In the end, it took Lu Yang stepping in to clear up the whole story in just a few words.
Had Lu Yang not spoken quickly, Dai Bufan would have cleaned house right then and there. He had long wanted to throw those two black sheep out of the Dao Seeking Sect!
Look at honest Man Gu—look what hanging around with the two of them had turned him into! He blurted out that he was from a demonic cult the moment he walked up!
"So you joined the Immortal Cult? And you even made it to Branch Master?" Dai Bufan looked at the three in a new light. A Branch Master belonged to the middle echelon of a demonic cult, with access to many secrets—even the specific procedure for resurrecting the Immortal Celestial.
The Four Great Demonic Cults kept their secrets well; Dai Bufan had always wanted to know how the Immortal Celestial was supposed to be revived.
Lu Yang thought to himself: *Not only do we know the procedure, the Immortal Fairy is fast asleep in my spiritual world right now.*
Then again, since the Immortal Fairy was dwelling inside him, why was he still just a Branch Master? They ought to make him Cult Master instead!
"Good! You did exceptionally well!" Dai Bufan slapped his thigh. Demonic cults were elusive and guarded against the orthodox sects at every turn. He had long struggled to obtain firsthand intelligence and had tried to plant moles, only for every attempt to end in failure.
He never expected Lu Yang and his companions to hand him such a pleasant surprise.
"That guy named Tang Yunsheng wants you to infiltrate our sect as moles for the Immortal Cult, right? Then we'll play along. Half a month from now, the Dao Seeking Sect will recruit a new batch of service staff to expand our internal entertainment industry. I'll slip your names among the accepted applicants." Dai Bufan made a decision swiftly.
"As for the Yanjiang Branch... do you have a roster of their personnel?"
"We do." Lu Yang took out the list he had prepared long ago and handed it to Dai Bufan.
Dai Bufan gave Lu Yang a meaningful look. Sly though the kid was, his wits were sharp—he knew what needed to be done and had prepared in advance.
"When you contact Tang Yunsheng again, make sure your cover is airtight and gather as much intelligence on the Immortal Cult as possible."
"Acting as moles within the Immortal Cult is a mission in itself. You won't be required to complete three missions a year like the other disciples."
"As for your contribution points, the maximum reward for a Foundation Establishment stage mission is one thousand. You eliminated two tiger demons and four cultists, including one in the late Golden Core stage, and successfully stopped the Reverse Lifespan Formation from activating. That is a tremendous contribution."
"The two Foundation Establishment stage tiger demons and three Foundation Establishment stage cultists are worth seven hundred and fifty contribution points."
"Slaying Branch Master Chu and stopping the Reverse Lifespan Formation counts for one thousand points."
"Infiltrating the cult and rising to Branch Master counts for one thousand points."
"Meng Jingzhou, Man Gu, the two of you each receive two thousand seven hundred and fifty contribution points."
"Lu Yang, in light of your outstanding performance throughout, I am specially approving an extra two hundred and fifty points on top of your two thousand seven hundred and fifty, making it three thousand contribution points in total."
The three beamed with joy, utterly dazed by the sheer bounty of contribution points. With this much, they could afford many things they had been eyeing on the exchange list; it was enough to splurge for quite some time.
"Should you obtain further intelligence from the Immortal Cult, you will be rewarded with more contribution points."
After going over a few confidentiality precautions, Dai Bufan dismissed them.
After leaving, Lu Yang ran into an acquaintance in the Mission Hall: Senior Brother Li Dan, who had once recommended weapons to him. Standing beside the ferocious-looking Li Dan was a petite senior sister.
"Senior Brother Li Dan," Lu Yang and Man Gu greeted in unison.
Both Lu Yang and Man Gu looked at each other in surprise, neither expecting the other to know Senior Brother Li Dan.
Man Gu explained, "This is Senior Brother Li Dan, who spent a hundred contribution points to buy my barbecue recipe."
