Chapter 76: Mission Hall
Chapter 76: Mission Hall
The two of them stood atop the flying spirit artifact, and Lin Daqiao began to explain in detail to Li Yan. As Li Yan had previously guessed, the Mission Hall was indeed located within that dense bamboo forest at the rear mountain.
There were three types of tasks that disciples of Little Bamboo Peak could take on: watering spiritual plants, raising spirit beasts, and cooking for spirit beasts. Li Yan could understand the first two, but the third puzzled him.
Aside from eating raw flesh of other spirit beasts and certain spiritual plants, there were some particularly unique spirit beasts that required large amounts of spiritual food for nourishment.
If these kinds of spirit beasts grew in the wild, they would naturally seek out food suited to their physique for survival each day.
But if they were raised by people, then one had to specifically concoct or cook the food they needed. This type of food had to contain spiritual energy, in order to ensure the normal growth of these beasts.
As they spoke, they had already arrived within the bamboo forest behind the mountain. The two of them landed and put away the spirit artifact. Lin Daqiao, familiar with the place, headed toward a narrow path. Seeing this, Li Yan opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked:
"Seventh Senior Brother, there are so many small paths in this bamboo forest. These ones with the stone markers must lead to the areas for doing mission tasks.
"But there are quite a few such paths, and these stone markers have neither words nor pictures. For newly initiated disciples, it's easy to get confused. Couldn't they at least put some kind of marking on them?"
This question had been in his heart for several years, never answered. Today, he could no longer suppress his curiosity and asked it aloud.
"Looks like Junior Brother has walked these small paths before, otherwise you wouldn't know about them. You're asking about markings? There are markings…"
Lin Daqiao, hearing Li Yan's question, turned his head and looked at him strangely, thinking to himself:
"You say you don't know about the Mission Hall, so I brought you here. But you're able to mention the stone markers, so you should know. Then again, you look totally clueless. Who explained things to Junior Brother? They clearly didn't do a good job."
What he didn't know was that although Li Yan often came to the rear mountain, ever since Gong Chenying had warned him once, he had never again set foot on any of the paths with the stone markers.
Lin Daqiao looked toward the peak of the mountain, then lowered his voice to a near whisper.
"There are four such paths in total here, I suppose you know that and they correspond to three task areas and the Mission Hall. But the small stone markers at the entrances of these paths were split off from Lord Heavenly Stele…"
At this point, his voice dropped even lower.
"Lord Heavenly Stele is that giant stone stele about fifty li up from here, on the large plaza. It was originally a magical treasure used to suppress the entrance to the Harvesting Secret Realm.
"But after being bathed in the spiritual energy of Little Bamboo Peak for tens of thousands of years, plus the interaction with the rich spiritual energy coming from the secret realm during the month when the portal opens, an artifact spirit slowly formed within it.
"It's said that the Heavenly Stele's artifact spirit has at least the terrifying cultivation level of the middle Core Formation, maybe even higher. But it's best we don't talk about him. His temper is… not good.
"We're still within his domain right now. If he hears us by accident, you and I could both suffer for it.
"Also, Junior Brother, you absolutely must not go up there out of curiosity. His temperament is unpredictable, and the consequences could be… difficult to foresee…"
Saying this, Lin Daqiao looked up at the mountain again with some concern, then uneasily reminded Li Yan once more.
Hearing this, Li Yan was first shocked. He hadn't expected that the stone stele which had once caused him to cough up blood was actually a magical treasure and one that had developed sentience.
A piece of stone could gain sentience like a human, the world of cultivation truly was full of wonders.
What surprised him even more was that the entrance to the secret realm was actually located on Little Bamboo Peak. These were things never recorded in the ancient texts.
Soon after, Li Yan gave a bitter smile in his heart. How could he not know the Heavenly Stele had a bad temper? It was very bad. He hadn't even gotten a clear look at it before coughing up several mouthfuls of blood. He'd needed days of rest to recover.
