Volume 4 Chapter 24

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Volume 4 Chapter 24: The Secret Treasure

Upon hearing Zhang Hualing’s words, the elder members of the group rose to take their leave, and several of them gave Xu Qingfan a pointed glare as they departed, deepening the wry smile on Xu Qingfan’s face.

Perhaps the world wasn’t as simple as Xu Qingfan had imagined. As he learned and experienced more, the feeling grew stronger in his heart.

The crowd bustles for the sake of gain, and pursues profit. Everywhere under the sky is the same.

Over the years, Liu Huaxiang taught Xu Qingfan the most about understanding the flow of benefits.

According to Liu Huaxiang, almost everything in the world operates under the influence of benefits—loyalty exists for benefit, betrayal is for benefit, conflict arises from benefit, and peace is for benefit. This becomes increasingly apparent the higher and more prestigious one’s position.

If one day you can clearly discern the gains and losses of benefits, then you can easily see people’s purposes and directions, allowing you to exert control.

After the council meeting, Xu Qingfan felt he understood some of what Liu Huaxiang had meant.

As the elder leaders departed, the younger elders showed expressions of anticipation and excitement in their eyes.

An elder is a unique position within the various sects of the cultivation world. They do not involve themselves in the sect’s affairs, possessing great autonomy and contributing only through teaching disciples.

At the same time, being an elder of the sect is a person with exceptional skills and is an important deterrent force for the sect. In fact, the number of elders in a sect can indicate the strength of that sect. Therefore, the sect cannot ignore them just because the elders focus on cultivation rather than managing affairs.

Because of this, the concept of "offerings" emerged in various sects of the cultivation world. Every sixty years, each elder receives a certain amount of offerings from the sect, which include high-grade spirit stones, rare treasures, various elixirs, and even advanced magical artifacts. The amount varies based on the elders’ power and influence within the sect.

This is why both the younger and older generations of elders reacted so strongly when Xu Qingfan proposed the establishment of the three institutes.

Currently, the reserves of Jiuhua Mountain are limited, so if the influence of the young elders increases greatly, the offerings they receive will also increase, while the older generation’s offerings might inevitably decrease.

Interests determine stance, and this is precisely the case.

Although in the earlier elders’ meeting, the offerings the younger generation of elders could receive were greatly suppressed, when facing their first time receiving offerings as elders, even someone as composed as Jin Qinghan couldn’t help but show excitement in his eyes.

In fact, even though their offerings are far less than those of the older generation, what they receive this time surpasses all they had ever received before.

Moreover, they can now receive several advanced magical artifacts, which makes them very happy. As their skills have reached the Condensed Core Stage, the previous Human Level artifacts are no longer suitable for them.

After saying this, Zhang Hualing stood up first and headed towards the back of "Linghua Hall."

The young elders, seeing Zhang Hualing stand up, also rose from their seats. However, unlike Zhang Hualing, they didn’t proceed to walk towards the back of the hall. Instead, they all turned their gaze towards Xu Qingfan, ready to follow his lead.

If there were still people dissatisfied with Xu Qingfan becoming a Deacon Elder, that dissatisfaction had greatly diminished after he secured control of the three academies for them.

Noticing the young elders looking towards him, Xu Qingfan subtly shook his head, unnoticed by others, and then smiled warmly at them before following Zhang Hualing to the back of Linghua Hall.

It was only then that the young elders stood up to follow. Among them, Jin Qinghan, Lv Qingshang, and a few others familiar with Xu Qingfan hurried to his side, clearly intending to congratulate him on becoming a Deacon Elder.

"Ahem, ahem…"

But just as Jin Qinghan and the others reached Xu Qingfan and were about to speak, Xu Qingfan suddenly began coughing abruptly.

Over the past six months, Xu Qingfan had noticed that coughing seemed to have become a habit, constantly accompanying him. After every few sentences, he would feel a tightness in his chest, necessitating a cough or two. During the council meeting earlier, he had suppressed his discomfort to convey his suggestions clearly, but now he couldn’t help but cough.

Seeing Xu Qingfan in this condition, Jin Qinghan and the others were startled. They had seen him coughing six months ago and hadn’t expected it to persist, suggesting that this issue might not be as simple as Xu Qingfan had previously explained.

