Chapter 2779, Learn From Your Mistakes
Translator: Silavin & frozenfire
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
“Senior Sister Gao, what are you doing here?’ Yang Kai asked, gasping in surprise. While doing so, he took a sneaky look at his surroundings. Only when he was sure that there was no one around did he close the large doors of the Spirit Sword Palace.
Gao Xue Ting frowned, “What’s with those sneaky actions? What are you planning?”
Yang Kai glared at her in response, “What can I be planning? On the contrary, it’s you who was punished with three months of confinement by Senior Brother Qiu, yet you actually dared to run all the way here. If Senior Brother Qiu finds out about this… he will definitely deduct your Elder Contributions to death.”
Gao Xue Ting sneered, “That old ghost just wants to lock me up in solitary confinement, though he did not say anything about locking me up on Purple Bamboo Peak. There isn’t any place within the territory of our temple that I can’t go as I please.”
“This place is also included?” Yang Kai gawked, most surprised about Gao Xue Ting’s nickname of “old ghost’’ for Qiu Ran.
Gao Xue Ting chuckled coldly, “Sooner or later, I’ll snatch away his post as the Punishment Hall Elder… and let him experience the taste of having his Elder Contribution Points deducted and being locked up in solitary confinement.”
Complicated feelings arose in Yang Kai’s heart as he started to question whether he made the right choice in accepting Gao Xue Ting’s request to be a High-Rank Guest Elder of Azure Sun Temple.
As the saying goes, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam would become crooked too; he had originally assumed that Gao Xue Ting was an esteemed and noble lady; however, from the looks of it, due to her upbringing under Wen Zi Shan, which utterly distorted her childhood days and caused her mental development to suffer damage, how esteemed and noble could such a person be?
It seemed that his impressions of her had been based on the false front she had put up. After gaining a more in-depth understanding of her, all of his views had been destroyed…
“That’s right, Senior Sister Gao, why have you come to look for me?” Not wanting to further the conversation about starting a coup, Yang Kai hastily changed the subject.
“Right. There’s a small matter,” Gao Xue Ting nodded her head with a serious expression and with a flick of her hand, a Space Ring appeared which she tossed over to Yang Kai.
Feeling suspicious as he caught it, Yang Kai sent his Divine Sense inside before his brow rose in surprise and he commented, “So many Emperor Grade Spirit Herbs! Could this be a benefit of becoming a temple Elder? Our temple is really thoughtful; however, I have quite a few Spirit Medicines myself, so I don’t need these.”
Gao Xue Ting stared at him and replied indifferently, “You’re misunderstanding. This isn’t for you. Spirit Sword Peak is your reward. Right, if you want to, you can find Junior Sister Chen Qian to request for some disciples to come to your Spirit Sword Peak to help you maintain the flowers and vegetation here. That can be considered a benefit. As for these Spirit Grasses and Medicines…”
“What are they for?”
“They are for you to refine into Spirit Pills,” Gao Xue Ting replied bluntly.
“Refine into pills?” Yang Kai’s expression turned dark, “There are so many Emperor Grade Spirit Medicines inside here, and you want me to refine them all into Emperor Pills?”
“That’s right, we want you to refine them into Emperor Pills,” Gao Xue Ting nodded, “Our temple doesn’t have an Emperor Alchemist among its ranks, though we have accumulated quite a few Emperor Grade Spirit Medicines. It wasn’t easy to get you to join, so we naturally have to hand these over to you to deal with.”
“Why me?” A look of speechlessness was plastered on Yang Kai’s face.
Gao Xue Ting replied with a faint smile, “With greater power comes greater responsibility. Junior Brother, during that year in the Four Seasons Realm, you managed to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill. Although that matter happened a long time ago, and some people might not remember it, with me being the leading Elder at the time, I recall it very clearly. I’ve asked around and heard that since you were able to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, it shows that you were already on the cusp of becoming an Emperor Alchemist. After those years, you should have made some progress in the Alchemic Dao. Other than you, who else can we hand these Spirit Medicines to? Are we going to let the other temple Elders waste them by burning them to dregs while trying to refine pills? That would be an utter waste. That’s right, it seems that you had refined a furnace of Emperor Pills during your stay in my Purple Bamboo Peak yesterday. Tsk tsk, and you successfully completed your refining in half a day’s time, how incredible. Although there are quite a few herbs in that ring, I believe in your capabilities. In just a year and a half or so you should be finished with those.”
