Chapter 15: The Great Mission Hall
Ever since then, Lu Yang led a rather fulfilling life. In the early mornings, he would sit at the mountain summit, sitting in a meditative state as he basked in the light of dawn. Later in the mornings, he would put his heart into honing his sword techniques. At noon, he would find himself a tree branch and take a brief nap. When afternoon came around, he would be pumped with energy as he sparred with the puppet and got beaten up. After dinner, he would finish the homework Yun Zhi assigned him by the candlelight.
Just like that, a year had passed, and Lu Yang’s cultivation had steadily risen.
~~~
“Look! Isn’t that the sect leader’s fourth disciple, Sword Spirit Root Lu Yang?”
Inside the Great Mission Hall, Lu Yang was especially conspicuous. He donned white robes, and his gaze was bright. By his waist was a sword, and its hilt had a red tassel tied to it. Anyone who saw him would inevitably praise that he was a fine, talented young man.
Many disciples in the Dao-Seeking Sect knew one another. Especially in a place like the Great Mission Hall where they would sometimes encounter people they didn’t see as often, they would often make a comment or two out of curiosity.
Not only was Lu Yang the top performer in the entrance trials, he also possessed a Sword Spirit Root, provoked the good-natured River Spirit and Dai Bufan, became a disciple of the sect leader, and received the personal guidance of Yun Zhi. With this myriad of reasons, he stood out among the new cohort of disciples and had gained considerable fame.
Despite Tao Yaoye’s celestial-like beauty, she couldn’t compare to Lu Yang.
“Lu Yang, the one personally taught by Big Senior Sister? Dang, it really is him.”
“I heard that it has been a year since he joined the sect, and he just became a Foundation Establishment cultivator a few days ago.”
“Already at the Foundation Establishment Stage? No wonder he’s here at the Great Mission Hall. He is probably going to accept a mission to train and get some experience.”
Lu Yang was no longer a stranger to surrounding gazes that viewed him as if he were a rare and precious breed of animal.
The senior brothers are right. I successfully reached the Foundation Establishment Stage seven days ago, then I used seven more days to reinforce my cultivation before officially emerging from my seclusion. I’m now here according to Big Senior Sister’s instructions to go out more.
Lu Yang couldn’t help but exclaim as he took in the multitude of missions available in the Great Mission Hall, from slaying murderous old Fusion devils to searching for cats and dogs.
A mission that caught Lu Yang’s attention requested a dual cultivation technique[1]—a proper one.
There were two types of dual cultivation techniques—proper and improper ones. Proper dual cultivation techniques needed no further explanation. They were for the purpose of having a male and female helping each other to balance their yin and yang.
Improper dual cultivation techniques needed even less of an explanation.
The mission was posted by a fox demon who had registered with the Dao-Seeking Sect. Although the Dao-Seeking Sect’s responsibilities included subduing demons and devils, it wasn’t done indiscriminately. When it came to the innocent demons who had no ill intentions toward humans, the Dao-Seeking Sect would not subdue them but instead let them register with the sect and be conferred a legal status.
This fox demon was one of them. Her name was Su Yan, and she was an ordinary little fox living in the old mountains and forests. While playing, she got caught in a hunter’s trap. Fortunately, a young noble had gone to the mountains to play and managed to rescue her, successfully wasting the hunter’s efforts for the day.
Later, Su Yan consumed a transformation fruit in a hidden mountain cave. It activated the bloodline in her, and she became a fox demon. She was a grateful one, so she transformed into human form and went to repay that scion.
Although the young master was now the head of the family and had come across numerous women, none of them were as beautiful as Su Yan.
As such, the two naturally got married.
However, a problem soon arose.
As the fox demon was born with a Charming Constitution, she would uncontrollably absorb yang energy. When both husband and wife engaged in bedroom affairs, the husband would always be drained of his yang energy.
The good news was that yang energy could be restored, so it was not fatal as long as they reduced the frequency of their bedroom affairs.
Another problem arose. The two were newlyweds, so how could they possibly be willing to regulate their bedroom affairs? However, if the frequency was too high, the husband would gradually appear wan, which could easily lead to rumors. Hence, Su Yan hoped to cultivate a proper dual cultivation technique to control her Charming Constitution.
This mission had been posted for a long time, but no one accepted it.
The reason was not because dual cultivation techniques were scarce. It was because upon the completion of the mission, it would signify that the person was in possession of a proper dual cultivation technique, which would then lead to people wondering whether this person also possessed improper ones.
