Xu Xian waved his hand, acting with the gravity of an old man. "My ambitions lie elsewhere."
Yao Xiaoxiao’s eyes sparkled.
Wen Qingxue glanced at him sideways.
Yao Zhijian clicked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk."
Xu Xian grew annoyed and glared at them. "What’s with you two?"
Yao Zhijian spoke cryptically, "The disciples on the mountain say that you, Little Grand-Uncle, are thirty percent similar to Martial Uncle Qingshan. I didn't believe it at first, but now it seems the rumors were true."
"Hmm?" Xu Xian looked slightly suspicious.
Wen Qingxue, seemingly indifferent but intentional, added, "Peak Master Li has three loves: wine, swords, and posturing. You also love posturing, which is why you’re thirty percent similar."
Xu Xian: "???"
Yao Zhijian nodded in confirmation. "That’s exactly it."
Xu Xian’s brow furrowed slightly as he stood up and walked away.
"Don't leave yet!"
Xu Xian replied lazily, "When opinions differ, even half a sentence is too much."
To say he was willing to let it go would be a lie.
To say he was posturing was true.
After all, who would ever complain about having too much money?
However, Xu Xian couldn't stay in Demon-Slaying City forever. When would money ever be enough?
After working for another year, he would have the one hundred thousand beast bones needed to build the second-floor Sword Tower. With over ten million in assets, the startup capital for the third-floor Sword Tower shouldn't be a problem.
As for the materials, he would deal with that when the time came.
The main issue was that after he broke through to the nascent soul stage, there were many things he needed to do.
First: use the Yellow Spring Burial to nourish Yao Xiaoxiao’s body and forge the Extremely Yin Saint Body.
Second: his path in forging needed to advance further.
Both tasks required immense time and energy. He simply wouldn't have the time to continue this business.
Everything had its priorities and gravity; one had to make choices.
Over the past few years, a large number of earth weapons had flooded the market. The business of trading weapons for ferocious beasts at the forging workshop was reaching its limit; he could see the end of it.
Besides, if Xu Xian truly only wanted to make money, why bother with this? Reselling synthetic gold would earn him far more and provide a more sustainable path.
If it wasn't for the beast bones, he wouldn't have spent so much time and effort on this.
Once he reached the nascent soul stage, the ceiling of his forging skills would rise. When he could forge heaven weapons, he believed he could earn even more.
Man climbs to higher ground, while water flows to the lower.
Xu Xian had his own thoughts and better options.
Later, after Li Xun and the others finished their orders and prepared to leave Demon-Slaying City, Xu Xian specifically asked Liu Qinghui to see them off.
He also had him give each of the four men five hundred thousand spirit stones as severance pay.
It was just as he had said that day: after working together, even if the business ended, the friendship remained.
Li Xun and his group were deeply moved upon learning this. They accepted the severance pay and asked Liu Qinghui to pass a message to Xu Xian.
If he ever came to the Central Plains, they would certainly host him well to fulfill their duties as hosts.
Yao Xiaoxiao asked Xu Xian why he gave them money when they were already leaving, calling it a waste.
Xu Xian said it was to buy a good reputation and peace of mind.
After all, the value these men had brought him over the past two years was worth far more than that.
Just as Xu Xian expected, he truly earned a good reputation.
After the five left, the business at the forging workshop continued. Under Zhou Yashan's lead, the remaining people readily signed a new one-year contract with Liu Qinghui.
The compensation was adjusted.
Xu Xian continued to forge immortal gold to serve as the raw material for everyone’s swords.
Even with the increased compensation and the withholding of beast bones, Xu Xian’s profits remained considerable. The secret lay in the materials.
A single earth weapon normally cost nearly two thousand to produce, but he could compress that cost to less than one hundred spirit stones.
Before the spring grass by the pond could finish its dream, the autumn rustle of the paulownia leaves was already at the steps.
