Yellow-Grade High-Tier Task

After making his fortune from Spirit Rice shells, Dong Lin no longer felt much pressure when purchasing these basic resources.

"Earning money myself is still hard work." Dong Lin looked at the bag of Spirit Rice seeds in his hand, still somewhat hesitant.

"Maybe I should become a full-time pest exterminator in the future. Farming is still too exhausting."

Dong Lin was caught between advancing and retreating. Although he had bought everything, he still hesitated.

"I'll try planting for another half year."

Having just harvested half a storage ring's worth of Spirit Rice, Dong Lin felt rather accomplished. In the end, he decided not to give up just yet.

After all, planting Spirit Rice also counted as building experience. If he obtained any spirit herbs or immortal grasses in the future, he would be able to cultivate them better.

After the Hunting Festival, the once-lively sect gradually quieted down again.

Most disciples who could not leave for training immersed themselves in cultivation.

For Heaven Sect, that might not have been a bad thing.

"Cultivation, cultivation—I still have to cultivate first before I can act more effectively."

For the next month, Dong Lin immersed himself in cultivation.

Every day, he continuously raised his cultivation. Finally, on the twenty-eighth day, he reached the Perfected Late Qi Refining Stage.

All that remained was to achieve Spirit Vein Resonance before stepping into the Qi Refining Peak.

Spirit Vein Resonance referred to the period after the Dantian had reached perfection in the Late Qi Refining Stage.

One had to bring one's divine sense, Dantian, and the circulation of qi through the meridians into an almost perfectly synchronized state.

Achieving true instant activation with a single thought would greatly increase casting speed in battle and the power of condensed spells.

The Qi Refining Peak was precisely a stage of integration and refinement for one's cultivation throughout the entire Qi Refining Stage.

Two more days passed. Dong Lin sat atop the roof on that hill outside the sect.

As the last trace of impurity was expelled from his body, Dong Lin's cultivation of Dust-Cleansing Body Purification officially came to an end.

Next, he could use purple qi to temper his Dantian and meridians, laying the foundation for forging his Dao Foundation.

At this moment, Dong Lin's body was like glazed crystal. His organs, viscera, and meridians were transparent, and the mysteries of his fleshly body were completely clear in his heart.

From this point onward, Dong Lin could inspect his body at will, identify deficiencies and make up for them, strengthen his foundation, and improve the speed and quality of his cultivation.

"Immortals and Daoists are not born divine; gathering essence and accumulating qi is how one becomes real. Soon, soon—I'm not far from Foundation Establishment."

Dong Lin watched immortal cranes soar high amid the clouds and mist, appearing and vanishing by turns. It felt as though he had returned to the day he first arrived here.

"Time truly flows too quickly when one cultivates."

Thinking back on the past year, Dong Lin was filled with emotion.

Arriving at the Merit Affairs Hall, Dong Lin, who had not chosen to hand in his Spirit Rice, planned to accept some tasks there.

He wanted to hurry and complete the required mandatory tasks so he could cultivate in peace for the following years.

"Are the task requirements for personal disciples really this high?"

At present, there was temporarily little in the sect's Immortal Arts Hall that could help Dong Lin.

However, the disciple tasks did not force him to complete further study assignments at the Immortal Arts Hall.

Of course, aside from Dong Lin, other disciples still flocked to the Immortal Arts Hall, a place that freely transmitted teachings and gave lectures.

Most people encountered obstacles during cultivation, and within the Immortal Arts Hall,

great cultivators regularly discussed scriptures and the Dao, which could resolve many subtle problems encountered during cultivation.

Unlike outer disciples, who were required to complete five Yellow-Grade Tasks every five years, as a personal disciple,

Dong Lin had to complete three Profound-Grade Tasks or ten Yellow-Grade High-Tier Tasks within five years.

Profound-Grade Tasks corresponded to the Foundation Establishment Realm. With Dong Lin's current strength, they were still beyond his capabilities.

Dong Lin could only search through the Merit Affairs Hall for Yellow-Grade High-Tier Tasks.

Fortunately, the first year counted as an apprenticeship, and the time limit would only begin counting from this year onward.

"Taking on two tasks a year is actually manageable. Maybe I'll break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm someday and complete the tasks with ease."

Dong Lin thought.

The previous Spirit Field pest extermination task was only halfway complete, but it was merely a Yellow-Grade Mid-Tier Task and did not count.

"How could I have known back then that I'd be promoted to a true disciple?"

Dong Lin shook his head helplessly, somewhat regretfully thinking of the Yellow-Grade Mid-Tier Task in his hands that still had half a year left.

Now that the disciples were all within the sect, there were noticeably fewer tasks available to choose from in the Merit Affairs Hall.

Many of the easier tasks had been snatched up from the beginning by those who had planned ahead.

There were still three Yellow-Grade High-Tier Tasks left. Dong Lin felt they were fairly suitable.

One required going to the Pearl Pool in the Dawnsource Secret Realm to hunt a first-rank peak Spirit Clam. It was a team task.

Once three people had accepted it, the Merit Affairs Hall would dispatch a disciple to guide the hunt.

The second was a time-limited task. It said that an abnormality had appeared in a town within the mountain gate and required disciples to investigate.

The entire mountain gate encompassed over a hundred thousand square li of land, including several mortal villages and towns scattered around its edges.

Before the mountain was sealed, imperial officials had managed them. But after the sealing, those inside could not leave, and those outside could not enter.

These trivial matters had consequently fallen upon Heaven Sect as well. Heaven Sect needed to send people to resolve the strange incidents occurring in those villages and towns.

This mainly depended on whether the sect's upper ranks cared about the lives of mortals. Since the Merit Affairs Hall had issued a time-limited task,

it showed that the upper ranks still extended some care to the mortals within the mountain range. They were not simply standing by with folded arms, high above the world.

The third was an array task, requiring disciples to assist in setting up an array. It did not demand much knowledge of arrays from the disciples.

Dong Lin felt he could take this opportunity to learn some related knowledge about arrays.

Without much hesitation, Dong Lin accepted all three tasks.

Of the two tasks, one had not yet gathered enough people, while the other required the array to be set up twenty days later. The time had not yet come.

Now, only the time-limited town investigation remained, and he needed to set off at once.

The town lay over two hundred li from the outer sect. Even if Dong Lin traveled at full speed, it would likely take more than two hours.

It was already close to noon. Dong Lin did not want to delay until tomorrow, so he prepared to leave for the town immediately.

"An abnormality has appeared—what kind of abnormality could it be?"

Dong Lin was somewhat curious. "How does a little abnormality appearing in a mortal town count as a Yellow-Grade High-Tier Task?"

Through his Sect Jade Token, Dong Lin asked his fourth senior brother, Lu Heng, about the possible abnormal situations in those village and town tasks.

"It could be a hidden exotic beast causing trouble, or it could be an evil cultivator up to mischief.

"It is also not impossible for supernatural incidents to occur.

"Since it has been listed as a time-limited Yellow-Grade High-Tier Task, there must naturally be a reason for it. You might even run into a supernatural entity.

"However, since it is Yellow-Grade, the supernatural entity should not be too powerful.

"Junior Brother, you can go take a look first.

"Supernatural entities exist in this world in the form of spiritual bodies and possess certain strange, special abilities.

"Although they are immune to most physical attacks, once we cultivators find their true bodies, we can still easily eliminate them.

"Especially cultivators of Lightning Arts like us—we are particularly effective against such wandering souls and ghosts."

"Alright. Many thanks, Senior Brother."

After his senior brother's analysis, Dong Lin had a clearer understanding. He stopped overthinking and raced toward the town.