261: Chapter 260 Dear senior and junior sisters, I'm truly sorry.

"One million isn't enough? Then ten million!"

Gu Qiuyue slapped the table with the air of one who was filthy rich, her exquisite face full of the arrogance of a woman who was so poor she only had money left.

"Ten million Top-Grade Spirit Stones! To buy out Revered Master's time tonight! Who's in favor? Who's against?!"

"Sixth Junior Sister, have you gone stupid from doing business outside?"

Cold Moon glanced down at Gu Qiuyue from her high position, her tone carrying the natural pressure of a superior.

"In my imperial treasury, Top-Grade Spirit Stones are piled like mountains, and Heaven And Treasures are countless."

"Tch, stop using that broken throne of yours to pressure people!"

Ye You, who had been leaning against the ship's railing to catch the breeze, also scurried over, her dark green slit pupils full of disdain.

"You people just have some broken stones and scrap metal in your hands."

My Myriad Demon Forest might not be as rich as you, but I can get Revered Master the most nourishing Yao Beast heart blood in the world! Revered Master, come back to the Myriad Demon Forest with me tonight!"

"Eat, eat, eat, all you know is eating!"

Su Hongling was displeased. "What Old Man likes best is what I make—no, it's the braised pork I eat with him!"

Watching these six top-tier combatants argue incessantly, various powers of Law clashed wildly in mid-air, producing crackling explosions.

Even the surrounding space began to show fine, black cracks.

"Enough."

Su Lin simply reached out and calmly tucked the Storage Ring filled with ten million Top-Grade Spirit Stones, which Gu Qiuyue had slapped onto the table, into his sleeve.

The air fell silent instantly.

Seven pairs of eyes stared fixedly at Su Lin's cuff.

"Revered Master... you..." Gu Qiuyue blinked, her calculating eyes full of bewilderment.

"What? Who was it that just said they wanted to give this to their Revered Master?"

Su Lin righteously straightened his collar, his handsome face full of solemn dignity.

"This money, your Revered Master will keep for you as the Sect Development Fund."

"As for the rights to tonight..."

Su Lin drew out the last word, his gaze slowly sweeping over those beautiful, possessive faces.

He had to admit, although these Rebellious Disciples had tempers more eccentric than the last and strengths more Heaven-Defying than the next, in terms of appearance and grace, they were absolutely unique existences in this cultivation world.

If it were someone with less willpower facing such a lineup, their legs would have likely gone soft long ago, not knowing what year it was.

But who was Su Lin?

Balance was an extremely profound art.

And...

Su Lin's gaze finally landed on Gu Qiuyue, who was standing to the side slightly dazed because her ten million Top-Grade Spirit Stones had been confiscated.

Speaking of which, since his Rebirth and reuniting this group of disciples, it seemed they had always been fighting and killing.

He had accompanied Su Hongling to slay alien races, explored Secret Realms with Luo Ximei, frozen in the snow with Mu Qingxue, and even had to guard against Chu Weiwei's constant poisoning and medicine testing—he was even forcibly stamped by Cold Moon on the dragon throne.

Only this Sixth Disciple, Gu Qiuyue.

She seemed to always play the role of logistics manager and money bag.

Buying flying boats, repairing the Sect, handling various factions, and even just now, buying off the Heavenly Tribulation to advance to the Mahayana Stage—she had accomplished it all through the commercial Empire she had built up bit by bit.

She rarely acted spoiled or used force to get her way before him like the other Senior and Junior Sisters.

She just stood there silently, using that Golden Abacus to handle all the troublesome matters that required money or brains for him, her Revered Master.

"Number Six..."

A rare trace of guilt and tenderness welled up in Su Lin's heart.

"Tonight, I'll go to Qiuyue's place."

"What?!"

"On what grounds?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the originally quiet deck instantly exploded.

Su Hongling's eyes widened like copper bells as she grabbed her red hair. "Old Man! Were you bought off by those ten million Spirit Stones?!

Didn't you just say that was the Sect Development Fund? How can you sell your own body!"

"Revered Master, your favoritism is getting out of hand, isn't it?" Luo Ximei bit her red lip, her platinum-gold right eye full of resentment. "Is this witch of the Myriad Demon Palace not enticing enough? You have to go find that merchant reeking of the stench of money?"

"Revered Master..." Chu Weiwei's tears came instantly as she tugged at Su Lin's sleeve aggrievedly. "Weiwei's newly prepared Muscle-Relaxing Blood-Circulating Spirit-Soothing Soup is already brewed. If you don't go, the medicinal effects will go to waste..."

