Chapter 27

Huang Xian chuckled but did not say anything.

Chen Mei answered softly, “It’s not a big deal if you lose it. After all, you have the Life Soul Candle. You can verify your identity when you return and make another one. It’s just that it’s expensive and costs 50 low-grade spirit stones.”

Fifty low-grade spirit stones. It was nothing compared to his fine!

Thus, Pei Ling continued to ask, “Speaking of spirit stones, when I flipped through the sect’s rules yesterday, I realized that spirit stones could resolve almost anything. However, it also gave us quite a bit of time to raise money. In that case, what if someone owes the Holy Sect a lot of spirit stones, but he finds an opportunity to slip out of the sect and escape… Wouldn’t that be a loss to the Holy Sec?”

“That’s impossible!” Xiao Tasha shook her head and smiled confidently. “In fact, the Holy Sect is the most easygoing among the rest. There is nothing spirit stones can’t do here. But everyone knows that you must not owe them any Spirit Stones!”

“Don’t even think about escaping from the debt. In the past, a disciple once owed a hundred spirit stones. He was old, and his potential was exhausted, so he thought of accepting a mission to escape and also renege on his debt. However, the Holy Sect dispatched three expert cultivators to hunt him down straight away! After twenty years of investigation, they managed to find the person. Even his family he built after changing his name was all burnt to ashes!”

Pei Ling’s eyelids jumped. Then, he said without changing his expression, “So that’s how it is! That disciple is truly audacious! How daring of him to even try to escape the debt of the Holy Sect!”

He did not dare to continue on this subject and hurriedly changed the topic. “Oh yes, Senior Brother Chen, what is the mission that we are doing this time?”

“We have taken three missions this time, two of which are for you and Mei’er to practice. They are all near Spiraling Mountain City.” Chen Huan smiled and said gently, “The last one will be by me, Junior Brother Huang, Junior Brother Zhang, and Junior Sister Xiao. It’s about 500 kilometers from Spiraling Mountain City, and it’s to hunt a demonic beast at the sixth stage of Awakening Realm. This mission is too dangerous for the two of you, so we will arrange for you to stay further away.”

Chen Mei looked at Pei Ling shyly. “Junior Brother Pei, I’ll have to trouble you to take care of me then. I heard that it’s dark in the depths of the forest even in the middle of the day, and it’s a little scary.”

“Senior Sister Chen, don’t worry. When the time comes, I will definitely do my best.” Pei Ling replied earnestly, but he could not help but think about what to do next.

The disciple Xiao Tasha mentioned only owed 100 spirit stones, but he owed the sect 30,000 to less than 100,000!

How could the demonic sect let him off?

Furthermore, that was an old disciple. By right, his understanding of the Holy Sect, the cultivation world, and even his cultivation level should be above his own. If he could not escape, he did not think that he would become any luckier.

But if he did not escape, then he could only pay up the fine.

How could he pay such a huge fine?

Thinking of this, Pei Ling gave it some serious thought. He suddenly asked, “Senior Brother Chen, how many spirit stones can you obtain when you return to the sect after completing the missions?”

“This depends on the difficulty of the mission and how many missions I accepted. For example, we have accepted a total of three missions this time,” Chen Huan said. “The two missions that you and Mei’er are doing are relatively simple. The first is to send a letter to the City Lord of Spiraling Mountain City. It is a simple task. The second is to eliminate the flower demons in the valley outside Spiraling Mountain City. This mission is not too dangerous either.”

“There’s only the third mission to hunt a sixth-level Awakening Realm demon beast, which is rather challenging…”

“These three missions add up to more than a hundred spirit stones. It’s enough for us to cultivate for a long time after we return to the sect.”

At this point, Chen Huan glanced at Pei Ling without batting an eyelid. He deliberately said a number that he believed would definitely move Pei Ling’s heart, “Junior Brother Pei, as long as you’re willing to cooperate seriously, you can at least obtain twenty low-grade spirit stones when we return!”

Pei Ling frowned. These three missions added up to only a hundred spirit stones? Not to mention that everyone shared the spoils, even if he got everything, Pei Ling would still need to accept hundreds or even thousands of such missions before he had the chance to save up to pay up his fines!

With this thought, Pei Ling’s expression quickly returned to normal. Then, he smiled and said, “20 low-grade spirit stones. It is enough for me to use for a while. Thank you, Senior Brother Chen!”

Chen Huan smiled and said, “We’re from the same sect, so you don’t have to be so polite.”

After a few pleasantries, Huang Xian mentioned some questions about cultivation. Chen Huan began to offer guidance, while Zhang Zhongqin also asked a few questions from time to time.

Xiao Tasha didn’t say anything, but she listened attentively to Chen Huan.

Pei Ling listened for a moment and realized that they were talking about things that were closely related to themselves. To him, there was not much point in listening. He looked around and saw that Chen Mei was not listening either. She held her chin with both hands as she lay at the edge of the Corpse Cloud and enjoyed the scenery below.

He thought for a while and walked over immediately. He sat cross-legged beside Chen Mei and began chatting with her.

After a while, Pei Ling obtained the information he wanted to know as he had hoped.

It turned out that the payment of twenty low-grade spirit stones that Chen Huan had mentioned earlier was already very high among the outer sect missions.

The Corpse Cloud that they had just rented cost ten low-grade spirit stones. It was because they were going too far away, and he did not have any faster means to travel, so he had no choice.

Otherwise, Chen Huan, who was at the sixth stage of Qi Refinement, could not bear to spend those spirit stones.

After all, in the sect, a single Bone Tempering Pill was equivalent to ten low-grade spirit stones.

In the sect, other than completing missions, the method to earn spirit stones was the techniques taught for free in the Holy Sect, as written in the sect rules.

Forging, pill refinement, talisman crafting… As long as one had the ability, one could earn spirit stones from these!

Furthermore, they could earn a lot more than an ordinary disciple who lived on the edge.

Chen Mei even told Pei Ling that Pei Hongnian was the typical example of this! Pei Hongnian had outstanding talent in talisman crafting. Some years ago, when he had just entered the sect, he was once thought highly of by a tutor of Talisman Peak and almost got accepted as an inner disciple. However, he quickly fell in love with Sun Yinglan and did many shameful actions. He even neglected his cultivation and talisman crafting techniques because of this.

As a result, the tutor was greatly disappointed and did not mention accepting him again.

As for Pei Hongnian, he lost the chance to reach the heavens in a single bound.

His cousin’s example tempted Pei Ling greatly. However, after learning that Pei Hongnian had spent a full two years just to create a qualified talisman successfully, he lost interest immediately.

Not to mention two years, if he did not pay up the fine within three months, he would get himself turned into cultivation materials!

Huang Xian’s consultation came to an end. He exchanged a look with Zhang Zhongqin, who said with a faint smile, “Junior Brother Pei, it’s pretty boring now.. Why don’t we help to find out whether you and Junior Sister Chen can handle your mission or not, to avoid unnecessary complications?”