120: Liu Xiyan's confession

(Note: In the previous chapter, I earned 600 Spirit Stones from Alchemy, but the last two paragraphs mistakenly said 400.)

[Discovered 600 Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Can be absorbed and converted into attribute points. Absorb?]

Mo Fan focused slightly and chose to absorb.

The 600 Spirit Stones on the table instantly vanished.

The azure virtual panel flashed.

Mo Fan's attribute panel automatically popped up.

[Name: Mo Fan]

[Cultivation: Innate Eighth Rank (+)]

[...] (Click to expand/collapse)

[Available attribute points: 1290]

The available attribute points increased from the original 690 to the current 1290.

Taking a slight breath, Mo Fan focused his mind and locked his gaze on the plus sign next to the Cultivation column.

Soon, a prompt box appeared:

[Cultivation: Innate Eighth Rank (+) 1290/870]

Evidently, this time, adding points only required 870 Spirit Stones.

After confirming, Mo Fan clicked the plus sign without hesitation.

The azure virtual panel flashed, and a mysterious energy instantly surged from an unknown space, directly pouring into Mo Fan's glabella and rushing into his Qi Sea in an instant.

The mysterious energy swiftly ignited the Qi Sea.

Star systems flickered erratically, and thunder rolled like a roaring beast.

At this moment, Innate Qi instantly formed, surged out of the Qi Sea, and nourished his body.

Mo Fan's entire body exuded a radiant glow; his flesh, bones, organs, cells, and more were rapidly strengthening.

This process lasted for a full quarter of an hour.

A quarter of an hour later, Mo Fan slowly woke up.

Clenching his fist and circulating his Innate Protective Aura slightly, Mo Fan felt that he had become much stronger.

However, after glancing at the time, he frowned slightly.

"This time, adding points lasted for a quarter of an hour; the time it takes is getting longer and longer—"

Mo Fan remembered that at first, adding points was completed very quickly.

As his Cultivation Rank became higher, the time required for each point allocation also increased.

"In that case, adding points at critical moments won't work anymore—"

Mo Fan shook his head.

Before, adding points took little time.

He could choose to save some attribute points and use them at critical moments.

For example, when encountering an enemy he couldn't defeat, he could directly add points to burst forth and achieve a comeback.

At this point, he could even shout: "Deep Blue, add points! Let me see where my limits are!"

But now—

It wouldn't work.

The process of adding points needed to last fifteen minutes.

He would probably be killed before he even finished adding points.

Thinking of this, Mo Fan rubbed his glabella, focused, and opened his attribute panel again to look.

[Name: Mo Fan]

[Cultivation: Innate Ninth Rank (+)]

[...] (Click to expand/collapse)

[Available attribute points: 420]

His Cultivation successfully Breakthrough from the original Innate Eighth Rank to Innate Ninth Rank.

The available attribute points decreased from the original 1290 to 420.

Scanning the attribute panel briefly, Mo Fan focused his gaze on the plus sign next to the Cultivation column.

His expression hardened, and a prompt box popped up:

[Cultivation: Innate Ninth Rank (+) (420/1000)]

Clearly, the next point allocation would require 1000 attribute points, which meant 1000 Spirit Stones.

Seeing this, Mo Fan only felt a pang in his liver.

"It's too damn expensive!

"What a sin!"

...After allocating points, Mo Fan tidied up the Alchemy room a bit and then left.

He planned to take two days off for himself.

Twenty days of extremely high-intensity Alchemy had left him a bit overwhelmed.

"I'll rest for two days. It's important to combine work and rest.

"First, I'll go to the Scripture Hall to see if anyone has exchanged for Vajra Fist or Innate Art in the past twenty days."

Having made up his mind, Mo Fan headed towards the Scripture Hall.

On the way, he passed by the No. 23 Spirit Herb Garden again.

The No. 23 Spirit Herb Garden was now reopened, but the person in charge had changed.

He hadn't deliberately sought out news about Li Xinghe.

But in his spare time from Alchemy, he would browse the academy forum.

No one was discussing it.

There were no announcements either.

This also meant that Yuxu Academy still hadn't found any trace of Li Xinghe.

"Just like Liu Jian, their skill at running away is first-rate..."

