The Demoness Visits Far Too Often

Looking at the spirit beast collar in his hand, Jiang Hao keenly felt how expensive it was to keep a spirit pet.

Even a Qi Refining collar cost nearly a hundred spirit stones.

His foundation establishment early stage collar cost five hundred spirit stones.

Once a spirit pet broke through, its collar had to be replaced as soon as possible, or it could easily break free.

A middle-stage collar cost over a thousand.

The more Jiang Hao thought about it, the more astonished he was by how many spirit stones his senior brothers and sisters possessed.

"Thankfully, the talisman-making books weren't priced sky-high."

The book he had bought this time was Six Premium Talismans.

It covered six talismans suitable for foundation establishment and golden core cultivators, and cost a hundred spirit stones.

That was lower than he had expected.

Compared with pill formulas, it was practically being given away.

Even a single golden core pill formula was outrageously expensive.

Perhaps alchemists weren't short of those spirit stones, either.

Artifact refiners, alchemists, talisman makers-it seemed only talisman making was cheap.

Having spent six hundred spirit stones today, Jiang Hao briefly considered setting up a stall to sell some talismans.

But when he thought of Rabbit in the Spirit Medicine Garden, he gave up on the idea.

Rabbit came first.

He could sell talismans anytime.

Hundred Flowers Lake.

Hong Yuye sat upright in the pavilion, with a pitch-black saber resting on the table beside her.

It was the very Shadow Saber Jiang Hao had lost.

She picked up the saber and examined it for a long time, then casually tossed it into the flower bed beside the pavilion, where it stuck into the ground.

"Speak."

She spoke slowly, looking at Bai Zhi, who stood outside the pavilion with her head lowered.

"Yes." Bai Zhi's voice was respectful. Whenever she was near the Sect Leader, she found it difficult to breathe. The invisible pressure filled her with dread.

"After the Dao discussion, Azure Heaven Mountain suddenly began attacking us. There is a possibility that this was due to the appearance of the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower."

"It seems there are quite a few traitors," Hong Yuye said calmly.

"I have failed in my duties." Bai Zhi dropped to one knee to beg forgiveness.

Hong Yuye stopped looking at Bai Zhi and instead raised her eyes to the white clouds high above.

"It's still early. Just keep waiting. As for Azure Heaven Mountain, that is your concern."

"Understood." Bai Zhi nodded, then brought up the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower.

"There have been no unusual changes at Heartbreak Cliff. Jiang Hao's cultivation has risen again. He says he obtained a fortuitous opportunity in the Demon Grotto.

"It is possible that he received support from the person behind him and is using the Demon Grotto as an excuse.

"So he still cannot be cleared of suspicion.

"Another Sunset Glow Sect spy died at his hands, this one at the early golden core stage. All of this is far too coincidental."

"Then keep observing him." Hong Yuye withdrew her gaze and looked at the flower bed before continuing.

"Since we've come into conflict with Azure Heaven Mountain, go get some of their cultivation methods and scriptures."

"Yes," Bai Zhi answered with her head lowered.

Whoosh.

A breeze stirred the flowers, and Hong Yuye watched them, seemingly lost in thought.

Bai Zhi kept her head bowed, not daring to speak.

Only after a long time did she hear the Sect Leader break the silence.

"Bai Zhi, why do you think Azure Heaven Mountain dares to attack us?

"Has the Heavenly Sound Sect become far weaker than it once was over these years, or has Azure Heaven Mountain grown stronger by the day?"

"Neither." Alarmed, Bai Zhi explained.

"Although Azure Heaven Mountain has grown stronger over the past few decades, the Heavenly Sound Sect has not fallen behind them in the slightest. In overall strength, they are inferior to our Heavenly Sound Sect."

As acting sect leader, whether the Heavenly Sound Sect had become far weaker than before or the other side had grown stronger by the day, the responsibility lay with her.

Leaving the former aside, if it was the latter, then why were they standing still while others grew stronger?

That, too, was a failing.

That was why she was frightened.

"If this was caused by the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower, I believe someone is backing Azure Heaven Mountain," Bai Zhi continued to explain.

"Otherwise, given Azure Heaven Mountain's strength, they should not be acting so rashly."

At those words, Hong Yuye turned her gaze to Bai Zhi, her voice devoid of any fluctuation in emotion.

"Find out."

"Yes." Bai Zhi's voice grew firmer.

Afterward, she withdrew.

On her way back, Bai Zhi began considering her next move.

She had originally intended to send a female cultivator to probe Jiang Hao, but she had realized that the Sect Leader's true purpose probably was not to test whether he was a traitor.

The Sect Leader has something deeper in mind. I just don't know whether the person growing the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower has to be Jiang Hao, or whether anyone would do.

Since she had submitted the list of candidates herself, anyone should have been suitable in principle.

Yet something about it still felt wrong.

The matter of the traitors will have to wait. I'll deal with Azure Heaven Mountain first and investigate who is pulling the strings.

That afternoon.

Jiang Hao took Rabbit away.

"If anyone comes looking for a spirit beast recently, tell them to come to me."

Before leaving, he informed the person watching over the Spirit Medicine Garden.

Perhaps it would draw out another spy.

As for Rabbit, he would be of no use after seven days.

Jiang Hao could keep him or let him go.

After reaching the woods behind his residence, he put the collar on Rabbit. It could expand or shrink, and a spirit beast could not wriggle free of it.

It could only be broken through brute force.

Rabbit had already woken up. He stared at Jiang Hao while trying to struggle out of the collar.

He seemed to dislike it intensely.

Jiang Hao watched him bare his teeth and snarl helplessly for a while.

Finally, he tossed out a spirit stone.

Sure enough, Rabbit stopped struggling, caught the spirit stone in his mouth, and began gnawing on it.

"Now I need to mark out an area for him."

With that in mind, he prepared to use the collar to set a boundary, another of its built-in functions.

It was somewhat worth the five hundred spirit stones.

Otherwise, he would have had to set up a confinement formation, which was not his forte.

Not only would that take time and effort, it might also fail, allowing Rabbit to escape.

Keeping him confined briefly was easy, but over a longer period, unexpected problems could arise.

Just as he began, a voice suddenly came from behind him, calm and pleasing to the ear, its emotions impossible to discern.

"What are you doing?"

Startled, Jiang Hao turned around and found that the speaker was a woman dressed in red.

It was that very woman.