72: Take stock of the harvest

Fang Huai's heart was pounding violently, so he forcibly used his Qi and blood to suppress it, returning to a state of calm.

Although the dozen or so members of the Ascension Society present were alarmed, hearing Jiang Miao say she had only identified four people, they secretly prayed it would not be them.

Jiang Miao put away her smile, her gaze vicious: "The first one, Li Xingyi of Spirit Treasure Peak!"

As soon as Jiang Miao finished speaking, the space around Li Xingyi immediately cleared, as everyone dodged away as if avoiding a disaster star.

Li Xingyi shouted in a panic: "Sect Head, please investigate clearly, this Disciple is being framed!"

"Good!"

Jiang Lie responded, his demonic claw descending from the sky and shattering Li Xingyi's body: "I'll give you a chance to explain in your next life."

Jiang Miao snorted coldly and continued: "The second one, Cui Can of Refining Corpse Peak!"

"Jiang Miao, you are shameless! How would I know anything about the Ascension Society? You're just trying to take revenge on me because you suffered a loss when we fought ten years ago, you..."

Before she could finish her sentence, the Sect Head's demonic claw had already slapped her into a meat patty.

Fang Huai frowned inwardly; he truly had not sensed the aura of a Blood Jade Worm on Cui Can.

Jiang Miao was definitely settling a personal vendetta, but what of it? The Sect Head's people could kill whoever they wanted.

"The third one, Ji Chang of Blood Sea Peak!"

"Sect Head, I wish to perform meritorious service to atone for my crimes!" Ji Chang hurriedly knelt and kowtowed incessantly.

Jiang Lie sneered: "Very well, then tell me, where is the Ascension Society stationed, and who else here is a member of the Ascension Society? Tell me, and I will spare your life."

Cold sweat broke out on Ji Chang: "I have been afflicted by the Vow Fiend; I cannot speak."

"If you can't speak, then what is the point of living!"

Jiang Lie's expression was cold and gloomy, and he struck with another claw.

"The fourth one..."

Jiang Miao's gaze swept over Fang Huai, the corners of her mouth curling up.

Fang Huai gulped frantically. Jiang Miao's temperament was fickle and unpredictable; although he was practically half an informant to her, there was no guarantee she would not expose him on a whim.

Jiang Miao pretended to be deep in thought and shifted her gaze away. After Fang Huai let out a slight sigh of relief, she moved her gaze back onto him again.

This woman was toying with him!

But this joke was not funny at all!

If Jiang Miao kept paying attention to him, she might really cause him to draw the Sect Head's notice.

Gritting his teeth, he took out an Evil Qi bottle from his Storage Pouch and shook it discreetly.

Inside the Evil Qi bottle was a full portion of Thunder Ash Fiend.

Jiang Miao's expression changed immediately, and she said with a grin: "The fourth one, Tu Guanying of Talent Peak."

...

Another scream rang out, and the crowd breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"The fifth one, Feng Xiao of Paper Man Peak!"

"The sixth one, Sun Tianze of Curse and Gu Peak!"

"..."

"The eleventh one, Jiang Hai of Beast Taming Peak!"

Jiang Miao was not playing by the rules; she had claimed to have mastered four members of the Ascension Society, yet she had listed eleven in a row.

And according to Fang Huai's observations, among these eleven people, only six were members of the Ascension Society.

Jiang Miao would not make a mistake about so many people; the only explanation was that she was settling personal vendettas.

...

After the bloody massacre, the Sect Head stood with his hands behind his back, and all the Disciples were trembling with fear.

"All Disciples of the Corpse Fiend Sect, continue to hand over your gains from the Secret Realm!"

Jiang Lie said: "Elders, what is the point of counting silently? Which Peak the Disciple is from, how much they harvested, and how much they should be rewarded—read it out loud!"

"Sun Jiuze of the Corpse Fiend Sect, one profound ice flower, twenty stalks of clear spirit grass, one piece of profound essence iron; a total of five thousand nine hundred contribution points, reward of five hundred ninety contribution points."

"Su Chang of Blood Sea Peak, twelve stalks of spirit-returning grass, one piece of hundred-year cold ice, one fifty-year-old spiritual ginseng; a total of two thousand three hundred contribution points, reward of two hundred thirty contribution points."

"..."

Initially, due to Jiang Lie's bloody massacre, the atmosphere had dropped to freezing point, but as the Foundation Establishment Elder announced the Disciples' harvests, the atmosphere at the scene became lively once again.

