577: Chapter 577 Not enough spirit stones? The Holy Maiden will make up the difference.

The Taixu Sect could not be considered a major School in the Cultivation World.

The mountain gate was not large, there were few Disciples, and resources were not abundant.

The person with the highest Cultivation in the Sect was Sect Head Immortal Master Qingxu, who was in the Mahayana Middle Stage. In this era where the Saint Realm was everywhere, he really could not rank among the top.

However, the Taixu Sect also sent people to participate in the Righteous Path Alliance's encirclement and suppression, not for anything else, but simply to get a share of the spoils.

Immortal Master Qingxu thought that by following the major Sects to pick up scraps, once the Hehuan Sect was destroyed, he could at least get a share of some Spirit Stones and Magical Artifacts.

As a result, he did not pick up any scraps; instead, he and several Elders of the Sect were all locked inside the Hehuan Sect's Grand Array, and none of them escaped.

When the news reached the Taixu Sect, the entire Sect was in an uproar.

The Sect Head's Junior Brother, Qingfengzi, temporarily took charge of the Sect and scrambled everywhere to borrow Spirit Stones, wanting to redeem the Sect Head.

But the Taixu Sect had a shallow foundation; the Spirit Stones in the treasury added up to less than 500,000, which was still a long way from the price demanded by Xu Ruyu.

Qingfengzi ran to the Tianxuan Sect and Tianji Sect to borrow, but they could not even scrape enough together themselves, so how could they have extra money to lend him?

After running for several days, his legs had practically thinned out, but he had not borrowed any Spirit Stones, and instead, he had racked up a mountain of debt.

That night, Qingfengzi sat in the Side Hall of the Taixu Sect, discussing matters with a group of Elders.

The great hall's candlelight flickered, casting light and shadow on the faces of the people in the room.

Some sighed, some shook their heads, and some kept their heads down without speaking.

The atmosphere was as oppressive as a day about to rain, so stuffy that it made people unable to breathe.

"Senior Brother, if it really doesn't work, let's negotiate with the Hehuan Sect to see if we can pay in installments?"

An Elder cautiously suggested.

"Installments?" another Elder immediately retorted. "Have you ever seen a kidnapper who lets you pay in installments? If the Spirit Stones don't arrive, the people won't be released. These are Xu Ruyu's original words."

"Then what should we do? Should we just watch the Sect Head and several Senior Brothers be trapped inside? They are being used as target practice in that Grand Array every day; do you have the heart for that?"

"I don't have the heart for it, but what can I do? I can't conjure up Spirit Stones!"

The two argued more and more fiercely, their voices growing louder and louder.

Qingfengzi slapped the table, making the teacups jump.

"Enough! Can arguing solve the problem?" He rubbed his temples, his voice weary. "Everyone go back and think of a solution. We will discuss it again tomorrow."

The crowd dispersed.

Qingfengzi sat alone in the empty great hall, staring at the flickering candlelight, his brows knitted into a tight knot.

Just then, the hall door was gently pushed open.

A slender figure walked in, wearing white as snow, with long hair like a waterfall, her footsteps as light as if she were walking on cotton.

She walked to Qingfengzi, bowed slightly, her voice very soft, yet possessing an indescribable firmness.

"Junior Martial Uncle, let me go."

Qingfengzi raised his head, saw who it was, and was stunned for a moment.

"Lu Yao? What are you doing here? Go back and rest."

Lu Yao did not move.

She stood there, the candlelight reflecting on her face—it was a very beautiful face, with brows and eyes like a painting, skin whiter than snow, and her lips slightly pursed, as if she were making some kind of resolution.

She was the Saintess of the Taixu Sect, having joined twenty years ago. She was Immortal Master Qingxu's most proud Disciple and also the one with the highest Cultivation in the younger generation of the Taixu Sect, at the Nascent Soul Peak, only one step away from Soul Transformation.

"Junior Martial Uncle, I am going to the Hehuan Sect." Lu Yao repeated, her voice even firmer than before. "I am going to find Xu Ruyu. I will use myself to make up for the missing Spirit Stones. As long as he is willing to release the people, I..."

"Are you crazy?" Qingfengzi stood up abruptly, his chair almost overturning. "Do you know what kind of person Xu Ruyu is? You, a young woman, going to that kind of place..."

