Chapter 155: Starfall Returns to Cangwu

"On average, each cultivator who borrows a technique contributes 10,000 points," Yin Yuzhen said. "Currently, our Bright Moon Palace has lent techniques to seven cultivators. Most of them choose a three-year repayment plan, with an annual interest rate of 36%, meaning they need to repay over 570 points each month. For seven cultivators, this amounts to over 4,000 contribution points in incoming funds. Every three months, we can lend a technique to one more cultivator. As our operations continue to expand, this rate will only accelerate..."

Inside the Bright Moon Palace, Yin Yuzhen calculated the profits from their grand technique-lending enterprise, her eyes twinkling with stars.

"We can't calculate it that way," Yin Yueting interjected. "When the number of cultivators borrowing techniques increases, we're bound to encounter one or two who aren't willing to repay honestly. Each such instance will lead to significant losses."

"Even so," she marveled, "the rate at which our Bright Moon Palace is expanding is truly astonishing."

Yin Yuzhen dismissed her concerns slightly: "Sister Su and Xiao Heng aren't to be underestimated. Haven't you noticed how Sister Su always goes out enthusiastically for debt collection and returns perfectly satisfied?"

"The Bright Moon Talisman and the Deterrence Talisman are also incredibly versatile. Without these two divine artifacts, debt collection would be significantly more difficult," Yin Yueting nodded in agreement.

"Exactly! When Senior acts, it's always extraordinary. The 'Merciful Salvation' and 'Relief from Suffering' phrases, personally inscribed by Senior in the past, are now deeply ingrained in the hearts of Qi Refinement cultivators," Yin Yuzhen exclaimed, her face alight with excitement.

***

In a secluded cultivation chamber beneath the Bright Moon Palace.

Li Fan, who was so admired by the two sisters, currently showed no signs of an exalted master. He had just awoken from his enlightenment in array formations and was checking the growth of his cultivation. His face clearly showed a look of pleasant surprise.

"On average, each cultivator who achieves Foundation Establishment through a lent technique provides a direct cultivation feedback of about seven months. In these past days, I haven't cultivated for a single moment, yet I've gained forty-nine months of cultivation progress. That's almost four years of continuous arduous cultivation! Furthermore, as these cultivators continue to advance their cultivation, I still receive a continuous stream of feedback. Though these are merely trickles, their sheer number is enough to form a vast ocean! It's foreseeable that as the Bright Moon Palace's grand technique-lending enterprise expands, my cultivation speed will become even faster. Reaping what others sow, truly reaping what others sow! Excellent!"

For a moment, Li Fan was overwhelmed with joy.

However, a moment later, he frowned. During the Qi Refinement stage, the maximum number of targets for the Formless Killing Intent was five. Upon reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, Li Fan had experimented; the limit had increased to fifteen people. Although it had tripled, it was still far from sufficient.

"I wonder if there's a way to increase it." The lock-on limit for the Formless Killing Intent should be related to the strength of divine sense. There must be methods to increase divine sense strength, but they would undoubtedly come at a high cost.

Li Fan then began searching in the Heavenly Mystery Mirror. Excluding methods that were clearly unfeasible at the moment, it wasn't long before Li Fan found the most suitable solution for his current situation.

"The Startling Spirit Array, Heart Ape Bones..." Li Fan contemplatively observed the silver incense emitting a faint fragrance. "So this incense, which can alleviate mental fatigue, is made by grinding Heart Ape Bones into powder and then mixing them with other materials."

The 'Heart Ape' doesn't refer to some rare exotic beast. Instead, it refers to cultivators whose minds have been lost. Legend has it that in certain regions, large numbers of cultivators inexplicably have their minds bewitched from time to time. These bewitched cultivators often lose their free will and become mere killing machines. And after these cultivators are slain, their corpses transform into the appearance of white apes. This is what is known as a Heart Ape. A Heart Ape's entire body is a treasure. The most valuable part is its bones, which have the effect of strengthening and replenishing consumed divine sense.

