Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 763 - 479 Assistance from an Older Brother_3

Chapter 763: Chapter 479 Assistance from an Older Brother_3

Xu Yuan shook his head and said in a low voice, "Old Man Hua, as a Primordial strongman, you should be very clear about the value of this cultivation technique. If it were to be released to the outside world, it could become the proprietary technique of some sects."

Hua Hong snorted with a hint of laughter, trying to drive a hard bargain,

"Then the sects you are referring to must be some second-rate ones."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan waved his hands dismissively,

"I’ve named my price. If you don’t accept it, I’ll look for another commerce assembly."

Hua Hong let out a long sigh and said softly,

"Fine, 500,000 Silver Taels it is. How many copies do you have in total?"

Xu Yuan grinned as if suddenly remembering something, and reminded,

"Right, the 500,000 Silver Taels I referred to is the internal purchase price at the Prime Minister’s Mansion."

"What did you say?!"

Hua Hong’s wrinkles quivered as he glared at Xu Yuan, his mustache bristling.

The myriad forces under the Prime Minister’s Mansion operated independently, but there were also some internal transactions between them.

For instance, the Geometry Institute frequently acquired various instruments through the Tian’an Commerce Assembly, and the price used by the Geometry Institute was the so-called internal purchase price.

In these internal dealings, though Tian’an Commerce Assembly wouldn’t incur losses, there was hardly any profit to be made either.

The internal price of 500,000 Silver Taels, when converted into the external circulating Silver Taels, would come to somewhere between 700,000 and 900,000 Silver Taels.

As he faced Hua Hong’s murderous gaze, Xu Yuan simply met his stare with a smile.

He was well aware of the worth of these cultivation techniques.

Whether it was for use as a reward for high-level aides within the Prime Minister’s Mansion or to serve as the star lot of an auction, by flipping these techniques, Hua Hong could at the very least double his earnings.

Eventually, Hua Hong shook his head, helplessly saying,

"You’re getting tougher to dupe, kid. But I need to confirm the contents and categories of the cultivation techniques first."

"Sure,"

Xu Yuan agreed readily, promptly stacking the twenty thick paper-bound secret cultivation manuals in front of Hua Hong on the desk, "Take your time, I’m not in a hurry."

"....." Hua Hong.

....

....

Six hours later.

Hua Hong let out a long breath, looking somewhat worn out.

Verifying cultivation techniques was an exceptionally mind-draining task because the verifier had to guide the Origin Qi to circulate through the meridians according to the routes detailed in the techniques.

During this process, not only did he have to study the content of the cultivation techniques, but he also had to constantly guard against any mistakes in the techniques that might lead to deviation and madness.

Even for someone like him who had cultivated for a hundred years at the Primordial Realm, verifying twenty cultivation techniques at once was quite overwhelming.

Fortunately, all twenty cultivation techniques were correct, with no errors to be found.

Thinking this, Hua Hong took a glance at the kid who was already asleep on the soft couch reserved for guests, hesitated for a moment over whether to wake him, then he snorted softly,

"Kid, wake up."

"....."

Xu Yuan woke up groggily from his sleep, instinctively operated his cultivation technique for a moment to clear his head, and then yawned his way to the desk.

After a glance, Xu Yuan looked at the two piles of secret manuals separated on the desk, and asked with a suppressed voice,

"Why have you only categorized these cultivation techniques into two types?"

The techniques given to him by Old Man Luo were bizarre and varied; surely they should be classified into many categories.

Hua Hong pointed with a stern face to the pile on his left,

"This category is the Dual Cultivation Techniques."

He then pointed to the stack on the right,

"And these are ordinary cultivation techniques."

Xu Yuan pulled out a chair and sat down, surveying the two piles of techniques, and asked softly,

"Is there any difference between these two categories?"

"The difference is that for these seven Dual Cultivation Techniques, I can only offer 200,000 a piece."

"Huh?"

"Don’t play dumb with me, kid."

Hua Hong’s tone was flat, tapping the pile of Dual Cultivation Techniques, he said, "Old Man knows you’ve already gone through Xu Yinhe’s study and read all the archives and confidential files. You should be very clear how little these Dual Cultivation Techniques are worth.

"The only reason Old Man is willing to offer you 200,000 a piece is because the other thirteen cultivation techniques are really important to the Prime Minister’s Mansion."

"....."

Xu Yuan opened his mouth, intending to bargain, but in the end, he just smiled sheepishly.

As a young man who once aspired to join the Hehuan Sect, he was naturally curious why, in the vast Dayan Empire, there wasn’t a single sect that established itself with dual cultivation as its foundation.

After he obtained the identity of the Crown Prince from the Prime Minister’s Mansion, he also searched for many related documents and literature about dual cultivation in his father’s study and the library.

These documents detailed the reasons for the decline of Dual Cultivation Techniques.

There were changes in secular ethics, advancements in the research of cultivation techniques by cultivators, and deliberate schemes. The decline of dual cultivation could be said to be the result of a mix of various factors.

Since the downfall of the era of sects and the rise of the imperial era, times had changed, and such a libertine practice was no longer tolerated in the world.

Sects with dual cultivation as their foundation were mostly labeled as heterodox and heretical, and if they grew too large, they might even be targeted for eradication.

However, the most significant reason for the near extinction of dual cultivation in the Dayan Territory was because of a first-class confidential file tucked away in a corner of his father’s study.

That aged confidential file.

It was written by an aide in the Prime Minister’s Mansion, although who exactly it was remained unknown since the name was scratched out.

But judging by the time it was filed, it must have been when Li Yaoxuan took the throne, and along with his father, they were preparing to reform and strengthen the empire—when that aide submitted it for his father’s consideration as a policy reference.

Presumably, back then, his father must have been tempted by the idea of quickly cultivating a batch of cultivators through dual cultivation, but this confidential file persuaded him against it.