Mortal: I, Zhang Tie, started by joining forces with Han Li to kill a strategist.

For the next period of time, Zhang Tie did not rush to go into seclusion to cultivate, but went to the scripture pavilion of Spirit Beast Mountain.

The Sutra Repository is located at the summit of Spirit Beast Peak. It is an unremarkable three-story building. If it weren't for the mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator sitting at the entrance, one would never guess that this is the core area of ​​the sect.

Zhang Tie showed his token, and the old man raised his eyelids slightly, gesturing for him to go in.

The first floor of the Scripture Pavilion is open to Foundation Establishment disciples for free, while the second floor and above require contribution points. Zhang Tie is currently short of contribution points, so he only wanders around the first floor.

After searching for a long time, I finally found what I was looking for: a book called "The True Explanation of All Spirits," which records special spiritual objects such as malevolent energy in the cultivation world.

The book is not thick, but its content is detailed.

Besides spiritual energy, the world also generates special substances such as malevolent energy, death energy, yin energy, and demonic energy.

Zhang Tie turned to the page about the Earthly Fiend Qi and read it carefully.

"Earthly Fiend Qi is born from the fusion of Yin Qi and Earth Spiritual Qi. It is often found in places where Yin Qi is abundant, such as ancient battlefields, places where cultivators have perished, and deep valleys and secluded ravines..."

"The aura of the Earthly Fiends is grayish-black in color, and its touch is chillingly cold. Mortals who come into contact with it will fall seriously ill, and cultivators must protect their bodies with spiritual power before they can come into contact with it!"

"Earthly Fiend Qi can be used to temper the physical body, refine magical artifacts, and set up formations. Among these, tempering the physical body is the rarest, requiring special cultivation techniques. If ordinary cultivators directly absorb Earthly Fiend Qi, at best their meridians will be damaged, and at worst they will suffer from internal energy deviation, leading to death and the dissipation of their cultivation!"

Zhang Tie felt a chill run down his spine. The evil energy was so dangerous. However, the "Mysterious Earth Contains Gold Technique" was a technique specifically designed to absorb the evil energy of the earth, so there was no need to worry about going astray.

Then I turned to the page about the earth's energy veins.

"Earth vein energy is the innate spiritual energy nurtured deep within the earth's spiritual veins. It is extremely rare. Earth vein energy is pale golden in color, warm to the touch, and contains a rich and pure earth-metal elemental spiritual energy..."

"The conditions for its formation are extremely demanding; a spiritual vein needs to have been formed for over a thousand years, and its core must remain intact!"

"The value of ley line energy far surpasses that of shamanic energy. A small bottle of ley line energy is worth a thousand low-grade spirit stones, and even then, it's practically priceless!"

"hiss--"

When Zhang Tie saw the last sentence of the record, he immediately gasped.

According to this book, a small bottle of Earthly Fiend Qi is usually worth about two hundred spirit stones, while Earth Vein Qi is worth five times that amount, costing one thousand spirit stones!

According to his previous estimate, condensing the Golden Embryo would require at least fifty bottles of Earthly Fiend Qi... that's ten thousand spirit stones!!!

He only has a little over a hundred spirit stones in his storage bag now, not even enough to buy a bottle of Earthly Fiend Qi, let alone a better Meridian Qi!

The pressure is immense!

Zhang Tie closed the book and began to ponder.

Soon after, a glint of light flashed in Zhang Tie's eyes, realizing he had truly been foolish.

Instead of obsessing over how to get spirit stones, he could have found them himself!

Isn't Lingxian Peak's specialty finding spiritual energy and veins?

Earthly Fiend Qi is also a special kind of spiritual object. As long as you learn the art of seeking spiritual objects, you can seek out Earthly Fiend Qi on your own.

"Senior Brother Sun said that disciples of Lingxian Peak can learn the art of spirit seeking. I'll go to the Affairs Hall to ask tomorrow!" Zhang Tie muttered to himself, got up, put the book back on the shelf, and walked out of the Scripture Pavilion.

...

"Junior Brother Zhang, do you want to learn the art of spirit searching?"

Inside the somewhat deserted Affairs Hall, Sun Feng looked at his newly arrived junior brother Zhang with some surprise!

Although the "Spirit Seeking Technique" is the signature skill of Lingxian Peak, it doesn't mean that every cultivator on Lingxian Peak is willing to learn it.

