The task palace hall of Yueqing Sect was at the border between the outer sect and the inner sect. There are basic tasks that are assigned by the Sect at the task hall and there were also other tasks personally issued by the elders or disciples. Here disciples of Yueqing Sect could take on tasks regardless of whether they were from the outer sect or inner sect. After completing a task, they would be able to collect the corresponding spirit stones and Sect contribution points.
Qin Mo walked down the path to the task hall, stunning everyone on the way. As the chief disciple of Yueqing Sect, he was only 15 years of age and yet had already reached the tenth level of the Qi refining period. Obviously, in the eyes of the other common disciples, he seemed quite mysterious.
However, in Qin Mo's past life he was already accustomed to the attention of others and remained poised under the scorching gaze of the disciples. That unaffected manner and the aura of indifference surrounding his body made him seem proud and untouchable. All the disciples present now also only dared to secretly watch him.
Qin Mo's slender fingers knocked on the immense Violet Xuan wood table in front of him. At its top, a clear sound was produced. Violet Xuan wood was an extremely hard to come by refining material in the cultivation realm. Only Yueqing Sect was so rich and bold to take out such a large piece just to carve out an ordinary table.
Yueqing Sect's task elder was the outer sect elder, Li Shuang. When he saw Qin Mo standing in the task hall, he was suspicious for a moment, after all, Qin Mo had never been there before. Immediately, a smile appeared on his face and he asked: "Qin Mo, are you coming to pick up a task?”
Qin Mo glanced at Li Shuang, responding with “En”.
Li Shuang seemed to also realize that he'd asked a foolish question. After all, did one not come to the task hall but to receive tasks. With a somewhat awkward smile, Li Shuang moved his fingers slightly, and multiple jade strips appeared on the table.
Qin Mo’s eyes brightened as he received Shixiong's memory. Qin Mo clearly knew that these were called jade slips. They were a means to store information used by cultivators, however, it was nevertheless his first time seeing them with his own eyes.
Qin Mo covered his hands with his long sleeves and restrained his own mischievous fingers. Now's not the time to study them.
Li Shuang pointed amongst the pile of jade to one that stated: “This is Yundan Peak's task: helping tend the medicinal herbs (requesting disciples be careful)." Seeing that Qin Mo had no expression on his face, he once more pointed to another pile.
“This is the Scripture Library's task: organizing the book collection (requesting disciples be serious).”
“This is Yunshou Peak's task: tending to spirit beasts (requesting disciples be patient).”
“This is Yunqi Peak's task: cleaning the Qi refining room.”
Qin Mo's brow wrinkled slightly, his heart felt somewhat unhappy. Were there only these tasks?
Seeing the expression on Qin Mo's face, Li Shuang also understood his dissatisfaction with these tasks. These tasks were entirely too simple, granted even mere mortals could do them well. It's no wonder that Qin Mo would be discontent.
With this in mind, Li Shuang pointed to the rightmost pile of jade slips saying: “This is a task to go to the Misty Ridge to look for medicinal herbs or refining materials. However, it does certainly have its risks. Although you're quite talented, after all, you have not yet reached the foundation building phase. It will be somewhat dangerous.”
Hearing this, Qin Mo's eyes suddenly lit up. Although he now had Shixiong's memories, those experiences weren't his. The present required he gain his own experiences. If he only took on those simple tasks and didn't improve his own abilities, inevitably, a day would come when he'd be found out. Recalling this, his gaze could not help but rise in resolve.
Noticing Qin Mo's expression, Li Shuang immediately understood his choice. From the pile he picked out one of the jade slips, right away, he brought out another one from his robe and handed both of them to Qin Mo saying: “This is a map of the Misty Ridge. You be careful."
Qin Mo nodded slightly and turned to leave.
Watching Qin Mo's back as he walked away, the crowd of disciples couldn't help but discuss spiritedly.
“Truly worthy of being called Shixiong!”
“Actually going to the Misty Ridge!”
Qin Mo hadn't the slightest bit of forethought about the words of those behind him. After leaving their line of sight, he started to play with the jade slip in his hand. Slender fingers like jade reflected in the bluish green of the slip, resembling a perfect piece of art.
After a long time, it seemed he'd had enough fun. Qin Mo only now used his spirit knowledge to absorb what was contained within the jade slips. He didn't know whether it was because he'd gone into a coma and was trapped within that mysterious space, that he was able to receive the spirit knowledge. Although it was his first time using spirit knowledge, it seemed to go very smoothly.
The first jade slip had his task burned1 into it; picking Jade Peach fruit.
