Chapter 86

With his current late-stage Spirit Disciple cultivation, plus the assistance of a spirit artifact and a bone scorpion, Liu Ming was not particularly afraid of any trouble unless it was a Spirit Master personally coming to cause it.

As for his marriage to Mu Mingzhu, he had a step-by-step plan and a rather laissez-faire attitude towards whether he would really marry her.

Moreover, three years might seem very short to others, but to him, it could change many things.

When he heard Mu Mingzhu describe the immense benefits core disciples received from resource rewards and the life-and-death trials, he couldn't help but be truly moved.

Without mentioning other things, just being among the top ten core disciples meant receiving a significant reward of one to two thousand spirit stones per year, or even four to five thousand, depending on the ranking, which was enough to make anyone's heart race.

Not to mention, if one could survive the life-and-death trials, the Savage Ghost Sect would provide each disciple with the true malevolent aura necessary for advancing to a Spirit Master. Additionally, based on the merits earned during the trials, the sect would open its forbidden areas, allowing them to cultivate in spirit pools with several times, or even ten times, the spirit energy density of the outside world for a certain number of days.

These were just the rewards from the Savage Ghost Sect. If one could also achieve a high ranking in the life-and-death trials, the combined rewards from all the sects would be several times more valuable.

Such astonishing rewards were absolutely impossible for Liu Ming, who desperately needed resources, to let go of.

Calculating the time, there was only half a year left until the major competition, and the life-and-death trials would begin a year after that.

Although he was confident in his strength, he was not entirely sure he could enter the top ten core disciples.

After all, the sect's major competition was open to all Spirit Disciples under thirty years old. Among them were not only young disciples with outstanding talent and astonishing strength, but also older disciples who had been stuck at the Spirit Disciple stage for many years, with formidable cultivation.

Given his current situation, his cultivation was unlikely to improve significantly in the short term. What he lacked more was practical combat experience. Although he had fought countless times on the island of savages, those were battles among mortals, and there was little to learn from them. He had not had many opportunities to fight true Spirit Disciples.

Although the sect had a dedicated arena for disciples to practice, no ordinary disciple would reveal their true abilities there. Moreover, if one seriously injured a fellow disciple in the arena, they would face severe punishment from the sect, making it ineffective for practicing against strong Spirit Disciples.

After a brief consideration, Liu Ming decided to abandon the idea of practicing in the arena.

After thinking quickly, he suddenly remembered something and smiled to himself, muttering:

"Right, that place, though dangerous, is a good place to practice combat. And if I go there, even if someone wants to cause trouble, it won't be easy. But before that, I need to visit the scripture hall and find a suitable defensive secret technique."

Although the Nine-Infant Mountain Secret Technique Hall had a few defensive techniques open to all disciples, they either had certain cultivation conditions or were not very effective, and he didn't find them satisfactory.

As for the contribution points Liu Ming had, although he had used most of them to exchange for some spirit stones to increase his cultivation, the remaining hundreds should be enough to exchange for a defensive technique.

However, the thought of seeing the "Uncle Ruan" who had forced the Bone Spirit Technique on him made him feel uneasy. This was why he had never returned to the scripture hall a second time, partly to avoid him.

But since it involved the major competition and the life-and-death trials, he had no choice but to go again, and if he could also clarify some of the unclear points in the Bone Spirit Technique, it would be even better.

After carefully considering everything and finding no issues, Liu Ming immediately left his residence and flew off Nine-Infant Mountain, heading straight for the main peak.

However, not long after he left Nine-Infant Mountain, two gray clouds rose from the foot of the mountain and quickly caught up to him.

"Is that Junior Brother Bai? Could you slow down a bit and chat with us for a moment?"

Liu Ming had already noticed someone following him and originally didn't want to pay attention, but when he heard the two speak, he hesitated for a moment and then stopped the gray cloud, turning to look back.

He saw a man and a woman in their thirties standing on the two gray clouds that had caught up.

The man had a dark face, thick arms, and wore a tight-fitting outfit, carrying a purple long spear on his back. The woman had slightly high cheekbones, ordinary features, and a white leather whip wrapped around her waist.

"Who are you two?"

Liu Ming immediately recognized that they were not disciples of Nine-Infant Mountain and narrowed his eyes, asking.