Yang Kai remained silent for a moment, before asking with a serious tone, “Can I reject this?”
“Yes, you can,” Gao Xue Ting nodded, “No one’s forcing you on this matter.”
“Then I reject it!” Yang Kai returned the Space Ring back.
Gao Xue Ting took the Space Ring, turned around, and sighed as she walked away, “I came to help you with good intentions yet you were not grateful for it. Good, good, I’m afraid that you might not be able to enter the Divine Ascension Mirror for the rest of your life.”
Yang Kai immediately raised his hand, “Please wait, Senior Sister!”
Gao Xue Ting turned her head and grinned as she looked at him, “Is there anything you want to say, Junior Brother?”
Yang Kai covered his mouth and coughed lightly, “Senior Sister, I would have forgotten about the Divine Ascension Mirror if you hadn’t just mentioned it. A few days ago, you told me that someone was using the Divine Ascension Mirror when I asked you about going in, someone who could not be disturbed unless absolutely necessary. May I know what time it would be possible for me to go in?”
“Do you have Elder Contribution Points?” Gao Xue Ting tossed a question back.
“No.”
Gao Xue Ting sneered and declared, “2,000 points per entry. You don’t even have any Elder Contribution Points, yet you still dream of entering the Divine Ascension Mirror. Have you not sobered up yet?”
“But that time…”
“That time, you still weren’t an Elder of our temple. Currently, you are already an Elder of our temple, so you naturally have to follow the rules. If not, if just anyone were able to enter as he or she pleased, training in the Divine Ascension Mirror would no longer be precious anymore.”
“How can you be like this, Senior Sister?” Yang Kai was utterly distraught.
Gao Xue Ting turned around and said in a sincere and heartfelt manner, “Junior Brother, with greater power comes greater responsibilities. Being the only Emperor Alchemist in our temple, you have to shoulder the responsibility of refining Emperor Pills for our temple.”
Yang Kai growled between his clenched teeth, “You duped me to become an Elder a few days ago just for this, right, Senior Sister! You were my respected Senior yet you had the heart to trick me!”
Gao Xue Ting smiled lightly and replied, “Nonsense, I’ve been planning this ever since you refined the Extraordinary Treasure Pill in the past.”
“I really was blind…” Yang Kai felt bitterness and pain wash over his heart, as his impression of her completely shattered. As he woke from the dream, his heart had been sliced up, leaving a scene filled with blood and tears.
Gao Xue Ting said, “Don’t be angry. If you don’t wish to perform Alchemy, there is still another way.”
Yang Kai growled back, “I seek your advice, Senior Sister!”
“Didn’t you mention previously that one of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s Disciples was your High Heaven Palace’s Chief Alchemist? Since you already have such a subordinate, there isn’t actually a need for you to personally put in the labour.”
“Oh… that seems like a good method,” Yang Kai stroked his chin thoughtfully.
After a moment of contemplation, Yang Kai seemed to have made a decision as he asked, “So, what are the benefits?”
“One Emperor Pill for ten Elder Contribution Points! As long as you are able to refine two hundred Emperor Pills, you can enter the Divine Ascension Mirror.”
“Fart!” Yang Kai leapt up, “Ten Elder Contribution Points? That’s just a mere ten thousand High-Rank Source Crystals. Which Emperor Alchemist would accept such a cheap fee when they take action!?”
“Dammit! Which of those scoundrels spoiled my good deed by telling you the conversion rate!” Gao Xue Ting’s face sank as she mumbled in anger.
Yang Kai’s face turned black, “I can hear you…”
Gao Xue Ting pouted and replied, “So, what do you want?’
“One Emperor Pill for one hundred Elder Contribution Points. I will barely be able to accept that.”
One hundred Elder Contribution Points was worth a hundred thousand High-Rank Source Crystals. Generally speaking, it was impossible for an Emperor Alchemist to only refine a single pill for every furnace, with four pills being the absolute minimum. Furthermore, any Emperor Alchemist would charge a fee of around five hundred thousand High-Rank Source Crystals for every furnace they refine.
