Chapter 5 – The Task 任务

Lin Yuan walked out of the dormitory. The warm sunlight shone on the eaves of the servant area. He took a deep breath, and suddenly a bright smile bloomed on his face. He shouted at Meng Xinghe who was walking in front: "Hey, Lao Meng, don't keep a long face all day. Smile! We are going to be the big shots in cultivating immortals in the future. What's a little hardship like this!"

Meng Xinghe stopped in his tracks, turned his head and glanced at him. A sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth: "We servant disciples work hard every day, drink porridge, and practice that meager cultivation method. What hope do we have? Hurry up and get to work. Don't talk nonsense here."

Lin Yuan touched his nose, and his smile froze instantly. He thought helplessly in his heart: "Sure enough, it's impossible to live an easy life in this world. A servant disciple at the second level of Qi Refining, no matter how you look at it, it seems like a small character who will be sacrifice at any time..."

Just then, he suddenly felt the ring on his right hand heat up slightly. Immediately after, a faint but clear voice entered his mind.

[The host binding is completed. The external environment has been detected to be stable, and the main quest is being activated...]

"Hmm?" Lin Yuan suddenly stopped in his tracks. The noise around him disappeared instantly, as if the whole world had become quiet. Meng Xinghe looked back at him in confusion: "What are you standing there for? Let's go!"

"Ah, it's nothing. My shoelace... no, my belt is loose." Lin Yuan casually found an excuse to prevaricate. He lowered his head, secretly clenched his right fist, and concentrated on sensing the changes in the ring.

[The main quest is issued: Become an outer sect disciple of the Longevity Sect.]

"The treasured artifact of the sect? What on earth is this thing?" Lin Yuan was shocked. He just wanted to open his mouth to ask, but that ring didn't give him a response. It just continued to say coldly:

[The host's cultivation level is detected: the second level of Qi Refining. The qualification for the competition among servant disciples: The top twenty will enter the outer sect a year later. Current task assessment: The probability of completion is extremely low. It is recommended that the host use the ability of the Golden Eyes to improve his cultivation level and be promoted to the outer sect within a year.]

"The ability of the Golden Eyes?" Lin Yuan was taken aback. Before he could think carefully, a stream of information from the ring flooded into his mind like a tide. Some strange and mysterious knowledge gradually became clear in his mind. This was the special ability bestowed on him by the ring.

The skills of the Golden Eyes:

Spiritual Sense Perception: It can penetrate the surface and perceive the essence of things. For example, it can check the core operation mechanism of a magic treasure or detect the structure of a hidden formation.

Weakness Insight: It can see through the flaws of the enemy within a short period of time, especially for enemies whose cultivation level is lower than or at the same level as the host.Fate Guidance (Low Level): At some key nodes, the Golden Eyes will give a short directional prompt to help the host move towards the goal.

However, this ability is not perfect. Using the Golden Eyes requires a large amount of spiritual energy. Once overused, it will lead to physical weakness and even coma.

"This ability seems very powerful, but it's too troublesome to use..." Lin Yuan complained in his heart while thinking about the task given by the ring.

Lin Yuan still had a big problem. As a time traveler, he originally thought he had the "script advantage", but he had only read the first five chapters of the novel. That is to say, he only knew a few general plots:

Lin Xuefei, the double agent: An outer sect female disciple who appears cold on the outside but is passionate on the inside. Her identity is extremely complex. She is not only an undercover agent placed by the Longevity Sect in the Demon Realm, but also a spy sent by the Demon Realm to steal the treasured artifact of the sect.

Roommate Meng Xinghe: This guy is definitely not simple. Maybe he is an informant of some hidden force. He hides deeply, is ambitious, and is extremely narcissistic. He always thinks he is the best in the world.

The Elder of the Pill Refining Peak: He is a force that cannot be underestimated in the Longevity Sect, but he also seems to covet the treasured artifact of the sect and may even be secretly colluding with the Demon Realm.

"But all this information is just scattered... I don't know anything about the later plot. If I make a mistake carelessly, I'll really get myself into trouble." The more Lin Yuan thought about it, the more his head hurt.

"It seems that I still have to rely on myself to explore the rules of this world. Relying solely on that little bit of the novel's plot is definitely not going to work." Lin Yuan let out a long sigh and secretly made up his mind.

