Preparing to Depart

Guan Yan's words left Ning Ri with no way to respond. He could only stiffly change the subject. "Haha... By the way, Elder Guan, why do you have time to come here today?"

"Oh..." Guan Yan laughed. "Actually, you may not know this, but I'm here every day."

Ning Ri: "."

"So that should be my question." Guan Yan said, "Grandmaster Ning, what brings you to the Heavenly Heart Pavilion today?"

Ning Ri said, "This disciple wants to exchange for some heavenly treasures and earthly materials. Um... preferably ones worth about as much as I am."

The moment he said that, Guan Yan immediately understood, a look of realization appearing on his face. "You... are going there, aren't you?"

Ning Ri froze, then nodded with an unfathomable air. "Yes, there."

"I understand."

Guan Yan nodded, then lightly flicked a finger. A layer of soft light flashed out—this was a Soundproofing Spell, capable of blocking sounds from both inside and outside. At the same time, he explained, "It would be best if the other disciples did not learn that Grandmaster Ning is going to the Yin De Sect."

Ning Ri was startled. "Why is that?"

Could it be that he was worried some Heaven Defying Sect disciples would trail him and murder him?

He had thought the Heaven Defying Sect did not have that sort of traditional cultivation-world practice of fellow disciples slaughtering one another...

Guan Yan said, "You are now the youngest Grandmaster in the Heaven Defying Sect, as well as the most powerful existence in history to become a Grandmaster the fastest."

"The Outer Sect disciples have not yet seen much of the world. They may worship you fanatically because of this. If they admire you and wish to imitate you, that would be troublesome."

Guan Yan's flattery left even the mighty Grandmaster Ning speechless. "Uh..."

Then Guan Yan continued, "To this day, we have no way of knowing how the Yin De Sect measures Life Price. However, judging by the circumstances of others, the Yin De Sect should price your life according to the value of an ordinary ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivator."

"However, the fact that your unusual physique allowed you to cultivate to the peak of Qi Refinement should greatly raise the price of your life."

Ning Ri said, "Huh? My aptitude is that poor, and my price still goes up?"

Guan Yan said solemnly, "It is precisely because you reached the peak of Qi Refinement despite your poor aptitude that it proves you yourself are extraordinary. You possess an unyielding will, exceptional wisdom, surpassing perseverance, and formidable persistence. That is what allowed you to reach where you are today."

"These positive virtues, impossible to overlook at the roots of human nature, have shone with a light worthy of reverence throughout all ages, regardless of time or place. They should also form part of Life Price."

As he said these words, Guan Yan's expression was open and forthright, without the slightest trace of pretense. They came entirely from the bottom of his heart.

Ning Ri was nearly dazed by that barrage of flattery, but he still did not forget to cry injustice. "Huh?"

"Then by that logic, good people who enter the Yin De Sect would have their prices raised?"

As he spoke, he did not forget to add another layer of armor. "I'm not saying that I'm a good person. I'm just an ordinary person."

Guan Yan ignored his extra layer of armor and said, "That should be the case. After all, it is the Yin De Sect. Targeting good people is perfectly normal."

Ning Ri sighed. "All right..."

Maybe washing away his points before entering the Yin De Sect would be better...

Then, under Guan Yan's guidance, Ning Ri entered and headed toward the mining area.

Since Guan Yan also knew that Ning Ri had inscribed a Brain Storage onto a Qi Refinement artifact, allowing artifact spirits to grow brains, Guan Yan told Ning Ri to refine an artifact himself and hand it over to the Yin De Sect.

That way, even if it did not offset his Life Price, the Yin De Sect would not kill him. At worst, they would release some strange entity to invade Ning Ri.

But Guan Yan again emphasized that Grandmaster Ning possessed exceptional wisdom and keen insight. Mere strange entities could do nothing to Grandmaster Ning...

Ning Ri fled in fear. He felt that Guan Yan cultivated some Heaven-Defying Method of flattering the Heavenly Dao to death—constantly praising the Heavenly Dao until it swelled up and exploded.

