Sword Holding Pavilion Mission

Six months passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, a message arrived from the Sword Holding Pavilion.

The Sword Holding Pavilion was Shushan's mission hall; all peaks had to go there to receive tasks.

Each year, every peak had a certain mission quota.

And the message from the Sword Holding Pavilion today was about just that.

It informed Li Xuanxiao that their mission quota for the year had not been met.

A large part of this was because Senior Disciple Xue Yun had gone down the mountain.

There was no other way; Xue Yun had always been Silver Sword Peak's main force.

There was no other way; Silver Sword Peak already had few people.

He had no choice but to take on this mission himself.

Li Xuanxiao arrived at the Sword Holding Pavilion to report.

He saw the people he least wanted to see on this mission: Murong Mo, Jiang Luoshui, Fourth Senior Sister Su Wan...

Li Xuanxiao's expression remained unchanged.

He had been hiding for so long, but he couldn't avoid it in the end.

He had still run into them.

"I will lead this mission. Our target is the Human-Faced Serpent in Mount Wu Wang, on the edge of the Southern Border," Murong Mo stated.

Li Xuanxiao hesitated for a moment.

The moment he saw Murong Mo and Jiang Luoshui were also in the team, he thought about faking an illness.

If he just took the medicine he had concocted, he would foam at the mouth and his breathing would become chaotic within moments.

However, after hearing that the mission was to go to Mount Wu Wang in the Southern Border to search for the Human-Faced Serpent, Li Xuanxiao abandoned that idea.

Mount Wu Wang was located on the edge of the Southern Border.

Poisonous insects and snakes were everywhere, but at the same time, it represented resources for cultivators.

The mechanical puppets he refined indeed needed materials, and Mount Wu Wang was clearly the best choice.

Moreover, although Murong Mo was leading this time, because they were going to Mount Wu Wang in the Southern Border, a junior elder would also be accompanying them.

The group left the Sword Holding Pavilion, and Murong Mo summoned his Spirit Pet.

It was a large white bird. The bird emerged from the churning, vast sea of clouds, its wings gently flapping, scattering the surrounding mist.

When the white bird fully appeared before everyone, its silky smooth feathers shimmered with a faint silver light, as if moonlight had fallen upon them.

"Only Senior Brother Murong could afford such a Spirit Pet," someone immediately said with envy.

Murong Mo beckoned everyone to board the Spirit Pet.

"The Southern Border is a long journey; traveling by sword consumes too much energy."

Everyone boarded the Spirit Pet one after another.

Only Su Wan seemed unwilling to ride Murong Mo's Spirit Pet, but seeing that everyone else had boarded, she quietly followed.

The junior elder was named Feng Yun, and he was trying to get closer to Murong Mo.

There were many junior elders like Feng Yun in Shushan.

It was all about seniority. At Feng Yun's age, this was the limit of his potential for his entire life.

But Murong Mo was different; he was young, talented, and came from a good family.

He had a promising future.

"Junior Disciple Li."

Li Xuanxiao glanced at Fourth Senior Sister Su Wan.

Su Wan looked at him. She hadn't seen Li Xuanxiao in a very long time.

Li Xuanxiao seemed to be deliberately avoiding her.

This made Su Wan feel uneasy.

She worried if it was because of her that Li Xuanxiao felt too embarrassed to see her again, and thus he had been hiding.

But at this moment, Li Xuanxiao looked at her with a normal expression, without the panic she had expected.

Su Wan couldn't help but think: As expected, he's still the same. He acts indifferent on the surface, but in reality, his heart is pounding so hard it almost stopped just because I spoke to him.

If Li Xuanxiao could hear Su Wan's thoughts, who knew what expression he would have.

Senior Sister, you really have a vivid imagination~

"Junior Disciple Li, if you need anything when we reach the Southern Border, I can help you look for it," Su Wan said.

"Thank you, Senior Sister. I won't trouble you with these small matters," Li Xuanxiao politely refused Su Wan.

She's still nervous.

Su Wan thought to herself.

However, Li Xuanxiao noticed Murong Mo, who was talking to the junior elder Feng Yun, glancing over at their direction repeatedly.

Is he bothered that I'm talking to Su Wan?