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou came to an understanding. They remembered Man Gu mentioning a senior brother who had bought his barbecue recipe and used the barbecue to win the heart of a senior sister.
"Hello there," Senior Brother Li Dan greeted with a smile that only made his face look even more ferocious.
Dai Bufan sent a divine sense transmission, calling over the chatting Li Dan: "Junior Brother Li Dan, Junior Sister Ding Xiang, come over for a moment. There's a mission suitable for you two."
"Senior Brother Dai is calling us. We'll take our leave first." Li Dan and Ding Xiang hurried over.
Dai Bufan handed the roster of the Yanjiang Branch to the two. "This is a demonic cult membership list I obtained through special channels. It has only names and no specific addresses, however. Go to Yanjiang Commandery, track down everyone on this list, and strive to wipe them out in one fell swoop. Don't let a single fish slip through the net."
"Yes!" The two were overjoyed. They had just been fretting over which mission to take, and Senior Brother Dai had arranged one right away.
"Get your things together and be on your way."
"Understood!"
"Wait, one more thing." Before they could leave, Dai Bufan stopped them again. "While you're undercover in Yanjiang Commandery, do not open a barbecue shop."
"Huh? Oh."
...
"What do you want to buy?" Lu Yang asked Man Gu.
"I want to buy a weapon suited for a Confucian cultivator. I can't keep using Brother Meng as a weapon in every battle."
Meng Jingzhou felt personally attacked.
"How about this fan? There are poems written across the leaf. A gentle wave unleashes a wind blade, and hidden between the folds are Soul-Severing Needles that can be fired secretly while whipping up the wind." Lu Yang spotted an interesting weapon.
"Feels too refined. Is there anything with more power behind it?"
"What about this dark sand iron hammer? Forged from dark sand iron, it weighs two thousand jin and is inscribed with a weight-amplifying formation. The moment you swing it down, its weight multiplies; when you lift it back up, the extra weight disappears. With a forceful swing, it can smash a hill to pieces—no Foundation Establishment cultivator would dare take a direct hit from it. Seven hundred and eighty contribution points."
Man Gu felt tempted, thinking it suited his fighting style very well, but he still shook his head.
"Still won't do. What I need is a weapon for a Confucian cultivator."
Lu Yang wasn't discouraged. He scrolled all the way to the bottom of the exchange list in one go and found a gem.
"'Sleep Talisman: Contains a recitation of the complete text of *Sayings of the Sage*, effectively promoting sleep. One contribution point.'"
"Stick this talisman onto the hammer, and during battle the hammer will automatically play the *Sayings of the Sage*. Wouldn't that make the hammer a Confucian cultivator's weapon?"
Man Gu's eyes lit up. He truly admired Brother Lu's quick thinking—why hadn't he thought of such a brilliant solution?
"Sold!"
Man Gu spent seven hundred and eighty-one contribution points to purchase his beloved weapon.
Man Gu swung the massive iron hammer around, the sage's quotations blaring from the handle. One glance was all it took to know he was a Confucian cultivator.
Meng Jingzhou didn't need to buy any weapons, so he bought several carts of premium fodder to treat the old horse.
Lu Yang bought several things that might come in handy in combat: Flesh-Regenerating Pills—if a chunk of flesh was cleaved off during a fight, taking one would instantly regenerate the flesh and restore stamina.
Golden Light Talismans—forming protective golden light during battle to ward off multiple attacks and shield the whole body, far more effective than the flatbread from the cafeteria.
Lu Yang thought the Golden Light Talismans were great, so he bought ten in one go.
Self-cleaning clothes—even without casting the Clothes-Cleansing Incantation, the garments would remain as clean as new, an absolute must-have when eating Chuanshu hot pot.
Furthermore, garments like these had been refined, so there was no need to worry about an enemy snatching them away with a storage ring.
Lu Yang was planning ahead, wary that his enemies might be just as imaginative as he was.
Chapter 107