Chapter 239: Righteous Contribution
"Hah, ridiculous. Your disciple killed my sect's true disciple—why don't you mention that? This is nothing but opposing stances. Don't act so pitiful." Hearing Xuan Tianhen's accusation, a demonic sect cultivator immediately struck back.
Xuan Tianhen, however, didn't care in the slightest. His words were only meant to win sympathy from the righteous side. Beyond that, they also served to lower the vigilance of the demonic sect.
He wanted the demonic sect to firmly believe that his disciple was already a cripple, not worth pursuing any further. If the demonic sect continued to hunt down someone who had become a cripple, the righteous side would likely not stand idly by—they might even retaliate.
After all, this wave of sympathy points was not small. Gu Mo's avatar was the greatest contributor to the righteous side's victory in the Heavenly Chosen Battle. If such a great contributor, after becoming crippled, was still hunted down by the demonic sect, wouldn't that be a vicious slap in the face to the righteous sects?
The demonic sect could choose to ignore Xuan Tianhen's accusation and strike back, but the righteous side clearly could not. This time, Gu Mo's avatar had fought with everything he had precisely to help the righteous side win the Heavenly Chosen Battle.
If the righteous side made no gesture at all, that would chill everyone's hearts.
Soon, a gesture from the righteous side appeared—it was a beautiful woman, wreathed in the fragrance of plants and trees, wearing a crown of thorns and laurel upon her head.
"Paying respects to Master!"
The Valley Master of Shennong Valley was the first to react, bowing quickly.
"Greetings, Venerable!"
The others soon followed. Anyone that the Valley Master of Shennong Valley would call Master clearly needed no further introduction.
"Hmph!"
Qing zun the sovereign cast a sidelong glance at the Valley Master, giving a dissatisfied snort. Clearly, Qing Zun was displeased that Shennong Valley had not promoted Gu Mo to true disciple. If not for this Heavenly Chosen Battle, wouldn't Shennong Valley have buried such a peerless genius?
Seeing his master displeased, the Valley Master of Shennong Valley wore a bewildered expression, not knowing what he had done to draw her ire.
Since family matters were not convenient to air in public, Qing Zun directly skipped past her baffled disciple and turned her gaze toward Gu Mo's avatar.
Qing Zun's sudden appearance was something even Xuan Tianhen hadn't expected. His earlier words had indeed been aimed at stirring sympathy, but with Qing Zun's arrival, his heart couldn't help but tense.
After all, he knew his disciple had twelve sword cores. Though he didn't know why the other eleven had vanished, in his mind, his disciple must have used some method to conceal them.
Now that a Nascent Soul Venerable had appeared, Xuan Tianhen worried that his disciple's disguise might be pierced.
But then he reassured himself: Qing Zun was a righteous Nascent Soul. Even if his disciple's disguise were seen through, she likely wouldn't expose it.
It was only that his tactic of playing the pitiful card to win sympathy might be weakened.
"You did very well this time."
Qing Zun looked over Gu Mo's avatar, her voice like a spring breeze. "Beyond the treasures you gained in the Heavenly Chosen Battle, you helped the righteous side secure victory and slew three demonic sect true disciples, one of them at the Nascent Soul level. These will all be counted as Righteous Contribution. These contributions are recognized by Taiqing Sect, Yin-Yang Sword Sect, and my Shennong Valley. You may go to any of these sects at any time and use your contributions to exchange for treasures."
Righteous Contribution was a mechanism established by the three great righteous sects to counter the demonic sects. Anyone who made outstanding contributions in the righteous–demonic struggles could earn it. Unlike sect contribution, which could only be used within one's own sect, or battle merits, which were limited to fixed reward pools—Righteous Contribution was recognized across the three great sects.
The holder could use it with the privileges of an inner disciple to exchange for all kinds of techniques and treasures.
Not only that, but other righteous sects were also happy to accept Righteous Contribution, so in truth, it was essentially valid throughout the entire righteous alliance.
However, earning Righteous Contribution was exceedingly difficult; only the greatest merits could qualify. Gu Mo's avatar winning the Heavenly Chosen Battle for the righteous side indeed met that standard.
But the fact that slaying demonic sect true disciples was also counted as Righteous Contribution—that was thanks to Xuan Tianhen's tactic of playing the pitiful card. Otherwise, while slaying demonic sect true disciples would certainly be rewarded, it would not reach the threshold of Righteous Contribution.
