"Senior Brother Fang, have you returned to turn in a mission?"
A surprised voice came from beside him, drawing Fang Wang to turn his head.
Fang Wang studied the other's face for a moment before nodding. "Mm. You're here too? What a coincidence."
Though it seemed he had only been away from Taiyuan Sect for several months, counting the time spent cultivating the Nine Dragon Divine Transformation Art, he had actually been gone for two hundred years. Other than those close to him, he could not remember people he had only met once or twice.
The other man came over and warmly exchanged pleasantries with him.
As they chatted, Fang Wang remembered. Wasn't this Zhou Bo? He was always so enthusiastic whenever they met.
The two spoke for quite a while before Fang Wang found a chance to slip away. He glanced at the main pillar and saw that Lu Yuanjun's name had already surged into the top twenty. One had to know that most of the names ahead belonged to peak masters and elders who had lived for centuries.
Fang Wang made his way to the fourth floor and found the study where the Mission Hall elder was located. Personal Disciples were allowed to meet elders directly.
The study was spacious, with many artifacts standing within it. Bookshelves lined the walls, filled with countless books and jade slips.
"You're Fang Wang, right? The first disciple in Taiyuan Sect's history to become a Personal Disciple the moment he entered the sect. I've been quite curious about you. Call me Uncle-Master Zhang from now on."
Elder Zhang of the Mission Hall smiled amiably. He was plump and appeared honest and good-natured, but Fang Wang had seen his name among the top ten on the main pillar.
"Uncle-Master Zhang, I have a mission to turn in, but I fear that if word gets out, it may endanger me. Could you record it without spreading the news?" Fang Wang asked respectfully.
Elder Zhang stroked his beard and smiled. "Don't worry. The Mission Hall only records contributions; we do not indulge in idle gossip. Besides, I'm the one handling your case. What is there for you to worry about?"
Hearing that, Fang Wang immediately felt relieved. He took out a cloth sack from his Storage Bag and placed it on the table.
Elder Zhang was not startled. He merely watched him with a smile.
Fang Wang untied the sack, revealing Li Hongshuang's head. Aside from the coagulated blood, it looked as though he had died only a few days ago, with no signs of decay.
Elder Zhang gave it a casual glance, initially paying it no mind, but then his eyes widened.
"Hm? This is... Li Hongshuang?"
Elder Zhang was startled. He hurriedly picked up Li Hongshuang's head to inspect it. Soon, he looked up at Fang Wang, shock in his eyes, and asked in a trembling voice, "You are White Clad Startling Swan?"
Seeing White Clad Startling Swan would not have surprised him. What astonished him was that White Clad Startling Swan had only entered the sect a year ago...
A year ago, Fang Wang had only been at the Seventh Layer of the Qi Nurturing Realm!
The matter of him sweeping through fifty-one Qi Nurturing Realm cultivators at the Seventh Layer of the Qi Nurturing Realm had long spread among the elders. The peak masters of every vein envied Yang Yuanzi's good fortune. Though Elder Zhang was an elder of the Mission Hall, he too longed for a genius disciple like Fang Wang.
When one grew old and one's cultivation reached its limit, aside from defying fate and changing one's destiny, one sought a suitable successor so that one's will could be passed down through the sect for generations to come.
At the Seventh Layer of the Qi Nurturing Realm a year ago, he had killed Li Hongshuang at the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Sculpting Realm...
More crucially, that had happened several months ago. White Clad Startling Swan's latest feat was defeating Li Honggang at the Third Layer of the Spirit Pill Realm...
Elder Zhang had sat in this position for a hundred and fifty years. What kind of feats had he not heard of?
Yet Fang Wang still frightened him...
The way he looked at Fang Wang was as though he were looking at a monster.
Fang Wang gave a fake cough, interrupting Elder Zhang's thoughts. Elder Zhang sighed and smiled. "Twenty-five years ago, the Li Family came to visit our sect, and Li Hongshuang was among them. Back then, the Sect Master predicted that Li Hongshuang possessed talent comparable to Lu Yuanjun's. The Li Family had also intended for Li Hongshuang to join our sect. Who would have thought that he would ultimately join Green Cicada Valley? Even more sigh-worthy, he died at the hands of one of our sect's disciples."
Fang Wang did not know how to respond and could only smile and nod.
Afterward, Elder Zhang asked for his Disciple Token and recorded his contribution points. Li Hongshuang was a renowned genius of the Demonic Path, and the mission to kill him had always been available. Even though Fang Wang had not accepted it, he could still turn it in directly.
In addition, Fang Wang turned in the mission to rescue Fang Hanyu. When disciples returned to Taiyuan Sect, their Disciple Tokens would be checked. These tokens were connected to a sect-protecting artifact, and every Affairs Hall in the major cities was connected to that artifact as well. In short, Elder Zhang could determine whether Fang Hanyu had returned.
Fang Wang also tried taking out the identity tokens of other Green Cicada Valley disciples. Zhou Xue had selected all of them.
After fussing about for half an hour, Fang Wang finally left.
Elder Zhang sat in his chair, unable to calm his emotions for a long while.
"White Clad Startling Swan... seventeen years old... less than two years into immortal cultivation, yet he has already slaughtered someone at the Third Layer of the Spirit Pill Realm... What a monster... No wonder Senior Brother Sect Master values him so highly. No, I must do something for him..."
