Chapter 44: Short of Money

Inside the cabin with doors and windows tightly closed, the light was dim.

Li Youyi took all the money, including what he had looted from Xing Wanxing, Fang Tong, and Yan Qingqing, and poured it all onto the table, piling it into a small mountain, counting it carefully twice.

"Eighty-two Gushing Spring coins, one hundred eighty-seven silver coins, eighty copper coins."

One Gushing Spring coin = one hundred silver coins = ten thousand copper coins.

Li Youyi already had a certain understanding of the purchasing power of this world. For example, from Yao Guan to Nine Licheng, a nine- to ten-day voyage, the ship fare for one person was eight silver coins. Zhao Meng was an exception; his was sixty-four silver coins.

Shipping the stone coffin cost an additional sixteen silver coins.

The daily dining expense was also not a small expenditure. Fortunately, when Zhao Meng left the bronze ship, he used bottles and jars to pack a lot of Jin Wu blood and Black Flood Dragon blood to take, otherwise, he alone could eat the food of dozens of people.

But Li Youyi was also taking the Jin Wu blood and Black Flood Dragon blood, and it would definitely be consumed in no time.

Li Youyi had asked Zhao Zhizhuo about the price of mansions in Nine Licheng and was shocked; even in the suburbs outside the city, a small courtyard that could house five or six people, in a good location near the main city, cost tens of thousands of silver coins.

A poor location, a bit remote, also cost nearly ten thousand silver coins.

Counting it all up, all the money he had now was only enough to buy such a small mansion.

Those big ones, or even those inside the city, were things he didn't even dare to think about.

Of course, he had multiple magic tools and other-realm coffins he had fished, all of which could be sold for a high price.

This was his confidence to go to Nine Licheng to settle down temporarily!

"Selling other-realm coffins privately has risks; I have to wait. I could sell a magic tool first, but will I be too eye-catching as a foreign cultivator in the Gushing Spring Realm without a foundation, inviting trouble?" Li Youyi muttered to himself.

The remnant corpse in the stone coffin said: "You can ask Li Ling; she is an Underworld Lamp Guide and also the granddaughter of the Cangli tribe leader."

Li Youyi had already told everyone the whole story, which naturally caused a burst of laughter.

Everyone agreed that there was only one unreasonable point.

That was, why did Li Ling want to approach him?

With so many magic tools, they couldn't move her heart; what else could she be after?

Spirit Tablet Senior told Li Youyi that since Li Ling was an Underworld Lamp Guide, she might have opened 'Perception of Wisdom.' Opening 'Perception of Wisdom' meant she had won in the competition of guides and become a priest successor.

Underworld Lamp Guides could predict the good and evil of a matter and find the correct path in the Spirit-Passing Fog Realm. And the Underworld Lamp Guide who opened 'Perception of Wisdom' had another special little ability: once they truly fell in love with a man, whether it was a thousand or ten thousand miles away, they could find him by perception.

Spirit Tablet Senior felt this was the only reasonable explanation, otherwise, all of Li Ling's behaviors would be too strange.

Li Youyi never dared to be narcissistic or arrogant, not believing he had such charm. But what gave him a headache was that Li Ling didn't release malice, didn't take the initiative to attack, but instead became more and more sincere.

He just wanted to draw a line as soon as possible...

Asking her for help to sell magic tools—wouldn't that create another bond?

"Clang! Clang!"

A sound of camel bells rang in Li Youyi's mind.

Immediately, complex thoughts and negative emotions surged, wanting to devour him. He hurriedly practiced the Jade Void Breathing Method, spending a quarter of an hour before his thoughts calmed down and the bell sound in his mind dissipated.

Ever since he shook the Evil Camel Bell in the Blood Sea Coffin Dock and summoned a giant camel to kill Fang Tong, the bell sound had appeared in

"It rang again?" the remnant corpse in the stone coffin said.

Li Youyi nodded: "It's becoming more and more frequent, and the impact is getting greater... Is there really no way to solve it?"

The remnant corpse in the stone coffin said: "Yu Tuonan is no ordinary figure. Back in the Demon Kingdom's Xiaoyao Capital, only Yu Baxian could suppress him. The Evil Camel Bell is even more renowned; it once caused turmoil in an entire Life Realm, stirring up immense bloodshed. You could say that all the magic artifacts you possess combined don't even amount to half of the Evil Camel Bell."

"For you, if used well, the Evil Camel Bell will be an extremely powerful trump card. Right now, you can only summon a camel three or four meters tall, but in the future, it might be a whole camel caravan, and the camels might even turn into dragon-headed camels."

"But if you cannot suppress it and your mind and consciousness are influenced by its malice, the consequences will be severe; you might even fall into the demonic path."

"It likely recognized you as its master when you channeled your magic power to shake it, but such formidable demonic artifacts often devour their masters as well. As it continuously absorbs the evil thoughts between heaven and earth, its soul energy will recover rapidly and grow stronger. You must be stronger than it is, or you will be the one being driven by it."

"If you can invite a priest-level mentalist from the Nine Li clan, they could indeed extinguish its soul energy at this stage and cut away the hidden danger. Once it grows to a certain point, trying to extinguish it will be as difficult as ascending to heaven."

Throwing it away now is clearly too late.

Senior Lingwei said: "Your breathing technique is very powerful, but you are only resisting it head-on. You must cultivate spirit light as soon as possible; spirit light can suppress the soul of a magic artifact. When that time comes, you will be able to master it, instead of it constantly influencing you."

"Additionally, by opening the center of the fifth spring in your chest, a martial artist can also develop a certain ability to resist and tame soul thoughts," the remnant corpse in the stone coffin said.

