MTLNOVEL Chapter 184: Merging Soul Beads
Tian Lin was enjoying his meal when he heard Cui'er's voice from next door:
"My master may not be dead yet, and you are already asking us to leave? Isn't that too hasty?
Does the Tong Family really lack houses that much, to the point where they can't spare an extra dwelling for a new tribute?"
Then, the voice of a servant rose:
"Miss Cui'er, that's not how you should put it. Our Tong Family didn't lack houses before, but do you not know the situation in Pingyang City now?
The number of cultivators gathering here has been increasing, and the number of tributes has grown significantly more than before. The houses are truly scarce.
Moreover, even if your master wasn't slain by the great sword master, since he fell into the sea, could he possibly still be alive?"
As the servants argued below, Cai Shu furrowed her brows first.
Hear her speak: "Xiang'er, go out and send those two maids away. Their noise is unsightly, don't you think?"
Xiang'er was about to leave when Gao He spoke up: "Hold on, how about calling those two maids in, and let my younger brother decide."
Gao He still remembered that Tian Lin had been on the same ship as Yu'er and Cui'er. Moreover, according to him, Cui'er and Yu'er were quite good-looking, and he did not believe Tian Lin could remain indifferent.
Soon after, Xiang'er brought Cui'er and Yu'er into the room.
They didn't expect that the tribute 'occupying' their master's house was here and had even overheard their argument.
Even more, they didn't expect that this tribute 'occupying' their master's house was Tian Lin.
Yu'er pulled Cui'er to kneel at the doorway, hurriedly kowtowing and apologizing: "We were unaware that a few Daoists were present, and spoke thoughtlessly. We implore the two Daoists and the fairy to forgive us."
Cai Shu was displeased, Gao He was indifferent, and Tian Lin pondered before saying:
"I won't be staying in Pingyang City for long; you two can continue to stay in the mansion. After I leave, this mansion will naturally be returned to your master."
Cui'er's fiery response was not about fighting over the house.
As 'Tian Shuang' had already passed, she and her sister temporarily became an 'unclaimed legacy,' and their situation was quite precarious.
Common sense dictated they should keep their heads down.
But Cui'er was not someone who could completely suppress her emotions; she often deluded herself into treating herself like a 'person.'
Humans have emotions, and after following 'Tian Shuang,' few benefits from Tian Shuang's glory had touched the sisters.
Instead, because of their association with Tian Shuang, her sisters' value 'depreciated.' If they returned to the Tong Family in the future, they could no longer be sword holders; most likely, they would be relegated to being menial maids.
Already uncertain about her future, she lamented the injustice of the heavens – how could she endure being dismissed so swiftly?
"My younger brother is an upright gentleman and does not wish to take advantage of your master. Since he has allowed you to stay here, remain here in peace and quickly thank my younger brother."
Gao He thought that Tian Lin was moved by lust, which is why he added that statement.
At this moment, Yu'er could not think too much; under Gao He's watchful gaze, she clumsily kowtowed and thanked them.
On the other side, Cui'er felt a bit embarrassed as Tian Lin's magnanimity made her seem like a servant who knew no limits.
The two women did not rush to leave but instead helped Tian Lin pour wine next to him.
The meal lasted until dusk, truly cooling the food down, and Cai Shu and Gao He reluctantly accompanied Tian Lin back to the neighboring house.
Tian Lin returned to the main room, which now had freshly changed bedding.
Yu'er thought for a bit and went in to make tea for Tian Lin, saying:
"Thank you for your kindness in taking us in, my sister and I will quickly find the old mansion's steward and won't take long to move out to free up the room for you, Daoist."
At that moment, Tian Lin was deep in thought. Hearing Yu'er say this, he merely waved his hand:
"Just stay, I will usually not return here; you sisters have no need to fear what I will do to you—"
Yu'er guessed that Tian Lin would not lie to a maid like her, as if Tian Lin really intended such, forcing them now wouldn't cause the Tong Family to trouble him.
She reassuredly left the room, just as Tian Lin remembered about the Five Elements Fog Concealing Tea.
He called out: "Miss Yu'er?"
Outside, Cui'er, carrying a wooden basin, walked in, watching Tian Lin cautiously: "Daoist, did you need my sister for something?"
Tian Lin asked: "Do you know of something called the Five Elements Fog Concealing Tea? How many Spirit Stones is this tea worth?"
Cui'er relaxed and responded to Tian Lin: "May I ask which type of Five Elements Fog Concealing Tea does the Daoist need?
The Tong family does grow them, ranging from complete leaves to damaged ones, and the price varies significantly."
Tian Lin frowned and asked: "What about the complete leaf and what about the damaged leaf? How do their effects differ?"
Cui'er replied: "Actually, both the complete and damaged leaves have the same effects; the complete leaves are for serving guests, costing ten Low Grade Spirit Stones per two ounces, the damaged ones are usually for personal use, only needing six Low Grade Spirit Stones to suffice."
Tian Lin nodded: "I don't host guests often, and just want to buy some for my own consumption."
He had reached the Minor Success Realm with his Buddha and Demon Freedom Skill, which was far more powerful than the Five Elements Divine Technique.
But to cultivate top-grade Divine Skills to the Perfect Realm is extremely difficult. Even if he continuously consumed medicinal pills, reaching Great Success or Perfect, is certainly not something that can be achieved overnight.
