The deeper meaning of the Blazing Sun's Call! It's time to go grind some monsters!

"How much?!"

"Eighty... eighty million?!"

"And... High-Grade Spirit Stones?!"

Looking at that staggering figure at the end of the list, Lin Mo felt his vision go dark and his head buzz; he almost fainted on the spot!

Eighty million High-Grade Spirit Stones!

According to the exchange rate of the Cangxuan Great Realm, one High-Grade Spirit Stone is equal to one hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, which is equal to ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

So, eighty million High-Grade Spirit Stones converted to Low-Grade Spirit Stones would be... eight hundred billion?!

Lin Mo subconsciously touched the Storage Ring on his hand, which contained all his belongings.

At most, he had a little over four hundred million Low-Grade Spirit Stones... Four hundred million versus eight hundred billion.

In other words... his entire current net worth couldn't even cover a fraction of the cost for these Materials?!

"Was I the clown all along?"

Lin Mo's eyelids began to twitch violently, and he felt utterly unwell.

He had thought he was carrying a huge sum of money and could walk with his head held high even in this big city.

But reality had given him a harsh slap in the face.

It turned out that in the face of truly top-tier resources, he was just a pauper!

"Damn! Forging a nation-suppressing divine artifact... is way too damn expensive!"

"Is this trying to stack national destiny with money?"

Lin Mo roared inwardly.

He never expected that the few "ordinary" Saint Weapon Materials Old Man Jian mentioned would be priced at such an absurd level!

"That's correct, honored guest. It is eighty million High-Grade Spirit Stones."

Seeing Lin Mo's "shocked" expression, Steward Wang thought he was confirming the accuracy of the bill.

Thus, he added thoughtfully, even with a hint of fawning:

"Rest assured, I calculated this for you using the Wanyu Merchant Alliance's lowest internal discount."

"Originally, there was a remainder of over three hundred thousand, but I took the liberty of waiving it as a courtesy."

"You only need to pay a flat eighty million."

"..."

Hearing this, Lin Mo was completely speechless.

Buddy, I really thank your whole family!

You even waived the remainder for me?

But the problem is, am I only lacking those three hundred thousand?

I'm lacking the whole damn eighty million principal!

Lin Mo took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to curse.

He knew very well that he absolutely could not show weakness right now.

If word got out that he was actually a pauper who couldn't even afford the down payment, he would lose a lot of face!

So, he quickly adjusted his facial expression, shifting from shock to indifference, and finally showing a hint of appropriate regret and dissatisfaction.

"Cough, cough..."

"I've seen the price; it's fair enough."

Lin Mo coughed twice and frowned with feigned gravity.

"However..."

"You can't even produce the goods right now and have to wait for those flying boats to resume navigation."

"This makes things very difficult for me..."

He shifted the topic, directly blaming the Wanyu Merchant Alliance's logistics issues.

As long as I don't mention money, it's not that I can't afford it, but that you don't have stock to sell!

"I'm sorry, guest... I'm truly very sorry!"

Upon hearing this, the smile on Steward Wang's face instantly collapsed into one of bitterness.

"We want to finalize such a monumental deal more than anyone!"

"Unfortunately... as I said before, the current situation is turbulent, and we are simply powerless..."

Steward Wang's heart ached!

This was a super deal worth eighty million High-Grade Spirit Stones!

If it went through, the commission alone would allow him to Cultivate peacefully for over a hundred years!

But because of the Demon Race invasion, goods couldn't be moved, and he could only watch this fat piece of meat slip away!

"It's all the fault of those damn Demon Race bastards! They deserve to be cut into a thousand pieces!"

Steward Wang cursed through gritted teeth in his heart, wishing he could rush to the front lines and tear the Demon Race apart right now.

But he could never have imagined that even if he could put the goods on the table right now...

The "big spender" in front of him wouldn't be able to pay a cent... "Forget it, since you don't have stock, there's no point in talking further."

Lin Mo waved his hand, putting on an air of "I'm busy and have no time to wait."

But he didn't leave immediately; instead, he casually inquired:

"Besides your Wanyu Merchant Alliance, are there any other channels to obtain these Materials?"

"Other channels?"

Steward Wang was stunned for a moment, then fell into deep thought.

"For divine Materials of this level, besides our Merchant Alliance, looking across the entire Shengyang Prefecture, only the Holy Land's treasury would have them in stock."

