Chapter 405 - 406: A Slave Driver’s Mission

Within the Primordial Sect, the law of the jungle was the only truth. Only by breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm could one escape being treated as a mere resource and gain true autonomy.

This wasn’t just the baseline for survival, but the very starting point for climbing higher.

In this Demon Dao Sect, the status of a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master was on a completely different level.

They could establish their own independent peak, take on disciples to pass on their teachings, and even participate in the Sect’s major decisions.

Which of those high and mighty Peak Masters hadn’t forged their Dao Foundation upon a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood?

’Foundation Establishment... establishing my own peak...’

Xu Yunfan gazed at the distant, cloud-shrouded main hall of Hundred Desires Peak. Its resident, Daoist Master Bai Hua, had reached Foundation Establishment by mastering the art of Absorption and Swallowing Essence, which was how she had secured her firm foothold in the Sect.

He had to complete the final transformation of "Celestial Spirit Body Tempering and Earth Demon Soul Refining" as soon as possible. At that point, not only would he escape his helpless situation of being at everyone’s mercy, but he might even be able to open a path to the Divine Martial Realm and bring some people up to form his own retinue.

He turned and inserted the mission’s Jade Scroll into the Ten Thousand Forms Wheel at the center of the hall.

As the mechanism whirred, gilt characters re-formed in the air.

「Mission A-732: Harvest a Celestial Heart Snow Lotus (at least 300 years old)

Contribution Points: 800

Note: The Snow Lotus Seed is the main ingredient for the Heart-cutting Pill. For every additional 100 years of age, the pill’s formation success rate increases by five percent.」

A scroll suddenly floated up from below the wheel. This was the Primordial Sect’s unique Blood Contract.

If one accepted and completed the mission, they would receive the 800 Contribution Points. Failure, however, was considered a breach of contract, requiring one to repay three times the reward.

That is, two thousand four hundred Contribution Points.

It was even more ruthless than a cutthroat loan shark.

This was why, when it came to missions from the Hundred Affairs Hall, very few people took them on alone. Aside from disciples who were either exceptionally powerful or supremely confident in their abilities, most people banded together in small teams.

That way, even in failure, the required repayment of Contribution Points would be split among all the members.

"Excuse me, Senior Brother..."

A timid voice came from behind.

Xu Yunfan turned to see a skinny, freckle-faced youth. "I am Li Ergou from Medicine Boy Peak, at the Third-Layer Qi Cultivation. I know a bit of the Geomancy Skill..."

Before he could finish, a White Bone Fan shot out from the side, its tip pressing against the youth’s throat.

A disciple who looked like a young nobleman in lavish purple robes sneered, "Some medicine dreg thinks he’s worthy of getting his hands on a Snow Lotus?"

Seeing the richly dressed youth, Li Ergou flinched and dared not make a sound.

Xu Yunfan raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, but he remained silent.

’Anyone who could survive this long in a den of monsters like the Primordial Sect had to be a cunning individual.’

’The ones who seem weak on the surface might be the ones to take your life in the blink of an eye.’

’That Li Ergou might have been contemptuously called "medicine dregs" by the purple-robed young master, but to have survived completely intact to this day—even steadily maintaining his Cultivation at the Third-Layer Qi Cultivation with a foundation so solid it seemed entirely without weakness—was an accomplishment far beyond any ordinary person.’

"Get lost!"

The purple-robed young master flicked his fan, and a three-inch cold glint shot from its tip. "You worthless piece of trash. You’ve had every last drop of your Primordial Yang drained by someone, yet you still dare to try and leech off the Celestial Heart Snow Lotus mission?"

Li Ergou’s Adam’s apple bobbed and his face went pale, but he stubbornly stiffened his neck. "I... I can discern the flow of an Earth Vein’s Yin Evil..."

"Oh?"

A crisp, sweet laugh suddenly cut in.

Everyone turned to see a young girl with her hair in double buns skipping over to them.

She looked to be about thirteen or fourteen, with almond-shaped eyes and a round face. A string of Silver Bells hung at her waist, jingling with every step.

"Senior Brother Zhou, you’re being so imposing~"

The girl tilted her head, gently pushing aside the fan rib at Li Ergou’s throat with her fingertip. "This junior brother’s Geomancy Skill is something even one of our Hundred Herbs Hall Elders has praised, you know."

