A Promise Worth a Thousand Gold

"Elder Steward Wu, I've come to submit my mission report. Here is the receipt." Inside the Sect Hall, Ye Zhen walked up to Elder Steward Wu, who was in charge of sect missions, and handed over the receipt from Fairy Caiyi.

"Alright, let me see..." Elder Steward Wu, who had just looked up, caught sight of Ye Zhen and his voice trailed off instantly. "I recall you only took one mission posted by Fairy Caiyi. You finished it this quickly? Are you trying to pull my leg?" Elder Steward Wu looked astonished.

"Here is the receipt, take a look for yourself!"

Elder Steward Wu snatched the receipt from Ye Zhen, glanced at it, and froze again. "It's real. You actually finished it? Hey kid, tell me, what exactly was wrong with that Flower Civet of Fairy Caiyi's? For over a month, everyone from elders down to inner and outer disciples couldn't cure it, so how did you manage to do it?"

"Elder Steward Wu, please give me the reward of Sect Contribution Points first." Ye Zhen said with a smile.

"Hand over your Identity Jade Token."

Ye Zhen handed over his Identity Jade Token, and after a flicker of spiritual light from the Elder Steward's hand, it was done. "Alright, five hundred Sect Contribution Points have been transferred to you. Now, what was the deal with that Flower Civet? Tell me."

"That, is a secret."

With a faint smile, Ye Zhen took back his Identity Jade Token and turned to leave, leaving Elder Steward Wu there huffing and puffing. "This brat, acting all mysterious and refusing to tell me. It's enough to make me die of anger..."

Just as Ye Zhen stepped out of the Sect Hall, a figure descended from the sky, blocking his path.

"Ye Zhen, what illness did Caiyi's Flower Civet have, and how did you cure it?" The young man in white, Fan Chuyu, stood in Ye Zhen's way.

Ye Zhen put on a troubled expression. "Senior Brother Fan, I really cannot say."

"Cannot say?" Fan Chuyu's eyebrows shot up, and a medicine bottle suddenly appeared in his hand. "Ten Blood Origin Pills. As long as you answer my question, they are yours."

Ye Zhen shook his head with a bitter smile again. "Please understand, Senior Brother Fan, I truly have reasons why I cannot speak of it."

"Twenty Blood Origin Pills!" Fan Chuyu's expression was cold; he held his head high, looking down at Ye Zhen with disdain written all over his eyes.

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

"Thirty pills!"

"Forty pills!"

"Fifty pills!"

"I apologize, Senior Brother Fan, I really cannot say. If there is nothing else, I will be taking my leave." Even with Fan Chuyu offering fifty Blood Origin Pills, Ye Zhen remained unmoved, which infuriated Fan Chuyu.

In his eyes, Ye Zhen was being far too greedy. Fifty Blood Origin Pills was an entire year's worth of pills for an average outer disciple; outside the Qi Yun Sect, that amount was enough to buy several lives.

Seeing Ye Zhen turn to leave, Fan Chuyu's voice turned icy. "A bottle of Condensing True Pill! Ye Zhen, one must know when to be satisfied!"

The surrounding inner and outer disciples who were watching heard the price Fan Chuyu had offered and gasped in shock. The value of a Condensing True Pill was several times that of a Blood Origin Pill and far more precious. A bottle of Condensing True Pills was enough to make even inner disciples green with envy.

Among the inner disciples, one Condensing True Pill could be traded for seven or eight Blood Origin Pills, and people would scramble to make the trade.

A smile that looked worse than a cry squeezed onto Ye Zhen's face. "I apologize, Senior Brother Fan, I really cannot say..."

"Ye Zhen, I advise you to speak up, otherwise, I will make you regret it!" Before Ye Zhen could finish, Fan Chuyu's face turned cold. His figure flickered, blocking Ye Zhen's path, and an aura as vast as the sea and as deep as an abyss suddenly enveloped Ye Zhen, clearly intending to make him lose face on the spot.

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

The moment the mountain-like pressure descended, Ye Zhen's expression turned stern. He crouched and sprang—Snake Springing Grass. In an instant, the onlookers felt a blur before their eyes, and Ye Zhen appeared fifteen meters away, having just dodged the range of Fan Chuyu's aura.

Fan Chuyu's expression turned sharp, and just as he was about to move again, Ye Zhen's voice rang out. "Senior Brother Fan, if you truly have the ability and really want to know, just go ask Fairy Caiyi yourself. Why bother making things difficult for me?"

That one sentence left Fan Chuyu looking incredibly awkward, rooted to the spot.

Ye Zhen walked away quickly, though his face was bitter.

To be honest, the price Fan Chuyu offered was very high—so high that Ye Zhen was genuinely tempted. Furthermore, if not for that promise, Ye Zhen would have answered his question even without any payment.

However, a man's word is worth its weight in gold!

When parting ways with Fairy Caiyi, she had requested that Ye Zhen not reveal the true situation of the Flower Civet.

Fairy Caiyi had caused such a massive stir in the sect over her Su'er that almost everyone knew about it. If word got out that the true cause of the Flower Civet's illness was simply that it had reached its mating season, and that the cure required it to find a mate, it would be a different story.

While Ye Zhen didn't think it was a big deal, the thin-skinned Fairy Caiyi would likely have no face left to show anyone.

Ye Zhen had agreed to Fairy Caiyi quite readily at the time, so he was refusing just as thoroughly now.