"But... your question reminds me."

Steward Wang's eyes suddenly lit up as if he had thought of something, and he lowered his voice to say:

"Right now, there really seems to be an Opportunity for outsiders to access the Holy Land's treasury!"

"Oh?" Lin Mo raised an eyebrow. "Let's hear it."

"Guest, you must have heard the blazing sun summons issued by the Fierce Sword King just now, right?" Steward Wang asked.

"Naturally, I heard it," Lin Mo nodded. "But what does that have to do with this?"

"You actually don't know?"

Steward Wang looked at Lin Mo with a bit of surprise, his gaze carrying a hint of strangeness.

"Could it be... you are not from our Shengyang Prefecture?"

Something like the blazing sun summons was common knowledge in Shengyang Prefecture; any Cultivator with even a bit of experience should understand its meaning.

But seeing Lin Mo's look of displeasure, Steward Wang's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly gave himself a light slap on the mouth, smiling apologetically:

"My apologies, guest, I spoke too fast; I shouldn't have asked."

"Simply put, the blazing sun summons is a special wartime mobilization opened in the name of the Yanyang Holy Land!"

"Once this summons is issued, it means the Holy Land will open its 'Military Merit Exchange System'!"

"Any Cultivator who responds to the summons and goes to the front lines to resist the Demon Race—regardless of their sect or even if they are a Loose Cultivator—can earn Blazing Sun Merit by killing demons and completing missions!"

At this point, a hint of envy flashed in Steward Wang's eyes.

"And this Blazing Sun Merit is hard currency!"

"Not only can it be used to exchange for Spirit Stones, Cultivation Techniques, and Medicinal Pills."

"Most importantly, as long as your merit is high enough, you can apply to open the Yanyang Holy Land's treasury and exchange for rare treasures that are normally never for sale to the public!"

"The Materials on your list, while precious, definitely have stock within the Yanyang Holy Land's treasury!"

After hearing this explanation, Lin Mo's eyes instantly lit up!

"Hmm?"

"There's such a system?"

He understood it now.

Isn't this just an 'Event Shop' from a game?

Normally, the shop doesn't open, or it's only open to VIPs (Holy Land disciples).

Now that there's an event (war), to encourage everyone to grind the event (kill demons), they've specially opened exchange permissions!

"No wonder so many Cultivators were like they'd been injected with chicken blood, howling as they rushed out of the city."

"Even Cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm dared to join the fray."

"So there's an Opportunity to be had!"

Lin Mo realized everything.

Men die for wealth, and birds die for food.

The Yanyang Holy Land's move with 'merit exchange' essentially turned countless Cultivators into mercenaries fighting for treasures!

However... for Lin Mo, this was fantastic news!

"If that's the case..."

"Then if I earn enough military merit, can't I just exchange for those Materials directly from the Holy Land's treasury?"

"This way... I won't have to worry about those eighty million High-Grade Spirit Stones that were about to stump a hero!"

A sharp light flashed in Lin Mo's eyes, and the fire that had been extinguished in his heart began to burn fiercely again.

Asking him to earn eighty million High-Grade Spirit Stones would probably exhaust him to death.

But asking him to kill the Demon Race to earn merit?

Heh... isn't that just going 'restocking'?

With his current strength, wouldn't killing those ordinary demons be as easy as mowing grass?

"And..."

Lin Mo's mind raced, thinking a level deeper.

"Right now, the flying boats are stopped, and I'm stuck here unable to go to the Holy Land."

"But if I perform brilliantly on the front lines and achieve great military merit."

"That Fierce Sword King who issued the summons will surely notice me, right?"

"At that time, I can directly reveal my identity or use my merit to request entry to the Holy Land."

"Could he possibly refuse?"

"In fact, he might even personally escort me, the 'Demon-Slaying Hero', back to the Holy Land to receive my rewards!"

"In that case, wouldn't I save both the time and the money for the flying boat?"

"I can get the Materials, solve the transportation issue, and even gain a wave of reputation..."

"Tsk, this is killing three birds with one stone!"

Thinking carefully, this was simply a perfect plan tailored for his current situation!

"Good!"

"Let's do it that way!"

Lin Mo made his decision immediately.

What flying boat? What ticket?

How could such a dull and tedious way of traveling be worthy of his current status?

Since the road is blocked, then I'll slaughter a path to the heavens!

It's time to farm mobs!