Scripture Pavilion Treasure Hunt and the Art of "Getting Something for Nothing"

After wailing at the Chaos Bead for half a day and seeing no "newbie gift package" appear from Ancestor Yang Mei, Xuanwei could only resignedly accept reality.

"Forget it, forget it. It's better to rely on oneself than on others. I've been through enough workplace PUA in my previous life. Can I be stumped by this little difficulty?" He encouraged himself, turning his gaze in the direction Daoist Duobao had pointed—the Intercepting Sect's Scripture Pavilion.

The urgent priority was to find a way to quickly restore his origin and solve the "Void Spirit Drawing Array's" core.

The Intercepting Sect's Scripture Pavilion was located on a floating immortal mountain to the east of Biyou Palace. Unlike the solemn and strictly regulated style of Yuxu Palace, the Intercepting Sect's Scripture Pavilion was more... casual? Or rather, messy.

The pavilion itself was ancient and grand, but the disciples entering and exiting were a motley crew. Some were engrossed in reading jade slips as they walked, while others gathered in small groups to debate Daoist principles. There were even a few Demon Race disciples whose original forms hadn't completely transformed, their furry tails or wings sticking out as they animatedly exchanged cultivation insights. The entire atmosphere was as lively as a... cultivation-themed university study hall?

"Now this is what 'teaching without discrimination' looks like," Xuanwei muttered to himself, feeling a sense of familiarity with the place.

His own noticeably weak and dim strand of Immortal Qi drifted in without attracting much attention. After all, the Intercepting Sect had all sorts of disciples, and a weakened strand of Immortal Qi wasn't exactly a rare sight.

The interior space of the Scripture Pavilion was immense, utilizing spatial expansion spells. Rows of tall jade slip bookshelves stretched endlessly like a forest. The texts were categorized and comprehensive, covering everything from orthodox cultivation techniques and divine abilities to alchemy, artifact refining, array formations, talismans, spiritual plants, beast taming... and even miscellaneous books recording strange tales and geographical features of the Primordial World.

Xuanwei's eyes darted around, his (mental) saliva nearly flowing. This was practically a treasure trove of knowledge!

He headed straight for the array formation section. Ancestor Yang Mei had only provided the basics and core principles of the "Void Spirit Drawing Array"; he still needed to find specific deployment methods and material substitution options himself.

After searching through the vast sea of array formation jade slips for a long time, he finally found a few records mentioning array formations similar to spatial spirit gathering arrays. However, these arrays either had extremely high requirements, impossible to set up for anyone below the Golden Immortal realm, or they required specific core materials like Void Stones, which had long since gone extinct.

"Void Stones... that sounds expensive and rare just by the name!" Xuanwei frowned, looking dejected. He was penniless right now, without even a single Contribution Point (the internal currency of the Intercepting Sect, exchangeable for resources). How could he afford it?

He then moved to the spiritual plant and healing technique sections, searching for ways to quickly restore his origin. He did find several pill recipes and secret arts for nourishing the origin, but they either required rare spiritual herbs or took a long time to cultivate, offering no immediate solution.

"Do I really have to go work for Senior Brother Duobao to pay off my debt, or go trick and beg... ah, no, 'solicit alms'?" Xuanwei squatted (mentally squatted) in a corner by a bookshelf, feeling the hardship of his immortal life.

Just as he was at a loss, his gaze inadvertently swept over an ancient jade slip in the miscellaneous books section, labeled "Record of Strange Items from Overseas Immortal Islands."

"Since I'm idle anyway, let's see if there's any chance of a lucky find," he thought, adopting a 'desperate times call for desperate measures' attitude, and probed it with his divine sense.

This jade slip was written by an Intercepting Sect senior who enjoyed traveling, recording strange tales and precious treasures from various immortal islands and secret realms beyond the four seas of the Primordial World. Most of the content was hearsay, difficult to verify, but it did mention some peculiar items.

