Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Chapter 110: 110 Task Hall

”Tasks?”

Upon hearing this, Yun Xiao, who had just turned to leave, paused slightly and turned back with a murmur of doubt. Yet, thinking of a possibility, he felt a stir of excitement in his heart.

”Yes, tasks, the kind that can earn you points!”

Tan Yun’s still somewhat pallid cheeks lit up with a trace of excitement as she continued, ”Within the Jade Pot Sect, both Outer Disciples and Inner Sect Disciples need points to get resources. For instance, just entering the first layer of the Jade Pot Cave for a day costs a hundred points!”

”A hundred points!”

To be honest, Yun Xiao was still a bit uncertain about the rules of the Jade Pot Sect, far less clear about them than Tan Yun and the others. However, considering the rare Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures within the Jade Pot Cave, he did not think a hundred points were too expensive.

”Undertaking tasks is an important way to earn points from the Jade Pot Sect. For example, completing a low-level Spiritual Rank task could earn you a thousand or even several thousand points!” Tan Yun said, getting more and more excited, but what she had not considered was that Spiritual Rank tasks were not something she, at the Meridian Introduction Realm Late Stage, could complete.

”Then let’s go take a look in the Task Hall, and see what rank that task about Yurong Mountain actually is?” Yun Xiao agreed amiably, since he planned to go to Yurong Mountain to search for the Fire Stone Heart anyway. If he could incidentally complete a task and earn some points, why not?

Immediately, the group of four left the courtyard and Tan Yun, who knew the way, led Yun Xiao and the others towards a certain place. Along the journey, she suddenly remembered something and said, ”It’s said that the guy who ranks first on the Mortal List accomplished a low-level Spiritual Rank task last time and earned nearly two thousand points. How impressive!”

”The first on the Mortal List!”

Hearing this title, a hint of fighting spirit rose in Yun Xiao’s eyes. However, he knew that with his current Early Stage Meridian Gathering Realm cultivation, facing those ruthless characters ranked in the top three of the Mortal List would probably leave him overmatched; he needed to improve his strength urgently.

Moreover, Yun Xiao had heard from Tan Yun that Guan Hu, with whom he had an enmity in the Jade Pot Cave, had an older brother who ranked third on the Mortal List. That person was already attempting to break through to the Meridian Rushing Realm, likely a formidable opponent indeed.

As Yun Xiao walked, he listened to Tan Yun’s interesting stories. Before long, a grand hall loomed before them. As they drew closer, he was surprised to find that the hall was faintly radiating a trace of green aura.

Sensing this aura, Yun Xiao felt a sudden movement in his heart, yet he said nothing and continued straight towards the grand hall. With their arrival, the hall grew busier and busier.

It was early morning of the day, and many Outer Disciples of the Jade Pot Sect were hurrying to the Task Hall to accept tasks since this was the quickest way to earn points. Without points, one wouldn’t have the slightest access to cultivation resources within the Jade Pot Sect.

Although the grand hall belonged to the Outer Sect’s Task Hall of the Jade Pot Sect, according to Tan Yun, the tasks published inside were no different from those in the Inner Sect Task Hall.

That is to say, the Spiritual Rank tasks available to the Inner Sect could also be found in this Outer Sect Task Hall. Of course, whether there were any Outer Disciples bold enough to undertake Spiritual Rank tasks was another matter—not everyone possessed the courage of the one who topped the Mortal List.

As Yun Xiao stepped into the Task Hall, that peculiar feeling grew even stronger. And then he heard Tan Yun beside him explain, ”This Task Hall is said to be under the control of the third Elder of the Poison Vein. The third Elder isn’t known for being good-tempered, but thankfully, he never comes to this Outer Sect Task Hall!”

As she spoke, Tan Yun seemed a little nervous, her gaze flickering to a few spots. Indeed, as she had said, although the elders of the Poison Vein weren’t present here, their intimidating presence was incomparable, far surpassing that of the Medical Pulse elders.

”Indeed!”

Hearing this, Yun Xiao finally confirmed his guess. From the outside, he had already felt some special aura from the hall; now, it seemed this was indeed a place controlled by the Poison Vein.

This also showed that the Jade Pot Sect’s Medical Pulse and Poison Vein were on equal footing, each with their respective spheres of influence. For instance, the Jade Pot Cave was controlled by the Medical Pulse, while this vital Task Hall was the territory of the Poison Vein.

Yun Xiao didn’t dwell on this too much. As Tan Yun had said, someone like the third Elder of the Jade Pot Sect, a powerful being in the Spirit Vein Realm, probably wouldn’t bother with the Outer Sect Task Hall at all. His interest would more likely lie with those Inner Sect Disciples of even more astonishing talent.

As soon as he entered the Task Hall, Yun Xiao noticed several gazes casting his way simultaneously. Among them were familiar auras, as well as unfamiliar ones.

It seemed that some newly initiated Outer Disciples desired better resources. After the free taste of the Jade Pot Cave, they came to the Task Hall hoping to earn some extra points.

Among them was Cao Luo, the genius of the Cao Family, as well as Zhao Ningshu, the eldest of the Zhao Family. However, the looks they cast toward Yun Xiao and his group of four were not very friendly, likely due to harboring resentment from previous incidents.

