Cultivation: I Can Traverse Otherworlds

Chapter 250: Chapter 224: Profound Ice Flame

Jiupin Residence.

The shop Li Xingzhou managed for Zhu Ju.

It primarily dealt in materials from Low-Tier Demon Beasts, oceanic goods, and Magical Artifacts, while also purchasing all kinds of Heavenly and Earthly Treasures.

As the former Young Master of the Giant Flood Dragon Li Family, Li Xingzhou had been dealing with all sorts of goods since birth.

One could say he had a natural talent for business.

Thanks to his experience and the goods supplied by Zhu Ju, Jiupin Residence had gradually built a reputation among Low-Tier Cultivators.

A steady stream of Spirit Stones and materials was delivered into Zhu Ju’s hands through their business dealings.

"Father!"

"Uncle!"

Two young men walked into the shop side by side. Li Shun spoke first, asking, "You wanted to see us?"

Time can wash away anything.

It had been just over a year since they left the East Sea Alliance, and no one spoke of the Li Family’s tragedy anymore. It seemed to have been forgotten.

Li Shun was at an age of rapid growth. In just over a year, he had shot up by a whole head.

His frame had also become much sturdier.

Beside him, Li Anran was dressed in magnificent clothes, carrying himself with a refined air. At first glance, one might mistake him for the young master of some prominent family.

"How many times have I told you not to focus on your appearance?" Li Xingzhou frowned instinctively upon seeing them.

"We are the Master’s hired hands, his servants, not his blood relatives. Aren’t you afraid of becoming a laughingstock if people see you?"

"Uncle," Li Anran said with a nonchalant expression.

"Elder Zhu said that as long as the business does well, there will be no shortage of rewards. We’re just taking what we’ve earned. It doesn’t matter how we use it."

"That’s right!" Li Shun chimed in. "Without Father, Jiupin Residence wouldn’t be where it is today. Besides, we haven’t taken that much."

As he spoke, a flicker of guilt crossed his eyes.

Just yesterday, he had sold a Low Grade Magical Artifact from the shop at a ’discount,’ and he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.

While Li Shun still had a conscience, Li Anran felt completely justified. He even felt he was the one being wronged. After all, if the Li Family hadn’t fallen, why would he have to haggle over a mere Jade Pendant? It was a sheer loss of status.

"Nonsense!" Li Xingzhou said angrily. "Without the Master, it’s debatable whether the three of us would even be alive! And what is the meaning of these account books?"

"What’s wrong?" Hearing this, Li Anran stepped forward, flipped through the ledgers, and shrugged. "We did a good job."

"Foolish!" Li Xingzhou scoffed. "Do you really think your little tricks can fool everyone? That as long as the income and expenses match, there’s no problem?"

"That’s not how you cook the books!"

"Heh heh..." Li Anran scratched his head and grinned. "Uncle, we’re certainly not as experienced as you. We’ll have to trouble you to fix it up, to save us from embarrassment."

"No." Li Xingzhou shook his head. "You will spit out what you’ve swallowed, balance the books, and we’ll let this matter go."

"Otherwise, I won’t be able to answer to the Master."

"Father!" Li Shun’s expression changed drastically. "How could you do this?"

"Uncle, we’ve already spent the Spirit Stones. Li Shun and I want to advance to the Innate Realm as soon as possible," Li Anran added. "Only by reaching the Innate Realm will we have a chance at establishing a Dao Foundation and reviving the Sea Jiao Li Family."

"Haaah..." Li Xingzhou took a deep breath and said slowly, "I understand now."

"Vengeance, reviving the Li Family... these things aren’t accomplished in a moment or a single generation. Continuing the Li Family bloodline is what’s truly important."

"Your talents aren’t bad, and reaching the Innate Realm won’t be difficult for you. But wanting to become Dao Foundation Cultivators is nothing but a fool’s dream. It’s time you learned to live proper lives. Starting today, you will work your way up from the lowest-level hired hands in the shop. Marry early and continue the Li Family bloodline. Stop fooling around on the streets."

"Father!"

"Uncle!"

The faces of Li Shun and Li Anran changed drastically.

"What’s going on?"

Just then, a familiar voice came from outside the shop. With his hands clasped behind his back, Zhu Ju slowly stepped into Jiupin Residence.

"Who would want to enter a place of business that’s so noisy?"

His gaze swept over them, and he frowned slightly. "The ledgers," he said.

"Master." Li Xingzhou’s face paled.

"What is it?" Zhu Ju asked. "Are last month’s accounts still not sorted?"

"Well..." Sweat beaded on Li Xingzhou’s forehead. He glanced at the ledgers beside him, hesitated for a moment, then handed them over. "No, it’s just that I haven’t double-checked them carefully."

"The former Young Master of a merchant family needs to check and recheck such a trivial matter?" Zhu Ju smiled and casually opened the ledgers.

Li Shun and Li Anran stood respectfully to the side, their heads bowed, not daring to utter a sound.

