The seven peak masters had departed, leaving only Su Yuan and Sect Leader Gu behind.
Sect Leader Gu glared at Su Yuan. "You brat, do you even understand etiquette? You can't discuss profit sharing openly like that!"
"Oh, I was afraid you'd go back on your word," Su Yuan muttered quietly.
"Do I look like that kind of person to you?" Sect Leader Gu pretended to be angry.
Su Yuan remained silent for a full ten breaths.
The silence was deafening!
Sect Leader Gu's face darkened as he tossed a ring to Su Yuan. "Take a look - a true disciple token and three million spirit stones. Don't say I lack credibility!" he snorted.
Su Yuan took the storage ring and curiously extended his spiritual sense inside. There was an enormous space containing several sets of true disciple robes, a true disciple token, and a pile of spirit stones. A rough count confirmed there were indeed three million!
After some hesitation, Su Yuan said, "I estimated the final profit should be about one billion spirit stones. Thirty percent would be three hundred million..."
Sect Leader Gu glared at him. "You brat, don't you understand anything? Half goes to the sect! From the remaining five hundred million, we need to distribute shares to the working disciples and cover various invisible expenses you can't even see. Plus, that storage ring is worth as much as a magic treasure! You should be grateful!"
Su Yuan said leisurely, "If I recall correctly, the Scripture Pavilion records state this ring is standard equipment for true disciples."
Sect Leader Gu's expression froze as he looked at Su Yuan strangely. What kind of strange books had this kid been reading? How did a mere Qi Refining cultivator know such things?
"Give it back if you don't want it!" Sect Leader Gu said.
"I want it! Many thanks for the sect leader's generosity!" Su Yuan bowed respectfully.
Sect Leader Gu chuckled helplessly. "You brat, hurry up and find a cave residence on the main peak! You can choose a third-grade cave. Do you know where the Yuan Pool is? Your true disciple token grants access. You can cultivate there daily for short periods or continuously for longer stretches - it's up to you. The total time allotted is ten years - use it well."
"Understood!"
Su Yuan took his leave.
Gu Qingzhu stroked the ring in his hand with a relaxed expression. "A modest profit of nine hundred seventy million spirit stones... Ah, how should I spend it all? Such troubles."
The sect leader put on a distressed expression, though no one was around to see it.
Su Yuan arrived at the Immortal Mystic Hall on the main peak and selected a third-grade cave residence, again choosing a relatively remote location. The spiritual energy density of a third-grade cave could satisfy a Golden Core cultivator's needs - more than sufficient for Su Yuan!
On his way back to Mysterious Extremes Peak, Su Yuan purchased a fish tank artifact.
When he returned to his courtyard, splashing sounds immediately came from the pond as all the spirit fish poked their heads out to look.
Little Cai leaped into the air, happily wagging her tail and leaving a beautiful tri-colored rainbow trail.
Su Yuan casually tossed dozens of spirit stones over. "Hungry? Eat up - spirit stones are plentiful!"
The spirit fish gathered around to peck at the stones, wagging their tails in apparent delight.
As Su Yuan watched, he noticed something unusual - the scales of the fish near Little Cai had developed tri-colored spots, as if dyed by her influence.
Su Yuan scooped up one fish to examine it, finding no abnormalities. On the contrary, its spiritual energy seemed more concentrated and pure.
The fish stared at Su Yuan with one innocent eye while the other kept glancing anxiously at the contested spirit stones, its eager expression nearly making Su Yuan laugh.
Su Yuan fed it a fragment spirit stone before returning it to the pond.
After waiting until they'd all eaten their fill, Su Yuan summoned the fish tank artifact.
Infusing it with Mystic Truth Qi, the artifact expanded. With another push of spiritual energy, Su Yuan transferred all 49 spirit fish along with Little Cai and their pond water into the tank.
The 50 fish swam quietly in their new container, curiously observing Su Yuan and their surroundings, seemingly wondering what he was doing.
"Let's go - to our new home!"
With a hearty laugh, Su Yuan executed the Seven Stars Step, appearing mid-air in an instant. His Shaking Light Sword followed beneath his feet, carrying him swiftly toward the main peak.
After settling the fish, Su Yuan returned to Mysterious Extremes Peak.
Scripture Pavilion.
Dressed in true disciple robes, Su Yuan entered calmly.
The pavilion attendant's expression changed immediately upon seeing the purple daoist robe. He rose respectfully to bow, but upon recognizing Su Yuan's face, he exclaimed in surprise, "You? What's with your robes?"
As a regular visitor, Su Yuan was well known to the attendant!
Su Yuan calmly produced his true disciple token. "I recall the Scripture Pavilion keeps duplicates. Package them all up - I'm taking them with me."