This secret technique is obscure and profound; perhaps only one in ten people can master it. In addition, it is tedious and requires a lot of practice and accumulation, making it far less popular than skills such as beast taming, alchemy, and talisman making.

Zhang Tie said, half-jokingly, "Senior Brother Sun, I've been practicing a body-refining technique that requires Earthly Fiend Qi to temper my body, but Earthly Fiend Qi is too expensive and scarce, so I'd like to find it myself!"

Sun Feng looked enlightened but didn't press the matter. Cultivators all have their own secrets, and he wasn't curious about them, nor should he be.

"Junior Brother Zhang, all disciples of Lingxian Peak can learn the Spirit-Seeking Technique, but there are two conditions!" Sun Feng explained to Zhang Tie.

"Please speak, senior brother!"

"The first requirement is Foundation Establishment cultivation, which you have already met. The second requirement is 500 contribution points!" Sun Feng held up two fingers towards Zhang Tie.

Five hundred contribution points?

Upon hearing Sun Feng's terms, Zhang Tie's heart sank.

He had only been with Spirit Beast Mountain for a few months. Apart from the fixed thirty spirit stones and a bottle of pills each month, he hadn't taken on any missions. Where did he get contribution points?

Seemingly sensing Zhang Tie's embarrassment, Sun Feng's lips curled into a mysterious smile.

"Ahem, Junior Brother Zhang, rules are rules, but people are flexible. I know you haven't been a disciple for long, so your contribution points might not be that plentiful." Sun Feng stood up and took out a jade mirror from the back compartment.

"Lingxian Peak has a rule: newly established Foundation Establishment cultivators who wish to cultivate the Spirit Seeking Technique but lack sufficient contribution points can first accept a quest and use the contribution points earned from the quest to offset the cost. This rule was personally established by Martial Uncle Han!"

"Use now, pay later?!" Zhang Tie blurted out, a look of surprise on his face.

Sun Fengxian was taken aback for a moment, then a knowing smile appeared on his face: "Junior Brother's description is quite apt!"

Zhang Tie took the jade mirror handed to him by Sun Feng and examined it carefully.

The jade appreciation record contains more than a dozen tasks, each marked with contribution points and a time limit.

Sun Feng pointed to the tasks on the jade mirror and said, "There aren't many tasks on Spirit Immortal Peak, but they are still sect tasks. However, the contribution points are much higher than those from the Spirit Beast Peak Task Hall, ranging from three hundred to one thousand!"

"Junior brother, you've only just established your foundation. If you really want to learn the Spirit Seeking Technique, I suggest you choose a simple one!"

Zhang Tie carefully browsed the task list.

"Venturing deep into the Cangqiu Mountains to capture a Level 3 demonic beast cub... is too dangerous..."

"Cultivating Black-winged Poison Bats...only 300 contribution points..."

"Guarding the Crimson Jade Mine in the Cangqiu Mountains, 600 contribution points, two-year time limit... Mission content: Guarding the spirit jade mine, responsible for driving away demonic beasts and ensuring the normal operation of the jade mine, danger level: low to medium."

Zhang Tie's gaze lingered on the task for a moment.

Two years is not a long time for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and the Crimson Jade Mine is not a particularly precious mineral deposit. The demonic beasts should not be too strong. Most importantly, he has 600 contribution points, which is just enough for him to learn the Spirit Seeking Technique.

"Senior Brother Sun, I'll take on this mission to guard the Red Jade Mine!" Zhang Tie said, pointing to the mission on the jade mirror.

Sun Feng glanced at it and nodded: "These kinds of garrison missions are fairly standard and not too dangerous. I know this Crimson Jade Mine; it's usually guarded by two Foundation Establishment cultivators. The location is about 400 miles north of the mountain gate. There aren't many demonic beasts in that area, but occasionally level-two demonic beasts will appear. You've just established your foundation, so you need to be careful in everything you do!"

"Thank you for the reminder, senior!"

Sun Feng took Zhang Tie's identity token and helped him accept the task. He then took Zhang Tie to the Foundation Establishment cultivator surnamed Li whom he had met before, explained the reason, and obtained the jade tube inscribed with the "Spirit Seeking Technique".

"This jade tube can only be used once. You can deduct 500 contribution points when you return after completing the mission!"

Zhang Tie accepted the jade tube, feeling deeply moved. The "use first, pay later" rule of Spirit Beast Mountain was a godsend for him.