Chapter 156: Collecting a Debt

Days passed one by one, and Zhang Nuo never left his room. It was not because the conversation with Zhuge Qing that night had made him feel dejected, but rather because he was waiting for someone—someone who might possibly bring about a change for him!

This person was the thin man who had sold him the Body Refining technique. In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed since the end of the Tianjiang Trade Fair, but that man had not appeared!

Had the other party forgotten about this matter? That seemed unlikely! Aside from waiting, Zhang Nuo had no other choice now. He had the technique in his hands, but without the Red Glow Fire Seed, everything was void!

Three more days passed, and still, no one had come to the Nanxuan Sect to look for Zhang Nuo. This time, he was completely unable to sit still, pacing back and forth in his room whenever he had nothing to do.

On the morning of the fourth day, a knock sounded at the door of Zhang Nuo's small courtyard. When Xun Zhen opened the door, she saw a thin, bearded man standing before her.

"May I ask if Fellow Daoist Zhang Nuo lives here?"

Before Xun Zhen could speak, Zhang Nuo's figure flashed and he rushed to the front gate. Upon seeing the thin man, he let out a loud laugh.

"Fellow Daoist, I have been waiting for you for a long time! Please, come in!"

The thin man chuckled and did not stand on ceremony, generously following behind Zhang Nuo into the room. At this moment, Xun Zhen brought in two cups of Spirit Tea and placed them on the table for the two men.

"There is nothing for you to do here, you may withdraw first!"

Waving his hand at Xun Zhen, the young woman very sensibly retreated and closed the door behind her!

"Fellow Daoist Zhang! I presume you have already read the Jade Slip of the technique. I wonder how you feel about it!"

"I have yet to ask for your esteemed name, Fellow Daoist? I have been somewhat impolite!"

Without immediately commenting on the technique, Zhang Nuo asked for the thin man's name!

"I think that is unnecessary!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the thin man flatly refused Zhang Nuo. Upon hearing this, Zhang Nuo's brow immediately furrowed. The other party actually refused to reveal his name; could there be some hidden reason for this?

"Since you are unwilling to say, then so be it! Have you brought the item, Fellow Daoist?"

With a light smile, Zhang Nuo probed.

"What item?"

The thin man put on a confused expression, staring blankly at Zhang Nuo.

"The Red Glow Fire Seed!"

As soon as these words left his mouth, a sly smile appeared on the thin man's face. It seemed Zhang Nuo had already finished reading the entire technique!

"Naturally! However, this fire seed must be sold separately!"

Zhang Nuo had long guessed he would pull such a trick. He chuckled, not getting angry, and asked with a gentle gaze:

"How many Spirit Stones?"

"Two million Low-grade Spirit Stones!"

Upon hearing the thin man state the price, Zhang Nuo's heart gave a violent jolt! However, his face did not reveal the slightest surprise, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly! He immediately said:

"Spirit Stones are not a problem! I just want to take a look at the fire seed. What do you think, Fellow Daoist?"

The expression on Zhang Nuo's face did not become unnatural because of the price the thin man had quoted, as if he had two million Spirit Stones in his hands right now.

Looking at Zhang Nuo with suspicion, the thin man could not guess whether the other party truly had such a large amount of Spirit Stones; one had to know this was not a small sum.

"You may look at the fire seed! But Fellow Daoist Zhang had best not harbor any evil intentions! Since I dared to enter the Nanxuan Sect alone, I certainly have a way to escape!"

Sweeping a sharp gaze over Zhang Nuo, the thin man took a small box cast from refining iron out of his Storage Bag. The box was not large, but its surface was faintly emitting high heat!

"You are overthinking it, Fellow Daoist! Although I, Zhang, am no gentleman, I would absolutely never do something like killing to seize treasure!"

Though he said this, he had indeed thought about this matter in his heart earlier. The thin man dared to come here alone, so he must have absolute certainty; otherwise, if a fight really broke out, he would gain nothing on the Nanxuan Sect's territory.

"That is for the best!"

After warning Zhang Nuo, the thin man reached out and opened the lid. Instantly, the entire room turned crimson. In the very center of the refining iron box, there was a red ball of fire the size of a soybean. Do not be fooled by its small size; the heat it radiated was extremely astonishing.

"This is the 'Red Glow Fire' seed?"

"Correct!"

After letting Zhang Nuo take a look, the thin man immediately closed the lid with a 'snap'.

"I will not hide it from you, Fellow Daoist: if I were not in urgent need of Spirit Stones, I would not sell such a precious fire seed. Since you know of the 'Red Glow Fire', you must surely know of the 'Red Glow Tribe'!"

Zhang Nuo nodded slightly. When he had fought Tie Lin in the Trial Ground, he had once heard Nangong Ao mention the 'Red Glow Tribe', but he did not know anything too specific.

"This 'Red Glow Fire' seed is innate to every member of the Red Glow Tribe. If the fire seed is separated from the tribesman's body, that tribesman will die!"

When the thin man said this, the expression on his face dimmed a little. He wondered which tribesman this Red Glow Fire Seed in his hand had belonged to!

"So, I need not say how important this fire is, right?"