After returning to the dormitory, Lin Yuan simply tidied up his bed. Then, he took out the ring as if by accident and examined it repeatedly:

"The competition among servant disciples will only be held a year later. I must improve my cultivation level from the second level of Qi Refining to at least the fifth level of Qi Refining within this year to have a chance to compete for a place in the outer sect... But the problem is, how can I improve my cultivation level? Just doing miscellaneous work every day and drinking that porridge definitely won't work. I have to find another way."

After that, the days of the servant disciples were still as plain as water: working in the outer mountain during the day, sometimes clearing weeds, sometimes trimming the spiritual fields, and sometimes cleaning the peripheral buildings. On the surface, Lin Yuan was diligent and conscientious, but in fact, he was secretly using the "Spiritual Sense Perception" of the Golden Eyes to find shortcuts to exceed in his cultivation training.

For example, through the Golden Eyes, he discovered that some special spiritual herbs in the spiritual fields contained a faint spiritual energy; also, in the corners of some abandoned buildings, there were stones with residual spiritual energy, and these might all be the keys to improving his cultivation level.

A month later, Lin Yuan went to the outer mountain to clean with the servant disciples and met Lin Xuefei again.

This task seemed very peaceful on the surface, but Lin Yuan didn't miss any of Lin Xuefei's actions. He vaguely felt that this cold outer sect senior sister seemed to be particularly interested in the ring on his hand.

"Could it be that she has noticed something?" Lin Yuan was nervous in his heart, but he pretended to be calm and acted as if he hadn't noticed anything.

When the task was almost over, Lin Yuan accidentally detected an abnormal fluctuation with the Golden Eyes —— In the depths of the cleaning area, there was a metallic fragment hidden. It looked ordinary, but it emitted a faint spiritual energy.

Just as he focused his attention on that fragment, Lin Xuefei suddenly leaned over and asked coldly: "Lin Yuan, what have you discovered?"

"Nothing... nothing, Senior Sister." Lin Yuan's heart skipped a beat, but he still pretended to be relaxed on the surface.

Lin Xuefei didn't say anything more. She just gave him a deep look and then turned away. But Lin Yuan felt that that look seemed to have seen through him.

On the way back, Lin Yuan remembered that his nerves had been tense for the past month. He then showed a bright smile again and joked with his companions around him: "Maybe we'll find a treasure tomorrow and ascend directly to immortality!"

Hearing this, the corner of Meng Xinghe's mouth twitched, and he sneered: "Lin Yuan, have you been sunstroke? Wait until you reach the seventh level of Qi Refining and enter the outer sect before talking big like this!"

Lin Yuan rolled his eyes and didn't bother to pay attention to him. Although this guy looked decent, his arrogant and self-centered personality really made people want to knock his head with a broom.

=================

林远走出宿舍,暖煦的阳光洒落在杂役区的屋檐上,他深吸一口气,脸上忽然绽放出一抹灿烂的笑容,冲着走在前面的孟星河喊道:"嘿,老孟,别整天耷拉着个脸,笑一个!咱们可是未来的修仙大佬,这点苦算啥!"

孟星河脚步一顿,回头瞥了他一眼,嘴角浮起一抹嗤笑:"咱们杂役弟子,每天累死累活,喝着稀粥,练着那点可怜的功法,能有什么盼头?赶紧干活去,别在这儿瞎扯."

林远摸了摸鼻子,笑容瞬间僵住,心中无奈地想:"果然,在这个世界想要轻松度日根本不可能.杂役弟子,练气二层,怎么看都像是个随时会被炮灰掉的小角色啊..."

就在这时,他突然感觉右手的戒指微微一烫,紧接着,一道微弱却清晰的声音传入他的脑海.

[宿主绑定完成,检测到外界环境已稳定,主线任务激活中...]

"嗯?" 林远脚步猛地停下,四周的嘈杂声瞬间消失,仿佛整个世界都安静了下来.孟星河疑惑地回头看他:"你愣在那儿干什么呢?快走啊!"

"啊,没事,我鞋带... 不对,腰带松了." 林远随便找了个借口搪塞过去,低下头,悄悄握紧右拳,集中精神感知着戒指的变化.

[主线任务发布:成为长生派外门弟子.]

"镇派之宝?这到底是什么东西?" 林远心中一惊,刚想开口询问,那道声音却没有给他回应,只是继续冷冰冰地说道:

[检测到宿主修为:练气二层.杂役弟子大比资格:一年后前二十名进入外门.当前任务评估:完成概率极低.建议宿主利用金瞳能力,提升修为,并在一年内晋级外门.]

