480: Chapter 480 Spreading Money

Li Xihe stopped her lecture and said happily, "As your Revered Master, I will immediately arrange a Cultivation Chamber for you. Focus on your seclusion to achieve a Breakthrough."

She looked at her Disciple Jiang Wanying nearby and asked, "Fetch a foundation establishment pill for me, and then select a top-tier Second Grade Cultivation Chamber."

“Revered Master!” Liu Daodan bowed with his hands clasped. “This Disciple has already prepared a foundation establishment pill. Just providing a quiet Cultivation Chamber will suffice.”

Jiang Wanying, who was about to head to the treasury to fetch the foundation establishment pill, paused in her tracks and looked at Liu Daodan as if he were a fool.

'If you prepared one yourself, then so be it. If Revered Master grants you one, then you have an extra. Why refuse it for nothing? Who would ever think they have too many foundation establishment pills?'

Li Xihe also looked at Liu Daodan with surprise. This man was polite and had clear eyes; he appeared even more upright than those from the academies. He didn't seem like a fool, but rather someone with a clear and pure heart.

“Since you aren't lacking a foundation establishment pill,” Li Xihe paused, “Wanying, bring him a few bottles of Low Grade Second Grade true essence pills.”

The true essence pill is a Medicinal Pill used by Foundation Establishment Cultivators to increase their cultivation. It helps with the condensation of magic power during the Foundation Establishment process and can assist in stabilizing the dao foundation after a successful Breakthrough.

Liu Daodan bowed again, then took out a bottle of pills from his Storage Pouch to show Li Xihe.

“Thank you for your kindness, Revered Master. This Disciple has also prepared true essence pills, enough to stabilize my Realm after the Breakthrough.”

Li Xihe was slightly stunned and blurted out, “Where did you get so many Second Grade pills?”

foundation establishment pills and true essence pills were things many Foundation Establishment Cultivators couldn't even produce. Liu Daodan was just a Qi Refining Cultivator before; how could he have prepared so thoroughly?

Liu Daodan had just seen through the Foundation Establishment Bottleneck. It wasn't strange that he could obtain these Breakthrough resources if he returned to the Liu Family now.

But before he even reached the Breakthrough Bottleneck, the Liu Family had already given him these resources in advance? Did they believe in him that much?

According to Liu Daodan, his Aptitude was only average within the Family, so he shouldn't have received much Family support.

“Reporting to Revered Master, in my Liu Clan, as long as one is my father's child, they can receive a foundation establishment pill once their cultivation reaches the Peak of Qi Refining.”

“As for cultivation pills, Liu Family Disciples receive a certain monthly stipend based on their Family talent ranking.”

“This Disciple's talent is ordinary, so my monthly stipend is only three hundred Spirit Stones. However, I am also a High Grade First Grade Alchemist. By occasionally performing Alchemy, I average an income of about a thousand Spirit Stones per month. I've accumulated some savings over the years, so I don't lack pills.”

An income of a thousand Spirit Stones a month meant an annual income of over ten thousand Spirit Stones, making him wealthier than many Foundation Establishment Ancestors!

Jiang Wanying was at the Golden Core Realm and Li Xihe was at the Nascent Soul Realm, so they weren't exactly envious, but they found it somewhat incredible.

Since Liu Daodan didn't want anything, Li Xihe felt she was losing a bit of Face. She took out a crimson gemstone from her spatial ring and threw it to him.

“This is Sun-Eroding Jade, a High Grade Second Grade spiritual jade. it's quite beneficial for fire-attribute Cultivators to stabilize their magic power. Surely you don't have this?”

“This...”

Liu Daodan's sword-like brows furrowed slightly. The principle he followed was that there are no free lunches in this world; many things seem to have no cost, but in reality, they must be repaid later.

He couldn't see clearly the relationship between his father and True Lord Li, so he didn't want to have too many entanglements with True Lord Li and the Lihuo Sect so soon.

However, True Lord Li was his Revered Master after all. Refusing to accept anything would be a total lack of Face, which wouldn't be right no matter how it was phrased.

“Thank you, Revered Master!”

After hesitating for a moment, Liu Daodan accepted the Sun-Eroding Jade and put it away.

