After the White Crane Boy left.
Lu Qing's mind tensed slightly. He was not particularly curious about the outside world, but he knew clearly that garrison missions had to be carried out.
He thought that if assignments were drawn by lot, he could avoid dangerous places. There was also the reverse line of thought: if the place he drew was neither perilous nor within a Calming Hexagram, Lu Qing felt there might very well be a fortuitous opportunity there—the legendary principle of Calamity Avoidance and seeking fortune.
Since word of this had reached his ears, naturally, he had to begin preparing.
He resumed his cultivation. Once he left the Dao Academy, there would not be such excellent spiritual energy conditions.
"The previous batch of garrison cultivators has returned."
"Ah, I wanted to stay within the sect gates. Looks like that won't be possible."
"It has nothing to do with us. Even if they send people out, they'll be disciples with high cultivation. This batch is made up of Foundation Establishment cultivators."
Quite a few Outer Academy disciples had caught wind of it, carrying more than a hint of eagerness to watch the excitement.
Most of them had not entered Foundation Establishment. If they were sent out, the dangers encountered on the road alone would be enough to make them suffer bitterly.
For the moment, however, no official notice had been issued from above.
Lu Qing cultivated every day.
At the same time, he planted a new round of spirit rice.
After the Minor Cloud Rain Technique reached perfection, the rain it summoned carried strands of spiritual energy within it.
The mission Lu Qing had accepted involved Phoenix Rice, a grade higher than ordinary spirit rice.
Scarlet as blood, plump as pearls.
It needed only one growth cycle to mature.
When Lu Qing emerged from seclusion again, the Spiritual Power of his Foundation Establishment Fourth Layer had become smooth and full. With a thought, he formed a hand seal. Clouds stirred, and rain fell.
He stood in the long corridor, gazing at the fine rain drifting down. Yet the moisture washing toward him was kept entirely beyond his robes.
With a sweep of his sleeve, Spiritual Power circulated, and the rain dispersed once more.
After the rain, clouds, mist, and green rainbows hung one after another across the sky.
The Phoenix Rice spread throughout the Spirit Fields, red as far as the eye could see.
Lu Qing gathered the rain away, then formed another hand seal. A force as sharp as Geng Metal swept forth.
The wind moved, and the spirit rice fell.
Lu Qing stored the spirit rice harvested this time in his storage bag.
Since it happened to be harvest day, Lu Qing cooked for himself. His Divine Consciousness stretched out, controlling every sort of cooking utensil as he prepared a bowl of spirit rice.
After eating the spirit rice, he carefully sensed the changes in his dantian.
"It is a little better than ordinary spirit rice, but for me now, the effect is very slight."
Lu Qing turned his Divine Consciousness inward to inspect himself.
This kind of spirit rice was of little use to someone like him, who had already achieved Foundation Establishment.
Lu Qing was not disappointed. He left Dao Peak directly and headed to the Spirit Plant Academy to submit the mission.
The buyer was in seclusion and could not conduct the transaction face-to-face, so Lu Qing entrusted it to the platform instead. Missions accepted within the Spirit Plant Academy had the academy itself as their guarantor, so there was no need to worry about anyone taking the money and running.
Lu Qing had not descended the mountain for quite some time. He traveled all the way by riding the wind.
Within the Dao Academy, there was no need to worry about great danger.
Lu Qing's figure transformed into a streak of Hong Guang and fled toward the distant sky.
The trip there and back took remarkably little time.
It was far faster than when he had yet to develop Divine Consciousness.
Lu Qing kept far too low a profile. As his Hong Guang streaked through the sky, several disciples raised their heads with envy in their eyes.
They too wished to fly through the air, but unfortunately, their aptitudes were poor, and they had been unable to reach Foundation Establishment for a long time.
After submitting this mission, Lu Qing received a little over two hundred Spirit Stones and decided to enter seclusion again.
He could leave the Dao Academy at any time and be sent to some unknown place. For now, naturally, he had to raise his cultivation first.
Lu Qing settled his mind and sensed the changes in the lake within his dantian. Within his Divine Consciousness, threads of Dao Rhyme wrapped around his Divine Soul, continuously drawing in the spiritual energy arriving from all directions with every breath.
In the blink of an eye, more than two months passed.
Until the Disciple Tokens of many disciples buzzed.
Inside the cultivation chamber, the door opened automatically. A youthful figure emerged from within.
Clad in green robes, he carried himself with calm grace.
Lu Qing slowly exhaled and counted on his fingers. "More than two months have passed again."
The length of this seclusion set a new record for him.
Perhaps it was due to his state of mind, or perhaps because his earlier study of the Golden Light Formation had improved his attainments in formations. The Gathering Formation he had set up anew was far more exquisite.
The dense spiritual energy here delighted Lu Qing. During these two-plus months of secluded cultivation, it allowed him to step directly into the Foundation Establishment Late Stage—the Eighth Layer of Foundation Establishment.
"It is finally coming."
His gaze shifted slightly. He had emerged from seclusion today because the garrison mission mentioned by the White Crane Boy had officially been issued.
He had not expected it to take so long for the matter to be finalized.
Lu Qing sent his Divine Consciousness into his token.
Outer Sect Foundation Establishment disciples are to proceed to the Mission Hall within the next three days to accept garrison missions. Disciples who have already completed this may disregard this message.
Lu Qing emerged from seclusion, once again concealing the aura around him.
At the Mission Hall of the Outer Academy, within the vast city, Lu Qing saw many streams of light like his own, all headed toward the Mission Hall.
He descended on the wind.
A disciple came forward. "Senior Brother, the garrison missions are over there."
Those capable of flying through the air today were basically all Foundation Establishment disciples.
There were people specifically assigned to provide Guidance here.
"Thank you."
However, Lu Qing was very familiar with this place, so he did not need that disciple's directions.
The disciple felt a momentary disappointment, but soon saw another streak of light descend. He hurried over at a jog.
Providing Guidance for missions came with rewards. It was not a task just anyone could take.
Lu Qing walked inside and discovered that quite a few people had gathered here.
Ahead stood a high platform made of white jade, upon which a purple-robed Elder sat.
"Immerse your mind and look here."
The purple-robed Elder held a lot-drawing cylinder in his hand. It appeared to contain only three slips.
But Lu Qing did not dwell on it. He looked at the cylinder and immersed his mind. Suddenly, the lot-drawing cylinder before him changed.
Countless wooden slips floated in front of him, like a wall. From top to bottom and left to right, they were arranged with perfect order. There were not even numbers on the slips; one could only judge by their sequence.
Beside them stood figures shrouded in light and shadow.
They were clearly disciples like himself.
Some wooden slips were selected, while others stood repeatedly pondering.
Clearly, with this scrambled method and no visible locations, no one knew where they would be stationed.
Lu Qing looked ahead intently.
All at once, a deadly Divination appeared in his mind.
But this time, Lu Qing remained exceedingly calm. Being a garrison cultivator was never going to be simple.
Those Demonic Cultivators had hidden for so long, like cockroaches that could not be stamped to death, stirring up trouble in certain places.
This time, the Demonic Path's nest had been destroyed. It was hard to say whether those Demonic Cultivators outside the nest would pass up the chance to kill Dao Academy garrison cultivators.
In Lu Qing's view, the garrison locations assigned to Foundation Establishment disciples might be where danger truly lay hidden.
Divinations appeared in his mind.
Lu Qing examined them one by one.
This time, there seemed to be rather too many possibilities.
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