"You want me to help inquire and relay messages?"
Lin Miaoyi looked at the two people in front of her, bewildered, unable to react for a moment.
Earlier, she was still in the Stellar Mansion, chatting with a group of outer disciples, preparing for the possibility that her plans might fall through and she would have to team up with other disciples.
Then, a servant came to inform her that an employee from Mingxin Xuan had an urgent matter to see her, and even brought a calling card with Ji Yuan's scent on it.
Thus, with doubts in her heart, Lin Miaoyi was led to the third floor of Mingxin Xuan and met the two who had been waiting for a long time.
"Just as I said before, once this matter is settled, you will naturally not be shortchanged."
Ji Yuan said with a smile.
He was completely different from when he was at Stellar Mansion. At that time, he had a calm demeanor, but now his eyes were filled with warmth.
It could be said that he had thoroughly embodied the character of a money-grubber.
Lin Miaoyi found this somewhat unaccustomed. After seeing Liu Ruyan, who was looking at her with the same expression, she couldn't help but feel a little reserved.
Although she was a disciple of the Nine Xuan Sect and had a considerable reputation among the outer disciples, compared to the chief steward of Mingxin Xuan, there was still a certain gap in their status.
Although the other party only seemed to have a cultivation base at the early stage of the first realm, they could summon several cultivators of the second realm to serve them. Without regard for cost, it was not impossible to gather over a dozen or twenty cultivators of the second realm in a short period.
Such a person, even inner sect elders would have to treat with courtesy and would not dare to neglect in the slightest.
"This matter is not difficult to handle, but I will need the chief steward to come up with a sum of money first."
Lin Miaoyi gave a wry smile. "My journey to the north this time has already consumed most of my savings, and gathering information and relaying messages requires some groundwork..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but anyone could understand her meaning.
As someone involved in business, Liu Ruyan adhered to the way of merchants and naturally understood that sometimes friendship is friendship, and business is business. These two are distinguished but also interconnected.
Often, it is friendship that leads to business opportunities, but if no benefit is given, after one or two times, it will be difficult to build a relationship, and one might even create an enemy for no reason.
"Here is a thousand taels of silver. Do you think it is enough?"
After a moment of thought, Liu Ruyan took out a stack of bank notes from her Shanhe Bag, issued by a relatively famous bank in Feiyun County, with denominations of ten, thirty, and fifty taels.
Ji Yuan, watching from the side, raised his eyebrows, thinking how thoughtful Liu Ruyan was. This would undoubtedly make it much easier for Lin Miaoyi to handle matters and avoid many troubles and complications when doing the groundwork.
"But I have a question. If I do this, and it is discovered later, what should I do if my sect blames me?"
Lin Miaoyi did not immediately accept the bank notes, but instead asked with a solemn expression.
If she were suspected of leaking sect secrets and colluding with outsiders to gain wealth, the lightest punishment would be severe punishment from the sect, and the heaviest could even result in the loss of her cultivation and expulsion from the sect!
Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan immediately laughed. "You don't need to worry about this. I will come forward and take all the blame."
With his current status in the Nine Xuan Sect, this matter was not even considered a major issue, and he estimated that no one would come to settle accounts with him.
Moreover, based on his understanding of the Nine Xuan Sect, the sect's higher-ups would likely adopt a laissez-faire attitude towards such matters.
As long as the secrets leaked were not genuine, they would turn a blind eye and allow the disciples within the sect to earn a living through their own means.
After all, by improving their cultivation, the sect would ultimately be the beneficiary.
However, these benefits were not something that could be seen in hard cash in the short term, but rather something that would gradually become apparent over the long years to come.
Based on what Ji Yuan had learned during this period about the Nine Xuan Sect's practices towards its disciples, he was about seventy to eighty percent certain of his guess.
With his guarantee, Lin Miaoyi naturally felt relieved. She reached out and put the bank notes into her embrace, deciding to immediately return to the Nine Xuan Sect and wait for news to spread within the sect to gather the intelligence they needed.
"I have already arranged for a second-realm cultivator to wait outside. He will pilot a beast that is incredibly fast and adept at traveling. Tonight, he will escort you to the Nine Xuan Sect."
Liu Ruyan said solemnly.
Even Ji Yuan was somewhat surprised that Mingxin Xuan had such a beast prepared, capable of traveling dozens of miles in half a day!
Without even thinking, he could guess that such a beast must be extremely rare, much like the flying creatures raised by Elder Hong Tian.
Before Lin Miaoyi departed, Liu Ruyan ordered three iron cages to be brought, containing black-winged eagles.
These creatures were a relatively common means of communication among cultivators, capable of flying three hundred miles a day and not being too expensive.
Afterward, Lin Miaoyi only needed to register at the service hall at the sect's gate to board the communication eagles, allowing her to contact Mingxin Xuan at any time.
"Speaking of which, how much can we earn from such a hassle?"