Although Li Xingzhou had seen through the ledgers, the two of them didn’t think Zhu Ju would be able to spot the discrepancies.

Accounting...

It wasn’t a simple matter.

Li Xingzhou could see the problems because he had been in business for years. Others might not be able to.

"Hmm..." Zhu Ju flipped through the pages for a moment, then set the ledgers down, looking thoughtful.

"Master." Li Xingzhou gritted his teeth and said, "Last month’s profits were poor. It was due to my poor management. I will definitely increase the profits this month."

"If I fail, please punish me severely, Master."

"I have always trusted Little Friend Li’s business acumen," Zhu Ju said after a moment of thought, lightly tapping the ledgers beside him.

Hearing this, Li Shun and Li Anran felt a wave of relief.

’We’re in the clear!’

’I knew you wouldn’t understand.’

A disdainful smirk appeared on Li Anran’s lips, and his body relaxed even more.

"Here’s what we’ll do," Zhu Ju said. "In a few days, the Yunjing Commerce Association will be stopping at the Ice Castle for a while. Let these two go down there then."

"To keep Little Friend Li from being distracted."

He pointed a finger at Li Shun and Li Anran.

"Ah!"

All three of their faces changed drastically.

The Ice Castle was perpetually frozen and lacked all sorts of resources. The few Dao Foundation Cultivators there were like kings, holding the power of life and death over everyone in their domain.

Everyone except the Dao Foundation Cultivators and their bloodlines were slaves.

With no possibility of advancement.

Being thrown into the Ice Castle... one could imagine the outcome.

"Master." Li Xingzhou stepped forward, his face anxious.

"Hmm?" Zhu Ju’s eyes darkened. "If Little Friend Li can’t bear to part with them, you can go down with them. I will find someone else to manage Jiupin Residence."

"Such a rotten set of books... do you really think I am that easy to fool?"

He had once been an Association Leader and had even managed a cultivation sect. A mere trick of accounting could never fool him.

What’s more...

’A sweep of my Dharma Eye revealed it all.’

Li Xingzhou’s aura was dim, and he wore simple clothing.

The two young men, however, were decked out in gold and jade, with various Spiritual Lights twinkling around them. They each possessed several Low Grade Magical Artifacts.

When they first arrived on the island, they hadn’t possessed so many assets.

"Elder!" Li Shun’s body trembled as he suddenly dropped to his knees, kowtowing repeatedly. "Forgive me, Elder! Forgive me!"

"Elder Zhu." Li Anran clenched his jaw. "Without our Li Family, you wouldn’t have even been able to join the Yunjing Commerce Association! Big deal, I’ll give the stuff back to you. What right do you have to kick us out?"

Before he could finish his sentence, Li Xingzhou’s expression changed dramatically, and he slapped him hard across the cheek.

The blow made the corner of his mouth bleed.

"You insolent whelp, shut your mouth!"

Li Xingzhou’s eyes were filled with terror as he hurriedly knelt on the ground. "Forgive him, Elder. Please, forgive him."

"Heh..." Zhu Ju chuckled softly. "Truly a case of ’a pint of rice is a kindness, a bushel of rice is a feud.’ Stealing from your master, cooking the books to embezzle funds... and yet somehow it’s *my* fault."

"Don’t forget, if I hadn’t agreed, you wouldn’t have even had the chance to set foot on this island."

"Elder." Li Xingzhou kowtowed frantically, bashing his forehead against the ground until it was a bloody mess. "Spare our lives, Elder!"

"Spare me!"

Only then did Li Anran seem to snap back to his senses. An icy chill spread through his entire body, and he collapsed to the floor limply.

"Elder Zhu."

At this moment, the Marketplace patrol arrived, drawn by the commotion. One of them recognized Zhu Ju and immediately cupped his fist in his hand, asking, "Do you require our assistance, senior?"

"These two stole from me," Zhu Ju said slowly, pointing at Li Shun and Li Anran. "When you get to the Ice Castle, throw them down."

"Yes, sir." The patrol officer acknowledged the order, waved to the men behind him, and commanded coldly, "Take them away."

"Father!"

"Uncle!"

Li Shun and Li Anran screamed and begged for mercy, but Li Xingzhou remained kneeling on the ground, his body tense, not daring to look up.

...

In a daze, Li Xingzhou went to Zhu Ju’s courtyard and knelt at the entrance. He waited for a full day and night before he was seen.

"Is there something you need?"

"Master."

Li Xingzhou looked up, his chapped lips trembling. His voice quivered as he said, "This junior plans to take a wife."

"Oh!" A smile appeared on Zhu Ju’s face, and he nodded. "Good. Do you have someone in mind? On the day of your wedding, my friend, I will certainly present a handsome gift."

"Thank you, Master."

Li Xingzhou kowtowed. "This junior takes his leave."

He staggered back down the mountain, having already forgotten about Li Shun and Li Anran. Instead, he was thinking about whose daughter to marry.

And how many.

’I can still have children. I have ten years of life left. In these ten years, if I take many wives and have many sons, the Li Family bloodline can still continue.’