Suddenly, a passage about "Liubo Immortal Island" caught his attention:

"...Liubo Mountain, seven thousand li into the sea. Upon it, there is a beast, shaped like a bull, with a dark body and no horns, possessing a single leg. When it enters or leaves the water, there will surely be wind and rain. Its light is like the sun and moon, its sound like thunder. Its name is Kui (kuí). The hide of the Kui Niu is exceptionally tough, capable of being made into drums whose sound can shake five hundred li. However, at the place where a Kui Niu perishes, there is a very small chance of a peculiar crystal forming, named 'Kui Niu Tear Crystal.' It contains a faint spatial fluctuation, but its energy is mixed and violent, making it extremely difficult to refine. It is mostly considered a useless item..."

Kui Niu Tear Crystal! Contains spatial fluctuations!

Xuanwei's eyes lit up instantly! Although the description said its energy was mixed and violent, making it difficult to refine and considered useless... that was for others! He had the Chaos Bead! It could even transform chaotic energy, so why fear a little mixed energy?

The key point was, this item was considered "useless," so it definitely wouldn't be expensive! Perhaps he could obtain it at a very low cost!

"This is it!" Xuanwei was so excited that his immortal Qi body rippled. Truly, when one path closes, another opens!

He quickly jotted down the approximate location of Liubo Immortal Island and the detailed information about the Kui Niu Tear Crystal.

With his target locked, the next issue was how to obtain it.

Go to the overseas to search directly? Too dangerous. With his frail body, he'd probably be snacked on by sea Yao Beasts before he even reached Liubo Mountain.

Therefore, he had to find a way within the Intercepting Sect. Such a "useless" material might be in the possession of a fellow disciple, or obtainable through trading channels.

His first thought went to his kindhearted Senior Brother Ma Sui.

Finding Ma Sui, who was tinkering with a pile of artifact refining materials in front of his cave dwelling, Xuanwei put on a humble expression and asked, "Senior Brother Ma Sui, this junior wants to refine a small item and needs a material containing faint spatial fluctuations. I heard there's something called 'Kui Niu Tear Crystal' that fits the requirement. Do you know of this item? Does anyone in the sect have it, or where can it be exchanged?"

"Kui Niu Tear Crystal?" Ma Sui scratched his head, a thoughtful expression on his plump face. "I seem to have some impression... Right! A few years ago, a junior disciple who returned from the East Sea seemed to bring back a few pieces. He said they looked nice but were useless and took up space. Later, he seemed to have thrown them to the 'Hundred Treasures Pavilion' in exchange for Contribution Points?"

Hundred Treasures Pavilion? That was the place for trading and exchanging items among disciples within the Intercepting Sect!

Xuanwei's heart leaped with joy, and he quickly thanked Ma Sui before rushing to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

The Hundred Treasures Pavilion was also bustling, like a large cultivation flea market. There were stalls, postings for buy/sell requests, and official counters for Contribution Point exchanges.

Xuanwei went directly to the official counter and inquired about the Kui Niu Tear Crystal.

The female immortal guarding the counter had rabbit ears. She checked the records and nodded, "We did record three Kui Niu Tear Crystals. Due to their unclear efficacy and mixed energy, they are priced at 10 Contribution Points each."

10 Contribution Points! Xuanwei's heart bloomed with joy. It was indeed cheap!

But the next second, his smile vanished—because he had zero Contribution Points!

"Um... Senior Sister, is it possible to exchange with other methods? For example... with spiritual herbs?" Xuanwei asked tentatively.

The rabbit-eared female immortal glanced at him and shook her head, "This pavilion only accepts Contribution Points or standard spiritual materials, elixirs, or magic treasures of equivalent value. Immature spiritual herbs are not directly accepted for exchange."

Xuanwei was dumbfounded. His spirit herb garden's Spirit-Nourishing Grass and Qi Gathering Flowers were still far from maturity! They couldn't solve his immediate problem!

