Chapter 308: Chapter 306: Massive Contribution Points
The Ghost Spirit Sect once spent a fortune to transplant over a thousand Blood Jujube Trees into their sect’s grounds.
They cared for them meticulously, replacing the Spiritual Soil and rerouting a Spiritual Spring to encircle them.
It took over a century for the Blood Jujube Forest to take shape, with over six hundred trees ultimately surviving.
Every five years, they would bear fist-sized Blood Jujubes, yielding a harvest of thousands of pounds at a time.
To Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivators, many of whom had to burn their Essence Blood to cast various kinds of Magic, Blood Jujubes were a perfect fit. They replenished qi and blood and aided in blood generation.
Almost every Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivator, if their circumstances allowed, would carry a few dried Blood Jujubes with them.
Consuming one immediately after overdrawing their Essence Blood could effectively alleviate the symptoms.
Qingfeng Sect disciples didn’t need Blood Jujubes as a daily necessity, but they could still be used in Alchemy. For Body Refining Cultivators, consuming them directly was also greatly beneficial.
Furthermore, ever since Ancestor Bai had mentioned to Han Qing that he needed a High Tier Body Refining Elixir, Han Qing had taken the matter to heart.
He had actually managed to unearth an ancient recipe that could produce a top-tier Body Refining Elixir using the Essence Blood of a Tier Three Peak Demon Beast as a catalyst, its flesh and blood as a base, and a thousand Blood Jujubes as a supplement.
Once the Blood Jujube harvest became linked to a Core Formation Ancestor, its importance took on a whole new meaning.
As the third disciple, Huo Feiyan was personally overseeing the Blood Jujube Forest to prevent any mishaps in the final moments before the harvest.
"Senior Sister Huo, this is the problem we’re facing... Before they bear fruit, every Blood Jujube Tree must be irrigated with large amounts of fresh blood. The blood of Cultivators is especially effective."
When the news spread that Lii Guizhen and Huo Feiyan had been accepted as Ancestor Bai’s Registered Disciples, their fellow sect members in Ten Thousand Immortals Creek were both envious and jealous, and their attitudes changed drastically.
Lii Guizhen was one thing; he possessed a Thunder Spiritual Root and had been a prodigy since the day he joined the Sect.
But Huo Feiyan truly felt the change in how she was treated. Overnight, it seemed everyone around her had become a kind, caring person.
"Are you saying that without being irrigated with Cultivator blood, the Blood Jujube Trees won’t bear any fruit?"
"At the very least, the yield will decrease, and the quality of the Blood Jujubes might drop as well."
The Spirit Plant Hall Cultivator standing before her was currently the most knowledgeable Foundation Establishment Cultivator in Ten Thousand Immortals Creek when it came to Spirit Plants. Huo Feiyan had to consider his opinion carefully.
Before leaving, Han Qing had only said that the Alchemy required a thousand Blood Jujubes, without specifying their size or quality.
But since it concerned an Elixir needed by a Core Formation Ancestor, no one dared to take responsibility, so they had notified Huo Feiyan immediately.
"How did the Ghost Spirit Sect handle this before?"
Huo Feiyan took two steps closer. The entire Blood Jujube Forest was growing vigorously and was originally scheduled to bear fruit for harvesting by the end of the year.
"They captured ten thousand Mortals and several hundred Cultivators, slaughtered them, and used their blood for irrigation to stimulate fruiting."
"Silence! What kind of person is Master? How could he use a Spiritual Object cultivated with such Demon Path methods? Our Qingfeng Sect is an orthodox Daoist Sect! How could we act like some deviant Demon Sect?"
Huo Feiyan’s pretty face frosted over as she snapped sharply.
Ever since the Qingfeng Sect’s rise, its status in the Liang Country Cultivation Realm had grown daily. Consequently, the phrase "orthodox Daoist Sect" was being mentioned more and more frequently by Sect Disciples.
This was especially true for new disciples, who constantly had the phrase on their lips and looked down their noses at other sects with disdain.
In the past, whenever the Liang Country Cultivation Realm discussed the Qingfeng Sect’s heritage, calling it an "orthodox Daoist Sect" felt more like a playful joke.
