CHAPTER 98: CHAPTER 96: SECT MISSION: THE UNLISTED GOURD SPIRIT TURTLE

"Senior Brother, this is not a Moon Liquid Pearl."

When Li Ye arrived at the Steward Hall, the disciple in charge of reception shook his head after examining with a magical artifact and said:

"Moon Liquid Pearls are the product of the seasonal spiritual plant Silver Moon Grass."

"They can only be gathered under the moonlight of winter."

"Anything produced outside this period cannot be considered Moon Liquid Pearls, but rather Moonlight Pearls."

The disciple also handed a jade stone board to Li Ye, which surprisingly displayed the comparison atlas between the spiritual power of Moon Liquid Pearls and Moonlight Pearls.

Neatly listed the differences in spiritual power between the two.

Taiyin Moonlight and Cold Spiritual Qi were almost identical, except missing the "Winter Seasonal Spiritual Qi" entry.

"Thank you, Junior Brother." Li Ye nodded, realizing he didn’t know these were not considered Moon Liquid Pearls.

"Still, Senior Brother can sell them." The disciple continued, "Although Moonlight Pearls lack the unique winter spiritual qi, their Taiyin Qi is purer.

Moreover, the spiritual qi in Senior Brother’s pearls is exceptionally refined.

If Senior Brother intends to sell, I can register it here in the Steward Hall, and the Heavenly Craft Hall will also receive the information."

"Please register them for me then."

Li Ye handed over his identity jade pendant.

Not only a symbol of identity, the jade pendant also served as the transaction certificate for sect contribution points and spirit stones.

The Steward Hall disciple then took the jade pendant, touched it against a nearby magical artifact, and exclaimed in surprise.

"Senior Brother, you haven’t received the inner sect disciple’s books yet."

"There is also a jade scroll left by your mentor, True Man Suoxing, specifically for you."

His tone grew increasingly respectful as he retrieved five thick tomes from the artifact, and handed a jade scroll to Li Ye.

Books?

Li Ye lowered his head and browsed through them.

He found out that the books were "Spirit Plant Encyclopedia," "Spirit Beast Atlas," "Basic Techniques of Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment," "Four Seasons Sect: Introduction to Five Domains," and "Hundred Skills of Cultivation Introduction."

"..."

No wonder he had been curious why sect books weren’t distributed after he was admitted.

It turns out they had to be claimed—no, Senior Brother Su Ya might have mentioned it briefly, but he was distracted then.

If he hadn’t come to claim them and foolishly tried to buy them, he probably wouldn’t even find them.

After receiving the books, Li Ye asked, "Are there any sect tasks I can take? I want to plant some things in the spirit field."

The disciple looked at him with a peculiar expression.

Hesitatingly, he asked, "Senior Brother must not have been in the sect for long, right?"

"Yes."

"That explains it. Senior Brother’s cave mansion should also have the Four Seasons Jade Pendant where sect tasks can be accepted directly."

"But since Senior Brother is here, I’ll offer the tasks available for a Foundation Establishment stage Spirit Plant Master to choose from."

The Steward Hall disciple handed a jade scroll to Li Ye.

"Thank you, Junior Brother," Li Ye said while placing the scroll on his brow to examine it, swiftly absorbing its information into his sea of consciousness.

Indeed, there were many tasks, but the requirements were extremely strict, with penalties for failure, unlike the earlier welfare-like tasks seen at Huiya Marketplace.

For example, there was a "Summer Flame Wheat" task requiring at least 95% seed survival and quality reaching "B" grade.

Failure to complete would result in deducting contribution points from the sect.

Is it because Huiya Marketplace was for selecting talented individuals, and now within the sect, being stricter since they’re all insiders?

Li Ye thought this was indeed possible.

’It’s best not to choose overly difficult tasks. I’ll plant the field while exploring step by step.’

Having decided, he continued reading.

He then discovered some tasks marked as key, explicitly stating that they could earn merit.

Even quantifying the amount of merit.

For example, planting spirit grass in the Gui Xu would earn one tael of merit.

Li Ye wasn’t sure what a tael of merit meant but didn’t immediately ask.

Instead, he held onto his curiosity and continued reading.

As he read each task, his heart skipped a beat when he realized:

Cultivating a spirit beast or spirit plant not recorded in the sect’s jade scroll could earn a hundred taels of merit.

A hundred taels...

Li Ye couldn’t help swallowing hard.

—Would his Gourd Spirit Turtle count as an unrecorded spirit beast?

He began to ponder, torn between concealing and revealing, ultimately leaning towards revealing.

Now as a disciple of a Nascent Soul True Man with the Four Seasons Smooth Token entering the Temple of All Gods, why hide his skills?

The sect would provide enough upward space and resources.

Along with a sense of security.

Thus, he said to the disciple of the Steward Hall, "If I want to submit an unrecorded spirit beast, how does it work?"

"For this matter, I need to invite a True Man from the Steward Hall."

The disciple didn’t show much surprise, having encountered various affairs during his time here.

Naturally, there were some cultivators attempting to submit what they believed were unrecorded spirit plants or spirit beasts by the Four Seasons Sect, but none succeeded.

