Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

One pill costs 666 points?

In Liu Yao's memory, this Soul Pill should have been refined using the souls of those from the outer sect's back mountain, and its effect on nourishing the soul was quite good. This stirred up some brief memories for Ye Xuan.

"Was it recommended specifically for me?"

"Times have truly progressed; even this cultivation world has algorithms. I just wonder if it's based on cultivation level or something else."

Ye Xuan chuckled. It was true that the formation could detect that he needed to strengthen his soul at this stage, but he didn't have enough merit points at the moment, so even if he wanted to change it, he couldn't afford to.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, a slightly unfamiliar voice came from behind him.

"Is Daozi interested in this Soul Pill?"

Ye Xuan turned around and saw an old man in a gray robe who had appeared in the hall at some point. He was leaning against the counter, playing with a piece of purple jade in his hand.

"Disciple Zhao Wu greets the steward."

Ye Xuan cupped his hands in greeting, noticing the old man's calm demeanor and the gray robe he wore, which was the attire of most of the sect's stewards.

"No need for formalities. I am merely a caretaker and not a steward."

The old man waved his hand, his fingertips pausing occasionally, "Soul Pills are good things."

"Especially for disciples like you who have just entered the inner sect and are only focused on improving their cultivation level, often neglecting the stability of their soul."

Ye Xuan agreed, saying he had only just realized the problem today.

"Unfortunately, my achievements are insufficient."

"As for achievements, just make them."

The old man looked up at Ye Xuan, and their eyes met.

"May I ask, senior, what is the fastest way for inner disciples to earn merit points?"

"Naturally, it is the task of the character '癸' (gui). Those who are capable should do more work, and the 'labor' in 'labor collection' refers to this task."

He then began to fiddle with the object in his palm, explaining in detail:

"An inner sect mission with the character 'Gui' will earn at least 800 merit points, and if the difficulty is slightly higher, it is not uncommon to earn over 1,000."

However, most of these tasks with the character "癸" have long cycles and are quite time-consuming to execute.

Of course, there are good ones among them, but once a task is accepted, it cannot be turned back; it all depends on whether you know what you're doing.

Ye Xuan's heart stirred; this old man must be a very experienced person.

"I don't know the fourth 'Gui' character in the section on repairing and strengthening the Blood Elixir Furnace..."

"That one."

The old man laughed, but his smile was somewhat strange.

"Was it Zhou Xian who recommended it to you?"

"Yes"

"He's in a hurry, and he knows how to pick things."

The old man stopped what he was doing, not in a hurry to explain why, but slowly said:

"Gui character four, merit points nine hundred and fifty, but repairing the Blood Elixir Furnace..."

"Hehe, that furnace isn't your average alchemy furnace; it's a monster that eats people."

Upon hearing this, Ye Xuan didn't care. After all, he had been in the Holy Sect for some time. Even the ghosts in the back mountain of this place would eat people. What else wouldn't they do?

"The Blood Pill Furnace is one of the three main furnaces in the inner sect's alchemy room. Although most inner sect disciples look down on the blood pills refined in it, and it was originally only used by outer sect disciples, it is just that the essence is crude. After some processing, the effect is still quite good."

However, recently, the raw materials for the Blood Pill ran out, and the problem stemmed from the Short-Lived Realm, so the Holy Sect couldn't do anything about it.

Ye Xuan suddenly realized and said loudly:

"I see!

But what does this have to do with what just happened?

Upon hearing this, the old man paused again, scratching his head somewhat embarrassedly.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. When I chat with people, I always end up going off-topic. Please don't take offense, Daozi."

Only then did he begin to ponder the matter carefully, and he spoke seriously about their previous topic:

"That furnace of specially made blood pills was used frequently due to high demand in the past, and it was already overburdened."

Therefore, the furnace walls need to be reinforced periodically; otherwise, the accumulated blood and evil energy inside will leak out, causing minor damage to the elixir and the furnace, or even more serious consequences…

The old man suddenly moved closer to Ye Xuan, saying, "It will backfire on the alchemist, draining their life essence!"

"Why does Senior Brother Zhou speak of such a dangerous mission so casually?"

"Because he was confident."

