Once Scorned for My Mixed Spiritual Roots, Now They Weep at My Power! - Chapter 8 - Raising the Stakes

Wen Qing showed no prejudice against Xiao Yun for having Mixed Spiritual Roots. Instead, she stood up for him.

“My Junior Brother may have Mixed Spiritual Roots, but he’s highly sensitive to Spiritual Energy. With the help of the Foundation Establishment Pill, he will surely succeed in reaching the Foundation Establishment.”

“So what? No matter how sensitive he is to Spiritual Energy, he’s still just a Mixed Spiritual Roots!”

“Even if he works ten times harder than others, he can only reach the fourth layer of Qi Refining.”

“Let me give you some advice, Junior Sister. Giving a Foundation Establishment Pill to a disciple with Mixed Spiritual Roots is a waste. You might as well feed it to a dog.”

“A dog with slightly better aptitude might even reach Foundation Establishment with those pills!”

“Giving them to a disciple with Mixed Spiritual Roots is simply a waste of resources!”

Yang Xuhao’s words were harsh, and Wen Qing immediately felt displeased.

What did he mean by saying that giving a Foundation Establishment Pill to a disciple with Mixed Spiritual Roots was worse than feeding it to a dog?

Was he implying that Xiao Yun was worse than a dog?

Even the usually gentle Wen Qing couldn’t help but let her face darken.

“Senior Brother Yang, Junior Brother Xiao is a disciple of our Xiaozhu Peak. By insulting him, are you implying that Xiaozhu Peak has no one to stand up for it?”

“If my Master were to hear of this, not even Uncle-Master Yang could protect you.”

Hearing Wen Qing mention her Master, Yan Qinghui, Yang Xuhao immediately backed down.

Yan Qinghui was known in the Spirit Sword Sect for fiercely protecting her own and would not tolerate anyone looking down on Xiaozhu Peak.

There was once a direct disciple from Longshou Peak who casually remarked that since Xiaozhu Peak only had two people, it would be better to merge it with Longshou Peak.

Somehow, this comment reached Yan Qinghui’s ears.

She broke that disciple’s legs and crippled his cultivation right in front of the sect master in the Main Hall of Longshou Peak. He was bedridden for months.

Not even the sect master could stop her!

Since then, no one dared to speak ill of Xiaozhu Peak.

Yang Xuhao realized he had indeed gone too far with his words.

If Yan Qinghui found out what he had said, his fate might be no better than that of the Longshou Peak disciple.

Even his father being the Chief Elder of Qingmu Peak wouldn’t help.

Yan Qinghui was the kind who wouldn’t even spare the sect master’s dignity!

Yang Xuhao quickly put on a smile and said, “Junior Sister, don’t be angry. I was merely using a metaphor and didn’t mean to look down on Xiaozhu Peak. You won’t tell Aunt-Master Yan about this, will you?”

Wen Qing, being mild-mannered and not one to stir trouble, saw Yang Xuhao’s change in attitude and said, “I hope Senior Brother Yang will be more mindful of his words in the future. I’ll consider what you said just now as unintentional.”

“If I hear anything like it again, I will certainly inform my Master upon her return.”

Yang Xuhao, looking awkward, forced a smile and said, “You’re right, Junior Sister. I’ll remember that.”

“In that case, I won’t disturb Senior Brother Yang any longer.”

Wen Qing gave Yang Xuhao a polite bow and turned to leave the Hundred Pills Hall.

“Wait!” Yang Xuhao suddenly called out to her from behind.

Wen Qing turned back to him and asked, “What else does Senior Brother Yang wish to say?”

Yang Xuhao wasn’t exactly a magnanimous person. Being provoked by Wen Qing’s words just now made him feel humiliated. Even though he had feelings for Wen Qing, he couldn’t stand her using Yan Qinghui’s name to pressure him. As the son of the Chief Elder of Qingmu Peak, he was used to everyone at Qingmu Peak obeying his every word and trying their best to please him. Now, not only did Wen Qing refuse to give him face, but she also ignored his goodwill. Yang Xuhao’s true nature was immediately revealed.

