Every fifteen days, the Guiyuan Sect’s mission hall would refresh its mission wall with new assignments, unless there was an urgent request. Once completed, missions were promptly removed. Today was the day of the update, and over thirty missions have been added, ranging from simple to the most difficult. Among them, the most conspicuous was the one seeking Star Sand, offering remuneration that far topped the previous record.
The number of spirit stones stated almost blinded the disciples looking for missions: “Two hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones!”
Two hundred thousand! Everyone gasped in astonishment. Which big shot actually issued this mission? Isn’t this reward too generous?
“Is finding Star Sand harder than catching a Hopbeast?” The reward was twice as much!
“Isn’t it obvious? Have you ever heard of Star Sand?”
“…” That’s true. Hopbeasts, while extremely difficult to defeat, were at least trackable—they knew where to potentially find the beasts, though the issue was that they lacked the strength to subdue one, which was precisely why the mission remained untouched despite the tempting rewards. The Star Sand, on the other hand—no one had ever even heard of it before.
A female disciple’s attention briefly shifted. “That name does sound quite beautiful.”
As soon as they became interested, several disciples started asking for details about Star Sand. Others also caught on and hurried over to listen. Since the mission was a long-term one, meaning anyone could take it, it would be wise to gather as much information as possible… After all, what if they accidentally encountered this Star Sand during other missions? Two hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones meant they would never have to worry about resources for the rest of their lives—who wouldn’t be tempted?
The entire hall was instantly abuzz, and the disciples manning the desks were nearly drowned by their enthusiasm.
…
While this happened in the sect, Lu Yaoyao and her group were on the way to the Cold Mountain Forest. Pulled by two deer-like spiritual beasts, their carriage glided through the forest with graceful ease, as if they were treading on flat, well-paved ground.
“Our missions seem too simple, don’t they? It’s only the sixth day, and we’ve already completed two,” Wen Zixing lamented. Although he did feel a sense of achievement upon completion, it was somewhat mild, since each task itself was very simple, a far cry from the exciting adventure he had envisioned. To sum it up, what they were doing was novice-level errand quests, where they had to locate and deliver specific items. There was no real difficulty, let alone danger.
Chao Muxue chuckled, “We still have plenty of time. If we quickly find the spiritual mink in Cold Mountain Forest, we might as well look for other things to do nearby.”
Lu Yaoyao agreed, “Right, the Cultivation Realm is vast; there’s so much fun to be had.”
Du Qianshan, seeing how light-hearted his friends were, rarely spoke a word of caution, “Cold Mountain Forest isn’t like our back mountain or Tianyan City; we should be more careful.” Although not far, Cold Mountain Forest was just outside the protective range of the Guiyuan Sect. If they were careless, they could very well find themselves in danger. ”
Chao Muxue responded, “True, we can’t let our guard down.”
Wen Zixing was still relaxed, “I think we’ll complete this one in no time.”
“Let’s have some snacks!” Lu Yaoyao also believed that they would finish the last mission very quickly. The task itself was pretty simple; there was nothing too challenging about it, so she wasn’t feeling nervous.
Chao Muxue saw Lu Yaoyao pulling a packet of snacks from her small pouch and reached over to take one, “Didn’t you say they were all gone?” She asked, curious.
“That was yesterday; these are today’s share,” Lu Yaoyao explained seriously. She had specifically bought these snacks in Tianyan City because the store had a limited supply. They were not to be eaten carelessly! The journey was long, and during the dull ride, chatting and eating were the only diversions, so Lu Yaoyao had carefully planned how much to eat each day.
They started munching on the snacks. Chao Muxue ate two pieces and then pushed open the window to look outside. Seeing a row of snow-capped mountaintops in the distance, she exclaimed, “Is that Cold Mountain Forest?”
“Lemme see, lemme see!” Three heads squeezed over, and after a careful look, they nodded, “It seems like it.”