If a senior brother asks you for improper dual cultivation techniques, what should you do? Should you say that you have them or not? Should you hand it over or not?
And what would the senior and junior sisters think of you?
“This mission is not bad. I’m accepting it.”
Someone behind Lu Yang declared. From the voice, it was clearly Meng Jingzhou.
Meng Jingzhou was the perfect candidate for this mission. As someone from the Meng Family, he certainly would have no lack of dual cultivation techniques, but with his Pure Yang Spirit Root, he would definitely not possess improper dual cultivation techniques.
Even if he did, he couldn’t do anything else but stare helplessly.
Meng Jingzhou had reached the Foundation Establishment Stage earlier than Lu Yang, and this was the third mission he was accepting.
“You’re also at the Foundation Establishment Stage?” Meng Jingzhou smiled.
Both of us have Variant Spirit Roots, and our cultivation talents aren’t really different. It’s a bit unexpected that Lu Yang reached the Foundation Establishment Stage later than me.
Reminded of the torture from Yun Zhi the past year, Lu Yang sighed. “Yes, I finally am.”
“Once I have completed the mission, let’s have a meal together; my treat.” Meng Jingzhou offered generously. I have plenty of spirit stones.
After Meng Jingzhou left, Lu Yang continued browsing the missions pasted on the wall, reading the information out to himself.
“There are signs of diabolic sacrificial rituals in the north. It is recommended that cultivators at the Golden Core Stage or above head over to investigate. The mission rewards are four hundred contribution points, with additional rewards for extra information.
“Daoist Li Hong from the Mountain Sea Pass has lost a pet and needs someone to look for it.” Lu Yang paused. This seems like a decent mission. Searching for some cat or dog is not dangerous.
He continued reading, “The lost pet is a ferocious winged tiger at the Intermediate Nascent Soul Stage. If found, this mission rewards five thousand contribution points.”
Lu Yang shrunk back. A demon beast, Nascent Soul Stage, and on top of that, a winged ferocious tiger with an ancient bloodline. Is this where the idiom “boost in power like a tiger that has grown wings” came from? I am not even qualified to become the tiger’s toothpick.
Next, next.
“There are unusual fluctuations in spirit energy during the transition between day and night at Kunwu Mountain, suspected to be due to an undiscovered cave. It is recommended that cultivators at the Advanced Nascent Soul Stage and above head there to investigate. The mission rewards are eight thousand contribution points, and there are additional rewards should the cave turn out to be precious.”
Yet another mission unrelated to me.
Had they been in the outside world, Qi Training cultivators could wander across the jianghu and be considered an expert, Foundation Establishment cultivators could rule over a small territory and enjoy fortune for a hundred years, while Golden Core cultivators could address themselves as “True Person (zhenren)”[2] and establish their own sect.
On the contrary, in the Dao-Seeking Sect, any random passer-by could be a Golden Core cultivator. If one were to throw a brick into the crowd here…not only would it easily hit many of them, but the brick would also likely get thrown back.
All disciples in the Dao-Seeking Sect were elites selected from one in a thousand. Before Lu Yang’s batch of disciples, cultivators at the Qi Training and Foundation Establishment stages did not even exist in the sect, with the lowest cultivation of disciples being the Golden Core Stage.
No matter how much one thrived outside, they would have to obediently play their part once they came back to the Dao-Seeking Sect. This was why there weren’t many options for Foundation Establishment cultivators looking for a mission. The ones Lu Yang had gone through minimally required either Golden Core or Nascent Soul cultivation.
However, he had noticed a special mission.
“Long-term mission—collecting cultivation techniques not yet recorded by the Dao-Seeking Sect, and the rewards will be determined based on its contents.
“Note: Big Senior Sister Yun Zhi, please don’t accept this mission. The scripture library has already set up a Yun Zhi section. You can directly place the cultivation techniques you have scribed there.”
1. It is very often used as a euphemism for bedroom affairs in xianxia novels. ☜
2. “Zhenren” translates literally to “true person,” and it is a common term of address seen in xianxia novels. Although there are discrepancies across novels, “zhenren” is often used for the Golden Core Stage while “zhenjun” is used for the Nascent Soul Stage. ☜
Rakumon's ThoughtsI wonder if Meng Jingzhou thought as much as Lu Yang before accepting the mission lol
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