The Wind Rises, a Grand Undertaking

"Talk about planting flowers with care, and watching them bloom."

He hadn't expected his earlier preparations to prove useful at this moment instead.

Could this be the intuition that existed somewhere beyond the unseen?

No need to keep fussing over it. Lu Qing returned to his Dao Peak.

"Though I'm still on my own Dao Peak, once the mission summons comes down, this token will be able to help me greatly."

The mission and the emerald-green token.

Both were securely in his hands.

Next, he only needed to see where the slight disturbance that had appeared in the Calming Hexagram would manifest.

Less than seven days passed.

A rumor began spreading through the Outer Academy.

"Have you heard? The Dao Academy has issued a major mission—the Demon-Slaying Mission."

"Those demonic cultivators are crafty beyond measure, hiding in our Profound Heaven Domain every day. The Dao Academy is finally putting in the effort this time. It's because of what happened at the Servant Academy last time."

"What happened at the Servant Academy?"

"You know, that thing last time. An old demon from the Demonic Path broke in. After he was killed, they followed the vine to find a Demonic Path nest. They say it's their main base. Once it's wiped out, the demonic cultivators will have no choice but to flee."

"And during the last recruitment of new seedlings, demonic cultivators launched attacks everywhere. The Dao Academy wants to wipe them out in one fell swoop now."

This jade slip had now become Lu Qing's source of information.

He didn't need to judge whether the rumors were true. Once he saw these messages spreading, he knew.

The mission was about to be issued.

The wind had already begun to blow.

He just didn't know how far this Demon-Slaying Mission would ultimately spread.

He was already at the perfected ninth level of the Qi Nourishment Realm, but Foundation Establishment wasn't so easy to enter.

With strength like his, even if he went onto the battlefield, he could only serve as cannon fodder.

The Dao Academy likely wouldn't be so devoid of limits.

The Demonic Path was weakening. That was what the hexagram revealed.

Just as Lu Qing was wondering how long this mission would last—

[Profound Heaven Dao Academy Announcement to Inner and Outer Academy Disciples: Demon-Slaying Mission]

[The Demonic Path has offended the Profound Heaven Dao Academy. For a long time, it has clung like maggots to the bone, difficult to uproot completely. This time, many elders have discovered the location of a Demonic Path nest...]

Lu Qing skimmed over the mission description on the token and looked instead at the rewards section.

[The Demon-Slaying Mission opens the Dao Academy Treasury. A Qi Nourishment Realm demonic cultivator earns ten contribution points; a Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator earns twenty contribution points; and so on, with no upper limit.]

[Additionally, those who accept the mission may receive one portion of Spirit Stones free of charge.]

[The various academies and branches shall focus on demon slaying and increase the output of all kinds of resources...]

Lu Qing continued reading.

At last, he found the mission meant for him.

[Spirit Plant Academy disciples may accept Spirit Plant supply missions...]

This was it.

Lu Qing could now be considered a disciple of the Spirit Plant Academy.

He hadn't obtained that token for nothing.

He looked at the long list of Demon-Slaying Missions that had appeared on his disciple jade token, along with their rewards.

It was as if a scroll had unfurled before him, countless rewards entering his sight in their respective categories.

Heavenly treasures, thousand-year divine herbs, ancient Immortal arts steeped in lingering radiance...

Seeing those breathtaking rewards flash past in a glance—

Even Lu Qing, who had thought there was nothing left worth being awed by, couldn't help but feel a trace of longing.

"Sinful, sinful. My life is the most important thing."

He quickly withdrew his gaze.

He sat as steady as Mount Tai. No matter how tempting those rewards were, they surely came with immense risks.

Judging by such grand expenditure, that Minor Realm had to be incomparably important.

Under such circumstances, Lu Qing thought of one possibility: if forces from other domains intervened, things would become hard to predict.

The Dao Academy had always maintained missions to kill demonic cultivators. Any demonic cultivator who had survived such long-term encirclement and suppression could hardly be described as merely ruthless and vicious.

Lu Qing's little body couldn't withstand such a tide.

Even with his cheat to rely on, a trace of desire had arisen in him. There was no need to imagine how the other disciples would act.

Without a doubt.

This mission had cast a massive boulder into both the Inner and Outer Academies.

The Inner Academy could be set aside for now. Its many hidden currents weren't something Outer Academy disciples could see through.

But in an instant, a storm swept through the Outer Academy. Countless Outer Academy disciples either left their Cultivation Caves, rode the wind from their Dao Peaks, or turned into Hong Guang...

The Demon-Slaying Mission had officially been issued.

Within the Inner and Outer Academies, countless figures shot into the sky and headed for the Mission Hall to accept the mission.

Because the matter was of great importance, only a scant few people had been able to learn of it in advance.

In a place where magma churned and rolled, scorching heat rushing straight at one's face, a figure sat cross-legged atop a giant boulder. His aura seemed to have fused with the magma beneath him.

"A Demon-Slaying Mission? Demonic cultivators deserve death."

The crimson figure became a streak of light and instantly left the sea of magma.

At a cold, gloomy stone pool, a waterfall poured down and battered a young man's body, producing clear clanging sounds.

He opened his eyes. With a shudder of his body, the waterfall began splitting around him.

"It has something I need."

Elsewhere, a black-clad young woman held a bone whip in her hand, an Azure Snake coiled around her arm. "Demon slaying? Interesting."

From hidden Cultivation Caves, people emerged from seclusion; from sheer cliffs, someone transformed into a bird and fled into the sky...

There were simply too many disciples in the Inner and Outer Academies.

At the Outer Academy Mission Hall, the vast and boundless hall in Lu Qing's eyes was now filled with countless figures wherever one looked, coming and going without end.

The originally immense space had been packed full with dense crowds.

None of this had anything to do with Lu Qing.

He had already accepted the Spirit Plant Academy's mission. The Outer Academy Mission Hall only offered all manner of missions related to this demon-slaying campaign.

"Junior Brother Shan, are you home?"

A voice drifted over from afar through the clouds.

Lu Qing opened the formation.

A man descended while riding a White Crane.

His face was thin and gaunt, and there was a faint excitement in his expression.

He spoke very quickly as well.

When he saw Lu Qing emerge—

"You're Lu Qing of the Spirit Plant Academy, right?"

"That's right."

"Good. Your order mission has two more slips now. They're missions issued from above."

The arriving senior brother spoke rapidly, but every word was clear.

"For this Demon-Slaying Mission, the resources and rewards needed have fallen upon the various academies and branches. I won't go over the required base amounts. If you cultivate high-quality plants, you may keep the extra portion."

"Let's exchange token auras first. My name is Guo Yongheng. You can consider me your senior brother. If anything comes up later, I'll come by once."

"If there's nothing you don't understand, I'll be leaving first."

As Guo Yongheng spoke, he hurriedly added, "If there's anything you don't understand afterward, just leave me a message through the token."

"No problem. Go ahead and get busy, Senior Brother Guo."

After handing the two jade slips to Lu Qing, Senior Brother Guo, riding the White Crane, hurriedly leaped onto its back and headed for another Dao Peak.

Lu Qing watched him depart.

He shook his head slightly. Senior Brother Guo Yongheng was truly busy. Judging by his impatient, hurried appearance—

Once this mission had been issued, every disciple aside from those at a critical life-or-death juncture would likely have to take a trip for this Demon-Slaying Mission.

He just didn't know whether the Inner Academy would be the same.