Chapter 21: A Calculated Sacrifice

After returning to his dwelling, eyes still red-rimmed from his journey, Ye Cha shut the wooden door. The expression on his face swiftly vanished, replaced by an impassive mask.

He lowered his gaze to the supreme-grade spirit stones clutched in his hand, and a small, involuntary laugh escaped him.

‘Was this a pillow delivered precisely when he was sleepy?’

He had been fretting over how to advance his cultivation, and now, spirit stones had practically delivered themselves to his doorstep.

As for the admonition from the demonic sect enchantress, Ye Cha had already cast it to the back of his mind, dismissing it entirely.

Possessing the Heavenly Net Body, even if the legendary Poison Immortal herself were to descend, her poisons would hold little sway over Ye Cha.

Though the Heavenly Net Body came with its share of limitations, its immunity to all poisons stood as the most formidable trait among all spiritual physiques.

However, the fact that the demonic sect enchantress could summon him once meant she could undoubtedly do so again.

Despite Ke Qian telling him not to visit without good reason when they parted moments ago, the words of a demonic cultivator were best taken with a grain of salt.

They should not be taken seriously.

Given this, he needed to prepare himself thoroughly to avoid falling into her trap once more.

With this thought, Ye Cha casually tossed the bag of spirit stones onto the bed. He then raised his left hand, observing the red thread wrapped around his wrist, and his ink-dark eyes flickered with resolve.

‘One must be willing to sacrifice something to gain something greater.’

To avoid having his life casually manipulated by others, he knew he had to pay a certain price.

There was no such thing as a free lunch.

Ye Cha swiftly retrieved a dagger from his storage pouch. With a decisive motion, he slashed the blade fiercely across the red thread on his wrist.

Immediately, fresh blood gushed from the wound, staining the hand that held the dagger and splattering onto the floor, like blooming crimson flowers.

Pain surged through Ye Cha like a tide, causing veins to bulge on his forehead. Yet, he was not finished.

He reopened his storage pouch and took out the powdered Illusion Dream Mushroom, sprinkling it directly onto the wound.

Even as a Qi Refinement cultivator, Ye Cha’s body possessed an astonishing recovery rate.

A self-inflicted wound like this would normally heal within a day or two.

Only the cultivation techniques and magical artifacts of other cultivators, or various potent poisons, could cause a wound to fester and refuse to heal for an extended period.

Ye Cha’s current goal in inflicting the wound was to prevent the demonic sect enchantress from luring him again.

Naturally, he did not want the wound to heal quickly, lest he be forced to cut himself again and repeatedly endure the agonizing pain of the blade.

Fortunately, the Illusion Dream Mushroom powder could prevent the wound from closing, sparing Ye Cha from repeated self-mutilation. It was a blessing in disguise.

After he finished scattering the powder, the wound on his left hand ceased bleeding. Only a gruesome, gaping laceration with flesh turned outward remained, appearing utterly terrifying.

Ye Cha was ruthless to others, but even more so to himself.

“The pain has passed,” he murmured. “It’s time to enjoy the fruits of my labor.”

The lingering sensation of pain from the wound persisted. Ye Cha decided to divert his attention, hoping it would help him endure the long night.

His gaze shifted to the bed, where the loosened drawstring of the cloth bag had allowed several supreme-grade spirit stones to spill out, shimmering with alluring light under the candlelight.

Ye Cha smiled. He quickly approached the bed, then simply inverted the cloth bag, letting the remaining spirit stones cascade onto the bed with a soft rustle.

At this very moment, even without deliberately absorbing them, a potent spiritual energy emanated from these supreme-grade spirit stones. Ye Cha’s body, parched for spiritual energy, felt like a land long-suffering from drought, eagerly awaiting the arrival of sweet rain.

After absorbing these supreme-grade spirit stones tonight, he would be able to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm, and simultaneously suppress the spread of the Heavenly Net Profound Poison.

Nevertheless, despite this, his plans for the sect’s minor competition would continue as intended.

These few spirit stones were merely a drop in the bucket. If he was going to play, he would play for something truly grand.