Qi Yan!
Ever since news of the sect master taking a disciple had spread over the past two or three days, no name in the Heavenly Evolution Sect had been hotter.
Especially among the outer disciples whose spiritual roots were similarly inadequate, their eyes practically reddened with jealousy. Why, when they were all equally trash, could he become the sect master's direct disciple while they had to squander their years in the outer sect?
Even the inner disciples had their complaints. Who wouldn't want to become the sect master's direct disciple? Why had the spot gone to some Qi Refinement cultivator getting on in years?
Worse still, the moment he joined, he stepped over everyone in seniority. Never mind the disciples-just look at this attendant-
"Ah, forgive this disciple's slip of the tongue!" The attendant scrambled to his feet. "Disciple Zhang Wang greets Granduncle-Master Qi."
Then all the attendants stood and bowed in unison. "Greetings, Granduncle-Master Qi."
Anyone who held a sect post had at least spent years in the inner sect, and every last one of them addressed him as "Granduncle-Master."
Seeing the other disciples reluctantly preparing to bow as well, Qi Yan interrupted. "Anyone who comes here is a disciple collecting a mission. There's no granduncle-master here."
"Uh..." Zhang Wang wiped away his cold sweat. "Well... why would you come to the External Affairs Hall for this sort of... this sort of low-paying mission...?"
Qi Yan said, "It removes a threat to an affiliated clan of our sect and gives me experience. What do you mean, low-paying?"
"Uh..."
"Is the registration done?"
"Yes, yes." Zhang Wang respectfully handed over his life token. "Please keep this safe, Granduncle-Master."
Qi Yan took back his life token and strode away.
Only after Qi Yan had been gone a good while did sighs of relief rise one after another. "Good grief... he really came to take a mission..."
"Why would he work himself to death doing missions? The main peak couldn't possibly short him on resources. Even a drop of dew slipping through Great-Granduncle-Master Jiang's fingers would probably pay for ten of these missions."
"And he's taking one above his level. Why bother...?"
"Pfft, obviously because he has magic treasures. He's the sect master's direct disciple. Wouldn't any little thing he took out be enough to fight above his level?"
"Magic treasures? Probably not." A Foundation Establishment disciple murmured, "With his cultivation, he can't even use magic tools, only talismans at most. But the sect master doesn't cultivate talismans, and neither does Uncle-Master Jiang. I feel he probably really doesn't have many trump cards. He's really going to put himself on the line."
Another Foundation Establishment disciple whispered, "Senior Brother Jing, do you think...?"
A hint of interest appeared on Senior Brother Jing's face. "Without a doubt, it's for the rumors these past two days."
"To clear his reputation as someone who got in through connections? Prove he's qualified?"
"That alone would be nothing... but if it's for Uncle-Master Jiang's reputation, this fellow is rather interesting." Senior Brother Jing laughed and patted the junior brother beside him on the shoulder. "Why speculate? There's no way the course of this mission will stay hidden. Word will spread before long, and we'll know soon enough."
His junior brother smiled. "If it really is for those reasons, he might even enter the inner sect tournament."
"Ha... then I look forward to it."
The Heavenly Evolution Sect did not involve itself in struggles for sect supremacy or competition over resources, rather like a group content to amuse itself in its own little patch. But Mu Xunzhen's cultivation was there for all to see, making it an undeniable colossus and regional overlord within several thousand li.
The Heavenly Evolution Sect occupied many mineral deposits in this region, including spirit stone veins, and was wealthy and self-sufficient. Most surrounding towns and cities were also administered by people under the sect, who protected the region and managed the people's livelihoods. Some city lords were sect disciples directly assigned there, while others belonged to clans that received support because one of their members had joined the sect.
Naturally, the Heavenly Evolution Sect was responsible for the safety of residents within its sphere of influence. When residents encountered trouble, they reported it to the city lord. The city lord handled anything within their ability and reported anything beyond it to the sect. This was where sect missions came from.
The sect's powerful cultivators had no spare time to handle these trifling Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment matters, so they left them to disciples, who earned sect rewards and gained experience in the process. Sometimes, when there were no problems to solve, the sect would even deliberately create minor problems to ensure the disciples had enough missions.
Of course, there were also plenty of internal missions, such as tending an elder's flowers or fields in exchange for payment from the elder. That was another arrangement, best left aside for now.
The vast majority of righteous sects followed this pattern, with only minor differences that never strayed from the underlying principle. Even Little Crybaby's time in the Wondrous God Sect had been the same. It was extremely common.
Setting off now, Qi Yan felt very much like Little Crybaby when she had gone to kill that giant python. Even the distance might be similar. Back then, Little Crybaby had deliberately chosen somewhere far away to stall for time, and this so-called Changshui City was equally distant, practically on the edge of the Heavenly Evolution Sect's territory. All that running left Qi Yan's balls aching terribly.
Not being able to fly really wouldn't do...
After several arduous days of travel, he finally reached Changshui City. It was larger than his own Anding City, with quite a few Qi Refinement cultivators.
The Ye Clan's head was a cultivator at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement. He had no clansmen in the Heavenly Evolution Sect; his clan was merely a so-called "affiliate" that offered resources as tribute in exchange for help when trouble arose... In fact, the Qi Clan had once enjoyed a sect's protection in much the same way, but it was no longer of any use.
Seeing Qi Yan arrive, the Ye Clan head's eyes widened. "Exalted immortal... the fourth layer of Qi Refinement? Might you have an elder accompanying you?"
You couldn't even fucking beat me. What are you doing here?
Qi Yan said mildly, "Why don't you look again?"
As he spoke, his aura steadily grew.