Li Xihe's expression finally softened a bit. She instructed Jiang Wanying to take Liu Daodan to the Cultivation Chamber for his seclusion, then looked at the other Disciples in the hall.

“Are you all as rich as Liu Daodan?” she asked curiously.

The crowd was silent for a while before a female Disciple said weakly, “No, I'm very poor!”

She began counting on her fingers, “There are over five hundred brothers and sisters over the age of six in the clan. My overall ranking is 381st. Combined with the fact that my cultivation is only at the fifth level of Qi Refining, my monthly stipend is only ninety Spirit Stones.”

“My Alchemy level is also only Low Grade First Grade, and my monthly Alchemy earnings are less than a hundred.”

“However, I also have a part-time job teaching introductory Alchemy courses at the Clan School. With that extra income, it probably adds up to about two hundred Spirit Stones a month, not even a fifth of what Brother Dan makes.”

With this female Disciple taking the lead, others began to complain. Another younger female Disciple followed up.

“I'm poor too. Although my talent is a bit higher and my monthly clan stipend is one hundred and fifty, I don't know Alchemy. I only know a bit of Artifact Refining. The earning potential of a low-level Artifact Refiner is much worse than an Alchemist!”

“Be content! You Artifact Refiners are fine. We low-level Formation Masters are the miserable ones. We don't even have enough study time. Not only can we not make money, but we also have to spend money to buy Formation Flags.”

“Hmph!” someone grumbled dissatisfiedly. “At least you all have a money-making skill. I have no talent at all, so I can only go work in the Merchant Alliance shops. All my money is being saved up for me by my mother.”

“That miserable? Didn't Father strictly forbid the Concubines from touching our Spirit Stones?” someone asked curiously.

“It's not that serious!” he explained. “Mother is just helping me save it because she's afraid I'll spend it recklessly. She'll give it to me when I need it.”

Li Xihe had just asked casually, not expecting everyone to actually start chatting about it.

Each one cried poverty, but in reality, every single one of them was dripping with wealth. Even the worst off could make several thousand Spirit Stones a year, and they were all doing easy jobs, not the grueling kind.

A few thousand Spirit Stones a year could also be earned by many Qi Refining Cultivators who risked their lives fighting on the front lines, but how could those be the same?

The Lihuo Sect was newly founded, and its benefits were already considered good. A Late Qi Refining Stage Disciple who worked hard could make two or three thousand a year. Those with top-tier talent and hope for Foundation Establishment could push for four or five thousand. If they went to the front lines to participate in the war, they could earn even more.

But compared to these children of Liu Xuan, the treatment between the two was like night and day.

'Even if you're rich, you shouldn't spend it this way!'

The Liu Family was completely throwing money at these Disciples regardless of the cost. If an ordinary Disciple got thousands or tens of thousands, and Liu Xuan had over seven hundred offspring in total, wouldn't the annual expenditure be in the tens of millions?

Moreover, it was said that the expenditure on Liu Family offspring was only the small part; the Spirit Stones spent on Liu Xuan's nearly one thousand Concubines each year was even more!

At least twenty million Spirit Stones a year. Li Xihe felt a pang in her heart just thinking about it. As the only personal Disciple of Daoist Lord Lihuo, it wasn't that she couldn't produce that much, but she felt it was too wasteful.

In any Sect or even Family, the middle and lower-level members should be making money for the organization. How could there be a logic to spending money on them?

Even Daoist Lord Lihuo, who needed to expand his orthodoxy, wouldn't throw money at Disciples with ordinary Aptitude. Was Liu Xuan stupid or crazy?

'Whether he's stupid or crazy, using his Liu Family's money to train my Lihuo Sect Disciples is a good thing!'

“Alright!” Li Xihe waved her hand to signal for silence and then instructed, “Later, your Senior Sister Wanying will distribute the Cultivation Techniques and Sect rules to you. You may all head down now!”

“As you command!”

The group bowed and withdrew.

After everyone had left, Li Xihe instructed her Disciple Jiang Wanying, “These people don't lack money. There's no need to arrange work for them. Just teach them well in their cultivation.”

“Give them ten days of leave every month so they can go back to the Liu Family to collect their money!”