7: Chapter 7 Mortgage

The old man was stunned for a moment and didn't say anything further. It was a rule of the black market not to ask about the source of goods or their origins.

"The market price is 100,000 for one, and one million for ten. I can run it through the black market's tax-free channel for you and transfer the full amount directly. Do you want it?"

"Deal."

Without any extra haggling, his psionic phone vibrated slightly, and one million credit points instantly hit his account.

Looking at the jumping numbers on the screen, Lin Ye's expression didn't show the slightest ripple.

One million seemed like a lot, but for his Beast Divine Kingdom, it was merely starting capital.

"I want three things."

Lin Ye tapped his fingers lightly on the counter and calmly reeled off the list: "A low-level River Generation Card, pure and free of impurities, unable to bring in any external spiritual energy; a large number of corpse cores, minimum D-grade, no higher than C-grade; and Miasma Grass, Spirit-Devouring Grass... the more, the better."

His plan was clear and straightforward.

First, the River Generation Card. Currently, the Miasma Wasteland only had cracked black soil and no water source; fierce beasts drinking miasma mist for a long time would impair their foundations. An exclusive miasma river could solidify the miasma concentration of the entire wasteland, nourish the soil, and suit the growth of fierce beasts.

Second, corpse cores. These were the cores condensed after monsters died, containing rich necrotic and blood qi. They were key consumables for the evolution of the Shagu Devouring Hounds, perfectly matching the Taotie devouring bloodline.

Third, Miasma Grass. These were eerie weeds that only grew in polluted places, capable of gently purifying miasma and neutralizing the violent, tyrannical qi of the corpse cores to prevent the fierce beasts' evolution from spinning out of control.

The old man glanced at Lin Ye and casually quoted the price: "The River Generation Card is a single-use consumable, 100,000. Thirty D-grade corpse cores, a whole burlap sack of E-grade Miasma Grass, a burlap sack of E-grade Spirit-Devouring Grass... sold as a bundle without a discount, exactly one million."

Not a penny more, not a penny less.

The million credit points he had just gotten were wiped out in an instant.

His bank card balance dropped back to three digits, but Lin Ye's expression remained unchanged as he calmly accepted the three supplies.

Such drastic ups and downs had no effect on him at all.

Money could be earned back if it was gone, but the fierce beasts' evolution pace could not be stopped.

"I'll borrow the cultivation room," Lin Ye said faintly.

"Old rules, it's free." The old man waved his hand and shrank back into his chair to doze off, muttering in a low voice, "A wasteland divine kingdom? These days, he's probably the only young man who dares to spend a fortune raising wasteland fierce beasts, right?!"

Deep inside the grocery store, the dark, enclosed independent cultivation room was soundproof, spirit-proof, and isolated from all external detection.

Lin Ye shut the iron door with a backhand motion, sat cross-legged on the cold black stone ground, and his consciousness instantly connected to the divine kingdom.

With a thought, the several supplies were dropped into the Miasma Wasteland one after another.

Hum—

A pale blue spiritual light flashed and vanished. The River Generation Card landed in the center of the wasteland, forcibly tearing apart the cracked earth.

Pitch-black, turbid river water gushed out, winding along the terrain to form a miasma river that ran through the entire wasteland.

Fine miasma particles floated within the river water. There was no pure spiritual energy, only the chilly miasma best suited for this land.

Next, all the remaining purchased resources were dropped into the divine kingdom. The corpse cores had hard outer shells, wrapped with thick, bloody energy inside.

Finally, a burlap sack of grayish-black Miasma Grass and Spirit-Devouring Grass scattered across the ground. The moment the weeds touched the soil of the wasteland, they actively took root, grew, and spread rapidly.

The next second, the ancestral tracing cultivation ability was fully activated.

Invisible golden patterns covered the entire wasteland, enveloping the nineteen Shagu Devouring Hounds.

The fierce beasts, which were already formidable and tyrannical, suddenly raised their heads and let out a roar that shook the wasteland.

Their pitch-black scales hardened and thickened once more, fine blood-red patterns growing between the scales. Their fangs elongated again, gleaming with a chilling light.

The bone spurs on their limbs grew increasingly sharp, and when their paws struck the ground, they could leave deep impressions even on the hard black stone.

