Material Procurement.
"After a few days' parting, seeing you again feels like a lifetime has passed. Yesterday, when I heard the Sword Bell chime nine times, I guessed it was you, Little Martial Uncle, ascending to the nascent soul stage."
"It gave me quite a jolt! The shock I felt was like a crack of thunder from the highest heavens. Seeing you today, the shock remains!"
"My admiration for you, Little Martial Uncle, is like a surging river, endless and overflowing..."
Elder Qian grabbed Xu Xian and launched into a tirade of flattery. It was so excessive it was practically smoking.
It made Xu Xian feel a bit embarrassed.
He said modestly, "Elder Qian, you overstate things. A mere nascent soul can't compare to your seventh stage cultivation."
Elder Qian disagreed, saying sternly, "Ah, Little Martial Uncle, you mustn't say that. Even if I am in the seventh stage, I'm over a thousand years old. I'm someone with one foot in the grave. You might be a nascent soul, Little Grand-Uncle, but you're only eighteen! How can they be the same?"
"An eighteen-year-old nascent soul... in the history of humanity, you are unprecedented in the past and likely unrivaled in the future..."
The former's seventh stage was in its waning years.
The latter's fifth stage was in its prime.
There was indeed no fault in that logic.
Xu Xian waved his hand and got down to business. "Alright, Elder Qian. No need for such talk between us. Let's discuss official matters."
Elder Qian rubbed his hands together and leaned in. "What does Little Martial Uncle wish to discuss?"
Xu Xian took out his dao jade and handed it to him.
Elder Qian stood up slightly from his seat and accepted it with both hands.
Xu Xian smiled. "I didn't come for anything else today. I'm here to pay back the money!"
"Pay it back?" Elder Qian was confused and surprised. "The deadline hasn't arrived yet, has it? Besides, Little Grand-Uncle, you didn't need to make a special trip. The interest can be automatically deducted. Did I not mention that?"
Xu Xian said slowly, "You did. However, I'm not here to pay interest. I'm here to repay the principal."
"The principal." Elder Qian pondered for a moment. "How much do you intend to repay first, Little Grand-Uncle?"
Xu Xian gave a humble smile. "All of it!"
Elder Qian was stunned. "All of it?" His divine sense swept over the dao jade, and the shock in his eyes doubled.
It had only been a few short days.
How did he have so many merit points?
Logically, he shouldn't pry, but he couldn't suppress his curiosity. He asked tentatively, "Little Grand-Uncle, where did these merit points come from?"
Xu Xian didn't hide it and spoke frankly. "I don't treat you as an outsider, so I'll tell you straight. These points were given to me by my master."
"Master???" Elder Qian didn't react for a moment. He was confused, then suddenly realized, showing an 'I understand' expression.
"Oh, Master Ruan."
Before going into seclusion, Xu Xian had visited Elder Qian. One could say that in the entire Wendao Sect, Elder Qian was likely the first to know that Xu Xian had taken Ruan Zhong as his master.
Xu Xian smiled.
"It seems Master Ruan truly values you, Little Martial Uncle. As a master, he's truly beyond reproach."
Xu Xian sighed. "To be honest, I didn't want it at first. But my master insisted on giving it to me, and there was nothing I could do. He even said that if people found out his disciple owed money, he would lose face."
He slapped his thigh and said more loudly, "I thought about it, and he's right. My master is a grand ninth-grade spirit forger, one of the best in Fanzhou. His status is unquestionable. I can't bring shame to him. Since he's at such an age, I just went along with his wishes. Once I earn money in the future, I'll just show my filial piety then."
Elder Qian gave a thumbs up. "Little Martial Uncle makes sense. How filial! No wonder Master Ruan wouldn't take anyone else but you."
Xu Xian waved it off. "I'm just average. Master taking me in was a matter of fate. It was simply my destiny to be his disciple!"
Elder Qian laughed. "Haha, Little Martial Uncle is right. Rest assured, I certainly won't spread this around. My mouth is famously tight."
Xu Xian smiled, not really caring.
Since he dared to take the money, he wasn't afraid of what others said.
After the pleasantries, Elder Qian got to business. He told Xu Xian that because the loan term was less than three years, early repayment required a penalty.
5% of the principal.
That would be 100,000 merit points.
However.
He said that given his relationship with Xu Xian, he insisted on waiving it.
Xu Xian gladly accepted.
Elder Qian also mentioned that although the loan was held for less than a month, interest had to be charged for a full month—this was unavoidable. At 0.3%, that was 6,000 merit points.
Xu Xian gladly accepted.
6,000 points.
Very reasonable.
One must know how to be content!
With the transaction deducted, Xu Xian's business was done. He bid farewell to Elder Qian and left the main hall of the Merchant Hall, heading instead to the pharmacy that specialized in elixirs and spirit plants.
A male disciple accompanied him the entire way, remaining enthusiastic.
"Little Grand-Uncle, these Ice Clear Pills are two thousand points each. How many do you need?"
Xu Xian frowned. "A first-grade elixir is that expensive?"
Two thousand points was equivalent to twenty low-grade spirit stones. This price was almost on par with second-grade elixirs.
"Little Grand-Uncle might not know. Although the Ice Clear Pill is a first-grade elixir, one of its ingredients is the Frost Snow Lotus. This plant is sensitive to heat and only grows on snowy mountains. It's extremely difficult to cultivate, so the price is relatively high. Our buyback price from the Elixir Hall is 2,000 points per pill. Selling them at 2,000 points means we don't make a cent."
"It's done for the convenience of the sect disciples. Besides, few people in the sect need this. Most are sold to the Central Plains, where our Merchant Hall sells them for at least 30 spirit stones."
Xu Xian was thoughtful. He really didn't know much about elixirs. But mentioning the Elixir Hall reminded him of the white-haired little girl with the cold hands.
"Alright, give me..."
Xu Xian did a rough calculation in his head. There were over forty households in the village. When he arrived, there were about 150 people. Over five years had passed; with deaths and births, there should be no more than 200 people.
To be safe, he needed a surplus. Anyway, he could return them if he bought too many. Elixirs didn't have an expiration date.
He immediately said, "Give me 200."
Hearing this truly startled the disciple. Two hundred pills? This wasn't buying medicine; this was wholesale.
"200 pills? Are you sure, Little Grand-Uncle?"
"Yes, 200."
The disciple swallowed hard and reminded him, "Little Grand-Uncle, 200 pills will cost 400,000 points."
"I know!"
Seeing Xu Xian's resolve, the disciple stopped insisting and immediately packed 200 pills for him. With a wave of his sleeve, Xu Xian swept them all into his storage bag.
Having spent 400,000, Xu Xian wasn't finished.
He pointed to the Third-Grade Lifespan Elixirs on the shelf.
"How much for a Third-Grade Lifespan Elixir?"
The disciple paused and replied, "These are quite expensive. They're 5,000 points each."
Lifespan Elixir was a type of medicine that could extend one's life.
Taking it would increase longevity; a third-grade one could add 10 years.
The medicine could stimulate the life source within the body to forcibly extend life, but the effects could not be stacked.
Xu Xian calculated silently. "Give me three."
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