Now, however, there was a new solemnity to it. The weight of those words seemed to have grown considerably.
"Senior Sister Huo, of course we wouldn’t kill people indiscriminately... But aren’t there still many Ghost Spirit Sect captives in the mines? There must be plenty among them who are defiant and harbor ill intentions. We could just behead them publicly and let them atone for their sins with their blood."
The Spirit Plant Hall Cultivator quickly explained himself, lest someone overhear and label him as having a corrupt character.
Recently, rumors had been circulating that the old rule—granting the status of Elder to anyone who reached Foundation Establishment—might be changed, as the number of Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the Sect was increasing by the day.
The Five Halls and Eight Chambers couldn’t provide that many positions, which had led to many newly advanced Foundation Establishment Cultivators becoming Elders in name only, with no actual authority.
They were even less influential than some Long-Term Stewards in crucial positions, who wielded more significant power.
And this phenomenon was only going to get worse.
With the population and resources of two counties under its control, the number of Immortal Seedlings the Qingfeng Sect recruited the next time it opened its Mountain Gate would surely surge.
At the same time, True Disciples—as well as former Inner Sect Disciples who hadn’t become True Disciples and had transferred to become Outer Sect Stewards—would have far more opportunities for Foundation Establishment than before.
Not to mention Foundation Establishment Pills, but at the very least, in terms of Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects, there was now the addition of the Profound Yin Gang Sha.
The Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects available for exchange in the Transmission Hall gave Sect Disciples new options.
The Qingfeng Sect was going to learn from sects like the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect and implement a competitive system for advancement. Only the most outstanding among the Foundation Establishment Cultivators would be able to attain the status of Elder.
The remaining Foundation Establishment Cultivators could only serve as Stewards and would have to wait for a vacant Elder seat to compete for promotion.
This news came from the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, which everyone knew was the personal domain of Sect Leader Gu Xisheng. The rumors from there were always accurate.
The Sect’s upper echelon might have already reached a consensus on the matter and just hadn’t reported it to the Core Formation Ancestors yet.
Thinking of this, the Spirit Plant Hall Cultivator’s smile toward Huo Feiyan grew even brighter.
’This lucky girl in front of me can get an audience with Ancestor Bai at any time.’
"I should still report this matter to Master. I cannot make a decision on my own."
Huo Feiyan mulled it over for a long time but still didn’t have the courage to act on her own authority.
She arrived at what was effectively a forbidden area within Ten Thousand Immortals Creek. Several miles from the Jade Pool, there were no longer any signs of Cultivators.
She tiptoed toward the Jade Pool, expertly cooked a Spirit Fish, and then used ingredients she had brought to prepare a few Spiritual Cuisine dishes.
After waiting for the better part of an hour, she finally saw Ancestor Bai appear.
"Master, this disciple has something to report regarding the Blood Jujube Forest..."
Only after Bai Zichen had finished his Spiritual Cuisine did Huo Feiyan quietly explain the situation with the Blood Jujubes.
"How ignorant! The Ghost Spirit Sect’s actions back then were so bloody and inefficient because they wanted to intimidate their own members and the dissident Cultivation Families in Hejian County! Is our Sect supposed to just copy their methods for tending to Spirit Plants?"
Bai Zichen was seething with anger. While the Qingfeng Sect was decent at a few of the mainstream Hundred Skills of Cultivation, in other areas, they were practically a blank slate.
’What kind of idiotic Spirit Plant Master would blindly copy the methods of their predecessors instead of studying the habits of the Blood Jujube Tree to figure out the proper way to cultivate them?’
’It’s also possible they realized Cultivator blood wasn’t necessary but didn’t want to take responsibility.’
If their suggestion led to a drastic reduction in the Blood Jujube Forest’s harvest and affected a Core Formation Ancestor’s Alchemy, a million deaths wouldn’t be enough to atone for it.
"There are so many Blood Beasts being raised in Ten Thousand Immortals Creek. Some are Riding Beasts, and some are just Meat Beasts... Could the blood of a Blood Beast possibly be less effective than a Cultivator’s? At most, the six hundred-plus Blood Jujube Trees would use up six hundred Blood Beasts. The number of Blood Beasts slaughtered each day is more than just two, isn’t it?"
