Special Assignment

The black-robed man agreed at once, then began rummaging through his Storage Bag.

A few breaths later, he took out a roll of bamboo slips and handed it to Lin Mo. "There are many kinds of aura-concealing arts. This one is the Turtle Breath Art, ranked high-grade yellow tier. Its teachings extend all the way to earth tier, and it is very well suited to cultivators in Qi Refining and the Foundation Establishment Realm."

The Turtle Breath Art.

Lin Mo had seen this aura-concealing art in the Sect Affairs Hall.

It cost eighteen contribution points, enough to rival the price of a cultivation method.

These bamboo slips were a means of passing down teachings. One only needed to pour spiritual energy into them to obtain the cultivation instructions, making them extremely convenient.

Lin Mo had once asked Liu Xianzong whether, since cultivation methods were so expensive, he could buy one, learn it, and then sell it at a lower price.

Liu Xianzong had laughed heartily and said he had entertained similar ideas back in the day.

But simple as these bamboo slips appeared, they were actually mass-produced by Golden Core True Lords who had awakened their spiritual sense.

When a lower-realm cultivator touched the slips with spiritual energy, a strand of spiritual sense would activate. It would destroy itself after being read, making repeated use impossible.

As for methods above golden core, they were precious and even less likely to be shown to others freely.

Most were passed down orally within bloodlines or from master to disciple.

After exchanging the mutated Fire Spirit Fruit for the cultivation method and the Turtle Breath Art, Lin Mo traded for another fifty drops of spirit liquid, spending all the spirit plants he had accumulated.

Then he returned to his own courtyard.

Recently, Lin Mo's speed of absorbing spiritual energy had improved again, allowing his cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds.

At midnight, he sat cross-legged on his bed and wrapped the cultivation method's bamboo slips in spiritual energy.

In an instant, countless ancient trees seemed to flash before his eyes and vanish. A flood of spiritual-sense information followed, leaving Lin Mo dizzy and his head throbbing.

He sat for quite some time before digesting all the information. When he looked at the bamboo slips again, they had already turned to drifting ash.

Lin Mo opened his eyes, joy gleaming within his slightly surprised gaze.

Cultivation methods also had elemental affinities, corresponding to a cultivator's spiritual roots.

This method was called the Evergreen Art, not the Jade Art Liu Xianzong had mentioned.

After cultivating this method, the spiritual energy within one's body would flow long and unbroken, and one's perception of wood spirits would become sharper. One could even command nearby wood spirits against an enemy, catching them by surprise.

No wonder the black-robed man had said this method was particularly suitable for Spirit Plant Farmers.

The Evergreen Art belonged to the wood element. Since Lin Mo possessed spiritual roots of all five elements, he could naturally cultivate it.

"Heh, that's the one good thing about this trash five-spirit root. When it comes to five-element cultivation methods, it isn't picky about meat or vegetables-it takes everything."

Grinning, Lin Mo activated the Evergreen Art and circulated spiritual energy through his body.

Before cultivating a method, spiritual energy could be described as a lump of raw iron. It followed the principle that enough brute force could send even a brick flying, doing little more than strengthening the body.

Cultivating a method was like putting that lump of spiritual-energy iron into a furnace and hammering it repeatedly, ultimately forging a divine weapon.

As for spells, they were the techniques for wielding that divine weapon.

Only with these things could one be considered a truly qualified cultivator.

After cultivating the Evergreen Art, Lin Mo felt an indescribable joy and immersed himself completely in cultivation.

Now I finally have a little power to protect myself.

By the time he finished cultivating, daylight shone brightly.

He stretched, felt another breakthrough in the spiritual energy within his body, and immediately felt clearheaded and refreshed.

He walked into the backyard. The spirit plants there had already begun growing, though the only two mutated spirit plants showed no change.

The Fire Spirit Fruit that had mutated not long ago showed no signs of activity without nourishment from the enhanced spirit liquid, giving Lin Mo something of a headache.

