Master Hou had no choice but to admit defeat. Facing a sword immortal in the late Foundation Establishment stage, he had absolutely no confidence. Moreover, Master Hou's talent wasn't particularly high; otherwise, the Heavenly Extreme Sect wouldn't have sent him to work in the mortal world.
Every cultivation sect needs to make expenses. Times have changed, and cultivation sects must also keep up with the times.
Just like a mobile phone, even though you are thousands of miles apart, you can send a message with just one call. But as a cultivator, unless you reach that level of cultivation, it is absolutely impossible for your voice to penetrate thousands of miles and reach the other party's ears.
Therefore, cultivators also need to keep up with the times. Nowadays, many cultivators are equipped with a mobile phone so that it is convenient to contact each other if anything happens.
Besides, with so many people in a sect, food, drink, and even basic necessities all cost money. Where would the expenses come from? Are they going to rob a bank?
Therefore, every sect is trying to find ways to make money.
Money isn't something you can just earn at will; it requires brains. That's why many sects send those who have reached the pinnacle of their cultivation down the mountain to find big business tycoons and pass on some techniques to them, or use coercion and enticement—basically, they'll use any means at their disposal.
Of course, some cultivators are born to do business. So, they may not have much talent in cultivation, but they are exceptionally good at business, especially since they are cultivators.
Therefore, they were invincible in business and quickly amassed a large fortune. Not only could they supply the sect's financial needs, but they also had a lot of personal savings, supporting mistresses and living a blissful life every day.
Master Hou was the kind of person who didn't have much talent for cultivation; his cultivation level was stuck at the late Foundation Establishment stage his entire life. That's why the Heavenly Extreme Sect sent him out to do business.
But Master Hou wasn't cut out for business. However, he was good at coercion and bribery. As a result, the owner of the underground boxing market was intimidated by him and gave him the lion's share of his profits every month.
In addition, Master Hou used the same methods on the owners of several other companies.
"Master Hou, can I take this as you surrendering and admitting defeat?" Liu Xiaoyuan asked with a smile.
Master Hou was furious, but he dared not say anything. He had no way to deal with Liu Xiaoyuan, a sword immortal in the late Foundation Establishment stage, so he could only swallow his anger.
“Brother, I don’t think we need to fight to the death. Let’s keep the peace,” Master Hou said with a smile.
"I'm asking you, you're a disciple of the Heavenly Extreme Sect, why are you here, and what is your purpose?" Liu Xiaoyuan was unaware of the sect's intricacies and found it strange that Master Hou had come here.
To save his life, Master Hou immediately told Liu Xiaoyuan what had happened.
Besides, this kind of thing isn't a secret; every sect is in the same situation, and everyone knows it.
However, this was the first time Liu Xiaoyuan had heard of such a situation. He never expected that every sect would make money in this way.
"So, you're the God of Wealth of the Heavenly Pole Sect?" Liu Xiaoyuan asked Master Hou with a smile.
Master Hou chuckled and said, "You could say that. All the expenses of the Heavenly Extreme Sect are earned by me alone."
Hearing Master Hou's words, Liu Xiaoyuan gave him a deep look of contempt. "You think you earned all of this? How dare you say that? You're clearly a robber who steals from others."
However, the bosses were afraid of Master Hou's skills and dared not say a word. They could only obediently offer him money, for money was a small matter compared to their lives.
"Let me ask you, if the Heavenly Pole Sect didn't have your support as its benefactor, wouldn't the Heavenly Pole Sect be in dire straits?" Liu Xiaoyuan asked.
Master Hou immediately shook his head and said, "No, without me, the sect can send someone else to replace me. Anyway, in the eyes of ordinary people, we cultivators are like gods, and it's easy for us to make money."
That's true. As long as you show off your abilities to some big bosses and give them some benefits, they'll eagerly hand over their money.
After learning some things he wanted to know, Liu Xiaoyuan felt that there was no point in keeping Master Hou around, so he immediately decided to kill him.
When the Flying Cloud Sword was placed against Master Hou's neck, Master Hou immediately begged for mercy, "Brother Daoist, spare my life! Spare my life! I have a ticket to the Alchemy Conference here. Brother Daoist, I only beg you to spare my life!"
"An alchemy competition?" Liu Xiaoyuan looked at the so-called alchemy competition ticket that Master Hou had shown him, his face full of doubt.
Upon seeing this, Master Hou immediately explained, "Brother, this alchemy competition is a contest organized by the Alchemy Guild, held every ten years. Various sects can send disciples to participate, but to watch the competition, you need a ticket, and the number of tickets is limited, so it's first come, first served. Therefore, a sect participating in this alchemy competition is extremely valuable..."
To save his own life, Master Hou made the tickets to the alchemy conference sound more precious than any treasure.
However, although Master Hou's words were somewhat exaggerated, tickets to the Alchemy Conference were indeed hard to come by, as it was a grand event of the Alchemy Guild, where one could meet those legendary alchemists and witness the brilliance of the younger generation of alchemists.
In addition, one might even learn some alchemy techniques from this alchemy conference.
Therefore, as soon as the tickets for the alchemy competition are released, they are sold out within an hour.
Liu Xiaoyuan had no interest in the alchemy competition, so Master Hou's attempt to bribe him with tickets to the competition in an attempt to spare his life was a grave mistake.
Liu Xiaoyuan took the ticket from Master Hou's hand, and then slashed his throat with his sword.
Master Hou's eyes widened like lanterns as he stared at Liu Xiaoyuan, his right hand covering the spot where the Flying Cloud Sword had cut him, trying to stop the blood from flowing out. But how could he stop the blood from flowing out like that? The blood continued to drip down, drop by drop.
Pointing at Liu Xiaoyuan with his left finger, he said haltingly, "You...you broke...your promise..."
Liu Xiaoyuan laughed and said, "How did I break my promise? Which ear of yours heard me promise to spare your life? It's all your own idea, please don't impose it on me."
"You..." Upon hearing this, Master Hou was so angry that his mouth opened wide, and he finally breathed his last, looking like he died with his eyes wide open.
Upon seeing that Master Hou was dead, Liu Xiaoyuan found his storage bag. Master Hou's storage bag contained about a few hundred spirit stones, some bank cards, and nothing else.
Liu Xiaoyuan took the spirit stones, but didn't take the bank cards, because he didn't know the passwords and they would be useless anyway.
Then, Liu Xiaoyuan set fire to Master Hou's body, reducing it to ashes.
(End of this chapter)
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