In the outer disciples' area, outside the communal quarters, a dilapidated house stood in the cold wind. It looked like a latrine, battered and leaking drafts from every side.
Qingfeng kept his head lowered as he hurried all the way back from the Mission Hall.
The surrounding disciples scattered the moment they saw him, as if they had encountered the plague. At least no one tried to bully him.
Yet many times, looks and gossip hurt more deeply than physical pain.
Qingfeng had long grown used to it. He pulled open the tottering door and slipped inside.
This old, drafty house was the only place in the sacred land where he could feel warmth.
Sitting on the crude wooden bed, Qingfeng stared blankly at the wall.
No one knew what he was thinking.
And no one noticed his heart.
A heart that should have been bright red had already turned half-black and half-red!
From the black half, strands of black tentacles like fleshy sprouts slowly eroded the other bright-red half.
"Father, Mother, Sister, Brother-in-law, Master... Qingfeng misses you."
Qingfeng buried his head in the blanket and sobbed softly.
He did not dare cry too loudly. Someone would scold him.
After a while, a knock suddenly sounded outside the door, accompanied by a gentle voice.
"Knock, knock, knock."
"Is Qingfeng here?"
"Who is it?"
Qingfeng raised his head and looked blankly toward the door.
He was surprised that someone in the sacred land would actually come looking for him.
Carefully walking to the door, Qingfeng opened a narrow crack and peered through it.
It was actually that senior brother wearing a bronze mask.
Qingfeng immediately pulled the door open. Looking up at the senior brother, who was half a head taller than him, he became flustered.
"S-Senior Brother, why are you here?"
Qingfeng felt a little uneasy. He even wondered—
Had Senior Brother learned of his identity and come specifically to punish him?
Jun Wangyou had no idea what Qingfeng was thinking. Smiling faintly, he asked, "Did you accept the mission?"
"Ah? I-I did."
"Let me see."
Jun Wangyou held out his hand.
Qingfeng eagerly took out his mission token.
It seemed he had already thought of something. His face flushed red with excitement.
When Jun Wangyou took the token, a piece of information appeared in his mind.
Mission: Patrol and guard the spirit mine for two days. Reward upon completion: 5 contribution points.
He handed the token back.
Jun Wangyou smiled gently. "We leave tomorrow morning. Wait for me at the mountain gate."
"Ah? O-Okay."
Qingfeng nodded blankly, as though he could not believe this enormous surprise. He was somewhat dazed.
By the time he came back to his senses, Jun Wangyou had already turned and left.
Qingfeng hurriedly shouted excitedly, "Thank you, Senior Brother! Take care, Senior Brother! I'll definitely be there on time!"
Jun Wangyou did not turn back. He merely raised a hand and waved.
Watching Jun Wangyou's departing figure, Qingfeng's little face was filled with joy.
This was the happiest moment of his life.
No one noticed that, at that moment, some of the tentacles in the black half of Qingfeng's heart had disappeared.
The many outer disciples who saw this scene were all dumbfounded.
Their eyes were not blind. Although Jun Wangyou wore a mask—
They could still sense the incomparably noble aura around him.
At the very least, they had never felt such a noble aura from some inner disciples or ordinary elders.
They had never seen anyone with such an exalted bearing.
Quite a few quick-witted disciples had already guessed that Jun Wangyou might be a True Disciple.
Even if he was not, he was still a great figure beyond their imagination.
"Did Qingfeng, that jinx, have smoke rising from his ancestors' graves?"
Many disciples found it hard to believe.
Some of them even began talking to Qingfeng, trying to pry information about Jun Wangyou out of him.
Naturally, Qingfeng had nothing to tell them.
Afterward, those disciples who had spoken with Qingfeng—
Either tripped while walking on level ground, fell into pits, or suffered disrupted breathing while cultivating. All kinds of misfortune befell them.
For a time, Qingfeng's reputation as a jinx became even more deserved.
The next day.
Jun Wangyou arrived at the mountain gate early, only to find that Qingfeng had been waiting there even before him.
Qingfeng wore a green Daoist robe, his hair tied in a Daoist topknot. He was delicate-looking, with clear, bright eyes, and carried a bamboo basket on his back.
He had no travel bag. He had woven the bamboo basket himself.
"Senior Brother, I'm over here!"
The moment Qingfeng saw Jun Wangyou, he hurriedly waved.
Jun Wangyou smiled and walked over, the bronze mask still covering his face.
Then, the two descended the mountain together.
