Chapter 350: The Crafty Jin Sidao
Jiang He had always been prudent in whatever he did.
After all, according to what Jin Sidao of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect as well as the Mahayana elites of the Taixu Sect had said, the Green Hill Foxes were very powerful. Therefore, recklessly kicking down their door would not work.
That said, Jiang He was convinced that if he tried to flee, the Green Hill Foxes would never be able to catch him even with their immortal item or their immortal fox corpse.
Even so...
Was it not a slap to his own face if he knocked down their door and then fled?
That was why he must prepare in any way he could.
After bidding farewell to the Thunder Talisman Daoist, Jiang He returned home and redeemed four packs of Mysterious Soil to fertilize the four thunder talismans he had planted.
***
Meanwhile, Jin Sidao had arrived at the Jiuhua Sect.
It was another secluded immortal sect that stood on the peak of Mount Jiuhua. Hidden beneath their array, they were equal in strength to the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.
Jin Sidao happened to be on good terms with them.
Therefore, they were the first group of people that came to mind when it came to lending spirit stones.
The Mahayana elite of the Jiuhua Sect left confinement received Jin Sidao and consoled him sincerely, “Brother, I have heard about the Ten Thousand Swords Sect... the child named Jiang He is so powerful that no one on Earth could stop him, unless the immortals return.”
“Still, now that he has provoked the Green Hill Foxes... that bunch is not that kind...”
However, was Jin Sidao bothered to hear his nonsense?
Moreover, he was convinced he was on good terms with Jiang He...
Are you saying all this to try to drive a wedge between us here?
Nonetheless, considering that this was an old friend he needed a favor from, Jin Sidao held back.
“Brother...”
“Brother...”
Even so, the Mahayana elite of Mount Jiuhua continued to blab away. A vein bulging on his forehead, Jin Sidao then seethed through his teeth, “It’s been two thousand years, Cang Song, but you have not changed at all.”
“Yes!”
Cang Song looked skyward. There was nostalgia on his face as he muttered, “Two thousand years ago, you were the chief disciple of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, while I was the chief disciple of the Jiuhua Sect. At the time, you and I...”
What the h.e.l.l.
Jin Sidao thought that he was going crazy then.
Is this man a demon?
Why does a person over two thousand years old have so much to say?
Though Jin Sidao could bear with this fellow’s nonsense if it was any other day... he now had to head to other sects to get more spirit stones.
He hence cut Cang Song short and cut to the chase, saying, “Cang Song, I’ve actually come to your sect today because I have a favor to ask... I need spirits stones ranging from mediocre-grade to superior-grade, and the more the better—”
Even before Jin Sidao finished, Cang Song had already stood up headed back inside his temple. “See him off,” he said without even looking back.
Almost throwing up blood right then, Jin Sidao seethed between his teeth. “Cang Song, I am not lending it for nothing. If you could give me 10,000 mediocre-grade spirit stones, I’ll return 10,500...”
“In three days... no, two... actually, one! I’ll definitely return the spirit stones to you in one day!”
Cang Song stopped in his tracks right then, unable to hold back the twinkle in his eyes.
Though it was a good thing to get 500 spirit stones out of thin air, not to mention that Jin Sidao was quite the fine character, Cang Song refused directly once he remembered that Jiang He had ‘robbed’ the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, saying, “Jin Sidao, I could be your company if you want to talk about old days for seven days and seven nights... but don’t mention borrowing our spirit stones or it would ruin our friendship.”
Jin Sidao drew his sword directly.
He had brought the treasure of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect—the Dragon Abyss Sword.
Being a demi-immortal weapon, the radiance of the Dragon Abyss Sword illuminated the temple once it was unsheathed. The sword hummed relentlessly, leaving Cang Song pale in shock and yelling angrily, “Are you trying to rob the Jiuhua Sect, Jin Sidao?!”
“Rob, my foot!”
Jin Sidao slammed the Dragon Abyss Sword on the table and said, “Brother Cang Song, I understand that you’re worried about whether I’m able to return the spirit stones. So don’t worry, if I don’t return them to you, this Dragon Abyss Sword shall be given to the Jiuhua Sect.”
Cang Song did a double take. “Are you for real?”
“I could swear it.”
“We, the Jiuhua Sect, do not have many spirit stones stored, but we could gather around 6,000 mediocre-grade spirit stones and 800 superior-grade spirit stones. I don’t want the spirit stones you want in interest, just the Dragon Abyss Sword!”
Cang Song brought the spirit stones soon enough, and said, “Swear it first, and I’ll give you the spirit stones after.”
Hence...
An hour later, Jin Sidao borrowed another 5,000 spirit stones from another sect.
And after gaining experience from those two sects, he utterly let himself loose.
Immortal sect?
Demonic sects?
Ancient daemon cultivators?
He would borrow from everyone!
It did not matter how well they were acquainted or even if there was a grudge between them. He would cut to the chase once he entered, and he did not have to be afraid that they would not lend him when he was using his Dragon Abyss Sword as collateral.
In contrast, every sect would try their best to gather as many spirit stones as they could to lend to Jin Sidao. After all, from where they stood...
Jin Sidao would not be able to return what he borrowed at all.
Hence, on that very night, Jin Sidao returned to Jiang He’s house.
