Translator: AnubisTL
After an unknown amount of time, Gu Feng slowly woke up, feeling dizzy and disoriented. The sound of hurried footsteps, faint shouts, and the clashing of combat reached his ears.
"What's going on?"
Gu Feng's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately snapped to attention. He realized he was on A Fei's back, with A Fei running at high speed, occasionally clashing with the female cultivators from the Jade Maiden Sect.
"A Fei, did Chu Youhuan and her people break their promise and rob us?" Gu Feng leaned close to A Fei's ear, his voice cautious and low.
"Big brother, there are still many unexplored areas in the Secret Realm. I'm just competing with them for treasures!" A Fei replied excitedly.
Gu Feng looked down and saw A Fei holding several treasures in one hand while swinging his iron fist with the other, engaged in a fierce but non-lethal battle with a few Jade Maiden Sect disciples. Gu Feng couldn't help but laugh.
In the Secret Realm, aside from Gu Feng and Chu Youhuan, A Fei was the strongest, and he was in the best condition.
Facing multiple opponents, A Fei was clearly dominating, making the female cultivators cry out in frustration.
"A Fei, have you no shame? Gu Feng made a Heavenly Dao Oath not to rob us of our treasures..." one of the disheveled female cultivators gritted her teeth, her face twisted in anger, as if she wanted to tear A Fei apart.
"Hehe, we can't take the treasures you've already claimed, but these are unclaimed. How can we not take them?" A Fei chuckled.
"You followed us secretly, waiting for us to find treasures before snatching them. What's the difference between that and robbing us directly? Shameless!" another female cultivator shouted, her hair standing on end in fury.
"Who told you to be slow? Can you blame me?" A Fei shrugged as he tossed the treasures into his storage ring.
"You... you idiot! What's the point of taking so many treasures? You'll just split them with Gu Feng anyway. Why not cooperate with us? You take 60%, and we'll take 40%..." The female cultivator who spoke hadn't noticed that Gu Feng had woken up.
Gu Feng's face darkened. They were trying to persuade A Fei to embezzle right in front of him. How outrageous!
"Senior Sister, with you saying that, it's hard for me not to intervene and take my share!"
As soon as he spoke, the female cultivators froze, their eyes filled with fear. They had witnessed Gu Feng's strength before, and even injured, he could easily overpower them.
Dealing with A Fei alone was already difficult, and with Gu Feng joining in, their trip to the Secret Realm might truly end in nothing.
Thinking this, one of the older female cultivators stomped her foot in frustration and waved her hand. "Let's go!"
After the female cultivators left, Gu Feng grinned and asked A Fei about their gains.
"Big brother, in the three days you were unconscious, I intercepted a lot of their treasures. Combined with the ones you told me to collect earlier, I've filled two storage rings!"
"Really? Let me see!"
Hearing this, Gu Feng was exhilarated, as if he had taken a miraculous Spirit Pill. A warm current surged through his body, and he felt much better, as if his injuries had healed significantly in an instant.
A Fei nodded excitedly and immediately opened the two storage rings. Inside was a dazzling array of rare materials, Spirit Artifacts, and pills. Although many items had lost their Spiritual Radiance due to their age, their combined value was still substantial.
"Hahaha, I'm rich!" Gu Feng waved his fists, overwhelmed with excitement.
This trip to the Secret Realm had been extremely dangerous, but the rewards were equally immense. Once he obtained the Thunder Spirit Grass and returned to the Sunset Glow Sect, he could break through to the Postnatal Realm and use the Spirit Stones gained from this trip to rapidly increase his cultivation.
According to Zhu Qingyan, the Myriad Tribulations Physique required ten times the resources of the previous realm for each major breakthrough.
Gu Feng had used around ten million Low-grade Spirit Stones to break through the Body Tempering Realm, and about a hundred million for the Qi Refining Realm. Thus, the Postnatal Realm would likely require around a billion.
Previously, at Carp Mountain, he had seized around a hundred million Spirit Stones, combined with A Fei's two hundred million debt and the gains from this trip, he was already close to half of what he needed to reach the peak of the Postnatal Realm.
"Half of the Spirit Stones needed for the Postnatal Realm are already secured. How far can the other half be?" Thinking this, Gu Feng grew even more excited.
