Is It Delicious?

The time had passed midnight.

Within the Zhao Estate, ghostly energy soared to the heavens, and a bloody mist spread throughout.

The moonlight poured down like liquid silver.

In the hazy night, Zhao Huaian stepped upon his Flying Sword, breaking through the air to hover above the Zhao Estate.

Looking down at the bloody scene below, Zhao Huaian remained expressionless. His eyes, however, bloomed with spiritual energy as he continuously scanned every corner of the estate.

Soon, his entire body descended toward a guest room.

The room was thick with ghostly energy.

The Split-Mouthed Evil Ghost was frantically gnawing on the flesh and blood of Layman Zhao, its rotting, maggot-ridden face filled with a look of pure enjoyment.

"Delicious... so delicious..."

The evil ghost gorged itself.

It discovered that the flesh and blood of this Layman Zhao were far more delicious than those of others; every bite allowed it to feel its ghostly energy sublimating.

It was precisely for this reason that it could not bear to drain Layman Zhao's blood and energy all at once, choosing instead to save him and enjoy him one bite at a time.

Just as the evil ghost was feasting, the door slowly creaked open, and a voice rang out.

"Is it delicious?"

The evil ghost jerked its head up, licked its split maw, and turned its gaze behind it.

The person who spoke was none other than Zhao Huaian.

He was dressed in a white robe, appearing refined, easygoing, and scholarly under the illumination of the moonlight.

Looking at the evil ghost, Zhao Huaian gathered a fireball in his hand and said indifferently, "If it's delicious, then eat a bit more. Once you're full, I'll send you on your way..."

"Fragrant... you are even more fragrant, your scent is even better..."

The evil ghost drooled, opened its blood-stained maw, and lunged fiercely at Zhao Huaian.

"There is even more fragrant stuff to come..."

Zhao Huaian sneered and said, "That depends on whether you have the appetite to handle it!"

As his voice fell.

Just as the evil ghost lunged, the fireball flew instantly from Zhao Huaian's hand. It expanded in an instant, like a meteor from beyond the heavens, and slammed heavily into the evil ghost, exploding upon impact.

The evil ghost's own cultivation was only around Qi Refining Layer Three; facing a Grandmaster-level Fireball Technique, it had absolutely no power to resist.

As the fireball exploded, the evil spirit was sent flying backward heavily, its body engulfed in raging flames as its dense ghostly aura began to dissipate rapidly.

The evil spirit shrieked incessantly, and from its split-open maw, one soul after another crawled out.

Zhao Huaian watched coldly.

In just a few breaths, under the raging fire, the evil spirit's soul was scattered and it vanished into ashes.

As the evil spirit turned to dust, the sound of an object hitting the ground rang out.

It was a pair of Scissors!

A pair of Scissors stained with bright red blood!

These Scissors were the evil spirit's token, the companion object that had come into existence when it fell into becoming a ghostly entity.

Spiritual energy surged in Zhao Huaian's hand, and a suction force swept out, instantly drawing the blood-stained Scissors into his palm.

"In that case... all the tasks for this trip down the mountain are now complete."

Holding the Scissors, Zhao Huaian curled his lips into a smile, knowing that his mission was finished.

However, he did not leave immediately.

Instead, he continued to dispel the ghostly aura throughout the Zhao Manor.

The ghostly aura here was far too dense.

If left untreated, there was a high probability that those who died tragically tonight would be reborn as evil spirits.

Since he was already here, Zhao Huaian naturally had to handle it while he was at it.

At the same time, while dispelling the ghostly aura in the Zhao Manor, Zhao Huaian searched the premises thoroughly.

He had seen with his own eyes earlier that Layman Zhao had brought out four Low-grade Spirit Stones to offer to that rogue cultivator at the third layer of Qi Refining.

That proved there must be other spirit stones within the Zhao Manor.

He dispelled the ghostly aura while searching.

By the time all the ghostly aura in the Zhao Manor had been purified by Zhao Huaian, he had successfully obtained over thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Having gained this harvest, Zhao Huaian was quite satisfied. He mounted his sword and soared into the sky.

Greenwood Sect, Outer Sect.

Mission Hall.

Three days had passed.

Zhao Huaian returned to the Greenwood Sect without any obstacles along the way and headed straight to the Mission Hall to submit his tasks.