Seeing Li Yan remain silent, Lin Daqiao worried he might not believe him and whispered again:
"Junior Brother, it's true. That Heavenly Stele has an eccentric personality. Originally, the four paths here had four proper stone steles with carved words to mark them. But after the Heavenly Stele gained sentience, it felt that there should be no other steles here, only small stones.
"So it used its powers to destroy the four steles, and left behind four small flat stones instead. These came to be known as the stone markers. This alone shows how peculiar it is.
"Still, the markers are there, you just didn't know what to look for. It's the cracks on the stones.
"One crack means the Mission Hall. Two cracks means the Spiritual Plant Garden. Three cracks means the Spiritual Food Garden. Four cracks means the Spiritual Beast Garden. When you enter the Mission Hall, if you see a mission with a two on it, that refers to the Spiritual Plant Garden; a three, of course, refers to the Spiritual Food Garden…"
Li Yan was stunned as he listened. So the markers were just cracks? Just how overbearing was this Heavenly Stele? Not only did it refuse to allow any other stone steles, but even forced cracks onto itself?
He'd better stay far away from that Heavenly Stele in the future. If he ever angered it, with such terrifying cultivation, even if he were hiding in the Bamboo courtyard, it was only dozens of li away. It could crush him like a bug or worse, carve a few cracks into his body, that would be a disaster.
Seeing Li Yan's expression change repeatedly, Lin Daqiao knew he was convinced. Straightening up, he said loudly:
"Let's go, Junior Brother. We're almost there!"
They had arrived at the entrance of a small path. Li Yan carefully examined the foot-tall stone marker, and indeed, there was a single crack on it. But no matter how he looked, it seemed naturally formed. He couldn't help but rub his nose.
Along the path, they encountered a few more cultivators head-on, likely disciples from other peaks who had come to collect missions.
After seeing the two of them, they all greeted Lin Daqiao warmly, merely nodding and smiling at Li Yan.
For the past few years, Li Yan had remained on Little Bamboo Peak diligently cultivating, unlike Lin Daqiao, who not only roamed the peak frequently but also often visited the other peaks, he knew a lot of people.
Before long, the two of them reached the end of the path. Just like the path where Li Yan had seen his cold and aloof Sixth Senior Sister last time, this one also ended in a dense bamboo forest.
But here, clearly, there were far fewer people. From time to time, ripples would twist and shimmer in the bamboo forest, and one or more people would flash out.
Lin Daqiao glanced at Li Yan's waist, then said nothing more, simply lifting a leg and walking straight into the bamboo forest.
The ripples circled up and he disappeared into the forest.
Li Yan's face showed a strange expression upon seeing this, but he followed suit, lifting his leg and stepping into the bamboo forest. The moment he entered the forest, his vision blurred, and it felt as if he had arrived in a multicolored space.
He immediately felt the token at his waist tremble slightly. He quickly looked down and saw a ray of multicolored light retracting from the mist, after which the token returned to normal.
In the next instant, his vision brightened, and Li Yan found himself standing on an open clearing. Ahead stood a massive bamboo building, with Seventh Senior Brother standing at the front gate, smiling warmly at him.
At this moment, Li Yan understood how to enter the Mission Hall, it was through the use of the token.
This meant that if one was not a disciple of the sect, it would be impossible to enter. The sect tokens recognized their owners through a blood-binding ritual, so even if someone else obtained the token, they could not use it. This ensured the tokens could not be misused or stolen.
There were quite a few people around at this moment; in just a short while, over a dozen people had come and gone. Li Yan quickly walked up to the stairs before the bamboo building and stood alongside Lin Daqiao.
"Little Junior Brother, the other three paths are entered in the same way! Likewise, aside from the Mission Hall of Old Lord Peak, if you wish to enter the smaller Mission Halls of the other three peaks, it's also done this way.
