Chapter 174: Learning to Utilize

“Bang!”

Just as the sound echoed, Jiang Zhihao swiftly kicked away Sun Changfa’s pig-slaughtering knife. “Heh heh, I’ll give you credit, kid. You had the guts to cut off your own finger with a knife, which proves you’ve realized your mistake. Alright, keep your hands and use them to become a better person. If you do well, I can even give you a big market to manage. Secretary Xiao, take note. One year from now, send someone to check up on this kid.”

“Yes, Mr. Jiang.”

The pretty little secretary quickly jotted everything down in her notebook.

Sun Changfa stood in shock. As soon as he regained his senses, he hurried into the small house and knelt before his parents to confess his errors.

※※※

This outcome surprised many people.

For Sun Sihan, it was undoubtedly the best possible ending.

Jiang Zhihao approached Shui Miao and said with a grin, “Master, what do you think of how I handled things? Did I meet your expectations?”

“Hehe, you’re indeed an old hand at this. Come with me; there’s another important matter I need to discuss with you.” Shui Miao tapped Xiaodoutou on the arm and headed toward the helicopter on the lawn.

Jiang Zhihao was secretly delighted and quickly followed.

This was Shui Miao’s first time riding in a helicopter.

He had to admit, life was good for the rich, as it could solve many otherwise thorny problems. For today’s incident, Shui Miao himself had solutions, but none as clean and efficient as Jiang Zhihao’s. Jiang was a seasoned veteran in the business world, with a deep understanding of human nature that far surpassed Shui Miao’s. Take, for instance, the method he used on Sun Changfa. Even if Sun wasn’t genuinely repentant, he’d still work hard for the sake of managing that big market. This benefited everyone involved.

The helicopter landed at a luxurious estate in Qingpu District.

This estate was Jiang Zhihao’s private property.

The entire estate was in European style, complete with a small golf course. To the east, it faced the sea, with a dock where speedboats and yachts were moored.

After stepping off the helicopter, Shui Miao looked around and nodded approvingly. “The environment here is truly excellent, and the feng shui layout has no issues. Looking at the design of this estate, I suppose you must have hired some renowned feng shui master?”

Xiaodoutou was stunned; he couldn’t believe someone could actually live in such a massive house!

“Master, your insight is spot on. I indeed invited a famous feng shui master from Taiwan. If you’d like to meet him, I can arrange it immediately?” At over sixty years old, Jiang Zhihao had more money than he could spend, so any matter Shui Miao mentioned that could be resolved with money was no issue at all for him.

“There’s no need for that. I don’t have the time to meet such people.” Shui Miao, intrigued by the yacht, started walking toward it.

“Of course, Master. Your cultivation is rare in both ancient and modern times, far beyond what those people can achieve.” Jiang Zhihao carefully flattered him. “By the way, Master, I’ve already had my subordinates start setting up the charity organization. Please rest assured, we won’t misuse a single penny of that one hundred billion fund.”

At that moment, the bodyguards drove up an eight-seat golf cart.

The estate was so large that even by golf cart, it would take half an hour to tour the entire grounds.

“Master, shall we get on the cart?”

Jiang Zhihao pointed at the golf cart that had just arrived.

Shui Miao gently waved his hand. “No need for the cart. There’s a problem here, and I need to point it out to you.”

As he spoke, Shui Miao pointed toward a flat area ahead and then turned to Xiaodoutou. “Junior apprentice, since you’re skilled in earth elemental energy, tell my senior apprentice about the earth energy of that land.”

Seeing this as a test from his senior apprentice, Xiaodoutou excitedly licked his lips. He quickly ran ahead, knelt down, sniffed the ground, and then stood up, frowning at Jiang Zhihao. “The soil here was probably brought in later. Originally, this place was by the seaside, and during the land reclamation, a lot of garbage was buried here. The decaying stench from that garbage is still below the surface. See how the grass here grows thin and sparse? That’s because of the foul energy from the rotting garbage. This area should be dug up, and all the garbage removed. If you don’t need this land for anything, fence it off and plant deep-rooted trees that can gradually purify the energy.”

Xiaodoutou spoke a lot in one breath.

Jiang Zhihao was astonished. He never expected that this seemingly unremarkable Xiaodoutou could be a cultivation expert who could determine the underground conditions simply by sniffing the air.

Shui Miao nodded and added, “Whether here or elsewhere, using trees with corresponding elemental properties to alter the land’s energy is the best method. Of course, planting large trees in good soil will emit positive energy. But planting them in land with negative energy will cause the trees to absorb and release that negative energy, which can affect a person’s fortune. There’s too much garbage buried beneath this estate. Although the surface environment seems excellent, prolonged residence here will expose people to decaying energy, causing illness and gradually worsening their luck. Therefore, this entire area isn’t suitable for long-term human habitation. It’s best to plant large areas of positive-energy trees to suppress the underground impurities.”

“I see!”

Jiang Zhihao gained new knowledge, but he wasn’t particularly concerned about this area.

He only occasionally came here to play golf, and now that he was obsessed with cultivation, he had even less interest in golf.

What interested him was how to cultivate, how to become stronger, and how to achieve immortality. Everything else was secondary.

Seeing that Jiang Zhihao wasn’t very interested in these matters and that his and Xiaodoutou’s explanations were in vain, Shui Miao realized that Jiang was too goal-oriented. For someone like him, using sincere methods to impart all knowledge directly wasn’t practical. Instead, he needed to be tempted with great incentives!

