Chapter 5 When the time is right, I will make my move...
The next day, Si Yao went to the Department of Internal Affairs. As soon as she stepped into the department's shop, Qian Xi came over.
Seeing Si Yao, who rarely appears in this place, Qian Xi was very surprised, "What brings you here?"
Si Yao quickly came over and grabbed Qian Xi's hand, "My dear Xi Xi, I came here to ask you for an advance on my allowance for next year."
Qianxi was surprised again. "Advance payment of your share? What for? Are you planning to pay back the spirit stones you owe Qu Sui?"
Before Si Yao could answer, Qian Xi began to analyze, "Your annual allowance is only four hundred mid-grade spirit stones... Adding the half-year allowance I gave you last time, it's not enough to repay her."
Si Yao shrugged. "Sigh... How come my annual allowance is so much less than that of the other elders?"
As far as Si Yao knew, the other three elders could receive dozens or even hundreds of high-grade spirit stones as an annual allowance. In addition, the sect would also reward the major academies with a lot of cultivation resources.
Si Yao, on the other hand, could only receive four hundred mid-grade spirit stones a year, which was equivalent to four high-grade spirit stones. As for cultivation resources, she had none at all.
Qianxi shook her head and sighed, "You can only blame yourself for not being ambitious. You didn't have any disciples before, and the Snow Blowing Academy never did any of the sect's bounty missions. Moreover, you have made virtually no contribution to the sect. Yet you still want to receive the same allowance as the other three elders. If they knew, they would definitely jump out and beat you up."
Si Yao chuckled dryly a few times, "Alright, alright, the more you do, the more you get; the less you do, the less you get. That's in accordance with the rules."
She was used to a leisurely life, spending her days eating and sleeping, occasionally flipping through erotic picture books and stories of the Hehuan Sect. She lived a muddled life for decades, neither competing nor fighting, which was quite carefree.
Fortunately, out of consideration for the previous sect leader, Sect Master Yan Yu has never touched the position of Elder Si Yao Chuixue.
"You still haven't answered me. What exactly do you want to do with the advance payment?" Qianxi asked again.
Si Yao said, "Naturally, I'll get some spirit stones and exchange them for cultivation artifacts or pills for my disciple."
Hearing this, Qianxi seemed to believe it but was more shocked than anything else. "You actually thought you had taken on a disciple!"
"Xixi, how can you talk like that?"
"Don't think I don't know. You took Xiao Yezi in, but you left him out in Chuixue Courtyard for several days. Not only did you not teach him the cultivation techniques, you also made him do chores."
Si Yao rubbed her temples. "Has the whole sect heard about it?"
Qianxi looked at Siyao with disdain, "It's already spread that you will definitely ruin Xiaoyezi's cultivation career. A good piece of jade has been ruined in your hands."
Si Yao rolled up her sleeves, angrily shouting, "Rumors! Rumors! They're just rumors! Everyone says I'm no good at training apprentices, but I'm going to show them!"
Having received an advance of a year's allowance from Qianxi, Siyao currently possesses six hundred mid-grade spirit stones.
After thanking Qianxi, Siyao headed straight for the treasure pavilion without looking back.
She planned to pick out a slightly better magical artifact for Xiao Yezi here.
The disciples of the Hehuan Sect usually wear all sorts of magical artifacts, and Si Yao didn't know how to choose one for the time being.
In the treasure vault of magical artifacts, the Silver Moon Ring, the Zhaoling Lock, and the Xihua Bracelet are among the more popular items.
Regardless of the type of magical artifact, the lowest replacement price is over five hundred mid-grade spirit stones.
What Si Yao had chosen for Xiao Yezi was a magical artifact called the Soul-Destroying Lamp.
The cultivation methods practiced by the disciples of the Hehuan Sect tend to be more yin and gentle, while the Soul-Destroying Lamp is quite domineering, which is not well-matched with the Jade Yang Scripture practiced by the male disciples and the Jade Maiden Scripture practiced by the female disciples. However, it is still made of ancient meteorite iron, and its power should not be underestimated.
The Soul-Extinguishing Lamp is made of rare materials, but it is often an unpopular item in places like the Joyful Union Sect, and very few disciples are willing to exchange it for spirit stones.
Therefore, the Treasure Pavilion has lowered its exchange price again and again. Currently, it only requires ten high-grade spirit stones to exchange for, which is equivalent to one thousand mid-grade spirit stones.
Even so, given Si Yao's current financial situation, she still cannot obtain the Soul-Destroying Lamp.
"You want it?" Old Xu, the steward of the Treasure Pavilion, squinted at Si Yao.
Si Yao's eyes darted around as she carefully stroked the Soul-Destroying Lamp. "Elder Xu, could you lend it to me on credit?"
"Buy on credit?" Old Xu glanced at Si Yao with disdain. "What are you doing here if you don't have spirit stones? Get out of here!"
Si Yao was rebuffed and left with the spirit stones in her pocket, so she had to think of another way.
Recalling what Qianxi said, the reason why the four academies of Hehuan, Chifeng, Yaoguang, and Huaying offer such generous rewards of spirit stones and cultivation resources is because, for many years, the disciples and even the elders of these academies have been doing bounty missions.
Finally, she arrived at the bounty posting list and looked at the bounty information posted by the sect every day.
Among the dense lines of text, one task caught her attention.
[Nebula Plain Exploration Mission, Spirit Stone Reward: Minimum: Zero, Maximum: No Maximum]
Si Yao casually pulled a passing male disciple aside and asked him what the specific meaning of the description of the mission reward was.