Zhou Xian specializes in alchemy and knows most of the furnaces in the inner sect's alchemy room like the back of his hand.

The old man stared at Ye Xuan, as if asking if he understood. Seeing Ye Xuan nod silently, he stopped talking and changed the subject, moving closer to him again.

"To be honest, I also have a way of earning merits."

"Oh?"

Seeing that the old man had actually put away the antiques he always carried, Ye Xuan couldn't help but take it seriously and listened attentively.

"The Soul Pill actually originates from the outer sect..."

There's a forest of sandalwood trees outside the sect, and every month many disciples are exiled there—a steady stream, you should know that, right?"

Ye Xuan did not answer, and the old man ignored him and continued talking to himself.

"Originally, every so often, disciples would take turns going there to collect the wandering souls. This was originally the job of the outer sect disciples."

Just a few days ago, two outer disciples who were on a mission were killed by unknown ascertained who was responsible.

This was no small matter; the Imperial Household Department investigated thoroughly but couldn't find anything, and the position has remained vacant ever since.

As soon as he finished speaking, seeing that Ye Xuan still had no questions, the old man tentatively asked:

"Daozi has just been promoted from the outer sect; does he know about this matter?"

Ye Xuan immediately shook his head, "This disciple does not know."

"So be it, so be it."

However, precisely because of this matter, the reward for this task has been increased somewhat. For inner disciples, spending some time each night to complete it can provide a decent income.

Ye Xuan understood immediately, as if suddenly realizing something, and promptly asked:

"Senior, do you have any connections? Could you please share some information?"

The old man chuckled and took out the antiques he had put away. "Daozi has found the right person."

"I am the one in charge of this matter. If Daozi finds this small amount of money acceptable, he can start working tomorrow night."

Ye Xuan nodded, "Senior, please don't make fun of me. It's just that there are still some things I don't understand."

He was naturally delighted to return to the Thunder Sandalwood Forest in the back mountains, and to do so openly and legitimately. He just didn't know what this old man in front of him was up to in this treacherous Holy Sect.

"Please speak, Daozi."

"It's nothing, but why did you tell me all this, senior?"

The old man smiled upon hearing this, "I have been in the inner sect for countless years and have witnessed far too much scheming among the inner disciples."

"Since you are a Daoist, you may go further in the Holy Sect in the future. Knowing some tricks in advance is better than being tricked to death."

Besides, helping a Daoist prodigy who hasn't appeared in a century might bring some benefits in the future; it's an investment, after all.

The old man waved his hand, but continued to play with the object in his hand, not allowing Ye Xuan to ask any more questions.

"Hurry up and leave. Other places inside the inner gate are open all day, but I have to close here at a certain time."

After saying that, he handed a jade slip to Ye Xuan, and the huge Feng Hall really closed its doors to guests, turned off the lights and extinguished the fire.

Ye Xuan unfolded the jade slip in his hand, and saw that it was marked with—

[Gui character, number sixty-three, guarding the Thunder Sandalwood Forest behind the outer gate, must capture at least sixty remnant souls each month, merit points are awarded 2,000 per month]

Hmm... Ye Xuan was quite satisfied with the conditions offered for this mission.

It doesn't matter how many merit points you earn; the main thing is to contribute to the sect.

With these thoughts in mind, Ye Xuan closed the jade slip and immediately felt a sense of emptiness, as if there was something he hadn't finished.

Today, on my first day as an inner disciple, I almost fell into Senior Sister Liu's trap, but I was a step ahead in skill and managed to counterattack her.

Then, Senior Brother Zhou Xian kindly gave him guidance and even planned to invite him to join the mission, which reminded Ye Xuan of two old acquaintances...

Besides that, there was the old man we just met...

"Oh, right!"

He suddenly remembered and took out Zhao Wu's miscellaneous notes from his storage bag.

After opening the book and writing down everything that had happened that day, Ye Xuan felt a sense of fulfillment.

He has never kept a diary, neither in the present world nor in the historical world he once traveled through for a year.

Being in this sacred sect inevitably makes one want to write in a diary.

Stopping his thoughts, he thought about the good job that awaited him tomorrow and took a rare nap.