"Senior Brother Lei, these are the tasks I've completed. Please take a moment to verify and review them."

Zhao Huaian walked into the Mission Hall looking exhausted, pulling over a dozen task vouchers from his Storage Bag.

Seeing Zhao Huaian's travel-worn appearance and glancing at the stack of vouchers on the counter, Lei Yangwen checked them over. After confirming everything was in order, he couldn't help but nod in approval.

He smiled and gave Zhao Huaian a thumbs-up, praising him, "Not bad. These task vouchers are all correct. Junior Brother Zhao, you truly are efficient. To have completed so many tasks in just twenty days—it really makes me admire you."

Lei Yangwen's words were not empty flattery; he genuinely admired Zhao Huaian's efficiency.

Although there was no shortage of people in the Greenwood Sect's Outer Sect who accepted multiple tasks at once, their efficiency was nowhere near Zhao Huaian's. Some even dragged out multiple tasks for two or three months.

Zhao Huaian smiled, unable to hide the fatigue on his face as he said, "I'm close to breaking through to Qi Refining Layer Five, so I wanted to take the opportunity to earn more Spirit Stones and secure more time for closed-door cultivation."

"That makes sense!"

Lei Yangwen calculated the time and nodded as if it were a matter of course. "Given your aptitude, it is indeed about time for you to break through to Qi Refining Layer Five."

As he spoke, Lei Yangwen did some quick mental math and pulled a large pile of Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag.

Pushing the stones toward Zhao Huaian, Lei Yangwen laughed, "Junior Brother Zhao, these are the rewards for your tasks—a total of one hundred and seventy-nine Low-grade Spirit Stones."

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

Zhao Huaian nodded calmly and tucked the one hundred and seventy-nine Low-grade Spirit Stones into his Storage Bag.

Immediately after, he thought for a moment, took out twenty-nine Low-grade Spirit Stones, and respectfully handed them to Lei Yangwen. "Senior Brother, the two bottles of medicinal pills you sold me last time were worth twenty-nine Low-grade Spirit Stones, right?"

This was the promise Zhao Huaian had made previously.

If not for that, he wouldn't have been able to secure so many tasks, most of which were exceptionally easy and highly rewarding.

Lei Yangwen smiled knowingly, but he did not take the Spirit Stones Zhao Huaian offered. Instead, he looked him up and down and said, "Junior Brother, you've miscalculated. It should be forty-nine Low-grade Spirit Stones. Did you forget? Besides those two bottles of pills, there was also a Dharma Artifact."

Clearly, Lei Yangwen was not satisfied with twenty-nine Low-grade Spirit Stones; he wanted more.

On one hand, he had indeed arranged many easy, high-profit tasks for Zhao Huaian this time.

On the other hand, Zhao Huaian's total reward for this batch of tasks was one hundred and seventy-nine Low-grade Spirit Stones.

By comparison, the twenty-nine Low-grade Spirit Stones offered as a tribute clearly failed to satisfy his appetite.

People are just like that; the desires in their hearts are never satisfied.

If Zhao Huaian's mission this time had only involved a few dozen Low-grade Spirit Stones, that would naturally be a different story.

Moreover, according to the calculations in Lei Yangwen's mind, he was only being this lenient because he took into account that Zhao Huaian possessed Three Spiritual Roots.

Otherwise, if it had been any other low-cultivation cultivator completing so many missions at once, he would have demanded at least sixty Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huaian's expression did not change much; he merely gave a sheepish smile and said, "It was my oversight, Junior Brother almost forgot about this."

As he spoke, Zhao Huaian took out another twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones and respectfully handed them to Lei Yangwen.

"Just remember it next time, Junior Brother. Although we have a good relationship, some things must be done according to the rules. Otherwise, without rules, there wouldn't be any good opportunities coming your way."

Lei Yangwen said with a meaningful tone.

"I have only just entered the sect and am not familiar with many of the rules. I will have to rely on Senior Brother Lei for your guidance!"

Zhao Huaian stood to the side, offering a fawning smile.

"Hahaha, just calculate it clearly next time. If there is anything you don't know, I will tell you!"

Lei Yangwen let out a hearty laugh and then stopped paying attention to Zhao Huaian.

His current attitude was clearly different from before.

Zhao Huaian nodded with a smile, his expression becoming increasingly amiable, before quietly retreating from the Mission Hall.