After seeing Lin Miaoyi off, Ji Yuan subconsciously asked.
Liu Ruyan pondered for a moment and replied, "After deducting costs and manpower, we can net at least two to three hundred thousand taels."
If the discovered cave dwelling was large enough and the number of Nine Xuan Sect disciples who went was sufficient, it might even multiply several times.
"So much?"
Ji Yuan was truly shocked. When he solved the blood sacrifice crisis in Thousand Jade City, he only received tens of thousands of taels of silver from the three sects.
This was even when the three sects had to give up most of their wealth in a life-or-death situation.
And now, with just a piece of information, involving items that were not precious spiritual materials, they could earn so much?
Most importantly, this was pure profit!
"You are a special-grade honored guest of Mingxin Xuan. With a word, you can have people prepare things for you, so you naturally don't know the prices of these materials."
Liu Ruyan said somewhat exasperatedly. "Although none of them are expensive items, their quantity is not small. If we were to follow your list, each person would require nearly ten thousand taels of silver on average."
And this was for materials of ordinary quality. If the quality were slightly improved, the price would naturally rise. If we were to consider the top-grade materials, even spending seventy to eighty thousand taels would be considered a low price.
Zhao Yuansong, despite his considerable experience in the martial world and successfully reaching the second realm, was still merely an outer disciple, and his vision had not yet fully broadened.
The list he provided was calculated based on the lowest quality materials. Furthermore, when he conveyed the message to Ji Yuan, he had not mentioned the need to gather everything, stating that even one-third of the materials would suffice.
However, for the inner disciples of the Nine Xuan Sect, the lowest quality and only one-third of the quantity would clearly not catch their attention.
At the very least, they would need to upgrade one or two qualities on the list, and they would definitely want to have everything prepared. Even if they didn't end up using it, it was better to have it ready to avoid regret when needed.
Even if these preparations were ultimately not used, they could be resold at a slightly lower price. The potential gains far outweighed any minor losses.
Moreover, with their prior preparations, it would be difficult for the market town to supply enough materials in a short period. A slight increase in price would be enough to make a fortune.
"Anyone who says merchants are lowly, I will be the first to disagree."
Ji Yuan couldn't help but exclaim. The speed at which wealth was being accumulated was something even three to five cultivators of the third realm could not match.
And those who achieved such results were merely a group of mortals and a few cultivators of the first realm.
Liu Ruyan's lips curled into a slight smile. She cultivated the path of merchants, and such words were naturally very pleasing to her ears.
Since ancient times, whether in the mortal world or among the lofty cultivators, merchants were always considered lowly and even despicable.
However, considering a celestial sect, apart from the strength of its disciples, the most important aspect was its mercantile activities. Without a continuous stream of wealth, how could sufficient resources be provided to improve the cultivation of the disciples?
Every sect's leadership understood this principle, but they were unwilling to admit it, and it was the long-standing rigid perception that prevented them from letting go of their prejudices.
"By the way, the matter we discussed earlier might have to be postponed."
Ji Yuan said as if he had just remembered something.
Earlier, the two had already agreed on how to operate Xuantian Peak for the next few years, or even decades.
This included how many people were needed to repair the peak, how many were needed to manage daily affairs, how to repair the formations within the peak, and how to cultivate and utilize the idle land, and so on.
If Ji Yuan were to do these things himself, it might take him decades to complete them all.
The mere task of repairing the formation of Xuantian Peak would consume countless amounts of his time and energy, and he would need to earn a substantial amount of wealth and merit before he could enlist the help of the Nine Xuan Sect.
Yet, he had no choice but to do these things, as building a cave dwelling or establishing a dojo was not as simple as just setting up a few formations and building a few houses.
However, with the support of Mingxin Xuan now, it naturally saved a lot of trouble, and he could focus on improving his cultivation.
Although this would inevitably involve enormous expenses, since both parties would prosper or suffer together, it could not be viewed in a normal light.
Furthermore, this itself was a form of investment. As Ji Yuan's cultivation increased, his status within the Nine Xuan Sect would rise, naturally bringing substantial benefits to Mingxin Xuan.
Not to mention that he had the possibility of being in charge of a peak and holding one-tenth of the authority of the Nine Xuan Sect. Once he formed a Golden Core, he could become the sect leader of a peak.
Even in the worst-case scenario, if Ji Yuan were to be stuck at the third realm for his entire life, an esteemed elder would be enough to allow Mingxin Xuan to thrive in Feiyun County, earning far more wealth than they invested!
"That's also fine. The longer the preparation time, the smoother things will be later on."
Liu Ruyan nodded, and her mind began to re-evaluate how to prepare for the operation of Xuantian Peak.
Fortunately, among Mingxin Xuan's industries, there were many places of cultivation and abundant experience in management and operations. Afterward, she only needed to have those skilled in this area discuss and propose a few suitable plans.