The Taixu Sect’s Mahayana elite had arrived at the same time as well. Once he saw Jiang He, he took out 18,000 mediocre-grade spirit stones and 1,500 superior-grade spirit stones before shooting Jin Sidao a smug look.
Jiang He appeared delighted.
That was 330 million Farm Points in the bag.
Add that to the spirit stones that Jin Sidao and the Taixu Sect had brought before...
And it would be around 500 million Farm Points.
Jiang He hence accepted the spirit stones he borrowed from the Taixu Sect and returned them with the ratio he had agreed to before. “It was in such short notice and we were afraid of delaying your cultivation, Brother Jiang He,” the Taixu Sect Mahayana elite said then. “That is why this is all we could manage. However, there is no need to get impatient, Brother Jiang He—we, the Taixu Sect, would definitely be able to lend more, and gather the hundred thousand mediocre-grade spirit stones you need.”
“There’s no need for that.”
“If it’s just a hundred thousand mediocre-grade spirit stones, I have already gathered it for Brother Jiang He.”
Jin Sidao b.u.t.ted in just as the Mahayana elite finished. The latter appeared taken aback, but he soon laughed uncontrollably, saying, “Brother Jin, are you sure that you mean to say a hundred thousand mediocre-grade spirit stones, and not a hundred thousand inferior-grade spirit stones?”
“No, surely the Ten Thousand Swords Sect can’t afford to borrow a hundred thousand inferior-grade spirit stones now, can they?”
Jin Sidao sneered but did not speak further.
Do not explain yourself when others doubt you, since excess explanations are futile. Why not slap them in the face directly with the truth? Is that not good enough?
He waved his hand.
Whoosh!
All at once, it began to rain spirit stones in Jiang He’s house that piled into a small hill.
The Mahayana elite from the Taixu Sect looked as if he seen a ghost, while Jiang He extended his spirit and counted the spirit stones in almost an instant. His eyes lighting up, he said, “Seven hundred and eighty thousand mediocre-grade spirit stones... Good job, Jin Sidao.”
Jin Sidao was all smiles when Jiang He flattered him. For some reason, he felt as if he was a child again, and the father who educated with a strict stick policy was patting his head and praising him for helping with an errand in the house.
He stared challengingly at the Taixu Sect Mahayana elite then and chuckled, “So, 780,000 mediocre-grade spirit stones, along with the other 5,000 superior-grade spirit stones I borrowed.”
With that, he took out every last spirit stone he had and handed everything to Jiang He.
Beside him, the Taixu Sect Mahayana elite was finally past his limit and was basically roaring, “No, that’s impossible! Seven hundred and eighty thousand mediocre-grade spirit stones? Five thousand superior-grade spirit stones? You need to gather such an amount from at least seven sects! Even counting in the Penglai Sect, my Taixu Sect, and your Ten Thousand Swords Sect, there are at best eight immortal sects on Earth...”
“Fool!”
Jin Sidao sneered. “Has anyone said that only immortal sects would have have spirit stones?”
“Wouldn’t demonic sects and ancient daemon cultivators have spirit stones stored too?”
“No way...”
The Taixu Sect Mahayana elite was left dumbstruck then, muttering, “Why would the demonic sects and ancient daemon cultivators lend you spirit stones?”
“Dragon Abyss Sword!”
Jin Sidao only responded with three words.
What the h.e.l.l!
The eyes of the Taixu Sect Mahayana elite was bulging, and he only came to his senses seconds later. He firmly slapped himself in the thigh, looking utterly vexed!
What the heck...
Why did he not think of such a trick?
His Taixu Sect possessed demi-immortal items too. Would they have to worry about not getting enough spirit stones when they use it for collateral?
Beside them, Jiang He was surprised by Jin Sidao’s ploy.
This dude was really sly!
Putting away all the spirit stones, Jiang He thought, ‘I wonder if the sects that have lent him their spirit stones would lose their minds if I backstabbed Jin Sidao right now and stole the Dragon Abyss Sword?’
Of course, Jiang He was just fooling around for a bit.
A few spirit stones were nothing much to him.
Moreover, after getting so many spirit stones in one go, he would have enough spirit stones to push his physical cultivation to full-fledged Mahayana, let alone qi cultivation Mahayana.
He promptly took out double the amount of spirit stones and pa.s.sed them to Jin Sidao, saying, “Not bad, you deserve to be rewarded.”
Flowers were virtually blossoming over Jin Sidao’s face.
Double...
In other words, he had earned 780,000 mediocre-grade spirit stones as well as 5,000 superior-grade spirit stones in a single afternoon!
With such wealth, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was the richest cultivator, would it?
Not counting Jiang He, of course.
Jin Sidao could not help thinking then...
How many spirit stones did Jiang He actually have?
If he robbed him...
Jin Sidao promptly shuddered at that, startled by his own idea. Just as expected, becoming a millionaire overnight easily bloats a person.
That was when Jiang He breathed a long, emotional sigh. “It’s so fortunate that I did not wipe out the Ten Thousand Swords Sect back then. Would I have been able to gather so many spirit stones otherwise?”
Jin Sidao was left speechless.
d.a.m.n it.
His good mood was immediately deflated.
Goodness.
Why did you suddenly have to mention destroying my sect?