Chapter 316

Chapter 316: Emptying the Haotu Sect

On the third day of the third month, the Shangsi Festival.

The spring sunshine was splendid, perfect for outings and enjoying nature.

Today, the new disciples were free from morning classes and spell practice, granting them a wonderful opportunity to explore the sect. There were market stalls within the sect, and not just one, so disciples could invite friends, chat, and stroll about leisurely!

As the sun rose higher, tea houses and wine shops became increasingly lively. The miscellaneous disciples of Haotu Sect knew that every year on the third of March, both outer and inner disciples would find various ways to have fun, making it the perfect time to earn some money.

Lin Da, a miscellaneous disciple, had recently explored Hongfu Cave with his companions and obtained a few bat fangs. However, upon returning and calculating, he realized that the earnings didn’t even match half the price of the spirit talismans his brother had gotten. It was truly a case of "getting more losses than gains."

What should he do? Lin Da, used to squeezing Lin Er, consulted with his partying friends and decided to sell some spirit talismans; it had to be better than fighting for scraps.

According to incomplete statistics, on the third of March alone, over 1.2 million lower-tier spirit talismans flooded the market, emptying most disciples’ purses of low-grade Miao Jade through holiday discounts and bundled talisman offers.

Many inner disciples liked to purchase one-time-use talisman formations; although they consumed quickly, they were powerful and easy to deploy, making them perfect for exploring perilous areas within the sect.

To enhance the disciples’ battling skills, Haotu Sect established seventy-two caves, thirty-six mansions, eighteen secret realms, and nine ancient tombs throughout the sect.

Miscellaneous and outer disciples could explore the seventy-two caves, while inner disciples were suited for the thirty-six mansions, and true disciples frequently ventured into the secret realms.

After the third of March, among the seventy-two caves, twenty-two were thoroughly cleaned out, leaving not a single scrap behind. The other caves were equally chaotic, with a large amount of spiritual materials flooding the market, startling the supervising disciples who rushed to report to the elders.

“The Mirror Lake faction is selling lower-tier spirit talismans?”

“Yes! Due to the massive usage of spirit talismans by disciples, many caves in the seventy-two have been flattened, and countless spiritual materials are flooding the market with merchants buying in bulk.”

“Relay the order to prohibit the sale of spirit talismans within the sect. Continuing like this will cause the sect to bleed out, and disciples will become dependent on the Mirror Lake faction, which is detrimental to their cultivation!”

Experience speaks volumes, and the elders of Haotu Sect immediately recognized the problems.

In truth, many disciples already had developed a reliance on the Mirror Lake faction, and upon the delivery of the ban, there was considerable resistance. However, since they were lower-tier disciples, their words held little weight; even if they harbored grievances, they dared not voice them, opting instead for underhanded sales.

Next, things became interesting!

People naturally have a rebellious psychology; the more the sect forbade something, the more the disciples felt there was profit to be made, leading to a twenty percent increase in sales, much to Li Hui’s delight.

He began attempting to cast Dao arts to summon wind and clouds, placing thousands of talisman brushes in the clouds, and with just a thought, he drew up spirit talismans in the air.

Now, the rampant weeds in the spiritual fields were the crops of the Mirror Lake faction, and each time the silver snake bracelet consumed artifact fragments, it calculated in tens of thousands of pounds.

Li Hui made a fortune, but even so, to support the nurturing of the Mysterious Pearl’s mineral vein, he still faced financial strains. Thus, he scanned through a map of Haotu Sect, setting his sights on the thirty-six mansions and eighteen secret realms.

Over the past thousands of years, when the All-Manifestation Realm practitioners of Haotu Sect ventured out, the soul lanterns they left behind in the sect had suddenly extinguished, indicating they had met with misfortune. The resulting caves only added up to thirty-six, awaiting fortunate disciples to explore — that is the origin of the thirty-six mansions.

As for the eighteen secret realms, they were even more remarkable; some connected to the Inferno, others led to the Abyss of Darkness, or even housed imprisoned demons, offering various trials. If fortunate, one could also acquire some rare spiritual treasures.