Although the Buddha and Demon Freedom Skill is significantly stronger than the Golden God Technique, it has several drawbacks:
First, the Golden God Technique is easier to complete, and upon reaching the Perfect Realm, its power surpasses the Minor Success of the Buddha and Demon Freedom Skill.
Besides, the most important thing is, even if he perfected the Buddha and Demon Freedom Skill, Tian Lin does not plan to use it to cultivate his Dharma Body.
He cultivated through the Five Elements Foundation Establishment, naturally leading to the Five Elements Golden Core. And the Golden God Technique can be used to cultivate a Gold Element Dharma Body.
"Daoist, since you're not using it to entertain guests, if it's just for your own consumption, you might as well drink the broken bits—actually, they're not much less effective, just the taste might be a bit inferior."
Upon hearing this, Tian Lin raised his eyebrows and asked Cui'er, "What's the value of these broken bits?"
"The Tong Family does not sell their broken bits, because if they did, the intact tea leaves couldn't be sold at a high price.
Thus, such broken bits are kept by the Tong Family for their own use or to reward their servants. If Daoist wishes, I can help you buy two kilograms with five low-grade Spirit Stones."
Tian Lin, not wanting to take advantage of her, said:
"Buy two kilograms for me to try first. If the taste is indeed good, I'll buy from you at seven low-grade Spirit Stones from now on. The remaining two low-grade Spirit Stones are for your service."
Five Elements Fog Concealing Tea is not used to increase cultivation nor can it enhance Spiritual Sense; it's plainly used for entertaining guests.
An ordinary Qi Refiner wouldn't buy it for cultivation, and Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage certainly wouldn't use it to increase cultivation.
Thus, Five Elements Fog Concealing Tea isn't practical for both Foundation Establishment Cultivators and Qi Refiners.
With this in mind, Cui'er could freely buy the unusable Five Elements Fog Concealing Tea from Qi Refiners.
At that moment, her eyes lit up as she began to calculate how many Spirit Stones she could earn.
Tian Lin waved his hand and said, "You can go now, your sister must be worried about you by now."
With his current Spiritual Sense, Tian Lin could fully observe the entire courtyard from within the room.
Clearly, Yu'er was somewhat worried about her younger sister being alone with Tian Lin.
Then, Cui'er immediately placed a basin of water on the ground, saying to Tian Lin, "I will call someone to wash your feet in a moment."
'Tian Shuang' may have died, but Yu'er and Cui'er, still sword holders of 'Tian Shuang,' would of course not wash Tian Lin's feet.
Luckily, Tian Lin had no habit of letting others wash his feet, he waved his hand to stop Cui'er from worrying about it.
Cui'er had just left the threshold when she suddenly turned back and said to Tian Lin, "I see that next door there's that Cai—"
The word 'Cai' had barely left her mouth when Tian Lin suddenly glared at her.
Cui'er was intimidated by Tian Lin's look, and the rest of her words got stuck in her throat.
Frustrated, she turned her head and left the room.
Tian Lin frowned, feeling that with Cui'er's temperament, if she really served as a sword holder for someone else, she would sooner or later meet a violent end by her master.
He had guessed that Cui'er was about to speak ill of Cai Shu, and he guessed what she would say.
After all, during the meal at Gao He's house, Cai Shu's subtle actions might have eluded Gao He who was sitting opposite, but not Yu'er and Cui'er who served beside Tian Lin.
Cui'er had held back at the time but clearly despised Cai Shu's conduct.
She wasn't as shrewd as Yu'er and suddenly felt that Tian Lin was treating her well, not bullying her sisters and even giving her a chance to earn money, so she meant to give him a reminder.
But she never considered that even though Tian Lin was polite to her and her sister, he was still a Foundation Establishment powerhouse.
It was certainly not her place as a servant to point fingers.
And Tian Lin didn't let her continue speaking earlier because their residence lacked any array to shield from Spiritual Sense probing.
Tian Lin feared that the walls had ears and Cui'er's words would be probed by Gao He or Cai Shu next door.
He sent Cui'er away and took a dozen Soul Beads from the Storage Bag.
Out of these Soul Beads, only two were his; the rest were salvaged from other bodies.
Some beads had thin mist, while others, despite thin mist, had a darker color.
Tian Lin picked one of the Soul Beads and directly crushed it.
The moment the Soul Bead broke, it immediately lost its ability to store Residual Souls. In an instant, the small room filled with Residual Souls.
Unperturbed, Tian Lin picked up his own original Soul Bead and directly gathered these many Residual Souls.
His own Soul Bead, having absorbed the Residual Souls from the previous bead, became much denser with mist.
Continuing in this way, Tian Lin crushed the dozen Soul Beads one by one until all the Residual Souls were stored in one bead, only then he stopped.
By then, this single Soul Bead was gray-white in color, the originally smooth bead instantly grew cold.
"Others can't compete with the Tong Family, even I could hardly rely on pulling people into water at the Immortal Sinking Pond to rob their Soul Beads now that the sea water has returned to normal.
However, I had never intended to usurp the position of an Outer Disciple of the Shuiyun Sect. Ultimately, my goal is still the Shuiyun Sect's Heavenly Water Breathing Technique."