Yao Shifeng arranged for everyone to gather at a restaurant in the market district. This establishnt catered specifically to cultivators, offering various kinds of spirit wine, spiritual grains, and spirit beast at. Hosting a banquet here was undoubtedly prestigious.
After all, these items were not cheap and were beyond the reach of ordinary low-level cultivators.
Arranging the gathering at such a place must have cost Yao Shifeng a considerable sum...
As Gu Mo marveled at Yao Shifeng's extravagance, he suddenly caught sight of soone waving at him from the side of the restaurant. Looking closely, he realized it was none other than Yao Shifeng, the initiator of this gathering.
"Boss Yao, long ti no see!"
Seeing a familiar face, Gu Mo smiled. Back when they were in the outer disciples' quarters, Yao Shifeng had shared a lot of cultivation insights with them. Of course, everyone had also helped Yao Shifeng in various ways, but Gu Mo didn't mind this mutual exchange of support.
"Why aren't you going inside?"
After exchanging pleasantries, Gu Mo curiously pointed at the restaurant.
"You think outer disciples like us can afford a place like this?" Yao Shifeng shrugged. He had only chosen this location for convenience, making it easier for everyone to find. After all, they had been separated for over a year, and many of them might not have even set foot in the market district during that ti.
If he had picked so obscure corner, so might not have been able to find it. But this restaurant, being one of the most prominent buildings in the market district, was easy to locate.
"True!"
Gu Mo nodded. Even with his 811 spirit stones, he wouldn't dare to spend lavishly here. This was a place where only late-stage Qi Refining cultivators or even Foundation Establishnt cultivators would frequent.
After waiting for a while, Hu Hai, Wu Jinfei, and Chu Feifei arrived one after another. Like Gu Mo, as soon as they appeared, Yao Shifeng called them over.
The five of them then found a private room in a more affordable tavern, ordered a pot of low-grade spirit tea, and started chatting.
Most of the conversation revolved around complaints. After joining their respective peaks, they finally understood the hardships of being outer disciples. The work was endless. Take Yao Shifeng's situation at the Talisman Peak, for example—outer disciples there were tasked with refining blank talismans.
Only by completing a certain quota of blank talismans could they earn rewards. To et the requirents, Yao Shifeng had to dedicate almost all his ti to making them, even at the cost of his own cultivation.
As a result, his cultivation had barely progressed in the past year. Ironically, their ti in the outer disciples' quarters had been their most productive period in terms of cultivation progress.
Back then, the sect provided them with resources, and all they had to do was focus on cultivation. But after joining their respective peaks, most of their ti was spent on miscellaneous tasks, and any resources had to be earned by themselves.
Fortunately, after enduring over a year of hardship, Yao Shifeng had honed his skills in refining blank talismans. He could now complete his daily tasks more efficiently, leaving him so ti for cultivation.
But in Yao Shifeng's eyes, this was far from enough. As soone with inferior spiritual roots, he needed much more to rise above the rest. That was when he thought of their small group.
"My friends, I ask for your support once more!" Yao Shifeng stood up and bowed to them.
"Boss Yao, we need to discuss this first." Wu Jinfei, speaking on behalf of the group, responded. Everyone agreed with supporting Yao Shifeng.
After all, they had all suffered as outer disciples and understood the struggles of having no backing. Among them, Yao Shifeng was clearly the most promising. Investing in him ant that if he managed to rise and beco an inner disciple, they would also benefit.
The only question was how much to invest. They couldn't afford to put so much into Yao Shifeng that it hindered their own cultivation—that would be counterproductive.
"Alright!"
Hearing this, Yao Shifeng left the private room.
"Without affecting your own cultivation, how much can you contribute?" Wu Jinfei glanced at Hu Hai, Chu Feifei, and finally settled his gaze on Gu Mo.
To Wu Jinfei, Gu Mo—who had been the last to reach the Qi Refining stage and had joined the Spirit Plant Hall—was likely the poorest among them. So whatever amount Gu Mo could contribute would set the baseline for their investnt.
"Hu Hai, how much can you offer?"
Gu Mo shifted his gaze toward Hu Hai. In his view, as the wealthiest among them, the investnt threshold should be determined by Hu Hai.
As for Chu Feifei, Gu Mo suspected she was the second wealthiest among them due to her unique constitution. She could activate her special physique simply by casting Cleaning Spells on herself, which in turn enhanced her cultivation speed.
With faster cultivation and constant spiritual energy growth, she could handle the daily chores with ease. Completing tasks smoothly ant she could earn a steady inco.
"I can contribute up to 25 spirit stones."
After so calculation, Hu Hai finally spoke. Having only been at the Pill Peak for a year, his unfamiliarity with the trade ant he hadn't earned much. Still, he chose to offer nearly half of his wealth—25 spirit stones—because he hoped Yao Shifeng would rise, giving them all a source of support.
He had suffered enough mistreatnt at the Pill Peak and didn't want those days to continue.
"Then each of us will contribute 25 spirit stones." Wu Jinfei nodded. Though he had more wealth than Hu Hai, 25 spirit stones was still a painful sum. But he, too, wished for a reliable ally—newly joined outer disciples getting bullied was a common occurrence, and he had also experienced it firsthand.
Among the five of them, probably only Gu Mo hadn't suffered this kind of treatnt. After joining the Spirit Plant Hall, he had imdiately rented a spiritual field outside the valley, avoiding the usual group labor with other outer disciples. Naturally, this ant no one had the opportunity to bully him.
In fact, by now, Gu Mo had beco a figure to be flattered among the other outer disciples in the Spirit Plant Hall. This was thanks to the hall's promotion of Gu Mo as a special case—a re outer disciple receiving inner disciple-level treatnt upon joining.
"Thank you all for your trust!"
When Yao Shifeng received the 100 spirit stones, the dimd confidence in his eyes reignited.
Upon joining Talisman Peak, he had expected so preferential treatnt as the second person in his batch to reach the Qi Refining stage.
But he received nothing.
There were plenty of people like him at Talisman Peak. Every year, there was a first, second, and third-ranked disciple among the outer disciples, and they almost always ended up joining the Pill, Artifact, Talisman, or Formation Peaks. At Talisman Peak, Yao Shifeng encountered top-ranked disciples from previous years—his so-called "second place" ant nothing here. Soon, even the next batch of talented disciples would arrive.
But now, with the support of his group, Yao Shifeng was filled with confidence. He was certain that he could surpass them.
This was the first step in his rise to power.
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