“Junior Sister Wen Qing, although the Foundation Establishment Pill isn’t some extraordinary pill, it is still painstakingly crafted by the disciples of Qingmu Peak,” he said. “Not to mention the rare herbs used, it’s also the hard work of our Qingmu Peak disciples. They rely on selling these pills to earn some spirit stones to live. Junior Sister, you took ten Foundation Establishment Pills, and you think you can just leave like that?”

“What do you mean?” Wen Qing asked, frowning.

“Buying and selling, Junior Sister. You buy, I sell. Since you took ten Foundation Establishment Pills, you naturally need to pay with spirit stones,” Yang Xuhao said with a mocking smile.

Wen Qing frowned and said, “Didn’t Senior Brother Yang just say that the disciples of Qingmu Peak need to use our Xiaozhu Peak’s Green Rock Bamboo as fuel to refine pills? These pills are meant to offset the Green Rock Bamboo taken from Xiaozhu Peak.”

Yang Xuhao sneered, “What a joke. Xiaozhu Peak’s Green Rock Bamboo has never required spirit stones. Why should it be different for Qingmu Peak? Or is Junior Sister Wen Qing looking down on us at Qingmu Peak?”

Hearing this, Wen Qing finally understood what Yang Xuhao meant. He was retaliating because she had used her Master’s name to pressure him earlier. Just moments ago, he had offered the pills for free, and now he was demanding spirit stones. Wen Qing now fully realized Yang Xuhao’s character. Her Master was right; there really was no such thing as a free lunch.

“Fine, if that’s the case, I’ll pay the spirit stones. How much for these ten Foundation Establishment Pills?” Wen Qing was tired of arguing with Yang Xuhao. She had originally intended to buy them with spirit stones. Yang Xuhao had offered them for free, so she reluctantly accepted. Since he was retracting the offer, she would just pay for them.

“One hundred spirit stones per pill. You took ten, so that’s a total of one thousand spirit stones,” Yang Xuhao said casually.

“One hundred spirit stones per pill? Senior Brother Yang, you must be mistaken. Even though I don’t use pills, I know that Foundation Establishment Pills usually cost around fifty spirit stones each,” Wen Qing retorted.

Yang Xuhao sneered, “That was the old price. Recently, we at Qingmu Peak found that because the price of Foundation Establishment Pills was too low, some disciples bought them and wasted them carelessly. To prevent this and to cultivate a sense of thrift among everyone, the price is now one hundred spirit stones per pill.”

Wen Qing understood that Yang Xuhao was deliberately targeting her, but she had no choice. If she refused to buy them out of spite, her Junior Brother wouldn’t have any Foundation Establishment Pills. Only Qingmu Peak in the entire Spirit Sword Sect could refine pills, so if she wanted them, she had to buy them from here. Thinking of Xiao Yun’s Mixed Spiritual Roots, she knew that without the Foundation Establishment Pills, it would be difficult for him to achieve Foundation Establishment. For Xiao Yun’s sake, Wen Qing swallowed her anger.

She checked her Bag of Holding and found she had just over five hundred spirit stones. This was only because she had been saving by not cultivating recently. Wen Qing took out five hundred spirit stones from her Bag of Holding and placed them on the counter.

“Here are five hundred spirit stones. I’ll buy five Foundation Establishment Pills,” she said, returning five pills and leaving the Hundred Pills Hall without looking back.

Watching Wen Qing’s angry departure, Yang Xuhao sneered, “Hmph, a Mixed Spiritual Roots. Even a hundred Foundation Establishment Pills would be useless.”

At this moment, the steward disciple of the Hundred Pills Hall approached with a grin, “Senior Brother, by bullying Junior Sister Wen Qing like this, she might never speak to you again.”

Yang Xuhao glanced at the steward disciple and sneered, “What do you know? You can’t spoil women. The more you spoil them, the more they think you’re beneath them. If the soft approach doesn’t work, use the hard one. I have plenty of ways to make her mine!”

“Senior Brother is right. Once you win the Seven Peaks Martial Conference, it won’t just be Junior Sister Wen Qing. Any female disciple in the Spirit Sword Sect will be yours for the choosing,” the steward disciple flattered.

“Haha… Now that’s what I like to hear,” Yang Xuhao laughed arrogantly.