Among Han Jinwei's storage bags were several jade slips.
These jade slips recorded various cruel demonic techniques such as soul extraction, corpse refining, blood sacrifice, bone fusion, and demonization.
Wu Tao skimmed through them, shaking his head slowly. They were useless things, neither tasty nor worth discarding.
...
However, one particular jade slip, containing rather special content, caught Wu Tao's attention.
This special jade slip detailed much about the inner workings of the Taiyi Immortal Sect.
While it mostly involved minor outer disciples, one entry provided a detailed description of him.
A few lines recorded the information of an inner disciple at the Foundation Establishment stage.
...
Furthermore, the jade slip even contained some obscure and deeply buried secrets of the Taiyi Immortal Sect.
Many things were unknown even to Wu Tao, an outer disciple of the Taiyi Immortal Sect.
Reading to the end, Wu Tao instinctively felt a jolt.
Could there be a traitor within the sect, someone plotting against them?
But soon, Wu Tao dismissed the thought.
What use could the basic information of Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment disciples possibly have?
The foundation of a sect lies with its Nascent Soul Grand Elders and Spirit Patriarchs. Even Core Formation stage elders were merely branches and leaves.
The loss of one or two would only damage their vitality, not significantly impact the sect.
Yet, Wu Tao then considered, what if someone was indeed plotting against the sect, and only Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment disciples suffered misfortune?
The irony was, he himself was a Qi Refining disciple.
Worse still, he had been ambushed by a Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator on his way back.
Had he not possessed some skills, he would have perished in this desolate land.
This matter needed to be reported to the sect's high-ranking officials, for his own sake and for that of his fellow disciples.
...
In fact, Wu Tao had lived in the Taiyi Immortal Sect since he was three years old.
Counting the years, it had been over twenty. His sense of belonging to the sect was naturally strong.
Despite his resolute, tenacious, cold, and ruthless nature, and his brutal methods, he was ultimately someone who knew how to repay kindness.
After organizing his spoils, Wu Tao, disregarding the aftereffects of forcefully using the Immortal Slaying Demonic Blood Blade, hastily left the area by artifact.
Upon returning to the Taiyi Immortal Sect's outpost, Wu Tao immediately sealed his cave dwelling and began meditating to heal.
He needed to restore his depleted vital energy as quickly as possible.
...
Several days later, after recovering his energy, Wu Tao recounted the day's events to the seated elder of the outer sect's Law Enforcement Hall.
He also handed over the jade slip detailing the Taiyi Immortal Sect's situation to the Law Enforcement Elder.
Elder Duan of the Law Enforcement Hall listened to Wu Tao's account impassively. He took Wu Tao's jade slip, without even looking at it, and replied, "Petty schemers, what can they achieve? Ignore these trivial matters. Focus on your cultivation, so you may contribute to the sect in the future."
Wu Tao nodded, accepting the advice, and was about to leave.
At that moment, an object flew out from Wu Tao's waist, his sect contribution token.
Elder Duan took the token, brushed it with his hand, and returned it to Wu Tao. He said with a hint of encouragement, "This shall be recorded as a merit for you. You may withdraw."
After Wu Tao left the Law Enforcement Hall, he checked his sect contribution token. It now showed three hundred contribution points, bringing a smile to his face.
From Elder Duan's tone, he sensed that the sect was already aware of the matter.
The schemes of these high-ranking figures were beyond his comprehension.
The old ginger is spicier. If the sky falls, the taller ones will bear it. Why worry unnecessarily?
Having handled the matter, Wu Tao piloted his artifact towards the Sect Contribution Hall.
...
Along the way, he passed several other outer disciples flying in the air.
Wu Tao offered a perfunctory smile and exchanged a few words with them before they each went their separate ways.
After all, even in the cultivation world, connections, favors, and interactions were necessary. He had to make some friends.
...
In the cultivation world, connections were the most crucial external factor in daily cultivation, apart from cultivation resources.
The number and quality of a cultivator's friends could broadly indicate how well they were faring in the cultivation world.
Wu Tao had killed many people, but because they lacked connections, they had caused him no trouble.