The violent miasma poured endlessly into the fierce beasts' bodies via the river, weeds, and corpse cores, remodeling their bloodlines, bones, skin, and flesh.

Low, crisp cracking sounds of bones rang out continuously. Their muscles tore only to rapidly regenerate; every single devouring hound was enduring extreme pain, yet not a single one collapsed to howl.

Survive. Become stronger.

This was an instinct carved deep within their bloodlines.

At the very front, that D-minus-grade Corpse Armor Bone Hound suddenly expanded by half its size. The bone spurs on its back emitted a dark red blood glow, and the Taotie pattern within its chest shone dazzlingly bright, almost bursting through its skin and flesh.

The lengthy evolution lasted a full three days within the divine kingdom.

Outside, it had only been a mere tens of minutes.

When the last wisp of miasma was completely devoured, the nineteen fierce beasts simultaneously prostrated themselves on the ground, letting out a roar of ultimate submission toward Lin Ye's consciousness in the firmament.

The pale golden data stream refreshed once more.

[Mutant: Shagu Devouring Hounds (Complete Version) × 18]

[Strength: 20, Agility: 18, Constitution: 23, Spirit: 25, Intelligence: 6]

[Grade: D-grade]

[Traits: Bloodthirsty, Miasma Resistance, Bone Armor, Miasma Breath]

[Leader: Shagu Devouring Hound (Complete Version)]

[Strength: 28, Agility: 25, Constitution: 30, Spirit: 30, Intelligence: 7]

[Grade: C+-grade]

[Traits: Devouring, Bloodline Suppression, Shagu Charge, Taotie Bite...]

The complete version!

Everyone advanced!

Lin Ye slowly opened his eyes. Deep within his pitch-black pupils, an intense cold gleam flashed and vanished.

At this moment, the wasteland had a river, grass, and fierce beasts.

The 82 gestating cubs were about to break out of the womb and be born. The complete version of the devouring hounds possessed formidable combat strength, and the leader had even leaped across several grades to reach C+-grade.

Furthermore, looking at its attribute data, it was already comparable to the attributes of B-grade beasts. The only shortcoming was its intelligence.

Yet this growth speed was unmatched by any senior high school freshman across the entire Cangnan City.

Inside the cultivation room, Lin Ye slowly stood up and patted the dust off the hem of his clothes.

He raised his eyes to look at the bustling urban district outside the black market, his gaze cold and indifferent.

Ye Feng.

"You think I've fallen into the mire?"

"Little do you know, I've long since grown fangs in hell."

Yet as that thought settled, Lin Ye felt not an ounce of satisfaction in his heart, leaving only a strong sense of impatience.

Too slow.

Even with the blessing of the reproduction card, even with the fierce beasts evolving smoothly, this speed was still too slow.

Right now, there were barely nineteen Shagu Devouring Hounds, and the cubs would take several days to be born. Waiting for the pack to take shape and possess overwhelming combat power would take too long.

He knew Ye Feng's disposition—that guy was narrow-minded and petty, bearing grudges for the slightest offense. Having lost face in public, he definitely wouldn't stay well-behaved. Backed by the Ye family and holding resources in his hands, that fellow was definitely plotting vicious means behind the scenes.

The sense of crisis was like cold threads tightly winding around Lin Ye's heart.

In the Source Realm, money was resources, and resources were combat power.

But right now, he only had three-digit credit points left in his pocket, effectively penniless.

To speed things up, the only way was to throw money at it.

Without any hesitation, Lin Ye pushed open the iron door of the cultivation room and slowly walked back to the shop lobby.

The skinny old man was still curled up in the rattan chair behind the counter. Hearing footsteps, he lazily lifted his eyelids, caught a glimpse of Lin Ye's expressionless, cold face, and casually teased: "Finished evolving? Let me be blunt—monsters raised in the wasteland have their upper limit right there. No matter how much you fuss, they can't make a big splash."

Lin Ye didn't reply. His right hand reached into his inner pocket, pulled out a document with a dark red cover, and gently placed it on the old wooden counter.

The cover of the document had a frosted texture, and the gold-stamped lettering had long since faded slightly. It was shockingly a real estate property ownership certificate.

"Mortgage."

With that single word dropped, his tone was calm, yet it carried an unchangeable resoluteness.