The gourd needed twenty-four hours to achieve its greatest effect. Naturally, Lin Mo would not waste that time, so he began cultivating the Evergreen Art again.

To Lin Mo's pleasant surprise, his comprehension seemed quite good.

He did not know whether it was because of the Treasure Gourd, but in any case, he grasped both the Everlasting Spring Art and the Turtle Breath Art very quickly.

In just one night, he had forged his spiritual energy into a sword blank. He had also gained an initial grasp of the Turtle Breath Art and, along the way, practiced a minor spell he had picked up called the Fireball Art.

Over the past few days, he had heard from Liu Xianzong that Li Yibo, who had clashed with him before, had been stripped of his cultivation and expelled from the sect.

Perhaps still resentful, Li Yibo had continued spewing filthy words as he left. The disciples escorting him had broken one of his legs and thrown him into a mountain ravine to live or die on his own.

"He courted death himself. Serves him right!"

Liu Xianzong had been clearly gloating when he said that.

Lin Mo had felt thoroughly pleased as well.

Back when Lin Mo was still a Servant Disciple, that fellow had humiliated him many times. Even after Lin Mo became an Outer Sect Disciple, he had refused to stop, ultimately meeting this end.

Consider it ridding the Servant Disciples' Courtyard of a menace.

That was what Lin Mo thought.

He strolled over to the Spirit Plant Courtyard, but instead of Liu Xianzong, he saw an unfamiliar young man standing at the edge of the field.

Qin Sang Sang stood beside the man with a nervous expression, hunching in on herself and trying her best to make her presence as small as possible.

People rarely came to visit the spirit fields.

Lin Mo approached and cupped his hands. "May I ask what brings you here, Senior Brother?"

The young man was tall and powerfully built, resembling a savage bear at first glance. His face was dark, so it was little wonder Qin Sang Sang was somewhat afraid of him.

As Lin Mo approached, a trace of a smile appeared on his rather fierce face. He returned the greeting. "Are you Junior Brother Lin Mo? I'm Zhou Sheng, a disciple of the Mission Hall in the Sect Affairs Hall. I've come to deliver a special assignment to you. Please come with me at once."

Most sect assignments were posted in the Sect Affairs Hall for disciples to choose from. They were generally not too difficult and were quickly claimed.

But there were also special assignments with generous rewards. Quite a few elders in the Sect Affairs Hall would seize the opportunity for personal gain, steering those contribution points into their own disciples' hands as smoothly as pushing a boat along with the current.

How could a windfall like this possibly land in my lap? The people in the Sect Affairs Hall must have misunderstood my relationship with Senior Brother Zhou Ge...

Lin Mo's expression remained unchanged as he pondered inwardly.

He had only met Senior Brother Zhou Ge once, yet had gained quite a few benefits because of it. Although Senior Brother Zhou Ge knew nothing about this, the debt of favor Lin Mo owed him kept growing.

"What's wrong? Are you unwilling, Junior Brother Lin?"

Zhou Sheng had clearly noticed Lin Mo's hesitation. He leaned toward his ear and said with a quiet laugh, "Don't worry. I've already looked over the assignment. It's very simple. You'll get a hundred contribution points just for running an errand. Others couldn't beg for an opportunity like this even in their dreams!"

A hundred contribution points?

Lin Mo froze for a moment. He had not expected the reward for this so-called special assignment to be so meager.

It was only equivalent to a single day of his income!

If he used the Treasure Gourd to accelerate the growth of spirit plants and went all out, earning a hundred contribution points would take about a day.

He simply kept a low profile and spent a little more time to avoid exposing his secrets.

By that calculation, this errand really was not worthwhile.

"Thank you for bringing word, Senior Brother."

Lin Mo did not refuse outright. After all, while a hundred contribution points was somewhat little to him, it was certainly a considerable sum for an ordinary Outer Sect Disciple.

He considered it for a moment, then cupped his hands again. "I have a presumptuous request."

"May I ask exactly where this errand will take me? Would you be able to tell me, Senior Brother Zhou?"