Chapter 331: Co-Renting

The Xiao Shui Sect's rapid growth over the past one hundred and fifty years was not due to the personal strength of the Xiao Shui Star Lord (for above Void-Exploration lies the Ascension Realm), but to his exceptionally sharp, flexible, innovative, and forward-thinking business acumen.

His business model included, but was not limited to, the slave trade—shipping entire cargoes of Yecha slaves from Western Hezhou, to cultivating crops and mining Spirit Stone veins on the New Continent.

Futures—establishing meteorological and intelligence stations across all continents and major landmasses, using massive data and rigorous analysis to predict the spiritual energy tides of each region, and stockpiling corresponding elemental Spirit Stones and Spirit Plants in advance.

Insurance—launching risk-hedging financial products such as Heavenly Tribulation Insurance, Demon-Possession Insurance, Qi Deviation Insurance, Vengeance Insurance, and Murder-for-Treasure Insurance.

If a VIP client's cultivation regresses due to failing the Heavenly Tribulation, they receive a substantial payout. If they are outright obliterated by the tribulation, a Transcendence Realm cultivator will personally descend to retrieve their shattered soul fragments, ensuring rebirth into a wealthy family.

Real estate—cutting fragments of ancient secret realms and implanting them into mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas to artificially create Paradises and Immortal Havens, selling them at premium prices to other sects or royal houses; custom-building yin mansions for ghost cultivators; offering multi-person shared cave dwellings to low-level cultivators who cannot afford individual paradises.

If stubborn landowners refuse to sell, the yin spirits of dead Yecha slaves are refined into an army of yin soldiers, who strike under cover of night, annihilating the landowners—publicly blamed as "yin soldiers passing through," a natural disaster.

The Xiao Shui Sect—or rather, the Xiao Shui Corporation disguised as an old-style sect—rose to the top three of the Mortal Realm at a dizzying speed through these myriad commercial tactics.

During this process, the Xiao Shui Star Lord and Master Miao Yin advanced hand in hand; neither was a good person—the one who turned the Yecha spirits into yin soldiers, promising them "after a hundred years of service, you may be reborn, and the Xiao Shui Sect's debt will never be repaid," was Master Miao Yin.

Moreover, she invented concepts such as school district housing, presale property systems, shared common areas, and property speculation syndicates.

"Some things don't seem heavy until you weigh them—then they outweigh a thousand jin."

Zhang Wei rubbed his temples, weary. Setting aside his youthful romantic delusions, the Xiao Shui Star Lord possessed the rugged, self-made aura of a frontier hero, with wildly unrestrained business tactics.

The evidence in these documents was enough to execute—ahem, strike down by Heavenly Tribulation—hundreds of times.

"With this evidence, it's nearly impossible to remove Miao Yin without damage—she is both your wife and your business partner during Xiao Shui Corporation's expansion phase. What you know, she knows."

Yuan Zhixia reread the documents while rapidly calculating in her mind.

In this world, spiritual energy is like water; Spirit Stones are like industrial blood—oil.

The Xiao Shui Sect owns numerous subsidiaries spanning multiple industries and fields. For Qingzhou (eight million square kilometers, three hundred million people), it is like Samsung to Korea.

Its wealth is incalculable.

"In terms of Spirit Stones, the Xiao Shui Sect's total assets amount to roughly one hundred and ten million Spirit Stones."

Yuan Zhixia asked: "What is your psychological threshold for the portion of assets you're willing to give Miao Yin?"

The Xiao Shui Star Lord gritted his teeth: "Forty million. Not a single stone more."

————

"Seventy million. Not a single stone less."

At the same moment, Master Miao Yin in the other waiting room of the Immortal Court also spoke coldly.

"."

Howard and Zhongtian Beiji exchanged a glance and sighed helplessly.

"Master Miao Yin, I know you're eager, but please don't rush."

Haye spoke calmly: "The opposing counsel is also professional. Following conventional divorce litigation tactics will not yield the compensation you desire.

I estimate Xiao Shui's psychological threshold for asset division lies between thirty-five and forty-five million."

