192: Chapter 192 Mission Hall

However, the more crucial point lay elsewhere.

Looking at the immediate situation.

To the east of the Eastern Barrenlands lies the vast Donglin Sea, where many immortal fishing boats and merchant ships set sail.

If Gu Lingye or the Demonic Path pursued him relentlessly, he could blend into the various vessels and hide in the open sea.

Looking further ahead.

Once his strength improved later on, he could cross the Yao Beast-infested Eastern Barrenlands and head to the Qi Kingdom cultivation world a million miles away.

The scale of the Qi Kingdom was a level above the Three-Kingdom Cultivation World, comparable to the Yuan State; its cultivation heritage was purer, and it was closer to the prosperous core of the Southern Region.

Moreover, the righteous path held sway in the Qi Kingdom's cultivation world, strongly suppressing the Demonic Path Cultivators within it.

As long as he went to the Qi Kingdom, he could completely eliminate the worries of being hunted by the Demonic Path.

"It's just..."

Beneath his bamboo hat, his expression was solemn; all of this was predicated on him reaching the Wu State safely.

He needed to evade Gu Lingye's informants and pull the wool over Huang Jinglong's eyes.

It would be no small feat.

But he had already thought of a way.

With this in mind, he happened to arrive at the Immortal City's Task Hall.

He looked up at the magnificent hall; people were hurrying in and out, their bodies covered in a layer of dust.

As the name suggested.

The Task Hall was where the Immortal City issued tasks to Loose Cultivators; here, Cultivators could not only accept tasks but also post them.

Xu Changsheng had come here precisely for the latter.

Walking into the main hall, it was a different scene entirely.

The interior was far more crowded than the entrance, with Cultivators jostling shoulder to shoulder, gazing at the light screens on the back wall that emitted a faint blue glow.

From bottom to top, rows of tasks with white text on a blue background floated up.

Every task that appeared drew everyone's attention.

"Pah, more of these trivial trifles; they aren't worth even a few Spirit Stones."

"Do they really think we're do-gooders working for free?"

Most tasks flashed by without anyone choosing them; such tasks would eventually move to the gray light screen on the side, discoverable only through active inquiry.

To accept a task, a Cultivator only needed to strike it with a burst of spiritual power, and the task details would transform into a Jade Slip and fall down.

At that point, an Immortal City deacon would come forward to explain the task details and verify the acceptor's identity, completing the process.

Just then, a valuable task flashed onto the screen.

"Look, a good job!"

A thin Cultivator struck out with spiritual light and immediately picked up the Jade Slip, but at that moment...

He was elbowed in the ribs, and curses mingled with muffled groans.

"I got it first!" A scarred man gripped the other end of the Jade Slip, refusing to let go.

The thin Cultivator sneered, pinched a corner with two fingers, and with a jolt of spiritual power, the bamboo slip tore in half with a rip.

"We each have half; who does this task belong to now?"

The deacon in the hall didn't even look up, simply saying flatly, "Torn slips are invalid. It will be reposted."

The entire hall fell silent for a moment before erupting into even louder clamor.

It was noisy and chaotic, just like a marketplace.

As for the other side, it was a different story.

There were also about ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the hall, but they were all seated in the VIP area on one side. A special light screen was arranged for them, displaying tasks that only those at the Foundation Establishment Stage could accept.

Compared to the tasks in the main hall, there were far fewer here.

Xu Changsheng wasn't here to take a task; he was here to post one.

He walked over to the deacon's counter on the side.

Several other Cultivators were also queuing there to submit their tasks.

Seeing Xu Changsheng cut in, their expressions turned unfriendly.

Because he had intentionally hidden his cultivation, the Qi Refining level he displayed made the deacon dismissive. "Here to post a task? Go to the back of the line."

However, as soon as he revealed a hint of his Foundation Establishment aura, the deacon's face instantly changed. "This way, Senior, please come inside!"

The people in line also spontaneously made way.

Opening the counter gate, Xu Changsheng followed the deacon into the back hall.

Fifteen minutes later.

...

In the main hall.

On the light screen, the refresh rate of tasks suddenly accelerated.

Rows of tasks floated and refreshed on the screen, initially failing to catch the Cultivators' attention.

But once the Cultivators read the task rewards, the originally noisy Task Hall suddenly fell silent.

Yet after only a split second, the entire place erupted in extreme cheering.

Because...

Task Information.

[Task Info: The client has lost an unranked Spirit Rabbit covered in black fur outside the Immortal City. A Fellow Daoist is needed to search outside the southern city wall.]

[Task Reward: Ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones]

[Task Duration: One day]

[Task Requirement: You only need to search; finding it is not required, but you must go. Accepting the task requires taking a Shadow-Recording Talisman to provide footage of the search.]

"My god, am I seeing this right? You don't even have to find it; just walking around the city wall outside the Immortal City gets you a reward of ten Spirit Stones?"

"Good grief, in all my time cultivating, I've never seen such an easy task."

Most importantly, there wasn't just one such task.

For the east, west, and north walls, different Spirit Beasts like Spirit Rabbits and Spirit Turtles appeared in turn; all were similar to the task above, with no requirement to actually find them.

Tasks kept floating up, numbering at least a hundred.

Such exaggerated tasks naturally triggered a frantic scramble.

Spiritual light constantly flashed in the hall, striking the light screen.

The tasks on the screen were cleared instantly, falling down like a rain of bamboo slips.

"Mine, they're all mine!"

The scarred man from before struck again, sweeping a large number of Jade Slips into his possession with a wave of his hand.

But how could the other Cultivators let him have his way? They swarmed toward him.

The crowd was furious:

"Do you think you're so great just because your cultivation is higher?"

"Share some with us!"

Everywhere he looked were Cultivators, with countless strands of Divine Sense and Spiritual Pressure weighing down on him.

His face paled, and he immediately threw some of the Jade Slips outward. "Here, take them!"

He then clutched the remaining Jade Slips and headed toward the deacon, but the Cultivators in front of him did not disperse, still staring intently at the bamboo slips in his hands.

...

Meanwhile, the Foundation Establishment Cultivators sneered as they watched the farce of the Qi Refining Cultivators, breaking into laughter.

"These ants are truly pathetic, fighting tooth and nail for a mere ten or twenty Spirit Stones."

"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Chen, don't boast so loudly. If you were still that Qi Refining Cultivator from a hundred years ago, you'd be even worse than them."

"How could that be? I, Chen, would never accept such charity."

"Is that so?"

Not dwelling on the matter, the conversation shifted: "Speaking of which, there must have been at least three to five hundred tasks released just now."

"About that."

"I wonder which Fellow Daoist is willing to spend several thousand Spirit Stones on such a stunt. Isn't this just throwing money away?"

"Who knows? I suspect they're either mocking the Immortal City or have some other ulterior motive."

"You mean?"

"For instance, those Demonic Path followers to the north; they only need to pay these Spirit Stones to lure a large number of low-level Cultivators out of the city, potentially creating vulnerabilities at the gates."

"You have a point. I'm on good terms with the West City Director; I'll go talk to him about this. If you're free then, Fellow Daoist Chen, why don't you come with me?"

There was no response, so he turned to look.

He saw the bearded Fellow Daoist Chen staring intently at the light screen.

Feeling puzzled, he looked over as well.

*Hiss.*

When he saw the task on the light screen, he sucked in a breath of cold air.