The disheveled old man, upon hearing this, directly threw a bag full of Spirit Stones to Alaric Ye. "Here are five hundred Spirit Stones. Borrow them for five days first... if it's not enough, I'll add more!"
After speaking, he tossed over a token. Alaric took a closer look and saw the words "Top Xuan Sect, Elder's Jade Token, Sun Yao!"
This startled him so much that his hand trembled, almost dropping the token from the high altitude.
This disheveled old man was actually an elder of the Top Xuan Sect, ranking even higher than the Peak Master, with unfathomable strength.
Alaric estimated that if he wasn't already one of the legendary Elemental Infant old monsters, he was at least close to that level, once a dominant figure in the entire Dragon-seeking Mountain Range's cultivation world!
Elder Sun chuckled, "With this jade token, you can visit the Elder Hall at the back of Spirit Beast Peak anytime to see your smelly fart worm. Also, if anyone bullies you, just show them the token and mention my name. Say you're under my protection, and I guarantee it will work."
After speaking, he waved his hand at Little Blue under Alaric's feet. Little Blue's body uncontrollably shrank and then flew into the old man's tattered sleeve. The old man then rode his wine gourd, laughing as he flew towards the back of Spirit Beast Peak.
Alaric stood in mid-air, slightly bowing towards the old man.
"Farewell, Senior."
Standing in the wind, Alaric felt a bit disoriented. He had just gone out for a meal and inexplicably encountered a sect elder, earning five hundred Spirit Stones and obtaining an elder's jade token...
Elder Sun was indeed casual. The authority of the elder's jade token was second only to the sect master's seal, and he had just casually given it to Alaric, whom he had just met...
However, Alaric dared not use this thing recklessly. He stored the jade token in his storage space.
"Just sacrificed Little Blue's chrysanthemum. But that's not a big problem. Little Blue naturally likes to fart. I wonder if Elder Sun can come up with any results."
"If he can really make every smelly fart worm produce explosive farts, the status of smelly fart worms will rise significantly. It's just that during festivals, the firecracker sounds at Spirit Beast Peak might be a bit loud..."
"But... I'm kind of looking forward to that scene!"
A strange smile appeared on Alaric's lips.
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He realized his personality was somewhat similar to Elder Sun's...
"I'll go check on Little Blue tomorrow. I can't let Elder Sun come up with any problems."
Alaric had strong feelings for each of his Spirit Insects, even the ever-hungry Silkworm One and Silkworm Two.
If not for Elder Sun's terrifying cultivation and willingness to spend Spirit Stones, Alaric would never have lent out Little Blue.
"Now I have quite a few Spirit Stones. Once the sect distributes the mission rewards, I can look for new Spirit Insects, preferably those that can fight and produce."
Alaric took out a mid-grade flying sword from his storage bag and quickly flew towards the outer disciples' dining hall. Although Little White and Little Strong both had flying abilities, they were currently cultivating secret techniques in the Ancient Ring of the Insect Emperor, and Alaric didn't want to disturb them.
...
After a hearty meal, Alaric returned to his residence. With Little Blue borrowed, he felt an emptiness around him, like a parent whose child had gone to visit relatives, making it hard to calm down during cultivation.
After all, he didn't know Elder Sun well. If Elder Sun turned out to be a perverted maniac, Little Blue would suffer, and Alaric would feel guilty for agreeing to lend him out.
"No, even though Steward Zhang told me not to leave Spirit Beast Peak for a few days, a quick trip out shouldn't have much impact."
Alaric stood up, planning to find Elijah Wang or Zachary Song. Both of them were well-informed within the Top Xuan Sect and could provide information about Elder Sun, easing his worries.
Just as he was about to leave, there was a knock at the door.
"Brother Ye, are you home? It's Elijah Wang, here with Zachary Song to visit you."
Alaric was slightly stunned. These two had come at just the right time.
They must have heard about Alaric's mission mishap but safe return and came to check on him.
The three of them were now in different peaks, and although they didn't contact each other often, their bond remained strong.
Alaric smiled and opened the small courtyard door.
He saw the chubby Elijah Wang and the elegant Zachary Song standing outside.
Elijah Wang now had the strength of the fourth level of Qi Refining and had been promoted to an Inner Disciple, apprenticed to a steward at Thundercloud Peak who was close to the Golden Elixir stage. Under his management, the Longevity Society had grown to over a hundred members, gaining some fame within the sect.
With his connections and financial resources, he was thriving, rarely facing any oppression. Every time Alaric visited his cave, he found that Elijah's future Dao Companion had changed, living a very comfortable life.
As for Zachary Song, he now had the strength of the fifth level of Qi Refining and was known as a rare sword prodigy at Spirit Sword Peak, with the potential to become the sixth Chosen of the Top Xuan Sect.
Appearance-wise, he was as handsome as Alaric, but standing there, he gave off the aura of an unsheathed sword, sharp and fierce, indicating that he had made some progress in swordsmanship, with formidable combat power.
The rapid advancement of these two in the past year was mainly due to their superior Spiritual Roots and strong family backgrounds, lacking neither Spirit Stones nor elixirs.
Alaric, with no backing and only mid-grade Spiritual Roots, lived a tight life, spending heavily to raise a bunch of Spirit Insects, leaving few Spirit Stones for cultivation. Additionally, he spent a long time building his foundation with the Five Elements Primordial Art and the Five Elements Vajra Technique, causing his cultivation to lag behind Zachary's.
Fortunately, as an Insect Cultivator, his combat power wasn't closely tied to his cultivation level.
However, he couldn't let the gap between his cultivation and his Spirit Insects' grow too wide. Recently, Little White often felt a bottleneck in her cultivation, likely due to Alaric's low level.
The world's rules didn't allow Beast Tamers or Insect Cultivators to have too large a gap between their cultivation and their pets'.
So, Alaric planned to focus on improving his cultivation, quickly breaking through levels, at least not becoming a burden to Little White.
Seeing the two arrive, Alaric felt in good spirits.
"Come in, no need to be formal..."
The three of them went to the living room.
Zachary and Elijah both inquired about the mission. Alaric repeated what he had told Steward Zhang.
He had secrets that couldn't be hidden anymore, and it didn't make much sense to keep hiding them. Zachary's rapid advancement seemed to be due to a mysterious inheritance he received at Spirit Sword Peak's Sword Pavilion, so they all had their secrets.
Elijah, upon hearing this, suddenly understood. "I knew there was a reason you insisted on being a senior servant at Spirit Beast Peak. So that's it, little brother, you hid it well!"
Zachary said, "If you find any missions suspicious in the future, you can ask me for help. I can speak to my master and help you avoid dangerous tasks and take on other missions instead."