Yun Xiao didn’t care about their gazes at all. With his strength at the early stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm, Cao Ju and Zhao Ningshu were no longer worth his attention.

However, as Yun Xiao’s gaze shifted to another direction, he saw two familiar figures—it was Xuan Zhi and Guan Hu, who were left disheveled by him in the third level of the Jade Pot Cave yesterday.

Seeing these two, Yun Xiao’s eyebrows slightly furrowed, as Li Shan mentioned yesterday that he was going to give him an explanation, to severely punish Xuan Zhi and Guan Hu for breaching the sect rules. How come they seemed to be standing here in the Task Hall as if nothing had happened? This situation might perhaps involve some trickery.

While Yun Xiao was sizing up the two, they were also scrutinizing him, their gazes filled with deep resentment, seemingly even more intense than that of the talents from the Zhao and Cao families.

Especially Xuan Zhi, whose glare seemed to be on the verge of shooting flames at Yun Xiao. After all, he was the esteemed Third Prince of the Xuanyue Empire, an existence not lightly provoked by anyone in the entire empire. Even those who did not fear him would still consider the Royal Family of Xuanyue.

Yet, there was this nobody from a family that had been exterminated, who did not take the Third Prince seriously at all, and repeatedly caused significant loss to his face. How could Xuan Zhi swallow such humiliation?

Thanks to the detoxification treatment of Li Shan’s Spiritual Rank Medical Pulse Technique, along with a night of recuperation, the poison of the Green-Eyed Bat that Xuan Zhi had incurred was mostly resolved. Therefore, it seemed that Guan Hu’s injuries appeared to be somewhat more severe at this point.

But within this Task Hall, even if Xuan Zhi were to borrow courage, he would not dare to make a move. This place was not the Jade Pot Cave where life and death duels were allowed. Provoking the major figures of the Jade Pot Sect could be unfavorable, and his status as a minor Third Prince bore little threat here.

Moreover, since even Guan Hu had been injured by Yun Xiao, with Xuan Zhi’s cultivation at the middle stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm, he certainly couldn’t be Yun Xiao’s match. He wouldn’t humiliate himself in front of this crowd.

”Guan Hu, I told you to summon Guan Tong out of seclusion, why hasn’t he appeared yet!”

Seeing Yun Xiao smiling and nodding at him, Xuan Zhi’s face grew even more sullen, twitching the scars on his cheeks, which made him seem somewhat fierce.

Xuan Zhi’s words, filled with venom, made Guan Hu’s body tremble. He promptly replied respectfully, ”Your Highness, rest assured, with my brother taking action, no matter what task Yun Xiao takes this time, he will have no chance to escape!”

This was another aspect of the Jade Pot Sect where life and death were not forbidden - during a mission, because generally, you would leave the Sect’s boundaries, and if you were to be killed while on a mission outside, the Jade Pot Sect would not intervene.

Of course, within the territories of the Xuanyue Empire, ordinary families or medium and small sect cultivators would still give the Jade Pot Sect some respect. However, this did not extend to competition among disciples of the same sect.

For instance, two Outer Disciples from the Jade Pot Sect could take on the same mission. To successfully complete it, they would naturally become competitors, whether they fought openly or covertly, and causing injury or death was often inevitable.

It seemed that Xuan Zhi’s hatred for Yun Xiao had reached an insurmountable level, and the methods he was willing to employ were increasingly ruthless. Since Guan Hu couldn’t kill Yun Xiao, and since he couldn’t do it in the Jade Pot Cave, he would now resort to even more despicable and aggressive schemes.

Naturally, Yun Xiao could not hear the conversation between Xuan Zhi and Guan Hu. His deliberately shown smile fading, his gaze had already shifted to the inner wall of this grand hall.

Taking a step forward, Yun Xiao first approached the left half of that wall, a gathering place for many Outer Disciples. This time, without needing Tan Yun to explain further, he had already gathered some information.

”Mortal Rank Low-Level Task: Obtain a Demon Core from a First Rank ’Stone-Eating Mouse’ Vein Demon. Reward points for completing task: One hundred!”

Yun Xiao stared at the first line of text on the far left wall, reading it carefully, and muttered to himself. It was clear that this was a lowest-level task, and while the difficulty didn’t seem too great—since a First Rank Vein Demon was equivalent to a cultivator’s Meridian Qi level— it wasn’t going to be easy to complete.

While the Stone-Eating Mouse Vein Demon might be weak, these rodent-type Vein Demons possessed remarkable hiding skills, and finding one typically required quite a bit of effort.

Moreover, the lower the rank of the Vein Demon, the less likely it was to have a Demon Core. Even some Second or Third Rank Vein Demons did not necessarily possess one. It would take some luck to find a Demon Core within a First Rank Stone-Eating Mouse.

In Yun Xiao’s view, the Jade Pot Sect issued this task perhaps because they had a need for the Demon Core of the First Rank Stone-Eating Mouse Vein Demon.

And seeking such low-rank Demon Cores themselves would be rather beneath the dignity of the Sect’s important figures, hence, this task was offered as a Mortal Rank low-level mission.