Chapter 13 Finance

  "Thank you, Senior Taishang, for your kind words." Fang Li clasped his fists together in respect and accepted the praise calmly.

  The elder nodded slightly and looked around, seeing that he was in the ruins of a thatched cottage. He couldn't help but ask: "This place... was it destroyed by the residual waves of your true energy?"

  Fang Li awkwardly nodded, "Cultivation breakthrough, temporarily unable to control the true energy within the body, that's why this situation occurred."

  。”

  The Taishang Elder examined Fang Li's cultivation and exclaimed in surprise: "It's actually the peak of the fifth layer of Qi Refining, only one step away from entering the sixth layer of Qi Refining realm, how is this possible?!"

  The Great Elder was shocked, as Fang Li had only been at the fourth level of Qi Refining just a month ago. He didn't expect such a huge improvement in just one month. The Great Elder had seen many geniuses in his cultivation journey, but this was the first time he had encountered someone who could improve so quickly.

  "It's just luck, not worth mentioning." Fang Li lightly shook his head, the reason why his cultivation could improve so quickly was just a coincidence.

  Jian Fangli didn't want to say more, and the Taishang elder didn't ask much either. He just said: "When breaking through to the sixth layer of Lianqi, your body will receive a strong enhancement, and even your innate talent and bone structure will be improved. This is the most important upgrade for cultivators. If you prepare well for this breakthrough, it can even turn some people with mediocre talent directly into top-notch ones. You should seize this opportunity well. If you need any help, you can come to the family's forbidden land to find me."

  "Even the congenital bones can be strengthened?" Fang Li was slightly surprised, he had also heard that when a cultivator breaks through to the sixth layer of Qi Refining, his entire body would undergo a strengthening transformation, which is the first transformation of the physical body. However, Fang Li always thought it only transformed the muscles, bones and blood, but didn't expect it could also strengthen the congenital bones!

  "Of course, I wouldn't deceive you. Judging from your foundation, it only reaches the 6th grade, which is quite ordinary. If not for your exceptional comprehension, I estimate that even entering the Foundation Building stage would be difficult for you. However, if this enhancement can raise your foundation by one or two grades, or even directly to the top-grade 9th grade, then your future achievements will absolutely surpass mine." The Elder said with certainty.

  Fang Li furrowed his brow and asked, "I wonder what I should prepare to better improve my root bone quality when breaking through to the sixth layer of Qi Refining?"

  "First-rate elixir, if you can get a Dragon Bone Violet Gold Pill to assist, it will definitely raise your root bone quality to top-notch. However, the Dragon Bone Violet Gold Pill is a third-grade pill, and I'm afraid it's not for sale in our Flame City. Even if it were, it would be at an astronomical price, unless you're willing to spend all of your family's resources."

  "Longgu Purple Golden Pill?" Fang Li furrowed his brow, this thing was probably something he couldn't afford.

  The elder smiled with deep meaning, "Of course, there are not only one kind of elixir that can help improve the quality of the root bone. Some second-grade elixirs can also be used as substitutes, such as Fa Mao Dan, Huan Xue Dan, Yi Jin Dan, Du Gu Dan, Xi Su Dan and Tuo Jing Dan. If you can collect all six kinds of second-grade elixirs and take them when breaking through the sixth layer of Qi Refining, your root bone quality will be at least improved to eighth grade. However, whether you can enter ninth grade is hard to say."

  。”

  "Thank you, Senior Taishang, for telling me. I already know and will not miss this opportunity to improve my foundation." Fang Li clasped his fists in gratitude, then asked a question that had been on his mind, "However, when I was studying abroad, I read many ancient books that said one's innate talent is born with them and cannot be improved through external means. Why is that?"

  The elder looked at Fang Li with an appreciative gaze, being able to ask such a question showed that he had indeed seriously read many books.

  "What we often refer to as 'talent' actually refers to two aspects: one is innate ability, and the other is enlightenment. Innate ability refers to the body's compatibility with spiritual energy, which can be changed through external means. Enlightenment, on the other hand, is elusive and difficult to grasp. The ancient books you are reading must have been left behind by sages of old, who considered innate ability to be insignificant. Only enlightenment was seen as the sole criterion for evaluating talent. After all, when cultivators reach a high level of attainment, they can recreate their physical bodies, and their dependence on the physical body becomes weaker. Naturally, they wouldn't place importance on innate ability, which is why it's said that talent cannot be improved through external means."

  Fang nodded, feeling enlightened in his heart. He admired those powerful cultivators to the extreme, and wondered how they could reforge their physical bodies. It was unthinkable, and he suspected that even severe physical injuries couldn't harm them.

