The Sect's Decree
The Yin Locust Forest was no place to cultivate, after all. He had only wandered around its outskirts last night, yet Yin Soldiers had surrounded and attacked him, showing just how dangerous it was.
Spiritual Qi filled Xuanwei Monastery in a misty haze, ten times richer than in the wilderness.
The accumulated dharma coins were now turning into spiritual light in his sea of consciousness, drawing in Spiritual Qi and slowly refining it into mana.
After maintaining Thought Overclocking for so long last night, he had mastered the foundational chapter of the Bright Lamp Spirit Kindling Art and reached the grandmaster level.
He even suspected that he was the only person in all of Xuanwei Monastery who had cultivated the Bright Lamp Spirit Kindling Art to the grandmaster level.
A grandmaster-level cultivation technique did more than double his cultivation speed. His mana was far more refined than before, and the illusory great sun in his sea of consciousness had formed multiple halos that stripped away the dark mental impurities layer by layer, like the teeth of a saw.
At the edge of his sea of consciousness, the blazing halos carved through the once-hazy boundary inch by inch, gradually expanding into new territory.
The spiritual light seeped like threads into the depths of his sea of consciousness, and every breath drew a response from Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
Lin Xu's mind settled into stillness, as though he had become one with the great sun in his sea of consciousness, illuminating the clarity in the deepest reaches of his heart.
Time passed slowly. The first light of morning streamed through the lattice window onto the floor, then gradually slanted westward. Light and shadow shifted silently across the room, and in the blink of an eye, dusk had arrived.
When the moonlight dimmed and the first rays of morning once again fell across the windowsill, Lin Xu's eyes snapped open.
Name: Lin Xu Race: Human Identity: Outer disciple of Xuanwei Monastery Class: Daoist (level 2) Strength: 13 Agility: 12 Constitution: 12 Spirit: 17 Intelligence: 15 Charisma: 14 Health: 128/128 Mana: 28/28 Skills: Basic Meditation Method · white (grandmaster), Basic Fitness Technique · white (advanced), Talisman Drawing · cyan (intermediate), Light Mantra · cyan (grandmaster), Spirit Eye Technique · cyan (grandmaster), Wisdom Art · gold (beginner), Bright Lamp Spirit-Kindling Formula (foundational chapter) · gold (grandmaster) Talents: Focus (gold), Thought Overclocking (gold) Protectors: Yin Soldier squad leader ×1 Equipment: Ice Heart Jade Pendant, Dao Rhyme Bright Light Lamp, Soul-Nourishing Talisman
"Finally, level 2." Lin Xu looked at the class level on his character panel, his heart filled with joy.
His Spirit attribute had increased by one point. That was hardly surprising; the cultivation of a soul-refining method centered on the growth of Spirit in the first place.
More importantly, his maximum mana had increased by twenty points. That meant he could cast more spells in a battle and sustain himself longer.
Take his earlier battle in the Yin Locust Forest, for example. Casting a Candlelight Fire Line to bind a wandering soul, then pulling it into the Bright Light Lamp and refining it into lamp oil and dharma coins, consumed one point of mana in total.
He could now cast twenty-eight Candlelight Fire Lines in succession, which meant his ability to fight for extended periods had taken a leap forward.
Of course, thanks to the special nature of the Bright Lamp Spirit Kindling Art, as long as Xuanwei Monastery's disciples had a bright lamp in hand, mana was the last thing they lacked.
In an excellent mood, Lin Xu walked out of his room. It was already broad daylight.
Chewing on fragrant, faintly sweet spirit rice, he began considering where to go today.
This secluded cultivation session had consumed quite a lot, and he had very few dharma coins left. He had to find a way to earn a batch as soon as possible—but most of the wandering souls and wild ghosts in the Yin Locust Forest feared the light. They hid themselves during the day and only emerged when night fell.
"Senior brother, the sect has issued a decree: all disciples of Xuanwei Monastery must assemble at the Demon Subduing Hall immediately upon receiving the order, without delay. Those who disobey will be severely punished without exception," Zhang San, a menial worker beside him, said woodenly.
Lin Xu froze. "The Demon Subduing Hall? Has something major happened these past two days?"
Zhang San shook his head without a word and handed him a bronze command token.