"Hahaha, big brother is right. We're rich!" A Fei laughed heartily, not realizing the difference between Gu Feng's "I'm rich" and his own understanding, and he howled with excitement.
"There are still a few days before the Secret Realm reopens. What are we waiting for? Let's keep following them!"
"Howl——"
...
"Sect Leader, Gu Feng and A Fei are like two leeches, always sneaking behind us and snatching treasures at critical moments."
"If this continues, we'll get nothing. We might not even be able to gather the hundred thousand Spirit Stones we owe Gu Feng."
"We need to find a way to restrict them, or we won't even get a sip of the soup."
"..."
Chu Youhuan, who had woken up a day earlier than Gu Feng, listened to her disciples' complaints about Gu Feng and A Fei's misdeeds. Her brow furrowed, and a sense of helplessness washed over her.
In the Secret Realm, in her current state, she could barely handle A Fei, but against Gu Feng, she was certain to lose. What's worse, Gu Feng had no bottom line. He had already taken most of the Secret Realm's benefits but was still unsatisfied, always sneaking behind and snatching treasures from Qi Tingting and others. It was utterly despicable.
"Stop complaining. The winner takes all. In the Secret Realm, I can't restrict him. There are few treasures left in the Secret Realm. Let's split up and at least gather enough to cover the entry fee."
As soon as she spoke, the female cultivators looked dejected, while Chu Youhuan silently cried inside.
After waiting for so many years, she had finally entered the Secret Realm, hoping to make a fortune from this trip.
But not only was she injured, she had gained nothing. To make matters worse, she and Qi Tingting were still in debt.
Two hundred thousand!
For Gu Feng, this was a trivial amount, but for Chu Youhuan, it was an astronomical sum.
After all, the Sunset Glow Sect's Inner Sect Disciples only received resources equivalent to fifty or sixty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones per month.
Most disciples appeared wealthy because of their families' support. The path of cultivation was resource-intensive, and many families poured everything they had to barely nurture a decent disciple.
Although Chu Youhuan had royal blood from the Chu Kingdom, since leaving the capital, she had no support and had to rely on herself. This Secret Realm was her only hope. If she returned empty-handed, it would be disastrous. She could imagine living a miserable life every day until she returned to the capital.
Thinking this, her eyes sharpened, and her face twisted in determination. "Take everything valuable in the Secret Realm, including but not limited to coffin planks, tombstone materials, immature Spirit Herbs, and even the land beneath us..."
"Yes——"
The female cultivators responded solemnly and began a frenzied sweep of the Secret Realm.
Soon, it was the day before the Secret Realm reopened.
Gu Feng sat at the Secret Realm's exit, taking out his golden abacus and clicking away with a grin.
In front of him, Chu Youhuan and her disciples looked grim, wishing they could punch Gu Feng's head off.
"These items combined are barely worth a hundred thousand. After today, our debt is settled."
"Senior Sister, why are you putting ordinary stones in here... Total of eight hundred thousand. You still owe me two hundred thousand. Please go to A Fei and write an IOU."
"Senior Sister Chu, you're still several hundred thousand short of one hundred ninety-eight thousand. Smiling at me won't help. Paying debts is only natural. Please write an IOU for five hundred thousand at A Fei's place!"
"Senior Sister, you're going too far. Please put a little more effort into your cheating... A three hundred thousand IOU, please sign!"
"..."
Gu Feng's merciless voice echoed through the Secret Realm. His unyielding attitude made Qi Tingting and the others' faces grow even uglier.
Under Chu Youhuan's lead, the female cultivators had swept through the Secret Realm like locusts. How could they not gather a debt of one or two hundred thousand Spirit Stones?
It was impossible.
Gu Feng had seen through it all. They were just hiding the best treasures for themselves.
Seeing through but not exposing it was the way to maintain a friendly relationship.
Pushing them too hard might make them desperate and fight back, which wouldn't be good.
After all, with IOUs signed, it would be best if they repaid voluntarily. If they defaulted, he could always collect the debt when he became stronger.
Beside him, A Fei's face was beaming with joy. Even a fool could see that the gains this time were enormous.
"Big brother, it's time to divide the treasures, right?" After Qi Tingting and the others finished writing their IOUs, A Fei rubbed his hands together eagerly.
"Yes, let's start dividing!"
