Mo Tiange was well aware that the other party was trying to drive up the price. But they held the Teleportation Array, giving them absolute confidence. She stared at Wei Haolan and stated her next offer: "Two thousand Spirit Stones."
Wei Haolan's gaze finally flickered, but she didn't agree immediately. Instead, she smiled at Mo Tiange and praised, "Fellow Daoist Ye, what boldness. Two thousand Spirit Stones just to borrow the Teleportation Array is truly a grand gesture."
Mo Tiange looked at her, her tone indifferent. "But Sect Leader Wei doesn't think much of it, does she?"
Seeing the displeasure on Mo Tiange's face, Wei Haolan still smiled. "Not at all. Although I am a sect leader, our Bixuan Pavilion is but a small sect. To be frank, I couldn't even produce two thousand Spirit Stones myself. However, for the sect, this transaction isn't very cost-effective."
Mo Tiange raised an eyebrow. "Does Sect Leader Wei think it would be cost-effective only if I handed over all my possessions in exchange for using the Teleportation Array?"
"I wouldn't dare," Wei Haolan replied, still smiling gently and unhurriedly. "However, Fellow Daoist Ye, as a disciple of a great sect, must have substantial wealth, far beyond what our small sect can compare to. Two thousand Spirit Stones probably isn't much in your eyes."
Two thousand Spirit Stones truly wasn't much for an elite disciple of a great sect like her. Not to mention she was now the personal disciple of Daoist Jinghe, whose allowance was no less than that of a Core Formation Cultivator. Even someone like Luo Fengxue back in the day, as a beloved disciple of a Core Formation master, could produce several thousand Spirit Stones.
This Wei Haolan was indeed worthy of being a sect leader. Although Bixuan Pavilion wasn't a major sect, she even had a rough idea of how much wealth a disciple from a great sect might possess.
Mo Tiange almost regretted revealing her sect affiliation so honestly. But on second thought, without the backing of the Xuanqing Sect, the other party might have extorted even more.
"Sect Leader Wei," she said after a moment's thought, deciding to be direct, "we are not merchants. Haggling like this is rather tiresome. Why don't you just state your price outright? As long as I can afford it, I won't waste words."
"Good!" Wei Haolan seemed to have been waiting for these very words. She clapped her hands once and laughed. "Fellow Daoist Ye is a straightforward person. In that case, I won't beat around the bush any longer."
Pausing briefly, Wei Haolan didn't state a price directly. Instead, she said slowly, "I wonder if Fellow Daoist Ye knows what kind of situation our Bixuan Pavilion is in here in Linhai?"
Mo Tiange nodded. "Since arriving here, I've learned a bit. Your esteemed sect is the only sect in Linhai and controls the only Teleportation Array leading to the outside world. One could say you hold a monopoly."
"Correct, a monopoly," Wei Haolan said with a proud expression, but after saying this, she sighed. "However, behind this monopoly lie numerous hidden dangers!"
Mo Tiange was puzzled. "Your esteemed sect has a Core Formation Cultivator overseeing it, there are no powerful enemies nearby, and all the cultivators in Linhai are under your management. Where do the dangers come from?"
Wei Haolan smiled bitterly. "Fellow Daoist Ye, you are unaware. Although our Bixuan Pavilion has developed smoothly, Linhai is only so big. The spiritual veins aren't top-grade, and resources are even more scarce. Even without powerful enemies, it's very difficult to expand significantly."
Mo Tiange understood this point in her heart. The Zhengfa Sect, one of the Seven Great Sects, faced the same problem. The size of the territory was the fundamental constraint on a sect's development. Apart from relocating, there was no solution.
But actually, from another perspective, given Linhai's special terrain, if Bixuan Pavilion didn't harbor delusions of grandeur, they wouldn't have to worry about anything. They monopolized the resources; the entire Linhai was their domain. Even if resources were few, concentrating them could still nurture a few cultivators. Recruiting disciples was easy; all the cultivators in Linhai were scrambling to join Bixuan Pavilion, male cultivators included. With people and wealth, as long as they didn't make foolish mistakes, the sect would develop steadily. In other words, at its current scale, being the leader of Bixuan Pavilion was the easiest sect leader position.
