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Chapter 296: The Oath
🕑 Added 2024-10-06 05:09:23 +0000 UTCBoth Xu Juan and Yuan Qing had interacted with Lin Xiao before. Although Lin Xiao had grown taller since their last meeting, his facial features hadn't changed much.
Initially, after hearing that Yuan Qing had been expelled from his sect, Lin Xiao didn't think much about it. He figured that as long as they disguised themselves well for the Talisman Master Conference, everything would be fine.
But now that Yuan Qing would be accompanying them and might have contact with his former sect, Lin Xiao felt it was necessary to have Yuan Qing swear a heavenly oath to ensure his safety.
Yuan Qing was caught off guard, not expecting Lin Xiao’s request to be this serious.
After all, the incident had occurred a year ago, and from Yuan Qing's perspective, Lin Xiao had saved him and his fellow disciples. Why would Lin Xiao need to be so cautious about hiding his identity?
However, Yuan Qing didn't question it or think too deeply. Lin Xiao had saved his life twice without asking for anything in return.
Without hesitation, Yuan Qing climbed out of bed with Lin Xiao's help, stood upright, and pricked his finger to draw a drop of blood. He placed his blood-stained fingertip on his forehead and began reciting the heavenly oath as Lin Xiao had instructed.
Already weak from losing so much blood recently, the effort of producing even a small drop of blood left Yuan Qing pale and shaky.
"I, Yuan Qing, hereby swear..."
Both Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu were witnessing someone making a heavenly oath for the first time, so they watched closely, curious about every detail.
What if they had to make one themselves in the future?
As Yuan Qing recited his oath word by word, the drop of blood on his forehead transformed into a faint red mist, slowly gathering in front of his forehead and forming a small orb.
"...Should I break this oath, may the heavens smite me, and the earth swallow me whole."
When Yuan Qing finished speaking, Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu watched as the blood mist fully condensed into a small crimson bead, hovering in front of Yuan Qing’s forehead. Then, without hesitation, Yuan Qing took the bead and swallowed it whole.
Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu suddenly understood — the person making the oath had to swallow the resulting blood bead!
The two exchanged glances, satisfied that they had learned something new and important.
"Alright, just wait here for a bit while we go get you a ticket," Lin Xiao said as they turned to leave.
"Wait! Please, hold on!" Yuan Qing quickly called out.
They stopped and looked back at him, puzzled.
Yuan Qing fumbled at his waist and pulled out a delicate blue pouch. He carefully extracted a small pile of spirit stones and placed them on the table.
"These are all the spirit stones I have. I wasn’t joking when I said I’d cover all the costs for this trip. Please, take these as my contribution."
The pile of stones wasn’t large, but Lin Xiao immediately noticed that many of them were different from the ordinary spirit stones he was used to. The energy contained within these stones was far more concentrated.
He quickly realized — these must be mid-grade or even high-grade spirit stones!
Seeing that Lin Xiao was about to say something, Yuan Qing hurriedly added, "Lin Daoist, please don’t refuse. You’ve saved me multiple times, and I cannot begin to repay your kindness. These spirit stones are just a small token of my gratitude. Please, accept them."
Lin Xiao: …I wasn’t going to refuse. You’re coming with us, paying is the least you can do.
Lin Xiao had initially intended to ask about the spirit stones' rarity, but now, seeing Yuan Qing’s earnest expression, he decided to drop the subject. He quietly nodded, sweeping the spirit stones into his storage pouch.
Maybe I’ll just appraise them later myself.
Jiang Youfu, on the other hand, didn’t notice anything unusual about the spirit stones. Seeing that the amount wasn’t large, he stayed quiet.
Relieved that Lin Xiao had accepted the stones, Yuan Qing, still weak, staggered back to sit on the edge of the bed, smiling weakly at them.
"Thank you both for your trouble..."
Jiang Youfu tugged at Lin Xiao’s sleeve and said, "You rest well! We’ll bring back something tasty for you later."
With that, they left the room.
Once they were outside and walking down the street, Jiang Youfu turned to Lin Xiao, transmitting a message:
"Brother Xiao, how about I cook something for him later? We can just say it’s from a street vendor. He looks so weak; I’m worried something might happen to him on the journey."
Lin Xiao considered Yuan Qing’s condition. Traveling in such a state could indeed be problematic, not to mention that it might attract unwanted attention. He agreed, "Alright, let’s tell him it’s from a vendor on the road."
While they still had some medicinal pills made by Sun Yigao, they couldn’t afford to use them all on Yuan Qing — they might need them for themselves later. Using spirit food to aid his recovery was the best option.
Lin Xiao was well aware that Jiang Youfu had come prepared. He had brought two storage pouches: one filled with snacks prepared by his grandmother and his essential cooking tools, and the other packed full of ingredients. His monthly allowance of spirit stones barely took up a corner of one of the bags.
The two quickly purchased another ticket for Yuan Qing, then made their way to the outskirts of the city to set up a cooking station in the wilderness. After confirming that the area was deserted, Lin Xiao set up a barrier to keep others from sensing their activities, and Jiang Youfu began cooking in earnest.
Of course, he didn’t just make one portion for Yuan Qing. He made a full pot of food.
Liao Pantu also emerged from the Soul Nourishing Pendant to stretch his legs.
Once the meal was ready, the three of them ate heartily by the makeshift stove. After cleaning up and ensuring they left no traces behind, they packed up the remaining portion for Yuan Qing and headed back to Yuanling City.
On the way back, Lin Xiao appraised the spirit stones Yuan Qing had given him.
Most of them were mid-grade spirit stones — 50 of them, to be exact. The remaining dozen were ordinary spirit stones.
As they walked, Lin Xiao transmitted a message to Liao Pantu: "Senior, how many ordinary spirit stones is a mid-grade stone worth?"
Liao Pantu, who had been aware of Yuan Qing’s earlier gift, replied: "In the cultivation world, the stones you call ‘ordinary’ are actually referred to as lower-grade spirit stones. If someone just says ‘spirit stone’ without specifying, it’s always assumed to be lower-grade.
"There isn’t a precise exchange rate between mid-grade and lower-grade stones, but typically, one mid-grade spirit stone is worth around a hundred lower-grade ones. However, the exact number can vary slightly depending on the situation. Keep in mind, though, that a mid-grade spirit stone doesn’t contain exactly 100 times more energy than a lower-grade one — it’s more like 50 times the energy. The main advantage of mid-grade stones is that the energy they contain is much purer and easier to absorb, so using them for cultivation is far more efficient."
Liao Pantu patiently explained everything in detail, as was his usual style when providing guidance.
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