Hearing this, Li Ergou’s fingers tightened subconsciously. ’It’s true an Elder from the Hundred Desires Peak’s Hundred Herbs Hall once praised me, but he also nearly refined me into medicinal dregs. If I hadn’t been clever enough to borrow the authority of a certain powerful figure and make him hesitate, I wouldn’t even be standing here right now.’

The purple-robed young master’s pupils shrank. He hadn’t even noticed when the girl had approached!

What’s more, the Yin Evil Qi clinging to his fan had been silently neutralized.

Xu Yunfan’s gaze swept over the girl.

’Hmm, cute. She looks just like a child, with such an innocent and carefree smile. And her Yin Essence is Sufficient—a clear sign she’s practiced the Hundred Desires Devouring Essence Technique to a very profound level.’

"My name is Hua Ling, a disciple of the Hundred Herbs Hall on Hundred Desires Peak. I’m at the Fourth-Layer Qi Cultivation."

The girl grinned and winked at Xu Yunfan. "I just so happen to need a Snow Lotus Bud for a prescription. How about we team up?"

"Team up? Of course. You’ve come at the perfect time, Senior Sister. I was just looking for more people."

A slight smile touched Xu Yunfan’s lips as his gaze lingered for a moment on the string of Silver Bells at Hua Ling’s waist.

The inner surface of each bell was inscribed with runes as fine as a mosquito’s leg, and they pulsed with a faint, bloody light as they swayed. This was the Soul-Attracting Bell, a specialty of Hundred Desires Peak. With just a gentle shake, it could emit a sound wave that would make one’s head buzz; it was specifically designed to shatter the Protective Clear Light of Righteous Cultivators.

’But Righteous Cultivators weren’t the only ones who would fall for its trick.’

Xu Yunfan’s gaze lingered on the string of Silver Bells at Hua Ling’s waist, and an imperceptible flicker of intense desire flashed in the depths of his eyes.

’A Magical Artifact!’

Ever since stepping into the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm, he had witnessed many Primordial Sect Cultivators wielding Magical Artifacts.

The spoils he had brought from the Divine Martial Realm, including the items he had plundered from Xu Tian and the others in the canyon, contained many treasures, but they were all tainted with an indelible stench of blood.

Right under the nose of a Demon Dao behemoth like the Primordial Sect, these "dirty goods" were like hot potatoes. The slightest carelessness could lead to a fatal disaster.

’I suppose I can’t just bury my head in Cultivation for too long.’

’I wonder if there’s even a Black Market on this Hundred Desires Peak.’

He secretly mulled over ways to fence the goods, but immediately shook his head at the thought.

’Within the Primordial Sect, a newcomer with no backing who rashly tries to sell off such treasures is no different from a child carrying gold through a bustling market. Countless people would use every means at their disposal to probe into his origins.’

’Perhaps there will be a Marketplace on this trip.’

"That’s wonderful!"

Hua Ling clapped her hands and laughed, her Silver Bells jingling. "Senior Brother Zhou, would you like to come with us?"

She turned to the purple-robed young master, her almond-shaped eyes brimming with innocence, yet her fingertips casually brushed against the Jade Token at her waist as she gazed at him, her eyes full of mirth.

The purple-robed young master’s expression changed, and his Folding Fan snapped shut with a sharp THWACK.

"That won’t be necessary."

He shot Li Ergou a deep look, let out a cold snort, and turned to leave. His sleeves billowed as he moved, kicking up a foul, acrid wind.

Several onlooking disciples hastily retreated. One youth, a Second-Layer Qi Cultivation practitioner, wasn’t fast enough to dodge. The wind from the sleeve grazed his cheek, which immediately began to fester and ooze pus. He let out a few miserable grunts but dared not cry out.

Xu Yunfan watched on with cold detachment.

His gaze, however, kept returning to Li Ergou. ’I wonder what that purple-robed disciple sees in Li Ergou to be targeting him so relentlessly.’

’In my past life, this would be a classic case of bullying.’

’But in a place the outside world called the Primordial Demon Sect, for Li Ergou to have held on for so long, all while looking like he was just meekly accepting his fate... that was by no means an easy feat.’