Chapter 26: A Mountain of Spirit Stones

Xie Jue arrived and stood in front of him, his tall figure deliberately shielding Su Zhuozhi from the probing gazes coming from all directions.

Su Zhuozhi barely reached his shoulder, his frame still delicate with youth. Under Xie Jue’s shadow, he was completely hidden from view.

Right now, Su Zhuozhi’s attention was entirely on Xie Jue. His eyes curved into crescents as he chatted with him, sharing the good news he had planned to write to his parents, making Xie Jue the first to know.

Xie Jue’s usually indifferent expression softened. “That’s good, young master. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

Su Zhuozhi felt a bit embarrassed and retorted, “I wasn’t scared.”

“The demonic power is temporarily suppressed. Does that mean you could turn into a fox again?” Xie Jue seized on the key point and asked.

Su Zhuozhi frowned. “Is that possible? I didn’t ask that many questions. That sect leader was pretty busy. I’ll ask Immortal Qin again later.”

As he spoke, he lowered his head in thought, and a strand of hair fell, sticking to his cheek.

Because he had reverted to human form unexpectedly, he had only put on an embroidered robe. His long hair was unbound, cascading down his back like soft silk, contrasting with his snow-white fox ears and exuding a lazy, ethereal beauty. When he turned and smiled, it seemed as if he had eyes only for you, making hearts skip a beat.

Although Su Zhuozhi had accidentally turned into a fox, he considered himself human, with no connection to monsters. But in truth, with his appearance and demeanor, he was even more captivating than a fox spirit.

Xie Jue reached out, gently lifted the strand of hair, and tucked it away for him.

His fingertips lightly brushed Su Zhuozhi’s warm cheek. Instinctively, Su Zhuozhi tilted his head and rubbed against his fingers, a gesture of great intimacy.

Xie Jue froze. Only after a moment did he realize this was a residual instinct from being a fox, not necessarily intentional. But even so, it was easy to get lost in thought.

“What’s wrong?”

Su Zhuozhi was puzzled, not sensing anything amiss, and didn’t understand why Xie Jue had stopped.

Xie Jue shook his head. After pushing the hair aside, he calmly withdrew his hand.

“Nothing.”

The line slowly moved forward. After some time, it was finally their turn.

“A fire-attributed heavenly spiritual root. Excellent aptitude.”

The female cultivator couldn’t help but exclaim, her eyes filled with admiration as if she were looking at a priceless treasure. After all, heavenly spiritual roots are rare, allowing for smooth cultivation without bottlenecks and a cultivation speed several times faster than others. If a sect receives a disciple with a heavenly spiritual root, they are guaranteed another high-level cultivator.

Su Zhuozhi didn’t understand much about this and asked, “Honored immortal, may I ask how long it would take for me to reach the Golden Core stage?”

The female cultivator said cheerfully, “Don’t call me ‘honored immortal,’ just call me senior sister. With your talent, at most five years. If you cultivate diligently, you can do it even faster.”

Su Zhuozhi smiled sweetly. “Thank you for the answer, senior sister.”

A pretty, fair-skinned young man with red lips, smiling sweetly—who could resist that?

The senior sister’s mood soared. “What’s there to thank? As a senior sister, it’s my duty to take care of junior brothers and sisters. If you have any questions in the future, feel free to ask me.”

Su Zhuozhi nodded obediently, making the senior sister’s heart itch. She couldn’t help wanting to ruffle the new junior brother’s little head.

But the next person in line had already come forward, so she had to continue testing.

Under Xie Jue’s palm, the testing stone emitted a faint light, much dimmer than Su Zhuozhi’s had been, and it showed three colors.

“Water, fire, and wood—three spiritual roots.”

The senior sister’s high spirits quickly subsided, replaced by disappointment. Indeed, heavenly spiritual roots were far too rare.

She had thought, given Xie Jue’s extraordinary bearing, that he would at least have dual spiritual roots, or perhaps even another heavenly spiritual root. But the result was merely three spiritual roots—it would probably take him a long time to even reach Foundation Establishment.

The Ten Thousand Swords Sect was the number one comprehensive sect in the cultivation world, most famous for its sword cultivators, but also proficient in talismans, artifacts, alchemy, and more. It was a renowned sect that many cultivators aspired to join. Naturally, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect had admission requirements: at least three spiritual roots.

Xie Jue barely met the threshold.

Most people would find it hard to hide their disappointment upon receiving such a result. But Xie Jue showed no reaction, as if he had already known.

Su Zhuozhi, however, was worried that he might be feeling down. He patted Xie Jue’s shoulder and comforted him, “It’s okay. I’ve heard that taking spiritual pills can speed up qi absorption and help with cultivation. There’s also the Foundation Establishment Pill. I’ll buy them for you when the time comes.”

Su Zhuozhi had always been generous to his people.

Although it was unnecessary, Xie Jue’s lips curled slightly. “Thank you, young master.”

While waiting for Su Zhuozhi, Qin Zhao practiced his sword, wasting no time at all.

