The Sect Leader Summons Him

Chapter 36: The Sect Leader Summons Him

"One hundred Spirit Stones? Why don't you just rob me? No way. Five Spirit Stones, take it or leave it." Shi Yue shook his head and haggled.

"Five Spirit Stones? Are my things really worth that little? You could buy any cultivation technique at a bookstore for more than fifty Spirit Stones. You want to trade five Spirit Stones for a body-forging technique? Shi, do you have no shame?" Xiaoyaozi's voice was full of mockery.

"Nope." Shi Yue shook his head and replied with a serious expression.

"You... Forget it. Five Spirit Stones is too little. It has to be fifty! If that's really not possible, thirty will do!" Xiaoyaozi haggled.

"No. Five Spirit Stones." Shi Yue shook his head, unmoved.

"Ten. Ten Spirit Stones. If you're unwilling, then forget it. The Bone Forging Art was, at the very least, an entry-level technique from an ancient body-forging sect. If you're not even willing to pay ten Spirit Stones, then never mind." Xiaoyaozi sounded somewhat displeased.

Hearing this, Shi Yue furrowed his brow and considered it briefly before saying, "All right! Ten it is. Same as always: tell me the cultivation method first. If there's nothing wrong with it, I'll give you the ten Spirit Stones."

"Fine! Remember this. I'm only saying it once. The cultivation method for the Bone Forging Art is..."

Before long, Xiaoyaozi stopped speaking.

"Cultivating the Bone Forging Art actually requires more than a dozen kinds of Spirit Herbs that are decades old? Isn't this method far too extravagant?" Shi Yue said in surprise after hearing Xiaoyaozi's explanation.

"What do you know? These Spirit Herbs can cleanse the meridians and marrow, helping you cultivate the Bone Forging Art. Without them, cultivating it would be agony." Xiaoyaozi's voice was full of disdain.

"Just gathering the ingredients for one batch costs a hundred Spirit Stones. I'd need dozens of batches at least to master the Bone Forging Art. Where am I supposed to get that many Spirit Stones? Aren't you scamming me?" Shi Yue said, displeased.

According to Xiaoyaozi, cultivating the Bone Forging Art required soaking in a kind of spiritual liquid made by steeping more than a dozen kinds of Spirit Herbs. Gathering enough ingredients for one batch cost a hundred Spirit Stones, and mastering the technique required soaking dozens of times. In other words, cultivating it would cost Shi Yue several thousand Spirit Stones. It was far too extravagant.

"Hmph! You can eat whatever you like, but you can't go around saying whatever you please. I didn't scam you. If you master this technique, pissing a hundred times in an hour really won't be a problem, and there won't be any aftereffects. Of course, you can also go back on your word and refuse to give me the ten Spirit Stones. But don't expect me to help you again in the future." Xiaoyaozi gave a cold snort and sneered.

Shi Yue's expression shifted between light and dark as he considered it. In the end, he took out ten Spirit Stones and tossed them into the stone hut.

"That's more like it! If you need anything next time, remember to come find me. We can discuss the price." Xiaoyaozi's voice brimmed with delight.

The whole affair had served as a warning to Shi Yue: when dealing with Xiaoyaozi, he had to be on his guard at all times, and then some. He needed to be careful, more careful still, or he would easily fall into Xiaoyaozi's trap.

By Shi Yue's estimate, mastering the Bone Forging Art would require not only several thousand Spirit Stones' worth of Spirit Herbs, but also a great deal of time. It would take at least a year or two. With that much time, he might as well piss a few more times.

Shi Yue took out paper and a brush, wrote down the cultivation method for the Bone Forging Art, and put it into his Storage Bag. It had cost him ten Spirit Stones, after all; he couldn't just toss it aside.

Shi Yue stayed in Palm Heaven Space for the entire night. It wasn't until the next morning that he left.

After a whole night of work, he had stored up dozens of jin of urine. Diluted with clean water, it came to more than a hundred jin.

"Alas, you never know how precious piss is until you need it!" Shi Yue sighed to himself.

When Shi Yue opened the courtyard gate, more than a dozen fellow disciples crowded around him, calling out over one another:

"Junior Brother Shi, I'll pay ten Spirit Stones. Please help treat my Spirit Herbs."

"Junior Brother Shi, if you don't help me, all three mu of my Spirit Grain will die. I'll pay twelve Spirit Stones."

"I'll pay fifteen! Junior Brother Shi, come take a look at my Spirit Field! All five mu of my Spirit Beans are about to die."

Hearing them, Shi Yue neither refused nor agreed. He was waiting for someone to offer the highest price.

"What's with all the shouting? Have you no sense of decorum? Anyone who didn't know better would think this was a mortal marketplace!" A man's authoritative voice suddenly rang out from the sky.

Everyone was startled and looked up. A giant eagle, two zhang across, swooped down from above.

Its body was covered in green feathers, and it had two heads. A blue-robed man with a stern face sat on its back.

"That's Martial Uncle Li from Deacon Hall," someone recognized the blue-robed man and exclaimed.

Shi Yue was no stranger to the blue-robed man. Of everyone in Deacon Hall, the man held the highest position: he was its chief.

Soon, the Green Giant Eagle landed, while the blue-robed man remained seated on its back.

"Disciple greets Martial Uncle Li." Shi Yue and the others hurriedly bowed and spoke in unison.

"Mm. Which one of you is Shi Yue?" The blue-robed man nodded, his stern gaze sweeping over the disciples as he asked coolly.

Hearing this, everyone turned to look at Shi Yue.

Seeing this, Shi Yue didn't dare delay. He quickly stepped forward and said respectfully:

"Replying to Martial Uncle Li, this disciple is Shi Yue."

"Mm. Come with me. Sect Leader Martial Uncle has something to ask you." The blue-robed man looked Shi Yue over carefully and gave his instructions.

"Sect Leader Martial Ancestor?" Shi Yue was startled. He didn't understand why the Sect Leader Martial Ancestor wanted to see him. Though he was puzzled, he still agreed.

Shi Yue slapped the Storage Bag at his waist, and a leaf-shaped magic tool flew out, hovering about a chi above the ground.

"Wait. That low-grade flying magic tool of yours is too slow. Get on my Green Feather Eagle instead. Don't keep Sect Leader Martial Uncle waiting." Before Shi Yue could step onto the Leaf Magic Tool, the blue-robed man stopped him.

"This disciple obeys." Shi Yue naturally didn't dare refuse. He put away the Leaf Magic Tool and climbed onto the Green Giant Eagle's back.

"Go." At the blue-robed man's command, the Green Giant Eagle spread its wings and carried the two of them into the sky. Before long, they disappeared into the distance.

The Green Giant Eagle flew at incredible speed. Shi Yue looked down and saw only a blur below.

Not long afterward, the Green Giant Eagle landed on a broad Green Stone Platform.

In front of the Green Stone Platform stood a flight of green stone steps, several dozen zhang long. At the top of the steps stood a Black Palace more than ten zhang tall.

A silver plaque hung above the entrance to the Black Palace, bearing the three golden characters "Ancestral Master Hall." They gleamed in the sunlight, catching the eye.