"Even if we take a loss on our very first door-to-door client, we have to do the deal," Li Fan mused, sensing Chu Xingyang in the midst of his Foundation Establishment.
In truth, Li Fan was not entirely certain whether carrying out large-scale, paid method-transference across the cultivation world was genuinely viable.
Still, he had plenty of room for trial and error, enough to experiment boldly without hesitation.
Thus, he did not feel the slightest bit uneasy.
To help Mingyue Palace's business develop more smoothly, Li Fan had personally designed two little gadgets and hired professionals to craft a batch as reserves.
The first was called the Clear Jade Talisman. Once activated, it could sense the location of the borrower of the technique, even clearly displaying their every move. This would drastically reduce the difficulty of debt collection.
In truth, there was nothing profound about the Clear Jade Talisman itself. Essentially, it was merely a talisman that shared perception. What truly made it useful was Li Fan's divine ability, Formless Killing Intent.
This divine ability, comprehended after painstakingly observing the killing intent of Heaven and Earth for decades, had not vanished when he dissolved his cultivation from the Golden Chapter of Thousand Mechanisms and the Jade Cosmos.
After all, cultivation methods were merely tools allowing him to observe the qi mechanism of Heaven and Earth, whereas Formless Killing Intent was an imitation and application born of his comprehension of Heaven and Earth's killing intent. It had become as instinctive to Li Fan as breathing. Much like Insect Binding, he could unleash it even without a shred of cultivation.
This was likely why True Reversion listed it in a separate category of its own.
As for the second gadget, it was called the Deterrence Talisman. Considering that he might eventually run into cultivators who deliberately defaulted on their debts and hid away in places like Yuandao City where fighting was forbidden...
Li Fan had specially manufactured this batch of Deterrence Talismans. Its nature was exceedingly simple as well, merely an ordinary burn-after-reading message talisman. What truly generated the deterrence was a single sentence programmed into the talisman:
"If you willfully default and deliberately evade your debt, Mingyue Palace will report the loss of your cultivation method to the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals' Protector Hall!"
Because the cultivation method was exchanged by Li Fan, he could report to the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals that the method he had redeemed had been lost. As for reclaiming the method, that would naturally fall upon the mysterious and terrifying Protector Hall.
This was a mutually destructive move. Once a lost method was recovered, its ownership naturally reverted to the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
The defaulter would lose their life, while Mingyue Palace would lose some contribution points.
Li Fan believed that any cultivator with a shred of sanity would know which choice to make.
As for why he had gone out of his way to craft these two types of talismans, it was to foster an aura of mystery.
A talisman flew out; the cultivator who had been hiding smugly in a safe zone and refusing to pay suddenly turned pale. After gnashing their teeth, they would have no choice but to work obediently to repay their debt.
Such a sensational scene would surely attract countless cultivators to inquire about and investigate Mingyue Palace of their own accord.
While serving as free publicity, it would also establish an unfathomable, enigmatic image for Mingyue Palace in the hearts of cultivators.
In Li Fan's estimation, two critical factors constrained the rapid expansion of Mingyue Palace's grand undertaking of method-transference.
First, Li Fan's personal contribution points were currently too few. After financing Chu Xingyang's method-transference, he was left with a pitiful 23,600 contribution points. At best, that was only enough to fund two more peak Qi Condensation cultivators. Recovering those contribution points, moreover, would take two or three years at every turn.
Without sufficient contribution points for cash flow, expanding Mingyue Palace's operations on a large scale was nothing more than a joke. Yet petty, small-scale dabbling ran contrary to Li Fan's original intention.
"I hope Zhang Zhiliang's little black box can bring me a pleasant surprise," Li Fan thought, sensing that his clone would be able to undo the formation seal in a little over two months.
The second constraint was that Li Fan had too little combat strength under his command. Once business expanded, a personnel shortage would inevitably arise, impacting the efficiency of debt collection.
However, there was currently no good solution for this.
In Li Fan's vision, if he could cooperate with some major faction in Daoyuan Province and share a portion of the profits with them...
...both difficult problems would be easily resolved. Unfortunately, his present strength at early Foundation Establishment was simply far too weak. Li Fan was not about to make deals with tigers.
Over the ensuing period, aside from Chu Xingyang, only a single peak Qi Condensation cultivator came seeking aid.
However, after careful evaluation, the Yin sisters rejected him.
After declaring that his affinity with Mingyue Palace was insufficient, Su Xiaomei stepped forward and sent him away.
"It seems we will still have to wait for Chu Xingyang to crash the wedding and make a name for himself in a single battle," Li Fan thought quietly to himself.
To ensure their first client won a swift victory and created an even bigger sensation, Li Fan decided that, if necessary, he would secretly lend Chu Xingyang a hand.
With Mingyue Palace's grand method-transference plan yet to fully unfold, Li Fan stood in the subterranean treasury, quietly sensing the resonance among the tens of thousands of artifacts with Dao charm.
The Discern the Minute to Know the Manifest formation was already complete.
Amplified by the formation, the intensity of the Dao charm from the Ocean-Overturning Palm was now strong enough to be perceived.
One day, two days...
After standing motionlessly for seven days, a hint of embarrassment flashed across Li Fan's face.
"Mm... with my aptitude, trying to comprehend a divine ability from this wisp of Dao charm is still a bit of a stretch.
"Fortunately, I am not alone."
Without further hesitation, Li Fan called Xiao Heng and Su Xiaomei inside.
"The artifacts with Dao charm that you spent years laboriously gathering can now produce a sufficiently powerful resonance under my formation's enhancement.
"This wisp of Dao charm holds an immense opportunity.
"As for how much you can comprehend, that will depend entirely on your own fortune."
The moment Xiao Heng and Su Xiaomei entered the subterranean treasury, they were deeply captivated by the wondrous sensation drifting within.
Hearing Li Fan's words, joy broke across their faces.
After bowing in gratitude, the two closed their eyes and immersed themselves in comprehending the Dao charm.
Li Fan did not give up either, continuing to observe and contemplate alongside them.
Time trickled by.
This time, the first to gain something was Xiao Heng.
He abruptly opened his eyes, a flicker of world-weariness flashing through his gaze.
Li Fan had still failed to glean anything.
Yet seeing Xiao Heng's expression, he knew the young man had certainly gained something.
Instead of asking outright, Li Fan signaled for him to wait patiently on the side until Su Xiaomei finished.
Another day later, Su Xiaomei also awoke from her epiphany.
Li Fan brought the two out to the central square of Mingyue Palace.
He activated the Kan Spirit Illusory Wave Grand Formation for protection so they could spar to their hearts' content without worrying about damaging their surroundings.
Li Fan then instructed, "Spar with one another and verify your respective insights."
The two nodded at the same time, locked eyes, and spoke in unison:
"Xiaomei, please enlighten me!"
"Xiao Heng, you'd better watch out!"
Chapter 152