Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 339 The Decision is Made, the Golden Core Master Arrives [Please Subscribe]

Jiufeng Ridge, inside Zhou Mingde's cave.

Inside the cave, the three most important figures of the Zhou family all looked worried and at a loss.

The three had already had a discussion about whether to help Lin Hongyu achieve the Golden Core stage.

During the discussion, the three did not directly state their opinions, but instead listed what they would have to give and what they would gain by helping and not helping.

It can be said that in this round of discussion, the three of them have already discussed both the good and bad aspects of the matter.

The next step should be to express one's own views and attitudes regarding these positive and negative aspects.

This step, however, stumped the three of them.

Because everyone knows how much impact their decision will have on the family.

Faced with such a momentous matter, they could only think things through very carefully and could not make a decision lightly.

"In my opinion, it would be too hurtful to offer no help at all, and all the efforts and sacrifices the family made to win over Senior Lin would be completely wasted!"

"But there should be limits to how much we can help. After all, Senior Lin isn't a member of the Zhou family, and the clan can't possibly go to such lengths to help her at the cost of jeopardizing its very foundation!"

"Therefore, I prefer to offer her limited assistance. If she successfully forms her core, all will be well. If she fails, it can only be said to be fate, and no one can be blamed!"

In the end, Zhou Chun, as the younger generation, spoke first and expressed his opinion, stating his attitude.

After hearing his statement, Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi exchanged a glance, and then Zhou Mingde asked in a low voice, "So how should this limit be defined?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun pondered for a moment before immediately replying, "In my humble opinion, this limit should be the maximum assistance the family can provide without jeopardizing the family's foundation—in other words, the amount of liquid funds the family can provide under normal circumstances!"

"But if what you say is true, it will be difficult for the family to provide enough funds to help you develop your Purple Mansion!"

Zhou Mingde said in a heavy tone, seemingly somewhat unwilling.

Zhou Chun smiled and shook his head, saying, "This matter is not a problem. After all, I am still young, and I can easily wait for more than ten years. Moreover, if Senior Lin can truly succeed in forming his core, the help he would bring to the family would be far greater than that of ten Purple Mansion cultivators!"

Upon hearing his reply, Zhou Mingde couldn't help but sigh, "You're quite magnanimous; it must have been difficult for you!"

Then, turning his gaze to Zhou Daoyi, who had remained silent, he asked, "Daoyi, what's your opinion?"

"This junior is not in a position to offer any opinion on this matter. Whatever decision the family makes, this junior will agree with it!"

Zhou Daoyi spoke in a low voice, choosing to avoid suspicion.

Lin Hongyu is now his Daoist partner, although their union is largely based on mutual benefit.

But a Daoist partner is a Daoist partner after all, and at this time he could neither object nor express support, so he could only remain silent.

Zhou Mingde understood and quickly nodded, saying, "Very well, since Daoyi, you don't want to comment on this matter, I won't force you. I'll make the decision!"

As he spoke, he asked Zhou Chun to invite Lin Hongyu over.

Although Lin Hongyu said she was resting, she couldn't actually calm down and relax.

As soon as Zhou Chun went to inform her, she immediately composed herself and followed him into Zhou Mingde's cave.

Then, with expectant eyes, she asked Zhou Mingde, "How is it? Fellow Daoist Zhou, have you two reached an agreement?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Mingde nodded slightly and said, "Indeed, we have already reached some consensus, but before making the announcement, I would like to ask Fellow Daoist Lin to answer a few questions!"

"No problem, Fellow Daoist Zhou, please feel free to ask any questions you may have. I will answer them to the best of my ability!"

Lin Hongyu immediately agreed without the slightest hesitation.

"My first question is for Fellow Daoist Lin: how many spirit coins do you estimate you'll need to acquire the spiritual item that aids in Core Formation?"

"My second question is, Fellow Daoist Lin, how many spirit coins can you currently provide?"

"The third question is, if the Zhou family does its utmost to support Fellow Daoist Lin in forming his core, how can it guarantee that Fellow Daoist Lin will still be willing to stay with the Zhou family after successfully forming his core?"

Zhou Mingde held up three fingers, looked at Lin Hongyu with a solemn expression, and said his three questions in a deep voice, one by one.

After hearing his three questions, Lin Hongyu, who had previously been very straightforward and honest, finally frowned and lost her previous frankness.

She frowned, head bowed in thought, and after a long while, she raised her head and looked at Zhou Mingde, saying, "I can't say for sure how many spirit coins it will take to purchase the spiritual items that aid in Core Formation, but I imagine it will be no less than six or seven hundred thousand spirit coins!"

"As for how much I can contribute myself, to be honest, even if I sold everything else, I could only scrape together a few hundred thousand spirit coins at most!"

