12: Chapter 12 Hehehe! Thief, you big cat and mouse!

merit golden light.

It really is merit golden light.

Li Linfeng pressed his glabella, then pressed his forehead.

A cluster of golden light floated within his Spiritual Sea of Consciousness.

It had been transmitted from the Divine Servant Imprint.

A few breaths earlier.

He had already examined it several times with his divine sense.

This was absolutely merit golden light, the real deal.

In his previous life, he had coincidentally obtained a wisp of merit golden light, cultivated his Original Life Sword Qi, subsequently nurtured a Sword Spirit within two hundred years, and achieved Sword Immortal cultivation.

On the path of cultivation, merit golden light was, to him, the most important cultivation resource.

How could he not be familiar with it?

So there was absolutely no way he could be mistaken!

Although this cluster of merit golden light was sparse, it was genuine.

But.

"Why?"

Why would a cluster of merit golden light be transmitted from a Divine Servant Imprint belonging to an Evil God?

Why would an Evil God possess merit golden light?

"Not only does He possess it, He can also bestow it upon me!" Li Linfeng suspected he had cultivated improperly and suffered a Qi Deviation.

Otherwise, he found the reality before him somewhat difficult to accept.

This was too sinister.

"You, a Cultivator who hasn't even reached the first level of cultivation, can also suffer a Qi Deviation?" Feng Yifan chuckled. "Also, I am an Evil God. Isn't it normal for an Evil God to be a bit sinister?"

Is it normal?

Li Linfeng didn't know.

He was a bit confused right now.

"Is it enough, Little Li?" Feng Yifan asked again. "If not, I'll think of another way."

Obtaining a Cultivation Technique was imperative for him!

And he suddenly realized that if Li Linfeng could enter the Scripture Pavilion, then he wouldn't need to wait for the other to give him the technique.

Any technique Li Linfeng could see, he could also see.

Taking it himself would be even more reassuring!

"...It's enough." Li Linfeng very much wanted to say it wasn't enough; he was curious what other methods this Evil God could think of to obtain more merit golden light.

But, no.

He couldn't risk deceiving the Divine Lord.

He couldn't risk the punishment from the Divine Servant Imprint.

If traces were revealed because of this, it could very likely lead to him being expelled from the Sword Sect, or even executed.

The Sword Sect's attitude towards Evil Gods had always been to kill the innocent rather than let the guilty go.

"Good then, the merit golden light is given to you. When can you Cultivate Sword Qi?" Feng Yifan asked again.

"At most three months," Li Linfeng said. "Starting tomorrow, I will go to the periphery of Sword Washing Valley to practice sword techniques and kill ferocious beasts to condense Sword Qi."

Although the spiritual energy within his body was weak, condensing Sword Qi required only a trace.

With his memories and experience from his past life, three months was sufficient.

"Kill ferocious beasts?" Feng Yifan said. "After killing them, how do you plan to dispose of them?"

"What do you mean, dispose of them?" Li Linfeng was momentarily stunned.

"Tsk, coming from a poor background, you should know it's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality!" Feng Yifan said. "The fur and bones can be sold for money, remember to sell them. Of course, don't waste the flesh and blood either."

It was a pity they were too far apart; he wanted to eat it, but couldn't.

And he couldn't have Li Linfeng build an altar.

Being caught would be more trouble than it's worth.

But still, they shouldn't be wasted!

"...The periphery is full of beasts with a bit of demonic aura but no intelligence. A hundred of them might not even be worth one Low-Grade Spirit Stone," Li Linfeng said, understanding Feng Yifan's meaning.

There were outer Sect stewards collecting them, though.

They could be exchanged for some low-quality pills used by novices in the Pill Refining Room, or some other things.

Most Disciples looked down on such things and simply didn't bother.

"Why not take them?" Feng Yifan immediately said. "Take them! If you can't use them, save them up and send them to me!"

Even a fly's leg is still meat!

He had the tenfold return here.

It could be used to enhance the combat power of the White Bone Ghouls.

It could also be used to improve the strength of the Li Clan.

Since it came for free, why not?

"...Alright," Li Linfeng agreed.

He had truly never seen an Evil God like this!

