"What does a monthly package mean?" Chu Yao grabbed Ye Ba's restless hands and asked with a puzzled look.
"Ten spirit stones a day. Thirty days a month makes three hundred spirit stones. A monthly package means Senior Sister pays me three hundred spirit stones, and I can cultivate with Senior Sister for a whole month," Ye Ba explained.
"But in reality, I might not last thirty days, seeing as I need to rest—at most about fifteen days."
"I'll give Senior Sister a discount. Just give me two hundred spirit stones!"
"What?! Ten spirit stones a day, and fifteen days is only one hundred and fifty! How dare you ask me for two hundred?! And you call that a discount? Do you take me for a fool?" Chu Yao stared at Ye Ba in shock, a look of utter disbelief on her face!
She even thought Ye Ba must have lost his mind to say such things to her!
"Senior Sister, ten spirit stones a day was my price for the Qi Condensation 1st Layer. Now that I'm at the Qi Condensation 2nd Layer, the price naturally goes up! I only asked you for fifty extra spirit stones, which is already a great deal!" Ye Ba explained patiently.
He added at the end: "The sect's Spirit Slave Hall follows the exact same rule!"
Chu Yao was taken aback. The anger in her heart dissipated a little, and she nodded slightly.
"That actually makes some sense!"
The higher a spirit slave's cultivation, the greater the benefits to them.
As for the sect's Spirit Slave Hall, it registered the information of all spirit slaves in the entire sect.
If disciples needed spirit slaves to assist with cultivation, they could rent them by spending spirit stones.
Alternatively, they could use sect contribution points for a one-time buyout, though the price was extremely high!
Ye Ba's information was also listed in the Spirit Slave Hall, but his cultivation was too low and his aptitude too poor; not a single disciple was willing to spend spirit stones on him!
For Chu Yao to secretly cultivate with Ye Ba behind closed doors like this counted as abusing her position for personal use.
If caught by the Law Enforcement Hall, it would be a severe offense.
"I can agree to it, but I don't have enough spirit stones on hand. I'll use this Tier 1 top-grade Qi Gathering Pill to offset it! Plus, I'll make up the difference with one hundred spirit stones!" Chu Yao nodded in agreement, took the items from the Storage Bag at her waist, and handed them to Ye Ba.
"A Tier 1 top-grade Qi Gathering Pill!" Ye Ba's eyes lit up. This was truly good stuff, far superior in effect to Qi Replenishing Pills.
And those one hundred spirit stones were just about enough for him to purchase some alchemy ingredients.
He packed the items into his Storage Bag.
Then he lay down flat on the bed.
"Senior Sister, come on!"
...
Early the next morning.
Chu Yao pressed a hand against her lower abdomen and left the small courtyard with a look of satisfaction.
Last night, she had secretly planted a vicious toxin called the "Enchanting Datura" inside Ye Ba.
This toxin was a chronic poison that could alter the target's mind, causing them to slowly grow fond of the poisoner and eventually obey their every command without question.
She intended to use this poison to completely control Ye Ba!
Only, the method of administering this poison was somewhat special; it needed to be applied within the body.
Last night, she had put in quite a bit of effort.
Before finally succeeding.
Back then, Ye Ba had applied poison there to harm her; now, she could consider this payback using the exact same method!
She estimated that after cultivating another dozen or so times, she would completely control Ye Ba's mind and soul.
By then, whatever she wanted to do would be entirely up to her.
"I shouldn't visit Ye Ba too often lately, lest the other senior sisters discover anything unusual!"
"I also need to find a skilled alchemist to help me clear the spiritual poison out of my body!"
"Besides, I must carve out time to complete missions and earn more sect contribution points, so I can buy Ye Ba outright from the Spirit Slave Hall! That way, nothing can possibly go wrong!"
Once she bought Ye Ba, he would officially be her personal property.
She wouldn't need to sneak over to Ye Ba's place every day.
She could take him straight back to her own cave dwelling to enjoy every single day.
Chu Yao plotted her subsequent arrangements in her heart.
Even though there were many things to do, she didn't feel tired at all.
On the contrary, she was full of drive!
"A month from now is the peak's outer disciple grand competition. If I can break through my realm again before then, I should be able to secure a good ranking!" Anticipation flickered in Chu Yao's eyes.
Her Hongluan Peak held an outer disciple grand competition every year. As long as one participated and entered the top fifty, they would receive various rewards of cultivation resources.
Based on past years, reaching the Qi Condensation 7th Layer was pretty much enough to break into the top fifty!
