Captain

Although he had given Su Bai some help, such as securing a spot at Spirit Moon Lake,

Su Bai's swift cultivation to Qi Refining Layer Six still left Steward Lin astonished.

Such cultivation speed was already comparable to Two Spirit Root Talent.

Su Bai said, "I still have to thank Steward Lin for his help. It was merely by chance."

"Today, this disciple came to ask Steward Lin whether you have any suitable Outer Court Missions to recommend?"

Steward Lin nodded lightly. "Let me see..."

"Wait, weren't you carrying out the Spirit Moon Lake Mission?!"

Steward Lin suddenly came back to his senses. Su Bai's One-Year Spirit Moon Lake Mission should not have expired yet.

As for the Spirit Moon Lake Mission, Su Bai did not know how the sect communicated with the Outer Court.

In any case, Outer Court Disciples were stationed there now.

So he directly took out his Jade Talisman and handed it over.

After comparing the mission records, Steward Lin discovered that Su Bai's Spirit Moon Lake Mission had indeed ended early.

Su Bai's sect information showed that this mission had already been completed.

As for the reason, it had been classified as confidential, and he had no authority to view it.

This was not Steward Lin's first time encountering such a situation. Sect secrets were best left unasked about, so he nodded. "I see. The Spirit Moon Lake Mission has already ended."

After a pause, Steward Lin pondered before speaking. "You are now at Qi Refining Layer Six. Your next stage is to prepare for advancing to Qi Refining Layer Seven."

"If you are willing to shoulder some risk, I recommend the Blood River Secret Realm mission. This mission only comes around once every three years, and the next one is next month. As long as you enter the secret realm and bring back spiritual herbs, you can exchange them for a large number of Cultivation Spirit Pills."

Su Bai shook his head. "This disciple has also heard of this mission, but I do not particularly wish to participate at present."

Cultivators naturally had all manner of temperaments. Some enjoyed Magic Duel Combat, while others preferred Farming and Herb Gathering.

Steward Lin mistook Su Bai for the latter and nodded in understanding. "To be honest, I do not much enjoy fighting and killing in secret realms either. Otherwise, I would not have come to be a mere Outer Sect Steward."

After mocking himself, Steward Lin recommended several more missions in succession.

They all carried a certain degree of risk, but they were also among the most rewarding missions available to those at Qi Refining Layer Six.

Su Bai rejected every one of them.

In the end, Steward Lin recommended a somewhat lesser mission: Squad Leader of a patrol team near the mountain gate, requiring Qi Refining Layer Six or above.

They would occasionally need to drive away Demonic Beasts and idle Rogue Cultivators. Since it was closer to the mountain gate, it was even safer than Spirit Moon Lake.

The mission had no fixed duration and required at least one month. To end the mission, he would have to wait until the Disciple assigned for Mission Handover arrived.

The leader was the primary Disciple responsible for this mission, and it was limited to Disciples at Qi Refining Layer Six or above. Therefore, its rewards were far more generous than Su Bai's previous mission at Spirit Moon Lake.

The rewards were issued monthly, amounting to as many as Five Yellow Dragon Pills each month.

The drawback was that it took quite a long time, and the place where the mission was carried out was not covered by a Spirit Gathering Array, so the Spiritual Energy environment was somewhat poorer.

After considering it briefly, Su Bai chose to accept this mission.

Five Yellow Dragon Pills each month, plus the three pills from his benefits, meant eight Yellow Dragon Pills every month.

Relying on those Yellow Dragon Pills, along with the aid of Dual Spirit Root Talent, Su Bai was confident that he could push his cultivation to the peak of Qi Refining Layer Six within a year.

As for breaking through the shackles, Su Bai did not dare guarantee it. However, for Dual Spirit Root Talent, Late Qi Refining was certainly not an especially difficult bottleneck.

"Steward Lin, then please help me accept this mission," Su Bai said.

"No problem." Steward Lin picked up the Jade Talisman and operated it for a moment.

He then handed the Jade Talisman back to Su Bai.