"However, there is one thing to note: your and my tokens can freely enter the three task areas of our own peak, Spiritual Plant Garden, Spiritual Food Garden, and Spiritual Beast Garden. But tokens from other peaks can only enter this Mission Hall.
Only after they receive a corresponding task from this peak can they enter the associated task area. Similarly, their tokens can freely enter their own mountain's various task areas."
Upon hearing this, Li Yan naturally understood the meaning, simply put, the tokens from one's own peak have priority access.
The two walked into the bamboo building, and Li Yan saw that the interior of the Mission Hall was indeed quite spacious, roughly seventy to eighty zhang wide. It was divided into two sections: one for receiving tasks and one for submitting tasks.
They didn't rush forward. Lin Daqiao kept whispering explanations to Li Yan, and Li Yan observed as he listened. After a while, he got a clear understanding of the place.
Above both task areas hung massive white jade slabs, each about thirty zhang wide, with lines of golden characters continuously scrolling across them. They displayed the list of available tasks and recently submitted tasks, respectively.
The difference was that the jade slab for available tasks was divided into three smaller sections, each representing a different task category. If there were too many tasks in one section, the entries would scroll to allow disciples to read the details.
The jade slab for submitting tasks only displayed the names of the last hundred submitted tasks, nothing more.
Tasks on the publishing jade slab were not only categorized but also divided into individual and group tasks.
Once an individual task was accepted, the golden text would turn gray and could no longer be taken. However, such tasks weren't easy pickings.
If someone accepted an individual task and failed to complete it, they had to pay compensation, sometimes several times the original value.
Group tasks did not have this restriction and could be taken by anyone.
A number next to each group task would continuously update, indicating how many people had accepted it. These tasks would be completed by whoever finished first. However, the reward in spirit stones was significantly less than that of individual tasks.
No task displayed the name of the person who accepted it, seemingly to protect each disciple's privacy.
Whether receiving or submitting tasks, one had to enter within thirty zhang below the white jade slabs. This area was isolated by a formation, so outsiders couldn't see what was happening inside.
Once someone entered either of these two zones, they would be enveloped by a layer of white light. The light was so dazzling that even others within the formation couldn't see through it, making it impossible to distinguish who was who inside.
To accept a task, one simply used divine sense to connect with the tasks on the white jade slab. For disciples from other peaks, two beams of light would descend, one marking the task, and the other granting temporary access to the task area. Disciples of this peak would receive only one beam marking the task.
When submitting a task, the disciple would again use divine sense to connect with the task on the jade slab. Disciples from other peaks would have three beams of light descend, one marking the task, one confirming completion by the issuer, and the last one retracting the temporary access. For disciples of the same peak, only two beams were retracted.
After a tea's time, Li Yan had more or less figured out how to receive and submit tasks.
The main Mission Hall on Old Lord Peak was roughly the same, though it was said to be six to seven times larger than this one. Both jade slabs there were about a hundred zhang wide. Understandable, since the sect had tens of thousands of cultivators. Naturally, the volume of tasks there was immense.
After finishing the explanation, Lin Daqiao thought for a moment and reminded him again:
"Little Junior Brother, you can accept tasks like watering spirit plants or cooking for spirit beasts. But as for raising spirit beasts, don't take those yet.
The spirit beasts here are rather special. The reason isn't convenient to say now, there's a sect prohibition. Only those who take the task will learn the details, and even after that, they're forbidden to speak of it. You'll understand in time.
"If you want to take such a task, at the very least, wait until you've reached the tenth level of the Qi Condensation stage."
Li Yan nodded in acknowledgment to Lin Daqiao, then looked up again at the jade slab displaying the tasks.
He found the "spirit beast care" section easily on the massive jade slab.
There were currently nine entries listed, each followed by a note, such as: "Not recommended for those below Qi Condensation level 10," or "Those below mid-stage Foundation Establishment, do not attempt," and so on.
It seemed that the spirit beasts raised on Little Bamboo Peak were indeed quite unusual.
(Chapter End)