Yang Kai’s asking price was basically the same as what the temple would pay when they sought outside Emperor Alchemists.
“Twenty points!” Gao Xue Ting counter-offered without a trace of politeness in her voice.
“A hundred points!” Yang Kai refused to budge.
“Stop daydreaming!”
“A hundred points means a hundred points!”
“Thirty points at most!”
…
An arduous bout of haggling and bargaining proceeded on, which ultimately ended with Yang Kai bowing down and accepting the price of fifty Elder Contribution Points for one Emperor Pill.
“Come, come, come, sign this Soul Contract.” With a flip of her hand, Gao Xue Ting took out a contract that radiated with peculiar fluctuations. This was precisely a Soul Contract produced by Serene Soul Palace. This thing was a common sight in the Eastern Territory, but was a priceless object in the Southern Territory. How she managed to get her hands on one of these was a mystery.
“Aren’t you looking down on me, Senior Sister? Although this Junior Brother may be young, he won’t go back on his word.” A look of disgust appeared on Yang Kai’s face.
“Just sign it.” Gao Xue Ting urged him on.
Unable to bear with her, Yang Kai had no other choice but to leave his Soul Imprint on the Soul Contract.
With the contract signed, Gao Xue Ting’s eyes immediately lit up as a smile blossomed on her face. With great care, she stored the Soul Contract, extended her hand and patted Yang Kai’s shoulder warmly, “Junior Brother, your Senior Sister’s fortune will depend on you in the future.”
Her words immediately stunned Yang Kai. Nevertheless, after some thought, his face suddenly sunk as he spoke out in a bitter tone, “Senior Sister, is this the mission Senior Brother Qiu assigned to you? Upon completion, how many Elder Contribution Points will you be able to obtain?”
“The same amount as you,” Gao Xue Ting replied as she glanced away.
“What do you mean by the same?”
“That old bachelor gave me a price of a hundred Elder Contribution Points per Emperor Pill and asked me to convince you to help perform Alchemy for our temple. Since I secured your cooperation at fifty points per pill, the remaining fifty points will belong to me, so I’m naturally getting the same as you!”
“Ah…” Yang Kai’s smile suddenly turned incomparably sinister, “It really is hard for you, Senior Sister, to tell me about this as though it meant nothing. Senior Sister, you really are a good person. I swear I’ll remember this great favour for the rest of my life.”
Gao Xue Ting replied defiantly, “The path of growth will always be filled with thorns, young man. Suffering defeat to gain wisdom and then learn from your mistakes. You should move slowly in the future.”
“I really have to thank Senior Sister for this lesson!” Yang Kai forced those words out from his clenched teeth, as he felt his insides churn, a sweet feeling surged up his throat.
Gao Xue Ting gave a sweet smile, “Don’t forget that you’ve already signed the Soul Contract. Good, do work hard. How quickly you work will determine how quickly you can access the Divine Ascension Mirror.” Turning around, she made a lazy stretch, opened the doors of the Spirit Sword Palace, and raised her head towards the sky as she commented, “What a beautiful day.”
With a shift of her tender body, she transformed into a streak of light before disappearing into the distance.
Yang Kai clutched his chest as a look of pain covered his face.
Half a day later, in a desolate mountain valley behind Spirit Sword Peak, Yang Kai raised his Jade Elder Token. As thoughts flashed through his mind, he drew power from the Earth Vein and manipulated the barrier around his Spirit Sword Peak to conceal this portion of the mountain valley.
With this, even Third-Order Emperors would not be able to pierce through the concealments around this place without significant effort.
Letting out a sigh, Yang Kai retrieved various materials from his Space Ring as he prepared to arrange a Space Array.
He had originally not planned on concealing this Space Array and was even thinking of sharing it with Wen Zi Shan, as once Azure Sun Temple and High Heaven Palace were connected, it would bring immense benefits to both Sects.
Currently, Hua Qing Si was collecting the unique products of the Northern Territory, and when the time came, they would be able to earn a great profit if they shipped those products to the Southern Territory. On the other hand, if Azure Sun Temple were to collect the unique products of the Southern Territory and ship them to the Northern Territory, they would definitely be able to obtain a good price for them too.
Not much was needed to be said about using a Space Array to connect the two places, with both Sects being able to protect and aid each other.
