"System, sign in!"
[Ding!] [Sign-in successful!] [Congratulations, host! You have obtained ten years of cultivation!] [Claim the sign-in reward now?]
"Cultivation again!"
Ye Xuan felt somewhat helpless. After a month of signing in, his cultivation had already reached the Foundation Establishment Peak Stage, and he could achieve Core Formation at any moment. Even his outward cultivation had broken through to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refinement.
However, Core Formation would bring a lightning tribulation, so Ye Xuan could not possibly do it inside the sect. If someone discovered him, the consequences would be serious.
Thus, Ye Xuan could only find an opportunity to leave the sect and return after breaking through to Golden Core.
"I won't claim the reward yet. I'll find a reason to leave the sect for some experience."
Ye Xuan ignored the system prompt and looked up at Zheng Huaiyuan before him. After considering his wording, he spoke.
"Master, I've spent several months cultivating in seclusion, and my cultivation has risen greatly. But I lack experience, so I'd like to leave the sect to gain some."
Zheng Huaiyuan pondered for a while. To be honest, he did not want Ye Xuan to leave the sect for experience at this time.
Gaining experience was always dangerous. Although this disciple of his had astonishing talent, he had yet to mature. If he suffered a setback during his travels, or even lost his life, neither was something Zheng Huaiyuan wanted to see.
But Zheng Huaiyuan had once heard that breaking through to Spirit Transformation required sufficient experience, experiencing the myriad facets of human life, from mortals to cultivators.
Thus, Zheng Huaiyuan hesitated. If he refused Ye Xuan and caused an obstacle to his eventual Spirit Transformation breakthrough, his fault would be grave.
"Master, don't worry. I won't go far. I'll just gain some experience near the Dao Sect."
Ye Xuan seemed to notice Zheng Huaiyuan's hesitation and hastily gave his assurance.
"All right, then. Be careful outside the sect. Take these Spirit Artifacts to protect yourself."
Zheng Huaiyuan reluctantly agreed, then took out several Spirit Artifacts.
"Keep all these Spirit Artifacts on you. They can help you withstand a blow from a Golden Core cultivator. If you encounter danger, crush this jade pendant, and I'll rush over immediately."
"Thank you, Master!"
Ye Xuan accepted the protective Spirit Artifacts and jade pendant. After listening to Zheng Huaiyuan explain some precautions and share his experience about traveling outside the sect, he left.
The mission hall.
Ye Xuan leisurely browsed the missions that required leaving the sect. There were many missions here, quite a few issued by sect stewards and elders, as well as some posted by mortal powers under the sect's protection.
The Azure Feather Dao Sect wielded great influence. The hundreds of thousands of li surrounding it all fell within its sphere of influence, with countless cities throughout, each garrisoned by Dao Sect disciples.
Lower-ranking sects and mortal powers under the Dao Sect's protection could post missions in their respective cities. Some missions with little urgency and low danger would then be passed on to the sect for its disciples to gain experience.
Ye Xuan was looking for precisely such a mission.
There were plenty of these missions, and Ye Xuan soon found a suitable one.
Ghosts in the mountain woods.
This mission had been reported by a small city ten thousand li east of the Azure Feather Dao Sect.
Recently, hunters had frequently encountered ghosts on Mount Qi, near Qi Village under Yu City's jurisdiction. Some hunters had even failed to return, but the disciples in Yu City had found nothing when they went to investigate.
The total mission reward was thirty low-grade Spirit Stones. Because of the distance and the unclear objective, no one had accepted it.
After accepting the mission, Ye Xuan planned to leave the sect immediately.
Until he claimed his previous sign-in reward, Ye Xuan could not sign in again.
Thus, leaving the sect a day earlier meant one more sign-in reward.
Amid Zheng Huaiyuan's repeated reminders and Ji Fenghe's resentful gaze, Ye Xuan boarded a flying shuttle departing the sect.
Missions outside the sect often involved traveling thousands or tens of thousands of li. If disciples had to reach their destinations on their own, the journey would take considerable time. For disciples with low cultivation, even the Spirit Stones spent on the round trip would be no small sum.
Thus, the Dao Sect had established flying shuttle stations in both the inner and outer sects. The outer sect's station held hundreds of flying shuttles.
Each flying shuttle was a hundred meters long, with some even reaching a thousand meters. The shuttles were arrayed in layers, forming a spectacular sight.
Ye Xuan presented his mission Jade Slip and boarded a flying shuttle without difficulty.
Sect disciples could ride the flying shuttles free of charge with a mission Jade Slip. Without one, they had to pay between one and ten low-grade Spirit Stones, depending on the distance to their destination.
A Golden Core elder sat at the front of the flying shuttle, resting with his eyes closed.
The flying shuttle had training rooms, lounges, and a social area.
Some disciples who knew one another gathered together and chatted excitedly. From the looks of it, this was their first time leaving the sect as well.
Besides some Qi Refinement disciples, Ye Xuan also saw several Foundation Establishment disciples.
Apart from taking one of the top places in the sect competition to enter the inner sect, outer sect disciples could only enter by breaking through to Foundation Establishment before the age of twenty.
The Foundation Establishment disciples aboard the flying shuttle looked to be in their thirties, so they remained outer sect disciples. Unless they someday broke through to Nascent Soul and became inner sect elders, they could not enter the inner sect.
It was the same for Ye Xuan's master. Although his cultivation had reached the Golden Core Peak, and he was one of the outer sect's foremost alchemy grandmasters, he could still only stay on Wood Spirit Peak in the outer sect. He was not qualified to enter the inner sect.
Several cultivators nodded politely to Ye Xuan when they saw him enter. A few female cultivators even invited him over to discuss the Dao, but Ye Xuan did not join them. He casually found an empty lounge and sat cross-legged in meditation.
At this moment, the galaxy within Ye Xuan's Dantian had grown even vaster, the starlight scattered through it particularly dazzling. Its expansion had reached its limit, and the next step could only be a qualitative transformation.
When cultivators broke through to Golden Core, a Golden Core Tribulation would descend. Generally, the greater their talent, the stronger their Golden Core Tribulation.
Yet Ye Xuan was not worried at all. He now had a very clear understanding of his own strength.
The Golden Core elder aboard the flying shuttle was only at the Mid Golden Core Stage, and Ye Xuan could sense only the faintest trace of a threat from him.
Over the past month, Ye Xuan had not only practiced the Cultivation Method Zheng Huaiyuan had given him, but had also secretly practiced the Azure Feather Swordsmanship he had previously obtained from signing in.
With his innate sword heart, Ye Xuan had already mastered four levels of Azure Feather Swordsmanship. Coupled with the dense Spiritual Qi of the Chaos Dao Scripture, Ye Xuan felt that taking on a Mid Golden Core Stage cultivator head-on would not be much of a problem. Thus, he was not worried at all about a Golden Core Tribulation that could be overcome at the Foundation Establishment Peak Stage.
Before long, the flying shuttle slowly began to move.
Ye Xuan looked out the window and saw the outer sect's towering mountains beneath his feet. A circular passage opened in the sect-protecting formation for the flying shuttle to pass through.
After leaving the sect, the flying shuttle turned into a streak of light and vanished into the sky, speeding into the distance.
"This flying speed is almost on par with my Wind Thunder Step at full power. But my Wind Thunder Step can't last nearly as long."
Ye Xuan gazed toward the Azure Feather Dao Sect's mountain gates, which were already out of sight, feeling more carefree than ever before. This was his first time leaving the sect since joining it.