  "Now that your house has been destroyed and you have no place to live, it's unacceptable. Moreover, as the elder of the family's honor, your residence can't be too humble. I have a mansion in the eastern district of the family, I'll give it to you, so you can focus on your cultivation." The Supreme Elder continued.

  Fang Li furrowed his brow, "The East District is a residential area for legitimate sons, will it be okay for me to move in with my mother and sister?"

  The elder smiled lightly and asked in return, "Don't you think you can't compare with those legitimate sons?"

  "Of course not, I just didn't want to bring unnecessary trouble to my mother and sister. But since you dared to send it, how could I not dare to live in it? If someone comes to provoke me and gets beaten to death or disability, I hope you can take some responsibility." Fang Li shrugged his shoulders and said indifferently.

  The old man was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head and laughed: "Now I'm starting to regret sending you to the mansion, I really don't know what kind of trouble this will bring."

  "I've never been one to stir up trouble on my own initiative, so you can rest assured about that, Elder." Fang Li said seriously.

  "I hope so, but being too aggressive can lead to defeat. When the time comes to endure, you must still endure. After all, any elder in our clan is not someone you can currently defeat, and I won't always be by your side to protect you." The Supreme Elder reminded him.

  "Thank you for the advice, Senior. I understand," Fang Li bowed with his fists together and continued, "However, there is one more thing that requires your help, Senior. My sister and mother are ordinary people, if I were to leave home, I would inevitably worry about them. I hope you can help me, allow my mother and sister to practice the family's cultivation method."

  。”

  Ye Xiang and Fang Liu'er were both stunned, never expecting that Fang Li would make such a request to the Supreme Elder, especially Ye Xiang, who had not even a hint of mental preparation.

  The elder shook his head, frowning: "This matter is probably not feasible. The family rules cannot be trampled on at will. If there is no sufficient reason, even if I am the elder, it won't work. Otherwise, it will only lead to the family's disintegration."

  Ye Xiang and Fang Liu'er couldn't help but reveal a hint of disappointment in their eyes. Ye Xiang was okay, she was already old and didn't have high hopes for becoming a cultivator anyway. But Fang Liu'er was different, originally she had no hope at all, now that she finally had a glimmer of hope, it was immediately crushed by the Supreme Elder, the feeling of loss could only be understood by Fang Liu'er herself.

  The disappointment on his sister's face was clearly visible to Fang Li, who refused to give up and continued to ask: "Is this really not possible?"

  The elder shook his head, "A month ago you killed Fang Linbao. I intervened on your behalf because Fang Linbao was in the wrong for injuring your mother and abducting your sister. This time, you want me to break the clan rules and allow your sister to practice the family's martial arts, unless there is a sufficient reason."

  "Isn't there another way?" Fang Li still didn't give up.

  "Brother, don't make things difficult for Elder Tai Shang. Six Er actually doesn't really want to become a monk either." Fang Liu'er pulled on Fang Li's clothes, afraid that he would offend Elder Tai Shang with his persistence.

  The Great Elder didn't mind so much and replied: "It's not that there are no other ways, unless you have the power to shut up all the other Elders."

  Having the power to shut up other elders! Fang Li clenched his fist and let out a deep breath, saying: "I understand, sooner or later I will make it happen, but I have already thought of another way. If I can't cultivate my family's martial arts, then I won't cultivate at all. Tomorrow, I'll go to the auction house in the city to take a look. I'm sure I'll be able to find several manuals with dense martial arts secrets."

  "Going to the auction house to bid for a secret manual is possible, but the good ones are all sky-high prices, and some can only be traded with crystal stones. If you want to buy one, I can lend you tens of thousands of gold or hundreds of crystal stones. After years of closed-door cultivation, this is all that's left of my savings." The Supreme Elder said.

  "Trading with crystal stones! Being a cultivator is indeed an expensive profession." Fang Li furrowed his brow, he also had some crystal stones, which were necessary items for setting up arrays. However, these were all given by Shangxian in the past, and now that they had been consumed, only three remained, probably not even enough to exchange for the most basic skills.

  。

  "That's natural. The four elements of the Master's wealth are ranked in order, with wealth being first for a reason." The elder explained.

  Fang thought for a moment, suddenly grasping something important, his eyes lit up instantly. He was the legendary Formation Master, one of the most lucrative professions, if his peers knew he was still worried about crystal stones, they would probably laugh their teeth off.

  Thinking of this, Fang Li suddenly felt relieved. As a rare formation master, he had the ability to obtain resources, such as weapons, elixirs, and martial arts techniques, so why did he need his family to give them to him?

