Celestial Eagle Mountain, a Third-Order Lower Grade Spirit Land once occupied by an Early-stage Golden Core Six-winged Flying Eagle, now welcomed a group of human Cultivators.

At the head of the group were several Cultivators dressed in scholars’ robes and silk headscarves, every one of them a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. A dozen or so other Foundation Establishment Cultivators of various appearances followed closely behind them.

"This Spirit Land has a Third-Order Lower Grade Gold Spirit Vein. The peak is solitary and sheer, long and steep. There’s a cold spring on the back of the mountain, and a stream branches off from it. The open area in front of the mountain can be cleared and organized into hundreds of acres of Spirit Fields. Once we plant Spirit Plants there, we’ll have a substantial income in three to five years..."

One of the scholars held a booklet and led the large group in flight, casually explaining the details of the mountain. Finally, he asked:

"Has anyone taken a liking to this place? If two or more of you are interested, you’ll have to bid for it."

Fang Qingyuan, mixed in with the crowd, carefully surveyed the mountain range before him. Through his Qi Eating Technique, he discovered that the Spiritual Qi here was slightly denser than in other Third-Order Lower Grade Spirit Lands.

Looking at the steep, towering peaks, Fang Qingyuan thought, ’It’s probably because the main peak is so sharp that it has gathered more Spiritual Power.’

’A place like this isn’t suitable for a populous Foundation Establishment Clan. Which of them doesn’t have dozens of Qi Refining Cultivators to accommodate? You can’t carve out that many Cultivation Cave Mansions on such steep peaks.’

’This is actually quite suitable for a loner like me. Even though Lechuan pushed a dozen or so Qi Refining Cultivators on me to form a retinue, that’s still far fewer people than what the other clans have.’

"Fellow Daoist Ji, how many merit points does this Spirit Land cost?"

After some thought, Fang Qingyuan decided to ask the price. Hearing Fang Qingyuan’s question, the scholar with the surname Ji flipped open his booklet, checked it, and replied:

"Three hundred and seventy thousand. Are you interested in this place, Fellow Daoist Fang?"

Fang Qingyuan was shocked to hear the price. ’This land is far too expensive! The White Mountain Beast Taming Sect fought life-and-death battles for years and only earned a little over six hundred thousand merit points in total. This one piece of land would consume most of it.’

’Although Lechuan’s contribution from slaying the Golden Core Demon Beast accounts for a large portion of those merit points, the other disciples also fought with all their might. Lechuan can’t just forcibly appropriate all the points they earned.’

"It’s a good place, but it’s a bit pricey. I was wondering if the price is negotiable."

Fang Qingyuan said quietly. The scholar surnamed Ji just laughed.

"The price for every Tier Three Spirit Land is set by the Nascent Soul Ancestors above us. You can go try negotiating with them. The price is three hundred and seventy thousand merit points, not one point less, or I won’t be able to report back. Now, is anyone else interested in this place? If there are no other bids, we’ll move on to the next Spirit Land."

No matter how the scholar called out, none of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators present said a word. A Spirit Land was the foundation of a sect for the next several hundred years; how could they make such a decision lightly?

Fang Qingyuan was no different. He summoned a Qi Cultivation Disciple who was following him, whispered a few words in his ear, and the disciple flew off from the main group, heading in the direction of the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect.

The scholar surnamed Ji asked a few more times, but seeing that no one was making an offer, he had no choice but to lead the group to the next Spirit Land. Fang Qingyuan took another look at Celestial Eagle Mountain before quietly following behind him.

...

「Three days later.」

Fang Qingyuan had now inspected every Spirit Land of the second tier and above in this remote Land Realm.

Following the group to a temporary gathering point, the people from the Great Zhou Academy cleared out a space, leaving these touring groups to discuss matters among themselves.

"Fellow Daoist Fang, I am Jiang Shouye from Qi Dong City of the Qi Yun Sect. Speaking of which, we might even be distantly related. Your senior sister, Jiang Kui, is a distant niece of mine."

A short, skinny old man took this opportunity to approach Fang Qingyuan and cozy up to him. Fang Qingyuan hadn’t expected to run into one of Jiang Kui’s relatives here.

Fang Qingyuan looked at the old man, whose smiling face was as wrinkled as a chrysanthemum, and knew the man certainly had a favor to ask. ’Otherwise, people don’t just go out of their way to flatter you for no reason.’