’That way, I won’t have failed my ancestors!’

*

*

*

「Two months later.」

Guu Xinglan, Dong Ping, and the others returned from their expedition. As their gains had been substantial, they invited a group of Dao Foundation Cultivators to celebrate.

"Haha!"

At the banquet, Guu Xinglan was in high, uninhibited spirits. He laughed heartily, holding his wine cup. "Drunken Daoist, Fellow Daoist Zhu, you really missed out by not coming! On this trip, we obtained a Core Formation Spiritual Object, as well as all sorts of Heavenly and Earthly Treasures."

"It wasn’t a ruin, but the Cave Mansion of a Late-Stage Dao Foundation Cultivator from a thousand years ago. It was hidden within millennium-old Profound Ice and protected by an Array. Outside, there was even a group of Sea Demons..."

His eyes gleamed, and his voice was filled with emotion. "We toiled for months before we finally managed to open the Cave Mansion, and the rewards were truly abundant. Fellow Daoist Fang Yuansi even took the opportunity to break through from the Early Stage Dao Foundation Realm to the Mid-Stage Dao Foundation."

"I also gained quite a few benefits."

"Congratulations!" The Drunken Daoist’s face was filled with envy, but then his tone shifted abruptly. "The Core Formation Spiritual Object..."

"Is it in the hands of the Fang Family?"

The Yunjing Commerce Association was currently led by the Yann Family, but they didn’t have a complete monopoly. The Fang Family also controlled a Marketplace and was a strong contender for leadership of the association.

If the Fang Family produced a Golden Core Cultivator, then according to custom, the position of Association Leader would be taken by that Golden Core Grandmaster.

A Golden Core Cultivator’s lifespan is eight hundred years.

If they took Life-Extending Elixirs, it was even possible to live for over a thousand years.

In other words, if the Fang Family produced a Golden Core Grandmaster, the Commerce Association would be dominated by the Fang Family for the next several centuries.

The birth of a Golden Core Grandmaster was a good thing for the Commerce Association as a whole, but not necessarily for the Yann Family.

"Yes."

Guu Xinglan nodded, then shook his head and lowered his voice. "That Core Formation Spiritual Object is a mass of Profound Ice Flame, which is incompatible with the Fang Family’s Cultivation Method. It might end up benefiting your Yann Family."

"Oh!"

"However, I heard that Fang Chu of the Fang Family plans to switch his Cultivation Technique and wait until he reaches Dao Foundation Perfection before attempting the Refinement."

So-called ’Core Formation Spiritual Objects’ were certain spiritual items born between heaven and earth that could purify Magical Power and aid in Core Formation.

These Spiritual Objects had all sorts of bizarre attributes and were not universally compatible.

If one’s Cultivation Method clashed with the Spiritual Object, attempting Refinement and consumption would be more harmful than beneficial.

"Fang Chu? Switch techniques?" The Drunken Daoist’s face was full of scorn. "His talent is good, but whether he can even reach Dao Foundation Perfection is uncertain. Even if he can, who knows how long that will take?"

"My Yann Family’s Cultivation Technique isn’t a perfect match for the Profound Ice Flame either, but it’s usable. They might as well sell it to the Yann Family."

"Heh heh..." Guu Xinglan shook his head. "I’m afraid the Fang Family won’t agree. They’d rather put it up for auction than necessarily fulfill your Yann Family’s wishes."

"Hmph!" The Drunken Daoist snorted, his eyes flickering as he considered something.

Zhu Ju, meanwhile, just focused on eating and drinking.

He had no opinion on who led the Commerce Association.

"Brother Zhu."

A fragrant scent drew near as Yann Nanshuang sat down beside him. "Are you regretting it?"

"I am, actually."

Zhu Ju looked up and shrugged. "Everyone who went gained something. It would be a lie to say I’m not envious. But I know my own limits."

He glanced at Guu Xinglan and sighed softly.

According to him, this one trip had provided almost enough resources for his entire Early Stage Dao Foundation cultivation. He could now focus on cultivating in seclusion for the next few decades.

"Hee hee..." Yann Nanshuang covered her mouth and giggled. "There’s no need to be envious. In a few years, Brother Zhu can come out with us. Perhaps you’ll have a bountiful harvest as well."

"Oh!" Zhu Ju gave a noncommittal response. "Then I’ll be troubling you."

As they spoke, Dong Ping also came over. The group chatted and laughed until the sky darkened and they returned, fully satisfied.

The Drunken Daoist and Zhu Ju lived next to each other, so they naturally returned together, riding on auspicious clouds toward the mountain peak.

"Fellow Daoist."

Zhu Ju glanced back at the party venue, his eyes thoughtful. "Don’t you think that after this trip, Fellow Daoist Guu’s personality has changed a bit?"

"And it’s not just Fellow Daoist Guu. Fellow Daoist Dong and the others are the same."

"Has it?" The Drunken Daoist let out a drunken burp. "Didn’t notice."

"It must be my imagination," Zhu Ju said after a moment, shaking his head gently.