“On average, each cultivator borrows ten thousand contribution points.”
“Our Mingyue Palace has now ferried seven cultivators.”
“Most of them opted for a three-year repayment term. At an annual interest rate of thirty-six percent, each must repay over five hundred and seventy points a month.”
“From seven cultivators, that’s an income of more than four thousand contribution points.”
“Every three months, we can ferry another cultivator.”
“As our business keeps expanding, the pace will only get faster and faster…”
Inside Mingyue Palace, Yin Yuzhen calculated the profits of their grand enterprise of ferrying the Dharma, little stars practically sparkling in her eyes.
“You can’t calculate it quite like that. Once more cultivators come to borrow the Dharma down the line, we’re bound to run into one or two who refuse to pay honestly. Every single defaulter will mean a massive loss.”
“Even so, Mingyue Palace’s rate of expansion is astonishing,” Yin Yueting marveled.
Yin Yuzhen waved it off dismissively. “Little Sister Su and Xiao Heng aren’t pushovers. Haven’t you seen Little Sister Su? Every time she heads out to collect debts, she goes with great enthusiasm and comes back thoroughly satisfied.”
“The Mingyue Talismans and Deterrence Talismans have also worked wonders. Without those two marvelous items, debt collection would be far more difficult,” Yin Yueting agreed with a nod.
“Of course! When Senior makes a move, it’s naturally extraordinary. Those eight characters he penned himself back then—‘Ferry the Dharma with Mercy, Deliver All from Suffering’—have struck a deep chord among Qi Condensation cultivators by now,” Yin Yuzhen said, her face beaming with excitement.
***
In the subterranean seclusion chamber of Mingyue Palace.
Li Fan, the object of the sisters’ boundless reverence, showed not a shred of an exalted master’s demeanor at this moment.
Having just emerged from his meditation on formation Dao, he inspected the growth of his cultivation. Delight was written all over his face.
“On average, every cultivator ferried to Foundation Establishment feeds back roughly seven months’ worth of cultivation on the spot. In these past days, I haven’t cultivated for a single moment, yet forty-nine months of cultivation have poured in. That’s practically equivalent to four full years of ceaseless, bitter training!”
“Moreover, as these borrowers advance in their cultivation, I will continue to receive a steady stream of feedback.”
“Though each stream is merely a trickling brook, in great numbers, they suffice to form a vast ocean!”
“It’s easy to foresee that once Mingyue Palace’s enterprise grows larger, my cultivation speed will only accelerate.”
“Reaping without sowing! Truly reaping without sowing!”
“Wonderful!”
Li Fan was overjoyed.
Yet immediately after, he furrowed his brow.
During Qi Condensation, the locking limit of Formless Killing Intent had been five people.
After reaching Foundation Establishment, Li Fan had tested it.
The limit had increased to fifteen.
Though it had tripled, it was still far from enough.
*I wonder if there is any way to increase it.* The locking capacity of Formless Killing Intent was likely tied to the strength of his divine sense.
There were certainly methods to enhance divine sense, but they surely came at a steep price.
Li Fan searched through the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
Eliminating methods that were clearly out of reach for now, it did not take long before he found the one best suited to his current situation.
“The God-Startling Formation, Mind Ape bones…”
Li Fan looked at the silver incense curling with fragrant smoke, lost in thought.
“So this incense that dispels mental fatigue is made from Mind Ape bones ground into powder and mixed with other materials.”
The so-called Mind Ape did not refer to some rare beast.
Rather, it referred to cultivators who had lost their minds.
Legend had it that in certain provinces, incidents would occasionally occur where large numbers of cultivators were inexplicably bewitched.
These bewitched cultivators often lost their self-will, turning into machines that knew only slaughter.
When they were slain, their corpses would transform into the shape of white apes.
These were the so-called Mind Apes.
A Mind Ape was a treasure from head to toe.
The most valuable parts were the bones throughout its entire body,
which possessed the efficacy of strengthening and restoring depleted divine sense.
As for the God-Startling Formation, it was a formation that produced different effects depending on the materials used to construct it.
For instance, if spiritual jade with spirit-gathering properties was used, the God-Startling Formation would magnify that gathering trait,
producing an even stronger spirit-gathering effect.
