[Don't despise money; even immortals descending to the mortal world must weigh their pockets]

[No hero without wealth, no man without money]

[True hero with wealth, noble spirit with a thousand gold]

Entering the Money Tower, tall wooden beams stand on either side with various slogans written atop them.

Li Xian grumbled to himself, "Though a bit blunt, it seems to be quite true."

"Martial force can threaten one person, a hundred people, even tens of thousands. It can force ghosts to grind the mill, can make people bow down."

"But only wealth can truly make people willingly obey."

Let's talk about Yihetang Manor.

Though the lady's martial arts are immeasurable, what keeps the manor running is money. The nursing home, servants, staff, and Sang girls… all receive wages.

...

The pavilion inside was bustling. Luxuriously decorated, with carved beams and painted rafters, the two had just entered when Madam Wen, very familiar, walked to a Copper Bell and gave it a gentle tap.

The clear sound of the bell rang out, and a steward came over.

"Two heroes here, may I ask if you are here to collect the token?" The steward smiled as warmly as a spring breeze.

He could actually tell that among the two, the lady in the white gown was being respected. But seeing Li Xian's extraordinary appearance, to be safe, he addressed them as "two heroes" to ensure he wouldn't offend anyone.

Madam Wen said, "Fetch me a Green Token," and handed over a jade pendant as proof.

The steward compared the proof, showing a surprised expression, realizing this woman was not ordinary, and his words became even more respectful: "Please, Madam, could you verify further."

Madam Wen retrieved her jade pendant, her wrist giving a slight shake. No one knew what method she used, but the jade pendant emitted a faint golden glow. It was quite extraordinary.

"Very well, very well, please wait, I will fetch your token immediately." The steward, upon seeing this, quickly left.

Madam Wen remained calm and composed, everything was clear to her. Li Xian was puzzled and asked, "Madam, what is this?"

Madam Wen placed the proof back into her sleeve and said flatly, "You have just ventured into the Jianghu, naturally you wouldn't understand."

"The Nine-Story Money Tower is one of the money shops of the Money Alliance under the Great Wu Dynasty."

"One can use a paper contract to receive funds. However, for us martial artists, dealing with thousands of taels of silver at a time is rather inconvenient."

"Therefore, in prominent places, money towers are established. If a martial artist wishes to purchase something, they don't need to carry money, just come here."

"By proving your identity, the Money Tower will provide you with a token, which you can use to purchase items."

Li Xian was enlightened, "So that's how it works."

It wasn't long.

The steward returned with the Green Token. Madam Wen said nothing, her hands tucked inside her sleeves. Li Xian sensibly stepped forward, taking the token.

"Safe travels, Madam," the steward smiled and saw them off. Yet Madam paid no heed.

Li Xian examined the Green Token, his fingers gently stroking it. He discovered the token was made of neither gold nor silver but a kind of secret metal. A light squeeze and its shape could be changed.

"Money tokens are all made from Secret Sand, every financial transaction is frequent, with each grain of Secret Sand representing a Wen coin."

"A Green Token represents about a thousand taels of silver; if you shake it, the amount is deducted from your total."

Madam Wen watched Li Xian with interest.

Li Xian tensed up and quickly wrapped the Green Token tightly in cloth. Madam Wen smiled slightly, thinking, "Having this kid around is rather amusing."

"Let's move faster." Madam Wen raised her hand to grab Li Xian's right arm and took a step forward. Li Xian felt light and weightless, and before he knew it, the scene had changed and they had leaped several yards away.

Clearly, Madam Wen's lightweight skill was exceptional, beyond imagination. Her inner qi enveloped them, moving swiftly.

The vast Medicine Mountain nurtured countless herbs.

Vegetation, snakes, insects, mice, ants, raindrops, mud, and stones… all could serve as medicinal material.

"Snake and Insect Lane."

The madam walked towards the depth and only slowed at the entrance of the Snake and Insect Lane.

Inside the lane were Zhou family medicine slaves, living attached to the Zhou Family, with stalls displaying various snake and insect herbs.

The lady approached a stall, her eyes focusing on a long black insect.

The so-called Qian Insect was originally a type of winged centipede. This centipede was non-toxic and harmless but had sharp mandibles, capable of biting through gold and stone.

Seeing Madam Wen keep her distance, aloof and elegant, Li Xian internally grumbled: "Despite being the renowned Lady Zhe Jian, why does she make me do everything, squeezing me like this."

Stepping forward, he asked proactively, "Brother, how do you sell this bug?"

