Fight Poison with Poison

　　In a difficult situation, one should be brave enough to find solutions.

　　Li Yang and Liu Qing were now looking for solutions everywhere. They even went to ask the minor elders who were on good terms with them.

　　"We really can't afford five thousand spirit stones. The Law Elder behind this insists on getting five thousand. Elder, do you have any solutions or connections that can help us postpone it?"

　　Li Yang asked softly. Her temper had really been tempered and she had become much more low-key.

　　The minor elder who had a good relationship with them shook his head. "Once the Law Elder has spoken, the situation is a bit different. I can't help much."

　　"How many spirit stones do you have on hand now? Let's pool them together. Once we reach five thousand spirit stones, we'll send them to the Law Elder."

　　This minor elder was really loyal and was willing to pool resources with Li Yang and the others.

　　"Just over two thousand, less than three thousand." Li Yang said with a bitter smile.

　　Liu Qing sat beside her with her head down.

　　"Then there's no way. The shortfall is too big. Even if we pool our resources together, it won't be enough." The minor elder shook his head helplessly.

　　Li Yang clenched her hands tightly and still asked somewhat unwillingly, "Is there really no other way?"

　　"When the Law Elder speaks, it's equivalent to the top five potential Great Emperors in the sect. There's really no better way."

　　The minor elder shook his head with a bitter smile.

　　The Law Elder and the top five potential Great Emperors were on the same level.

　　What kind of level was that?

　　It meant that as long as they gave an order, none of the formal disciples below them would dare to disobey.

　　The status of the minor elders was even lower than that of the formal disciples, let alone Li Yang, who was still a preparatory disciple at the moment.

　　"Is there really no way?" Liu Qing, who had been listening quietly, couldn't help but speak up. She bit her lip and asked indignantly.

　　"Does it mean that if we can't gather five thousand spirit stones, we're doomed to be harassed by them and can't cultivate?!"

　　"Yes." The minor elder nodded helplessly. "The strong speak, and the weak keep silent. That's the way of the world. You should understand this too."

　　"But... but is there really no other way?" Liu Qing lowered her eyebrows, and there was already a hint of despair in her words.

　　In front of the Law Elder, it seemed that they really couldn't make any waves.

　　"You have over two thousand spirit stones on you, right?" The minor elder suddenly asked.

　　"Yeah." Li Yang nodded, frowning slightly, not knowing why the minor elder was asking.

　　The minor elder replied, "I do have a way that can be done with two thousand spirit stones."

　　"What way?" Liu Qing's eyes lit up, and she quickly asked.

　　The minor elder cleared his throat, crossed his arms, and explained slowly, "There's always been an empty cave in the preparatory disciple area. You know about it, right?"

　　"Yes." Liu Qing nodded. "The minor elders didn't allow us to choose that cave."

　　"But it's different now." The minor elder shook his head. "The owner of this cave has returned. And according to seniority, he should also be a preparatory disciple."

　　"Are you familiar with him?" Liu Qing asked curiously.

　　"Not familiar." The minor elder still shook his head. "Considering his status, I'm far from qualified to be familiar with him."

　　Hearing this, Li Yang and Liu Qing's frowns deepened. Was there such a person among the preparatory disciples?!

　　The minor elder covered his mouth and cleared his throat twice more. After a pause, he continued.

　　"I dare not tell you what he has done or what his name is. You just take these two thousand spirit stones and go to him to ask for help."

　　"As for whether he's willing to help or not, I can't say for sure. But he never refuses gifts. You should be able to succeed."

　　Speaking of this, the minor elder emphasized his tone and said seriously, "Whether it succeeds or not, don't reveal that I told you this."

　　There was indeed a lot of fear in his tone.

　　This made Liu Qing and Li Yang even more puzzled. So much so that Liu Qing asked one more question.

　　"Is it really a solution for us to go to this person?"

　　"How should I put it..." The minor elder touched his head, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded.

　　"It should be like fighting poison with poison."

　　————

　　Pan Da Dao's publicity officially began. Actually, he didn't publicize much. He just called a few Supreme Seeds and casually said a few words.

　　Then these two Supreme Seeds passed the message on to others.

　　However, they used Pan Da Dao's reputation, that is, Pan Da Dao served as the guarantor.

　　When the other preparatory disciples heard about it one after another, they were just a bit surprised. They didn't expect that there was such a fierce person around them.

　　And he had just come back from five hundred years in the sword prison in the previous batch!

　　Moreover, he didn't ask for many spirit stones. He just asked the preparatory disciples to give as they liked, whether it was a little or a lot.

　　But still, no preparatory disciple dared to go. First, they had already paid the spirit stones to the formal disciples, so there was no pressure in the short term.

　　Second, who knew what the temperament of this fierce person who was collecting spirit stones was really like? If they gave too little and got beaten up, it wouldn't be worth it.

　　So for a while, these preparatory disciples were all waiting and watching. They didn't go to find Chen Xia.

　　And Chen Xia was also quite laid-back. He was half-lying in the cave, studying the supernatural powers and spells that he was already very familiar with.

　　He wasn't in a hurry either. He could afford to wait. As long as the first preparatory disciple who paid spirit stones appeared, more would naturally follow.

　　Chen Xia had already made up his mind to wait. He just didn't expect the first person to come so quickly, and it was even Li Yang, a potential Great Emperor.

　　They stood at the door, knocked on the door of the cave, and then stood quietly.

　　Not long after, the door of the cave slowly opened.

　　Chen Xia leaned against the doorframe, looking rather listless.

　　"It's really you!" Liu Qing's almond-shaped eyes widened, and her tone was full of surprise.

　　On the way here, she had vaguely guessed that it might be Chen Xia. After all, last time, Chen Xia had "politely" sent her away.

　　That was really a power she couldn't resist. Later, she was also surprised that there was such a powerful person among the preparatory disciples.

　　Chen Xia didn't really want to chat. He leaned against the wall with one shoulder and asked.

　　"Are you here to pay the spirit stones?"

　　"Yes, we can pay." Liu Qing nodded and then asked, "But can you really help us solve our troubles?"

　　"That's easy to say." Chen Xia straightened his body leaning against the wall a little, looking a bit more serious, and said with a light smile.

　　"Not only can I solve the troubles, but I can also deal with the people who caused the troubles."

　　This sentence was particularly domineering.

　　Liu Qing was excited. She clenched her hands tightly and said, "We have two thousand spirit stones here. We'll give you one thousand first. If you can solve the problem, we'll give you the remaining one thousand spirit stones."

　　"No." Chen Xia shook his head and continued in a calm tone, "I want all two thousand spirit stones now."

　　"But... but what if you can't solve it?" Liu Qing's tone was a bit urgent.

　　Chen Xia had a calm expression and said casually.

　　"If I can't solve it, I'll return the two thousand spirit stones to you intact."

　　Liu Qing frowned, still a bit skeptical, and continued to ask, "But what if you take the spirit stones and don't keep your word? Wouldn't we be at a loss?!"

　　Half of Chen Xia's face was in the shadow of the room, so his expression couldn't be clearly seen. Only his calm voice could be heard, with a hint of a smile.

　　"Since you're here, you don't have a choice."