6: Chapter 6: Exchanging Low-Grade Spirit Stones for Favorability

Jiang Yuwei entered the cave first and scanned the surroundings.

Until she confirmed there were no Yao Beasts nesting there, nor any signs of other Cultivators having visited.

Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief and sit down across from Mo Zixing.

Mo Zixing casually dumped everything from his Storage Pouch onto the empty ground in the middle.

A series of clattering sounds rang out.

The spoils of war piled up into a small mound.

The heat brought by the Candle Dragon Bloodline in his body had mostly dissipated.

The sword wound that had originally pierced through his chest had completely healed, leaving not even a scar.

One had to admit, setting aside other effects of the Candle Dragon Bloodline, its healing ability was truly top-tier.

The heart vessels that had been skewered by a sword had actually healed tightly in no time.

Jiang Yuwei also poured out all her things, placing them together with Mo Zixing's pile:

“Senior Brother, these are the things I obtained in the Secret Realm; they're all here.”

Just as his gaze swept over the items on the ground, a series of descriptive pop-up windows automatically appeared:

[Low-Grade Spirit Stone: An Ore containing a small amount of spiritual energy]

[Tough Bamboo Blade: Bamboo segments from a Bamboo Demon's body, also the weapons they use to attack. Hard in texture, can be used to forge weapons]

[Qi Condensation Grass: A low-tier Spiritual Plant that can help Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators stabilize their spiritual energy]

[Clear Dew Flower: A low-tier Spiritual Plant that can be used to refine common healing Medicinal Pills]

Mo Zixing took inventory and did a rough calculation in his head.

This trip to the Secret Realm, not counting the gains from the System, the value of these items alone when exchanged at the Sect was worth nearly a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

As an ordinary Outer Sect Disciple, his monthly allowance was only thirty Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

This small pile of items was worth three or four months of his allowance.

Compared to taking on errand missions that paid four or five Spirit Stones, the harvest was indeed quite good.

Except for the part where he almost lost his life.

Beside him, Jiang Yuwei looked at the pile of spoils, her legs subconsciously pressing closer together.

She had just entered the Outer Sect, and her monthly allowance was a mere ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

To her, this pile of items was already a genuine fortune, equivalent to more than ten times her monthly allowance.

But before Mo Zixing could speak, she took the initiative to meticulously divide the items into two piles.

Jiang Yuwei pushed the vast majority of the items—Spirit Stones, bamboo blades, Spiritual Plants, etc.—in front of Mo Zixing, leaving only three lonely Low-Grade Spirit Stones for herself.

“Senior Brother, these should all be yours.”

She lowered her head, her voice thick with guilt:

“In the Secret Realm this time, I relied entirely on you for protection, and most of the Yao Beasts were killed by you.”

“What's more... I even injured you. Being able to bring me out alive is already a sign of your magnanimity, Senior Brother.”

As she spoke, her elbow accidentally bumped into the items on the ground.

A piece of bamboo, deep green throughout and a size thicker than the other segments, rolled out from the pile of spoils she had pushed to Mo Zixing.

It stopped right by his feet.

Mo Zixing picked it up casually, and the System panel instantly popped up:

[Item: Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo]

[Quality: Rare low-tier Material]

[A ten-year-old Solitary Bamboo grown in the cold, shaded areas of the Secret Realm. It contains denser spiritual energy than ordinary spiritual bamboo and has a tougher texture]

[Legend has it that a certain great expert once listed it as a candidate for auxiliary Materials to Breakthrough a Bottleneck in their youth]

The corner of Mo Zixing's mouth twitched.

The description of this thing sounded as unreliable as the ancestral Breakthrough Pill Formula sold by Jianghu scammers in the marketplace.

But it was a rare item after all, so he'd keep it for now.

Just in case it really came in handy later.

Mo Zixing didn't stand on ceremony with Jiang Yuwei; he just glanced at her and then accepted all the spoils she had pushed over.

Long before dividing the items, he already had a certain hypothesis.

Since Jiang Yuwei had forgotten about the Secret Scroll, she definitely didn't know her original reason for wanting to kill him. Just as she said, she would think she had been deluded by a Yao Beast.

Plus, he had changed Jiang Yuwei's personality trait to the [Benevolent] tag.

This way, she definitely wouldn't be able to stand the fact that she had accidentally injured her Senior Brother and would be in a constant state of guilt.

In this situation, the more he declined, the more this girl would feel that her debt couldn't be repaid. Her sense of guilt would accumulate, and she would only get more and more nervous.

While she could indeed be easily manipulated under such pressure, he was aiming for the extra rewards of maxing out her favorability.

Calmly accepting her apology would instead let the weight on her heart drop, and incidentally increase her favorability.

But he couldn't be too unhesitating; he had to act as if he were doing it to be considerate of her feelings.

This was Mo Zixing's secret practical strategy; he wouldn't teach it to just anyone.

As expected.

Just after he finished collecting the items, he caught a glimpse of the row of favorability hearts on Jiang Yuwei's panel jumping, with a small upward arrow appearing next to them.

Her favorability had increased.

What Jiang Yuwei feared most was that Mo Zixing would refuse any compensation from her, which would leave her conscience uneasy.

“Senior Brother...”

Seeing that Senior Brother Mo was clearly being considerate of her feelings by not treating her like a stranger, her eyes couldn't help but well up, and her voice choked up a bit.

This was just the beginning.

His little combo move had just started.

Mo Zixing had been knocking around the Outer Sect for three years.

Although his cultivation had been stuck at Qi Refining Level 3 without progress, he wasn't lacking these few Spirit Stones.

He looked at the three lonely Spirit Stones in front of Jiang Yuwei, casually grabbed more than half of the Spirit Stones he had just received, along with two stalks of Qi Condensation Grass, and pushed them back in front of her.

“Take them.”

Jiang Yuwei instantly looked up, waving her hands in refusal, the curves in front of her swaying slightly as she did so.

“No, no, Senior Brother, I can't take them!”

“There's no reason you can't.”

Mo Zixing struck the pose of a Senior and said imperiously:

“You've just entered the Outer Sect, and many things you haven't bought yet require Spirit Stones. If I tell you to take them, take them.”

Exactly; this was the technique of accepting first and then giving back.

Compared to refusing from the start, this maneuver sold the same items as two favors, earning double the favorability!

“And one thing at a time. As for you almost killing me, I'll have you help me with other things later. Treat these items as my care for you.”

This combo of moves was remarkably effective on a Junior Sister who had only been on the path of Dao for a few days.

A faint layer of pink spread over Jiang Yuwei's neck. She couldn't say a word in rebuttal for a long while, finally only responding in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz:

“Um... thank you, Senior Brother...”

She didn't refuse again, obediently putting the Spirit Stones and Spiritual Plants Mo Zixing gave her into her own Storage Pouch.

The little favorability heart on the panel jumped again and again; the fourth star was almost full.

Not bad at all.

Mo Zixing whistled in his mind.

As expected, everything was within his predictions.

Spending a few Low-Grade Spirit Stones to gain this much favorability.

It was definitely a profitable deal.

After Jiang Yuwei put the things away, she stole a glance at Mo Zixing and then quickly lowered her head again.