She paused slightly at this point and glanced at Zhou Daoyi beside her.

Then she said in a low voice, "As for Fellow Daoist Zhou's third question, besides swearing an oath, I really don't know what else I can do to convince you of my character and integrity!"

Upon hearing this, a strange light flashed in Zhou Mingde's eyes, and he nodded, saying, "I understand. Then, Fellow Daoist Lin, please hear my opinion first!"

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, please speak. I am all ears."

Lin Hongyu turned slightly to the side, her face showing some tension.

She couldn't help but be nervous, after all, what Zhou Mingde was about to say would determine whether she could take another step forward on her path.

Zhou Mingde glanced at her and then slowly said, "I won't hide it from you, Fellow Daoist Lin. Although the Zhou family has accumulated some savings over the years, it's still far from the seven or eight hundred thousand spirit coins you mentioned!"

"Moreover, let alone the Zhou family, even among the Golden Core families, I doubt many could come up with such a massive amount of working capital!"

"Therefore, if Fellow Daoist Lin is hoping that the Zhou family can come up with such a large sum of working capital to support you, that's simply impossible!"

Having said that, without waiting for Lin Hongyu, whose expression had slightly changed, to plead for mercy, he quickly changed the subject, saying, "However, Fellow Daoist Lin has been mining [Earth Element Crystal Jade] veins in Yang Kingdom over the years, and must have accumulated quite a bit of ore by now. If you are willing to let my Zhou family sell it at a discounted price, you should be able to raise two or three hundred thousand spirit coins!"

"And the Zhou family can currently mobilize about 200,000 spirit coins in liquid funds."

"Based on this calculation, if Fellow Daoist Lin can manage to scrape together another two or three hundred thousand spirit coins, that should be enough for you to purchase the auxiliary Core Formation materials you need this time!"

After finishing his words, Zhou Mingde looked at Lin Hongyu, who seemed to be deep in thought, and said softly, "What do you think of my answer, Fellow Daoist Lin?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Hongyu immediately raised her head and said in a low voice, "Two hundred thousand spirit coins are still a bit too little. Fellow Daoist Zhou, could you perhaps add another one hundred thousand spirit coins?"

After saying that, she added, "I won't take this money for nothing; I'm willing to exchange it for several secret techniques I've cultivated!"

However, Zhou Mingde shook his head after hearing her words and said in a deep voice, "Two hundred thousand spirit coins is all the savings that the Zhou family can afford. I had already agreed with Zheng Chun that this savings would be used to help him open his Purple Mansion."

"If it weren't for Zheng Chun's understanding of the bigger picture and his willingness to postpone his own path to establishing his Purple Mansion, using this savings to help Fellow Daoist Lin form his Core, even if the Zhou family and I wanted to help you this time, we would be powerless to do so!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Hongyu couldn't help but look at Zhou Chun.

Looking at Zhou Chun, who was already at the late Foundation Establishment stage, she immediately realized that Zhou Mingde was not lying.

Then she bowed slightly to Zhou Chun and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhou is very understanding and righteous. I thank you in advance."

Upon seeing this, Zhou Chun quickly returned the greeting and said, "I dare not treat you like that, senior. It is my honor to contribute my strength to your Core Formation."

"Alright, let's do as Fellow Daoist Zhou suggests. I'll find another way to handle the remaining spirit coins!"

Lin Hongyu turned to look at Zhou Mingde and nodded gently in agreement with his arrangement.

After reaching an agreement, both parties immediately began to take action.

Zhou Daoyi, whose injuries had mostly healed, personally accompanied Lin Hongyu to Yang Kingdom to transport [Earth Element Crystal Jade] ore.

Meanwhile, Zhou Chun began to mobilize the Zhou family's resources, contacting various forces and shops in the market to find buyers willing to purchase the [Earth Element Crystal Jade] ore.

Half a year is not a long time. Selling ore worth hundreds of thousands of spirit coins during this period is a considerable challenge for the Zhou family.

Zhou Chun traveled to all the southern states of Jing Kingdom, visited all the forces that were on good terms with the Zhou family and all the markets, and only managed to sell a little over 100,000 spirit coins worth of ore.

Unfortunately, although the Earth Element Crystal Jade has a wide range of uses, it wouldn't require as much ore as the Zhou family has accumulated for normal use in refining artifacts and setting up formations.

But just as Zhou Chun was having a headache and worrying about how to sell all of these [Earth Element Crystal Jade] ores, a big customer suddenly took the initiative to contact the Zhou family.

"Senior Shanyangzi, your presence is an honor to the Zhou family. I apologize for my rudeness and poor hospitality."