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Jiang Shouye, Jiang Shouye indeed revealed his purpose:

"Fellow Daoist Fang, you come from the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect, so you’re naturally not short on merit points. But I fought tooth and nail, sacrificed more than a dozen of my clansmen, and in the end only scraped together some two hundred thousand merit points. So, I was thinking..."

"Merit points cannot be lent or transferred. Surely you’re aware of that, Fellow Daoist Jiang."

Fang Qingyuan cut Jiang Shouye off. The Great Zhou Academy had a rule: merit points could not be traded privately. If discovered, the punishment would be severe.

However, if a Cultivator with merit points was willing to join your sect, their points would naturally become yours. That was another matter entirely.

Although the rule was strict, there were still many loopholes to exploit in practice. But Fang Qingyuan couldn’t be bothered to explore them with this Jiang Shouye.

Jiang Shouye didn’t look the least bit embarrassed at being cut off by Fang Qingyuan. He said hurriedly:

"I’m not trying to borrow merit points. I was wondering if we could discuss having both our sects build their headquarters on the same Spirit Land. We can split the cost of the merit points for the land fifty-fifty."

Hearing Jiang Shouye’s self-serving calculations, Fang Qingyuan almost laughed in exasperation. ’I only have a dozen or so people, and you want me to share a Spirit Land with your hundred-plus followers, while we split the merit points fifty-fifty? You must be dreaming.’

Seeing Fang Qingyuan’s displeased expression, Jiang Shouye quickly said:

"Both our sects come from renowned major sects, and we have the connection through Jiang Kui. If we don’t stick together, sooner or later we’ll get bullied by those people from the smaller territories. Younger Brother Fang, think about it. Doesn’t that make sense?"

Listening to Jiang Shouye, Fang Qingyuan turned and glanced around at the other Foundation Establishment Cultivators. There were many people here whose origins he didn’t know.

But even if the origins of these other sects were unknown, the idea of sharing a Spirit Land with someone else was even more unacceptable to Fang Qingyuan. So, he made a few vague excuses and quickly found a pretext to get away from Jiang Shouye.

Rejected by Fang Qingyuan, Jiang Shouye wasn’t discouraged. With a shift of his eyes, he found another Cultivator from the Qi Yun Sect.

...

「Two days later.」

Ling Ziqing, the Vice Master of the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect, arrived with his men. As Fang Qingyuan was about to spend merit points, the Vice Master naturally had to be there.

Ling Ziqing wore a sour expression upon seeing Fang Qingyuan. He had never been fond of his junior brother, and due to some past grudges, Ling Ziqing thoroughly disliked him.

However, this was official business. Although Ling Ziqing looked displeased, he didn’t make things difficult for Fang Qingyuan. He came straight to the point and asked:

"Which Spirit Land have you settled on? Just give me the number."

"Celestial Eagle Mountain. It costs three hundred and seventy thousand."

"Fine. We’ll buy it!"

After agreeing, Ling Ziqing stood up and went to find the people from the Great Zhou Academy to handle the transaction, leaving Fang Qingyuan stunned by his decisiveness.

A moment later, Ling Ziqing returned with a stack of items, which he handed over to Fang Qingyuan.

"The deed, the official seal, the written certificates—keep these safe. They’re in triplicate. The Great Zhou Academy keeps one copy for their records, the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect gets one, and this one is yours.

Next, you need to choose a name for your sect, then follow the Cultivators from the Great Zhou Academy to handle the various procedures. You’ll also have to go to Celestial Eagle Mountain to survey the sect’s territory, erect Boundary Stones, select an Array, and so on. You’re going to have your hands full.

Most importantly, your sect now owes the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect a debt. Make sure you pay it back quickly."

The first part of Ling Ziqing’s speech had actually moved Fang Qingyuan a little, but at the last moment, Ling Ziqing revealed his true intentions and started hounding him for the debt.

That’s right. The new sect Fang Qingyuan was establishing hadn’t been obtained for free. He now owed the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect a massive debt for the three hundred and seventy thousand merit points used in the transaction.

’No wonder Ling Ziqing was so decisive. He probably even thought I was getting off easy.’

Of course, the biggest creditor for this debt was Lechuan. As long as he didn’t say anything, Fang Qingyuan would only need to repay the small portion of merit points owed to the other disciples.

Watching Ling Ziqing’s cheerful back as he departed, Fang Qingyuan sighed. After putting the items away securely, he took his men and followed the people from the Great Zhou Academy to begin busying himself with the various tedious tasks ahead.