Some envied a Disciple who had a bountiful harvest, some marveled at a Disciple's fortuitous encounter in the Secret Realm, and some mocked a Disciple who had gained nothing.

"Li Kun of Skinning Peak, no harvest."

Li Kun explained: "I was robbed."

"Trash! You have the nerve to say that!"

The Elder flicked his sleeve, and Li Kun felt a tremendous force strike his chest, causing the spiritual power in his body to stagnate, and he immediately fainted.

Behind Fang Huai was a Cultivator at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining, who, seeing this, said nervously:

"Brother, how was your harvest? I was robbed once too, and I'm afraid that if my harvest is too small, I'll be reprimanded by the Elder."

"I..."

Before Fang Huai could speak, the Cultivator in front interrupted first: "One at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining, one at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer; do you think this Tianyuan Secret Realm is for low-level Cultivators like you to go to?"

"Oh?" Fang Huai smiled, "Listening to you, Senior Brother, it seems you had a bountiful harvest."

"Nonsense! I dare not say anything else, but the top thirty is secure."

Li Yu had been cultivating bitterly in the Corpse Fiend Sect for sixty years and had reached Qi Refining Perfection. Years of accumulation combined with good luck made him quite satisfied with his harvest from this trip.

In his mind, he had already reserved a spot in the top thirty for himself.

Fang Huai cupped his hands and said: "Then I congratulate you in advance, Senior Brother, and wish you success in obtaining a foundation establishment pill at the True Dragon Assembly in five years."

"Hmph."

Li Yu snorted coldly, and just as he wanted to lecture these juniors, it was his turn to hand over his spiritual items.

He took out a full Storage Pouch and poured the spiritual items onto the table; the Foundation Establishment Elder nodded, which was rare.

"Li Yu of Curse and Gu Peak, eight stalks of ice lotus flower, one soul-devouring flower, one purple-patterned ganoderma... one purple-gold python spirit egg!"

"Purple-gold python spirit egg?"

The crowd gasped; this was the spirit egg of a Foundation Establishment Stage Demon Beast.

Furthermore, a purple-gold python would treat the first Cultivator it saw after hatching as its master, making it easy to tame, and it would become a great asset to the Sect once it grew up.

If it were a live egg, it would be worth at least one hundred thousand contribution points.

The Elder was also somewhat pleasantly surprised. He placed his fingertip near the spirit egg and injected a trace of spiritual power, then said disappointedly: "It's a pity it's a dead egg, but it's still not bad."

"Li Yu, a total of twenty-four thousand contribution points, reward of two thousand four hundred contribution points."

Upon hearing that it was a dead egg, Li Yu's expression dimmed, but he thought that since he had harvested so much, it was surely much better than that Cultivator at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining behind him.

After receiving his contribution points, he deliberately stayed behind to see Fang Huai's harvest to comfort his wounded heart.

Fang Huai saw through this person's petty thoughts: "Since you want to see my harvest, Senior Brother, I will make a fool of myself."

He took out all five of his Storage Pouches and, under Li Yu's wide-eyed gaze, poured everything out.

"Two stalks of nine-curved spiritual ginseng, one piece of red gold essence, one stalk of dew-condensing vine, six stalks of residual immortal grass..."

The Elder counted them one by one for a quarter of an hour before finishing.

"A total harvest of two hundred twenty-seven thousand one hundred contribution points, reward of twenty-two thousand seven hundred ten contribution points."

Li Yu's eyes widened in rage; this harvest was nearly ten times his own!

"Elder, this brat must have harmed quite a few people!"

Seeing Fang Huai's Eighth Layer of Qi Refining cultivation, the Foundation Establishment Elder was also incredulous: "Drip your essence blood onto the Karma Mirror!"

Fang Huai was not panicked. Most of his harvest was from picking up scraps or obtained from the hands of the Ascension Society. As for the few people he did kill, he had used the karma concealment mirror to shield his Karma.

Seeing that the Karma Mirror remained motionless, the Foundation Establishment Elder understood that either this brat before him had a top-grade Magic Treasure, or his background was astonishing.

Regardless, he was a formidable junior.

He smiled and nodded at Fang Huai, while simultaneously slapping Li Yu away with one palm:

"Slandering people with false accusations! Go to the Law Enforcement Hall and accept your punishment!"