Mo Fan couldn't help but sigh.

He inexplicably missed the days of learning Alchemy from Li Xinghe.

The books from Li Xinghe were indispensable for him to earn 600 Spirit Stones through Alchemy in these twenty days.

"It's a pity those days are gone forever—"

Shaking his head, Mo Fan quickly headed towards the Scripture Hall... Not long after, Mo Fan arrived at the Scripture Hall.

Regrettably, Grandpa Qin told him that no one had exchanged for Innate Art or Vajra Fist in these twenty days.

As Mo Fan was leaving, Grandpa Qin seemed to remember something and quickly shouted after him:

"There's one more thing I forgot to tell you. The settlement date for the Chuan Gong Hall has changed. Now you can only withdraw Spirit Stones on the 20th of each month.

"It was originally set for the 1st, which clashed with the Cultivation subsidy date, and the sheer volume of data sometimes led to errors.

"After discussion by the higher-ups, the date was moved to the 20th of each month.

"This month's settlement will also be on the 20th. Remember to come and withdraw your Spirit Stones, if you have any..."

Mo Fan didn't pay much attention to these words.

After all, the Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills he recorded were exchanged too infrequently.

If he was unlucky, he might have to accumulate for two months before he could withdraw... He finally understood one thing.

There were really few people who learned Vajra Fist and Innate Art... "In these twenty days, not a single person exchanged for Vajra Fist or Innate Art? That's too much..."

Mo Fan wanted to cry but had no tears, somewhat doubting if he had made a bad choice.

If not a single person exchanged for Vajra Fist or Innate Art in a whole year,

Wouldn't he suffer a huge loss?

However, with a change of thought, he felt relieved.

"Last year, eight or nine people exchanged for them. This year, many new Disciples have entered the Outer Sect, so there definitely won't be fewer—"

While comforting himself, Mo Fan headed towards Hidden Sword Peak... Before long, he ascended Hidden Sword Peak, carrying some pastries and snacks.

The pastries and snacks were bought during the New Year, and there were still quite a few piled up in his system space.

"Senior Sister, you look good today~" Mo Fan greeted Chu Qian, who was airing her sword in the square.

"Is that so?" Chu Qian's expression subtly brightened with joy.

"Yes, yes, you're getting more beautiful," Mo Fan said with a smile.

Chu Qian glared at him with her almond eyes: "Stop being a smooth talker, or Jingjing will beat you up."

"Haha, Senior Sister, take this. Inside are some of your favorite candied fruits and spicy strips, as well as Elder's favorite red bean matcha cake."

Mo Fan handed over the exquisitely wrapped gift bag he was holding.

"I told you, you don't have to bring something every time..." Chu Qian said with a slight hint of annoyance.

"Why are you being so polite with me? Since you like them, I'll bring you more. It's no trouble at all, and it's not easy for you to go down the mountain."

"But..."

"No buts. I haven't even thanked you for helping take care of Junior Sister Xu.

"Hurry and take it. I'm going to see Junior Sister Xu."

Mo Fan stuffed the items into Chu Qian's hands and walked directly into the Sword Pavilion, passed through the long corridor, and arrived at the backyard where the stone tablet was placed.

Xu Jing, as usual, was comprehending the Sword Nurturing Art beneath the stone tablet.

Hearing the movement, Xu Jing's expression brightened with joy, and she quickly turned to look at Mo Fan, her bright eyes flickering with delight: "You... you're here..."

"Mm, I'm here. Here are some pastries for you, eat some quickly." Mo Fan handed the pastries in his hand to Xu Jing.

"Th-thank you..." Xu Jing lowered her head, took the pastries, unwrapped them, and carefully began to eat.

"How does it taste?"

"G-good... delicious..."

"If it's good, eat more."

"Okay."

"Want a bottle of soda?"

"S-soda?" Xu Jing was startled.

Where would there be soda?

"Here you go." Mo Fan, as if performing a magic trick, pulled out a bottle of orange-flavored soda from his embrace and handed it to Xu Jing.

"Uh—" Xu Jing was a little bewildered, she dazedly took the soda and started drinking.

"C-cold?" Xu Jing's eyes lit up.

