Chapter 142
Looking at his nephew's pleading eyes, the middle-aged man hesitated for a moment before finally nodding.
...
When the uncle and nephew arrived at the theater, the entrance was already bustling with people buying tickets.
The young man squeezed through the crowd and managed to grab two tickets. Turning back to look at his uncle, he found him surveying the surroundings.
"Uncle, what are you looking at?"
"I heard this play was put together by Zheng Fa. It seems that Jiu Shan Sect has made quite a bit of money from it," the uncle replied.
As they entered the theater, they discovered that nearly all ten thousand seats were filled.
The uncle calculated in his mind and remarked to his nephew, "With this performance, Jiu Shan Sect must be making at least three hundred spirit stones."
His nephew nodded but didn’t pay much attention to the comment, his eyes eagerly darting around.
Seeing his nephew's expression, the middle-aged man sighed softly, knowing that his nephew's character was still unformed and he simply loved the excitement.
Yet, the Holy Sect had strict hierarchies that didn’t allow for such indulgence.
This was his first outing from the Holy Sect, and he was already acting a bit too much.
Thinking of this, his heart softened, and he decided to go along with his nephew.
After a while, "Rescuing Little Cultivator Pang Qian" began.
The play seemed to fly by, and when it ended, the uncle and nephew exited the theater with the crowd, both silent.
They seemed to still be immersed in the story.
After a while, the middle-aged man suddenly heard his nephew mumbling, "Jiu Shan Sect is different."
"Huh?"
"In this play, the people from Jiu Shan Sect are willing to go to such great lengths to rescue a Qi Refining stage cultivator," the young man said softly. "It’s not like our Holy Sect."
"..." The middle-aged man twitched his mouth, looking at his nephew, feeling a bit of a headache...
He knew his nephew had a rebellious streak, and they, as members of the Demon Sect, didn’t talk about loyalty and righteousness.
But... isn’t this a bit too far?
"This is a play! It’s adapted from a script!" he whispered. "It’s fake!"
Hearing this, his nephew fell silent.
After leaving the theater, they wandered through the market, intending to inquire about Zheng Fa's whereabouts.
The middle-aged man glanced at the bustling crowd in the market and couldn’t help but exclaim, "This market is really lively. When we came a few days ago, it was nothing like this. It must be the play that drew everyone in—Jiu Shan Sect is really raking it in."
His nephew didn’t care about the economic matters; he was just looking around, going wherever it was lively.
As they walked, they noticed a shop that was doing exceptionally well, with many people crowding at the entrance, even forming a long line.
In front of the shop, there was a sign: "Half a stone per person, no excess sold!"
As the uncle and nephew approached, they realized it was a shop selling spirit rice.
"Brother, why is this shop so popular?" the young man curiously asked a cultivator at the end of the line.
"First time at Jiu Shan Sect, huh?"
"Yeah."
"The Huang Ya rice here is cheap! They say Jiu Shan Sect negotiated the price with Qian He Sect just to make it affordable for everyone."
"…"
The uncle and nephew glanced at the winding line.
"We came to see a play; buying some spirit rice to take home would be good, whether for ourselves or to sell, we could make a little profit, right?" The cultivator continued, "It’s just that we can only buy half a stone each. I heard the disciples of Jiu Shan Sect aren’t restricted… and there are quite a few people reselling it at a markup, really greedy."
"But what can we do about it?" the cultivator sighed. "Jiu Shan Sect said it’s a benefit for the lower-tier disciples. As long as they can live a bit better, that’s what matters."
Hearing this, the young man looked at his uncle and whispered, "Uncle, Jiu Shan Sect is different."
His uncle remained silent.
He just stood quietly behind the cultivator...
(End of this chapter)
---
Chapter 146: Awakening (4K)
Zheng Fa walked along the path of the Eighth Peak.
It was early morning, and many disciples from the Pang family were present. When they saw Zheng Fa, even the lower-ranked disciples would first bow to him, while the higher-ranked ones would smile in his direction.
Zheng Fa knew this was due to the impact of the Huang Ya rice.
Initially, Zheng Fa had agreed with Qian He Sect to purchase three hundred stones of Huang Ya rice per month.
However, they sold out in just ten days, and later had to limit purchases for outsiders.
