eurekapd Chapter 9 Accepting the Quest
Chapter 9 Accepting the Quest
Tao Tao tilted his head, thought for a moment, and then nodded seriously. "Senior brother, the fish isn't ready yet. I'm hungry!"
"Alright, alright, my little darling, here you go." Song Chaofeng hurriedly handed over the grilled fish. Tao Tao had been eagerly waiting for it. As soon as he saw the fish, he took a bite, his little face flushed red from the heat, but he didn't stop at all.
As the two were happily eating, Zhang Yi, a disciple of Emerald Bamboo Peak, rushed over. He and Song Chaofeng had entered Emerald Bamboo Peak together and were very close.
“Junior brother, you’re still eating here? I heard that the once-in-a-hundred-years trial of the Spirit Abyss is about to begin, and our Green Bamboo Peak also has a spot.”
Each trial in the Spirit Abyss is highly valued by all major sects and families. Disciples who emerge from it are all exceptionally talented and will be given special training by their sects.
As one of the top eleven sects on the Fengyuan Continent, the Yanhan Sect naturally attaches great importance to this sect, with more than half of its disciples successfully escaping each time.
The rules remain the same: each sect has five slots, to be selected internally by the sect. The disciple's cultivation level must be at least the ninth level of Qi Refining and below the Foundation Establishment stage. All disciples who emerge from this sect will receive a Floating Dust Pill refined by an alchemist, a high-level magic weapon, and a Chuling Fruit.
Each of these three items is priceless. The Floating Dust Pill can be used to break through cultivation barriers, and the Chuling Fruit can increase one's cultivation by a hundred years. As for magic weapons, most Qi Refining disciples do not possess them, so this is a rare opportunity.
Song Chaofeng had no interest in this kind of training. He had heard before that the Trial of the Spirit Abyss was extremely cruel, and that one had to go with the disciples of other sects and large families, and that it was very likely that one would perish.
He wouldn't go on something so dangerous; it wasn't worth risking his life for those rewards.
"What does having a spot have to do with us? Do you think it's our turn to be a new disciple?" Song Chaofeng continued eating his fish, unconvinced. Zhang Yi sighed helplessly, "The trial is specifically for new disciples, and besides, Junior Sister Yue will definitely be representing Immortal Spirit Valley this time."
Upon hearing this, Song Chaofeng and Tao Tao suddenly looked up, staring at each other, and exclaimed in unison, "Me (her)?"
Zhang Yi nodded silently.
Song Chaofeng rolled up his sleeves and said angrily, "Our Taotao has only just joined the sect and doesn't even know how to fly on a sword yet, and you're letting her participate in the trials? How can the elders be so heartless?"
Zhang Yi whispered a reminder, "It's not like we just entered the sect; more than fifty years have passed. Even Junior Sister Qin from the Hundred Medicines Hall can fly on a sword now."
"What, you look down on our Tao Tao? Looks like you don't want that bamboo grove you're guarding anymore." Song Chaofeng raised an eyebrow, feigning a threat, which frightened Zhang Yi into shaking his head hastily, "No, no, I just, I just..."
"Alright, do you have a way to prevent my junior sister from participating? That place is too dangerous; I'm afraid she might not come back."
"This...you're putting me in a difficult position. Immortal Spirit Valley only has Junior Sister Yue as a new disciple, so they'll definitely send her. But it's hard to say about our Green Bamboo Peak this time, since it's just the two of us. And our cultivation is still far from the ninth level."
Each sect only has five slots. The Annihilation Frost Sect usually distributes these slots to the elders for selection. However, because the Grand Elder has no disciples and the Imperial Treasure Sect has not accepted any new disciples, the slots were given to the remaining five elders.
Xiao Huanfeng, Baiyaotang, and Kongtongge go without saying; they have the most new disciples every year, so it's not difficult to select outstanding disciples from among them.
The remaining three new disciples are from Immortal Spirit Valley and Emerald Bamboo Peak.
Zhang Yi glanced at Song Chaofeng and said with some difficulty, "Junior brother, you should know that our grandmaster has a very bad temper. If something goes wrong in this trial, we will be in big trouble. Compared to me, you have a much better chance. Besides, Junior Sister Yue is also going. You can't just watch our Cuizhu Peak's spot be given to Xiaohuan Peak."
"But I'm only at the eighth level. How can you expect me to break through to the ninth level in an instant?" Song Chaofeng was speechless. Putting aside the danger, he was also stuck at the cultivation level. Although he didn't want to bear the wrath of his master, the problem was that this was not something he could solve.
Upon seeing Song Chaofeng agree, Zhang Yi immediately said, "It's not that there's no way. Our sect issues missions every day, and recently there's a mission that gives you a pill to strengthen your foundation and cultivate your vital energy. If you use it, your chances of successfully breaking through to the ninth level are over 70%!"
Good heavens, Song Chaofeng realized that his senior brother was trying to pass this hot potato to him in various ways.