"Yes, it's cold. Amazing, right?" Mo Fan smiled.

"A-amazing!"

After eating and drinking to her fill, Xu Jing continued to Cultivate, with Mo Fan watching from the side.

After circulating the Sword Nurturing Art for several cycles, Mo Fan continued to communicate with Xu Jing in his unique way.

After pointing out some errors and offering some feasible suggestions, Mo Fan stretched, stood up, and bid farewell to Xu Jing.

"Time's almost up. That's all for today, I'm heading back first."

"Okay." Xu Jing nodded, a hint of imperceptible reluctance flashing in her eyes.

"You continue to Cultivate. No need to see me off. I'll leave these few packs of spicy strips with you; you can munch on them if you get bored during Cultivation."

With that, Mo Fan waved his hand and turned to leave.

Xu Jing's Cultivation progress with the Sword Nurturing Art was surprisingly fast.

She had already begun to condense Sword Intent.

Mo Fan estimated that it would only take about half a month for Xu Jing to successfully condense Sword Intent.

At that time, he could also test whether the complete version of the Sword Nurturing Art would harm her or affect her Lifespan.

If it wouldn't affect her Lifespan, then it would naturally be a joyous outcome for everyone.

If it still affected her Lifespan, Mo Fan would have to wait until after Foundation Establishment to pass the Trial Tower, become a Core Disciple of Yuxu Academy, and gain access to the Secret Realm before looking into it further.

Yuxu Academy's Secret Realm was transformed from an ancient ruin.

And it was one of the few ruins discovered before the Spiritual Qi recovery.

Mo Fan suspected that the five stone tablets in the Sword Pavilion were dug out from that place.

Perhaps during the exploration of the ruins, he might discover something and find a way to solve the problem.

However, everything was still unknown.

Mo Fan still hoped that the complete Sword Nurturing Art could directly solve the problem.

That way, he wouldn't have to consider so much.

And the problems of Liu Xiyan and Chu Qian could also be resolved.

They were all very good people. After getting to know them, Mo Fan naturally didn't want to see them pass away like this.

"I have a few things I want to tell you."

Still at the corridor staircase, Mo Fan was stopped by Liu Xiyan.

"Elder, I still want to fool around a bit—" Mo Fan scratched his head and said.

"It's not that," Liu Xiyan shook her head.

Mo Fan was stunned and looked at her with some confusion.

After a moment of deliberation, Liu Xiyan slowly said: "Last time you came, I forgot to tell you.

"Liu Jian's Junior Brother, Li Xinghe, has been confirmed to be a Heavenly Demon Cult member.

"But he was cunning enough to successfully escape last time.

"You did well. If you hadn't been in the back mountain that day, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Hearing these words, Mo Fan was slightly lost in thought.

Although the truth was already obvious,

Mo Fan was still a bit dazed after it was confirmed by Liu Xiyan.

Li Xinghe and Liu Jian could both be considered his half-Masters.

"What did the Heavenly Demon Cult go to such great lengths to send people to Hidden Sword Peak for?" Mo Fan asked.

Although he had heard some information that night,

Mo Fan still didn't understand some things well enough.

Liu Xiyan focused slightly, hesitated for a moment, and slowly said:

"I'm not sure of their objective either."

After a pause, Liu Xiyan continued:

"Hidden Sword Peak contains a natural Field.

"This Field is also the foundation upon which the Sword Pavilion stands."

Upon hearing this, Mo Fan nodded.

He had heard of this before.

Liu Xiyan continued:

"Combining what you heard last time, I infer that their objective is the natural Field contained within Hidden Sword Peak.

"They seem to want to use a special Magic Array to activate the Field within Hidden Sword Peak.

"As for the specific objective—

"Currently, too little information is known to deduce it.

"However, after this incident, I have covered Hidden Sword Peak with a sword array, so now any disturbance will not escape my notice."

At the end, Liu Xiyan seemed to recall something and frowned slightly, saying:

"The Law Enforcement Team wanted to investigate you before, but I suppressed it.

"You have your own secrets. Be more careful in the future and don't easily expose your uniqueness.

"After this incident, you should also realize that even within the academy, it's not absolutely safe—"