Chapter 39: Apprehension

"Junior brother, I am a disciple of the Alchemy Pavilion, and I am currently forming a team to gather spiritual herbs. Would you be interested in joining us to collect Hundred-Forged Flowers?" A man of about thirty, with a sharp, rat-like face, dressed in the attire of an outer-sect disciple and possessing a cultivation level at the fifth stage of Qi Refining, asked this upon seeing Cao Yun lingering before the mission board for a long time.

Cao Yun looked at the man and shook his head slightly. He knew full well that the two Hundred-Forged Flowers located on the periphery of the Ten Thousand Monster Forest, guarded by Foundation Establishment stage beasts, had long been a target of obsession for these outer-sect disciples. However, attempting to snatch spiritual herbs from a Foundation Establishment beast was akin to pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth; unless absolutely necessary, he would never easily step into such danger.

"Junior brother, what if I told you there are actually two of those Hundred-Forged Flowers? What do you say, brother?" Seeing that Cao Yun remained unmoved, the sharp-faced man pressed on, unwilling to give up.

"Is the Hundred-Forged Flower you speak of the one guarded by a third-rank Red Rock Boar and two second-rank Red Rock Boars?" Cao Yun grinned, revealing his stark white teeth. "I advise you to abandon this notion, junior brother."

"It seems you already know about this, brother. Since you have no interest, I shall not bother you further." The sharp-faced man looked crestfallen and turned to leave.

Watching the dejected figure retreat, Cao Yun shook his head slightly, thinking to himself: Even the disciples of the Alchemy Pavilion are lacking in pills to enhance their cultivation. It seems I must work harder on my missions to earn more spirit stones.

Cao Yun’s gaze scanned the mission board, eventually locking onto four tasks: monster blood, ten spirit stones per portion; skin of the Hidden-Bell beast, twenty-five spirit stones per piece; skin of the Fiery Python, fifty spirit stones per piece; and materials for forging mid-grade magical artifacts, ranging from fifty to three hundred spirit stones per unit.

The Mission Hall was filled with a vast array of tasks. Beyond hunting monsters for blood and materials, there were deacon missions issued by the inner sect, such as guarding the spiritual veins and mines of the borderlands, assassinating righteous cultivators, or joining teams to explore perilous lands. Yet, if one needed to acquire a large number of spirit stones in a short period, hunting monsters in the Ten Thousand Monster Forest was undoubtedly the most direct and efficient method.

Cao Yun had spent over two years in the Ten Thousand Monster Forest and knew the outer regions like the back of his hand. As long as he avoided the uncharted territories, he believed the risks were minimal. Moreover, he was currently practicing the Killing Intent Art, which required constant slaughter to strengthen his killing intent and refine it into threads of lethal force.

After leaving the Mission Hall, Cao Yun headed straight for the Ten Thousand Monster Forest. He first went to the mountain stream frequented by the Hidden-Bell beasts, easily killing several. He then moved to the spot where he had previously slain a Fiery Python to lie in wait, but after two days of scouting, he found nothing. Consequently, he shifted his focus to the plains where Wonder Wolves were common, slaughtering ten of them in one go.

However, these gains were far from satisfying his current need for spirit stones. Thus, he resolutely decided to venture deeper into the forest. For one, he could search for higher-rank monsters to fulfill the material collection missions; for another, if luck were on his side, he might stumble upon spiritual herbs as he had once before.

This time, Cao Yun chose not to fly on his artifact, but instead utilized the Wind-Riding Technique to traverse the forest at a low altitude. Along the way, he dispatched any low-rank monsters he encountered. By now, he had penetrated over two hundred miles into the forest, with his kill count exceeding thirty.

For the time being, even if he failed to find a high-rank monster, the materials he had gathered were sufficient to trade for the spirit stones Wu Jiao required. Thus, after reaching the two-hundred-mile mark, Cao Yun slowed his pace, becoming more cautious in his hunting and searching for herbs.

After another ten days of hunting, Cao Yun’s results were remarkable: fifty low-rank monsters, one tenth-stage Qi Refining Giant-Toothed Tiger, and one ninth-stage Qi Refining Rending-Claw Wolf. This trip was not only fruitful, but he had also unexpectedly gathered all the monster essences required for his brow. Once the Giant-Toothed Tiger was slain, his brow ceased its consumption of monster spirits.

With such a bounty, Cao Yun was even more vigilant on his return journey. Fortunately, the trip was uneventful, and he successfully returned to the Mission Hall of the Heavenly Star Wolf Sect.

The deacon on duty happened to be the portly one—the same man who had once stood before Cao Yun with such an imposing air.

Seeing Cao Yun’s current cultivation level, the fat deacon could not help but gasp inwardly. He himself was only at the seventh stage of Qi Refining, yet Cao Yun had already reached the eighth. Though he knew Cao Yun had advanced to the fifth stage and entered the outer sect a month ago, the speed of this progression was terrifying. The deacon knew well that Cao Yun’s aptitude was mediocre, possessing only trash spiritual roots; if he were to harbor resentment and seek revenge in the future, what could he do?

Thinking of this, the deacon felt a chill run down his spine. Fortunately, he had conspired with Deacon Gui; sharing the burden was better than facing it alone.

Though terrified, the fat deacon put on a mask of indifference. After exchanging all of Cao Yun's items for mission rewards, he squeezed out a smile. "As expected of Junior Brother Cao, such a bountiful haul on your first visit to the Mission Hall. My congratulations."

"Congratulations? Are you congratulating me on entering the outer sect, or on hunting so many monsters, Elder Fat?" Cao Yun’s gaze was as cold as a blade.

The deacon shivered, forcing himself to remain calm. "Both, both..." By now, fine beads of sweat had formed on his forehead.

Cao Yun gave a cold huff, said nothing more to the deacon, and turned to leave in the direction of Sunset Valley.

Inside Sunset Valley.

"As expected of Junior Brother Cao, gathering five hundred spirit stones in just half a month. If Sunset Valley lost you, business would truly decline..." Wu Jiao joked.

"Spare me, Brother Wu. Even though your prices are much higher than the Blood Slave Hall, you still make a fortune." Cao Yun rolled his eyes at him.

"You jest, Junior Brother. I assume you had a fruitful trip? I still have quite a few Spirit Origin Pills here. They go for fifty stones at the Blood Slave Hall, but for you, how about twenty per pill?" Wu Jiao offered.

"Twenty is fair. Do you happen to have any Essence Origin Pills, Brother Wu?" Cao Yun asked.

"You must be joking, Junior Brother. Essence Origin Pills are holy medicines for Foundation Establishment; how could a small general store like mine carry such things?" Wu Jiao waved his hands frantically.

"Oh? Are they that precious?" Cao Yun raised an eyebrow.

"Precious? They are enough to trigger bloodbaths throughout the rogue cultivator world! Such pills are typically reserved for the final push during the Foundation Establishment bottleneck. Throughout history, how many cultivators could be as extravagant as you, Junior Brother..." Wu Jiao laughed again.

Upon hearing this, Cao Yun was struck with a sudden shock. In his mind, the second request made by Dai Wuyai surfaced. Based on what he knew of Dai Wuyai, if the man was willing to pay such a steep price, the task he had been entrusted with must be exceptionally dangerous—a true life-or-death gamble.

If Dai Wuyai’s second request truly led to a path of certain death, Cao Yun pondered, perhaps his only option would be to find a way to flee the Heavenly Star Wolf Sect.