As for the Startling Spirit Array, it's an array that exhibits different effects depending on the materials used for its setup. For example, if the array materials are spirit jades with spirit-gathering properties, the Startling Spirit Array will amplify this "spirit-gathering" characteristic, thus producing an even stronger spirit-gathering effect. Similarly, if the array is set up with Heart Ape Bones, which can enhance divine sense, the resulting Heart Ape Startling Spirit Array will have several times the divine sense amplification effect. The Startling Spirit Array is powerful, but its drawback is that as the array materials are continuously consumed, the array's effectiveness will diminish. It requires constant replenishment of array materials to maintain its normal operation.

"A rough estimate suggests setting up a Heart Ape Startling Spirit Array would cost around twenty thousand contribution points. Moreover, it would require continuous replenishment of Heart Ape Bones... I'll have to try it out first to see the effects..."

Li Fan could now be described as financially well-off; with just over twenty thousand contribution points, he immediately purchased a sufficient quantity of Heart Ape Bones and began setting up the Startling Spirit Array. The Startling Spirit Array is essentially an amplification array, not overly complex. Yet, it still took Li Fan over half a month to complete its setup.

"Indeed, there's still a significant gap between pure theory and practical application. Although my current theoretical level in array formations has surpassed the beginner's threshold, my actual array-setting skill is still merely at the apprentice level," Li Fan mused aloud as he activated the Heart Ape Startling Spirit Array.

Carefully sensing the array's amplification effect, Li Fan noticed that his divine sense strength had increased by approximately five times. "This means the number of lock-on targets for Formless Killing Intent has probably increased to about seventy-five. While it's still a bit short of my envisioned goal, it's sufficient for now. Once I break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, my divine sense strength will increase again. If that's still not enough, I could continue to expand the scale of the Heart Ape Startling Spirit Array. However, the benefits of doing so might not outweigh the costs..."

Having temporarily resolved the underlying concerns of the grand technique-lending enterprise, Li Fan once again immersed himself in the study of array formations. To his pleasant surprise, Li Fan, while within the Startling Spirit Array, discovered that perhaps due to the enhanced divine sense, the learning efficiency of both his main body and his clone had improved to some extent. This was an unexpected bonus.

***

Time slowly flowed by, and in a flash, it was Anchor Year 41.

On this day, the focused Li Fan was roused by the summons of a communication talisman. "What is this?" He was startled at first, then realized who had sent the communication talisman. It was Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi. The talisman activated, and Kou Hong's voice came through.

"Brother Li Fan, how have you been lately?"

"Just secluded cultivation, nothing particularly good or bad," Li Fan replied with a chuckle.

"Haha, in recent years, Dao Xuanzi and I have been somewhat..." Kou Hong stopped mid-sentence, as if interrupted. He changed the subject: "Ahem, let's get to the point. Brother Li Fan, Dao Xuanzi and I are planning to go to Cangwu State to seek opportunities. Would you like to come with us?"

"Cangwu State?" Li Fan had a vague impression; it seemed to be far away in the southwestern corner of the continent, extremely distant from Yuandao State. He wondered what the two of them were going there for. Li Fan immediately voiced his question.

Kou Hong's voice, full of surprise, immediately came through: "What? You don't know, Brother? This matter has already spread far and wide. Do you remember that fiery meteor that illuminated the sky twenty-six years ago?"

Li Fan's eyes narrowed slightly, and he immediately recalled it. He had heard about it when gathering intelligence. That was in Anchor Year 15. A fiery meteor streaked across the night sky, its destination unknown. All cultivators who witnessed this meteor felt an inexplicable surge of dread, sorrow, and similar emotions in their hearts.

"From that day on, cultivators continuously tried to find the meteor's landing site, but all their efforts were fruitless. Fortunately, everyone persevered, and twenty-six years later, its trace was finally discovered. Well, guess where this fiery meteor landed? The Cangwu Abyss! That desolate place is bottomless; no wonder no one found it for so many years. It is said that a powerful figure once calculated that this fiery meteor is linked to an immense opportunity. Therefore, cultivators from all over the world want to go to the Cangwu Abyss to try their luck. What if they happen to stumble upon that fiery meteor themselves? Dao Xuanzi and I thought the same thing. Haha, we've had good fortune lately, so we plan to give it a try."