Seeing Mo Tiange show little reaction, Wei Haolan had no choice but to continue. "Of course, our Bixuan Pavilion was originally just a sanctuary our founding ancestor created for a group of unfortunate women. We don't aspire to develop immense influence like those great sects or nurture many high-level disciples. However, no matter what, for our Bixuan Pavilion to continue its legacy, certain things are indispensable."
Mo Tiange nodded. "So? What does Sect Leader Wei wish to obtain from me in exchange?" She wasn't a fool. Wei Haolan's words surely meant she wanted to exchange for some resource from her, perhaps pills or magical instruments.
Seeing that Mo Tiange understood her meaning, Wei Haolan stopped beating around the bush and spoke frankly. "Fellow Daoist Ye comes from Kunwu. Kunwu is rich in cultivation resources. I imagine you aren't lacking in things like pills or materials."
Mo Tiange, holding her teacup, smiled. "Sect Leader Wei, I dare not agree with that statement. For any cultivator, pills and materials are always in demand. Nowadays is not like the ancient times when spiritual objects were everywhere. Although Kunwu has far more resources, it can't withstand the large population."
"That's true, but compared to our Linhai, it's much better," Wei Haolan said, not displeased. She looked at Mo Tiange seriously. "Fellow Daoist Ye, although we don't have many Spirit Stones, we can still find Spirit Stone veins in Linhai. However, Linhai has been isolated from Kunwu for too long. Although we often send disciples outside to learn, our alchemy and artifact forging skills have been declining, and resources are scarce... If Fellow Daoist Ye wishes to borrow the Teleportation Array, exchange it with pills, materials, and the like. Or Alchemy Technique and artifact forging techniques would also do."
Having said this, Wei Haolan finally stated her real price. After laying her cards on the table, she stared at Mo Tiange. Although she held the initiative, her need for these things was equally urgent.
Hearing this, Mo Tiange set down her teacup and lightly tapped the table with her fingers, seemingly deep in thought.
Seeing her like this, Wei Haolan asked another question. "These things should still be within Fellow Daoist Ye's means to provide, right?"
Mo Tiange glanced at her and nodded. "Sect Leader Wei, I prefer frankness, so I'll be direct with you. I don't have many artifact forging materials on me, so I'm afraid I cannot exchange those. My artifact forging skill is also mediocre, so I can't teach much. However, regarding pills, I do have some on me. I also gathered some spiritual herbs during this journey. Additionally, I can provide some common pill formulas. I just don't know if Sect Leader Wei will be satisfied."
Wei Haolan showed delight. "It seems Fellow Daoist Ye is proficient in Alchemy Technique. To be honest, we can also purchase common spiritual herbs and pill formulas. It's just that Alchemy Technique is truly not easy to learn. If Fellow Daoist Ye can teach our disciples alchemy, I will personally waive the teleportation fee. Furthermore, if Fellow Daoist Ye has any high-grade pills, we are willing to exchange them for specialties from the East Sea."
"Is that so?" Mo Tiange was somewhat tempted. "I do know some Alchemy Technique. I just don't know if Sect Leader Wei will be satisfied."
Wei Haolan smiled. "Whether we're satisfied or not, we can find out by trying, can't we?"
After pondering for a moment, Mo Tiange nodded. "Alright."
Having roughly reached an agreement, Mo Tiange followed Wei Haolan to Bixuan Pavilion's alchemy chamber.
Although Bixuan Pavilion was a small sect, its alchemy chamber was not small, occupying an entire hall. Entering the alchemy building, Mo Tiange saw about seven or eight pill furnaces set up inside. In front of each furnace, several busy female disciples worked, with some low-level male cultivators assisting.
