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Chapter 8: Teaming Up
The Chronicles of the Nine Provinces described the major events that had occurred in the world of cultivation.
The biggest news that happened last month was the story of Immortal Jiuyi, the leader of the Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals, concluding his closed-door cultivation and engaging in a fierce battle with the Left and Right Guardians of the Dark King Sect at Mount Ember. In this epic fight, Immortal Jiuyi killed the White Silver King and inflicted severe wounds upon the Violet Gold Marquess, who managed to escape.
The Dark King Sect, a prominent sect that followed the path of evil cultivation, had been steadily gaining formidable momentum, hinting at a potential ascent into the limelight. Immortal Jiuyi's sudden attack was a heavy blow to the Dark King Sect. The question remained as to how the sect leader of the Dark King Sect would respond.
In addition, a new female disciple had emerged from the Valley of the Three Absolutes, one of the Terrestrial Ten. This lady was named Luo Yao and was infamous for her ruthless ways of doing things. Within a mere month, she traversed the southern territories and obliterated three cults that practiced the shamanic technique and raised cursed bugs.
The Valley of the Three Absolutes had established its presence in the world through the use of shamanic techniques and poison. The sect was neither strictly good nor purely malevolent. However, in the wake of Luo Yao's fearsome and unrelenting pursuit of all that is evil, one couldn't help but wonder if her fellow disciples within the sect trembled in fear.
The Mount Shu Sect also made an appearance in the Chronicles of the Nine Provinces for this month, albeit briefly. Wang Xuanling, the peak master of Mount Shu Sect's Jade Sword Peak, had recently slain a troublesome sea dragon in the East Sea, which had been wreaking havoc for fishermen.
As Chu Liang saw this news, a wave of concern washed over him. His teacher's relationship with Wang Xuanling had always been bad. Given her temperament, if Wang Xuanling had done something that garnered public attention, it would be impossible for her not to react.
He wasn't worried about his teacher's safety. He was merely concerned for the ecosystem of the East Sea.
It was as though he had a psychic connection. The moment this thought entered his mind, a fiery pillar shot up not far away, its trajectory set to the southeast.
In the wind, a voice transmission reached him, saying, "I'll be away for a few days; take care of yourself."
"..." Chu Liang felt speechless for a moment.
As expected of the teacher who had always wanted to be strong!
Lastly, there was the Uncommon Tales of the Martial World, the most beloved source of entertainment among the common folk.
Compared to the serious news reported in the Chronicle of the Nine Provinces, the Uncommon Tales of the Martial World reported mostly gossip, scandals, rumors, or trivial events.
For instance, the first piece of news concerned the Emperor of the Yu Dynasty. During his visit to the Ascending Dragon Academy, he attempted to arrange a marriage between his youngest daughter, Princess Jingyang, and the chief disciple of the academy, Zhang Chen. To everyone's surprise, Zhang Chen rejected the proposal.
Zhang Chen's reasoning was that being in a relationship could interfere with his studies. (f)ree
The Ascending Dragon Academy held a prestigious position as the foremost Confucian school, closely entwined with the imperial court, and was ranked highly even in the Terrestrial Ten. Zhang Chen, serving as the academy's chief disciple, had been on the path to a promising future, whether through dedicating himself to furthering his cultivation or by entering imperial service. However, this rejection had cast a shadow of uncertainty over his future.
It wasn't just the Emperor who had been concerned about his daughter's marriage plans.
The Lord of the Thunderbolt Stronghold, which was a sect in the Terrestrial Ten, also sent out a message offering ten precious treasures as a dowry to attract a worthy son-in-law for his only daughter, Huang Ling'er. To everyone's surprise, none of the exceptional talents from the nine provinces dared to accept the offer.
Of course, there were underlying reasons.
Clearly, there were numerous young and talented individuals with both exceptional character and high-level cultivation skills vying to become the son-in-law of the Thunderbolt Stronghold's leader. They would even be willing to marry into the family to secure such an opportunity.
However, no one dared to accept the offer because Huang Ling'er had released a cruel statement. She said that the person who wanted to marry her better had achieved a higher level of cultivation than her. If not, that person would be eaten up by her Mammothdagon on the first day of marriage.
Among the various news events, one piece of news from the Mount Shu Sect grabbed the headlines.
It centered around Jiang Yuebai, known as Fairy Jiang within the Mount Shu Sect. She had been seen having dinner at the Drunken Moon Delights in Jiangnan with Feng Chaoyang from the Celestial King Sect. The two were suspected to be in a romantic relationship.