After all, he is the legitimate head of the Xiao Shui Sect; nominally, most assets belong to him personally, unaffected by marital ties."

"No."

Master Miao Yin decisively rejected: "At least half! Or I take forty million, and he gives me his Core. Otherwise, we part ways forever."

Since the Mortal Realm experienced the Severance of Heaven and Earth, spiritual energy has drastically declined compared to three thousand years ago; ordinary cultivators share a single Golden Core with their partners.

After becoming super-rich, Xiao Shui and Miao Yin forcibly used Spirit Herbs to each cultivate their own supreme, perfect Golden Core.

The original Core was not discarded—it remains stored within Xiao Shui Star Lord's Qi Sea, as a testament to their love.

Haye paused. The task assigned to their players was to help Master Miao Yin win this case.

Unlike criminal cases with clear winners and losers, divorce cases hinge entirely on the protagonist's subjective feelings.

If possible, Haye would even consider negotiating with Pi Fu and the opposing lawyers, urging both sides to persuade their clients to accept a fifty-fifty split—so neither loses.

Silence fell in the waiting room. Until now, Ada had barely spoken. Suddenly, she asked: "Master Miao Yin, may I ask again—why are you so determined to divorce Xiao Shui Star Lord?

According to the documents, at least ten years ago, your emotional bond had already grown thin, then broken.

For someone of your status, maintaining a hollow marriage while each partner lives separately offers far greater benefits than drawbacks."

Master Miao Yin paused, then replied calmly: "One hundred Spirit Stones buy a shipload of robust Yecha slaves. One thousand buy a rogue cultivator to kill. Ten thousand are the entire wealth of a small sect.

We've earned so much money—we no longer need to put up with mistreatment.

"That reason is insufficient."

Ada continued bluntly: "I need your true thoughts. Stop lying. Wasting time and opportunity is foolish."

Damn, this kid.

Howard's expression stunned; even Haye, accustomed to grand scenes, nearly lost his composure.

As a Level 5 Ada, her power gap with Master Miao Yin was like the difference between Adrian and Bolt in sprinting.

Who is Adrian? He's Haye's neighbor—a 100-year-old WWII French Resistance veteran, suffering from cerebral thrombosis and paralysis.

"How dare you speak to me like that?"

Master Miao Yin's eyes narrowed. The terrifying aura of a Void-Exploration cultivator pinned Howard and Haye in place.

Not just their bodies—blood vessels, muscles, even blood flow and heartbeat froze.

Severe cerebral hypoxia darkened their vision gradually.

"I'm merely stating,"

Ada met Master Miao Yin's gaze without fear, calmly: "If you truly want to win this case, don't hide anything from your lawyer."

"."

Master Miao Yin stared fixedly at Ada. After a long moment, she withdrew her gaze and aura pressure, her tone returning to coldness: "There is another reason I want to divorce Xiao Shui.

I've managed the Xiao Shui Sect's spiritual energy futures business. Based on decades of accumulated meteorological data, I estimate—in the short term five years, in the long term twenty—the Mortal Realm will experience a spiritual energy resurgence lasting a thousand years.

At that time, cultivators' maximum lifespan will increase by at least three to four hundred years."

Master Miao Yin, with only thirty years left to live, might accept a hollow marriage—but now, with the chance to live centuries more, she'd rather divorce, take her share of the incalculable wealth, and enjoy life.

"Understood."

Since Master Miao Yin was no longer hiding anything, Aida nodded, pulled a stack from the tall piles of materials on the desk, and set it down on the table.

"The cave dwelling at Accumulating Clouds Grotto on Dao Mist Mountain?"

Master Miao Yin frowned. "I remember this blessed grotto-heaven development project. The ley line survey failed at the time, so the project was cancelled. Is there a problem?"

"In the very same year the project was cancelled, a certain merchant house under the Lord Xiao Shui Sect's name lost nine thousand spirit stones out of thin air, in small amounts over many transactions."

Aida said calmly, "If I'm not mistaken, that cave dwelling should have already been secretly built under Star Lord Lord Xiao Shui's instructions. Someone Star Lord Lord Xiao Shui doesn't want the outside world to discover is living inside."