Now, it seemed that Jiu Shan Sect would need to order at least six hundred stones of Huang Ya rice from Qian He Sect each month, doubling the original amount.
The biggest beneficiaries of this deal were the disciples of Jiu Shan Sect.
As Zheng Fa walked, he greeted his fellow disciples along the way.
What used to be a journey of less than an incense stick now took a full half an hour.
By the time he reached the grand hall of Master Pang, the sun was already high in the sky.
Master Pang was inside the hall, and upon seeing Zheng Fa, he didn’t seem surprised, merely nodding, "Zheng disciple, are you here for something?"
Zheng Fa bowed to Master Pang while taking a look around the hall.
Many disciples remained there, curiously watching him.
To be fair, among the three Nascent Soul cultivators of Jiu Shan Sect, Master Pang was the one who valued his disciples the most.
His own master, the former sect leader, was one thing.
He hadn’t met Sister Zhang’s master, the real Huang, but he had seen his residence.
Only Master Pang would frequently pull his disciples aside to teach them.
Master Pang was one of the few who consistently thought about his disciples' welfare.
Thinking of this, Zheng Fa felt a bit envious of his fellow disciples.
"Master, I have a request," Zheng Fa began. "Now that Sister Zhang has taken many of our brothers away, the Administrative Hall and the market are short-staffed. I’d like to ask you to send some brothers to assist me in managing the market."
"…"
Master Pang slowly straightened up, looking at Zheng Fa.
His expression seemed to say—Sister Zhang just left, and you’re already plotting a rebellion?
Zheng Fa understood his thoughts.
The Administrative Hall and the market had always been Sister Zhang’s territory, and Master Pang’s disciples were not allowed to interfere.
"I discussed this with Sister Zhang before she left," Zheng Fa explained. "She agreed."
In fact, Sister Zhang took so many brothers with her to clear some obstacles for him.
Seeing Master Pang still looking skeptical, Zheng Fa had to elaborate further:
"In the market over the years, some disciples have been taking advantage of Sister Zhang’s authority, and some have even colluded with unscrupulous merchants."
"Although Sister Zhang has always been strict about this, the truth is, such things have persisted."
"Now that the market is thriving, those reaching out for a piece of the pie have become bolder, and their numbers have increased."
Zheng Fa knew that this would continue and even escalate—
He was confident that the market could earn more spirit stones and materials.
On the other hand, as spiritual resources dwindled, these items would only become more valuable.
Even Sister Zhang had to admit that no matter how capable she was, she couldn’t control the greed of people.
It was necessary to suppress it by changing some rules.
"So you want to ask my disciples to go?"
"All the brothers are skilled in the洞虚灵眼 (Dong Xu Ling Yan—an ability to perceive spiritual energy)." Zheng Fa smiled and said, "I’d like to ask them to guard the market. First, to prevent any disturbances, and second, to supervise the disciples in the market."
Master Pang’s direct disciples had all cultivated the洞虚灵眼—except for that unfortunate fellow, Zhou Qian Yuan.
In Zheng Fa’s mind, they were perfect for security!
They came with built-in surveillance!
Upon hearing this, the disciples in the hall exchanged glances, seemingly not very interested—this job sounded boring and would make enemies, especially since the market was Sister Zhang’s domain.
"Of course, I won’t let the brothers work for free!" Zheng Fa held up three fingers and said, "In a month, I’ll represent Sister Zhang and give each of you three spirit stones."
At this, the expressions of several brothers began to change—
Boring is fine!
If there’s nothing to do, they can still earn money; who wouldn’t want that?
Making enemies is even better!
The ones they’d be offending are those greedy ones!
With spirit stones, everything is negotiable!
Master Pang looked at Zheng Fa, then at his excited disciples.
He felt that Zheng Fa’s call could lead his group of disciples away.
Three spirit stones a month wasn’t a high offer—because Master Pang’s disciples were all at least Foundation Establishment level, and even if they didn’t put much effort into making money, earning this income wouldn’t be a problem.
But the reality was that Master Pang’s group was genuinely poor!
They managed the Discipline Hall and received a fixed salary.
Unlike Sister Zhang’s group, who had the market and plenty of profits.
In terms of talisman crafting, Master Pang’s disciples couldn’t compete with Sister Zhang’s group—most of the high-grade talismans in the market were controlled by Sister Zhang’s faction.
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