On Pagoda Peak, Zhou Mingde, who had rushed out of his cave after hearing the news, bowed deeply to the middle-aged Taoist priest in front of him with a face full of awe.

It turned out that the big customer who took the initiative to come to their door was none other than Shan Yangzi, a Golden Core cultivator from Qinglian Temple.

Zhou Mingde and Zhou Chun were not unfamiliar with Shan Yangzi, because he was the representative of Qinglian Temple at the "Hundred Clans Assembly".

Faced with Zhou Mingde's polite words, Shanyangzi simply waved his hand and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, you are too kind. I did not give prior notice of my arrival. How can I entertain you if you are unaware of the situation? Please do not stand on ceremony."

After speaking, his gaze sharpened as he stared intently at Zhou Mingde and asked, "The purpose of my visit to the Zhou family is quite simple: I have learned that your Zhou family is selling off large quantities of [Earth Element Crystal Jade] ore. I wonder how much stock your family currently has?"

It turns out that Shan Yangzi cultivates earth-elemental techniques, and his natal magic weapon is also an earth-attribute magic weapon. Over the years, in order to enhance the power of his natal magic weapon, he has been having people help him collect related spiritual items.

The spiritual power contained in the Earth Element Crystal Jade, after being condensed, can be used to enhance the power of earth-attribute magic weapons. When Shan Yangzi learned that the Zhou family was selling this ore on a large scale, he quickly came to the Zhou family and personally went to purchase it.

Upon hearing his question, Zhou Mingde immediately replied respectfully, "Senior, you are wise. The Zhou family is indeed selling [Earth Element Crystal Jade] ore, but this matter is handled by the Zhou family patriarch. I am not aware of the specifics, so please let him answer you!"

At this point, he turned to Zhou Chun, who was serving him, and said, "Zhengchun, you also heard Senior Shanyangzi's question. Quickly report the details to him truthfully."

"Yes, junior obeys."

Zhou Chun responded and immediately bowed to Shan Yangzi, saying, "Senior, the Zhou family currently has approximately 60,000 jin of [Earth Element Crystal Jade] ore remaining, worth about 130,000 spirit coins on the market!"

Upon hearing this, Shan Yangzi's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands, exclaiming, "Excellent! Then I'll take all these Earth Elemental Jade ore. From now on, you can stockpile the ore you mine and send it to my cave in batches. I'll buy it all at market price!"

Upon hearing this, both Zhou Mingde and Zhou Chun's eyes lit up.

Zhou Mingde quickly spoke up, saying, "How could we allow you to go to such lengths, senior? From now on, all the ore supplied by the Zhou family to you will be calculated at 80% of the market price, with the remaining 20% ​​being a tribute from the Zhou family to you!"

But Shan Yangzi waved his hand dismissively and said, "There's no need for that. Although I'm not extremely wealthy, I'm not short of spirit coins. Just settle according to the market price!"

His tone was very firm, not just polite.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Mingde couldn't help but sigh inwardly, and could only nod and say, "This junior understands, then we will do as you say, senior."

After the agreement was reached, Shan Yangzi did not stay at the Zhou family's residence any longer. After taking away the Zhou family's stock of [Earth Element Crystal Jade] ore and leaving behind more than 135,000 spirit coins, he left without a trace.

Watching his departing figure, Zhou Mingde and Zhou Chun exchanged a glance, both seeing the joy and regret in each other's eyes.

Zhou Mingde sighed softly with a regretful expression, "What a pity! If we could have used this [Earth Element Crystal Jade] ore to make contact with Senior Shanyangzi, selling it at a discount of 20%, or even 30% or 40%, would have been completely worthwhile!"

"Yes, what a pity to miss such a great opportunity!"

Zhou Chun nodded in agreement, her face also filled with regret.

Although the Zhou family is protected by the existence of the Su family patriarch, they are now considered to have someone to protect them.

However, establishing a connection with an elder of the Qinglian Temple like Shanyangzi would obviously be more important for the Zhou family.

However, Shan Yangzi was clearly someone who valued his reputation and had no intention of being dragged down by the Zhou family for such a small benefit.

"Forget it, I'm lucky to have it, and I'm destined to lose it. Since things have come to this, I shouldn't think about it too much anymore."

Zhou Mingde waved his hand, quickly accepting the situation.

Then, looking at Zhou Chun, he said, "Now that we have the spirit coins, let's discuss the matter of going to the Great Zhou Kingdom to participate in the auction. I'm a little worried about entrusting such a large sum of spirit coins to Fellow Daoist Lin alone!"

Zhou Chun knew perfectly well what he meant by being uneasy.

Upon hearing this, he immediately replied, "You're right, this matter should be discussed properly."

(End of this chapter)