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you do not lose it next time.

After Ning Ri finished selecting ores and prepared to pay, he discovered that he had only done the Outer Sect disciple missions at Lotus Pavilion, leaving him with rather few Contribution Points. Helplessly, he could only open his Disciple Token and accept two Outer Sect disciple missions from the Heavenly Heart Pavilion to grind some Contribution Points.

The missions were sorting ores for shelving and sorting medicinal herbs for shelving.

These missions were troublesome for other Outer Sect disciples because they did not possess Ning Ri's store of knowledge. But for Ning Ri, they were not difficult. After bustling about for two hours, he earned enough Contribution Points and left the Heavenly Heart Pavilion with the ores.

In the Heaven Defying Sect, renting a Refining Furnace required Contribution Points. The price was far cheaper than artifact-refining places outside the sect, such as Craftsmanship Tower. Yet when Ning Ri asked the Disciple Token for the price, he discovered that it told him Mo Cuidao had long since arranged permission for him.

As long as he presented his Disciple Token, he could use a Refining Furnace for free!

Ning Ri was deeply moved. That bandit elder truly was a good person.

After several hours of fussing about, Ning Ri finished refining his artifact and happily admired his new treasure.

A long saber with a jet-black hilt and a snow-bright blade.

A peak Qi Refinement artifact!

The blade of this saber was an ordinary blade coated in spiritual energy. From its appearance, it seemed as though the blade's might had reached peak Qi Refinement, but if it truly struck something, it possessed only the power of an ordinary blade.

The essence of the entire saber lay in its hilt. Several tiny holes were set into it, able to silently spray pre-charged earthfire attacks when people were unaware. That was this saber's strongest attack, and Ning Ri named it Extreme Thought Holes.

As for the ordinary blade portion, it was meant for Ning Ri to practice saber techniques in his daily life.

Ning Ri had tried practicing the Mortal Blade Technique with artifact blades, but the Mortal Blade Technique on his panel had not gained a single skill point.

That was why he had deliberately refined his saber like this!

For the time being, Ning Ri named this saber Morning Light.

First, morning light meant sunrise, the rising sun, brimming with vigor, symbolizing that the "Ri" in Ning Ri's name was also rising step by step. Second, when he had battled through endless seas of problems in his previous life, he had often used Morning Light stationery as well. Now that he needed to practice the saber frequently, he could use Morning Light too.

If he did not use Morning Light to buy his life, he would keep it for himself.

Pillars of Cultivation Pavilion.

At last, Ning Ri found Zhou Hai, intending to ask for Zhou Hai's advice before setting out for the Yin De Sect.

When Zhou Hai saw Ning Ri, he began speaking while a line of subtitles appeared across his face: "Looks like you no longer need to worry about your Golden Core. Will there be twenty-three Golden Cores in your dantian by then?"

He was clearly talking about the Wonderful Pill Workshop.

Ning Ri gave an awkward laugh. "Elder Zhou, please do not tease this disciple. This disciple plans to explore the Yin De Sect. Do you have any advice?"

Seeing that Ning Ri had come here on serious business, Zhou Hai gave a dry cough and turned off the subtitles. "Sorry."

"Do you plan to go to the Yin De Sect after Foundation Establishment, or before Foundation Establishment?"

Clearly, Zhou Hai was about to offer Ning Ri some advice.

Ning Ri could not help pondering for a moment before saying, "If I wanted to become a mortal before going, what do you think I would roughly need to use as payment to buy my life?"

Zhou Hai: "?"

Seeing his silence, Ning Ri promptly added a joking laugh. "Haha, Elder Zhou, I'm joking. Actually, I was thinking of going in my current state."

Ning Ri felt that it did not matter if he spouted nonsense in the Heaven Defying Sect, which was why he first said he wanted to enter as a mortal.

But then Zhou Hai suddenly smiled in understanding. "Hahaha, Grandmaster Ning..."

"I don't think you're joking."