Jun Wangyou did not fly on his sword. He walked with Qingfeng instead.
Along the way, Qingfeng asked, "Senior Brother, why did you form a team with me? None of them are willing to team up with me."
"Because I'm handsome, and my fate is tough," Jun Wangyou said.
"I see. My mother always said that kind-hearted people are handsome. Senior Brother must be handsome too," Qingfeng said innocently.
"Your mother was right," Jun Wangyou said with a smile.
"Senior Brother, why do you always wear a mask?" Qingfeng asked again.
"Because your senior brother is too handsome. I'm afraid I'd enchant everyone, so I wear a mask."
"So that's how it is. Senior Brother is so kind-hearted. Senior Brother must be the most handsome person in the world."
Qingfeng was simple-minded and did not doubt Jun Wangyou's words in the slightest.
Jun Wangyou smiled as well. "I like hearing that. Say it often from now on."
"Mhm, mhm." Qingfeng nodded obediently.
The two of them, one older and one younger, gradually disappeared into the morning sunlight.
The older one was gentle as jade, with a tranquil and peaceful bearing. Give him a book, and he would be a refined scholar; give him a folding fan, and he would be an elegant young gentleman.
The younger one obediently followed behind him, constantly asking innocent questions.
After traveling more than a thousand li, the two finally arrived at the spirit mine.
The spirit mine was located deep in the mountains, with a stockade built around its outskirts.
A large number of laborers and guards lived in the stockade.
There were also some Heavenly Dao Sacred Land disciples who had come to complete missions.
Jun Wangyou and Qingfeng stood quietly beneath two towering watchtowers.
Holding his disciple token, Qingfeng called up to the watchtower, "Qingfeng, outer disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sacred Land, reporting for duty."
The two guards on watch in the tower immediately said, "So it's an immortal master from the sacred land. Please come in, please come in."
"Open the gate!"
"Whoosh!"
The gate, more than ten meters tall, slowly opened, revealing the scene within.
Rows of pointed wooden houses had been built along the mountainside.
The wooden houses at the foot of the mountain were the crudest, while those at the summit were the most luxurious, practically like palaces.
That was where the Heavenly Dao Sacred Land disciples reported in and stayed.
On the other side of the mountain, the sounds of countless laborers toiling away and stone striking iron could faintly be heard.
Passing straight through the layers of buildings—
The two arrived at the mountaintop. After registering with an administrative elder stationed there—
They officially began their two-day patrol and guard mission.
Qingfeng did not continue following Jun Wangyou. He went off to patrol on his own.
He was very clever and knew that Jun Wangyou had only come to help him.
He would not ask for too much. He was already very satisfied.
At least, he now knew that aside from his father, mother, sister, brother-in-law, and master, there were still people in this world willing to get close to him.
Jun Wangyou was not idle either. He had long been curious about spirit mines.
After all, this thing was a true mountain of gold and silver.
No cultivator could resist it.
The spirit mine lay within an earth vein. When Jun Wangyou arrived at the site—
He saw a massive pit stretching more than a thousand meters downward.
Tens of thousands of laborers were mining with all their strength.
More than a hundred armed guards patrolled and kept watch around the area.
Every now and then, one or two sacred land disciples drifted lazily past.
This spirit mine lay within the territory of the Heavenly Dao Sacred Land and was considered a small spirit mine.
Therefore, this so-called mission was basically free contribution points.
There was no difficulty at all. It had been specially prepared for newcomers like Qingfeng.
Jun Wangyou jumped down into the spirit mine and headed deeper inside. No fool tried to stop him along the way.
Jun Wangyou smoothly reached the deepest part of the spirit mine.
He could sense that the spiritual energy in the air was extremely dense.
This meant the spirit mine still contained a considerable number of spirit stones.
At that moment, Jun Wangyou raised a brow and took out the Azure Sky Pure Spirit Bottle.
The instant it appeared, the Azure Sky Pure Spirit Bottle began to tremble.
Then Jun Wangyou's eyes widened as he watched the Azure Sky Pure Spirit Bottle suck dry all the spiritual energy in the mine in an instant!
"Holy shit!"
Jun Wangyou was stunned and hurriedly looked around.
He found that no one had noticed him.
Jun Wangyou quickly put away the Azure Sky Pure Spirit Bottle.
He was a little panicked now.
They would not make him compensate for this, would they?
He could not afford it.
"Damn it, I'd better run first."
Jun Wangyou vanished from the spot, turning into a streak of light as he returned to the Heavenly Dao Sacred Land.
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