By the same logic, constructing it with Mind Ape bones, which enhanced divine sense, created the Mind Ape God-Startling Formation, which would multiply divine sense severalfold.
The God-Startling Formation was powerful, but its drawback was that as its materials were depleted, its efficacy weakened accordingly.
One had to continuously replenish the materials to maintain its operation.
*Rough calculations suggest that setting up a Mind Ape God-Startling Formation will cost over twenty thousand contribution points. On top of that, Mind Ape bones will need constant replenishment…*
*I can only test its effectiveness first…*
Li Fan was wealthy and confident now. Twenty thousand contribution points was nothing to him. He immediately purchased a sufficient quantity of Mind Ape bones and began setting up the formation.
The God-Startling Formation was essentially an amplifying array, not overly complex.
Even so, it took Li Fan more than half a month to finish arranging it.
*Pure theory and practice really do have a considerable gap between them. Although my theoretical mastery of the formation Dao has crossed beyond the beginner threshold, my actual formation-laying ability is still merely at an apprentice level.*
With a sigh of self-reflection, Li Fan activated the Mind Ape God-Startling Formation.
Carefully sensing the amplified effect, Li Fan found that his divine sense strength had increased roughly fivefold.
*Which means the locking capacity for Formless Killing Intent has expanded to around seventy-five targets.*
*While still short of my ideal goal, it’s sufficient for now.*
*Once I break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, my divine sense will strengthen once more. If worse comes to worst, I can expand the scale of the Mind Ape God-Startling Formation. It’s just that the gains might not outweigh the costs…*
Having temporarily resolved the hidden concern regarding his ferrying enterprise, Li Fan immersed himself once more in studying the formation Dao.
While inside the God-Startling Formation, Li Fan pleasantly discovered that, perhaps owing to the enhancement of his divine sense, the learning efficiency of both his true self and his clone had noticeably improved.
This was an unexpected pleasant surprise.
Time flowed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, Anchor Year 41 arrived.
On this day, Li Fan, who was concentrating intently, was interrupted by the call of a communication talisman.
“What’s this?”
After a brief pause of confusion, Li Fan realized who had given him this talisman.
Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi.
He activated the talisman, and Kou Hong’s voice came through.
“Brother Li Fan, how have you been lately?”
“Just bitter cultivation in seclusion. Hard to say whether it’s been good or bad,” Li Fan chuckled and replied.
“Hahaha! Dao Xuanzi and I have actually made some progress these past few years…”
Kou Hong broke off halfway, seemingly interrupted by someone.
He shifted the topic: “Ahem, down to business. Brother Li Fan, Dao Xuanzi and I are preparing to head to Cangwu Province in search of an opportunity. Would you care to join us?”
“Cangwu Province?” Li Fan vaguely recalled the name. It seemed to lie far away in the southwestern corner of the continent, immensely distant from Yuandao Province.
What were those two going there for?
Li Fan voiced his question immediately.
Kou Hong’s surprised voice came right back: “What, you don’t know yet, brother?”
“This matter has been causing quite a stir everywhere!”
“Do you remember twenty-six years ago, that blazing meteor that lit up the sky?”
Li Fan narrowed his eyes, immediately recalling it.
He had heard about this while gathering intelligence.
That had been in Anchor Year 15.
A blazing meteor had torn across the night sky, crashing who knew where.
Every cultivator who laid eyes upon that falling star had felt an inexplicable surge of dread and sorrow in their hearts.
“From that day on, cultivators constantly tried to locate where the meteor fell, but all came up empty-handed.”
“Fortunately, everyone persevered. Twenty-six years have passed, and its traces have finally been found!”
“You wouldn’t believe it—do you know where that meteor landed? The Abyss of Cangwu!”
“That cursed place is bottomless. No wonder nobody could find it for all these years!”
“It’s said that great figures divined that this meteor involves a tremendous opportunity. Now cultivators from all across the realm want to go to the Abyss of Cangwu to try their luck.”
“What if one happens to stumble upon it?”
“The two of us brothers thought the same. Haha, Dao Xuanzi and I have had decent fortune lately, so we intend to go try our luck too!”
Chapter 155