Upon hearing Su Zhuozhi’s voice, he sheathed his sword and was momentarily stunned.

“You…?”

Qin Zhao usually wouldn’t remember such a person, but Xie Jue was strikingly handsome and always appeared glued to the young master’s side, making him hard to forget. It was also because of Xie Jue’s words that he thought the sect leader might have a solution.

He had brought Su Zhuozhi flying on his sword and then taken a teleportation array back to the Ten Thousand Swords Sect. But even so, in such a short time, how could Xie Jue, an ordinary mortal, have arrived?

Xie Jue said calmly, “I had previous contact with cultivators and attempted to cultivate, but I never formally joined a sect. I knew there was a teleportation array near the capital that goes directly to the town at the foot of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.”

“I see.” Qin Zhao understood. He also knew about the long-distance teleportation array, but it was too expensive. Having been poor for many years, he had habitually chosen the most economical route, which was slower.

As for cultivation level, Qin Zhao was about to form his Golden Core, so he could only see through those weaker than him. Those stronger were beyond his perception. There were also those who were merely in the Qi-Introduction stage, with too weak spiritual energy to be detected.

Naturally, Qin Zhao categorized Xie Jue as the latter.

Entering a cultivation sect was like attending a special private school; the procedures were quite similar.

They received uniform robes, purchased cultivation tools, were assigned dormitory rooms, and learned the locations of the dining hall, the library pavilion, and the lecture halls.

The disciple robes were simple in style, plain white, with nothing outstanding about them.

The moment Su Zhuozhi saw them, he couldn’t help pouting.

The fabric wasn’t soft or gentle on the skin. Fortunately, the disciple robes were only outer garments; they could still wear their own underclothes.

Next, they headed to the Jade Spirit Pavilion, the place within the Ten Thousand Swords Sect where various tools were sold. Although called a pavilion, it was more like a street, divided into different shops selling talisman paper and brushes, magical artifacts, Xuanming Mirrors, pills, and more—a dazzling array, like a bustling market in the mortal world.

It was just after the recruitment conference, so there were many people. The shop assistants were all inner sect senior brothers and sisters, enthusiastically recommending items, each with a silver tongue that made you feel you had to buy, or you’d miss out. In the end, people spent far more spirit stones than they had planned.

Qin Zhao kept his eyes forward, leading Su Zhuozhi and Xie Jue straight to the Jade Spirit Manor. The Jade Spirit Manor was like a bank in the mortal world, where one could deposit and withdraw money, or convert silver taels into spirit stones.

The senior brother there knew Qin Zhao. He smiled and greeted him, saying, “What a rare sight, you coming here.”

“Bringing a new junior brother.” Qin Zhao nodded. He was a man of few words, directly taking out his storage pouch and starting to pull things out.

At first, the senior brother didn’t pay much attention. After all, sword cultivators were notoriously poor, and Qin Zhao was a sword maniac, making him even poorer.

But as Qin Zhao brought out box after box of gleaming silver taels, seemingly without end, the senior brother was utterly stunned.

“Did you rob a bank? Even if we’re poor, we mustn’t lose our integrity and turn to crime!” The senior brother clutched his chest, feigning anguish.

Qin Zhao snorted coldly. “This isn’t mine. I’m just holding it for someone. Exchange all of this for spirit stones.”

Seeing Qin Zhao finally stop pulling out boxes, the senior brother heaved a sigh of relief. “Scared me to death. I thought there was more.”

Qin Zhao twitched the corner of his mouth. “You were right to think so. Originally, there was far more than this.”

He had only taken out this much not because Su Zhuozhi didn’t have more, but because his storage pouch had reached its limit. He had never imagined that one day his tiny five-square-meter storage pouch would be stuffed full of money.

And it wasn’t even his money.

Hah. Very reasonable.

Even an upright and serious sword cultivator could dream of sudden wealth, and seeing someone else’s overflowing money, he would weep bitterly inside.

The senior brother rarely got such a large order. He immediately called others over to help count and exchange the silver into spirit stones. After working for a while, he said to Qin Zhao, “If there’s a next time, for such a large amount, don’t foolishly bring silver taels. We also accept banknotes.”

Qin Zhao was expressionless. “How was I supposed to know? I’ve never had that much money before.”

The senior brother wiped his face and said with mixed emotions, “I completely understand how you feel. So much money passes through my hands, but not a single coin is mine.”

The two looked at each other like kindred spirits, almost in tears.

While the counting was going on, Su Zhuozhi and Xie Jue sat at an octagonal table nearby waiting. He remembered that using the teleportation array required spirit stones, but where did Xie Jue get spirit stones?

Xie Jue said, “They also accept silver taels. I managed to save some earlier. Barely enough.”

“So, you’re broke again?” Su Zhuozhi asked bluntly.

“Mm.”

Su Zhuozhi said lightly, “It’s fine. I have money. Don’t worry.”

Speaking of money, when he saw the spirit stones, Su Zhuozhi was surprised to find them very familiar. He had seen them before—many of them.