"金瞳能力?" 林远一愣,还没等他细想,戒指的信息流如潮水般涌入他的脑海,一些陌生而又神秘的知识在他脑中逐渐清晰起来,这是戒指赋予他的特殊能力.

金瞳技能:

灵识感知:能够穿透表象,洞察事物的本质.比如查看法宝的核心运转机制,或是探测隐藏的阵法结构.

弱点洞察:短时间内看穿敌人的破绽,尤其是修为低于自身或同阶的敌人.

命运指引（低级）:在某些关键节点,金瞳会给出短暂的方向性提示,帮助宿主朝着目标前行.

不过这能力也并非完美无缺,金瞳的使用需要消耗大量灵力,一旦过度使用,就会导致身体虚弱,甚至陷入昏迷.

"这能力看着挺厉害,可使用起来也太麻烦了吧..." 林远一边在心里吐槽,一边思索着戒指给出的任务.

林远心里还有个大麻烦,作为穿越者,他原本以为自己有 "剧本优势",可他只看过小说的前五章.也就是说,他只知道几个大概的情节:

双面间谍林雪霏:外表冷若冰霜,实则内心炽热的外门女弟子,身份极其复杂,既是长生派安插在魔界的卧底,也是魔界派来夺取镇派之宝的间谍.

舍友孟星河:这家伙绝对不简单,说不定是某个隐秘势力的眼线.他藏得很深,野心勃勃,还特别自恋,总觉得自己天下第一.

炼丹峰长老:在长生派中是一股不容小觑的力量,但似乎对镇派之宝也有觊觎之心,甚至可能与魔界暗中勾结.

"可这些情报都只是零零散散的... 后面的剧情我一概不知.万一不小心搞错了,那可就把自己给坑惨了." 林远越想越头疼.

"看来,我还得靠自己去摸索这个世界的规则.光靠那点小说剧情,肯定是行不通的." 林远长叹一口气,暗暗下定决心.

回到宿舍后,林远简单整理了一下床铺,随后装作不经意地掏出戒指,反复打量起来.他心里不停地盘算着:

"杂役弟子大比一年后才举行,我必须在这一年内把修为从练气二层提升到至少练气五层,才有机会争取一个外门名额... 但问题是,怎么提升修为呢?就靠每天干杂活和喝那稀粥肯定不行,得想别的办法."

此后,杂役弟子们的日子依旧平淡如水:白天在外山劳作,有时清理杂草,有时修整灵田,有时清扫外围建筑.林远表面上勤勤恳恳,实际上却在暗中利用金瞳的 "灵识感知",寻找修炼的捷径.

比如,他通过金瞳发现灵田里某些特殊的灵草蕴含着微弱的灵力;又比如,在一些废弃建筑的角落里,藏着残留灵气的石块,这些都可能成为他提升修为的关键.

一个月后,林远跟着杂役弟子们去外山清扫,又一次和林雪霏碰上了.

这次任务表面上平静得很,可林雪霏的一举一动都没逃过林远的眼睛.他隐隐感觉到,这位冷冰冰的外门师姐,似乎对他手上的戒指格外关注.

"她该不会是察觉到什么了吧?" 林远心里一紧,却强装镇定,装作什么都没发现.

任务快结束的时候,林远用金瞳无意间察觉到一丝异常波动 —— 在清理区域的深处,藏着一块金属性的残片,看起来普普通通,却散发着微弱的灵力.

就在他把注意力集中到那块残片上时,林雪霏突然靠了过来,冷冷地问道:"林远,你发现什么了?"

"没... 没什么啊,师姐." 林远心里 "咯噔" 一下,表面上却还故作轻松.

林雪霏没再多说,只是深深地看了他一眼,便转身离开了.可林远却觉得,那一眼仿佛把他看穿了.

回去的路上,林远想起自己这一个月来神经一直绷得紧紧的,便又露出灿烂的笑容,跟身边的同伴们开玩笑:"说不定明天咱们就捡到宝,直接飞升了呢!"

孟星河听了,嘴角抽了抽,嘲讽道:"林远,你是不是被太阳晒傻了?等你练气七层,进了外门再说这些大话吧!"

林远翻了个白眼,懒得理他.这家伙虽然长得人模人样,可那傲慢自大的性格,真是让人恨不得拿扫帚敲他脑袋.