Jade Peach fruit was a commonly used herb for refining medicine pellets. An alchemist would refine the medicine pellet and mix in the fruit to improve its quality, but it would only grow at the Misty Ridge.
The jade slip additionally indicated areas where the Jade Peach fruit was commonly seen as well as its appearance. The Jade Peach fruit had little resemblance to peaches Qin Mo had seen in his previous life. That is, they were only the size of an adult’s thumb and their natural colour was a pure bluish green jade.
The second jade slip was a map of the Misty Ridge and a detailed profile on it. Thousands of years ago, the Misty Ridge suddenly appeared at the southern boundary of the blue sky. Originally, it was just an ordinary forest. Even though there were also monster beasts, generally they weren't highly ranked.
A millennium prior, a strange dark mist suddenly emerged from underground and surrounded the entirety of the Misty Ridge overnight.
Initially, the cultivators thought that the dark mist would possibly be dangerous. However, they later found that only the monsters inside changed. Their levels improved by a lot in a short time. Many precious medicinal herbs also appeared. Furthermore, there had been no other bad side-effects. Thus, they too put their minds at ease and as time went by it gradually became a precious place for the cultivators to train in searching for treasure and improve their ranks.
The Misty Ridge was quite close to Yueqing Sect, and the disciples of Yueqing Sect often came there to gain experience. The deeper one went in the more dangerous it became and the higher the level of the monsters. Cultivators in the Qi refining phase could generally only use the outer ring.
Roughly only half a cup of tea2 later, Qin Mo had already reached the Misty Ridge. Seen from the outer ring, a dense black fog completely encircled the ridge, but there were no signs of any intrusions into the surrounding area.
Qin Mo had already become accustomed to the mystical phenomena in the realm of cultivation and did not feel surprised. Casually, he stepped into the Misty Ridge.
At once, the daylight was suddenly obscured, but it wasn't as eerie as it looked from the outside. Although dim, it didn't affect one's vision. Qin Mo sized up the nearby surroundings. The vegetation had grown excellently. He guessed that there might be something there providing them energy.
Once more, he stared at the map on the jade slip and went straight to the place where the Jade Peach fruit was marked. He first had to complete the task before going to gain experience.
Atop a cliff, Qin Mo looked at the dark green fruit lining the jade case in his hand and couldn't help but release a sigh of relief. He hadn't expected the area where the fruit grew would be so remote. If he hadn't been so careful, he probably wouldn't have yet found the Jade Peach fruit.
Moreover, Misty Ridge really was worthy of its infamy as a dangerous location. Qin Mo looked at the blood-stained Biyoujian. He wasn't sure how many monsters he'd encountered along the way. Although they were only in the Qi refining period, they were also all extremely rare.
Placing the jade case into his Qiankun bag, Qin Mo straightened up and tidied his clothes and then took out a flying device in the form of a hand-held fan. His thin lips tightly pursed sat apathetically on his face. He turned towards another area and began moving in its direction.
The surrounding lush vegetation was jade in colour and one could hear the sound of birds singing from time to time. In this environment, the tightness in Qin Mo's heart, to his astonishment, actually eased.
Since arriving in this world, he's been continuously cautious and timid, afraid of being found out by others for not being the same. Furthermore, cultivation allowed a person to disappear in many ways.
Yet now, Qin Mo squinted slightly and sniffed the fresh scent of fragrant grass at the tip of his nose, only feeling his heart suddenly open up. Within his spirit, something barely audible seemed to shatter.
“Let go! I am the daughter of the leader of Yueqing Sect. How dare you oppose me in this manner?! My father will certainly not let you off!”
Just as Qin Mo had begun relaxing, he heard the familiar voice of a girl along with the wind. Qin Mo directed the flying fan to come to a halt, stopping mid-air. The voice was Jin Ling-er's.
“Is the Sect head's daughter so amazing?” A crisp juvenile voice followed. It sounded young, yet seemed incomparably arrogant.
Qin Mo's brow creased and he went towards where the sound originated from.
Can't really come up with much to say. The next chapter might take a bit longer to come out as it has just a few more characters than the previous chapters have but I'll try to get it out in about 4 or 5 days. Just hope that I got everything right. Alright, enjoy!
Oh, and the amount of times I've had to read the line "slender fingers" in the last week is reaching absurdity. I feel like I have a vague idea about hows Qin Mo looks like overall but like at least I know 100% that he has slender fingers.
-Bean
1The burned used here is the same used when referring to recording info onto CDs so should be taken in that context.
2The time it takes to drink a cup of tea is considered to be around 10-15 minutes. Common measure of time Wuxia/Xianxia novels.