Lu Yang wondered: if everyone on Weapon Refinement Peak shared this line of thinking, just how were they earning money for the Dao Seeking Sect through patent fees?
He felt that he was, after all, someone of steadfast Dao Heart. Surrounded by a bunch of lunatics, he had never once been swayed by them, keeping his wits completely normal...
Lu Yang's internal musings earned nods of praise from the Immortal Fairy, who pointed accusingly at the five elders. "Right, right, right! They're all lunatics; only the two of us have normal minds!
"Look at what garbage this Shining Sun Cult came up with—failing completely to make full use of solar energy!
"If it were up to this Immortal, I'd just shove the sun toward the Far North to melt the glaciers there, bring the vegetation back to life, and make the climate delightful!"
Lu Yang thought to himself: *Fairy, do you just want to turn the Far North into the Far Northern Sea?*
When Lu Yang returned to Tianmen Peak, preparing to hand over the tribute delivered by the Nine Nether Cult to Eldest Senior Sister, he happened to catch her speaking with Meng Jingzhou.
"Junior Brother is here too. That's perfect. The two of you are sharp; this matter is well suited for you two to handle." Yun Zhi beckoned Lu Yang over.
Originally, Yun Zhi had intended to have Lu Yang handle it, but at the time Lu Yang was busy hoodwinking the two cult masters at the barbecue restaurant, so she had settled for calling over Meng Jingzhou, who had just emerged from seclusion.
"Eldest Senior Sister, what is it?"
"As you know, the Patriarch joined our sect a year ago, and he has smoothly cultivated to the Foundation Establishment stage.
"According to the rules, after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, every disciple must complete two missions each year.
"My original thought was that the Patriarch shouldn't have to do sect missions; he had more than enough worldly experience in his youth.
"But the Patriarch is stubborn. He insisted he couldn't receive special treatment and was adamant about doing missions. A few days ago, he completed his first mission, but an accident occurred during it."
"What accident?" Lu Yang asked curiously.
"He got lost."
Lu Yang was speechless.
"I worry he might run into danger again, so I wanted to find someone clever to shadow him."
"So that's how it is." Lu Yang nodded. That was indeed very in character for the Patriarch. "Rest assured, Eldest Senior Sister. Leave it to Old Meng and me. We guarantee we'll protect the Patriarch!"
Meng Jingzhou thought of another issue. "Still, the Patriarch doesn't seem very willing to let anyone follow him. If we shadow him in secret and only step in when danger arises, wouldn't our presence be exposed?"
Yun Zhi had also considered that both Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had interacted with the Patriarch before; even if discovered, the Patriarch would hardly make a fuss out of concern for his dignity.
Lu Yang thought for a moment. "That problem isn't hard to solve. We just need to add an item to the exchange list at the Mission Hall."
* * *
"Before setting out, I need to exchange for some life-saving items." Though the boyish innocence had not yet faded from Daoist Xiantian's face, his worldly experience was seasoned, and he would never set out unprepared.
It was just that he had no spare spirit stones on hand and couldn't exchange for anything too extravagant.
"Let's see. Rejuvenation Pill: rapidly restores spiritual energy, one hundred twenty contribution points. A bit pricey.
"Gut-Wrenching Sorrow: a lethal poison, ten contribution points... Wait a minute, why does the sect sell poison, and why is it so cheap?
"Three Yang Power Pill: upon consumption, grants the Power of Three Yangs, significantly boosting combat strength for a short period with no side effects after use, one hundred contribution points."
Daoist Xiantian pondered. It appeared to be an elixir that temporarily enhanced combat prowess. It would be of great help to him, and the price was reasonable.
"This is the one."
His preparations complete, Daoist Xiantian set off toward his destination.
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou followed in secret. Both were now in the late Nascent Soul stage, while Daoist Xiantian was merely in early Foundation Establishment; there was no way he could detect them.
"Speaking of which, what mission did the Patriarch take?" Lu Yang asked Meng Jingzhou.
"The report says that in Jizhou, there's a small village called Wangjiagou, nestled deep within an ancient mountain forest. Reaching the town at the foot of the mountain takes two shichen. Several disappearances have occurred in Wangjiagou, all involving young, able-bodied men. It seems their minds were bewitched by something, as if they were lured away.
"The authorities sent investigators as well, but unfortunately turned up nothing. Wangjiagou is surrounded on all sides by mountains; even spreading out divine sense wouldn't make finding the missing people easy, let alone the fact that there are no formidable cultivators out there—it's impressive if anyone has cultivated divine sense at all, so relying on divine sense to search for people is out of the question.
"Based on the intelligence, the senior brother in the Mission Hall deduced that these disappearances are likely the work of a demonic beast that slipped illicitly into Great Xia, and its strength hasn't reached the Golden Core stage."
Although Daoist Xiantian was only in early Foundation Establishment, his combat prowess rivaled the early Golden Core stage. It could be said that no one in early Foundation Establishment could be stronger than him—such was the advantage of dispersing cultivation to start anew.
Lu Yang pondered for a moment. "This mission sounds like it will take quite a while. The Patriarch has his work cut out for him.
"The ones missing are all young, vigorous men. I wonder if the creature was after their masculine vitality for a blood sacrifice, or after their physiques for dual cultivation."
Meng Jingzhou nodded. "That demonic beast acted with great caution, making the victims leave the village of their own accord, which left behind virtually no clues. And with so much time having passed, clues will be even harder to come by."
The two examined the mission. Had it been the two of them, they wouldn't have any clever shortcuts either: they could only conduct door-to-door inquiries first, study what common traits the missing men shared, and then disguise themselves as ordinary mortals in hopes that the beast would abduct them.
Running through that entire process would take half a month at the very least.
And that was not even counting the round-trip journey.
Aboard the flying boat, Daoist Xiantian rested with his eyes closed, constantly deducing in his mind how he should accomplish this mission.
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou trailed secretly behind, nearly getting spotted by the captain.
If they were caught, they would undoubtedly be suspected of being marauder cultivators intent on hijacking the vessel.
Fortunately, both were experienced veterans, and no mishap occurred.
Estimating that he was roughly at the destination, Daoist Xiantian opened an umbrella, leapt into the air, and plummeted toward the deep mountain forest. He loosened his right grip, and the umbrella snapped shut, shooting back to the flying boat with a whoosh.
"This should be the vicinity of Wangjiagou," Daoist Xiantian muttered to himself. Glancing around at the deserted, uninhabited wilderness, he felt a bit lacking in confidence.
"Probably?"
Following the description in the mission details and his own intuition, he walked deeper into the mountains.
After walking for about a shichen, he finally spotted a place bearing signs of human habitation.
It was a cave. At the entrance lay an extinguished campfire that appeared to have gone out less than a day ago.
Daoist Xiantian walked into the cave. Hearing voices from deeper within, he happily quickened his steps and called out loudly:
"Excuse me, could I ask for directions? How do I get to Wangjiagou?"
Then he saw the scene inside the cave, and froze.
Inside was a seductive woman—stark naked, flicking a serpent tongue, intimately entangled with several muscular men.
Catching sight of Daoist Xiantian, the seductive woman froze as well.
"A cultivator? How did you find this place?"
Chapter 886