Chapter 13

With an excited heart, Li Luo spent the entire night without sleep.

In the early morning, in the attic of his room, Li Luo rubbed his heavy eyelids and looked at the sandalwood box in front of him with a somewhat regretful gaze.

There was still about half of the Spirit Water Radiance left unused.

Li Luo realized he had overlooked one thing: although his own empty phase meant he didn't have to worry about the erosion from impurities in the Spirit Water Radiance, it still took time to absorb one vial. He couldn't mix dozens of vials together and use them directly, as that would cause interference and render the Spirit Water Radiance ineffective.

So, throughout the night, he only absorbed twenty-seven vials of Spirit Water Radiance.

Of course, if this were known by outsiders, they would probably think Li Luo had gone mad... because they had never heard of anyone daring to do such a thing...

Absorbing twenty-seven vials of Spirit Water Radiance in one night, the accumulated impurities would likely cause his phase palace to be sealed in no time.

Generally, only those who were at the end of their rope would choose such a desperate and almost insane action.

It was truly a matter of success or failure.

"However, the effect is quite good..."

The regret in Li Luo's eyes soon dissipated, and his gaze became bright. In his perception, the first phase palace in his body was now even purer than it was yesterday, and even the phase energy flowing within had become more robust and refined.

At this rate, Li Luo estimated that if he wanted to upgrade his "Water Light Phase" to the fifth rank, he would need about a hundred vials of fourth-rank Spirit Water Radiance.

In that case, to upgrade from the fourth to the fifth rank, he would probably need to spend nearly 200,000 Tianliang gold coins.

This amount, Li Luo could actually accept, but... when he extrapolated to future advancements, he felt a bit uneasy.

After the fifth rank, the price of fifth-rank Spirit Water Radiance would increase exponentially, and the difficulty of advancing in phase rank would also increase.

Wouldn't it mean that to advance from the fifth to the sixth rank, he would need to spend nearly a million Tianliang gold coins?

From the sixth to the seventh rank... several million?

And beyond that?

For a moment, Li Luo felt a bit suffocated. Although he didn't manage much, he knew that the annual income from various businesses and industries of the Luo Lan Manor was only around several million Tianliang gold coins.

Even if he stripped the Luo Lan Manor bare, it would be difficult to provide the Tianliang gold coins needed for him to advance to the eighth rank.

This so-called postnatal phase... was simply a bottomless pit!

Li Luo rubbed his temples, and the Luo Lan Manor left by his parents might not be able to support him, this wasteful son...

"But if I can refine Spirit Water Radiance myself in the future, I can save a lot."

Li Luo thought of his Water Light Phase, which, in a certain sense, was a unique advantage. If he could make good use of this, the Spirit Water Radiance he refined in the future would likely be the only one of its kind on the market. From this perspective, learning the Phase Refinement Technique should be put on the agenda.

"It seems my parents also thought of this... so they made me a Phase Refiner to prevent the Luo Lan Manor from being drained by me." Li Luo sighed, once again feeling the foresight of his parents.

Li Luo ultimately didn't dare to think about this issue further. At least before the sixth rank, he should still be able to manage. As for the future, he would deal with it when the time came.

So, he shook his head and went back to his bedroom to rest.

Over the next two days, Li Luo entered a high-intensity mode. During the day, he practiced the "Canglan Meditation Diagram" until he reached the limit, then practiced phase techniques for two hours, and finally took Spirit Water Radiance to enhance his phase rank.

This full-effort cultivation had good results. His phase energy quickly advanced to the fourth seal, and his fourth-rank Water Light Phase became increasingly refined.

At this point, Li Luo felt nothing could stop his progress.

Until the Spirit Water Radiance ran out.

...

In the old residence, in a ledger room.

Cai Wei, wearing a long dress, sat at a desk, her figure slender and her chest with a noticeable curve. At this moment, her beautiful oval face was furrowed as she looked at some ledgers in front of her.