The male disciple said, "This mission is actually quite tricky. Out of a hundred expeditions, it's very difficult to get a reward even once. It all depends on luck."
As if remembering something, the male disciple continued, "It is said that the last time someone received such a huge reward was thirty years ago. A disciple from Yaoguang Academy had incredible luck and obtained ten high-grade spirit stones. Since then, disciples of the sect have almost fought tooth and nail to get into Xingyunping, but everyone has returned empty-handed. Not only that, but no one has been able to dig up any treasures in Xingyunping for decades."
Si Yao's mouth gaped open slightly. "Is it really that exaggerated?"
The male disciple nodded, "Moreover, exploring Xingyunping is very time-consuming. After working for several days, you often end up with nothing. Over time, almost no one takes on this mission anymore."
As he said this, he pointed to the bounty posting and said, "Elder Si Yao, this [Searching for Spirit Herbs in Mangshan] is not bad, and that [Catching Fish in Shihan Cave] is also alright. Although the rewards are only a few hundred low-grade spirit stones, the good thing is that their mission rewards are stable. In short, you must not recommend your disciples to go to that Xingyunping."
Si Yao had a headache, so she could only say, "Okay, I'll think about it some more."
After the male disciple left, Si Yao stepped forward and, without hesitation, accepted the [Nebula Plain Exploration Mission].
The good thing about this task is that it has no limit on the number of participants or their identities.
In other words, elders, disciples, and sect leaders are all welcome to participate.
However, this task comes with an additional condition—one of the participants in the exploration must be a disciple of the Hehuan Sect.
Si Yao had already started making her plans.
She returned to Fubuki-in and went to Xiaoyezi's room, where she found him sitting obediently cross-legged on the wooden tatami mat, meditating.
Hearing Si Yao's footsteps, Xiao Yezi opened his eyes, "Master."
Si Yao beckoned to him, "Good disciple, your master is going to take you somewhere now, come quickly."
Xiao Yezi quickly got off the ground and obediently followed Si Yao, letting Si Yao lead him out of Chuixue Courtyard.
Si Yao opened the quest sign for [Exploring Nebula Plain], and as she probed it with her spiritual energy, a map of Nebula Plain appeared before her eyes.
Soon, she led her apprentice to the entrance of Xingyunping.
Before embarking on the exploration, Si Yao glanced down at Xiao Yezi beside her and asked, "Disciple, don't you want to know where we're going?"
Xiao Yezi lowered her head and said, "You'll find out soon enough."
Si Yao asked again, "I told you to come along, and you came along. You're really obedient."
Xiao Yezi replied humbly, "Master's instructions are my absolute duty."
Si Yao took a deep breath, a satisfied expression appearing on her face. "If I had known that taking on disciples would be so enjoyable, I wouldn't have been lonely for so many years."
Xiao Yezi: "..."
"Alright, let's go in."
As soon as Si Yao finished speaking, she placed the bounty mission token into the groove at the entrance of Xingyunping.
With a muffled thud, a dazzling light flashed, and the entrance to Nebula Plain opened in front of Si Yao and Xiao Yezi. A faint white light flickered continuously at the entrance, and only those who went inside knew what lay within.
Si Yao grabbed Xiao Yezi's wrist, and with a "whoosh," the two of them disappeared into the water.
Before coming, Si Yao had been imagining what Xingyunping would look like.
Based on the name, she imagined Xingyunping to be a beautiful and pleasant lawn, with lush green grass and wildflowers everywhere...
When we arrived, we found out that Xingyunping was completely bare, like a barren wasteland, and full of mud pits of all sizes.
It is obvious at a glance that these are traces left by the pits dug by people who came to explore this place several years ago.
Thirty years ago, someone unearthed a rare treasure here, which attracted countless disciples to come and dig. But surely they didn't strip this lawn bare?
Si Yao gasped, "That's too ruthless, it really is a scam..."
Upon opening the quest board, Si Yao channeled her spiritual energy once more, and two iron hoes were handed to her.
She handed a hoe to Xiao Yezi, saying, "Apprentice, let's split up and dig. You dig the east side, and I'll dig the west side. Tell your master immediately if you find any treasure."
Xiao Yezi took the hoe, examined it intently, and then looked around.
His eyes at that moment seemed to be asking: Can treasure still be found in this wretched place?
Then Si Yao took out a communication jade slip and put it in Xiao Yezi's hand, saying, "Take this. If you encounter any danger, use this to summon your master."
After she finished speaking, she slipped away to the west side of Xingyunping before Xiao Yezi even had a chance to say anything.
The air in the desolate Nebula Plain is dry.
Xiao Yezi picked up a hoe and started walking eastward.
The surrounding area was filled with pits that had been dug by others. If there were any treasures in this place, the Xingyunping mission would not have been at the top of the Hehuan Sect's list of unpopular bounty missions for so many years.
Xiao Yezi arrived at her exploration area, looked back, and then whispered two words.
The next instant, Yan Ao arrived as summoned.
"Your Excellency, what are your orders?"
"You should also come with me and search this area to see if there are any rare treasures."
Yan Ao looked around, taking in the numerous craters scattered across the ground. "Your Excellency, there's not a single blade of grass in this place, let alone any rare treasures..."
Xiao Yezi tossed the hoe to Yan Ao, saying, "It's just for show. This place is secluded, and right now, besides her, it's just the two of us. When the time is right, I will make my move."
As soon as he finished speaking, he clenched his fist, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.
A note from the author:
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Si Yao: An unknown danger seems to be approaching...
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