Ice Snow Valley

Seeing that his finances were truly tight, Yan Chihuo decided to take on some sect missions. The place where the Cloud Soaring Sect posted these missions was called the Merit Pavilion. The missions there were posted on boards and divided into two types: those for outer sect disciples and those for inner sect disciples. Missions for outer sect disciples were relatively simple, but the rewards were low; many didn't even offer Jade Crystal. Missions for inner sect disciples provided Jade Crystal, spirit materials, and spirit pills, but they were also highly dangerous.

Anyone could accept either type of mission, but given the vast disparity in strength, outer sect disciples almost never went to the inner sect board to pick up tasks. However, inner sect disciples would sometimes take on outer sect missions, the reason being that the tasks they were already undertaking happened to be on the same route as the outer sect ones.

Yan Chihuo arrived at the Merit Pavilion and first glanced at the outer sect missions. They were all menial labor, such as searching for spirit herbs; not only were the rewards low, but they were also time-consuming.

After a quick look, he gave up and walked over to the inner sect board. He had self-awareness; among the inner sect disciples, his own strength was truly mediocre. He couldn't take on those overly dangerous missions, such as hunting demons at Dragon-Severing Ridge, where the rewards were all above thirty Jade Crystal.

Yan Chihuo was absolutely unwilling to go to Dragon-Severing Ridge. He remembered clearly that a disciple at the Body Forging Late Stage had once entered, and not only did he fail to slay any demons, but he was also injured—let alone someone with his own cultivation at the Body Tempering Middle Stage.

He scanned down the board and discovered a mission at the very bottom. This mission required the assassination of a rogue cultivator named the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon, with a reward of ten Jade Crystal. Yan Chihuo found it strange, because the board clearly stated that this person's cultivation was only at the Body Tempering Early Stage. Logically, all inner sect disciples were at the Body Tempering Middle Stage or higher, so eliminating this Heavenly Evil Blood Demon shouldn't have been a problem. Yet, this mission had been hanging there for over half a year, and no one was willing to take it.

He noticed a middle-aged man nearby, roughly in his thirties, with a very kind face. He bowed to the man and said, "This Senior Brother, this humble one is Yan Chihuo. I would like to ask you a question."

The man hurriedly returned the bow and said, "Greetings, Junior Brother Yan. This humble one is Sha Liang. Feel free to ask anything; as long as I know the answer, I will certainly tell you everything."

Yan Chihuo said, "Many thanks, Senior Brother Sha. I am just curious: why is it that no one accepts the mission to slay the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon?"

Sha Liang replied, "So that's it. This Heavenly Evil Blood Demon is elusive. Although he usually haunts the Qiong Mountain Range, he possesses an Illusion Array Map. Even a cultivator at the Body Tempering Late Stage who enters it would lose their sense of direction, unable to kill the enemy and instead being killed themselves. Unless someone is born with a Spiritual Eye, they cannot avoid being deceived. But let alone our Cloud Soaring Sect, even in the entire East Sea region, I have never heard of anyone possessing such a thing."

Yan Chihuo said, "So that is how it is. Many thanks, Senior Brother Sha. Otherwise, if I had rashly accepted this mission, wouldn't I have been walking to my death?"

Sha Liang said, "Indeed. Someone previously didn't know the depth of the danger and accepted this mission; in the end, not only did they fail to kill the demon, but they were killed by him instead."

Just then, someone called out, "Junior Brother Sha, come over here quickly."

Sha Liang glanced over and said to Yan Chihuo, "Pardon me." With that, he walked toward the person, and the two left the Merit Pavilion together. After another moment, once everyone else in the Merit Pavilion had left, Yan Chihuo finally accepted the mission to slay the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon.

The disciple at the Merit Pavilion didn't ask any questions; he simply recorded Yan Chihuo's name and promised not to leak the matter. Yan Chihuo took two Water-Wading Talismans from the pavilion before departing.

To execute the mission, he had to cross the Spirit Water River. Since there were no boats available on the river, and it was impossible to call the Old Turtle to carry him, he had no choice but to use the Water-Wading Talismans.

Speaking of talismans, they were common items in the cultivation world. Because Dharma Tools and Talisman Artifacts were hard to come by and often could not be activated instantaneously, some people refined talismans. These talismans could be activated instantly, but they were one-time consumables, and their power was inferior to that of Talisman Artifacts or Dharma Tools. Furthermore, the difficulty of crafting talismans was no less than that of refining tools, as the vast majority of talismans in the cultivation world were sealed with low-level spells, with even mid-level spells being rare.

Yan Chihuo stuck the Water-Wading Talisman onto his body, and a white light rose from his feet. He stepped onto the water surface cautiously, only to find it felt like flat ground. He then tried running a few quick steps and found it no different from land. Relieved, he began to dash across the water. Although he had not mastered the supernatural ability of Earth Shrinking Step, his cultivation had improved, and his running speed had naturally increased.

After he crossed the Spirit Water River, the white light beneath his feet faded, and the Water-Wading Talisman dissipated into specks of white light. It seemed the duration supported by the talisman was only enough for him to cross the river.

The Qiong Mountain Range was several hundred miles away. According to the Merit Pavilion disciple, it wasn't just the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon there; there were other rogue cultivators as well. These rogues were bold, reckless, and ruthless; they might strike over the most trivial matters. Furthermore, there were demons haunting the area, and they were particularly fond of eating people, especially cultivators.

All things have spirit, but humans are the leaders of all living things, which makes them easier to cultivate. This does not mean, however, that birds, beasts, or even sand, stone, trees, and wood cannot cultivate. When these birds, beasts, sand, stone, trees, and wood encounter a fortuitous opportunity and achieve success in cultivation, they become demons. For instance, the Old Turtle of the Cloud Soaring Sect was a demon, but it and the other two spirits had been tamed by the sect and had no intention of harming anyone. As for those wild demons, it was hard to say.

Just as he was about to set off, a pungent, spicy sensation surged within his body, and he felt dizzy, nearly collapsing. He knew this was the poison in his body acting up and hurriedly activated the Poison Dissolving Art. For the past six months, the poison of the Demon Immortal Fruit had never flared up, which had put his mind at ease. But now that it had, the Poison Dissolving Art could not suppress it. He immediately understood that the toxicity was too strong and required other toxins to suppress it.

Trembling, he took a wooden box from his bosom, which contained the poison sac of the Demon Snake. He ruptured the sac, and the venom poured into his hand. As he circulated the Poison Dissolving Art, he felt the venom seep into his body through his palm, strand by strand. Strangely enough, after the toxin entered, he felt much more comfortable. After about an hour, he had absorbed all the venom from the sac into his body, and he suddenly felt invigorated, without the slightest discomfort.

He stood up, activated the Poison Dissolving Art, and pressed his hand lightly against a large tree nearby. Within moments, the leaves of the tree turned yellow and withered, falling one after another. A moment later, with several cracking sounds, countless dead branches fell to the ground, and the large tree withered and died. Seeing that his poison arts were so formidable, Yan Chihuo couldn't help but sigh inwardly; the toxicity within his body was perhaps too violent.

Ice Snow Valley was located to the north of the Qiong Mountain Range, relatively close to the Cloud Soaring Sect, but the climate was cold, and the snow never melted year-round, hence the name Ice Snow Valley. It was currently spring, and the weather outside the valley was still cold, let alone inside the valley itself.