Those who died by Wu Tao's hand seemed to have never existed, and no one sought revenge.
It was only after Wu Tao killed Wang Siyuan that a series of troubles ensued.
Killing and killing peacefully were two different things.
Killing was just killing. Use any means necessary, anytime, as long as the enemy can be killed.
Killing peacefully not only meant ensuring the opponent's death but also preventing any subsequent trouble.
To kill peacefully, one must first sever the opponent's connections. Only by severing their connections would trouble be avoided.
...
In the blink of an eye, Wu Tao arrived before a cluster of buildings.
Wu Tao landed in front of a hall with a plaque that read "Contribution Exchange Hall" and strode inside.
A middle-aged deacon-like cultivator inside, seeing Wu Tao enter, looked surprised. He smiled slightly and asked, "Junior Brother Wu, why are you back so soon? Have you completed that five-star mission?"
This deacon was named Song Tianyu, and he was at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. His relationship with Wu Tao was generally good.
He was aware of some of Wu Tao's affairs.
...
That was why he was surprised, as a five-star mission for a Qi Refining stage cultivator was not a simple task, even for a middle-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator like himself.
"Heh heh, I managed to complete it, Senior Brother Song."
"By the way, Senior Brother Song, I'm here for one purpose only: to exchange sect contribution points for Foundation Establishment Pills, so I can break through to the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible." Wu Tao nodded and said openly to Senior Brother Song.
"Heh heh, in that case, I wish you an early breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage!" Deacon Song waved his hand and offered his blessings.
"Thank you for your blessings, Senior Brother. I accept your good words." Wu Tao bowed in return.
"May I ask how many Foundation Establishment Pills you wish to exchange, Junior Brother?" Deacon Song inquired.
Wu Tao held up his left hand, displaying four fingers.
"I wish to exchange for four Foundation Establishment Pills."
Wu Tao stated.
Deacon Song was stunned.
He looked deeply at Wu Tao and then said, with a hint of caution, "A Foundation Establishment Pill is very valuable. Do you truly have that many sect contribution points?"
...
Wu Tao smiled and nodded, then tossed his sect contribution token to Deacon Song.
Deacon Song took the token and examined it carefully. After a moment, his expression changed, and he gasped.
He frowned deeply, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes.
Five thousand one hundred and thirty contribution points. It was incredible for a mere Qi Refining outer disciple to possess such a sum.
He had been in the Taiyi Immortal Sect for over fifty years, carefully managing his accounts, using his position to acquire wealth, and had only accumulated over three thousand contribution points.
...
Deacon Song pondered for a moment, then ultimately abandoned his greedy thoughts and became serious.
There were two reasons for this.
One was Wu Tao's immense reputation among the outer disciples of the Taiyi Immortal Sect, making him difficult to target.
The other was that Wu Tao's combat strength far surpassed that of ordinary outer disciples. He might not be able to handle Wu Tao alone.
...
"Junior Brother, while these contribution points are substantial, they are still slightly insufficient to exchange for four Foundation Establishment Pills!" Deacon Song, having quelled his greed, displayed a look of wry amusement.
Wu Tao was prepared and handed Deacon Song a storage bag containing three thousand spirit stones.
Then, in a calm tone, he said, "According to sect regulations, all disciples of this sect can exchange spirit stones for contribution points at a 1:1 ratio."
"This storage bag contains three thousand spirit stones. Combined with the contribution points on my token, it is more than enough to exchange for four Foundation Establishment Pills."
Deacon Song scanned the spirit stones in the storage bag with his divine sense and looked at Wu Tao with a peculiar gaze for a moment.
Then, Deacon Song smiled and nodded.
With a wave of his left hand, a golden light flashed from the nearby formation, and four pale yellow jade bottles automatically flew into his hand.
He then transferred these four bottles to Wu Tao.
Seeing this, Wu Tao did not hesitate to take the four bottles, quickly opened their mouths, and began to appraise them one by one.
As he left, Wu Tao slipped Deacon Song a storage bag containing thirty spirit stones as a bribe.
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