Chapter 31

"Attendant Wu, I have come to hand over the mission. Here is the receipt," Ye Zhen walked up to the old attendant Wu, who was in charge of the sect's missions, and handed over the receipt from Fairy Caiyi.

"Alright, let me see..." Just as Old Attendant Wu raised his head to look at Ye Zhen, his voice suddenly paused, "I remember you only took one mission from Fairy Caiyi. Did you complete it so quickly? Don't tell me you're just teasing me?" Old Attendant Wu looked surprised.

"Here is the receipt, take a look!"

Old Attendant Wu snatched the receipt from Ye Zhen, glanced at it, and was stunned again, "It's true, you really completed it? Hey, young man, tell me, what was wrong with Fairy Caiyi's flower cat? Even the elders and both inner and outer disciples couldn't cure it for over a month. How did you manage to cure it?"

"Attendant Wu, please give me the reward points first," Ye Zhen said with a smile.

"Show me your identity token."

Ye Zhen handed over his identity token, and a flicker of light from Attendant Wu's hand completed the transaction, "Alright, five hundred sect contribution points have been credited to you. Now, tell me what was wrong with the flower cat?"

"This, is a secret."

With a slight smile, Ye Zhen took back his identity token and turned to leave, leaving Old Attendant Wu fuming, "This brat, playing mysterious, not even telling me. I'm really angry..."

Just as Ye Zhen walked out of the sect hall, a figure suddenly descended from the sky, blocking his path.

"Ye Zhen, what was wrong with Caiyi's flower cat, and how did you cure it?" Fan Chuyu, a young man in white, stood in front of Ye Zhen.

Ye Zhen showed a troubled expression, "Senior Brother Fan, I really can't say."

"Can't say?" Fan Chuyu's eyebrows shot up, and he suddenly produced a medicine bottle, "Ten Blood Essence Pills. Just answer my question, and they are yours."

Ye Zhen shook his head with a bitter smile, "Senior Brother Fan, please understand, I really have a reason not to say."

"Twenty Blood Essence Pills!" Fan Chuyu's expression was cold, his head held high, looking down at Ye Zhen with disdain.

In his view, Ye Zhen was just trying to drive up the price. He had seen too many people like this.

"Thirty!"

"Forty!"

"Fifty!"

"Sorry, Senior Brother Fan, I really can't say. If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way." Even with the offer of fifty Blood Essence Pills, Ye Zhen remained unmoved, which greatly angered Fan Chuyu.

In his eyes, Ye Zhen was being too greedy. Fifty Blood Essence Pills were a year's worth of medicine for an ordinary outer disciple, and outside the Qi Yun Sect, they could buy several lives.

Seeing Ye Zhen about to leave, Fan Chuyu's voice turned cold, "A bottle of Essence Condensing Pills! Ye Zhen, one must know when to be content!"

The surrounding inner and outer disciples gasped when they heard Fan Chuyu's offer. Essence Condensing Pills were several times more valuable than Blood Essence Pills and even more precious. A bottle of Essence Condensing Pills would make even inner disciples envious.

In the inner disciples' circles, one Essence Condensing Pill could be exchanged for seven or eight Blood Essence Pills, and people would fight to make the trade.

Ye Zhen's face twisted into a painful smile, "Sorry, Senior Brother Fan, I really can't say..."

"Ye Zhen, I advise you to tell me. Otherwise, you'll regret it!" Before Ye Zhen could finish speaking, Fan Chuyu's face turned cold, and he flashed in front of Ye Zhen, his overwhelming aura enveloping him, trying to embarrass him on the spot.

The gap was too great. If Fan Chuyu fully unleashed his aura, even inner disciples would be embarrassed, let alone an outer disciple like Ye Zhen.

The moment the mountain-like aura pressed down, Ye Zhen's face turned angry. He crouched and sprang, using the Snake Spring Grass technique. In an instant, everyone saw Ye Zhen appear fifteen meters away, just outside the range of Fan Chuyu's aura.

Fan Chuyu's expression turned fierce, and just as he was about to act, Ye Zhen's voice rang out, "Senior Brother Fan, if you really want to know, go ask Fairy Caiyi. Why make things difficult for me?"

One sentence left Fan Chuyu extremely embarrassed, standing there awkwardly.

Leaving quickly, Ye Zhen had a troubled look on his face.

To be honest, Fan Chuyu's offer was really high, so high that Ye Zhen was tempted. Moreover, without the promise, even if Fan Chuyu didn't offer anything, Ye Zhen would have answered his question.

But, a man's word is worth a thousand pieces of gold!

When parting with Fairy Caiyi, she had asked Ye Zhen not to reveal the true condition of the flower cat.

Fairy Caiyi had caused a big stir in the sect for her pet, and almost everyone knew about it. If it were revealed that the flower cat's real problem was that it was in heat and needed to mate with another cat, it would be embarrassing for her.

Ye Zhen had readily agreed at the time, so now he was firmly refusing.