"Now then, little one, you may use your Righteous Contribution to have me help you condense a sword core anew," Qing Zun offered—clearly an additional reward.
She truly could not bear to see a peerless genius reduced to a cripple. As a Nascent Soul Venerable—especially one skilled in healing and support—she did have the ability to help a Golden Core cultivator recondense a core.
But this could only restore cultivation. A core condensed with external aid could not break through further.
In other words, this once-peerless genius would become an ordinary Golden Core cultivator, forever barred from the Nascent Soul.
But compared to becoming a cripple with no cultivation at all, this was already the best possible outcome.
"Many thanks for your kindness, Venerable!"
Gu Mo's avatar bowed deeply to Qing Zun, but declined her offer. "In my condition, recondensing a core would no longer mean much. This junior would rather use these Righteous Contributions to help the Grand Yan Sword Sect rise again, to repay the sect for its nurturing grace."
These words made the eyes of everyone present fill with respect. A peerless genius who was also loyal and grateful—Grand Yan Sword Sect was truly fortunate. A pity, though: like a meteor, this peerless genius had blazed in dazzling brilliance, only to fade into darkness.
"Disciple!"
Xuan Tianhen, too, was deeply moved by Gu Mo's words. But he said nothing more. At this moment, he intended to hold his tongue, saving his words for later. He feared that speaking now might expose flaws in his disciple's plan.
At the very least, since his disciple had declined the Venerable's offer to help recondense his sword core, then his disciple must have his own preparations.
"Alas!"
Qing Zun sighed. Gu Mo's reply left her both regretful and admiring. Such a disciple would be the dream of any sect.
A pity he did not belong to Shennong Valley—otherwise, they would never allow him to remain a cripple.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
At that moment, streaks of falling light drew everyone's attention away from Gu Mo's avatar. They were the returning righteous Heaven's Chosen.
With no more interference from the demonic Heaven's Chosen, the righteous side quickly swept up the remaining treasure chests. Everyone followed the rule of finder's keepers, and if two wanted the same chest, they settled it with sparring matches—nothing more than exchanging a few blows.
With the return of the righteous Heaven's Chosen, the Heavenly Chosen Battle finally came to an end.
And the battle had long since been recorded on jade slips by cultivators. At this very moment, these slips were already being transmitted at great speed to all corners of the cultivation world. Soon, all would know the outcome of the Heavenly Chosen Battle.
After all, this battle had drawn countless eyes. Not everyone could come watch in person; the majority of cultivators could only rely on these reports to learn what had transpired.
"Yo-ho-ho, weren't you all shouting so loudly before? What's with the silence now?" The Sect Master of the Taiqing Sect said mockingly to the three Demon Sect Masters, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Hmph!"
Hearing the ridicule, the three Demon Sect Masters burned with anger, but this Heavenly Chosen Battle was indeed a loss for their side. With no grounds to argue back, they could only stifle their fury with a cold snort before leading their dejected disciples away.
As for the Bloodfiend Demon Lord in the sky, he had already departed long ago. He hadn't even shown his face throughout, but he understood well—the outcome of this so-called Heavenly Chosen Battle was only temporary. What would truly determine victory between righteous and demonic paths was the battles yet to come.
With the Demon Sect disciples gone, the righteous side's young elites also left one by one, each taking their gains with them.
Xuan Tianhen departed first, bringing Gu Mo's avatar back to the Great Yan Sword Sect. The truth was, his heart was weighed down with too many doubts, and he needed answers.
"Master, there's no need to worry. Your disciple already hid away the remaining eleven sword cores. Once things calm down, I just need to retrieve them." Gu Mo's avatar naturally knew what his master most wanted to ask, so he explained before Xuan Tianhen even opened his mouth.
"You nearly scared me to death just now." Xuan Tianhen glared at him, clearly annoyed.
But soon his brows furrowed again. "Disciple, sword cores can't stay separated from the body for too long. Otherwise, serious problems will arise."
Whether it be a sword cultivator's sword core or an ordinary cultivator's golden core, though they could briefly leave the body, the longer they stayed out, the more risks emerged.
Without the protection of flesh, a sword core was extremely fragile—many external factors could damage or contaminate it. Only a Nascent Soul cultivator's nascent soul could withstand such exposure, and even then, without a body, it had to find one to seize as quickly as possible. Staying out too long was equally perilous.