"Young hero, this Feiling Black Feather Insect, I'll sell it to you for twenty taels each." The medicine slave said with a sly smile.

Li Xian cursed, "You're lying! I'm not buying." The medicine slave waved his hand to shoo him away, "How is it a lie? If you don't want to buy it, don't. Someone else will."

Li Xian sneered, "This insect is no Feiling Black Feather Insect. It's clearly a Qian Insect, known for flight and burrowing, easily misidentified. If you don't know the difference, perhaps I should enlighten you."

He didn't actually know the price of a Qian Insect, he was merely bluffing and intimidating. But with the aura he exuded, even lies seemed like truth.

Moreover, he was right.

"This… this…"

The medicine slave was taken aback, not daring to argue, fearing a crowd would gather. He hurriedly pulled Li Xian's hand, begging, "Good brother, I was wrong, I was wrong… you… take this insect for twelve taels!"

The market price for a Qian Insect was fifteen taels each.

Li Xian saw this one was quite small, only ten grams, but it was enough. He handed over the Green Token. The medicine slave also took out a token, aligning the two tokens, and Secret Sand flowed into the medicine slave's token.

Thus, the transaction was complete.

"Such a trade method is indeed extremely convenient." Li Xian thought to himself.

A single Qian Insect cost over ten taels, but the lady was gathering herbs for alchemy, so one certainly wasn't enough.

Li Xian wandered along the street, outsmarting the medicine slaves at various stalls. He gradually collected every Qian Insect he saw in his medicine bag.

Money was like flowing sand… and several hundred taels quickly vanished.

"Martial artists are indeed a money pit, but to the madam, a few hundred taels are nothing. However, these Qian Insects are just the most basic herbs for starting alchemy. To fire up a furnace just once… requires at least a thousand taels of silver!"

Li Xian calculated silently, recalling his early years as a hunter. He and his father would search the mountains for game, tracking animals and catching a wild boar, and the master would offer a price of only ten Wen coins.

"Madam, are these Qian Insects enough?" Li Xian asked after walking for most of the street, with fifty Qian Insects already in his bag.

"Barely enough," the madam replied contentedly.

They returned to the Nine-Story Money Tower and returned the Green Token. The reduced Secret Sand was deducted from their money account as silver.

The madam still had some broken silver on her.

Not in a hurry to leave, they strolled along the street looking for more herbs of interest.

As time passed, more and more people crowded into Zhou City, mostly there to buy herbs. Amidst the jostling, a wave of people suddenly surged forward. Li Xian stepped forward to shield the madam, separating her from the crowd, and said, "Madam, be careful."

Madam Wen gave a meaningful smile. Li Xian's "Madam, be careful" was rather sweet. Madam Wen, in her younger days, wouldn't fall for it. But now, she found it quite pleasing.

After having lunch in Zhou City,

they decided to head back.

On the way out.

Suddenly, there was a commotion not far away:

"This Fragrant Meat Ganoderma, I clearly saw it first, how can you just take it by force, without any sense of reason."

"Reason? I offer a higher price and that is reason enough. I want this Fragrant Meat Ganoderma."

"Fine then, Stonelike Hand Sun Hao, you're deliberately going against me, I, Swallow Blade Cheng Hu, won't let you have your way."

"Everyone, come have a look, come and judge for yourselves."

In front of a pharmacy, the crowd was gathering more and more.

Those who come and go to the pharmacy often have martial arts skills, so such a disturbance is really hard to settle.

Li Xian had no interest, but the lady, with a flickering body, moved through the crowd like a leisurely stroll.

Stonelike Hand Sun Hao knew he was in the wrong and angrily said: "Cheng Hu! What do you mean by this, do you think with this disturbance, I will back down?"

Cheng Hu snorted coldly and continued to call for onlookers.

Sun Hao, enraged, suddenly moved and kicked at Cheng Hu's lower back. Cheng Hu yelped, rolled forward, and dissipated most of the force.

"Cheng Hu, don't say I'm bullying you. Since both of us want this ganoderma, let's settle it with a proper duel among us martial artists!"

"Whoever wins takes it!"

Sun Hao said.

Cheng Hu, also furious, agreed, "Fine!"

Both were considered skilled in the Jianghu and were quite famous in the surrounding areas. At this moment, the onlookers, upon hearing that the two were about to duel, cheered them on.

With both men being egged on, not fighting would be impossible. Just then, a voice rang out:

"No need to rush into a fight, the two of you. I have a way that can turn hostility into friendship, without letting a single ganoderma harm your relationship."