“Looks just like the description, it must be it,” Lu Yaoyao remarked.
“Well, we’re almost there!”
However, as the saying goes, mountains are deceptive in the eye. Despite the seemingly close proximity, their carriage continued all afternoon, and it wasn’t until near evening that they reached the foot of Cold Mountain Forest. As the mountain was more dangerous at night, they decided to rest in the carriage overnight and set off early the next morning. Before departing, Wen Zixing watched the two deer-shaped spiritual beasts pulling the carriage away and confirmed with Lu Yaoyao, “Are you sure this deer carriage will stay at the foot of the mountain and not leave?”
Lu Yaoyao affirmed, “Of course. We’ve rented the carriage for half a month, and during this time, they will serve us. They will appear as long as we come down the mountain within the specified time.”
Wen Zixing finally felt reassured. He did not want to find himself in a scenario where their transportation was gone and they had to walk back on foot after descending the mountain!
So, the group started ascending the mountain with high spirits. Cold Mountain Forest was actually a range of mountains that varied greatly in climate from the base to the summit. The lower part area of the mountains was covered with dense forest, but as you ascended towards the summit, the greenery became less abundant and was eventually replaced by perpetual snow and frost. According to the information provided by the mission hall, the spiritual minks they were looking for often appeared above the mid-mountain level, so Lu Yaoyao and her group headed straight up.
Cold Mountain Forest was uninhabited and rarely traversed, so there were no clear paths to climb upward. They had to make their way as they went, which slowed their progress. “It’s getting colder,” Wen Zixing shivered uncontrollably. Their cultivation was not high, and even though they circulated their spiritual aura, it was not enough to maintain their body temperature continuously, and their uniforms had little effect to fend off the coldness in this environment.
Lu Yaoyao’s clothes were not a real Guiyuan disciple uniform—it was actually a rare, priceless artifact that could maintain temperature among other things, so she did not feel the cold, but seeing Wen Zixing and the others breathing out mist, she blamed herself, “We were under-prepared; I didn’t expect we’d need to guard against the cold.”
“Isn’t this the point of taking field training? We’ve just started; we can’t be fully prepared for everything,” Chao Muxue comforted. Within the precinct of the sect, the climate was controlled to be always pleasant, so disciples often forgot that even as cultivators, there were some levels of cold they couldn’t resist. Thus, although they had packed a change of clothes beforehand, it hadn’t occurred for them to prepare any cold weather gear.
Lu Yaoyao was rummaging through her small pouch, looking for warm clothes, but before she found anything, Wen Zixing suddenly slapped his forehead—
“I’m such a fool, I can draw warming talismans!”
All eyes instantly turned to Wen Zixing. He quickly pulled out blank talismans and a brush and swiftly drew several warming talismans.
“There is such a convenient talisman?” Lu Yaoyao clasped her face in amazement. “Xingxing, you’re amazing!”
Wen Zixing’s lips curled in pride. “Actually, this isn’t called a warming talisman; I renamed it myself.” In their sect, there was an extremely cold mountain range, one that housed His Venerable’s seclusive cultivation site on the Extreme Peak. Halfway up the mountain was a confinement place where disciples who had broken rules were sent to reflect on their mistakes. The peak’s coldness was unbearable even for cultivators, so a crafty disciple invented a talisman that resisted the cold. When disciples stationed at the Extreme Peak couldn’t withstand the cold, they stuck one on and got warmed in an instant.
Lu Yaoyao cheered. Xingxing was truly impressive! In just a few years of studying, he had become incredibly skilled at drawing talismans. He was sure to become a big shot in the future!
Wen Zixing drew the talismans smoothly and efficiently, nearly never wasting a single stroke. He distributed the talismans: two per person, but Lu Yaoyao refused, “My clothes aren’t ordinary disciple robes; they’re special garments that can resist cold.”
Wen Zixing didn’t insist and gave the talismans to Chao Muxue instead, who smiled and thanked him.
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