138: Chapter 97 The Road Ahead

The next morning.

When Chen Xuan woke up, Liu Lili was already in the courtyard.

She was squatting by the stone table, with a pile of Storage Pouches in front of her, taking things out one by one.

Spirit Stones, Medicinal Pills, Talismans, spiritual materials, Magical Artifacts, Spirit Beast cubs, spiritual fruits, and spiritual wine.

She couldn't pile any more on the stone table, so she piled them on the ground.

She couldn't pile any more on the ground, so she piled them on the steps.

The steps were full, so she piled them in the courtyard.

The entire courtyard was packed full of various congratulatory gifts.

Chen Xuan walked out of his room, looked at the things filling the courtyard, and was stunned for a moment.

"Senior Sister, what are you doing?"

Liu Lili looked up, a piece of spiritual fruit peel still stuck to her face, her eyes filled with a hint of despair.

"Junior Brother, you're finally awake."

She stood up, brushed the dust off her skirt, and pointed at the congratulatory gifts filling the courtyard.

"These were delivered this morning."

"This morning?" Chen Xuan frowned. "Didn't the wedding banquet end?"

"It ended, but the gift-givers didn't." Liu Lili picked up a gift list and read it to him. "Bihai Immortal City's Xiao Family sent ten crates of Grade 2 spiritual materials and 2,000 Spirit Stones. Wang Ling of the Fusheng Sect sent thirty bottles of Grade 2 Medicinal Pills. Daoist Heshan of the Qingcang Sect sent a pair of Grade 2 Spirit Beasts. The Southern Sky Zhang Clan sent three Grade 2 Magical Artifacts."

She put down the gift list and sighed.

"And President Liu Yishou of the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce sent a full one hundred crates of Spirit Stones, claiming it's the Chamber of Commerce's dividend. One hundred crates, Junior Brother, do you know how many Spirit Stones that is?"

Chen Xuan shook his head.

"Twelve thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones." Liu Lili's tone trembled slightly. "Twelve thousand, it could bury you if you piled them up."

Chen Xuan fell silent.

Twelve thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, 1.2 million Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

In his second life, he had painstakingly managed the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce for decades, and his annual net profit was only this much.

But now, this was just his dividend for half a year.

It wasn't because of anything he had done; it was simply because he was Yun Qi.

Yun Qi of the Liuyang Sword Sect, the Dharma lineage successor of the Conquest Hall, and the Deputy Hall Revered Master of the Dharma Propagation Hall in Wanyao Immortal City.

When the status is reached, resources naturally follow.

You don't need to ask, you don't need to fight for it, you don't even need to nod.

They come on their own.

Like a tide, unstoppable.

Chen Xuan walked to the stone table, picked up a spiritual fruit, and took a bite.

The juice was sweet, the Spiritual Qi dissolved in his mouth and slid down his throat into his Dantian.

A Grade 2 spiritual fruit, market price fifty Spirit Stones each.

He used to be reluctant to eat them.

Now, people send them by the crate.

"Senior Sister, how should we handle these things?"

Liu Lili squatted on the ground, packing the scattered spiritual materials back into the Storage Pouch one by one.

"How would I know? Back in the Liu Family, the steward would handle these things. Now that the steward isn't here, I have to do it myself."

She picked up a Jade Slip, made a note on it, and put it into the Storage Pouch.

Her movements were practiced, but the expression on her face was painful.

"Junior Brother, do you think we can refuse them?"

Chen Xuan shook his head.

"No. Not accepting them is looking down on the people who sent them. Looking down on one person is fine, looking down on ten people is also fine, but looking down on a hundred people is just creating enemies for yourself."

Liu Lili bit her lip and continued cleaning up.

An hour later, the courtyard full of congratulatory gifts had finally been sorted and packed into over thirty Storage Pouches.

Liu Lili stacked the Storage Pouches neatly in the corner of the room, then sat down on the bed with a plop and let out a long breath.

"Junior Brother, will it be like this every year from now on?"