Lin Xu frowned and took it. The token was cold to the touch. The three characters for "Demon Subduing Hall" were engraved on the front, while the four characters for "urgent as the law commands" were inscribed in seal script on the back, faintly emanating a trace of Sha Qi.
If he had a choice, he would never have anything to do with the Demon Subduing Hall at a time like this.
The Demon Subduing Hall was Xuanwei Monastery's central institution for driving out evil, suppressing Sha, and apprehending demons and other malevolent beings beyond the monastery. It could be called the sect's army, its war machine.
Unlike the Merit Hall, whose missions mainly involved driving out evil, praying for blessings, and gathering resources, the Demon Subduing Hall's chief duties were exterminating demons and evil beings and suppressing vicious Sha. Its operations often came with extremely high risks.
"Unfortunately, I don't have a choice." Lin Xu sighed softly and headed toward the Demon Subduing Hall with the token.
The outer sect's training ground was empty of cultivating disciples, with only menial workers sweeping fallen leaves with their heads lowered.
Lin Xu hurried past the buildings and soon arrived at the Demon Subduing Hall.
Complex evil-suppressing array patterns covered the hall's bluestone floor. A black iron incense burner stood in the center, its wisps of gray smoke rising without dispersing, as though connecting it to the netherworld.
Disciples hurried back and forth, solemnly collecting mission tokens or submitting battle reports.
Standing at the hall's entrance, Lin Xu felt the oppression and Sha Qi permeating the air, as though even breathing had become difficult.
He silently approached the mission counter, and a mission list immediately popped up:
[Patrol the borders of Peach Tree Village. Time limit: 1 day. Reward: 500 merit points] [Scout 20 li east of Peach Tree Village. Time limit: 1 day. Reward: 2,000 merit points] [Guard Peach Tree Village. Time limit: 1 week. Reward: 1,500 merit points]
Looking at the string of missions, Lin Xu frowned.
Without a doubt, Peach Tree Village was the key to the problem. If he wanted to find out what was going on, he would have to go there and take a look.
"Judging by the merit rewards, it's clear that outside the village is the most dangerous, and hiding inside is the safest."
He frowned at the mission list, wavering.
If he chose safety, he could hide in Peach Tree Village, but the price would be having to stay there without freedom for the coming week.
But if he went out on patrol...
Lin Xu sighed and accepted a mission.
[Patrol the borders of Peach Tree Village. Time limit: 1 day. Reward: 500 merit points]
If he had enough time, he naturally would have wanted to hide in Peach Tree Village too. But the one-month mission deadline was like a death warrant, forcing him to press forward.
The scouting mission was the most dangerous. In the Spirit Realm, let alone exploring twenty li, there was no telling how many dangers he might encounter in even two.
By comparison, the patrol mission was the best choice. It was relatively safer.
After taking the mission token, Lin Xu stopped by the nearby Scripture Pavilion and spent merit points and dharma coins to exchange for several spells, intending to cultivate them in Peach Tree Village.
He then made another trip to the Merit Hall. Besides exchanging for some cultivation resources, he also spent the "huge sum" of 100 merit points on a Soul-Nourishing Pagoda.
It was a wooden, pagoda-shaped magical artifact carved and refined from graded Soul-Nourishing Wood, and could be used to house a cultivator's protector spirits:
Item: Soul-Nourishing Pagoda Type: Magical artifact Grade: Cyan, common Effect: A dwelling place for soul bodies that can nourish spirit bodies Spirit bodies: 1/10 Description: Made from Yin Locust Wood and engraved with a Soul-Nourishing Talisman, it can absorb trace amounts of Spiritual Qi to nourish soul bodies
This magical artifact belonged to the same series as the Soul-Nourishing Talisman; both were used to house spirit bodies.
The wooden pagoda was about twenty centimeters tall. Hand-carved with seven stories, it was fairly exquisite in appearance.
With the Soul-Nourishing Pagoda in hand, however, Lin Xu did not go straight to Peach Tree Village. Instead, he took a detour toward the locust forest.
Even in daylight, an unshakable chill of Yin Qi lingered within the Yin Locust Forest. In fact, the Spirit Realm was entirely different from the physical universe: the vast majority of its lands were shrouded in eerie mist and rarely saw sunlight all year round.