Although Cold Moon didn't shout like the others, the Imperial Dao Dragon Qi around her clearly became turbulent as she looked coldly at Gu Qiuyue.

Ye You also flicked her tail with some dissatisfaction, muttering, "How boring, I thought I'd get to eat meat roasted by Revered Master's own hands tonight..."

Facing the gazes of the six Senior and Junior Sisters that seemed ready to devour her, Gu Qiuyue was first stunned, and then a smile as brilliant as a peony in full bloom, yet filled with absolute triumph, blossomed on her exquisite face.

"Oh my, Senior Sisters and Junior Sisters, I'm truly sorry."

Gu Qiuyue leisurely straightened the Golden Abacus at her waist, her slender fingers lightly flicking a bead, producing a crisp click.

"Since Revered Master has spoken, Revered Master's orders cannot be disobeyed. I can only reluctantly serve Revered Master for the night."

She deliberately emphasized the word 'serve', her eyes full of provocation.

"Stop acting coy after getting a good deal!" Su Hongling was so angry she raised her great sword as if to smash the deck.

"All of you, be quiet for your Revered Master!"

Su Lin's expression darkened, and the vast starlight of the Mahayana Stage level instantly rippled out from his body, turning into an invisible barrier that pushed the six disciples, who were about to go berserk, three feet away.

"Your Revered Master is going to Qiuyue's place to discuss official business! Don't the financial accounting for the Sect's reconstruction and the resource allocation for the Daochu Sect for the next hundred years need to be discussed?"

Su Lin hoisted the grand banner of an excuse without even a hint of a blush.

"If you lot are so bored, go copy the Taishang Heart-Cleansing Incantation a thousand times! Hand it to me for inspection tomorrow morning."

As soon as they heard about losing pocket money and having to copy books, the arrogance of the five Female Demon Lords instantly withered.

Taking advantage of their daze, Gu Qiuyue was quick of eye and hand, grabbing Su Lin's arm while her other hand swiftly drew an extremely complex golden rune in the void.

"Revered Master, let's go!"

A golden teleportation portal opened instantly, and Gu Qiuyue pulled Su Lin in like a gust of wind.

"Gu Qiuyue! You thieving cat!!"

Only after the portal closed did Su Hongling's exasperated roar echo across the deck, but the people were already long gone.

...

After a brief feeling of spatial weightlessness, Su Lin found himself in a completely strange place.

This wasn't a cabin inside the flying boat, and it certainly wasn't the newly rebuilt, somewhat simple palace of the Daochu Sect.

"Where is this?"

Su Lin opened his eyes and looked around. Even with his experience of having seen the world, he couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air at this moment.

This... this was practically the embodiment of being inhumanly wealthy!

It was an incredibly vast, circular bedchamber.

What he was stepping on wasn't ordinary jade, but the legendary Nine Heavens Spirit-Warming Jade, which could automatically gather Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and nourish the Divine Soul!

Every jade tile emitted a faint milky white glow. Stepping on them felt like stepping on soft clouds, with a warm current flowing from the soles of his feet straight to his Yongquan point.

The walls weren't made of stone but were pieced together from entire logs of Deep Sea Dragon Ambergris Wood. This wood only grew an inch every ten thousand years, and the fragrance it emitted could not only dispel all Heart Demons but even extend one's life.

And on the dome of this bedchamber, there were actually three hundred and sixty-five fist-sized pieces of Star Marrow embedded!

They were hung according to the arrangement of the Zhou Heaven Star Array, emitting a brilliant but not piercing starlight that illuminated the entire bedchamber like daylight.

The most ridiculous thing was the bed in the center of the room.

That bed was so large it was like a small martial arts arena, and the bed frame was actually forged from the complete spine of an Ancient True Dragon!

A faint dragon pressure still emanated from the dragon bone.

The bedding was made of Ice Silken that could only be found deep within the Far North Ice Plains; it was warm in winter and cool in summer, impervious to water and fire.

The bed curtains were made of Shark Silk, woven from the blood-tears of the East Sea Shark People royalty, as light and thin as mist.

"Hiss..."

Su Lin rubbed his temples, feeling as if his eyes were being blinded by the glitter of wealth filling the room.

"Qiuyue, tell your Revered Master honestly, did you go and ransack someone's treasury?"

Gu Qiuyue let go of Su Lin's arm, turned around, and looked at him with her hands behind her back, smiling brightly.

At this moment, against this extremely luxurious background, she appeared even more alluring.

Her purple-gold long dress swayed slightly with her movements.

"What are you saying, Revered Master? Your disciple is a Law-abiding, respectable merchant."