"Senior Sister, please stop making enemies for me," Li Xuanxiao thought, feeling a bit helpless.

Three days later.

They arrived above Mount Wu Wang.

The group disembarked from the large bird and landed on a forest path.

The Southern Border region was perpetually shrouded in poisonous miasma.

Although Mount Wu Wang was located on the periphery, it still couldn't be underestimated.

Junior Elder Feng Yun awaited them in the sky.

Murong Mo briefly organized their formation.

The task of clearing the path was assigned to Fan Zhiyu, with Li Xuanxiao and two other disciples taking on the responsibility.

Due to the miasma on Mount Wu Wang, ordinary cultivators couldn't replenish their True Qi in time.

However, the path would inevitably be blocked by plant spirits, poisonous insects, and snakes, requiring someone to lead the way.

Murong Mo, possessing the highest cultivation, was the main force against the Human-Faced Serpents.

Therefore, he couldn't waste his True Qi on such matters.

"Xuanxiao, be careful."

Li Xuanxiao was the first to clear the path.

Murong Mo patted his shoulder, giving him a gentle smile.

Li Xuanxiao nodded indifferently.

"Senior Brother, my cultivation is weak, you have to protect me~" Jiang Luoshui said to Murong Mo coquettishly.

Murong Mo indulgently ruffled her hair.

Seeing this, Su Wan snorted coldly.

She turned to Li Xuanxiao, "Junior Disciple Li, let me take over the task of clearing the path."

Although Su Wan meant well, Li Xuanxiao felt something was off.

Am I just a pawn in your game?

He shook his head, choosing to refuse Su Wan's kind offer.

The group moved forward rapidly.

Li Xuanxiao led the way, positioned at the very front of the formation.

After about half an incense stick's worth of time, they encountered the first obstacle.

A snake, entirely green in color.

It suddenly appeared, catching Li Xuanxiao completely off guard.

"Careful!"

Fortunately, a disciple behind Li Xuanxiao was quick-witted. With a swift sword strike, he sliced the snake in half.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

The others behind them couldn't help but feel a hint of disdain watching this scene.

The green snake's cultivation wasn't high, and they had all noticed it hiding in the trees earlier, but Li Xuanxiao had been moving too fast.

Su Wan stepped in front of Li Xuanxiao, taking over his role in clearing the path.

"I'll lead the way from now on."

Murong Mo watched all of this with a cold gaze.

The group continued forward and soon encountered an attack from a slightly more formidable spider.

However, with the combined efforts of everyone, the battle was swiftly concluded.

Without waiting to attract anything else from the forest, they pressed on.

At this pace, they reached the Human-Faced Serpent's lair in just one hour.

Murong Mo, who had remained inactive until now, finally made his move!

With a flick of his wrist, the renowned Thunderclap Sword in his hand instantly transformed into a dazzling, radiant blur, as brilliant as lightning streaking across the night sky.

In an instant, rolling thunderous light surged like a furious tide towards the Human-Faced Serpent.

The Human-Faced Serpent was clearly no ordinary foe. It agilely dodged, narrowly evading Murong Mo's incredibly sharp first strike.

However, before it could even breathe a sigh of relief, it found itself trapped in an even more perilous situation.

Murong Mo had already set up a Sword Qi Cage, which lay in wait like a ferocious beast, ready for its prey to fall into the trap.

At this moment, Murong Mo gripped the Thunderclap Sword tightly in his right hand, each swing igniting a string of dazzling lightning.

His left hand, meanwhile, continuously shifted through hand seals, sending mystic runes flying from his fingertips to merge with the surrounding sword qi. This infused the Sword Qi Cage with even greater power and dominance.

"Die!"

Before the others could even intervene, the Human-Faced Serpent had already fallen to the ground under Murong Mo's assault.

The others repeatedly let out exclamations of admiration.

"As expected of Senior Disciple Murong!"

"Senior Disciple Murong is truly too well-rounded; we are ashamed of our inferiority."

"We might as well have just accompanied Senior Disciple Murong on a stroll."

The mission was resolved with unusual ease.

Of course, with this mission concluded, the disciples who carried it out would, according to the rules, attend to their own matters.

Each of them needed to find the medicinal herbs or other items they required.