In the autumn of his fourth year in Demon-Slaying City, as the cold wind began to blow and the mountains turned red, Xu Xian finally saved up one hundred thousand fifth-grade beast bones.
After having Liu Qinghui arrange the final skinning and deboning, Xu Xian closed the shop.
First, he secretly drew his own blood, handing it to Yao Zhijian for safekeeping as he had before, instructing him on the right time to have Yao Xiaoxiao consume it.
It had been this way for four years.
Xu Xian never told Yao Xiaoxiao that the medicine she drank was his essence blood. Yao Xiaoxiao knew in her heart, but she always feigned ignorance and never brought it up.
He then instructed Wen Qingxue that he would be in seclusion for a while.
He impatiently hurried into his room and began the construction of the Sword Tower.
He had been waiting five years for this day!
Xu Xian sat cross-legged, circulating his qi to focus his mind and adjust his state and mentality.
After exhaling a long breath of turbid air, he summoned the Little Book Spirit and that book.
Just like last time, the Little Book Spirit dove in first, and Xu Xian followed, familiar with the process.
After five years, he once again appeared within his sword embryo grotto-heaven.
This grotto-heaven existed within Xu Xian’s sword embryo, deep in his dantian, yet it didn't belong to him. It was left behind by the previous master of the Sword Tower.
Xu Xian’s divine sense could enter and leave the Sword Mound at will, but this grotto-heaven only appeared when the materials were ready to build the Sword Tower.
The Little Book Spirit said that when the day came that he truly built all twelve floors of the Sword Tower, he would completely replace the previous master, and this space would belong to him.
At that time, it wouldn't just be his divine sense entering and leaving.
He could even bring living beings inside, or even open up an entirely new world within it.
Xu Xian was quite expectant, but he also understood that it was destined to be a very, very long time from now.
Inside the grotto-heaven world, everything was as usual. He saw a celestial realm of sea and clouds, misty and vast, with a single floor of a white jade tower standing tall among the clouds, majestic and grand.
The tower doors were tightly shut.
Divine radiance leaked out from within.
Xu Xian did not delay. He sacrificed the over one million spirit stones he had prepared, placing them to one side, suspended in the sky.
He then took the one hundred thousand withered bones from the Divine Sword Pool and piled them on the other side.
In an instant, within the grotto-heaven, one side was a sea of azure spirit stones, and the other was a sea of blood-red corpses.
Standing between them, Xu Xian felt as small as a speck of dust.
The Little Book Spirit floated over and reminded him again, "Master, the second floor might take a bit longer this time. You must be mentally prepared."
"Mhm."
"Then let us begin."
"Alright!"
Xu Xian began the construction. This time was different from the last. Last time, rare materials were used for the foundation, and spirit stones were used to forge the tower body.
This time, it was reversed.
He needed to build the second-floor structure first, then place the one hundred thousand beast bones inside and use his divine sense to refine them all.
Therefore, the extra time wasn't for the construction itself, but for the refining of the beast bones.
Just like last time, he controlled the spirit stones to fly into the tower structure. The spirit stones were consumed at an incredible speed, and the prototype of the second floor gradually manifested.
One day.
Two days.
Three days.
Four days...
The top-grade spirit stones were exhausted, yet the Sword Tower was not yet topped out. Xu Xian felt an intense sting in his heart.
Over 1.5 million top-grade spirit stones were actually not enough for the second floor's consumption. It was more than double what the first floor required.
It clearly exceeded his budget.
Left with no choice, he had to use low-grade spirit stones for the final repairs.
It took another day and three million low-grade spirit stones to complete the second floor of the Sword Tower.
Xu Xian let out a long breath, his brow furrowed.
"The gap in low-grade spirit stones is just too large."
Just one section had cost three million. If he used only low-grade spirit stones, the consumption for the second floor alone would likely be in the tens of millions.
The third floor would be even more. His current assets were truly not enough to cover it.
However, now was not the time to think about that.
He shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside, and began refining the beast bones.
"Continue..."
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