  "This matter has already been considered in my heart. If the senior elder is free, I'd like to take my mother and sister to the mansion first. It's already dusk now, if we don't settle on a place to stay, we might have to sleep outdoors." Fang Li thought of a solution and a smile appeared on his face without him realizing it. Seeing that his sister was still in a state of loss because she couldn't practice the family's martial arts, he walked over, rubbed her head gently and said: "Don't worry, brother promises you, within seven days, I'll definitely get a manual for you to practice."

  Of course, Fang Li needs to get not only the skills but also the elixirs that can enhance his foundation. However, all of this has to wait until he gets enough crystal stones first.

  Fang Liu'er stared blankly at Fang Li, seeing his coaxing expression, and suddenly burst out laughing. With a brother like this who cared for her, even if she couldn't become a nun, she was content.

  The Elder saw the smile on Fang Li's face and knew he had thought of a solution, and couldn't help but nod his head in satisfaction. In fact, helping Fang Liu'er become a cultivator wasn't a difficult task at all, just one secret manual would do, and as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the Elder had many personal collections that didn't belong to the family's cultivation method, which could be given to Fang Liu'er to cultivate. However, he didn't do so, instead intentionally pushing it away and letting Fang Li solve it himself. The reason for this was because he knew that if everything went according to Fang Li's wishes, then his genius would soon become mediocre.

  The Taishang elder didn't say another word, and immediately took Fang Li's family to the residence of Yu Nuo. This mansion was not located in a bustling street, but instead nestled between mountains and water, very quiet and secluded. Fang Li and his family were all very satisfied.

  Although the Supreme Elder had never lived here, as his private property, there were guards and maids who took care of everything, sweeping every day, very clean. These guards and maids saw the mysterious Supreme Elder appear, one by one they were shocked with wide eyes, also knowing that this mansion had been given to Fang Li, no one dared to oppose, all honestly greeted the new master.

  Fang Li was too lazy to bother with these trivial matters, so he handed over all the affairs of the mansion to the old housekeeper inside, and then chose a room with his mother and sister respectively, and went to rest.

  。

  The next morning, Fang Li left home early and bought an ordinary iron sword at a weapon shop before hurrying back home.

  The fastest way to gather a large number of crystal stones in a short period is to craft several fake artifacts and then take them to the auction house, where they will likely cause a stir among many cultivators and sell for a good price.

  "Engraving the Water and Fire Two-Element Restriction requires one fire and one water crystal, for now I can only make a pseudo-magical tool." Fang Li muttered to himself, immediately taking out two thumb-sized crystals and starting to grind them.

  It took two hours, and most of the two crystal stones were ground into powder, with only a few grains left.

  Fang Li took a deep breath, immediately pulled out the iron sword he had purchased, and began to engrave the Water Fire Two Instruments Restriction using crystal stone powder as a medium. This was not his first time engraving, although it couldn't be said that he was familiar with it, but his success rate was at least over 70%, plus Fang Li intentionally slowed down his engraving speed, making it almost impossible to fail.

  "Water and Fire Two Rituals Formation, seal!" Fang Li shouted loudly, the true energy inside his body shot out from his fingertips, pouring into the Water and Fire Two Rituals restriction on the iron sword, the restriction was immediately activated, and the red and black light burst forth.

  "Finally done!" Fang Li let out a sigh of relief, looking at the Water and Fire Two Instrument Sword he had just finished crafting. He couldn't help but smile with satisfaction. This sword may have cost him two crystal stones and an entire morning's time, but it possessed the same power as his previous iron sword that had exploded, both being fifth-grade ordinary artifacts. If he were to take it out to auction, he reckoned it could sell for over a hundred crystal stones - this was absolutely a huge profit!

  "Compared to resources, our side's advantage will not lose to any cultivator." Fang Li's eyes burst forth with a strong self-confidence. In terms of the first item, array masters indeed have an unparalleled advantage.

  Fang Li stood up, gently wiping the iron sword in his hand, a satisfied smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. With sufficient resources, whether it was the Four Clans' Grand Competition two months later or the life-and-death duel two years later, he would absolutely be able to astonish everyone.

  If a small branch child repeatedly achieves victory, I wonder if those direct descendants who used to look down on themselves will be shocked and their eyeballs will fall out. Fang Li maliciously speculates, wondering what kind of expression those high-and-mighty direct descendants would have?

  Enduring humiliation and swallowing anger for fifteen years, the sharp edges are all revealed this morning. In short, today's advantage is no longer that bullied child, but a young man standing tall!