Li Shan remained silent for a moment before asking, "Aren't you afraid I might perish midway and default on the debt?"

Song Cai pointed at the Yellow Spring Water and chuckled, "Would you like to know where this Yellow Spring Water was obtained from?"

Li Shan's expression changed dramatically as he stared at Song Cai in shock. Suddenly, his face lit up with excitement, "I had a disciple who died a century ago. Could I ask the Seven Star Trading Association to check if he..."

Song Cai waved his hand dismissively, "Ghost searches start at one hundred thousand one-star spirit stones with no upper limit, and we don't accept credit. You can consider this later!"

Li Shan's face darkened, "How much treasure can I get with the 'use first, pay later' option?"

"One hundred portions!" Song Cai raised a single finger.

"That much?" Li Shan had exchanged nearly all his treasures and assets, barely scraping together one hundred thousand one-star spirit stones. Yet here they were offering a million one-star spirit stones worth of treasures upfront.

Song Cai asked, "Want to proceed with 'use first, pay later'? It takes immediate effect."

"I'll take it!" Li Shan declared firmly.

"Excellent. Which treasures would you like to purchase and in what quantities?"

"Ninety-five portions of Immortal Ascension Water and five portions of Yellow Spring Water!"

Song Cai promptly handed over the treasures to Li Shan.

When Li Shan stepped out of the Seven Stars Tower, he seemed somewhat dazed. This single trip had left him saddled with massive debt. More importantly, learning that the Seven Star Trading Association could access the Underworld made him recall his long-deceased disciple.

Knowing this possibility, he couldn't help but wonder whether his disciple still "lived" in the Underworld.

Gu You coughed lightly and asked, "Sect Leader, didn't you want to know about my cultivation techniques? The Seven Stars Pavilion has them! Would you like to see?"

Li Shan sighed, "I only have about three thousand one-star spirit stones left now."

"Then let's not look!"

"Take me there!" Li Shan suddenly changed his mind.

"Uh, alright!"

When they arrived outside the Seven Stars Pavilion, they saw numerous cultivators exiting with expressions mixing astonishment and embarrassment.

This greatly piqued Li Shan's curiosity.

Upon entering the Seven Stars Pavilion, Li Shan was greeted by waves upon waves of books flooding his vision - an ocean of texts!

With just a casual glance, his eyes fell upon a Earth Immortal-level sword cultivation manual, alongside its reading price: ten two-star spirit stones (equivalent to one hundred thousand one-star spirit stones) for twelve hours of access.

Then he glimpsed higher-level manuals priced in "seven-star spirit stones" and immediately turned to leave.

"Eh, Sect Leader, we just got here!"

"Enough. Where do we accept missions? Let me see what tasks are available," Li Shan said solemnly.

"Oh!"

Gu You led Li Shan to the mission board area.

Li Shan noticed several Great Ascension Realm cultivators coming and going, all appearing extremely busy.

Their eyes met awkwardly - clearly everyone was here to earn spirit stones through missions.

Li Shan stepped inside.

Soon he saw the massive mission board in the hall.

It listed numerous tasks: collecting Immortal Artifacts, hunting Immortal Beasts, refining Immortal Pills - none looked simple.

The easier ones had probably already been taken!

Li Shan regretted not coming to the mission hall earlier.

However, he soon spotted an unlimited mission in the corner:

"Mission: Spread the reputation of Seven Star Trading Association or Seven Star Dao Lord. Invite high-quality cultivators to the Association. Rewards automatically calculated based on reputation spread and invitations. Unlimited completions."

Li Shan immediately looked at Gu You - so this was why the kid had been so eager to bring him here!

Gu You gave an innocent smile.

Li Shan reconsidered the mission, already forming ideas about reputation spreading.

As for inviting others?

He asked Gu You, "How many spirit stones did you earn?"

"One thousand one-star spirit stones!" Gu You replied.

"That's not insignificant," Li Shan nodded.

Gu You thought to himself, "Plus sect contribution points, but no need to mention those!"

Then he suddenly realized something was wrong. 'Wait, if the Sect Leader takes this reputation mission, do I even need to stay at Backing Mountain Sect anymore?'

His original plan had been to take over Backing Mountain Sect, develop it into a subsidiary of Seven Stars Sect, while completing the world-wide reputation mission.

But now Sect Leader Li Shan intended to do the mission himself!

"Oh no! I might have made a huge mistake!" Gu You froze in realization.

Li Shan searched for other missions but found nothing suitable, reluctantly giving up for now.