Master Guan, Senior Lingwei, and Senior Coffin are clearly far weaker than Chan Hai Guan Wu and Yu Tuonan. After all, the latter two can already manifest their physical forms and move about freely.

"Thump, thump."

A knock on the door sounded.

"Xie Tianshu, the Fourth Miss has already woken up," Zhao Zhizhuo's voice sounded from outside.

Putting away all his coins, Li Youyi pushed the door open and smiled: "Old Zhao, don't call me Xie Tianshu anymore. We are our own people, there's nothing to hide. My real name is Li Youyi. You can call me Youyi, or Li Mou, either is fine."

Li Youyi's hearing was incredibly sharp; he had naturally long since discerned Li Ling's little movements.

He had a very good impression of Zhao Zhizhuo, who, out of gratitude, had preferred to hide the truth from the Young Clan Leader and Li Ling rather than reveal the matter of the magic artifact. In this world, being able to distinguish between gratitude and grudges is already not easy.

Zhao Zhizhuo naturally had to pretend he had just found out, acting surprised and joking for a moment before saying: "Alright, I'll call you Li Mou, but don't call me Old Zhao anymore, just call me Old Zhao. Haha!"

He approved of Li Youyi even more in his heart.

He could understand Li Youyi hiding his real name; after all, when one's cultivation base is low, one should be extremely cautious. If Li Youyi had been jumping around and acting like a big shot just because he had helped the Cangli tribe, he would have instead repaid the favor as quickly as possible and then stayed away.

The two walked along the corridor outside the cabin, and Li Youyi asked: "Old Zhao, you said before that you are a Second Spring cultivator who re-cultivated; can a shattered spring eye really be reshaped?"

The smile on Zhao Zhizhuo's face faded, and he said bitterly: "Reshaping a shattered spring is very difficult and requires immense perseverance. It's been so many years, and I've only reshaped two springs. Unless one can find those top-tier magic artifacts, one might be able to reshape them quickly using the power of the artifact."

"But such magic artifacts..."

"Let's just put it this way: our entire Nine Li clan only has that legendary lost magic artifact that possesses this ability. Otherwise, why would the tribe have helped me restore my cultivation back then... Sigh..."

Zhao Zhizhuo sighed deeply with a heavy chest. Having fallen from the peak into the dust, he had endured countless humiliations, mockery, and insults. His heart had originally been ground into calmness, but today, Li Ling and Li Youyi had stirred up those painful memories.

He, too, had once been infinitely glorious and sought after by thousands.

Unwilling to discuss this further, he said: "We're here!"

Li Youyi pondered secretly in his heart whether he should try to give him a hand once he opened the fifth spring center or cultivated spirit light and could control the Evil Camel Bell.

This thought flashed through his mind for only a moment.

Exposing a magic artifact of this level is no small matter; he must think thrice before acting.

Li Ling was a semi-immortal body; her skin was as delicate and white as jade wax, and her long hair hung down on both sides of her cheeks like black silk. Under the illumination of the sunset outside the door, her facial contours were distinct, and her side profile was incomparably perfect.

"You've always wanted to draw a line between us, so why save me? Now that you have, hasn't that line become blurred again?" she said.

Li Youyi found a stool and sat down, saying: "I think anyone in that situation would have helped out; it was just a matter of convenience."

Li Ling said: "Is that so? I remember that when I was severely injured and lost consciousness, Fang Tong was still alive. To save me, you had to deal with him first; that wasn't just a matter of convenience. With such great kindness and loyalty, how could I not repay you?"

This was a talent that very few malformed humans possessed. Even if a person had left an hour ago, or was dozens of miles away, she could smell the subtle scent.

Li Ling frowned: "Are you very short of money?"

"Going to Nine Licheng, money is needed everywhere. Although I have some savings, I can't just sit and eat through them, can I? It just so happens that you want to repay me." Li Youyi believed that no matter how much Li Ling gave, he would be worthy of it.

Li Ling stopped mentioning repayment and asked: "Did Fang Tong escape?"

Li Youyi thought for a moment: "He escaped very quickly."

"Did you cut off the heads of the other two?" She cared very much about this point.

"No, that was too cruel."

Li Youyi knew what she wanted, so he took out the Snow Wolf King tooth necklace and said: "I think using this as evidence is enough!"

Li Ling wanted to take it.

Li Youyi put it away and stared into her eyes, saying: "I am very short of money."

"What do you need so much money for?" Li Ling said.

Li Youyi said: "Buying a residence in Nine Licheng is a very large expense, and my money is not enough."

"With this necklace, I can apply for a large residence for you from the clan," Li Ling said.

Li Youyi shook his head: "I don't want to have too deep a connection with your Cangli tribe or the Nine Li clan. Once the Earth Wolf King Army investigates, they will trace it back to me. You must tell everyone that you obtained this wolf tooth yourself. You just need to give me the money!"

"Fine, I promise you."

Li Ling revealed a sweet smile: "Your consideration is correct! Nine Licheng is indeed a money pit; no matter how much money you have, you can spend it all. Martial arts cultivation is even more so—breaking through one realm costs ten thousand silver."

She went to take the wolf tooth necklace, but Li Youyi pulled his hand back again: "I still need to see Cai Yutong and Qi Shanshan; they are my companions."

Li Ling's eyes narrowed slightly: "Fine, I will arrange it."

"You must know that by negotiating terms with you, I am actually trying to trust you. There is only this one chance!" Li Youyi said.

Li Ling said: "I know! If something goes wrong, let alone being friends, I'm afraid we can only be enemies in the future."

(End of chapter)