Ye Zhen estimated that a bottle of Essence Condensing Pills was worth more than a thousand pieces of gold. His promise was truly worth a thousand pieces of gold!

After leaving the sect hall, Ye Zhen appeared at the entrance of the Qi Yun Sect's scripture hall. He came to the scripture hall to verify a bold idea.

Today, in the dense forest on the back mountain, the Mirage Dragon Pearl absorbed the essence, energy, and spirit of the Phantom Snake King into its first layer. Suddenly, Ye Zhen's Snake Sliding Step, which he had been unable to master for a long time, reached its peak.

Ye Zhen was considering whether, because of the Phantom Snake King in the first layer of the Mirage Dragon Pearl, he could achieve similar results with other snake-related martial arts and techniques.

This time, his goal was clear. Ye Zhen quickly selected four snake-related techniques from the first floor of the scripture hall.

They were Snake Palm, Boneless Snake Fist, Spirit Snake Pulse Sealing Hand, and Turtle Snake Technique.

After some consideration, Ye Zhen chose the Spirit Snake Pulse Sealing Hand, which was also a high-grade ordinary technique. The Spirit Snake Pulse Sealing Hand was a flexible close-combat technique. If practiced to a small success, it could cut off meridians, dislocate joints, and render opponents unable to move, making it extremely useful in battle.

"Spirit Snake Pulse Sealing Hand? High-grade ordinary technique, one hundred and fifty sect contribution points," the old attendant in charge of the first floor of the scripture hall said after glancing at Ye Zhen's choice.

Ye Zhen handed over his identity token with some reluctance. After the first free selection of techniques, both inner and outer disciples had to pay a certain number of sect contribution points for each selection.

This one technique consumed one-third of the contribution points he had just received.

"Hmm? Ye Zhen, you only chose the Five Mountains Divine Fist and Snake Sliding Step half a month ago. You haven't even mastered them, and you're already choosing new techniques. This is a big no-no in cultivation," the old attendant said.

"I won't hide it from you, Senior Attendant. I have already mastered both the Five Mountains Divine Fist and the Snake Sliding Step," Ye Zhen said.

"Mastered?"

The old attendant's lips curled into a sneer, "I believe you mastered the Five Mountains Divine Fist, but the essence of the Snake Sliding Step can't be achieved in less than half a year of hard practice. Young man, greed is a vice. I advise you to focus on one technique. Besides, the difficulty of the Spirit Snake Pulse Sealing Hand is no less than the Snake Sliding Step."

Ye Zhen smiled bitterly. Why was the truth so hard to believe these days?

"Thank you for your advice, Senior Attendant. I really have mastered them." Ye Zhen respected the old attendant for his patient guidance.

"Stubborn." The old attendant, seeing Ye Zhen's persistence, was somewhat annoyed and unwilling to persuade him further. He quickly processed the paperwork and threw the manual for the Spirit Snake Pulse Sealing Hand to Ye Zhen.

"Hmph, young people these days are becoming less humble. Mastering the Snake Sliding Step in half a month, do you really think my eyes are..."

Pfft!

In the next moment, Ye Zhen crouched and sprang, his figure shooting out fifteen meters away, demonstrating his skill to the old attendant.

Of course, Ye Zhen held back. If he used his full strength, the Snake Spring Grass technique could propel him at least thirty meters.

But even with his restraint, the old attendant was stunned, his mouth opening wide enough to fit a fist.

"The most difficult part of the Snake Sliding Step, the Snake Spring Grass? He really mastered it..." After a few breaths, the old attendant was still dazed.

Ye Zhen, who had just demonstrated his skill, was walking and flipping through the manual for the Spirit Snake Pulse Sealing Hand. As he read, his body twisted in strange ways, occasionally performing extremely sharp and bizarre movements, his smile growing wider.

His hypothesis was correct!

The Spirit Snake Pulse Sealing Hand, which the old attendant said was even more difficult, now seemed very simple to Ye Zhen. Some of the more challenging moves, Ye Zhen could perform effortlessly.

Ye Zhen estimated that he could master the Spirit Snake Pulse Sealing Hand in less than half a day. With a bit more time, he could bring it to its peak.

With the peak Snake Sliding Step, the Spirit Snake Pulse Sealing Hand, the Five Mountains Divine Fist, and those few drops of true essence, Ye Zhen would have a solid foundation among the outer disciples.

Thinking of this, Ye Zhen quickened his pace, eager to return and practice the Spirit Snake Pulse Sealing Hand.

Soon, Ye Zhen returned to his room on Donglai Peak. The moment he pushed the door open, he was stunned. There were two more people in his room.

Two black-clothed outer disciples, beaten up and bruised.

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PS: I got stuck, and I revised this chapter three times, from 7 PM to 12:40 AM, until I was satisfied.

Considering how hard I worked, brothers, please give me a recommendation!

I need recommendations, clicks, and collections!