Zhou Hanhe returned to stand opposite Li Chuan and said, "The Dew-Gathering Grass is 15 Spirit Stones, and the Spirit Dew is 7 Spirit Stones—a total of 22 Spirit Stones."
After speaking, Zhou Hanhe picked up the mutated Spirit Leaf Grass and asked Li Chuan, "And what is this?"
Instead of answering, Li Chuan questioned him, "Senior Brother, how is it only 22 Spirit Stones? The price doesn’t seem right."
Not just "not right"—it was literally half the expected amount.
Zhao Mingxuan, standing nearby, chuckled and explained, "Junior Brother, you may not know this, but any items sold by sect disciples to the sect have half their value converted into sect contribution points. While you receive 22 Spirit Stones, you also gain 22 sect contribution points."
Noticing Li Chuan’s hesitation, he continued, "And don’t think about selling these outside the sect. You should remember from your initiation that all items obtained within the sect’s minor realm can only be sold to the sect. Selling them privately is a serious offense."
Li Chuan hadn’t recalled this at first, but Zhao Mingxuan’s words jogged his memory.
"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother," he said to Zhao Mingxuan before turning back to Zhou Hanhe. "What you’re holding is a Three-Leaf Spirit Grass, a variant of the Spirit Leaf Grass."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Hanhe immediately headed toward a side room. "I’ll have Senior Sister Mo appraise it."
"Senior Sister Mo, please take a moment to examine this mutated Spirit Leaf Grass."
Soon after, Li Chuan heard faint chewing sounds, followed by Senior Sister Mo’s voice. "Mmm, it does have the pure taste of Spirit Leaf Grass, and the spiritual energy it contains is dozens of times denser than the ordinary kind. It’s undoubtedly a mutated variant."
When Zhou Hanhe returned with the mutated Spirit Grass, the three leaves had been reduced to two and a half.
Li Chuan finally realized—Zhou Hanhe wasn’t ignorant at all. He was just using this as an opportunity to curry favor with his superior.
Having Senior Sister Mo "appraise" everything was nothing but a blatant way to consume sect resources under the guise of duty, leaving no room for criticism.
But eating the Spirit Leaf Grass raw was such a waste! The effects were drastically diminished.
He also now guessed who this "Senior Sister Mo" was.
Mo Xiangling—the task hall’s managing senior sister and one of the Yin-Yang Sect’s Ten Great Beauties among Qi Refinement cultivators.
He’d heard her name mentioned often among disciples. It was said she had decent talent, breaking through every few years after joining the sect, yet she had been stuck at the tenth level of Qi Refinement for a decade.
Some claimed she could have advanced to Foundation Establishment long ago but chose to solidify her foundation in Qi Refinement.
But in Li Chuan’s eyes, this had nothing to do with "solidifying foundations." She was simply milking her position in the task hall for all it was worth.
Even if she only consumed 10 Spirit Stones’ worth of resources daily, that would add up to thousands over a year.
And those two bites she’d just taken? Far more than 10 Spirit Stones’ worth.
Unable to resist, Li Chuan picked up the Green Spirit Vine. "I’m not sure if this is a Green Spirit Vine. Should Senior Brother also have Senior Sister Mo appraise it?"
Zhou Hanhe shot him a sharp glare.
A vine not even worth half a Spirit Stone, and he wanted him to offer it to Senior Sister Mo to gnaw on?
Did he look that stupid?
Li Chuan then lifted the Bitter Spirit Tree. "How about this fine specimen? Should Senior Sister Mo examine it too?"
Zhao Mingxuan laughed from the side. "Everyone knows Bitter Spirit Tree leaves are unbearably bitter. If you actually gave them to Senior Sister Mo, neither of you would escape punishment."
He didn’t even try to hide the fact that Mo Xiangling sampled items.
Clearly, this was an open secret—a "hidden rule" everyone acknowledged and even joked about.
Zhou Hanhe began tallying the items. "Dew-Gathering Grass, 15; Spirit Dew, 7; mutated Three-Leaf Spirit Grass and Green Spirit Vine, 60; Bitter Spirit Tree, 95. Total: 177 Spirit Stones and 177 sect contribution points."
