Since then, Lu Yang's life has been quite fulfilling. In the early morning, he sits on the mountain peak, focusing his mind and soaking in the morning light. In the morning, he practices his sword skills, nurturing his sword with his heart. At noon, he lies on a tree and takes a short nap. In the afternoon, he is full of energy, battling with puppets, getting beaten up by them. After dinner, he reads by candlelight, completing the assignments given to him by his senior sister. A year passed like this, and Lu Yang's cultivation steadily improved.
...
“Look! Isn’t that the fourth disciple of the sect leader, Lu Yang, with the sword spirit root?”
Inside the Task Hall, Lu Yang wore a white robe, his eyes shining brightly. A red tassel was tied to the hilt of the sword at his waist, making him stand out.
Anyone who saw him couldn’t help but praise him as a talented young man.
Most disciples of the Sect of Inquiry knew each other, especially in a place like the Task Hall. When they encountered someone rare, they would often chat a bit more, just for the novelty.
As the top performer in the entrance trial and possessing a sword spirit root, Lu Yang had caught the attention of the good-natured River Spirit and Dai Bufan. He became a disciple under the sect leader and received personal guidance from his senior sister. All these factors combined made him shine among the new disciples, gaining quite a reputation.
Even the beautiful Taoyao Ye couldn’t compare to Lu Yang.
“That’s Lu Yang, personally trained by the senior sister? Wow, it really is him.”
“I heard he entered the sect a year ago and just became a Foundation Establishment cultivator a few days ago.”
“Ah, he’s already at the Foundation Establishment stage. No wonder he’s here in the Task Hall; it seems he’s looking to take on a task to hone himself.”
Lu Yang was already used to the curious gazes around him. The brothers were right; seven days ago, he successfully established his foundation and spent another seven days solidifying it before officially coming out, as instructed by his senior sister, to explore a bit.
In the Task Hall, Lu Yang saw all kinds of tasks and was amazed. There were tasks ranging from slaying old demon lords in a sea of corpses to helping find lost cats and dogs—there was everything.
For example, one task he was looking at required finding a dual cultivation technique. It was quite serious.
Dual cultivation techniques come in two types: serious and not serious. The serious ones involve mutual assistance between men and women, balancing yin and yang. The not serious ones are more self-explanatory.
The task was posted by a fox demon registered at the Sect of Inquiry.
Although the sect’s duty includes subduing demons and monsters, they don’t just kill any demon they see. For demons that are innocent and have no harmful intentions, the sect won’t subdue them. Instead, they register these demons and grant them legal status.
This fox demon was one of those.
Her name was Su Yan, a regular little fox living deep in the mountains. While playing, she got caught in a hunter’s trap. Luckily, a disciple from a prominent family was playing in the mountains and saved her, making the hunter’s efforts useless for the day.
Later, Su Yan ate a transformation fruit in a hidden cave, activating the bloodline hidden within her and becoming a fox demon.
Grateful for her rescue, she transformed into human form to repay the disciple from the prominent family.
At that time, the disciple had already become the current family head. He had seen many women, but none were as beautiful as Su Yan.
Naturally, they got married.
Then the problem arose.
Fox demons have a natural charm that uncontrollably absorbs yang energy. During intimate moments, the husband is the one losing yang energy.
Fortunately, yang energy can be replenished, so it’s not deadly; they just need to reduce the frequency of their intimate moments.
As newlyweds, limiting their intimacy was something neither of them wanted.
When the frequency increased, the husband became increasingly frail, leading to gossip.
For this reason, Su Yan hoped to cultivate a proper dual cultivation technique to control her alluring nature.
This task had been posted for quite a while, but no one had taken it.
It wasn’t that dual cultivation techniques were rare; it’s just that taking on the task meant having a proper dual cultivation technique. Once someone had that, people would inevitably wonder if they also had any not-so-proper techniques.
If brothers came asking for a not-so-proper dual cultivation technique, would you say you had one or not? Would you give it or not?
What would the senior sisters and junior sisters think of you?
“This task looks good; I’ll take it.”
Someone behind Lu Yang spoke up, and just from the voice, he knew it was Meng Jingzhou.
Meng Jingzhou was the most suitable person to take this task. Given the Meng family’s status, he certainly wouldn’t lack dual cultivation techniques, and with his pure yang spirit root, he definitely wouldn’t have any not-so-proper techniques.
Even if Meng Jingzhou had a not-so-proper technique, he wouldn’t be able to do anything with it.
Meng Jingzhou established his foundation before Lu Yang; this was his third task.
“You’ve established your foundation too?” Meng Jingzhou laughed. They both had mutated single spirit roots, and their cultivation talents were quite similar. It was a bit surprising that Lu Yang established his foundation later than him.
Thinking about the year of being pushed by his senior sister, Lu Yang sighed, “I finally established my foundation.”
“Once we complete our tasks, let’s have a good meal together; I’ll treat you.” Meng Jingzhou said generously, as he had plenty of spirit stones.
After Meng Jingzhou left, Lu Yang continued browsing the tasks posted on the wall.
“Northern region suspected to have traces of demonic rituals. It is recommended that cultivators at the Golden Core stage or above go investigate. Task reward is 400 contribution points. Additional rewards for any extra information discovered.”
“Daoist Li Hong from Shanhaiguan has lost a pet and needs someone to find it.”
Lu Yang paused, thinking this task was decent. Searching for a cat or dog wouldn’t be dangerous, so he continued looking.
“Lost pet: a two-winged ferocious tiger, mid-Yuan Ying level. A reward of 5,000 contribution points for finding it.”
Lu Yang shrank his neck. A Yuan Ying level beast, especially a two-winged ferocious tiger with ancient bloodlines—he wouldn’t even qualify to be its toothpick. Next, next.
“During the transition between day and night, there are unusual spiritual energy fluctuations at Kuntou Mountain, suspected to be an undiscovered cave heaven. Recommended for cultivators at the late Yuan Ying stage or above to investigate. Task reward is 8,000 contribution points, with additional rewards if the cave heaven is valuable.”
Another task that had nothing to do with Lu Yang.
If this were outside, a Qi Refining stage cultivator could roam the rivers and lakes and be considered skilled. A Foundation Establishment cultivator could dominate in small places, living comfortably for a hundred years. A Golden Core cultivator could even call themselves a true person and establish their own sect.
But in the Sect of Inquiry, even a random passerby could be at the Golden Core stage. Just throwing a brick could hit a large group… and an ordinary disciple would just throw it back.
Disciples of the Sect of Inquiry are all elite, chosen from thousands. Before Lu Yang’s cohort of new recruits appeared, there weren’t even any Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment disciples; the lowest cultivation level among the disciples was Golden Core.
No matter how well you did outside, once you returned to the Sect of Inquiry, you had to behave.
That’s why there aren’t many tasks suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators. Lu Yang looked through several and found they either required Golden Core or Yuan Ying level cultivators.
He also noticed a special task.
“Long-term task: Collect cultivation techniques not yet recorded by the Sect of Inquiry. Rewards will depend on the content of the techniques.”
“Also: Please, Senior Sister Yun Zhi, do not accept this task. The Scripture Pavilion has opened a Yun Zhi area where Senior Sister Yun Zhi can directly place her written techniques.”
I will try to keep updating at 9 or 10 PM each night.
(End of Chapter)