After the shock passed, boundless anticipation welled up in Elder Zhang's heart.
Before his lifespan ran out, would he be able to witness an unprecedented Taiyuan Sect?
Meanwhile.
Fang Wang arrived on the first floor. As he passed the main pillar, he stopped and looked toward Lu Yuanjun's name. Behind it was a string of numbers marking his contribution points, totaling more than three million.
After turning in his missions, Fang Wang's contribution points numbered only a little over nine hundred. Li Honggang was not an enemy of Taiyuan Sect, so killing him was not within the scope of any mission.
Fang Wang only glanced at it before withdrawing his gaze and striding away.
People came and went through the great hall. Fang Wang was inconspicuous amid the crowd, just like the names beneath Lu Yuanjun's, hidden among the teeming masses.
After returning to his cave dwelling, Fang Wang resumed his cultivation routine.
He did not lack spells now, so he only needed to focus on cultivation and absorbing qi. His goal was to reach the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Sculpting Realm as soon as possible.
Time flew.
Half a year passed.
Fang Wang reached the Sixth Layer of the Spirit Sculpting Realm. If news of such a breakthrough speed spread, it would surely cause a tremendous uproar throughout Taiyuan Sect.
One afternoon, Fang Hanyu brought six members of the Fang Family to visit Fang Wang. Their arrival made the cave dwelling livelier.
Fang Wang was also delighted to see his clansmen. After sitting down, they began talking about their respective experiences.
They had all been Fang Manor disciples selected by Zhou Xue. Even the weakest among them had now reached the Third Layer of the Qi Nurturing Realm. Compared to Fang Wang, the gap between them was like heaven and earth, but immortal cultivation was truly difficult. Among the Outer Disciples of the Nine Peaks, many had cultivated for decades without being able to cross the Fifth Layer of the Qi Nurturing Realm, let alone reach the Spirit Sculpting Realm.
Fang Hanyu had already successfully molded his spirit. His Life-Bound Treasure Spirit was a supreme-grade Mystic Origin Treasure Spirit, bringing immense honor to the Fang Family.
Fang Wang, however, was somewhat disappointed. Anything below an Earth Origin Treasure Spirit no longer caught his eye.
"Thirteenth Brother, what grade is your Treasure Spirit?" Fang Xin asked curiously. The others all looked toward Fang Wang as well.
Fang Wang smiled and looked at Fang Hanyu. Fang Hanyu immediately said, "Stop asking. It is definitely higher than mine, but being too outstanding is not necessarily good either. It can easily invite a killing calamity. Remember this: you must not mention Fang Wang's Life-Bound Treasure Spirit to outsiders."
Hearing that, everyone hurriedly nodded.
Fang Hanyu's expression was stern, though inside he felt like a cat was clawing at his heart. More than anyone, he wanted to know the grade of Fang Wang's Treasure Spirit, but the brat simply refused to say.
Fang Zigeng, whose cultivation had already reached the Fifth Layer of the Qi Nurturing Realm, said, "By the way, have you heard that Great Qi's Son of Heaven is entering Taiyuan Sect to cultivate immortality?"
The others began discussing it as well.
"I know. It has already spread through the Seventh Vein. They say the Great Qi Dynasty is going to transform into an immortal cultivation dynasty. I wonder whether it's true."
"If the Son of Heaven enters the sect, wouldn't he have to call us Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters?"
"Tsk, tsk. I thought that after cultivating immortality, we would stand above imperial power. Who would have thought that imperial power would begin cultivating immortality too?"
"I heard the Son of Heaven gave up a great deal to obtain Taiyuan Sect's approval. A large number of missions to mine spirit ore and search for spirit veins have appeared in the Mission Hall. There must be concessions from the Son of Heaven behind all this."
Listening to their discussion, Fang Wang raised an eyebrow.
Zhou Xue had mentioned before that Great Qi would become an immortal cultivation dynasty. He had not expected it to happen so soon.
But on second thought, only the Son of Heaven was cultivating immortality for now. To truly promote immortal cultivation methods to all the people under heaven would require at least several decades of effort.
Zhou Xue suspected that Great Qi's Prime Minister and Lu Yuanjun's dealings might involve Great Qi's Son of Heaven. After all, in the future originally destined to happen, Great Qi's Son of Heaven and Lu Yuanjun had been extremely close, climbing together to the pinnacle of Great Qi's immortal cultivation world.
Now that he had heard Great Qi's Son of Heaven had joined Taiyuan Sect, Fang Wang suddenly thought of a possibility.
The cultivators who attacked Fang Manor had held a Soul-Burning Banner. The purpose of that Ghost Artifact was to collect souls. Righteous Path sects did not permit their disciples to slaughter mortals wantonly. Could it be that, in order to enter Taiyuan Sect, the Son of Heaven had been willing to sacrifice the common people in exchange for Lu Yuanjun's recommendation?
As for why Fang Manor had been chosen, it was likely merely taking advantage of the situation. On the surface, it appeared to be a struggle for court power, at most tarnishing imperial authority with a reputation for cruelty. But if it were discovered that the Son of Heaven wished to sacrifice the people of an entire city in exchange for immortal cultivation methods, the matter would become grave. The realm would surely fall into turmoil!
Fang Wang remained silent, listening to his clansmen chat while sorting through his own thoughts.
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