...
Inside the small courtyard, Ye Ba looked at the panel before him, a hint of helplessness crossing his face.
[Alchemy Experience +7!]
[Tier 1 mid-grade Alchemist (22/100)]
Despite being busy all night, the experience he gained was meager, consisting solely of alchemy experience.
"Chu Yao's talent is still a bit too low! I need female demons with higher aptitudes," Ye Ba thought to himself.
However, given his insufficient strength, rashly approaching other female demons was a highly hazardous endeavor.
Shaking his head, he stepped out of the small courtyard and walked toward the Spirit Slave Hall.
Having broken through his realm, he needed to update his records at the Spirit Slave Hall right away.
If he were caught concealing his cultivation, he would face extremely harsh punishments!
Aside from that, improving his cultivation would also earn him a reward from the Spirit Slave Hall.
The Spirit Slave Hall was located halfway up Hongluan Peak, and it took him about half an hour to arrive.
He updated his information inside.
When he came out, an extra hundred spirit stones rested in his possession.
This was the sect reward for his breakthrough to the Qi Condensation 2nd Layer!
Upon leaving the Spirit Slave Hall, Ye Ba did not immediately return to his small courtyard.
Instead, he headed toward the nearby marketplace.
Now that he had spirit stones on hand, he could indeed purchase some alchemy ingredients.
The marketplace was bustling with activity, with many disciples coming and going.
Keeping his head down as usual, Ye Ba tried his best not to draw attention to himself.
He smoothly arrived at Baifang Hall.
"Senior Sister, do you have the formula for Tier 1 mid-grade Qi-Enhancing Pills here?" Ye Ba stood before the counter and asked.
Given his current realm, Tier 1 mid-grade Qi-Enhancing Pills were sufficient for his daily cultivation needs.
"Sixty lower-grade spirit stones!" A young woman behind the counter was holding a medical pharmacopeia and reading it with great relish; hearing this, she didn't even look at Ye Ba as she casually replied.
"So expensive!" Ye Ba was startled.
Yet since he had already come this far, he couldn't very well return empty-handed.
"I'll buy it!" He fished the spirit stones out of his Storage Bag and placed them on the counter.
"Oh, Junior Brother's pockets are quite deep! Could it be you've taken on some private gigs?" Catch sight of the spirit stones, the young woman finally withdrew her gaze from the medical book and looked at Ye Ba with an amused expression.
"I just broke through to the Qi Condensation 2nd Layer, and these are the spirit stones rewarded by the Spirit Slave Hall!" Ye Ba explained aloud.
Before coming over, he had already anticipated this loophole.
That was why he had deliberately gone to the Spirit Slave Hall first.
Some male disciples, in order to obtain cultivation resources, would choose to secretly assist female demons with their cultivation at prices lower than those charged by the Spirit Slave Hall.
These were what people called "private gigs"!
If discovered by the Spirit Slave Hall, they would face punishment.
Yet male disciples always seemed willing to take that gamble.
Taking jobs through the Spirit Slave Hall only yielded a few compensation Qi-Replenishing Pills, whereas taking private gigs—though paying fewer spirit stones—at least put the earnings directly into their own hands.
"Oh!" Hearing that he was at the Qi Condensation 2nd Layer, the young woman instantly lost interest.
She retrieved the formula from behind the counter and tossed it to Ye Ba.
With a calm expression, Ye Ba picked up the formula and turned to leave.
Once outside, he wandered around the marketplace for a bit, then entered another shop called Herb Pavilion, where he bought a full ten portions of the medicinal herbs listed on the formula.
The spirit stones in his possession were practically wiped out.
"And you claim you haven't been taking private gigs?" Just as Ye Ba stepped out through the marketplace gates, a figure slowly emerged behind him—it was none other than the young woman from Baifang Hall.
She had followed Ye Ba all the way and discovered that his total expenditures in the marketplace came to around two hundred spirit stones.
Yet the reward for breaking through to the Qi Condensation 2nd Layer at the Spirit Slave Hall was only one hundred spirit stones.
It was obvious that Ye Ba had lied just now.
"Too bad for you running into me, but being at the Qi Condensation 2nd Layer and still landing private gigs means you've got quite the natural talent."
She turned and walked toward the Law Enforcement Hall.
Sect disciples who reported others for breaking the rules could receive corresponding rewards from the Law Enforcement Hall.
That was the young woman's goal as well.
Report Ye Ba and collect the reward from the Law Enforcement Hall!