Gu Feng pursed his lips and took out all the gains, neatly placing them on the ground. The dazzling array of treasures made Chu Youhuan and the others drool with envy.
They were both envious and resentful, almost losing control and trying to snatch the treasures. A Fei, the fool, had the least injuries but could share half of Gu Feng's gains. He was undoubtedly the biggest winner of this Secret Realm trip.
"Pick one thing you like first."
"Thank you, big brother! This golden spear suits me. I'll take this!" A Fei grabbed Qiu Tian's weapon, holding it lovingly.
"Think carefully. Qiu Tian is an Inner Sect Heaven Ranking disciple, and he has an older brother ranked thirteenth on the Inner Sect Prodigy Ranking. If he comes after you, I can't protect you!" Gu Feng frowned.
"Hehe, Qiu Tian was killed by big brother. What does that have to do with me? If he wants trouble, he should come after you!"
Huh?
That makes perfect sense!
Gu Feng was utterly speechless. He pursed his lips and put away the remaining items.
"Big brother, is that it? Wasn't it supposed to be a fifty-fifty split?" A Fei was stunned.
"Exactly, this is the fifty-fifty split! I get ninety-five percent, and you get five percent!
This spear is of excellent quality and is worth at least ten million Spirit Stones. The total gains are less than two hundred million, so you're actually making a profit!"
As soon as he spoke, Chu Youhuan and the others were dumbfounded, their eyes bulging and mouths agape in shock. This was the first time they had heard of a fifty-fifty split being interpreted this way.
It was absurdity squared, absurdity to the extreme.
There was no limit to how much one could be scammed, and Gu Feng's reputation as the Scam God was well-deserved.
If that were all, with a total gain of two hundred million, A Fei's performance merited five percent, or ten million Spirit Stones, which was somewhat reasonable.
However, Qiu Tian's Superior-grade Spiritual Weapon was worth at most two million Spirit Stones, but Gu Feng had inflated its value to an astronomical figure.
This was blatantly taking advantage of A Fei's lack of worldly experience. His actual gain was only one percent.
Looking at the bewildered A Fei, Chu Youhuan and the others pursed their lips, secretly amused, and spoke up:
"A Fei, this is what a fifty-fifty split means. Getting this golden spear is already quite good."
"Your gains from this Secret Realm trip are second only to Gu Feng's, higher than any of ours."
"..."
People are like that. Chu Youhuan and the others had been scammed so badly by Gu Feng that they needed someone even worse off to make themselves feel better. A Fei was the perfect candidate.
Seeing A Fei's confused and dejected expression, they felt immensely satisfied.
Who told you to snatch treasures from us earlier? After all your hard work, you ended up helping Gu Feng. Serves you right, you fat fool!
The group left the Secret Realm and headed straight for the Sunset Glow Sect, with Chu Youhuan making a detour to retrieve the Thunder Spirit Grass.
Originally, she had promised to give it for free, but at the last moment, she reneged and used the Thunder Spirit Grass to offset seven thousand Spirit Stones of debt.
Gu Feng had no choice but to accept it. After all, the Thunder Spirit Grass was something he absolutely needed.
Half a month later, the group returned to the Sunset Glow Sect.
"Senior Sister Chu, if there's a similar Secret Realm next time, come find me again? It's still free!" Gu Feng grinned and shouted at the fuming Chu Youhuan, who didn't want to say another word.
"Get lost!" Chu Youhuan quickened her pace. She felt that even breathing the same air as Gu Feng was torture, making her irritable and eager to get away.
"A Fei, don't be like this. You gained a lot this time too. Not only did you get a Superior-grade Spiritual Weapon, but you also offset four months of interest...
How about this? I'll give you two more months of interest. That way, after deducting the two and a half months from Carp Mountain to now, you won't have to worry about interest for the next three months?
Eat, drink, and be merry. How great is that!"
Seeing the listless A Fei, Gu Feng patted his shoulder and smiled.
A Fei was a simple-minded person. Hearing Gu Feng's words, he did a quick calculation. With a million Spirit Stones of interest per month, and so many months of interest suddenly deducted, he immediately cheered up.
"Mm-hmm!"
After comforting A Fei, Gu Feng hurried straight to the Alchemy Hall.
"Senior Zhu, after a month of hard work, I've finally found a suitable body for you!
We can undergo the tribulation now."
(End of the Chapter)
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