Of course, the Celestial Pivot Pavilion would never write about groundless claims. Since Jiang Yuebai and Feng Chaoyang had yet to confirm their relationship, the news writer cautiously used the word "suspected."
Nonetheless, one could easily imagine how such news broke the hearts of Fairy Jiang's devoted fans.
...
"Impossible. Definitely impossible!"
"It's impossible for that scoundrel from the Celestial King Sect to steal my beloved Jiang away!
"Fairy Jiang! I beg you! Please choose someone in the Mount Shu Sect to love!"
In the vast, white square in front of the Boundless Palace, cries of despair echoed from time to time.
Occasionally, the voices of female disciples retorting sounded.
"Even if you like Fairy Jiang, there's no need to belittle Feng Chaoyang, right? Feng Chaoyang is a hardworking and kind embodiment of human ideals!"
"Yeah, that's right! At the age of nineteen, he's already the top contender for the chief disciple position in the Celestial King Sect. When will you sour grapes even come close to someone like him?"
Not everyone shared the same joys and sorrows. In Chu Liang's opinion, these people were just creating noise.
He calmly navigated through the crowd, traversing the entire square. The four halls of the Mount Shu Sect encircled the square's perimeter.
Aside from the Hall of Discipline, responsible for the sect's disciplinary laws, there were the Hall of Weapons, overseeing enchanted artifacts and weapons; the Hall of Conservation, dedicated to divine techniques; and the Hall of Alchemy, dealing with pills and talismans.
These three halls frequently displayed various items available for purchase using the sword coins of the Mount Shu Sect.
Chu Liang had managed to save up twenty sword coins after completing a few tasks. While it might not be sufficient for acquiring enchanted treasures or manuscripts, it provided enough to buy some cultivation-enhancing pills.
He arrived at the Hall of Alchemy and purchased four Spirit-Concentration Pills for the cultivators at the Spiritual Awareness Realm. With these pills, he believed he would soon reach the middle stage of the Spiritual Awareness Realm.
Compared to the other disciples, he was able to save up all his sword coins in exchange for pills. This was quite an advantage.
He came out from the Hall of Alchemy and made his way to the Sword Exchange Pavilion.
His journey of completing tasks and hunting demons couldn't be put on hold. With the White Pagoda in his possession, he needed to fully harness its benefits.
It wouldn't be very nice of Chu Liang to seek out Elder Shen whenever he wanted to choose a new mission. This time, he was ready to select a task independently. Inside the grand hall of the Sword Exchange Pavilion, several jade tablets hung high, each displaying rapidly changing missions. The array of missions on the tablet for individuals at the Spiritual Awareness Realm made the scene quite dizzying.
He had barely taken a few glances of the missions when he heard someone call out, "The mission is to harvest Human-Faced Jade Essence Flowers! Generous rewards! We are missing just one fellow disciple who has reached the Spiritual Awareness Realm! This group is led by a Gold Core Realm senior, so it's absolutely safe!"
"The mission is to harvest Human-Faced Jade Essence Flowers..."
The voice that was calling out belonged to a young disciple dressed in a black silk robe, distinguished by his thick eyebrows, bright eyes, and a robust, vibrant aura.
Behind him were three other disciples, a mix of male and female. Together, they formed a group of four.
Human-Faced Jade Essence Flowers...
Chu Liang briefly pondered. He wasn't entirely certain about the location for harvesting these flowers, but he understood that tasks requiring multiple participants often indicated higher difficulty or the need to face numerous demons.
Missions involving many demons were typically promising.
With a smile, he stepped forward. "Hello, I can join you."
Despite not knowing these people personally, they were all fellow disciples of the Mount Shu Sect, akin to an extended family where barriers rarely existed.
"Really?" The young disciple in the black robe beamed with enthusiasm and pulled Chu Liang closer. "That's great! Come on, let's quickly secure the mission request. I'm Lin Bei, what's your name?"
"Chu Liang."
"Brother Chu, let me tell you, this mission is in high demand."
With the group now assembled, Lin Bei adeptly stepped forward to assist several members in obtaining the mission slips and then returned to distribute them among everyone.
After handing one to Chu Liang, he asked eagerly, "Chu, my friend, we're from the Jade Sword Peak. Which peak are you from?"
Chu Liang replied, "I'm from the Silver Sword Peak."
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