Everyone looked towards the voice.

They saw a young man step out from the crowd; it was Li Xian. Earlier, the lady had instructed him to intervene.

"Kid, do you really have a solution?"

"If you're just trying to toy with us, let's see if I don't kill you."

"What's your solution, hurry and tell us."

Sun Hao and Cheng Hu stared at him, their manner quite imposing.

Li Xian observed that these two men, each with a tiger-like vigor, probably had long since entered the Food Essence Realm. Besides, they were famous skilled experts in Jianghu, much stronger than the likes of Zheng Xuezhang.

He said, "The solution is... why not just gift this Fragrant Meat Ganoderma to me?"

Sun Hao and Cheng Hu were stunned, exchanged a glance, and both showed fierce expressions, saying in unison: "Looks like we're really old now, even a brat dares to make fun of us."

"Kid, you don't know what's good for you, don't blame us if we destroy you."

The two advanced left and right, stepping forward and pressing on Li Xian's shoulders.

However, in the next instant, the two were frozen on the spot, their bodies stiff, unable to move as several of their acupoints had been targeted.

Their foreheads broke out in cold sweat, and they stammered: "La... lady..."

Madam Wen was standing right behind Li Xian. She had deliberately kept her presence hidden and had gone unnoticed by anyone.

As the two approached, she exhaled like a pointing finger, striking their acupoints from afar and immobilizing them on the spot.

Madam Wen smiled and said, "Li Xian, these two wanted to disable you, what do you plan to do?"

Li Xian said, "Return the same way they intended for me?"

Sun Hao and Cheng Hu now wished to kneel down and kowtow but were completely immobilized and could only await their fate.

Madam Wen said, "That's not good enough. Considering your current cultivation level, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to disable them."

"How about this, you cut off one of each of their hands, and this matter will be resolved."

Li Xian said, "Alright." He drew his sword from its sheath and, with a single slash, the strike was swift and decisive, infused with ample inner qi, demonstrating a consummate sword technique that was remarkable.

The blade sank a few inches... yet it couldn't sever the hand in one stroke.

Li Xian struck again, and it was the same. The physical strength of Essence-Eating Martial Artists was one factor; their cultivated inner qi protecting them autonomously was another.

Instead, Li Xian's wrist felt numb.

Not until the fourth strike did he manage to sever Sun Hao's left hand.

He immediately applied the same method to sever Cheng Hu's left hand as well.

Only then could the two move, falling to their knees with a thud.

Madam Wen looked down indifferently and said, "So, gentlemen, does his solution work?"

"Madam Wen, spare us, Madam Wen, spare us, it was us who didn't recognize the mountain." The two pleaded for mercy.

"In that case, whose Fragrant Meat Ganoderma is it?" Madam Wen asked.

"It's Madam's, it's Madam's." The two were in pain, gritting their teeth, yet dared not show any displeasure, anger, or resentment.

"Wrong." Madam Wen said, "Slap their mouths."

Those who had egged on the fight were now silent, feeling that the lady was excessively ruthless, crippling people and yet still humiliating them.

Li Xian thought the same but could only obey, slapping each of them twice on their faces.

"I ask you again, whose ganoderma is this?" Madam Wen asked.

"It's..." Sun Hao had a sudden insight: "It's this young master's, this young master's." He pointed to Li Xian.

Madam Wen nodded in satisfaction, "Li Xian, aren't you going to buy the ganoderma and leave with me?"

...

...

The carriage left Zhou City.

Li Xian examined the ganoderma and curiously asked, "Madam, do you perhaps have a grudge against those two?"

Madam Wen lay on her side on the couch, eyes closed, resting, and said, "If there was a grudge, they wouldn't have just lost an arm each."

"This ganoderma is a reward for you. Keep it and don't ask more questions."

A smile crossed her lips... So far, Li Xian had pleased her very much; if he didn't make more enemies, how could he become truly inseparable from her?

"This box of Essence Meat, you take it. Eat it once you return to the manor, and quickly enter the Food Essence Realm, I really want to see what appearance you'll take on after washing away the impurities from your rebirth."

"This box of Essence Meat... eat one gram every two days."

"If my guess is correct, it's enough for you to cleanse the natal impurities and display the Rebirth Appearance, entering the ranks of the Food Essence Realm."

Madam Wen said lazily, waving her delicate hand.

A small exquisite box, about the size of a palm, emerged from inside the carriage curtain.

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