Mortal Saint

Chapter 164: Chapter 104: Jade Marrow Cold Lotus, Grandmaster’s Inheritance

He sniffed lightly at the Sixth-Grade Spirit Pill brought by Zheng Jun.

The potent medicinal energy almost instantly stirred his Qi and Blood and meridians, radiating a deep-seated craving from the very marrow of his bones, urging him to swallow it whole.

’But this body of mine, this skeleton transitioning into True Flood Dragon Bone... How tyrannical!’

To this day, even this Great Demon Pill—from a fallen beast comparable to a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster, refined into a medicine by the hands of a Qi Dao Pill Master—had a negligible effect on Ji Xiu’s current state.

He had already walked ninety-nine percent of the path of Bone Tempering. The final sliver... would depend on that Dragon Descendant Maiden!

’I’ll save it. It’ll be perfect for when I advance to Skin Refining and temper my Skin Membrane.’

Putting the box away, Ji Xiu made his usual trip to West Street to manage his Mountain Living businesses.

He was no longer the poor young Groom he once was, after all.

As a newly ascended Boss with numerous hands from inside and outside the county under his employ, his enterprise had grown so large that many matters still required his personal oversight.

The Mountain Town and the Sword Manor both made their living on the Mountain Dao. While they had accepted his title as General Leader, it would still take considerable effort to truly unite them.

You have to eat a meal one bite at a time, and walk a road one step at a time.

Even those Grand Lineages whose businesses reached all the way to East Canghai, with branches spreading throughout the vast Jiangyin Prefecture, had all started from humble beginnings.

This was true for business, and it was true for Cultivation.

...

"Boss, for the past few days, Song Chai from Wushan Town and Liang Cheng, the Hunting Tiger Manor Master, have been leading the effort. They’ve coordinated with our men to make several trips, bringing back Mountain Ginseng, Treasure Materials, beast hides and meat, and mountain ores and Mountain Spirits from the five-hundred-li Earth Dragon Cave."

"Once inside the county, we deliver the Mountain Ginseng and Treasure Materials to the Chai Market, the Demon Beast meat to the Cattle and Sheep Market, and the various ores to the Fire Kilns... The returns have been substantial."

Inside Ji’s Store, Lin Ruyue was already up. With several Stewards from the branch shops at her side, she had organized the ledgers and presented them to Ji Xiu, explaining everything in a calm, orderly tone.

A fine sheen of sweat dotted the woman’s nose, and her dark hair was tied back. She spoke in a soft, quiet voice. After Ji Xiu finished reviewing the ledgers, he nodded slightly.

"At this rate, once we’ve established a firm foothold and secured our reputation as the nexus between the Mountain Dao and the Three Major Professions, it won’t be long..."

"Our ’Mountain Living’ enterprise will become an indispensable lifeline for all of Anning County."

"Then, we’ll break into East Canghai, get bigger and stronger, and maybe we’ll even earn a place among the ’Thirty-Six Professions and Hundred Trades and Livelihoods’!"

That was still a long way off, of course.

But for now, even with the freezing weather making the mountain paths difficult to travel, Ji Xiu roughly estimated that after paying his men, each round trip would net him a profit of seven to eight hundred taels a month.

And that figure would only snowball. Once spring arrived, the weather improved, and all the hunters and mountain folk along the winding mountain paths became active again...

He would be earning money hand over fist, more than a thousand taels a day—not a fraction off from his original estimate.

According to the prices in the prefecture, that was equivalent to ten taels of Red Gold!

Earning ten taels of Red Gold a month would make one a ’well-to-do household’ even within the prefecture!

However, as Ji Xiu looked over his operations, he knew with perfect clarity in his heart.

Wealth was enticing, but it was merely an external aid, a part of the Outer Dao. It was only needed to support the consumption of vital resources for his daily Martial Arts training.

Ultimately, everything he had achieved today was thanks to his backing and the hard work he had put in since his rise to power.

Without this physique that nearly surpassed anyone of his generation, those Mountain Dao Bosses—each one of them brimming with vigor—would inevitably just be feigning compliance. Even if they bowed their heads out of respect for Duan Chenzhou and Zhao Jiu, they would still act against him behind his back.

If that happened, he’d be powerless to stop them. After all, he couldn’t always call on others to back him up and fight his battles for him, could he?

How would that be any different from a child carrying gold through a busy street?

Therefore, while the brocaded silks and fine clothes looked appealing, in the end, everything still relied on the tangible strength of his own Martial Arts.

That was the real money-spinner, the true treasure basin—the foundation of it all.

"By the way, Boss."

"Recently, many Demons have been sighted on the outskirts of the Earth Dragon Cave Mountain Dao. It’s become quite dangerous. The Martial Artists from the Eighteen Linked Mountain Towns and the Sword Manor have only cleared the outermost perimeter; they don’t dare venture any deeper."

"Is it too dangerous for you to go Mountain Hunting now? Perhaps you should wait until after the New Year, when spring arrives and it’s safer..."

Lin Ruyue glanced at the other table. Cai Ling’er was slumped over, looking half-asleep, while Ye Ningzhi sat beside her, her face full of excitement. The Broken Jade Bow lay next to them, along with the reclining Jade-Horned Spirit Deer. Lin Ruyue hesitated, looking like she wanted to say more.

Ji Xiu waved her concern away.

"It’s fine."

"To me, the Mountain Dao is like walking on level ground."

"Not even a Centennial Demon can withstand my arrows."

"Besides..."

He tapped the table.

Earth Treasures are things ’born of heaven and raised by the earth,’ and each one possesses a unique efficacy.

Spirit Medicines in this world are divided into nine grades.

And above Mortal Pills, any pill that can be considered a ’Spirit Grade Pill’ worthy of notice almost always requires at least a sliver of an Earth Treasure in its refinement.

Due to their rarity, they are exceptionally scarce, and their appearance is enough to incite a mad scramble among people.

Legend has it that transplanting numerous Earth Treasures into a sect’s grounds can subtly influence the ’grade’ of the mountain’s ley lines, forming what practitioners of the Outer Dao call ’sacred grounds’ or ’Spirit Caves’.

In short, their marvelous uses are endless.

For instance, the ’Jade Marrow Cold Lotus’ that old Huang Xuan spoke of with such envy is said to possess the power to ’purge stubborn maladies and cleanse chronic ailments’.

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