Yet, this one was a disciple of True Man Suoxing...? Could it be...?

If indeed there were unrecorded spirit plants or spirit beasts, it would surely enhance the foundation of the Four Seasons Sect.

Even if there’s the slightest possibility, it must not be overlooked.

With this in mind, he immediately contacted the True Man stationed at the Steward Hall.

...

"Li Ye?"

The True Man who arrived was a female cultivator dressed in simple white cloth.

She casually secured her hair with a wooden hairpin, her appearance gentle and approachable.

"Uncle Master..." Li Ye felt as though this True Man seemed familiar, and then suddenly remembered how similar she looked to Su Ya?

"Yes, I’m Su Ya’s sister." True Man Su smiled and said, "It was I who signed the pill-refining hall’s contract with you to purchase honey a while back."

"So it’s Uncle Master Su."

"I thought you looked familiar, didn’t expect it to be you."

Li Ye also smiled, giving a slight bow.

"So what exactly is this unrecorded spirit beast you mentioned?"

True Man Su looked at Li Ye, "Go ahead and tell me."

"The item is in my cave mansion..."

Before he could finish, True Man Su had already requested Li Ye’s identity token, using it to cast a spell and open a space portal.

"Go on."

She returned the token to Li Ye.

Since the space portal was already opened, Li Ye certainly didn’t delay and quickly took out a Gourd Spirit Turtle, placing it on the jade table.

"Oh." True Man Su gazed at the small spirit turtle, her eyes flickered with spiritual light, murmuring to herself:

"Its body lacks the Yin Yang Sympathetic Qi that typically belongs to turtle spirit beasts, yet it possesses the Power of Life inherent to gourds. And it’s actually a Bitter Spirit Gourd, this special type of spirit gourd..."

"It truly is a spirit beast not recorded in the sect’s jade document."

"However, it still needs appraisal to determine this spirit beast’s capabilities."

As she said this, she slightly bowed to the sky, "Disciple Su Yu requests the Patriarch’s divine artifact!"

A faint spiritual light flickered.

A bronze ruler adorned with flowers, birds, fish, insects, vines, and plants appeared in her hand.

It was the Shennong Ruler!

"With this artifact, we can ascertain the capabilities of this spirit turtle." She gently tapped the Gourd Spirit Turtle with the Shennong Ruler.

"Clang!"

Though it was the sound of bronze meeting the turtle’s shell, it emitted a dull thud.

Immediately, the bronze ruler’s radiance swirled, suddenly condensing into a jade scroll that fell into True Man Su’s hand.

She pressed it to her brow, reading it briefly, and then pondered:

"The Shennong Ruler reveals this spirit beast is born from a serendipitous union of a Bitter Spirit Gourd and an Earth Turtle."

"The Bitter Spirit Gourd, at its dying moments, received the core spiritual energy from the Earth Turtle’s shell.

Coupled with the peculiar breeding nature of Earth Turtles, it happened to synchronize with the gestation period of the Bitter Spirit Gourd."

"With the Bitter Spirit Gourd’s ability to house all spiritual qi and the longevity of the Earth Turtle.

They can almost absorb all gourd-based spiritual qi, evolving into a spirit beast with an unpredictably high upper limit."

"Is the creation of heavens truly this wondrous?"

Although Su Yu primarily studies alchemy, she is, after all, a Nascent Soul True Man of the Four Seasons Sect.

Having acquired much knowledge of spirit beasts and spirit plants through experience.

A spirit beast like this requires the perfect synergy of time, place, and people.

No wonder Senior Brother Suoxing said Li Ye, this young guy, has qi fortune on his side. Indeed, it’s extraordinarily good fortune.

She looked at Li Ye, speaking gently: "A hundred taels of merit will be sent to your cave mansion later.

Nephew Li, have you ever considered specializing in nurturing this kind of spirit beast? They were born under your care and indeed blessed by your fortune.

I would submit an application to the sect, providing you with a piece of Spirit Land suitable for this kind of spirit turtle’s habitat. If you need anything, you can also request material support from the sect."

Providing Spirit Land and material support?

This gave Li Ye the impression of embarking on some research project.

He never imagined a single spirit beast would lead to such a development.

Seeing Li Ye’s hesitance, True Man Su spoke: "Our Four Seasons Sect is indeed a dominant sect in this cultivation realm, with power extending across the Five Domains and Four Seas.

For many years, all recordable spirit plants and spirit beasts have been documented in Uncle Master Ginkgo’s jade scroll.

The emergence of an undocumented spirit beast, especially within our sect’s territory, indicates the sect’s qi fortune remains abundant.

Change is indeed a good thing.

Think about it, okay?"

Hearing True Man Su’s words, Li Ye felt a surge of excitement in his heart.

How else could he respond?

"Disciple is willing!"

He should agree, right?

The sect hadn’t even mentioned taking the spirit beast away; it was left to him to nurture—it initially seemed like the Gourd Spirit Turtle would be taken away by the sect’s spirit beast masters for cultivation.

True Man Su’s face showed a warmer smile, and just as she was about to say something.

A space portal suddenly appeared beside them, from which emerged a burly and robust male cultivator.

It was none other than Li Ye’s second senior brother, True Man Youtian!