Gu Qiuyue blinked her watery eyes, walked to a coffee table carved from Ten-Thousand-Year Red Coral, lifted an emerald jade pot with her slender fingers, and poured a cup of clear, transparent spiritual tea.

"This place is my private treasury, and also a space I bought at a high price.

Besides me, no one in this world knows the coordinates of this place."

Holding the teacup, she walked with light steps to Su Lin, tilted her head slightly, her eyes carrying a trace of pride and a desire to please that she couldn't hide.

"Every brick and every piece of wood in this room was collected bit by bit by your disciple, traveling across the three mountains and five peaks, the five lakes and four seas."

"I know you've seen all kinds of good things, Revered Master.

My cultivation is low, so I can't help you much, and I can only hide behind my Senior Sisters when encountering danger..."

"This room was specially prepared by me for you... and for myself."

She held the teacup to Su Lin's lips, her voice so soft it seemed it could turn into water.

"Revered Master, have some tea. This is Dao-Enlightening Snow Needles; one tael of these tea leaves is worth a city."

Su Lin looked at this 'unscrupulous merchant' disciple, who usually calculated everything and would haggle with others for half a day over a few Spirit Stones, now piling her most precious wealth before him without hesitation like a little girl presenting a treasure.

A wave of warmth rose in his heart, and the slight helplessness from being forcibly pulled in vanished.

He reached out to take the teacup but didn't drink, instead taking Gu Qiuyue's soft, boneless little hand.

"You've been thoughtful."

Su Lin said softly, "However, although this room is good, it's a bit too extravagant.

The Sect will have many places to spend money in the future; you shouldn't be so wasteful."

"Revered Master is right to scold me~"

Although Gu Qiuyue agreed readily, her body was very honest.

She didn't pull back her hand from Su Lin's grasp; instead, following his lead, she naturally took a small step forward, her whole body almost pressed against Su Lin's chest.

"But..."

She tilted her chin slightly, her beautiful eyes flashing with a hint of cunning, carrying the tension of a merchant pressing for an advantage at a negotiation table.

"Revered Master, back on the deck, in front of all my Senior Sisters, you accepted my ten million Top-Grade Spirit Stones as a 'buyout fee'."

"Business is business. Since the money has been paid, does Revered Master's time tonight belong entirely to me alone?"

Hearing this, Su Lin's eyebrows rose slightly.

This girl was indeed still that money-grubber who refused to lose out.

"What? Do you want your Revered Master to work for you?" Su Lin glared at her with feigned majesty.

"How would I dare make Revered Master work~"

"I just want to... exercise my rights as an employer."

She stood on her tiptoes, her warm breath brushing against Su Lin's earlobe, her voice extremely low and filled with a deadly allure.

"Revered Master has been traveling and is weary, and your head must hurt from the noise of my Senior Sisters on the deck just now.

Why don't I first serve you by helping you change and bathe?"

She didn't wait for Su Lin to refuse.

"Revered Master's physique... is really good."

She subconsciously swallowed, her fingertips lightly touching those firm muscles, feeling her fingertips grow hot.

"Have you seen enough?" Su Lin felt a bit uncomfortable under her gaze and urged her in a low voice.

"I haven't seen enough; I could never see enough in this lifetime."

Gu Qiuyue snapped out of it but didn't back down; instead, she boldly poked Su Lin's pecs.

"Revered Master, this way please."

She pulled Su Lin's hand, bypassed the massive dragon bone bed, and came to a semi-open bath at the back of the bedchamber.

The pool water was a faint golden-yellow, with a layer of spiritual mist floating on the surface.

This wasn't ordinary spring water, but a medicinal bath brewed from the extremely precious Jade Lake Immortal Brew mixed with over a hundred types of top-tier Muscle-Relaxing Blood-Circulating Spiritual Plants!

"This is too extravagant."

Su Lin looked at the pool of golden-yellow liquid and couldn't help but click his tongue.

This pool of water could probably push a Mortal directly to the Core Formation Stage.

"Revered Master deserves the best."

Gu Qiuyue said without any heartache. She walked behind Su Lin, her hands lightly pressing on his shoulders with a bit of force.

"Revered Master, go in and soak. This water can wash away the fatigue in the depths of your Divine Soul."

Su Lin didn't decline again and stepped into the bath.

The warm pool water instantly enveloped his body, and that pure Spiritual Qi entered through his pores, turning into streams of warmth that gently traveled through his Meridians. This feeling was a hundred times more comfortable than Chu Weiwei's silver needles, yet without any side effects.

"Whew..."

Su Lin leaned against the Purple Crystal Jade Marrow wall of the pool, closed his eyes, and let out a sigh of comfort.

The tense nerves of the past few days finally achieved complete relaxation at this moment.