She glanced around. These female disciples refining pills were all at the Qi Refining stage. Their pill-refining techniques looked very unskilled. Even the better ones were only barely capable of refining the Foundation Establishment early-stage pill, the Foundation Consolidation Pill.
Mo Tiange shook her head inwardly. No wonder Wei Haolan was so anxious. Such alchemy skill was simply unworthy of a sect with over a thousand disciples. Probably the failure rate for refining Foundation Establishment Pills was very high, and the only Foundation Establishment pill was the Foundation Consolidation Pill. Under such circumstances, it was difficult for disciples to reach Foundation Establishment, and even after establishing their foundation, cultivation would be even harder.
As soon as the two entered the alchemy chamber, a disciple immediately came forward to greet them. "Sect Leader."
Wei Haolan nodded and asked, "Is your Uncle-Master Xia here?"
The disciple replied, "Reporting to Sect Leader, Uncle-Master Xia is refining pills in the inner chamber."
"Has she started?"
"Not yet." After a moment's thought, the disciple added, "If Sect Leader wishes to see Uncle-Master Xia, there's still time now. Uncle-Master Xia is heating the pill furnace and will begin refining soon."
Wei Haolan nodded and said to Mo Tiange, "Fellow Daoist Ye, my junior sister Xia Qing is the top alchemist in our sect. She is currently refining a batch of Essence Condensation Pills. Let's go take a look."
Essence Condensation Pills were basic pills consumed by Core Formation Cultivators. Judging from Wei Haolan's words, this Xia Qing should be a Foundation Establishment female cultivator. Being able to refine Core Formation stage pills was no easy feat. It seemed she had underestimated Bixuan Pavilion earlier. An alchemist of this level should barely be able to support a small-to-medium sect like Bixuan Pavilion.
However, Mo Tiange's Alchemy Technique was already far from what it used to be. With vast amounts of spiritual herbs in the Void Heaven Realm for her to practice with, her alchemy skill had soared. Essence Condensation Pills were easy for her to refine now.
The two walked through the main hall and entered a separate alchemy chamber.
This alchemy chamber was very spacious, containing only one massive pill furnace, but no fewer Qi Refining cultivators were busy here than in the outer hall.
Mo Tiange noticed that unlike the outer hall where disciples used their Dantian True Fire to fuel the furnaces, this chamber used earth fire drawn from below as the pill fire, and the earth fire was quite pure.
Walking further in, behind the massive pill furnace, a female cultivator with somewhat disheveled hair was muttering to herself, calculating material quantities. Her focused demeanor suggested she wouldn't look up even if the sky fell.
Mo Tiange was somewhat surprised. This female cultivator was actually at the Foundation Establishment stage. Was this Wei Haolan's junior sister, Xia Qing? Her appearance indeed resembled that of an alchemy fanatic, not even glancing up when two Foundation Establishment cultivators entered.
"Fellow Daoist Ye," Wei Haolan said with a helpless expression, "this is my junior sister Xia Qing. Once she starts refining pills, she pays no heed to heaven or earth. Please don't mind her."
Mo Tiange smiled slightly. "I actually find your junior sister quite admirable. People who concentrate wholeheartedly on one task are all admirable."
Compared to those ignorant female cultivators in Kunwu who only knew how to show off their clothes and jewelry, she preferred the female cultivators of Bixuan Pavilion. Like Wei Haolan, shrewd and capable, planning for the sect's future. Like this Xia Qing before her, completely devoted to alchemy, even forgetting to take care of herself.
Having seen too many female cultivators who lacked ambition, she often felt pity for their misfortune and anger at their lack of effort. Why were female cultivators of low status in the cultivation world? Status wasn't always given by others; sometimes it was earned by oneself. Not knowing how to strive, not knowing how to fight for oneself, then crying and complaining about the position others assigned you—was that useful? Hadn't she seen that there were still female cultivators in this world who formed Nascent Souls and commanded absolute authority? Therefore, it wasn't that female cultivators were of low status, but that there were too few high-level female cultivators.