Senior Sisters, I Don’t Want To Work Hard Anymore

Chapter 18: Repayment of Debts with Money and Flesh

Linzhou.

In the giant city located on the edge of the mainland, seven heavenly ark ships passed through the light curtain of the city's defensive array and slowly descended onto the Red Xuanqinggang Square in the city.

Looking down from the sky, the scale of the city was immense. The thick city walls were about a hundred zhang high and more than twenty zhang thick. They were filled with soldiers wearing heavy armor, as well as numerous cultivators in Daoist robes patrolling. Outside the city walls was a vast wilderness, with the ground appearing strangely black and emitting a dark red glow, filled with a sinister aura.

Even though it was broad daylight, the sky remained gloomy. In the city, one could clearly see streets, pedestrians, and numerous brightly lit buildings. There was no shortage of restaurants, guilds, casinos, inns, pharmacies, and carriage shops, as well as a market specifically serving the cultivator community.

In addition to the disciples of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace, there were also many cultivators from smaller sects and forces from the secular empire. They relied on the protection of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace and naturally had to fulfill their obligations. Every year, they had to send a certain number of disciples to rotate in these dangerous areas to defend the city.

"It seems that this place is quite popular," Qin Muling couldn't help but mutter.

Qi Yalan smiled and said, "Of course, Linzhou still has abundant resources. Although it has been occupied for so many years, there are still many bold guilds that have established branches here. As long as the city is not breached by the monsters and other creatures outside, the annual profits can be quite substantial."

Qin Muling nodded. People travel thousands of miles for wealth. Although this place was undoubtedly dangerous, as long as there was enough profit to attract them, there would still be no shortage of fearless people or cultivators.

When Qin Muling followed her senior sisters out of the heavenly ark ship, she saw that a considerable number of people had already gathered below to welcome them. Some were dressed in Daoist robes, exuding an ethereal aura, while others were fully clad in heavy armor, radiating a chilling killing intent. Women seemed to make up the majority.

"Senior Sister, you've finally arrived."

The one leading them was a graceful and elegant woman in a silver robe. Her eyes and temperament seemed somewhat gentle and timid, but with Qin Muling's keen perception, she suspected that this core disciple had shed her fair share of alien blood. The blackened red heavy sword on her back emitted a suffocating aura, distorting the light, almost nourishing it into a demonic weapon.

Xue Bingxuan looked at her and asked, "Junior Sister Yurong, are you in charge of the situation in the city now? Where is Wanjing?"

Su Yurong replied, "Senior Sister Four left a few days ago with a group of people to exterminate the aliens outside the city and hasn't returned yet."

"Oh, how is the situation now?"

"It's difficult. Those creatures have been attacking for the past few days and only retreated yesterday. We suffered significant losses, and the defensive array has been damaged in many places. Due to insufficient spare materials in the warehouse, we haven't been able to repair it yet!"

"Understood, let's discuss it inside."

Xue Bingxuan nodded and didn't say anything more. Led by Su Yurong, they boarded a luxurious carriage and returned to the magnificent City Lord's Mansion. Thousands of disciples of various levels went to the military camp to await deployment. As for the resources and puppet soldiers in the heavenly ark ship, there were dedicated personnel to handle their transfer.

Along the way, the streets were bustling with noise and people. On the wide streets, which were more than ten zhang wide, one could occasionally see heavily armored warriors riding war beasts in groups, creating a lively and prosperous atmosphere that almost made people forget that this was the front line of a crisis-ridden alien battlefield.

The equipment of these city guards was quite sophisticated, with a faint radiance emanating from their armor and weapons. It was evident that they were mass-produced standard Law Weapons. They were led by cultivators with cold and stern gazes, carrying long swords on their backs, patrolling the city along fixed routes, maintaining order, and participating in the defense against the alien army outside the city when necessary.

In the conference hall of the City Lord's Mansion.

Senior Sister took the seat without any hesitation, with more than a dozen core disciples and elders sitting below. In addition, some inner disciples who had made enough contributions and met the required cultivation level also had seats. As long as nothing unexpected happened, they would soon become core disciples themselves.

Qi Yalan wasn't interested in this pre-war meeting, so she simply mentioned it to Xue Bingxuan and took Qin Muling to wander around the city.

"If it weren't for being distracted by mundane matters, Senior Sister's cultivation should have advanced further. Unfortunately, our Master doesn't usually take care of such things, so these tasks fall on her," Qi Yalan said.

Qi Yalan continued, "Junior Brother, you shouldn't follow her example. Focus on cultivation, like me. With enough cultivation, nothing in the world is beyond your reach with just a sword in hand."

Qin Muling smiled but didn't say anything. Everyone has their own aspirations, and this kind of thing can't be forced. It's clear that Senior Sister Three is not suitable to be the sect leader; her favorite and best skill is using a sword to attack people. Of course, it seems that he doesn't need to consider this now; improving his cultivation is the top priority.

The two of them wandered around the city for a while, and Qi Yalan suggested going to the market to see if they could find some useful materials. Qin Muling naturally had no objections.

The market was quite large, with cultivators of various appearances coming and going. Their cultivation levels ranged from the Qi Refining Realm to the peak of the Perfected Being Realm.

Calls and shouts filled the air as hundreds of stalls lined the streets. Most of the stall owners were cultivators, selling materials from the bodies of those exotic creatures. There were various rare medicinal herbs, precious metal ores, and incomplete Law Weapon fragments, among other things, making for a dazzling array of goods.

Many stalls were surrounded by groups of cultivators, observing the goods, bargaining, and engaging in various debates. However, because the elders of Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace kept a close eye on this place, the market order had always been good, and there were hardly any cultivators who dared to use their strength to bully or engage in unfair trade practices.

Qin Muling casually scanned the area and found many items worth looking at, especially the ores and unknown plant roots, stems, and seeds. Of course, the things he noticed would definitely not be affordable.

Qin Muling shook his head and said, "Senior Sister, I appreciate your kind offer, but I'm not used to spending other people's money."

Qi Yalan frowned slightly, her tone carrying a hint of annoyance. "Senior Sister isn't considered an outsider, right? Why create such distance? If you really mind, then consider it as me lending it to you. Is that acceptable?"

Without further ado, she took out a delicate storage pouch and stuffed it into his hand. Inside were tens of thousands of neatly cut and polished standard spirit stones, all of them High Grade spirit stones. For Qin Muling at the moment, this was an astonishing fortune.

For newly promoted core disciples, it would take at least a hundred or eighty years to earn such a large sum of wealth.

"I'm borrowing it now, and I'll have to repay it in the future," Qin Muling sighed.

"You can repay it whenever you want, without any interest. Even if you can't repay it, it doesn't matter!" Qi Yalan said, but in her heart, she quietly added, "But in the future, it won't be up to you."

Qin Muling understood her thoughts. She was using the idea of "paying off debts with one's body." As a man, he couldn't allow her to easily have her way.

(Translator's note: The last sentence is a note from the author, asking readers to support the novel by voting for it.)

(End of this chapter)