Chapter 169: Pointing the Way to Qingfeng Hall

“If no one pursues this matter, then it’s fine. I’m just afraid that someone with ill intentions will try to use it as an excuse to plot against me. That would be real trouble!” The more He Zhenghao thought about it, the worse his expression became.

“Fellow Daoist He, there’s no need to worry. At most, I think it will just become a topic of casual conversation. If someone truly wanted to use this to scheme against you, why would they speak of it so easily? They would surely have reported it directly to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance’s higher-ups,” Li Fan consoled him.

“However, to be safe, Fellow Daoist should not do such things again in the future,” Li Fan said.

He Zhenghao sighed and nodded.

Immediately after, Li Fan pretended to be very curious: “Since Fellow Daoist knows that helping Mortals smuggle has considerable risks, why did you insist on doing it before? Could it be that the profits involved were high enough to make you disregard life and death?”

He Zhenghao said with a bitter smile: “There are no high profits. A Small World, one trip every ten years, only yields two to three thousand contribution points. It’s just accumulating small amounts into a large one.”

Li Fan feigned surprise: “Is Fellow Daoist so short on contribution points? You even covet such a small amount?”

He Zhenghao’s old face flushed: “Who would ever dislike having too many contribution points? Besides, I also have my own unavoidable difficulties.”

At once, He Zhenghao explained the pros and cons of his Cultivation Technique and his plan to switch to a Nascent Soul Cultivation Technique.

Li Fan listened, shaking his head with a tsk: “Cultivating for over a hundred years and only reaching Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, this Cultivation Technique is indeed not very good. It’s better not to Cultivate it!”

“Fellow Daoist He, your decisive action to change your Cultivation Technique midway, though costly, is clearly worth it!”

“I support you!”

“May I ask, how many more contribution points do you need to exchange for that Nascent Soul True Cultivation Technique?”

He Zhenghao shook his head and sighed: “The Cultivation Technique I want to exchange for is extremely extraordinary. Not only does it require 250,000 contribution points, but I also need my authority level to reach a certain degree before I can even search for and exchange it.”

“Now, my authority has almost been raised enough, but the accumulation of contribution points is still far off. I still need about a hundred thousand more.”

Li Fan nodded upon hearing this, but thought to himself: “So the list of Cultivation Techniques I usually see in the tianxuan mirror is still incomplete.”

“One hundred thousand contribution points is indeed an astronomical figure. In the more than a month since I joined the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, I’ve only just realized how difficult it is to accumulate contribution points. I heard that Set Fish is an opportunity to get rich overnight, so I gambled once. Alas…” Li Fan sighed, looking dejected.

“Set Fish? Heh heh, I was once obsessed with it a long time ago. But I haven’t played it in a long time now.”

He Zhenghao said seriously: “Listen to my advice, it’s best to touch this thing as little as possible. You and I simply don’t have that kind of foresight and Luck! Going there is just throwing money away!”

Li Fan agreed wholeheartedly: “Fellow Daoist is absolutely right.”

Immediately after, Li Fan changed the subject, revealing his true intentions: “After much thought, I feel that the investment method Fellow Daoist mentioned to me earlier is more suitable for me…”

He Zhenghao looked pleased: “Heh heh, it’s really good foresight that Fellow Daoist realized this so quickly. Unlike me, I wasted half my life before finally finding such a stable way to make money.”

“Don’t worry, next time there’s a big profit opportunity, I will definitely not forget Fellow Daoist!”

Li Fan, however, said directly: “No need for next time. There’s an opportunity to make a lot of money right now!”

“Oh? Is that so?” He Zhenghao vaguely sensed something was off, his expression changing. But he still asked.

“Heh heh, to be honest with Fellow Daoist. Ever since Fellow Daoist mentioned this investment method to me last time, I’ve often studied and pondered it myself when I had nothing to do. After a month, I feel I’ve already grasped the trick to it. To profit from price fluctuations, the most convenient is still the lingwu grass.”

“Its price constantly hovers between 18 and 22 contribution points per stalk. If I just acquire a large amount of lingwu grass when it’s at 18 contribution points, and then sell it all when it’s at 22 contribution points, wouldn’t I easily make a huge profit?” Li Fan spoke with confidence and eloquence.

“Uh… that’s true in principle.” He Zhenghao listened to Li Fan’s words, couldn’t find any flaws, and could only nod in agreement.

Li Fan suddenly clapped his hands: “Then now is the best time to buy! For some reason, the price of lingwu grass has been slowly falling during this period. Now it has dropped to 18 contribution points! Isn’t that exactly the lowest price? If not now, then when do we buy?”

He Zhenghao was also moved by Li Fan’s words: “That makes sense!”

Immediately, he pulled out a heavenly mystery little mirror from somewhere. After a light tap of his finger, the price of lingwu grass appeared.

“It really has dropped to 18 contribution points!” he said in surprise.

Then he praised Li Fan considerably: “Fellow Daoist’s business acumen is indeed very sharp!”

“No! How did it drop to 18!?” Suddenly, He Zhenghao reacted, his expression changing drastically.

“I bought it at 18 contribution points back then, and I haven’t sold it. Has it dropped back again?”

Li Fan quickly said: “Alas, Fellow Daoist, there’s no need to panic. As the saying goes, things will turn around when they reach an extreme. Now that the price of lingwu grass has been falling all the way, it has already hit its limit. Next, it’s bound to rebound. Who knows, it might even jump to 23 points. With the price so low now, it’s a good opportunity for us to add to our positions!”

“That makes sense! That makes sense! Add to our positions, we must add to our positions!” He Zhenghao was deeply convinced.

“Alas, it’s a pity that most of my contribution points were lost in Set Fish. Fellow Daoist He, I wonder if you could lend…”

Before Li Fan could finish, He Zhenghao shook his head repeatedly: “No, no, you saw it last time, I only have a little over a thousand usable contribution points left, I really can’t spare any to lend you.”

Li Fan looked regretful: “It would be truly unwilling to miss this opportunity to make a huge profit!”

He Zhenghao looked at Li Fan, seemingly wanting to say something, but hesitated.

Li Fan, however, saw right through him and said with great joy: “Fellow Daoist, what advice do you have for me?”

He Zhenghao still did not speak.

Li Fan said solemnly: “If Fellow Daoist can help me this time, I will surely repay you handsomely in the future.”

“I have a premonition that I’m not far from breaking through to Foundation Establishment Perfection and will soon need to prepare for Core Formation.”

“Gathering Cultivation Techniques is a pressing matter. If I miss this opportunity, who knows how long I’ll have to delay!”

Perhaps Li Fan’s last two sentences convinced He Zhenghao.

He hesitated for a moment, then finally pulled out a dark green jade token and handed it to Li Fan.

He whispered: “If Fellow Daoist truly wants to take this opportunity to gamble, you can take this token to the outermost part of Wanxian Island and find a shop called 【Qingfeng Hall】.”

“After entering the shop, say nothing, just show this token.”

“If anyone asks, just say I introduced you.”

“Qingfeng Hall appears to be a shop selling various miscellaneous items, but in reality, it secretly provides loans of contribution points, Cultivation Techniques, and various other resources.”

…

Li Fan listened to He Zhenghao’s words, a faint smile on his face.

It’s you.