Chapter 35: Herb Field Mission

Medicinal Field Mission (Third Update, Please Bookmark)

Of course, going to the Outer Affairs Hall was not merely for the monthly stipend of five Spirit Stones and two Lesser Qi-Nourishing Pills.

Hu Donghan remembered that when he had first looked through the Outer Affairs Hall's tasks, there seemed to have been one involving the care of a medicinal field. But at the time, Hu Donghan had not possessed the slightest confidence, so naturally he had not dared casually accept a task.

When he arrived at the Outer Affairs Hall, Hu Donghan's Enforcement Hall disciple robes still drew a great deal of attention.

The monthly stipend area was as "deserted" as ever. After Hu Donghan went over, the two cultivators responsible for distributing the monthly stipends were still the same two Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators. However, these two Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators no longer recognized Hu Donghan at all. The moment they opened their mouths, they called him "Senior Brother," their tone exceedingly warm. Sure enough, clothes made the man, and saddles made the horse. If Hu Donghan had still been dressed as before in ordinary outer disciple robes, with only Qi Refining First Layer cultivation, these two Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators' noses would probably have been pointed at the sky.

After collecting his monthly stipend, Hu Donghan headed to the task area.

When the outer disciples in the task area saw someone wearing Enforcement Hall disciple robes approach, they scattered as though fleeing a plague god.

Hu Donghan did not mind. He picked up a jade talisman for searching and began looking through it. After searching for over a minute, delight appeared on Hu Donghan's face. Sure enough, he found the task he wanted within the jade slip.

"Overlapping Peaks main-peak disciple task—guarding a medicinal field. The Little Green Terrace medicinal field within Overlapping Peaks requires a disciple of this peak to oversee it, with two hundred medicinal herbs to be handed in each month. Task rewards will be determined by the grade of the medicinal herbs submitted; any surplus medicinal herbs may be handled by the disciple personally."

"If the task cannot be completed, it will be deemed damage to this peak's property, and Enforcement Hall disciples will administer punishment."

For cultivators lacking cultivation resources, this task's rewards were exceedingly tempting. Submitting two hundred medicinal herbs earned rewards, and any excess herbs could even be disposed of personally. The generous rewards were enough to make one drool. Of course, the "punishment" clause attached at the end was also quite severe. It existed to guard against those who knew nothing about tending medicinal herbs yet wanted to try their luck and fish in troubled waters. Such punishment was enough to make them recoil at the sight of it.

Damaging public property within the sect was generally punished rather severely. In most cases, disciples had to compensate for the property, then endure a whipping as well. In short, once a task could not be completed, it was truly a disaster for most cultivators.

Of course, for Hu Donghan, who possessed the Medicine Spirit Ghost, this was no problem at all.

"I have the Medicine Spirit Ghost, and it possesses an innate sensitivity toward medicinal herbs. It can definitely care for them properly. Moreover, the Medicine Spirit Ghost's talent for cultivating medicinal herbs is astonishing. It can double their growth rate, and with focused care, it can even accelerate it thirtyfold. Handing in two hundred medicinal herbs is no difficulty for me whatsoever. Besides, when I was reading the sect jade slips' introduction to Ghost Wraiths these past two days, I unexpectedly discovered a Ghost Wraith called the Medicine Fragrance Ghost. This Medicine Fragrance Ghost can also speed up the growth of medicinal herbs, though by less than twenty percent. Naturally, it is vastly inferior to the Medicine Spirit Ghost, but if anyone notices that the herbs in the medicinal field are growing faster, it can serve as an excellent excuse..." Delighted, Hu Donghan accepted the task.

Hu Donghan selected the task, then went to report it to the deacon.

After the Foundation Establishment Realm deacon saw the task Hu Donghan had chosen, he glanced again at the Enforcement Hall disciple robes Hu Donghan wore. With an odd expression, he said, "Um... Senior Brother, there is naturally no problem if you wish to accept the Little Green Terrace medicinal field task. However, this task must be reported to the Peak Master."

"What? This task even has to be reported to the Peak Master?" Hu Donghan's expression darkened at those words—he was merely accepting a task, yet he actually had to report it to the Peak Master? Could someone be putting obstacles in his way behind the scenes again?

Seeing Hu Donghan's darkened face, the deacon hurriedly explained, "Senior Brother, all tasks related to medicinal fields, whether guarding them, weeding them, removing pests, or anything else connected to medicinal fields, must be reported to the Peak Master! This is not directed at Senior Brother alone; everyone is treated the same. If Senior Brother does not believe me, you may ask the others."

Hu Donghan immediately turned his gaze toward the other deacons. Sure enough, once they met Hu Donghan's eyes, each of them nodded. Evidently, no one truly was targeting Hu Donghan in this matter.

Only then did Hu Donghan say, "Fine. Since that is the case, how am I supposed to report to the Peak Master?"

The deacon promptly replied, "Since Senior Brother has accepted the task, I am willing to accompany Senior Brother there. I presume Senior Brother must have some confidence to dare accept this task. The Ancestor should not refuse."

Hu Donghan nodded indifferently and had the deacon lead the way.

With a fawning smile, the deacon led the way ahead. After walking for some distance, they entered a valley, then turned into a cave. After walking for half a quarter-hour, they arrived at a gloomy mass graveyard thick with yin energy.

Along the way, the deacon finally explained to Hu Donghan why medicinal field tasks could only be carried out by disciples of the same peak, and why they had to be reported to the Ancestor.

Within the Yin Soul Sect, although conflicts were rarely seen in ordinary times, that did not mean there were none; they simply remained out of sight. Different peaks, for instance, were actually in competition with one another. After the Yin Soul Sect was established, the Sect Law Code was strictly enforced. Open disputes between sect disciples disappeared, but gradually turned into covert sabotage. In the early days, the management of each peak's medicinal fields was not as strict as it was now. Once a task was posted, it was a sect task that any disciple could accept.

Later, no one knew which bastard came up with such a vicious scheme: they deliberately accepted medicinal field tasks from rival peaks, then wreaked havoc in the fields, pulling up all the medicinal herbs and planting wild grass instead. In short, once the task ended, not a single medicinal herb was handed over, while the medicinal field itself had been utterly destroyed. At the time, medicinal field tasks were not like they were now. If damage occurred, Spirit Stones would not be confiscated and the Enforcement Hall would not intervene; it would merely be treated as task failure, with no punishment at all. Thus, once this method appeared, countless people from various peaks immediately copied it. For a time, the medicinal fields throughout the Yin Soul Sect were almost completely ruined!

One had to know that although many medicinal herbs could be gathered in the wild, common medicinal herbs were still easier for the sect to cultivate itself, and could be conveniently allocated when needed. After such a mess erupted within the sect, the direct result was a drastic reduction in the sect's stockpile of medicinal herbs. There was even a shortage of materials for refining cultivation pills for low-level Qi Refining Stage disciples.

(End of Chapter)