Transcending Dreams - D2 - Chapter 46

There was nothing said for a few seconds after Wang Xiaoling left. The sudden reversal of expectations, while preferred, still rattled William, so he appreciated the time to gather himself.

“What did you expect to achieve by using Force Multiplier?” Elder Yu didn’t look offended, just genuinely curious.

“I needed to be able to speak, and that was the only way possible,” William replied. “I didn’t know you had no intention of harming her, Elder Yu. I apologize for assuming you would.”

“Hm,” Elder Yu crossed her arms. “I’m not sure if I should commend your bravery or not. What would you have done if there was another cultivator in my place with a similar cultivation realm?”

He opened his mouth, intending to say that he wouldn’t be so rash… but that might not be true. There was no way to know for sure without that actual situation happening.

“So it wasn’t bravery, but stupidity,” Elder Yu frowned.

“No,” William shook his head before pausing. “Well, not completely. I would have tried to help Sister Xiaoling, but instead of immediately putting myself in harm’s way, I would offer something in exchange.”

“Not the best plan, but better,” Elder Yu seemed mollified. “I would still prefer that you retreat from such a situation, but that isn’t always realistic.”

He watched her go to her desk and pick up two jade tokens similar to the one she had given to Wang Xiaoling.

“You’ll be holding on to these,” Elder Yu returned, offering the tokens to him. “Merchant Wang will need them for her continued life.”

[Equip Detected]

[Calculating cost per use]

[Cost | 1 Spiritual Energy per day]

[Equip has use limit | 100 days]

William glanced over the system messages, quickly understanding why he was given these after seeing the time limit. It was to provide him with more control over Wang Xiaoling. If he was really paranoid, it was also to let him know that Elder Yu had more of these to give if necessary, and it would depend on her grace.

It just so happens that William was really paranoid. He didn’t think that she meant him any harm, but he also wasn’t naive enough to assume that extended to Wang Xiaoling.

“What are these, Elder Yu? And why would Sister Xiaoling’s life be in danger?”

“Those are concealment tokens. Expensive to make and even harder to buy without knowing the right people. As for Merchant Wang, do you know what a living furnace is?”

William’s expression froze in shock. He shouldn’t know anything about them since he never bothered to find any details while at the library. Mainly because he had no intention of doing anything so savage.

However, they were commonly seen in cultivation novels. Tragic figures that were exploited from childhood, groomed to high cultivation before it was all ripped away to benefit someone else.

He put that on the same level of savagery as the trash who used souls to cultivate.

“Ah, so you know,” Elder Yu said with a raised brow.

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“… It was something that I learned a little about in the Shard,” William lied, using the secret realm as a convenient excuse again.

“Then you know the Empress outlawed the use of living furnaces long ago.”

“So why would her life be in—”

“Because the benefit is just too great,” Elder Yu interrupted. “Even the Empire will not enforce that law. Not when some in the imperial family use it to great effect.”

William clenched his fists in worry. He had assumed there was something special about Wang Xiaoling, but not like this. It wasn’t something that ever passed his thoughts when he wondered what it could be.

She had been too comfortable around cultivators, and her presence at the heart of a powerful sect meant she was either careless or stupid. If he had to guess, her greed for money made her both.

“How will this help her?” William asked, lifting the token in his grip.

“Merchant Wang’s acting was excellent, but I could sense that she was not affected by my Qi pressure. The concealment token will obscure a cultivator’s ability to sense her.”

“Why wasn’t she affected?” He frowned. “Is that something related to her being a living furnace?”

“So you don’t know much about them. Good, I was a little concerned,” Elder Yu chuckled before going to the shelf. “There are different levels of living furnaces. Their quality, if you will.”

She sounded disgusted, which William was glad to recognize. He felt dirty just talking about this.

“Most living furnaces can get to the Nascent Soul Realm with their inherent talent,” Elder Yu pulled a manual from the shelf before returning. “Some are cursed to do more than that. This will explain what you need to know.”

William took the offered manual before storing it in his ring, doing the same for the tokens. He wondered why it was so thick. Were there so many variations? If there were, how many living furnaces were used to fill such a manual. “So, which one is Sister Xiaoling?”

“She is the kind that wouldn’t live to see the next minute if a cultivator discovers her, even if the cultivator is usually kind. There are a few reasons a cultivator could be resistant to external Qi, but Merchant Wang is a mortal. With her, there is only one explanation. Not only is she a living furnace, she is also a perfect living pill furnace. She is one of the few ways to create an Ascension Pill.”

“Ascension as in the immortal realm?” He blinked at her stupidly when she nodded. “… Is she safe in the sect?”

“Truthfully? Not until I gave her the token. But it’s unbelievably hard to detect someone like her, and I only did so because of chance.”

“Thank you, Elder Yu,” William bowed deeply, thinking of Wang Xiaoling’s outburst as even stupider than before. All she had to do was keep herself calm and this would have never happened. The only good thing that came out of this were the tokens.

Even if the tokens were a form of control over Wang Xiaoling, it was acceptable. She would likely have a fate worse than death without them.

He wasn’t sure how Wang Xiaoling had survived until now, but he was confident it had something to do with her undeniably high luck, plus the likelihood of not being around powerful cultivators.

That would no longer be the case with her starting the Rising Merchant House. If she entered the wealthiest sect in the Tianxia Empire to do business at such an early stage, it was likely it would be a common occurrence to be around high-level cultivators in the near future.

Even Wang Xiaoling’s high luck, destiny, or whatever was helping her, it would have been inevitable for her to be discovered.

“It was a simple fix,” Elder Yu waved him off. “Aside from your friend being the equivalent of a peak treasure to cultivators, what are you planning on doing with the merchant house? You mentioned you own part of it.”

William had been thinking about that but hadn’t really come to a decision. He was ill-suited for management, and with Wang Xiaoling’s skill at it, he didn’t think it would be wise to do so anyway.

Still, with the need to help establish the merchant house in Qingyun City, he would need to be involved somehow, even if it was indirectly.

“Sister Lingxi!” William blurted out. “She was a manager at the treasure pavilion. It’s not the same, but surely her experience will help with the merchant house.”’

“That’s an option, one I approve of. I was a little concerned you would waste time on this,” Elder Yu smiled. “Speaking of Attendant Mei, where is she?”

“Ah, she’s exploring the common grounds while I’m at the auction.” William kept Lan Yang out of his answer. He wasn’t sure if it was an issue for Mei Lingxi to be away from him.

“I see,” Elder Yu raised her hand and extended her pointing finger. “Let’s see what she had to say about this.”

William’s eyes bulged in surprise when she swiped down, the air ripping along her finger to create a portal with Mei Lingxi staring at them from the other side.