"Master can rest assured. Your disciple has long taken this into consideration." Gu Mo waved it off with a smile. The sword cores were in his true body; no matter how long they stayed there, there would be no problem.
In fact, if things became extreme—should the avatar perish—the cores within it could be directly inherited by the true body. Then, once he forged a new avatar, the cores could be returned, saving enormous effort.
"That's good, then!"
Xuan Tianhen nodded. Although curiosity gnawed at him—what method could his disciple have found that allowed sword cores to remain outside the body for so long without issue?—in the end, he suppressed it.
This disciple of his was no longer the weak little figure of the past, but a powerhouse capable of slaying Nascent Soul demon lords. Such strength could never have been cultivated solely through the Great Yan Sword Sect, or by him, Xuan Tianhen, alone.
He knew his disciple must have obtained some extraordinary fortune. Presumably, the ability to keep sword cores outside the body was part of that chance.
"Oh, right—Master, please take this." Gu Mo's avatar suddenly remembered and handed over a jade vial.
"Oh? This was what you obtained after defeating that fourth-tier demon beast, from that golden treasure chest. What is it?" Xuan Tianhen asked curiously as he accepted it.
At the time, when Gu Mo checked the contents, he had been too calm. Because of that, everyone assumed the vial contained nothing more than ordinary pills.
"Nascent Forming Pill!"
The moment Xuan Tianhen opened the vial, shock filled his eyes. It wasn't the pill itself that startled him—after all, that golden chest had contained even a spirit-tool-grade alchemy furnace. Finding a Nascent Forming Pill inside was hardly surprising.
What truly shocked him was that Lin Wu had given the pill to him. For any Golden Core stage cultivator, this was the most precious of treasures.
"Disciple, do you really think this Nascent Forming Pill would be of use to me?" Gu Mo's avatar smiled. "Since I'm already a cripple, it's useless to me. Better that the sect use it to cultivate another Nascent Soul sword master. It will also fully dispel the Demon Sect's suspicions."
"My disciple still has righteous contribution points, enough to exchange for an even better Nascent Forming Pill," he added, cutting off whatever protest his master was about to make.
"Then your teacher will accept it." Xuan Tianhen nodded. Honestly, in the Great Yan Sword Sect's current condition, gathering the full resources needed to form a Nascent Soul was nearly impossible. With this pill, morale within the sect would soar.
Most importantly, it would erase lingering doubts and allow his disciple to vanish completely from people's scrutiny.
Shennong Valley.
Gu Mo returned to his courtyard and immediately closed his eyes, carefully examining within. Eleven sword cores circled around his massive golden core.
Though his true body was not a sword cultivator, the consciousness was one and the same with his avatar. Naturally, he could control the sword cores as well. With their blessing, his combat power surged—even greater than his sword cultivator avatar.
For now, his true body held both his original golden core and the sword cores of the avatar. If nothing else, his total spiritual power already surpassed the avatar's.
Even though his cultivation method was not one designed for sword cultivators, sheer power could crush many obstacles. Besides, the Herbal Sutra he cultivated was a top-tier art; the quality of spiritual power it produced was not something ordinary methods could compare with.
While Gu Mo was joyfully experiencing the boost the sword cores gave his true body's strength, at this very moment, the Shennong Valley Master was drenched in sweat.
After returning to the valley, Elder Qing had not gone into seclusion as usual but instead sought him out. At first, the Valley Master was delighted.
That delight did not last long—he was scolded fiercely for failing to promote Gu Mo to the rank of true disciple.
"M-Master, the situation was like this…" The Valley Master hurried to explain everything. "I actually planned to summon the elders right away and hold a vote on Gu Mo's promotion to true disciple."
"Then get to it."
Elder Qing waved dismissively. He had no intention of barring Gu Mo from the true disciples simply because he had joined the sect halfway. After all, Gu Mo's performance in the Heavenly Chosen Battle was more than enough to grant him special exception.
Grand Hall atop the fifth-tier ancient tree.
Elders of every branch gathered. Compared to before, however, two additional seats had been added. These belonged to Xiaohua and Qi Chunde.
Both had emerged from Hou Chunyu's line, so everyone regarded them as a single faction. And now, this faction was about to produce a true disciple.
As for the purpose of the Valley Master summoning them—every elder already knew. It was to decide Gu Mo's promotion to true disciple.
And since this matter was said to have been personally requested by Elder Qing himself, the elders knew well—they were here only to cast their votes of approval.
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