!
To win!
Even if they had to follow these guys around for the rest of the month, they hoped these three could win!
Not for any other reason!
Just to regain some dignity for themselves! To prove that their generation was not a bunch of failures!
"Senior Brother Xiao, please calm down."
One disciple said, "The disciples of this year are indeed not up to par, but since we are their seniors, we must be patient and guide them properly!"
"Hmm, that's reasonable."
Senior Brother Xiao turned to look behind him. "You useless lot, listen carefully! We have put in so much effort for you, you should be grateful! Grateful, do you understand!"
The disciples remained silent and did not leave, but that did not mean they couldn't roll their eyes.
If looks could kill, this senior brother would have been dismembered long ago.
However, it was strange. This Senior Brother Xiao, who seemed fearless, stopped a hundred meters from the cultivation room and did not advance a single step.
He even instructed everyone to sit cross-legged and wait here for the people inside to come out, to see if the person they were looking for was inside.
Until… a figure emerged from the cultivation room.
Upon seeing this, Senior Brother Xiao gave a look to the people behind him, signaling them not to act rashly, and slowly approached the figure, jingling his pouch of spirit stones.
"Brother, want to bet?"