Jin Qinghan was the first to ask, "Senior Brother Xu, hasn’t your cough improved yet?"

Seeing Jin Qinghan’s genuine worry warmed Xu Qingfan’s heart. The frustration he felt from the elders’ meeting eased a little as he thought to himself, "At least the bond between Junior Brother Jin and me isn’t just about benefits, right?"

With this in mind, he smiled and said, "It’s nothing serious. You don’t need to worry; it’ll be fine after a while."

Meanwhile, Zhang Hualing, who was leading the way, noticed Xu Qingfan’s cough and turned to ask, "Deacon Xu, is something wrong?"

Xu Qingfan replied, "I just overexerted myself while practicing. There’s no need for you to worry, Sect Master."

Zhang Hualing nodded and then said to the elders, "Elders, please wait here. Deacon Xu, come with me."

With those words, Zhang Hualing led Xu Qingfan deeper into the rear hall of Hua Ling, until they reached a massive stone door. Zhang Hualing said to Xu Qingfan, "Deacon Xu, this is Jiuhua’s Secret Warehouse. From now on, it will be jointly managed by you, Elder Gongsun, and myself. The stone door has a very strong seal that requires a specific hand gesture to open. I will demonstrate it once, so make sure you remember it."

After Xu Qingfan nodded, Zhang Hualing began to perform the hand gestures to open the Secret Warehouse’s stone door. He did it very slowly so Xu Qingfan could remember, and after watching once, Xu Qingfan memorized it.

As Zhang Hualing completed the gestures, the dull stone door before them suddenly glowed with dazzling rainbow light and began to open slowly. As the door parted, a vibrant light accompanied by a powerful wave of Spirit Qi emerged from the gap.

When the stone door fully opened, the sight inside left Xu Qingfan stunned.

Inside the unremarkable stone door was a grand hall covering nearly a hundred acres, filled with rows of stone shelves, numbering in the tens of thousands. On these shelves, there were high-grade spirit stones, advanced elixirs and herbs, or rare magical artifacts, filling every stone shelf. Each item radiated Spirit Qi and brilliance, mixing together to become incredibly powerful, almost blinding to the eyes.

Even Xu Qingfan, who was usually calm and composed, was left dumbfounded by the sight.

Xu Qingfan knew that everything before him was the accumulated treasures of Jiuhua Mountain, gathered over thousands of years.

"Did you remember it clearly?"

Just as Xu Qingfan was in shock, Zhang Hualing’s voice suddenly appeared beside him.

Shaking off his astonishment, Xu Qingfan took a deep breath and slowly said, "I remembered it clearly."

Zhang Hualing nodded and added, "Did you see the large green slip by the stone door? It records all the items within this Secret Warehouse. Each time you take something from the Secret Warehouse, be sure to record it accurately on the green slip. Understood?"

Xu Qingfan respectfully replied, "I understand."

Zhang Hualing nodded again and led Xu Qingfan further into the Secret Warehouse. Before long, Xu Qingfan discovered another stone door inside, though much smaller than the first.

Zhang Hualing said, "The Jiuhua Secret Library is divided into three levels. The first level contains high-level spirit stones and some common spiritual herbs and artifacts. The second level houses rarer items in the cultivation world, such as Earth-level artifacts, herbs over three thousand years old, high-level demon beast eggs, or books recording essential cultivation methods or secrets. If you wish to take anything from this level, you must get my approval. Do you understand?"

Xu Qingfan nodded again.

Then, Zhang Hualing opened the second stone gate in front of Xu Qingfan and taught him how to open it as well.

Compared to the first stone gate, the scene inside the second stone gate was clearly more modest, covering only about a dozen acres. There were only a few hundred stone shelves sparsely holding items. Unlike the dazzling and spirit-filled scene on the first level, the items on the second level’s stone shelves appeared more ordinary, but Xu Qingfan knew these seemingly plain items were sealed. Otherwise, their emitted Spirit Qi and radiance would far surpass those on the first level.

Zhang Hualing did not lead Xu Qingfan to the third level of the Secret Warehouse. In fact, after looking around the second level, Xu Qingfan did not see any other stone gates. Judging by Zhang Hualing’s demeanor, it was clear that only the Master of Jiuhua could access the third level.