The Green Spirit Vine wasn’t even worth 1 Spirit Stone, so Zhou Hanhe lumped it in with the Spirit Grass.
After finishing, he glanced at Li Chuan. "I see you don’t even have a Qiankun Bag. By sect rules, all Yin-Yang Sect disciples must carry a sect-forged Qiankun Bag so the sect can monitor their movements."
"The Qiankun Bag costs 100 contribution points, and the Contribution Jade Token is 50. That’s 150 points total. Go over there to collect them from the senior sister."
Zhou Hanhe handed Li Chuan 177 Spirit Stones along with a slip of paper.
Li Chuan knew the Yin-Yang Sect’s Qiankun Bags could track a disciple’s location. Within a certain range, if the owner died or the bag’s restrictions were broken, it would automatically return to the sect.
"Thank you, Senior Brother. May I know how to address you both?"
"Zhou Hanhe," the man replied curtly.
Zhao Mingxuan, however, was far more enthusiastic. "I’m Zhao Mingxuan—just call me Senior Brother Zhao. I mainly handle hunting missions. If you ever want to stretch your limbs and gain combat experience, come find me."
He didn’t mention earning Spirit Stones—hunting missions paid well, but compared to Li Chuan’s recent windfall, it was insignificant.
What he didn’t know was that Li Chuan’s combat experience was already vast. Few in Qi Refinement could match him, given how he’d fought tooth and nail for survival.
"Understood, Senior Brother Zhao. I’ll definitely seek you out later."
After bidding them farewell, Li Chuan went to collect his Qiankun Bag and Contribution Token.
The attendant was another senior sister—quite lovely, with a gentle demeanor. Li Chuan couldn’t help but admire the Yin-Yang Sect’s fairies’ service-oriented attitudes.
The Contribution Token resembled a bank card from his past life, displaying his contribution points and syncing updates with the sect’s records.
Once everything was settled, Li Chuan used his remaining 27 contribution points plus 6 Spirit Stones to exchange for a cheap flying sword.
Originally priced at 30 contribution points, he had to make up the difference at a 2:1 ratio with Spirit Stones.
Then, heart pounding with excitement, he rushed out of the task hall and flew toward the outer disciples’ residential area.
The thought of soon holding Chu Mengyou—one of the Ten Great Beauties of Qi Refinement—in his arms and indulging in her sent his pulse racing.
After years of suppressing desire, the pent-up energy threatened to overwhelm him.
After some inquiries, Li Chuan finally arrived at Chu Mengyou’s door.
He raised his hand and knocked lightly.
As the sound echoed, his heartbeat quickened further.
The door opened—but the smile on Li Chuan’s face instantly faded.
How could he have forgotten about this unlucky fellow?
Zhao Bingqian stood in the doorway. Lost in fantasies about Chu Mengyou, Li Chuan had completely overlooked this crucial detail.
"It’s you? What do you want?" Zhao Bingqian frowned at him.
His tone wasn’t as hostile as before—Chu Mengyou’s words last time must have had some effect.
"Senior Brother, I’m here to see Senior Sister Chu," Li Chuan replied, but a thrill of excitement surged through him.
There was something undeniably thrilling about propositioning another man’s Dao Companion to his face.
"She’s not here. What business do you have with her?" Zhao Bingqian scrutinized him before adding, "I advise you not to entertain any improper thoughts about Senior Sister Chu. She’s beyond the reach of someone like you."
"Let’s not even discuss whether she would entertain you. As her Dao Companion, if you dare to pester her, don’t blame me for disregarding our sect brotherhood and taking action against you."
There were always those who couldn’t recognize their own place, foolishly hoping to win Senior Sister’s favor. Zhao Bingqian had seen plenty of such people—he’d even dealt with two Qi Refinement first-layer disciples who had been overly persistent with Chu Mengyou in the past.
In his eyes, Li Chuan was exactly that kind of person.
And truth be told, his instincts were right.