"The mission has been registered. You must head over for the handover within three days."

Along with the Jade Talisman, Su Bai received a small map and a Tier 1 Mid-grade Spell, the Feather Fall Technique.

The Feather Fall Technique was a Tier 1 Mid-grade movement spell. Its effects were twice as good as the Light Body Technique.

Once mastered, it would make movement much more convenient.

It counted as one of the benefits Su Bai received for accepting this mission.

The small map showed the distribution of patrol outposts within one region of Qingyun Mountain, as well as the patrol range Su Bai would be responsible for.

Qingyun Mountain was vast, and Qingyun Plaza at its foot was merely one side of it.

Besides Qingyun Plaza, there were more than twenty other assigned key patrol outposts.

Each outpost had one squad, generally consisting of one Outer Court Disciple at Qi Refining Layer Six leading three ordinary Qi Refining Stage Outer Court Disciples.

Every four or five outposts had a Major Outpost, where an Inner Disciple was stationed.

The small map in Su Bai's hand showed the locations of five outposts, including the Major Outpost.

Su Bai only needed to head to one of the Minor Outposts and complete the Mission Handover with the Current Squad Leader there.

"I'll head over right away."

As for the Feather Fall Technique, he could cultivate it during the mission.

Su Bai put away the Jade Talisman. After thanking Steward Lin, he activated the Light Body Technique and hurried down the mountain.

Before long, Su Bai arrived near the target Minor Outpost at the foot of the mountain.

This Minor Outpost was on the side of Qingyun Mountain that faced the mortal world. It stood atop a small hill at the foot of the mountain, and within its range was a small village of more than two hundred people that had formed at some unknown time—Stone Village.

Su Bai reached the small hill where the Minor Outpost stood, but he did not see any Jade Mist Sect Disciples.

They had probably gone out on patrol.

After waiting for a short while, several figures finally leaped over.

"You must be the Senior Brother here for the mission handover!" An Outer Court Disciple at Qi Refining Layer Six arrived first, delight written across his face.

Su Bai nodded slightly. The two exchanged names and Jade Talismans, then checked the mission information.

"Senior Brother Su, that means the Mission Handover is complete. Before I return to the mountain, I'll take you around once so you can familiarize yourself with the surroundings," the former squad leader said.

"Then I'll trouble you, Senior Brother," Su Bai replied politely, also addressing him as Senior Brother.

At this moment, the three squad members also clasped their hands and saluted Su Bai, each calling him Senior Brother.

Of the three squad members, one was at Qi Refining Stage Four, while the other two were at Qi Refining Stage Three.

They were all Outer Court Disciples who had entered the sect in the same batch as Su Bai.

Seeing Su Bai's cultivation, they assumed he was an old Disciple who had entered the sect more than ten years ago. Naturally, Su Bai did not take the initiative to explain.

Leaving the three members behind at the outpost, Su Bai followed the former squad leader to familiarize himself with the territory.

As the former squad leader leaped onward, he said, "Our outpost is on the side of Qingyun Mountain facing the mortal world, so there are usually very few Demonic Beasts here."

"However, quite a few Martial Arts Masters from the mortal world come seeking immortals and sects, and some Rogue Cultivators also dream of joining the Jade Mist Sect. If we run into a few blockheads, they can still be rather troublesome to deal with."

"We should look after Stone Village by the outpost a little. It is said to be the descendants of an Elder within the sect."

"Even if they are not an Elder's descendants, living beneath Qingyun Mountain is itself a matter of fate."

"There is no need to go so far as to reveal ourselves and cure their illnesses. Just secretly eliminate dangers such as bandits and Demonic Beasts."

In half an hour, Su Bai followed the former squad leader through the patrol route assigned to the outpost.

Finally, before leaving, the former squad leader handed Su Bai a Small Token.

This token could be used to contact the Inner Disciple at the Major Outpost should an emergency arise.

Thus, the Mission Handover was complete, and Su Bai officially became the proud Patrol Captain of this minor sect outpost.