Taichu Yandao: Starting from the Villain

Zhao Rui was shocked. There was a quota for the number of spirit stones that had to be handed in to the cave every day. If he saved them up one by one, he didn't know how long it would take to save up so many mid-grade spirit stones.

Yao Yi looked at the spirit stones and continued, "This is nothing outside, but here, fellow Taoists should know how difficult it is. Well, I think my sincerity has been shown sufficiently."

"I wonder how many spirit stones you still need?"

Yao Yi was very happy and said, "To activate the formation, sixty-four middle-grade spirit stones are needed. Currently, twenty-four are still missing. According to my efficiency, one hundred and three lower-grade spirit stones can nourish one middle-grade spirit stone. I am still short of two thousand four hundred and seventy-two lower-grade spirit stones."

"Isn't it one hundred low-grade spirit stones for one medium-grade spirit stone?"

Yao Yi rolled his eyes and said, "I am already the most efficient person in this mine. Other foundation-building cultivators need four or five more spirit stones than me to nurture a mid-grade spirit stone."

"No wonder no one is willing to exchange high-quality spirit stones for low-quality ones. It turns out that nurturing spirit stones will cause loss." Zhao Rui suddenly realized and asked, "How many more spirit stones can the people who participate in the plan nurture every day?"

Yao Yi said without hesitation: "In addition to the middle-grade spirit stones, I can also nourish two lower-grade spirit stones every day. One for Luo Kai, one for Mei Yulan, and one for others. That makes five every day!"

"That will take about two years!" Zhao Rui said with a serious expression, "In that case, if I provide five spirit stones every day, the time can be advanced by one year."

Yao Yi opened his mouth wide, and then he started to cough violently. After a while, he asked, "You didn't lie to me. Nine yuan a day for a Qi training cultivator, how is that possible?"

Zhao Rui said: "Senior, you are sincere, so I will be honest with you. But the rest is the secret of my sect, so I can't tell you."

Yao Yi smiled heartily and said, "Okay! The world is full of wonders, and everyone has some secrets. I won't mention this matter again. Let's work together and leave this damn place first."

Zhao Rui nodded and said, "I have another unwelcome request. I wonder if you are willing to accept me as your registered disciple."

"What do you mean?" Yao Yi raised his eyebrows.

Zhao Rui bowed and said, "I have encountered some bottlenecks in my cultivation. I need a local method for reference. I don't need a complete set of foundation-building techniques, but I just need to be able to cultivate to the great perfection of Qi training. Besides, I have become your disciple, so I can't do anything to betray my master and ancestors."

Yao Yi frowned and stared at Zhao Rui, thinking to himself: "Good boy, you still don't believe me. If you don't want to bully your master and ancestors, then I won't want to plot against my apprentice either."

After a while, Yao Yi said, "Okay, come get it in two days. You can always ask me if you have any questions."

"I didn't spend a single spirit stone, and I got a native skill for free." Zhao Rui was overjoyed, but his expression remained unchanged. He bowed deeply to Yao Yi and said, "Thank you, Master!"

He didn't call him master, but in his heart, there was only one master, and he would always feel awkward calling him someone else.

Zhao Rui asked some more details, then took his leave on his own initiative, kowtowed again as a disciple, and left.

But just as he reached the entrance of the cave, Yao Yi said lightly: "I believe you, but you should be careful. If the news leaks out, it will always cause trouble."

The dim light shone on Zhao Rui's face. He frowned and couldn't help but think of Qian Xiaoyi.

Two days later.

Zhao Rui visited Yao Yi again and gave him a black bag the size of a watermelon, while the other party gave him a jade slip.

From that day on, Zhao Rui cut off Qian Xiaoyi's supply of spirit stones on the pretext of cultivating earth-attributed magic power.

Qian Xiaoyi was very depressed, but he didn't say anything. His cultivation had improved, and he could handle three spirit stones every day with ease.

However, after a few months, he lost weight again. Although he was not as thin as skin and bones, he still looked pale.

Time flies, and half a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

Every seven days, Zhao Rui would go to Yao Yi's cave and deliver a bag of spirit stones.

The two of them called each other master and disciple, so no one suspected anything.

During this period, the only major event was that Xiong Ditai successfully advanced to the great perfection of Qi training.

Although he often talked about overdrawing his lifespan, there were still many people who looked at him with envy.

In this place, no one thinks about how long they will live. Everyone has to first solve the problem of whether they will starve to death tomorrow.

Everything was going according to plan until one afternoon when Mei Yulan came to visit unexpectedly.

Zhao Rui was quite surprised. Apart from the day he saved Yao Yi, he had never seen this woman again and didn't know why she came.

"Friend Mei, I hope you are well. I wonder what brings you to my cave." Zhao Rui asked.

Mei Yulan took out two clay bowls and said, "It's not a big deal. Daoist friend has profound fire attribute magic power, so I want you to help me burn two porcelain bowls."

"For a mortal's task like firing porcelain, do we need to ask other cultivators for help?" Zhao Rui was stunned and asked tentatively:

"Do you have any special requests, fellow Daoist? Let me make it clear first, I cannot refine things like magical instruments."

Mei Yulan smiled and said, "I've tried it a few times myself, but the sound of the food I made was always not clear enough. I guess it's because the heat was not right."

"It could also be a problem with the material. If the soil is not right, high-quality porcelain cannot be fired." Zhao Rui picked up a blank and observed it carefully under the dim light.

"This one is okay!" Zhao Rui put down the blank and picked up another one.

However, as soon as he started, he immediately realized something was wrong.

There was actually a plain jade slip placed in the second blank. If you didn't look carefully, it would be easily mixed in.

"Fellow Daoist, the matter of the teleportation array is not what you think. The details are in the jade slip. Please put it away quickly. After I leave, you will know after taking a closer look." Mei Yulan transmitted the message.

Zhao Rui was shocked, and countless questions arose in his mind, but he was very cooperative and hurriedly stuffed the jade slip into his sleeve.

Mei Yulan nodded and suddenly said loudly: "Daoyou, what do you think of this blank?"

Zhao Rui quickly added: "The texture is very good. Give me half a day, and I will definitely make a top-quality one for you."

"It's not that urgent. I'll come get it in three days!"

"You can come anytime, fellow Taoist."

"Today's spirit stones have not been fully nurtured yet, so I won't disturb you for now." Mei Yulan clasped her fists, bowed, and turned to leave.

She walked to the door and suddenly stopped, unbuttoned her collar slightly, ruffled her hair, then turned her head, winked at Zhao Rui, and walked away.

Zhao Rui looked at the disappearing figure, feeling confused: "What does this mean?"

He thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out, so he finally gave up.

Zhao Rui shook his head and touched the jade slip in his sleeve. Just as he was about to check, a voice suddenly said, "Is Daoist Zhao here?"

Before Zhao Rui could react, Luo Kai came in and said, "Daoyou Zhao, are you meditating?"

Without any hesitation, he sat down opposite Zhao Rui.

Zhao Rui quickly stuffed the jade slip back into his sleeve, muttering in his heart: "These two people came one after the other. If you say there is no connection, no one would believe it."

He frowned and said angrily, "Daoyou Luo came to visit in a hurry, I don't know what's the matter."