"I know." Lu Yao interrupted him, her voice calm. "I heard those Loose Cultivators talking about it at the market. Xu Ruyu is lecherous by nature, and the Hehuan Sect is full of lewd and evil people, with chaotic relationships between men and women. Since he is lecherous, I will use this as a bargaining chip. For the portion of Spirit Stones that is missing, I will sell myself to him. As long as he is willing to release the people."

Qingfengzi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back.

He recalled the running around of the past few days, the gazes that had rejected him, and the tightly closed mountain gates.

The Taixu Sect was too small, so small that no one was willing to lend them Spirit Stones.

The Sect Head and several Elders were still trapped in the Grand Array; if it dragged on any longer, he didn't know what might happen.

"Are you sure?"

His voice was very soft, so soft that it seemed like he was asking himself.

"I am sure." Lu Yao said. "Sect Head Master treats me like a father; I cannot watch him suffer."

Outside the hall, the moonlight was like water.

Lu Yao walked back to her living quarters and began to pack her bags.

She brought a few changes of clothes, a short sword, and a bottle of detoxifying pills—that was just in case.

She put the Spirit Stones into her storage ring; there were 480,000 in total, still 20,000 short.

She thought for a moment and took off a jade pendant she wore around her neck; it was the only heirloom her mother had left her.

She put the jade pendant into the storage ring as well; perhaps Xu Ruyu would accept it, perhaps not.

She didn't know.

Early the next morning, Lu Yao left the Taixu Sect alone.

She didn't tell anyone, only leaving a letter for Qingfengzi.

The letter read: "Junior Martial Uncle, I am going to the Hehuan Sect to negotiate the release of our people. I will find a way to make up for the missing Spirit Stones. If I do not return, please take care of the Disciples in the Sect. Sincerely, Lu Yao."

Qingfengzi finished reading the letter, his old eyes streaming with tears.

He stood in front of the mountain gate, gazing in the direction where Lu Yao had disappeared, not moving for a long time.

The person next to him asked him what to do, and he said: "Wait. We can only wait."

Lu Yao flew on her sword, heading west all the way.

She flew very fast, so fast that the wind made a sharp whistling sound in her ears, so fast that her tears were dried up the moment they flowed out.

She didn't know what the outcome of this trip would be, didn't know if she would be able to return alive, and didn't even know if Xu Ruyu would agree to her conditions.

But she had no way back.

The Taixu Sect had no way back.

On the first day, she flew over Wanxiu Mountain and stopped to rest at a tavern by the roadside.

On the second day, the tavern was not large, with a few tables, and several Loose Cultivators were drinking and chatting.

On the third day, Lu Yao sat in a corner, ordered a pot of tea, and drank it silently.

Several Loose Cultivators at the table next to her were chatting heatedly.

"Have you heard? That Xu Ruyu from the Hehuan Sect has locked thousands of people from the Righteous Path Alliance in the Grand Array and is currently extorting them one Sect at a time!" A bearded man slapped the table, laughing with schadenfreude. "The Tianxuan Sect gave three million, the Tianji Sect gave 2.8 million, and the North Pole Ice Soul Palace is still scraping it together!"

Another tall and thin man took up the conversation: "Exactly! That Xu Ruyu is truly ruthless. Five million for a Saint Realm Peak, fifty million for a Half-step True Immortal; the prices are clearly marked, fair and honest. I heard he even uses those trapped people as targets for spear practice, enjoying it immensely. The images on that yingxi stone, tsk tsk, it's too horrible to look at."

"What can be done about that? Who told them to go encircle and suppress the Hehuan Sect? They deserve it!" The bearded man's voice dropped a bit. "But I heard that Xu Ruyu is also a lecher. Think about it, can the Sect Master of the Hehuan Sect be anything good? Their Sect was originally founded on the art of male-female Hehuan; how clean could it be?"

The tall and thin man chuckled. "That's true. I heard he is surrounded by beauties; Xiao Nianyin, Leng Ningshuang, Qingyan—which one isn't a top-tier beauty? I don't know if he can keep up with all of them."

"Even if he can't keep up, he has to try, hahaha!"