"..."
Opening his eyes Ao Tian Xue had the face of a scarred child who will never recover from a traumatic experience as he finds himself back in his room but compared to before it was far messier.
*Clink.* gold coins have utterly flooded this bedroom leaving not a spot of wood to be seen on the ground.
"..."
Picking up a handful of gold Ao Tian Xue looks to it.
There was no trace of excitement in his heart at having become richer than he could have ever imagined.
All that is there is-
"Surnamed Cang go to hell!!!"
Tossing the handful of coins against the wall the white fox curses at Dao He Cang Yue for dragging him into his ploy of retrieving the sword that is trapped in the Great Tree.
As the white fox raises an anguish filled cry he plops onto his bed.
"The hands of fate at the works? Fate can get eaten by a dog for all I care! I only ask that you set the Great Tree on fire? If it's so simple he should just do it himself! Obediently do as I tell you to if you wish to live? Piss off! Youngster with absolute power you can bully anyone you desire? The moment my cultivation base is higher than you I'll throw these words right back at you!"
There are numerous things he wanted to complain about but he didn't even know where to begin so for starters he immediately thought back to the things Dao He Cang Yue had said to him.
"Ahhh this is absolute shit! What the hell did I do to get myself dragged into this mess!?"
Exhaling a mountain's worth of complaints Ao Tian Xue eventually calms down and pants from having said so much in so little time with a loud voice.
"..."
Thinking of his first meeting with Dao He Cang Yue then looking back at the one he just had-
"Life is filled with ups and downs..."
The white fox can't help but feel amazed by what he is now involved with for the process of how he got dragged into this situation had been too sudden and too abrupt without any warning.
(Do I really not have any means to get myself out of this situation?)
Asking this question to himself Ao Tian Xue quickly realized the core issue.
In the end it was simply a matter of strength.
Just as Dao He Cang Yue had said with absolute power one can bully others as much as they want.
If a person doesn't wish to be bullied then they need to be stronger than those who dare to offend them.
"*Sigh*"
Raising a sigh Ao Tian Xue feels around the pile of gold for the jade slip he received from Dao He Cang Yue.
"..."
Reluctantly pressing the jade slip onto his forehead Ao Tian Xue looks through the information he is given.
The magic array that Dao He Cang Yue had talked about setting up is rather complicated. Resources aside one also needed to have a Core Formation realm of cultivation to even set it up but the most difficult part in setting this thing up is-
(Setting it up around the Great Tree...)
Expecting no one to notice the magic array upon completion is simply impossible especially when there are supposed to be five Dao He fox immortals ruling over this mountain range.
(He gave me all this money to buy materials but...)
Buying everything all at once is sure to cause quite a stir and since his cultivation base wasn't high enough yet Ao Tian Xue didn't see the need to rush.
For now the only thing he can do is to raise his own cultivation base.
"Léi Dì Jiànglín. (雷帝降临 Meaning: Thunder Emperor's Descent)"
Is the name of the cultivation technique that Dao He Cang Yue had inscribed onto the jade slip.
"Sounds overbearing and looks like it will support my cultivation up to the Nascent Soul realm."
Sitting up on his bed Ao Tian Xue looks to the pill bottles and begins to organize them.
Amongst these bottles there is one that is meant to aid him in cultivating Thunder Emperor's Descent, a pill filled with refined lightning elemental energy.
"Looks like this is it."
By no means was this pill something of priceless value but it was enough to get him started on the first layer of this technique.
"..."
Instead of taking the pill right away Ao Tian Xue sets it down for the time being as he thought about how he should go about his life from now on.
Other than this cultivation technique and the magic array's set up there was a second magic array that grabbed his attention.
It was a teleportation magic array.
(Safety should be my main priority so it would be best to set up the teleportation magic array as soon as possible. Should things go south I can use that to get away. I don't want to be teleported to some place random after using it, so I'll need to build the receiver magic array that is meant to go with it in the Treasure Tree Forest.)
This means he will need to establish a foothold in the Treasure Tree Forest as well.
Regardless of one's cultivation base they will be able to set up this magic array but to use it one needed to have a Core Formation realm of cultivation unless-
(*Sigh* all this gold but not a single trace of spirit stones...)
Solidified spirit energy takes on the form of spirit stones.
If 100 copper coins equal one silver and 100 silver coins equal one gold then 100 gold coins equal one spirit stone.
Coins are generally considered mortal currency whereas spirit stones are often called practitioner's currency.
Once a practitioner's cultivation base has reached the Core Formation realm they can go without eating and can live off spirit energy alone.
(One or two spirit stones can't possibly power this magic array...)
Shaking his head Ao Tian Xue gives up on the idea of using spirit stones to fuel this magic array when push comes to shove.
The only way to acquire spirit stones in the Autumn Moon Mountain Range is through one of the five ruling families.
Since the establishment of the Autumn Moon Mountain Range these five families have held a monopoly on the method of producing spirit stones.
Towards this monopolization of spirit stone production most people couldn't care less as all the items required for living are purchased using coins.
It is only those who have projects that require vast amount of spirit energy that would feel the need to complain about the monopolization.
(Just me alone can't possibly complete this massive project even if I had the cultivation base to do so. And my talent is mediocre... Hiring some random people to help won't do since they can't be trusted. If that's the case... I need to buy a talented laborer that can be disciplined to carry a bit of my burdens.)
Deciding on his next course of action to be the purchase of an obedient servant Ao Tian Xue takes one of the pills rich with lightning energy and swallows it.
(If I toil through the night I should be able to reach Foundation Establishment with this cultivation technique.)
Allowing the pill to dissolve and feeling hints of electricity running through his body Ao Tian Xue sits up in lotus position and begins to mutter the required incantation in his head while rotating his cultivation base.