Ye Zhen estimated that a bottle of Condensing True Pills on the market was worth more than a thousand gold pieces. This promise of his was truly worth its weight in gold!

After leaving the Sect Hall, Ye Zhen appeared at the entrance of the Qi Yun Sect's Scripture Depository. He had come here primarily to verify a bold idea.

Earlier today in the dense forest behind the mountain, after the Mirage Dragon Pearl absorbed the essence, energy, and spirit of the Phantom Snake King into its first layer of space, the Snake-Wandering Steps, which Ye Zhen had long been unable to fully master, had suddenly reached the pinnacle of perfection.

Ye Zhen was considering a question: since the presence of the Phantom Snake King within the first layer of the Mirage Dragon Pearl had allowed his Snake-Wandering Steps to reach perfection instantly, would he achieve twice the result with half the effort when practicing other snake-related martial arts?

Coming to the Scripture Depository now, Ye Zhen wanted to test this theory.

His goal was clear, and he quickly selected four snake-related cultivation manuals from the first floor of the Scripture Depository.

They were the Snake Palm, Boneless Snake Fist, Spirit Snake Vein-Cutting Hand, and Turtle Snake Art.

After some deliberation, Ye Zhen chose the Spirit Snake Vein-Cutting Hand, which was also a Mortal-tier High Grade technique. It was a nimble close-quarters grappling style. If practiced to a small degree of success, one could sever meridians and dislocate joints, causing an opponent to lose their ability to attack, making it incredibly useful in combat.

"Spirit Snake Vein-Cutting Hand? Mortal-tier High Grade, one hundred and fifty Sect Contribution Points." The old sect steward guarding the first floor of the Scripture Depository said after glancing at Ye Zhen's choice.

Ye Zhen felt a pang of heartache as he handed over his Identity Jade Token. After the first free selection of a cultivation manual, every disciple, whether inner or outer, had to pay a certain amount of Sect Contribution Points to choose new manuals for practice.

This one manual had consumed a third of the points he had just earned.

"Hmm? Ye Zhen, you only chose the Five Peaks Divine Fist and Snake-Wandering Steps half a month ago. You haven't even mastered those two yet, and you're already choosing new martial arts? That is a great taboo in cultivation." The old sect steward said.

"To be honest with you, Deacon, I have already mastered both the Five Peaks Divine Fist and the Snake-Wandering Steps," Ye Zhen said.

"Mastered them?"

The elderly sect deacon's lips curled into a sneer. "I might believe you mastered the Five Peaks Divine Fist, but the essence of the Snake-Wandering Steps takes at least half a year of hard work before you can even hope to achieve initial success.

Kid, don't bite off more than you can chew. I advise you to focus on practicing just one martial art. Besides, the Spirit Snake Vein-Cutting Hand you chose this time is even more difficult to master than the Snake-Wandering Steps."

Ye Zhen could only offer a bitter smile. Why was it that in this day and age, no one believed the truth?

"Thank you for your guidance, Deacon, but I really have mastered them." Ye Zhen still held a great deal of respect for this elderly sect deacon who had been so patient in offering him advice.

"Stubborn and thick-headed." Seeing Ye Zhen so insistent, the elderly deacon grew annoyed. Unwilling to persuade him further, he quickly processed the paperwork and tossed the manual for the Spirit Snake Vein-Cutting Hand to Ye Zhen.

"Hmph, young people these days are becoming less and less humble. Mastering the Snake-Wandering Steps in half a month? Does he really think these old eyes of mine..."

Swish!

In the next instant, Ye Zhen's figure crouched and sprang, shooting forward like a bolt of lightning to appear fifteen meters away, showing the elderly deacon a glimpse of his skill on the spot.

Of course, Ye Zhen had held back; if he had gone all out with the Snake Springing Grass, he could have covered at least thirty meters.

Yet, even this reserved display left the elderly deacon utterly shocked, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a fist inside.

"The Snake Springing Grass, the hardest part of the Snake-Wandering Steps? He actually really mastered it..." Several breaths later, the elderly deacon still looked dazed.

Ye Zhen, having just shown off his skill, was walking away while flipping through the Spirit Snake Vein-Cutting Hand. As he browsed the manual, his body twisted in strange ways, occasionally performing extremely sharp and bizarre movements, while the smile on his face grew ever brighter.

His hypothesis was correct!

The Spirit Snake Vein-Cutting Hand, which the elderly deacon claimed was even more difficult, seemed incredibly simple in Ye Zhen's eyes. He could execute even the most challenging moves with a casual flick of his hand.

Ye Zhen estimated that it would take him less than half a day to master the Spirit Snake Vein-Cutting Hand, and with just a little more time, he could bring it to the pinnacle of perfection.

By then, relying on his perfected Snake-Wandering Steps, this Spirit Snake Vein-Cutting Hand, the Five Peaks Divine Fist, and those few drops of true essence, Ye Zhen would truly have a foundation to stand on among the Outer Disciples.

At this thought, Ye Zhen quickened his pace, eager to return and practice the Spirit Snake Vein-Cutting Hand.

Before long, Ye Zhen returned to his room on East Arrival Peak. The moment he pushed the door open, his expression froze; there were two people in his room.

Two Outer Disciples in black, both beaten until their faces were bruised and swollen.

************

ps: I hit a wall; I revised this chapter three times, working from seven in the evening until twelve-forty at night before I was satisfied.

In consideration of how hard Old Zhu has worked, brothers, please reward me with a recommendation vote!

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