"During holidays, birthdays, and weddings, as long as there is an excuse, people will send gifts."

Liu Lili's face fell.

"Then how many times a year will we have to receive them?"

Chen Xuan thought for a moment.

"Once for the Spring Festival, once for the Dragon Boat Festival, once for the Mid-Autumn Festival, once for your birthday, once for my birthday, and once for the anniversary of our Dao Companion ceremony. At least six times a year."

Liu Lili closed her eyes.

"Junior Brother, I think we need a warehouse."

Chen Xuan laughed.

"Senior Sister, didn't you quite like receiving gifts back in the Liu Family?"

Liu Lili opened her eyes and rolled them at him.

"That was me receiving gifts from others, of course I was happy. Now it's our business, and we have to return them."

She counted on her fingers.

"The Xiao Family sent ten crates of spiritual materials, we have to return ten crates. Wang Ling sent thirty bottles of Medicinal Pills, we have to return thirty bottles. Daoist Heshan sent a pair of Spirit Beasts, we have to return a pair. The Zhang Clan sent three Magical Artifacts, we have to return three."

The more she spoke, the more anxious she became, and her speaking speed increased.

"Junior Brother, you know, sometimes I don't want to lose wealth..."

Chen Xuan sat down at the table, poured a cup of spiritual tea, and took a slow sip.

"Senior Sister, no need to return them."

Liu Lili was stunned.

"No need to return them?"

"No need to return them." Chen Xuan put down the teacup. "These things were not given to me, but to this identity of mine. As long as I am still Yun Qi of the Liuyang Sword Sect, as long as I am still the Dharma lineage successor of the Conquest Hall, as long as I am still the Deputy Hall Revered Master of the Dharma Propagation Hall, they will continue to send them."

"This isn't social reciprocity; it's an investment. They are investing in my future, betting that I can reach the Golden Core stage. If I reach the Golden Core stage, their investment today will have a hundredfold or thousandfold return. If I cannot reach the Golden Core stage, they will just consider it money down the drain."

He paused, his tone very calm.

"Therefore, there is no need to return them. Returning them would actually break the rules."

Liu Lili was silent for a long time.

"Then I'll put them away?"

"Put them away."

"Put them in the warehouse?"

"Put them in the warehouse."

Liu Lili stood up, walked to the pile of Storage Pouches, and squatted down again.

She picked up a Storage Pouch, rummaged through it, and pulled out a Spirit Stone.

A Mid-Grade Spirit Stone, the size of a fist, rich in Spiritual Qi, glowing with a faint luster.

She held the Spirit Stone up to her eyes and looked at it for a long time.

"Junior Brother, how many Spirit Stones could you earn a year when you were in the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce back then?"

Chen Xuan was silent for a moment.

"A dozen or so."

"A dozen or so?"

"A dozen or so Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. Throughout the year, by living frugally, I could save up a dozen or so."

Liu Lili lowered her head, looking at the Spirit Stone in her hand.

One Mid-Grade Spirit Stone is worth one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

A dozen or so Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, over a thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Enough for a Spirit Farmer family to live on for a hundred years.

And now, if a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone fell on the ground, he wouldn't even bother to bend down to pick it up.

It wasn't that he had changed, but that his position had changed.

Standing in a different position, one sees different things.

And one cares about different things.

Chen Xuan stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, people were coming and going on the streets of Wanyao Immortal City.

Cultivators from the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce were transporting goods, Loose Cultivators were setting up stalls on the roadside to sell their wares, and children were chasing and playing in the alleys.

Everything was very normal.

But Chen Xuan knew that none of this was normal.

Three years ago, this place was still a ruin.

Filled with Demonic Qi, bones everywhere, without a trace of vitality.

And now, this is a city.

A city belonging to the Human Race.

It was bought with the lives of himself, his Revered Master, his fellow disciples of the Conquest Hall, and the Cultivators of the The Three Sects.

Liu Lili walked over and leaned against him.

"Junior Brother, what are you thinking about?"

"Thinking about the road ahead."

"How to walk the road ahead?"