“It’s settled then, I’ll explore these three caves. Hongluan Manor has many formations, perfect for my Ideal Body to navigate. The Dragon Pavilion ranks first among the thirty-six mansions, filled with deadly traps; I want to see what it’s all about! As for the Thunder Marsh Small Ring Sky, Ao Chonglin keeps whining about hunger, maybe I can find some food!”

“After exploring these three caves, I’ll pick two secret realms with harsh environments to forge talisman flags. All things are born to nurture talismans; the harsher the environment, the better. I’ll choose Fire Bearer’s Inferno and the Abyss of Darkness! Condensed Essence Stage practitioners can go there, so I can too!”

This was not arrogance, but rather confidence grounded in solid foundations.

Li Hui instructed Huo Qiniang and the others to guard the Water Moon Mirror Sky and arranged several emergency measures before soaring towards Hongluan Manor.

Just as he left, news quickly spread from distant peaks: “Hurry and report; Li Yingjun has left the Water Moon Mirror Sky, heading towards Hongluan Manor!”

“Good, I will notify Brother Wen right away.”

Soon, those with keen interest received the news; it was not just Wen Shaolun who was paying attention to Mirror Lake; there were constant undercurrents flowing in the background, targeted at Li Hui and even more so at his Master, Li Maocai.

No matter how united Haotu Sect appeared externally, a competitive mechanism certainly existed internally. Accumulating grievances over time, one could never tell where enemies might be lurking.

Wherever there are people, there is a world; as a prominent upper sect, the internal division into a hundred lineages demonstrates the vastness of the system. Li Hui, amidst it all, had tried his best to avoid trouble, but little did he know that the Ghost Fox Sect suddenly appeared, employing ruthless tactics that signaled alarms in his mind.

He did not seek revenge against the Ghost Fox Sect for Uncle Sun and the villagers of Shanghe Village; instead, they sought him out, and the fire in his heart was easy to imagine. To massacre the whole sect, he needed power, so his mindset turned more radical. Today was just his first foray; he aimed at Hongluan Manor and planned to scour the thirty-six mansions and eighteen secret realms in the days to come. Since the entire sect stood as his enemy, he would empty the Haotu Sect!

If the elders knew of Li Hui’s intentions, they would undoubtedly scold him for his arrogance, yet he not only thought it but was already acting upon it.

With a flash, Li Hui entered Hongluan Manor.

This place had once been the cave of a renowned Female Cultivator from Haotu Sect, who married the leader of another sect, thus the cave left in Haotu was called a manor, as she returned once every hundred years until her demise.

This Female Cultivator was adept at formations, and the formation disks she invented were still in use today, a point of pride for Haotu Sect.

Several generations of sect leaders hoped that by chance, a disciple would inherit her legacy. However, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment; Hongluan Manor remained as it was, never revealing a hint of opportunity.

“Li Yingjun has entered?” someone asked quietly.

“I didn’t see clearly; this kid moves too fast.”

“Fool! Even tailing him you can’t manage; what use are you? Hurry and send someone to confirm; the formations of Hongluan Manor are quite formidable; surely he can’t break through the first three formation rings.”

The three formation rings they mentioned had long been forgotten; Li Hui was not there to break the formations but to pass through them. Seeing valuable treasures, he would think of ways to collect them, but it was not the ordinary sense of breaking formations.

In the front courtyard of the manor, he wandered freely, digging up three Red Fruit trees over five hundred years old, applying Treasure Viewing Talismans on his forehead to ensure he missed nothing before flashing into the main hall.

“Eh?” Li Hui suddenly gasped, retrieving the Mysterious Water Pearl that held the demon embryo for sensing.

The silver snake bracelet had consumed a demon-refining pot in the Grand Xuan Dynasty to obtain a wind and cloud attribute demon embryo, which was diligently nurtured upon entering the Haotu Sect but had remained inactive until now. This unusual movement seemed to signify something different.