"This is like planting flowers with care, and having them bloom all the same."
He had not expected that his earlier preparations would prove useful at this moment instead.
Could this be intuition at work in the unseen?
No longer needing to keep fussing over it, Lu Qing returned to his Dao Peak.
"Although I am still on my own Dao Peak, once the mission summons comes down, this token will be of great help to me."
The mission and the emerald-green token.
Both were now securely in his hands.
Next, he only needed to see where the slight disturbance appearing in the Calming Hexagram would manifest.
Less than seven days passed.
A piece of gossip began to spread through the Outer Academy.
"Have you heard? The Dao Academy has issued a major mission—the Demon-Slaying Mission."
"Those Demonic Cultivators are incredibly cunning, hiding in our Profound Heaven Domain every day. This time, the Dao Academy has truly put in the effort. It has something to do with what happened at the Servant Academy last time."
"What happened at the Servant Academy?"
"You know, that incident. An old devil from the Demonic Path broke in. After he was killed, they followed the clues and discovered a Demonic Path nest. They say it is their main headquarters. As long as it is wiped out, the Demonic Cultivators can only flee."
"And when they recruited new seedlings last time, 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 did not need to judge whether the rumors were true. Once he saw such news spreading, he knew.
The mission was about to be issued.
This wind had already begun to blow.
He just did not know how far this Demon-Slaying Mission would spread.
He was already at the complete ninth layer of the Qi Nourishment Realm, but Foundation Establishment was not 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 should not be so devoid of limits either.
The Demonic Path was weakening. That was what the Divination revealed.
Just as Lu Qing was wondering how long this mission would last.
[Profound Heaven Dao Academy announces to Inner and Outer Sect disciples: Demon-Slaying Mission]
[The Demonic Path has violated the Profound Heaven Dao Academy. For a long time, it has clung like parasites to the bone, difficult to eradicate completely. This time, numerous Elders have discovered the location of a Demonic Path nest...]
Lu Qing skipped over the mission description on the token and looked directly at the rewards section.
[Demon-Slaying Mission: The Dao Academy Treasury is open. Qi Nourishment Realm Demonic Cultivators are worth ten Contribution Points, Foundation Establishment Demonic Cultivators are worth 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 lineages shall take demon slaying as their core and increase the production of resources in all aspects...]
Lu Qing continued reading.
At last, he saw his own assignment.
[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 had not obtained that token for nothing.
He watched the lengthy list of Demon-Slaying Missions that had appeared in his disciple Jade Token, along with their rewards.
It was as though a scroll had unfurled before him, the countless rewards entering his sight in distinct categories.
Heavenly treasures and earthly materials, millennium-old divine medicines, ancient Immortal arts steeped in mist and time...
As he looked at those breathtaking rewards flashing past his eyes.
Even Lu Qing, who had thought nothing could truly shock him, could not help but feel a trace of longing.
"Sinful, sinful. My life is the most important thing."
He hurriedly withdrew his gaze.
He would sit as steady as Mount Tai. No matter how tempting those rewards were, they surely came with enormous risks.
Such a grand undertaking showed that that Minor Realm had to be incomparably important.
Under such circumstances, Lu Qing thought of the possibility that forces from other domains might interfere. If that happened, things would be hard to say.
The Dao Academy had missions to kill Demonic Cultivators all year round. Those Demonic Cultivators who could survive such prolonged encirclement and suppression—calling them ruthless and vicious would still be underestimating them.
Lu Qing's little body could not withstand such a tide.
Even with his cheat at his side, a trace of longing had arisen in him. There was no need to imagine how the other disciples would react.
Without a doubt.
This mission had dropped a boulder into both the Inner and Outer Sects.
The Inner Academy could be set aside for now. Its countless intricacies were not something Outer Academy disciples could see through.
But clearly, a frenzy instantly swept through the Outer Academy. Countless Outer Sect disciples either left their Cultivation Caves, rode the wind down from their Dao Peaks, or transformed into Hong Guang...
The Demon-Slaying Mission had officially been issued.
Within the Inner and Outer Sects, countless figures shot into the sky and headed for the Mission Hall to accept this mission.
Because it was of great importance, only a scant few people had learned of this information in advance.
In a place where molten lava churned and rolled, heat striking one in the face, a figure sat cross-legged atop a massive boulder. The aura around him seemed to merge with the lava beneath him.
"A Demon-Slaying Mission? Demonic Cultivators deserve to die."
That scarlet figure turned into a streak of light and instantly left the lava-filled land.
At an icy stone pool, a waterfall crashed down, striking a young man's body with ringing clangs.
He opened his eyes. His body shook, and the waterfall began to split around him.
"There is something I need."
Elsewhere, a black-clad young woman held a white bone whip, an Azure Snake coiling 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 high skies...
There were countless disciples in the Inner and Outer Academies.
At the Outer Academy's Mission Hall, this vast and boundless hall in Lu Qing's eyes was filled, wherever one looked, with innumerable figures moving back and forth.
The once expansive space had been packed full by 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 the various tasks related to this demon-slaying operation.
"Junior Brother on the mountain, are you home?"
A voice drifted from afar through the clouds.
Lu Qing opened the formation.
A man descended atop a White Crane.
He had a gaunt face and a faintly excited expression.
He spoke very quickly as well.
When he saw Lu Qing emerge.
"You are Lu Qing from the Spirit Plant Academy, correct?"
"That's right."
"Good. Your order mission has now received two additional slips. They are missions issued from above."
"This Demon-Slaying Mission has placed the resources needed for rewards upon the various academies and lineages. I will not go into the basic required quantities. If you cultivate superior products, you may keep the extra portion."
"Let us exchange our token auras first. My name is Guo Yongheng. You may consider me your senior brother. If anything comes up later, I will come by."
"If there is nothing you do not understand, I will be leaving first."
Guo Yongheng spoke, then hurriedly added, "If there is anything you do not understand later, 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 exceedingly busy. Seeing his impatient and hurried appearance.
It was clear that after this mission had been issued, every disciple aside from those in life-or-death seclusion would likely have to make a trip for this Demon-Slaying Mission.
He just did not know whether the Inner Academy would be the same.
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