As Shui Miao walked, he pondered Jiang Zhihao’s mindset. Soon, he changed the subject. “Apprentice, I can see you’re eager to cultivate. Well then, at your age, you can’t afford to wait. Here’s what I’ll do—I’ll first teach you energy cultivation techniques, then help you choose a place with abundant spiritual energy for focused cultivation. Of course, I can also directly enhance your cultivation, but that would consume too much of my immortal energy! Unless…”

“Unless what?”

Sure enough, Jiang Zhihao became interested. He quickly added, “Master, please continue. Whatever you ask, I’ll do my utmost to fulfill. I’m willing to spare no expense to accelerate my cultivation!”

“Hmm…”

Shui Miao deliberately hesitated, thinking for a while before saying, “Alright, I’ll tell you. Last night, after I left, I traveled my soul to the Immortal Realm to speed up my cultivation and was fortunate enough to receive guidance from an immortal. In fact, that’s the real reason I came to find you today.”

Shui Miao intentionally slowed his speech to pique Jiang Zhihao’s intense interest.

If he didn’t do this, he wouldn’t be able to collect the necessary “incense offerings.” Only by using Jiang Zhihao could he build temples and Daoist monasteries everywhere, gathering the most believers’ incense offerings in the shortest time. Once he had enough incense offerings from the Immortal Realm, he could buy a mansion in the Immortal Realm. Then, would he still need to worry about immortal energy?

“Master, just tell me directly!”

Jiang Zhihao was getting impatient. He wasn’t afraid of spending money, so why was his master dragging his feet?

“Be patient…”

Shui Miao leaned close to Jiang Zhihao’s ear and whispered, “As the saying goes, ‘Three feet above one’s head, the gods watch.’ We should be cautious. Let’s go discuss it inside the yacht’s cabin.”

Seeing Shui Miao’s mysterious demeanor, Jiang Zhihao suddenly felt excited and nervous.

Inside the cabin, Shui Miao and Jiang Zhihao whispered to each other while Xiaodoutou stood guard outside.

“I want you to build as many Daoist monasteries and temples as possible. It would be even better if you could set up a few factories producing incense and candles. In short, the more things related to faith, the better, because these are all virtuous deeds. Once you build them, we can jointly recommend them, which will help our cultivation.” Naturally, Shui Miao didn’t reveal his true intentions.

“Building Daoist monasteries and temples—what’s so mysterious about that!?” After listening to Shui Miao, Jiang Zhihao was puzzled. He felt there was no need for secrecy; he thought it could be discussed openly.

Shui Miao frowned slightly. “You think so? Can ordinary matters be compared to this? The gods’ power is boundless! If they find out we’re accumulating merit through this method, it would be a serious problem!”

“Ah… right, right…”

Jiang Zhihao was taken aback by this explanation.

Shui Miao himself wasn’t entirely sure yet how to direct the incense offerings to himself, but since it would take at least six months for Jiang Zhihao to complete the monasteries and temples, he figured he had enough time to figure it out. At worst, he could make a few more trips to the Immortal Realm. If necessary, he could give some purple energy to the young Daoist apprentice Li Muzi—he was sure this small matter could be resolved.

“Keep this in mind for now. Slowly scout out suitable locations and choose an auspicious date. Then, you can start construction on several projects simultaneously. Now, let’s set that aside. I’ll now transmit the energy cultivation technique to you. Are you ready?” Shui Miao knew that Jiang Zhihao had strong execution capabilities. Although Shui spoke casually, Jiang would take it very seriously.

Of course, once Shui Miao reaped the benefits and purchased a mansion in the Immortal Realm, he could later bring Jiang Zhihao’s soul to the Immortal Realm.

Jiang Zhihao nodded repeatedly.

Thus, Shui Miao transmitted the Yin-Yang Five Elements cultivation technique to Jiang Zhihao. Despite his age, Jiang was particularly meticulous, carefully memorizing the incantations and techniques several times until he had them down pat before attempting energy cultivation. To motivate Jiang Zhihao, Shui Miao specially infused him with immortal energy, adjusted his breath, and helped him sense the existence of spiritual energy.

Feeling the spiritual energy circulating within his body, Jiang Zhihao was extremely excited and became even more reverent toward Shui Miao.

“Alright, cultivation isn’t something that can be rushed. It must be done gradually. Today, I’ve helped you lay the foundation. Remember, when cultivating energy, you must keep your mind calm and focused. Don’t let your thoughts wander. If your energy flow goes awry, it could lead to a disastrous mishap, and I won’t be able to save you. So, you must remember: stay calm, don’t rush, take it slowly…” Shui Miao couldn’t help but add more reminders. This wealthy and capable apprentice was too valuable to let slip away carelessly.

“Master, you’re too kind to me!”

Jiang Zhihao was deeply moved by Shui Miao’s sincerity.

Shui Miao, however, shook his head and smiled. “Don’t get too excited yet. I also need to do this for Sun Hao, Jiang Tao, and others. The more people involved, the better. Eventually, you’ll all start from the same starting line. Who becomes stronger will depend on your own abilities. Oh, and once you all open your spiritual eyes, I’ll think of a way to take you all to the Immortal Realm for a visit, so you can witness it with your own eyes.”

“Great! Great! Great! I’ve been dreaming of becoming an immortal!”

Jiang Zhihao was so excited he acted like a child. He grabbed Shui Miao’s hand tightly. If not for Shui Miao’s young appearance, he might have even asked to adopt him as his godfather.