"What?" The attendant looked from the token to Su Yuan's face to the outrageous request.
His mind filled with question marks.
When he expressed doubt, it wasn't him with the problem - it was clearly you!
"Any issues?" Su Yuan pointed at the token again.
"Uh... may I verify it first?" the attendant asked.
"Go ahead." Su Yuan handed it over casually.
When the attendant placed it on the authentication device, lines of text appeared.
He then looked at Su Yuan strangely. "Main Peak True Disciple... Su Yuan? That's really you! You're... *cough* True Disciple Su, I've treated you well these past months, haven't I? When you rise to prominence, remember this lowly attendant!"
"Uh..." Su Yuan was caught off guard by the sudden attitude shift.
He hadn't even learned this attendant's name until now.
"Well, sure... Can you process this request? I'd like to borrow the scripture duplicates," Su Yuan repeated.
"Of course, of course! My name is Yin Jiuzong - please remember me, Senior Brother! What duplicates did you want, Senior Brother Su?"
"All of them," Su Yuan said.
"All? That's..." Yin Jiuzong was dumbfounded.
"Not possible? It's just too troublesome to keep coming back," Su Yuan sighed.
Yin Jiuzong's eyes lit up. "Senior Brother Su, this is indeed unusual. No one has ever borrowed so many duplicates at once. Let me check... As a true disciple, you can borrow ten thousand volumes at a time with no time limit, but you'd need to return them before borrowing more."
"That's inconvenient," Su Yuan frowned.
Yin Jiuzong suddenly struck his palm with a fist. "I have an idea!"
"Oh?"
"Since Senior Brother just wants to avoid back-and-forth trips, leave it to me! Whenever you finish reading, just send word and I'll personally deliver new duplicates!"
Yin Jiuzong said enthusiastically.
Su Yuan looked at him speechlessly - the man's calculations were practically written on his face.
Since Su Yuan would ostensibly be "reflecting on his mistakes" for the next ten years, confined to the main peak, the arrangement would save him trouble. It was a minor matter anyway.
"Very well, I'll leave it to Attendant Yin," Su Yuan agreed.
"Haha, my pleasure!" Yin Jiuzong said eagerly.
"Since we're at it, could you also help borrow duplicates from other peaks' scripture pavilions?" Su Yuan added.
Yin Jiuzong immediately replied, "No problem at all! With your token, I can borrow on your behalf."
Satisfied, Su Yuan nodded. He first borrowed ten thousand scripture duplicates from Mysterious Extremes Peak's collection before riding his sword away.
Clutching the communication jade slip, Yin Jiuzong smiled. He'd somehow managed to establish a connection with a true disciple! Most Seven Extremes Sect true disciples were at Golden Core realm, and those who weren't yet would surely reach it. This was a golden opportunity.
"True Disciple Su seems particularly fond of miscellaneous texts. The pavilion's collection won't last him long. I've noticed he reads anything substantive regardless of category. Why not mobilize my family's resources to continuously supply him with new books? That would maintain our relationship."
Yin Jiuzong's eyes shone brighter. His Yin family specialized in this - many members worked in libraries and academies, making book collection extremely convenient!
Su Yuan still didn't fully grasp the weight of being a "true disciple."
As he flew past in his purple robes, many disciples took notice.
Given Su Yuan's current fame, he was quickly recognized.
Thus news of his promotion spread rapidly!
Many were shocked, unable to believe the report's veracity!
While flying back to the main peak, Su Yuan spotted two figures approaching from another peak.
He recognized them - his two instructors from Immortal Seed Valley.
Su Yuan saluted respectfully. "Senior Brother Zhuge, Senior Sister Nangong! Greetings!"
Zhuge Jian waved his hands hastily. "True Disciple Su, you flatter me! As a true disciple, your status equals an elder's. I dare not accept such address - the elders would punish me!"
Su Yuan smiled. "Brother Zhuge, what brings you here?"
Zhuge Jian smiled. "A private matter. Might we speak somewhere quiet?"
"Then let's go to my cave residence," Su Yuan agreed.
"Excellent!" Zhuge Jian had no objections.
Meanwhile, Nangong Huoyu studied Su Yuan intently, trying to discern what extraordinary qualities had earned him true disciple status directly!
The three flew together to the main peak.
Upon arrival, Zhuge Jian became more restrained.
The main peak housed many Foundation Establishment disciples and Golden Core elders - no place for casual behavior.
After landing, they walked along the main path soon reaching Cave Residence 369.
Su Yuan hosted them by a small lake within his cave, where they drank tea while admiring the spirit fish - a rather pleasant atmosphere.

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