"Indeed, it is Junior Brother Bai! That's great. I am Shi Jian, and this is my partner, Lü Yun. We are both disciples of the Blood Transformation lineage." The dark-faced man looked Liu Ming up and down and smiled.

"Ah, Senior Brother Shi and Senior Sister Lü. What brings you to find me, Junior Bai?" Liu Ming asked, his face showing no surprise upon learning they were from the Blood Transformation lineage.

"Junior Brother, this is not the place to talk. Could we go down and discuss in more detail?" The dark-faced man and the woman exchanged glances and said.

"Sure."

Liu Ming immediately agreed without hesitation and descended, causing the two to be slightly taken aback before quickly following him down.

A moment later, the three landed in a small forest below.

"Senior Brother and Senior Sister, what is it you want to say?" Liu Ming asked calmly.

"Junior Brother Bai, we have heard of your reputation as a task enthusiast. If it weren't necessary, we wouldn't have come here." The dark-faced man said slowly, his smile gone.

"Oh, from the tone of Senior Brother, it seems you come with ill intentions. Are you sent by Gao Chong, or is it Mu Mingzhu who instigated you?" Liu Ming's eyebrows twitched, and he asked without showing any surprise.

"Junior Brother is indeed a smart person. It seems we don't need to say much. This matter certainly wouldn't involve Junior Brother Gao. We just want to ask if you are willing to break off the engagement with Mu Mingzhu. If you agree, we will leave immediately." The woman spoke, her face expressionless, her voice slightly hoarse.

"If I don't agree, do you plan to fight me here? Any slight fluctuation in spirit power will bring the disciplinary hall enforcers here in no time." Liu Ming laughed lightly.

"The sect strictly prohibits disciples from fighting. We wouldn't do such a foolish thing. However, if Junior Brother Liu goes on sect missions or leaves the sect, there might be some trouble." Shi Jian grinned, revealing white teeth, but the threat in his words was clear.

"Trouble? I don't plan to leave the sect for a while. If you have the patience, you can wait around the sect." Liu Ming yawned.

This made the man and woman's faces change slightly.

"Junior Brother Bai, even if Mu Mingzhu is beautiful, are you willing to offend Junior Brother Gao for an outer sect woman who isn't even a Spirit Disciple? Don't forget, with Junior Brother Gao's talent, advancing to a Spirit Master is almost certain." The woman said with a dark face.

"Then wait until Gao Chong becomes a Spirit Master before you come to me. Now, since we don't see eye to eye, I'm busy, so I won't chat with you two any longer." Liu Ming replied with a chuckle.

Then he ignored them, made a hand seal, and flew off towards the main peak of the Savage Ghost Sect.

"What should we do? I didn't expect this kid to be so difficult to deal with despite his young age." The woman turned to the dark-faced man, her brows furrowed in anger.

"Junior Brother Bai is young, but he has made a name for himself in a short time, so he must have his strengths. It's not surprising that a few threats wouldn't scare him. But it's not a problem. I've heard he hasn't taken any contribution point tasks for a long time. I don't believe he can stay in the sect forever. We can discuss with Brother Wu and others to divide the people into groups to take turns guarding outside the sect. I'm sure we'll find a chance to teach him a lesson. Such a young disciple, though he talks tough now, will understand the reality of the weak being preyed upon and who he can't offend once he faces real trouble." The dark-faced man replied with a cold laugh.

"Good, let's do that. By the way, I heard Mu Xianyun is also involved in this. Should we give her a taste of it too?" Lü Yun nodded in satisfaction and then asked.

"Mu Xianyun is Mu Mingzhu's aunt. It's not a good time to move against her. Haven't you noticed that those who used to target her, like Ouyang Xin, haven't caused her any trouble in the past year? It's probably because of Junior Brother Gao, who is cautious about the matter." Shi Jian shook his head.

"That's true! But Mu Mingzhu is a pitiful girl. Even we can see the sect leader's intention in having her interact with Junior Brother Gao, but she is still in the dark, thinking she can be with him in the future. When Junior Brother Gao becomes a Spirit Master, she will likely be used as a furnace." Lü Yun sighed.

"Don't talk nonsense. If such words reach the sect leader's ears, we will be in grave danger!" The dark-faced man's face changed drastically, scolding her and looking around nervously.

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