Zhang Nuo looked expressionlessly at the refining iron box in the thin man's hand. A single fire seed was equivalent to a life! This fire seed was truly too precious! However, the more precious something was, the more reason it had to be precious. He made up his mind: he was determined to have this fire seed!

"Before buying the fire seed, I have one more question to ask you, Fellow Daoist!"

"Please, speak!"

The thin man was quite straightforward, though he had faintly guessed what Zhang Nuo wanted to ask.

"I have not yet stepped into the Golden Core stage; how can this fire seed be refined into my body?"

"That is not difficult. Perhaps other things would not work, but my Red Glow Tribe's fire seed can! However, I will only tell you this method after you hand over the Spirit Stones!"

Zhang Nuo was slightly startled. The other party would not release the hawk until he saw the rabbit; he was unwilling to reveal any information at all.

"Very well! Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist! I will go fetch the Spirit Stones!"

After saying this, Zhang Nuo rose and left the room, piloting his Flying Magic Tool toward where Zhuge Qing was. Seeing Zhang Nuo fly away, the thin man pondered to himself.

Do not look at how he claimed to have entered the Nanxuan Sect alone and not fear Zhang Nuo killing him to seize the treasure; in his heart, he was still somewhat worried. If not for that large sum of Spirit Stones, he would never have sold the Red Glow Fire Seed in his hand.

Zhang Nuo arrived before the door to Zhuge Qing's room. Just as he was about to reach out and knock, a gentle voice came from inside.

"Come in!"

With no other choice, Zhang Nuo bit the bullet and walked into the young woman's room. The entire room was extremely spacious, filled with the scent of flowers. The boudoir was mostly pink, creating a great visual impact and infinite reverie!

He saw Zhuge Qing sitting leisurely in a chair, wearing the pair of Perception Earring he had given her. She was holding a Jade Slip, looking as if she had just finished reading its contents.

"Does Brother Zhang have something to see me about?"

A signature smile made Zhang Nuo feel that she had returned to the young woman she was before. He immediately smiled back, feeling embarrassed, and said:

"Qing'er, can you lend me some Spirit Stones? I need to buy something very important!"

Upon hearing the words "Spirit Stones," the young girl's heart skipped a beat; a while ago, she had already spent quite a few Spirit Stones on Zhang Nuo at the Heaven-Sent Auction, buying two useless items, and now he was asking to borrow Spirit Stones from her again—what was he going to buy this time?

"How many?"

Although the young girl hesitated in her heart, she did not show the slightest bit of it on her face; as her beautiful eyes turned, she asked:

"Two million Low-grade Spirit Stones!"

Hearing this number, the young girl's head buzzed; she really wanted to point at Zhang Nuo's nose right then and ask: Do you think my family has a Spirit Stone vein? You ask for two million the moment you open your mouth!

However, she held back and calmed her mood; after her gaze met Zhang Nuo's for a moment, she then said:

"Two million, I can lend it to you, but you must tell me, what are you using it to buy?"

Zhang Nuo had already summoned great courage to borrow Spirit Stones from Zhuge Qing, and now that he saw the young girl was willing to lend them, he immediately told her about the matter of the "Red Glow Fire."

The young girl gasped; she had never imagined that Zhang Nuo would choose the path of Dharma-Body Dual Cultivation! This kind of thing was something ordinary people wouldn't even dare to think about!

"Brother Zhang, I advise you to give up this idea! Dharma-Body Dual Cultivation is no simple matter! With the Old Ancestor's cultivation, even he only chose..."

Before the young girl could finish her words, Zhang Nuo suddenly interjected:

"Qing'er, you've misunderstood; I am not doing Dharma-Body Dual Cultivation! As for the details, I can't explain them to you in a short while! But I still hope you can lend me the two million Spirit Stones!"

Zhang Nuo's expression was resolute, and he spoke with a serious face. Seeing him like this, the young girl found it difficult to say anything more, but two million was not a small amount, and she did not have that much on hand.

"Wait for me a moment!"

The young girl rose and drifted out of the room, then steered her Dharma Treasure and flew toward the interior of the Nanxuan Sect, returning after not much time had passed.

"This is for you!"

When Zhuge Qing returned, there was an extra Storage Bag in her hand; she tossed it, and it landed in Zhang Nuo's hand. He opened the bag's mouth, swept his Divine Sense through it, and it was exactly two million Spirit Stones.

"Rest assured, I will definitely return these Spirit Stones to you!"

The young girl only smiled without a word and shook her head slightly. Zhang Nuo was somewhat impatient; after exchanging a few polite words with Zhuge Qing, he immediately flew back to his own room.

He saw the thin man still sitting on the chair, and upon seeing Zhang Nuo return, there was a bit more surprise in his eyes!

"The Spirit Stones are right here; now tell me how to refine the Red Glow Fire into my body!"

As he spoke, Zhang Nuo threw the full Storage Bag of Spirit Stones onto the table, and at the same time, the bag's mouth opened slightly; the thin man swept his Divine Sense inside and immediately broke into a beaming smile.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang is truly a man of his word! Now I will tell you the method to refine the Red Glow Fire Seed into your body!"

After finishing, the thin man also placed the refined iron box on the table; as the lid opened, that Red Glow Fire Seed inside emitted a crimson flame!