Did he have to go find Senior Brother Duobao for an advance on his salary? Or borrow from Senior Brother Ma Sui? It wouldn't be good to ask for money so soon after meeting them, would it?

Just as he was frantically pacing, considering whether to risk going back to the Chaos Bead to "cry poor" to Ancestor Yang Mei, his peripheral vision caught sight of a notice board in a corner of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

Besides various buy/sell information, there was also a "Sect Mission Board."

Xuanwei leaned closer, and his eyes lit up again!

The board listed various missions posted by Intercepting Sect disciples or stewards, with Contribution Points as rewards upon completion. The missions were diverse, ranging from requests for specific materials, invitations to team up for exploring secret realms, help with looking after cave dwellings and herb gardens, to even helping refine specific elixirs or artifacts...

"That's right! I can take missions to earn Contribution Points!" Xuanwei slapped his thigh (a mental action). "With my skill in accelerating spiritual plant growth, why would I worry about not making money?"

He immediately began browsing missions related to spiritual plants.

Soon, a mission caught his attention:

[Mission Post: Urgently need ten three-hundred-year-old "Clear Heart Bamboo" for refining calming elixirs. Deadline: Five days. Reward: 50 Contribution Points. Poster: Fire Spirit Mother.]

Fire Spirit Mother! She was one of the famous core disciples of the Intercepting Sect, a disciple of Daoist Duobao, and held a high position! Moreover, the reward was generous—50 Contribution Points, enough to buy five Kui Niu Tear Crystals!

Clear Heart Bamboo is a type of spiritual bamboo that can calm the mind and aid cultivation. It has a long growth cycle, and even three-hundred-year-old specimens are not commonly found. However, for Xuanwei, this was not a problem at all! He happened to have a few Clear Heart Bamboo seedlings planted in his medicinal garden. Although they were still young, with the nourishment of the Wutu Source and Wood Element Spiritual Qi, plus a little stimulation from the Chaos Heaven-Opening Art (if controlled carefully), growing them to three hundred years old within five days was not impossible!

"This is the one!" Xuanwei accepted the task without hesitation.

After registering with the Hundred Treasures Pavilion attendant, he excitedly returned to his medicinal garden with the mission voucher.

Looking at the seedlings of Clear Heart Bamboo, which were only a few decades old, Xuanwei rubbed his hands together (mentally rubbing his hands together).

"Come on, my darlings! Grow faster, faster! Our 'seed capital' depends on you!"

He carefully mobilized the power of the Wutu Source Core, drawing upon the Wood Element Spiritual Qi from the earth veins. Like the most meticulous gardener, he began to "pull the seedlings to encourage growth" for these Clear Heart Bamboo.

The emerald green bamboo stalks grew at a visible speed, the leaves became even more verdant and lustrous, emitting a faint, calming fragrance. At the same time, Xuanwei could feel that this unnatural acceleration of growth was taxing the soil and himself significantly.

"For the Kui Niu Tear Crystal, for the Void Spirit Drawing Array, for the Chaos Qi, for Grandmaster Yang Mei's retirement fund... I'll give it my all!"

As he was fully engrossed in this "short-term high-return" growth project, he failed to notice a figure in the distant clouds quietly observing the unusual spiritual energy fluctuations and growth rate in his medicinal garden.

It was Daoist Duobao.

He watched Xuanwei's focused expression and the abnormal growth of the Clear Heart Bamboo. His ancient face showed no discernible emotion, but a deep glint flashed in his eyes.

"Such a method of accelerating growth... I've never heard of it. This junior disciple has more secrets than I imagined..."

He muttered to himself, his figure slowly melting into the clouds and disappearing.

Meanwhile, Xuanwei, completely unaware, was happily calculating whether, after receiving the 50 Contribution Points, he should buy one Kui Niu Tear Crystal to test the waters, or go all-in and buy all three.