Chapter 181: Extortion

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The sheer destructive power left Chen Fei dumbfounded!

But soon, a gleam of joy flashed in his eyes—this was undoubtedly another killer move in his arsenal! Unfortunately, it consumed too much energy, but as a life-saving technique, it didn’t need to be used frequently.

Just as Chen Fei was about to continue researching, the message bell outside the door rang.

Someone was trying to contact him.

Scratching his head, Chen Fei guessed it might be a patrolling disciple attracted by the earlier commotion. He got up and walked to the door.

“Junior Brother Chen!” Chen Fei recognized the visitor—it was Wang Feng, the senior who had previously sent A Yao to fetch him.

Wang Feng wore a friendly smile. “Junior Brother Chen, since you’re new here, let me introduce myself. I’m a disciple of the Inspection Courtyard—Wang Feng!”

“Senior Brother Wang,” Chen Fei responded with a cupped fist salute. “I was just testing a martial technique earlier, didn’t expect to cause such a ruckus. Sorry for the trouble!”

Wang Feng’s smile widened as he waved his hand dismissively. “No trouble at all, really!”

“But…” He deliberately paused. “Junior Brother Chen, it’s understandable that you don’t know all the rules yet. This is Shaocui Mountain, residence of core disciples. There are numerous grand formations buried beneath, and even the buildings here are made of extraordinary materials.”

“Yes!” Though unsure of where this was going, Chen Fei still nodded along.

Wang Feng seemed even more pleased.

“Looks like you get what I’m saying! According to the Sacred Ground’s rules, the kind of power you displayed just now clearly poses a threat of damage, so we’ll need to fine you… one thousand contribution points!” Wang Feng announced cheerfully, producing a contribution token.

Now Chen Fei understood why Wang Feng was so gleeful! A thousand points? Might as well just rob him outright!

Seeing the stiffness in Chen Fei’s smile, Wang Feng “kindly” explained, “If you want to train powerful techniques in the future, you can just rent a cultivation chamber. It’s only 3 points per use, and an unlimited pass costs 500 points!”

“In there, even if you destroy the whole chamber, you won’t have to compensate. But here in your residence—even elders and the sect leader must follow the rules!” Wang Feng added with a grin.

With things spelled out so clearly, what could Chen Fei say?

A thousand points—it hurt just thinking about it.

“I’ll accept the fine, Senior Brother Wang,” Chen Fei said through gritted teeth. “But since I’m new here, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to request some kind of Sacred Ground guide or regulation manual, is it?”

“Not unreasonable at all!” Wang Feng beamed. “We from the Inspection Courtyard have specially prepared a Sacred Ground Rulebook Package for new disciples! Normally, it costs 10 points.”

“But since you’ve already been fined, this one’s free!” he added generously. “Make sure to memorize it. The Inspection Courtyard is independent of the Six Gates—we oversee everything, and even elders and the sect master must obey us!”

With a mix of resignation and bitterness, Chen Fei took the so-called “free” guidebook he had basically bought for 1,000 points. He figured it was time to actually learn these rules, or he’d keep losing valuable contribution points.

Those points were crucial for cultivation resources—it hurt deeply to waste them.

Back inside, Chen Fei looked at the shattered Grinding Stone and sighed. “Do I have to pay for that too? Aren’t these stones supposed to withstand Dao power? Why’d it break so easily? Was it defective?”

This loss was something he had to swallow. After all, he was just at the peak of Third-Rank Dao Realm, and yet one strike had destroyed a stone supposedly designed to endure Dao impact. That alone could raise suspicion.

“The Inspection Courtyard, huh? And the Forging Institute too! I’ll definitely have a ‘chat’ with both of you one day!” Chen Fei muttered, teeth clenched, flipping open the Sacred Ground guidebook with a glare and starting to study it carefully.

Meanwhile, outside in the Outer Courtyard—the area where registered disciples lived—the conditions were like night and day compared to Shaocui Mountain.

Still, this was a Sacred Ground, and even registered disciples didn’t have to cram into dorms like other sects. Each had a private courtyard. Small, but more than enough for solo living.

“Finally… the day is almost here!”

In one of these unassuming courtyards, a young man in his early twenties smiled faintly. In his hand was a crimson pearl.

It glowed faintly, and each flicker of light was absorbed into the young man’s body.

“As long as I can enter the Xianle Secret Realm, I’ll complete the final step of the inheritance!” he murmured, clenching the orb tightly to prevent even the slightest light from leaking out and alerting anyone nearby.

Time passed quickly.

Chen Fei visited the Treasure Pavilion again. Despite the disdainful look from the guard, he ignored it and exchanged points for a few cheap but special pills.

These were alchemical products made from rare beasts. They didn’t boost cultivation much, but they had unique properties.

Only a rich place like the Sacred Ground could afford to keep a bunch of alchemists crafting such a variety of strange pills.

Chen Fei’s goal was simple—use these special beast-based pills to solidify the runic imprints within him.

He had discovered that the picky Void Cauldron no longer reacted to ordinary spiritual energy. Instead, it responded to the remnant essences of these strange beasts, which were absorbed and strengthened the unique runes.

For instance, after absorbing other beast talents, the rune from the Spirit-Eyed Serpent had enhanced his Spirit Sight. If it reached a certain level, it might even evolve further.

Whether it would or not, he still had to experiment.

“Oh right, the Grinding Stone!” Chen Fei muttered, and began searching the pavilion for it.

The variety of goods in the Sacred Ground truly was vast. The Forging Institute had even created Grinding Stones in different styles—including pink ones labeled as “specially for junior sisters”!

Chen Fei was increasingly suspicious these forgers were cutting corners to boost their “special edition” sales.

“A Grade-6 Condensing Sense Pill? That’s expensive—500 contribution points for one?!” Chen Fei winced.

As the grade of the pill increased, the cost rose exponentially. He had barely spent anything on those Grade-4 ones earlier, and now a single Grade-6 pill cost him as much as his entire cultivation chamber pass!

Outrageous!

“Looks like I need to figure out how to earn points fast. Can’t afford to sit idle or I’ll go broke!” Chen Fei sighed.

As the saying goes: A horse can’t grow fat without night grazing; a man can’t get rich without windfall gains.

The easiest way to quickly earn contribution points? Duels. As long as he won, he could claim the opponent’s points.

The only problem was—his current opponents were all registered disciples.

So broke, even stray dogs would shake their heads at them.