Although she was angry, Song Chaofeng ignored Zhang Yi and turned to look at Tao Tao, who was stuffing a whole fish into her mouth. She quickly stopped her hand and said, "Is this how you eat fish? Be careful of fish bones."
Tao Tao tilted his head, puzzled, and pulled his hand back, saying angrily, "I'm hungry!"
"Even when you're hungry, you have to be careful of fish bones. What if they get stuck in your throat?" He sighed helplessly, thinking that if he didn't keep an eye on him, who knows what kind of weird things this little guy would eat.
"Fine, I'll risk my life to accompany you."
Before Tao Tao could finish eating, Song Chaofeng pulled her away, saying, "Come on, let's go get a mission."
The Hall of a Hundred Strategies is a place specifically used by the sect to issue missions. Many people come here every day, making it a major source of income for early disciples.
The tasks here are divided into A, B, C, and D, ranging from difficult to easy. You can choose a task based on your own strength, and the rewards you receive will vary greatly, including spirit stones, magic tools, spirit herbs, pills, and so on.
This was their first time visiting the Hundred Strategies Hall since they joined the sect. Their cultivation levels were too low, so they were often unable to take on most missions, even if they wanted to.
Upon arriving at the Hall of Hundred Strategies, Song Chaofeng carefully perused the scrolls, eventually stopping at a task involving the collection of spiritual herbs. The description was simple: gather bellflowers from the nest of the Five Phosphorus Scorpions, and upon completion, you will receive fifty spirit stones plus three Jin Yuan Pills.
This is the pill they need. The mission doesn't seem difficult, but Song Chaofeng was stunned when he saw the level rating. "A level C mission? Isn't that something only Foundation Establishment stage cultivators dare to accept?"
"Is this it?" Tao Tao asked, tilting his head. Song Chaofeng nodded slightly, wanting to think about it some more, but Tao Tao immediately handed over the scroll. "Senior brother, we'll take this mission."
The senior brother who issued the task stared at Tao Tao's adorable face with some surprise, and gently reminded her, "Junior sister, this is a Class C task. I advise you to start with Class D first, and then try Class C tasks when your cultivation level is higher."
Tao Tao asked in confusion, "Do those at level D have Advancement Pills?"
"No, that's not true. After all, it's a pill for strengthening the body and nourishing the vital energy. How could a Grade D pill be rewarded so generously?"
"That's it!" Tao Tao didn't hesitate. Her senior brother understood her purpose and had no choice but to stop trying to persuade her.
Unexpectedly, three disciples dressed in Xiao Huan Peak uniforms arrived on their swords. Upon entering, they glanced at Tao Tao. The one leading the three was Sun Lian, who had tried to take Tao Tao as his spirit pet at the Treasure Pavilion last time.
Last time, Feng Yue stopped him, and Sun Lian was severely scolded by his master. He had been holding a grudge, but he didn't dare to go to Xianling Valley, so he had to endure it. Unexpectedly, he met Tao Tao here.
Sun Lian didn't even glance at the quest scroll, and directly said to the senior brother who issued the quest, "We accept the Wind Chime Grass quest."
"We were the first!" Tao Tao shouted angrily. Because of his cute appearance, he had no intimidating power at all. Instead, he made Sun Lian even more aggressive. "Who told you that only one person can take on a mission? In the cultivation world, the capable get the mission. You two, one of you at the eighth level of Qi Refining, think you can take on a Class C mission?"
"Senior Brother Sun, they also want to obtain the Jin Yuan Pill. They probably want to break through the ninth level of Qi Refining to participate in this trial."
Those behind Sun Lian realized this and immediately regarded Tao Tao and the other as competitors. They knew that Xiao Huanfeng believed that Cuizhu Peak would most likely forfeit this time, and the spot would definitely go to them. Naturally, they were determined to get the Jin Yuan Pill.
"Them? They won't even know how they died. They're nothing but ants. Let's go!"
After saying this, Sun Lian sneered, obtained a mission guide from the senior brother who issued the mission, and then flew away on his sword.
Seeing them abandon the spirit of the Song Dynasty made him grit his teeth in anger. "You're the ant! Your whole family are ants!"
Tao Tao couldn't help but tilt his head and ask, "Why didn't you call out when they were here?"
Song Chaofeng immediately deflated, spreading his hands with a helpless expression. If he dared, that was a young master from a prestigious family; how could someone like him with no background dare to provoke him?
"Senior brother, they've accepted it, can we still accept it?" Tao Tao turned around and asked seriously. Seeing her insistence, the senior brother who posted the task had no choice but to say, "You can, but I advise you to find another person to team up with. The chances of success will be much higher."
Since it was an option, there shouldn't be any major problems. Tao Tao happily accepted the quest guide. As he pondered who to team up with, a hand gently tugged at Tao Tao's clothes and asked timidly, "Can I join you?"