"Fellow Daoist..."
Startled by the knock, Wang Ba opened the wooden door and found a gray-robed cultivator standing outside, his face completely indistinct.
Had he not seen him with his own eyes, he would barely have sensed the figure's presence.
The eerie sight put Wang Ba on high alert.
"May I ask what brings you here, fellow Daoist?"
"Heh... something good. Have you completed your mandatory assignment?"
The gray-robed cultivator gave a laugh of uncertain meaning.
His voice was hoarse and muffled, offering no clue to his true identity.
Wang Ba hesitated, then remembered the man Zhang Qi and the others had mentioned, who sold proof of kills of Eastern Saint Sect remnants. Choosing his words, he said:
"Not yet. What advice might you have, fellow Daoist?"
"Heh, ten merit points... interested?"
The gray-robed cultivator raised a hand and held up three fingers.
"Thirty Spirit Stones?"
Wang Ba asked tentatively.
The gray-robed cultivator said nothing and nodded slightly.
At the price, Wang Ba secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was somewhat lower than he had imagined. Worried that he would not have enough, he had prepared over seventy Spirit Stones.
A little thought made it understandable. Among the outer-sect heterodox Dao cultivators, apart from those with a craft, most were not particularly well-off.
Thirty Spirit Stones was already a substantial price.
Without much hesitation, Wang Ba nodded. "All right."
Seeing Wang Ba actually agree, the gray-robed cultivator gave him a somewhat surprised look.
Few people living in the Stone Cave Residence could produce so many Spirit Stones, much less do so this readily.
Anyone with slightly better means had moved to the Wooden Tower Residence.
After all, although Spirit Stones mattered to cultivators, their ultimate purpose was cultivation.
"Pay first," the gray-robed cultivator said in a muffled voice.
Wang