"I'm returning to the sect. What about you?" Li Shan asked.

"I'll exchange some cultivation resources, then return to Seven Star Trading Association headquarters for closed-door cultivation!" Gu You said.

"Work hard, kid." Li Shan patted his shoulder and turned to leave.

"Wait, Sect Leader! Where's my reward for bringing you here?" Gu You called out in disbelief.

Li Shan paused, then waved his hand, sending a shower of star points toward Gu You.

Gu You hurriedly took out his Seven Star Card to receive them.

His card balance increased by exactly one hundred one-star spirit stones.

Gu You's eyes widened, but when he looked up, Li Shan had already vanished.

"Damn! That old man is so stingy! After all my careful planning to invite him here! I mean, my sincere invitation!" Gu You grumbled angrily.

In his frustration, he turned around - only to see Li Shan standing with hands behind his back, gazing at the sky.

"Ahem, Sect Leader, I was just joking earlier!" Gu You said awkwardly.

"Hmph!"

Li Shan took out his Seven Star Card again, sending another shower of starlight toward Gu You.

Gu You quickly caught it.

This time, his card balance increased by three thousand.

Gu You was stunned.

When he looked up joyfully, Li Shan had disappeared again.

After confirming Li Shan was truly gone, Gu You burst into laughter and swaggered toward the teleportation area, vanishing in a flash of white light back to the Seven Stars Realm.

Meanwhile, Li Shan reappeared.

He sighed while looking at where Gu You had disappeared.

He'd long suspected Gu You had secrets, but not of this magnitude. His chosen successor for Backing Mountain Sect was now unreliable!

Though lacking evidence, Li Shan was certain Gu You had always been connected to Seven Star Trading Association or its backing forces, joining Backing Mountain Sect just for missions.

Shaking his head, Li Shan entered the teleportation area. Channeling energy into his Seven Star Card, he instantly reappeared at Backing Mountain Sect's entrance.

Several elders rushed over anxiously.

"Ancestor! You've finally appeared! Earlier you teleported to Extreme Ice Snow Valley, but they reported not seeing you. We thought—"

Li Shan snorted, "What's there to panic about? Do I look dead to you?"

"Where's Gu You?" another elder asked.

"Gone!" Li Shan snorted again.

The elders exchanged bewildered glances, unsure whether this was anger or truth.

"He's no longer in this world! Hurry up and find a new successor candidate! This time, no more geniuses who appear out of nowhere!" Li Shan ordered.

"Should we hold a funeral?" an elder asked.

"He's not dead! What funeral?" Li Shan scolded.

"Uh..." The elders were at a loss.

"When he returns, send him to me!" Li Shan said sternly. "Also, immediately summon all sect elders and disciples - I have announcements!"

"Yes!"

The elders confirmed Gu You was alive but not in this world, likely trapped in some secret realm - a common enough occurrence. But why strip him of his successor status?

It seemed the Sect Leader had changed after this trip.

Some bold elders even briefly wondered if Li Shan had been possessed.

"You're all so unreliable!" Li Shan sighed at the flustered elders.

The elders secretly thought the same about him.

Soon, the entire sect gathered.

Standing at the highest point, Li Shan announced, "From today, Backing Mountain Sect unilaterally allies with Seven Star Trading Association. They are now our formal allies. Notify all sects: henceforth, Seven Star Trading Association's shops and caravans are under our protection. Anyone damaging their business becomes Backing Mountain Sect's mortal enemy!"

The disciples listened in stunned silence.

Unilateral alliance? Mortal enemies? Was this outright groveling?

"Ancestor, Seven Star Trading Association seems just an ordinary merchant group," an elder whispered.

"No objections! Everyone follows my orders!" Li Shan thundered.

The disciples could only nod.

Li Shan checked his Seven Star Card - it now showed an additional seven thousand one-star spirit stones!

He was stunned. Just from shouting orders to his sect?

And the mission rewards calculated so quickly!

This demonstrated Seven Star Trading Association's power while strengthening Li Shan's confidence.

"One more thing," Li Shan continued. "We're changing our sect's founding ancestor."

"What?"

Everyone was dumbfounded.

"Change it to Seven Star Dao Lord! Any questions?"

"Seven Star Dao Lord?"

They exchanged bewildered looks.

They'd always known their ancestor was eccentric, but this exceeded all expectations. Could founding ancestors be changed so casually?

"Good, it's settled perfectly! Notify all factions!" Li Shan declared.