Just as Xu Qingfan was observing the second level of the Secret Warehouse, Zhang Hualing suddenly said, "You did well at the Elders’ Meeting earlier."

Hearing Zhang Hualing’s comment, Xu Qingfan was momentarily unsure of its meaning, so he simply replied, "I acted recklessly and without thorough consideration."

Zhang Hualing shook his head and said, "You did nothing wrong. The establishment of the three academies is indeed greatly beneficial to Jiuhua’s current situation. Although it goes against tradition, restoring Jiuhua’s strength is our top priority now, and we can’t worry about these things too much."

After a pause, Zhang Hualing suddenly changed the subject and asked, "What do you think about the elders opposing the establishment of the three academies?"

Xu Qingfan was taken aback and carefully replied, "These elders are my seniors, and I dare not comment much on them."

Zhang Hualing sneered, "You dare not say? Then let me speak for you. You must think those old folks, in order to get a little more offerings and maintain their influence on Jiuhua Mountain, disregard Jiuhua’s future and the recovery of its strength, blindly suppressing the rise of you younger generation elders. Doesn’t this contradict their status as elders? Is that so?"

Xu Qingfan quickly bowed and replied, "Disciple dares not."

Zhang Hualing ignored Xu Qingfan’s answer and continued, "The bustling crowd is all for profit, and that’s true everywhere in the world. I can tell you clearly, apart from some stubborn traditionalists, those elders who oppose your opinion indeed think that way. And the older generation elders who support you do so not purely because they are willing to sacrifice their offerings for Jiuhua; if you observe closely, you’ll notice that these elders often have disciples who have become new generation elders, hence their support for your proposal."

Hearing Zhang Hualing’s words, Xu Qingfan was slightly stunned. He hadn’t considered what Zhang Hualing just mentioned. However, unsure of Zhang Hualing’s exact intention, he remained silent.

Then Zhang Hualing added, "Have you thought about why, if the new generation of elders is Jiuhua’s future, I allowed the elders’ council to compress the offerings for these new generation elders?"

Xu Qingfan’s mind raced, but he replied, "I do not know, senior."

Zhang Hualing said, "Have you considered whether the offerings taken by the older generation of elders every sixty years are truly used by themselves? In fact, a portion of what they receive is passed down to their disciples. Given that their skills are higher and consume more spirit stones and elixirs, although their receipt is much more than the younger elders, after deductions, it’s not that excessive."

Xu Qingfan replied solemnly, "I understand, teacher."

At this moment, Xu Qingfan finally understood the meaning behind Zhang Hualing’s words. Zhang Hualing’s words carried two meanings: first, not to let Xu Qingfan imagine the elder generation to be so unreasonable. They suppress the offerings for the new generation, but they have their reasons. The second is for Xu Qingfan to distribute offerings strictly according to the council’s rules in the future, not giving the older generation any less and the younger elders any more. After all, when Xu Qingfan becomes a Deacon Elder, it will be his responsibility to handle the distribution of these offerings.

In fact, even if Zhang Hualing hadn’t said anything, Xu Qingfan wouldn’t have made an issue of it. Firstly, because Xu Qingfan is already a rule-abiding person, and even if he had such thoughts, he wouldn’t dare to suppress elders who are far more powerful than him.

Seeing that Xu Qingfan understood his point, Zhang Hualing smiled slightly, nodded, and said, "Now go outside and invite those elders in. Today, you’re distributing this cycle’s offerings to them. It includes fifteen hundred high-tier spirit stones, thirty bottles of various elixirs. They can choose the attributes of the spirit stones and the types of pills themselves. And because you are a Deacon Elder, your offerings are slightly more—two thousand high-tier spirit stones, and fifty bottles of various elixirs. After you all receive your offerings, bring them to the second layer and let them each take two items at their will, while you can take three."

Xu Qingfan nodded and said, "I’ll go right away."

Saying that, Xu Qingfan quickly walked toward the position where Jin Qinghan and the others were waiting outside the Secret Warehouse, leaving Zhang Hualing alone, looking at Xu Qingfan’s back with a complicated expression.