"By the way, are there any martial arts techniques in the Transmission Hall?" Feng Yifan said. "Find a few sets for me, ones that the Li Clan can Cultivate. It's best if you also find for me which Physique is suitable for which technique."

"Divine Lord, are you planning to have the Li Clan Cultivate martial arts?" Li Linfeng found it hard to believe.

An Evil God not thinking about extorting from his believers, but actually planning to bestow blessings?

"Yes, when they become stronger, they can hunt more sacrifices for me. Is there a problem?"

"No problem."

"If there's no problem, then do it quickly."

"Yes."

"Then I'm off... Oh wait, I forgot to ask, how many pills does an Inner Sect Disciple get per month?"

"Below the sixth level of Qi Refining, it's three times that of an Outer Sect Disciple, plus ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones. The rest depends on the Master's discretion."

"Whoa! What about above the sixth level of Qi Refining?"

"The pill quality improves, the quantity remains the same. Spirit Stones increase to twenty. Also, they can take on external Sect missions,"

"This means there's extra income to be earned, huh?"

"...Extra income? There are additional benefits, and it also allows Disciples to gain experience and accumulate resources, in hopes of achieving Foundation Establishment as soon as possible."

"What about Foundation Establishment..."

"Those who nurture Sword Qi are Sword Soldiers. Generating Sword Aura makes one a Sword Servant. Generating Sword Gall makes one a Sword Master. With Foundation Establishment cultivation, if one also becomes a Sword Master, they can participate in the competition for Spirit Vein Guardian positions within the Sword Sect."

What being a Spirit Vein Guardian meant went without saying.

"Excellent!" The Evil God cackled with a sinister laugh. "Cultivate well, this deity will supervise you!"

"..." The corner of Li Linfeng's mouth twitched.

What exactly was this Evil God so excited about?

Because of pills and Spirit Stones?

But these things were of no use to an Evil God!

...

Xiao Yao Mountain, inside the temple.

"This is a really good investment direction."

Feng Yifan narrowed his eyes and thought to himself, "The stronger Li Linfeng becomes, the more cultivation resources he obtains, and the greater my harvest here will be."

Spirit Veins produce Spirit Stones.

What are Spirit Stones?

Spirit Stones are both cultivation resources and the currency of the cultivation world.

Who doesn't like money?

This thing is even more likable than money!

If Li Linfeng guards a Spirit Vein, according to the rules, he gets a ten percent share of the output.

Wouldn't that mean I, here, would effectively own the entire output of a Spirit Vein?

"In other words, we'd have a mine at home!"

Of course, the prerequisite was that Li Linfeng's cultivation could not exceed his control.

Otherwise, if this guy were to turn traitor and try to kill him, that would be terrible.

"...If I have ten times his cultivation resources and still get killed by him, then I, the Emperor, would be too useless!" Emperor Feng Shen Huang flicked his tiger tail and cursed.

He looked at Li Linfeng with different eyes.

This wasn't a Divine Servant.

This was a treasure bowl!

It's just that this treasure bowl wasn't fully forged yet.

He had to wait a bit longer.

Feng Yifan's claim about supervising Li Linfeng's cultivation wasn't false.

Over the next few days, he checked in every now and then.

Seeing that the other indeed hadn't been slacking off, he would leave satisfied.

As for the Li Clan, they indeed bought meat the next day and properly offered sacrifices to him, the Mountain God.

Stimulated by the huge future gains from Li Linfeng's side, the sacrificial offerings from the Li Clan seemed somewhat insignificant in comparison.

However, Feng Yifan still gave them Face.

He accepted half a boiled goat.

The remaining half was divided among the Li family.

Additionally, he accepted the pig head, goat head, and cow head.

But he didn't eat them.

He had them made into braised delicacies to be slowly nibbled on later.

This way, while cultivating, Feng Yifan could also chew on braised meat to pass the time.

The medicinal and spiritual energy released enhanced the cultivation of the White Bone Ghouls.

Life was quite comfortable.

...

At the foot of the mountain.

Li Clan settlement.

The scent of mutton had been wafting through the air for the past two days.

Perhaps this scent was too enticing.

In the middle of the night, thieves arrived.

"Oh my god!"

"A huge rat!"

"Big cat! Mouse!"