Looking at the spirit beast collar in his hand, Jiang Hao felt deeply the expense of raising a spirit pet. By the way, I hope the readers remember our domain name here.
A collar for someone in the Qi Refining stage costs nearly a hundred spirit stones.
The one in his hand, suitable for the Foundation Establishment stage, cost five hundred spirit stones.
Once the spirit pet breaks through, the collar needs to be replaced quickly, or else it might get damaged.
For the middle stage, over a thousand spirit stones are needed.
The more Jiang Hao thought about it, the more amazed he was at the wealth of his fellow sect brothers and sisters.
"Luckily, talisman-making books aren't absurdly priced."
This time, the talisman-making book was a premium one featuring six talismans—suitable for Foundation Establishment and core formation, priced at a hundred spirit stones.
Lower than expected.
Compared to pill formulas, it was practically a gift.
A core formation-level pill formula, even a single one, is excessively costly.
Perhaps alchemists don't lack spirit stones either.
Among artifact refiners, alchemists, and talisman makers, it seems only talisman making is the least expensive.
He spent six hundred spirit stones today and briefly considered setting up a stall to sell some talismans.
But when he thought of the rabbit in the Spirit Herb Garden, he abandoned the idea.
The rabbit was important.
Talismans could be sold at any time.
At Hundred Flowers Lake.
Hong Yuye sat in the pavilion, beside her on the table lay a pitch-black long blade.
It was the Shadow Blade that Jiang Hao had lost.
She picked up the blade and examined it for a long while before casually tossing it, letting it embed itself in the flowers beside the pavilion.
"Speak."
She opened her mouth, looking at Bai Zhi who stood outside the pavilion with her head lowered.
"Yes." Bai Zhi's voice was respectful. Being near the head teacher suffocated her, an intangible pressure made her afraid:
"After the Dao Debate at Azure Sky Mountain, they suddenly began targeting us. It's likely because of the appearance of the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower."
"There seems to be no shortage of traitors." Hong Yuye said calmly.
"I have failed in my duties." Bai Zhi kneeled on one knee to plead for forgiveness.
Hong Yuye did not look at Bai Zhi again; instead, she raised her head to gaze at the sky and clouds:
"It's still early; just continue to wait. As for Azure Sky Mountain, this is your task."
"Understood." Bai Zhi nodded and then began talking about the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower:
"There is no unusual change at Broken Hearts Cliff. Jiang Hao's cultivation has risen again. It is said to be a fortune from the demon cave.
There is a possibility he received support from someone behind him, using the demon cave as an excuse.
Thus, he still can't clear his suspicion.
The undercover from Falling Sunset Sect died by his hand again, early in the Core Formation stage. It's all too coincidental."
"Then keep observing." Hong Yuye retracted her gaze to the flowers, continuing:
"Since we've clashed with Azure Sky Mountain, go and bring back some of their manuals and texts."
"Yes." Bai Zhi nodded obediently.
Woosh~
A gentle breeze rustled the flowers, bringing a spellbound look to Hong Yuye.
Bai Zhi remained silent and kept her head bowed.
After a long while, she finally heard the head teacher speak and break the silence:
"Bai Zhi, why do you think Azure Sky Mountain dares to act against us?
Is it because our Heavenly Sound Sect has fallen far behind over the years, or is Azure Sky Mountain growing ever stronger?"
"Neither." Bai Zhi was frightened, hastily explaining:
"While Azure Sky Mountain has indeed been getting stronger these past few decades, our Heavenly Sound Sect is not inferior to it in any way; overall, they can't match our Heavenly Sound Sect."
As an acting headmaster, whether the Heavenly Sound Sect had declined or whether the other sect had grown stronger was her responsibility.
Not mentioning the former, if the latter were true, why had the others grown stronger while we remained stagnant?
That's a failure.
Therefore, she was anxious.
"If it was the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower that sparked this, I believe someone is backing Azure Sky Mountain." Bai Zhi continued explaining:
"Otherwise, given their strength, they shouldn't be so reckless."
Hearing this, Hong Yuye placed her gaze on Bai Zhi, her tone emotionless:
"Investigate."
"Yes." Bai Zhi's voice was firm.
Then she withdrew.
On her way back, Bai Zhi began planning her next actions.
She initially wanted to send a female cultivator to explore Jiang Hao's situation, but she realized the headmaster's true intention might not be to test whether Jiang Hao was a traitor.
"The headmaster has deeper plans. It's just unclear whether the person to plant the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower must be Jiang Hao or if anyone will do."
Since she was the one who submitted the list, logically, anyone should suffice.
But something didn't feel right.
"The traitor matter must be postponed. First, handle the Azure Sky Mountain issue and investigate the mastermind behind it."
In the afternoon.
Jiang Hao took away the rabbit.
"If anyone looks for a spirit beast, have them come to me."
Before leaving, he gave instructions to the Spirit Herb Garden keeper.
In case a new undercover agent could be drawn out.
As for the rabbit, it would not be of much use after seven days.
Keeping it or letting it go was no big deal.
Back at the grove behind his residence, he fitted the rabbit with a collar, which could adjust size, ensuring the spirit beast couldn't escape.
Only force could break it.
The rabbit had already awakened and was glaring at Jiang Hao while trying to break free from the collar.
It seemed quite unhappy with the collar.
Jiang Hao watched its angry yet powerless expression for a while.
In the end, he tossed a spirit stone.
As expected, the rabbit gave up its struggle and bit into the spirit stone, munching away.
"Now, I need to set a boundary for it."
With that thought, he intended to use the collar to designate a range, a feature included with the collar.
For five hundred spirit stones, it was somewhat worth it.
Otherwise, he would have to set up a trapping formation, which Jiang Hao wasn't skilled at.
Time-consuming and laborious, it might even fail, allowing the rabbit to escape.
Short-term confinement was easy; longer-term could lead to unforeseen events.
As he began his work, a voice suddenly came from behind, smooth and pleasant without any discernible emotion:
"What are you doing?"
Startled, Jiang Hao turned around to see a woman clad in a red dress.
It was her.