Chapter 372 - 351: True Meaning Jade Slip
Chapter 372: Chapter 351: True Meaning Jade Slip
Seeing the two large stone boxes brimming with Spirit Grass, the onlooking cultivators were a mix of envy and jealousy.
"He’s so lucky! With that much Star Peony Grass, he’s just earned several hundred merit points."
"Is Star Peony Grass that easy to pick? Looks like I’ll have to make a trip to the Yinfeng Realm myself!"
"In your dreams! It’s not that easy. I slaved away in there for half a month and only managed to pick a single stalk..."
Someone, overcome with envy, began to get ideas. "Young man, where did you gather all this Spirit Grass?"
Before Zhao Lin could answer, someone beside the man tugged on his sleeve.
"Brother Zhou, that was tactless of you. Why would he tell you where he found the Spirit Grass? For all we know, he could go back in a few years and find new stalks have grown..."
"A total of one hundred fifty-two stalks of Yinfeng Grass and one hundred thirty-six stalks of Star Peony Grass."
Three attendant disciples worked in tandem, quickly finishing the count. One of them announced the total in a loud voice.
At the sheer number of Spirit Grass stalks, another wave of admiring gasps went through the crowd.
"I’d wager that since the missions for the Yinfeng Realm began, no one has ever collected so much Spirit Grass."
"Let me see... carry the one... A total of two thousand eight hundred eighty Spirit Stones, and six hundred eighty merit points."
"Sigh, that’s more than my stipend for three years..."
"Sir, do these numbers look correct to you?"
The attendant disciple helping Zhao Lin completely changed his earlier attitude, asking politely and even using a respectful form of address.
’To complete a mission this exceptionally, you either have genuine skill or you come from a major cultivation family with people to do the grunt work for you.’
No matter which kind of person Zhao Lin was, he was not someone a minor attendant disciple like him could afford to offend.
"The numbers are correct. Can I redeem it all now?"
Zhao Lin had already counted the Spirit Grass while gathering them, so he knew the tally was accurate.
"Yes. Would you like Spirit Stones or Spirit Coins?"
"Spirit Coins."
Zhao Lin answered without hesitation. A single Spirit Stone was about half the size of an inkstone; more than 2,800 of them would fill several storage bags, making them impossible to carry.
The attendant disciple quickly made the exchange for Spirit Coins, placed them in a pouch, and handed it to Zhao Lin. Then he turned to an elderly man beside him and said, "Steward Liu, I must trouble you to award the merit points."
The number of merit points Zhao Lin was redeeming was so large that only a steward had the authority to issue them.
"Give me the Body Stone."
Steward Liu took the Body Stone from Zhao Lin, swept it with his Divine Sense, and raised an eyebrow. "You’re Zhao Lin. You’re the one who captured the rogue cultivators a while back, aren’t you?"
Zhao Lin answered frankly, "That was me."
Steward Liu quickly pulled a jade slip from his robes, glanced at it, and nodded. "Correct. The state has already approved it. A reward of two hundred merit points for capturing the rogue cultivators, plus an additional fifty for identifying the mole in the boat relay station."
"Two hundred fifty plus six hundred eighty comes to a total of nine hundred thirty merit points. I’ll award them to you all at once!"
The cultivators in the Merit Hall immediately burst into an uproar.
"What, he’s the one who captured the rogue cultivators? And his cultivation is only at the Qi Refining Third Layer?"
"Look closer. He’s a Martial Cultivator."
"So what if he’s a Martial Cultivator? No matter how powerful, he can’t possibly kill an enemy two minor realms above him!"
"Is there even a need to ask? He must be from some major cultivation family..."
Merit points can’t be traded. To nurture their talent, many cultivation families use resources like Spirit Stones, pills, and magical artifacts to hire other cultivators to help their younger generation with sect missions.
For a Spirit Grass collection mission, for example, they would mobilize a group of people to do the gathering, but have only one person come forward for the exchange. This way, all the merit points go to one individual.
The sect couldn’t stop this sort of thing. After all, both parties were willing, so long as it wasn’t done out in the open.
Zhao Lin’s performance was so exceptional that this was the natural conclusion everyone jumped to.
Steward Liu held the Star Origin Brush and wrote vigorously in the air. One by one, silver characters materialized and flew into the Body Stone.
When Zhao Lin checked the Body Stone again, he discovered that his merit points had gone from one hundred and three to one thousand and thirty-three.
’I broke a thousand!’
Zhao Lin was overjoyed. Before this mission, he had exchanged sixty merit points for Spirit Stones, a trade that had stung him badly. He never imagined that after completing a single mission, his total would multiply several times over.
Steward Liu put away his Star Origin Brush, his face wreathed in smiles. "Congratulations. Your Spirit Stones and merit points have all been redeemed."
Zhao Lin offered his thanks but did not leave. In a low voice, he said, "Steward Liu, there is one more thing I’d like to discuss with you privately."
"Privately?"
Steward Liu was taken aback but didn’t dare to slight him. He led Zhao Lin to a private side hall.
"What is it? Please, speak freely!"
"Steward, I was wondering if you know of an old case—about two people who disappeared in the Yinfeng Realm twenty years ago?"
Hearing this, Steward Liu began to ponder, stroking his beard, a look of recollection on his face.
"Let me think... Twenty years ago, I had just arrived at the Merit Hall. Hmm, yes, there was such a matter. The sect even sent people in to search for them. It’s been so long, I would have forgotten if you hadn’t brought it up."
Finishing, he looked at Zhao Lin and asked, "Why do you ask?"
Zhao Lin said, "I found them in the Yinfeng Realm."
"Oh? Tell me about it."
"Actually, neither of them died..."
Zhao Lin then recounted his encounter with Li Yuanyou and Hu Hongxing, omitting all details related to Wei Shi and Sheng Jinlong.
At first, Steward Liu was distracted, thinking Zhao Lin had only found some minor clues. But the more he heard, the more bizarre the story became, and his jaw gradually dropped, leaving him stunned for a long moment.
"You’re saying one of them became a Ghost Cultivator, and the other a Yin Soul?"
Steward Liu’s mouth twitched, and he began to have his doubts. ’If I didn’t already suspect he was the scion of some major cultivation family, I’d be tempted to storm out right now.’
"Steward, please take a look!"
Zhao Lin knew that talk was cheap, so he took out the Profound Yin Bag, the Array Plate, and the accompanying array flags.
’The Profound Yin Bag and the Yin Evil Pearl inside it are both unrighteous items. Although the Yin Evil Pearl is certainly useful, keeping it around would only attract suspicion. It’s better to hand them over in exchange for more merit points.’