During those days of running to Changshui City, he had silently broken through the fifth-layer bottleneck where he had been stuck.
The Ye Clan head was thoroughly dumbfounded. He had truly never seen someone who was at the fourth layer one moment, then reached the fifth in the middle of a conversation. Who knew whether he might become a Foundation Establishment cultivator if they kept talking? At the sight, he bent a little lower. "Your subordinate Ye Jingshan greets the exalted immortal. Please come inside."
Someone chuckled in the reception hall behind him. "This man really is getting more and more interesting... hee... let's step aside for now. An exalted immortal, after all."
Qi Yan followed Ye Jingshan toward the reception hall and saw people leaving it, rounding the corridor.
A skirt hem and flowing sleeves flashed past the corridor.
"Were you entertaining guests, Clan Head?" Qi Yan asked casually.
"Yes, a clan that recently relocated sent people to discuss some trade matters. They only just arrived as well." Ye Jingshan smiled ingratiatingly. "Since an exalted immortal from the sect has arrived, naturally they'll wait in the side hall first."
A recently relocated clan... Qi Yan paused, Yun Ranyi's peerless face flashing through his mind. "Which clan?"
"A clan surnamed Yun. Apparently, they recently migrated here from another continent. Their young lady came this time."
Qi Yan stopped.
Ye Jingshan glanced back in puzzlement. "Exalted immortal?"
"Oh, nothing." Qi Yan followed him into the reception hall as though nothing had happened, and someone immediately served tea. He skimmed the froth on his tea, his thoughts racing.
Why would Yun Ranyi be here...? The Yun Clan was a Spirit Transformation clan, after all. If they wanted to establish connections, shouldn't they approach sects or clans on the same level? Even approaching the Heavenly Evolution Sect would make some sense. Why get involved with a Qi Refinement clan in a little city like this...?
This was a little too much of a coincidence. Could the Ye Clan's spirit creature problem be connected to them too?
He did not know that an even greater coincidence was Jiang Jinyue wanting to investigate Yun Ranyi, only for Yun Ranyi not to be home at all. Right now, Jiang Jinyue was staring at a group of old men sitting cross-legged in cultivation at the Yun Clan, nearly suffering internal injuries from sheer frustration.
In any case, this was not the time to discuss the Yun Clan with the Ye Clan. Qi Yan sipped his tea and asked without betraying anything, "Could you explain the specifics of your clan's spirit creature problem?"
Ye Jingshan sighed. "Here's what happened. Our Ye Clan has always passed down the craft of breeding spirit pets. None are particularly high-end, but they're quite good at odd jobs like helping with planting or controlling the fire for pill refinement. But starting this year, for some unknown reason, all the young pets hatching from our spirit pet eggs have been listless, as though they were already malnourished inside the eggs."
Qi Yan understood. "So you suspect some spirit creature is causing trouble and stealing the energy from the spirit pet eggs?"
"Yes. Yet the eggs we sold to others were fine, while those we hatched ourselves developed problems. That further proved there was a spirit creature in our home. We set many traps to catch it, but ultimately caught nothing, while the newly hatched spirit pets remained the same, with no improvement. With no other choice, we could only seek help from the sect."
"In other words, you've never fought it."
"That's right. We can't even find the source."
"Because you're at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement yourself, you thought someone at the sixth layer or above was needed, preferably late-stage?"
"Yes."
Qi Yan nearly cursed his mother. Wasn't this a fucking setup? You haven't even seen your opponent, yet you're drawing conclusions at random.
Who told you an opponent a fifth-layer cultivator couldn't handle had to be at the sixth or seventh layer? There's no upper limit to this sort of thing!
Still... judging by the Ye Clan's specialty, Yun Ranyi had most likely come specifically to buy spirit pets. After all, dedicated spirit pet breeders were indeed uncommon. That could actually explain why she was here.
And if Yun Ranyi was here, did that mean Xiao Yuan was too? Could he perhaps borrow their strength?
Qi Yan asked another question. "How long has this been happening?"
"A month."
A month ago, Yun Ranyi had still been on Tianliang Continent. It had nothing to do with her. Qi Yan breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "I have a rough understanding of the situation now."
Ye Jingshan brightened. "Then shall we go take a look at our incubation room, exalted immortal? Or inspect the spirit pet enclosures first?"
Qi Yan said with perfect seriousness, "Let's first go see the young lady in the side hall."
Ye Jingshan: "?"
"Well, since we've both come here, there must be some fate between us. I'm sure Miss Yun thinks so too." As he spoke, Qi Yan went straight out and headed toward the side hall.
Ye Jingshan hurried after him, his head practically splitting. What was wrong with this exalted immortal?
Although the Yun Clan was a newly relocated power without established roots, they still had a Spirit Transformation cultivator backing them. He didn't even know what Miss Yun looked like and already wanted to flirt with her. Just how desperate was he?
This was bad. If Miss Yun refused to see him, what would he do, caught between the Heavenly Evolution Sect and the Yun Clan? His home might be torn apart before the spirit creature problem was even solved.
As he trembled with apprehension, he saw Qi Yan knock on the side hall door. "I've come to work for you, miss. Are you still hiring?"
Ye Jingshan: "??"
Yun Ranyi's soft laughter came from inside. "One slap a month as wages. Will you do it?"
Qi Yan: "Yes."
Ye Jingshan: "???"
As those words fell, the door creaked open, revealing the little maid's round face. She gave Qi Yan a disdainful glance, then stepped aside.
Qi Yan slipped inside, and the door slammed shut, leaving Ye Jingshan, the master of the house, outside.
Ye Jingshan stood there blankly, momentarily unsure whose home this was.