"This disciple understands. I will go and take care of this immediately."
Huo Feiyan lowered her head, deeply ashamed that she had bothered her Master with such a trivial matter.
She secretly made a resolution in her heart. ’I haven’t been in the sect as long as Eldest Senior Brother, and my cultivation talent isn’t as good as Second Senior Brother’s. If I want to have a place in Master’s heart, I must have my own strengths.’
’I’ll start with miscellaneous affairs. I can’t be completely useless. I can’t still be a Registered Disciple ten years from now, unable to become an Inner Chamber Disciple.’
’It seems the matter Senior Brother Wei spoke to me about needs to be put on the agenda... Elder positions should be given to the capable. The mediocre should start as Stewards to avoid wasting the Sect’s hard-earned resources.’
Bai Zichen thought of the long letter Wei Chuming had delivered from Wei Dao a few days ago.
In it, Wei Dao had stated his position, proposing a reform of the Elder system.
This was to prevent some Foundation Establishment Cultivators from becoming deadwood, holding the title of Elder without actually fulfilling their duties.
Wei Dao, citing a proposal from Gu Xisheng, wanted to set a fixed number of Elder positions for the Five Halls and Eight Chambers.
In the future, the Elder seats for the Five Halls would be chosen by the Sect Leader and their respective Hall Masters. As for the Elders supervising the various chambers, they would be selected based on the collective recommendation of the existing Elders.
The current roster of Elders would remain unchanged for ten years, with the entire composition of the Qingfeng Sect’s eldership expected to be completely transformed over thirty years.
Master Ge Cang did not concern himself with miscellaneous affairs and never made an appearance unless it was a major issue concerning the Sect’s legacy.
Zhou Suqing felt that she had only recently reached Core Formation and lacked experience, so she always deferred to the opinions of her senior brothers.
Therefore, as long as Wei Dao and Bai Zichen agreed, the reform of the Sect’s Elder system could be implemented.
"Agreed. But pay attention to the details during implementation and make adjustments as needed. We must not block truly outstanding disciples from ascending to Elder positions... Also, the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall has many important duties; I recommend increasing the number of supervising Elders to two."
Bai Zichen directly took up a brush and wrote his reply on the original letter, intending for Wei Chuming to take it back the next day.
In addition to this, the Qingfeng Sect’s next grand opening of its Mountain Gate was about to begin.
It had also been decided that a simultaneous recruitment event would be held in Ten Thousand Immortals Creek. The targets for recruitment would naturally be the vast number of Immortal Seedlings discovered among the Mortals of Hejian County through Spirit-Guiding, as well as Cultivators from Cultivation Families who were willing to join the Qingfeng Sect.
’This is the first time Ten Thousand Immortals Creek is recruiting new talent, after all. A poor showing would be unacceptable...’
Bai Zichen decided he would personally preside over the Mountain Gate opening ceremony to ensure it attracted more young people.
"Huh? When did I get so many Contribution Points on my Token?"
A quick glance revealed that the number of Contribution Points on his Token had quietly surpassed 400,000.
He took a rough look. Aside from the 10,000 Contribution Points awarded for each Core Formation Ancestor’s operation, the majority came from the battle that annihilated the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples—specifically, from the belongings of the thousand-plus Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivators.
The few Magical Treasures he had deposited in the Secret Hall had also been exchanged for a corresponding amount of contribution.
’I’ll put five Foundation Establishment Pills and a drop of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow in the Ten Thousand Immortals Creek branch of the Secret Hall... and I’ll stipulate that only Sect Disciples permanently stationed here are eligible to exchange for this batch of Elixirs and the Core Formation Spiritual Object.’
As the Foundation Establishment Pills and Clear Spirit Jade Marrow were turned over to the Sect, the Contribution Points were split evenly between Bai Zichen and Master Ge Cang, since they had obtained them jointly.
Of course, Bai Zichen’s goal wasn’t to hoard Contribution Points. As a Core Formation Ancestor, having too many Sect Contribution Points was useless.
He gave much and took little.
Over time, the Sect Contribution balance of a Core Formation True Man would only continue to grow.