"Gu Manager, the income of the Luo Lan Manor in the Tian Shu Prefecture seems to have decreased significantly this year." Cai Wei raised her gaze from the ledger and looked at the several managers in front of her.

The middle-aged man called Gu Manager smiled bitterly and nodded, saying, "What the chief manager said is correct. The Luo Lan Manor has nine chambers of commerce and eighteen mines and medicinal fields in the Tian Shu Prefecture. However, due to the internal changes in the manor, the three families in the Tian Shu Prefecture have been encroaching on us this year, with the Song family being the most aggressive. Two of the nine chambers of commerce have been dismantled and swallowed by the Song family this year through various means."

Cai Wei's eyes turned cold. The Luo Lan Manor had risen from the Nanyang City of the Tian Shu Prefecture and quickly became one of the four major manors of the Daxia Kingdom.

However, in the Tian Shu Prefecture, there were still three major families. Although these three families could not compare to the complete Luo Lan Manor in overall scale, they were still established forces in the Tian Shu Prefecture, with deep roots and substantial resources.

When the two family heads were still around, the Luo Lan Manor was at its peak, and these three families were very obedient, following orders. But now that the two family heads have disappeared, they have taken advantage of the internal and external troubles of the Luo Lan Manor to start causing trouble.

Cai Wei had heard from Jiang Qing'e that these three families might be receiving instructions from other top forces, constantly probing the current state of the Luo Lan Manor.

The three families in the Tian Shu Prefecture are the Song family, the Bei family, and the Tifa family, with the Song family being the strongest and the most active in recent years, constantly using various means to encroach on, suppress, and swallow the Luo Lan Manor's chambers of commerce and industries in the Tian Shu Prefecture.

It's worth noting that the head of the Song family used to visit the Luo Lan Manor every year with gifts.

The change before and after was truly like a play.

However, Cai Wei had experienced a lot and was not naive. The existence of the Luo Lan Manor had already squeezed the interests of the three families. Now that the Luo Lan Manor was in trouble, it was impossible to say that the other side was acting unrighteously; it was just a matter of different positions, and they naturally saw each other as enemies.

But... the Luo Lan Manor really couldn't spare the resources to deal with the situation in the Tian Shu Prefecture, as other places also needed support, and the existence of Pei Hao made the situation even worse for the Luo Lan Manor.

Cai Wei was silent for a moment and then decisively said, "For the chambers of commerce that cannot turn a profit, we will temporarily close them. There's no need to tangle with the other side."

Temporary endurance was necessary. Once the Luo Lan Manor stabilized, these three families would have to return everything they had taken.

Hearing her decision, the managers below her also agreed, as they understood the current situation of the Luo Lan Manor in the Tian Shu Prefecture, which was indeed somewhat dire.

Knock, knock.

At this moment, someone suddenly knocked on the door. Cai Wei said, "Come in," and the door was pushed open, revealing Li Luo walking in.

The managers, seeing this, quickly bowed.

Li Luo waved his hand, and Cai Wei asked them to leave, then looked at him and said, "Young Master, what is it?"

Li Luo cleared his throat and smiled, "There is indeed a small matter that I need to trouble Sister Cai Wei with."

Cai Wei's long, slightly alluring eyes blinked, feeling a bit uneasy but still asked, "What is it?"

Li Luo smiled warmly and said, "It's not anything else, just that the fifty vials of fourth-rank Spirit Water Radiance have been used up, so I would like to trouble Sister Cai Wei to purchase another hundred vials for me."

Cai Wei's smooth, oval face gradually froze, and her eyes widened as she stared at Li Luo, her chest rising and falling slightly.

"Another hundred vials? Fourth-rank Spirit Water Radiance?"

Cai Wei's hands clenched tightly. How long had she been managing the finances of the Luo Lan Manor in the Tian Shu Prefecture? Was it going to go bankrupt right away?

She tried to hold back, but eventually couldn't, and slapped the table, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Li Luo, do you want to make me quit?"