The senior brother from the Jade Spirit Manor and Qin Zhao were both confused. Why would a mortal have many spirit stones? He must be mistaken, right?

Su Zhuozhi explained, “About five years ago, my father went out on business and met an old man. They hit it off. The old man said he wanted to sell his mountain estate and asked if my father was interested. My father thought the landscape was beautiful and there were ores, so he thought it was quite good. He bought it and gave it to me, saying that even if I became a good-for-nothing in the future, I wouldn’t starve.”

“And the ores in that mountain are all these spirit stones.”

This sounded like a story out of a folktale!

The senior brother couldn’t help asking, “Junior brother, you’re not joking, are you? A mountain with a spirit mine, just sold to a mortal like that?”

Before Su Zhuozhi could answer, another senior brother with thick eyebrows and big eyes suddenly clapped his hand on his palm, making a loud sound that startled everyone. It seemed he had remembered something. He exclaimed, “No, it’s not impossible. Do you still remember the Beast Taming Sect?”

“…Beast Taming Sect?” Qin Zhao was enlightened, then his expression changed repeatedly. He turned to ask Su Zhuozhi, “Junior brother, that mountain you mentioned—where is it?”

Su Zhuozhi said casually, “Right near Shifang City. There’s a crescent-shaped spring on the mountain, green as jade.”

The young master always remembered things based on his preferences. He liked that beautiful clear spring more than the ores.

Qin Zhao and the two senior brothers all hissed in unison, so shocked they nearly bit their tongues.

The Beast Taming Sect was a small sect, but its sect leader was a Venerable at the Nascent Soul stage, powerful and formidable. In the cultivation world, while everyone was chasing the popular sword cultivation, fewer and fewer cultivators studied beast taming. Their sect had only two disciples, who were the sect leader’s children. They were so few that they couldn’t even gather enough people for sect competitions, making them especially impoverished.

Thus, a large sect had set its sights on the Beast Taming Sect, wanting to merge it into their own as a branch. When the Heavenly Evolution Sect proposed this to the Beast Taming Sect leader, they were directly beaten out. Everyone knew the Heavenly Evolution Sect had its eye on the feng shui treasure land where the Beast Taming Sect was located, with a small spirit vein underground rich in spiritual energy, ideal for cultivation.

The Beast Taming Sect leader was a stubborn old man with a temper. After being disturbed many times, he harshly declared that he would rather sell the sect to mortals than let the Heavenly Evolution Sect have it cheaply.

All the sects thought he was just talking, but unexpectedly, within two months, he really sold it. And no one knew how he negotiated with the buyer, but after selling, he still stayed on the mountain, taking care of the spirit beasts, as if he had become a mountain keeper.

The Heavenly Evolution Sect leader was almost choked with anger. Who would have thought the Beast Taming Sect would go this far? As cultivators, they valued karma the most; they couldn’t possibly do anything to mortals. If they did, it would harm their cultivation of the Dao heart. So they had no choice but to bitterly give up the fat that was almost in their mouths.

“So, the person who bought the Beast Taming Sect is… junior brother?”

Qin Zhao and the others gathered around Su Zhuozhi, their faces filled with disbelief, dazed as if in a dream.

Su Zhuozhi nodded simply. “My father bought it for me. You could say I bought it, too.”

“So, junior brother, at such a young age, you own a sect, with a rich spirit stone mine, and a small spirit vein with abundant spiritual energy for cultivation? Damn it, I wouldn’t even dare to dream of that!”

The senior brother was so excited he couldn’t help cursing.

His heart ached as if he had swallowed several large lemons, the sourness making tears and saliva flow.

Su Zhuozhi had no idea what a huge impact he had caused the senior brothers. He held a jade-dew pastry that his mother had packed into Qin Zhao’s storage pouch, worried he might get hungry on the road. He took a small bite. The pastry was rich with cheese flavor, sweet and crispy.

Even when eating, the young master was a pleasant sight—elegant and noble. No wonder others had mistaken him for the little prince of the fox clan.

Because he was eating happily, his fox ears twitched, shaking the loose hat off his head. It got caught on the back of his head, neither falling nor staying in place.

Seeing this, Qin Zhao reached out to help him pull the hat off.

But a sturdy arm abruptly blocked him, forcibly stopping his movement and creating distance between Qin Zhao and Su Zhuozhi.

Qin Zhao was slightly stunned as he watched Xie Jue meticulously adjust Su Zhuozhi’s hat, and then, after Su Zhuozhi had leisurely finished the pastry, hand him a handkerchief.

He was attended to with such care and thoughtfulness.

Clearly, Xie Jue was more than just a guard.

After Su Zhuozhi wiped his mouth, Xie Jue took back the handkerchief and carefully cleaned the pastry crumbs off his fingertips. Su Zhuozhi accepted this service naturally and said, “If there’s anything you want to buy later, tell me. I’ll buy it for you.”

He had the air of a young master declaring his protection.

Qin Zhao and the others watched with eager eyes, really wanting to ask:

Is it too late to apply for the position of the young master’s guard now?

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