Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Chapter 111: 111 Difficult Spiritual Rank Task

”Just a hundred points!”

But as soon as Yun Xiao saw the reward points for the first task, he already lost much of his interest because, according to Tan Yun, entering the first floor of Jade Pot Cave for one day required a hundred points, which seemed too little.

Of course, those Mortal Rank Low Level tasks that Yun Xiao dismissed were eagerly sought after by many newly joined Outer Disciples of the Jade Pot Sect. After all, a First Rank Vein Demon wasn’t too strong, and since the competition for Stone-Eating Rats in their territory wasn’t fierce and it didn’t involve going too far from the Sect, one might complete it within a day if lucky.

Watching those young cultivators in the Meridian Introduction Realm scrambling to take up the tasks, Yun Xiao shook his head, turned his gaze, and muttered to himself again: ”Mortal Rank Middle Level tasks, retrieve a Second Rank Vein Demon’s Unicorn Rhinoceros horn, completion of the task rewards: three hundred points!”

”Unicorn Rhinoceros?”

Upon seeing this Mortal Rank Middle Level task, Yun Xiao couldn’t help but turn back, just to see Tan Yun also looking at him, and both their eyes revealed a touch of frustration.

Because, during their time on the first floor of the Jade Pot Cave, Tan Yun had been driven into a dead-end by the Cao Family brothers, and had Yun Xiao not stepped in, she might never have left the Jade Pot Cave.

Although Yun Xiao’s intervention at that time was forceful, it certainly wasn’t enough to kill Cao Jun. Unfortunately, the guy had bad luck as he was blasted away by Yun Xiao and ended up falling right onto the sharp horn of a formidable Vein Demon.

This Vein Demon was precisely the Unicorn Rhinoceros. The reason Yun Xiao and Tan Yun felt frustrated was that if they knew about this task earlier, they would’ve killed that Unicorn Rhinoceros and cut off its horn to exchange for these three hundred points.

There are no ”what ifs” in this world, and since Yun Xiao and others didn’t know beforehand, all they could do was feel frustrated. However, they didn’t realize that not far from them, a young face suddenly turned ferocious—it was Cao Ju, the second son of the Cao Family.

At this moment, Cao Ju’s gaze was also fixed on the Mortal Rank Middle Level task, just like Yun Xiao and Tan Yun, but his heart was bleeding for a different reason. Compared to the pair, he could truly say that he barely missed obtaining the horn of the Unicorn Rhinoceros.

In the Jade Pot Cave, after Yun Xiao and Tan Yun killed Cao Jun, they hadn’t troubled Cao Ju any further, and since Cao Ju didn’t dare to confront Yun Xiao, all his pent-up anger was transferred onto the Unicorn Rhinoceros.

With Cao Ju’s strength at the Peak of Meridian Introduction Realm, it was naturally easy to kill a Second Rank Middle Level Unicorn Rhinoceros, and he was now regretfully on the verge of going crazy because he’d killed the Unicorn Rhinoceros but left after not finding its Demon Core.

He did not expect that the task now announced in the Task Hall would be to obtain the horn of that very Second Rank Vein Demon, the Unicorn Rhinoceros. This made Cao Ju so regretful he nearly stomped his feet in frustration. But who the hell would have known that it was the horn that was the real treasure? It was indeed an opportunity missed by a hair’s breadth.

The eldest son of the Cao Family by Cao Ju’s side naturally knew of the day’s events from his younger brother, so his mood was not much better—three hundred points had just slipped through their fingers.

Yun Xiao and Tan Yun, unaware of the others’ heartache, found such Mortal Rank Middle Level tasks beneath them. On the other hand, Tan Yun and the other two squad members seemed quite interested.

Not bothering with Tan Yun and the others taking up tasks, Yun Xiao’s gaze had already shifted to the section of Mortal Rank Advanced tasks, and upon looking, he shuddered inwardly.

”Mortal Rank Advanced task, find an intact ’Snake Saliva Ganoderma’ and bring it back to the Sect undamaged, task completion rewards points: eight hundred!”

Yun Xiao muttered to himself. As for this so-called Snake Saliva Ganoderma, with his knowledge, he was naturally no stranger to it—it was a special kind of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that had reached the Mortal Rank Advanced level.

However, this Snake Saliva Ganoderma was different from ordinary Lingzhi herbs because it contained a strong poison. If anyone below the Meridian Rushing Realm recklessly ingested it, they would be fatally poisoned within moments, and not even an Immortal could save them.

It was called Snake Saliva Ganoderma because it was generally found in places guarded by certain types or several species of highly poisonous snakes, and it was the saliva shed by these poisonous snakes that formed the highly toxic Ganoderma.

Snake Saliva Ganoderma wasn’t much use to a Medical Pulse Master, but for some Poison Vein Masters specializing in refining deadly poisons, it was an extremely rare and precious substance. The Poison Pill refined from Snake Saliva Ganoderma would result in a particularly ruthless death.

This Mortal Rank Advanced task offers as high as eight hundred points in rewards, but even so, there were very few cultivators daring enough to take up the task.

The risk involved in this task was apparent without saying—let alone the Snake Saliva Ganoderma, if one were bitten by the guardian poison snakes, they’d likely face a dire situation.

After looking through, Yun Xiao did not find any tasks suitable for himself, so he didn’t take any, as each person could only take up one task at a time, and were not allowed to take a second one until the first was completed.

Yun Xiao moved lightly, already making his way to the right half of this task wall, which was deserted, with not a single person in sight.

Because the left-hand side of the task wall listed only Mortal Rank tasks, while the tasks on the right were at least of Spiritual Rank, so when everyone in the hall saw Yun Xiao walk casually to the right side, they all turned their gaze towards him.

These gazes were filled with incomprehension and doubt, as well as disdain and ridicule. Perhaps in their minds, a lad who was merely at the Meridian Gathering Realm Early Stage, even if he had some tricks up his sleeve, surely wouldn’t dare take on a Spiritual Rank task, even if it were a low-level one.

Among these disciples newly admitted to the Outer Sect of the Jade Pot Sect, the highest among them was none other than the Third Prince, Xuan Zhi, who was in the Meridian Gathering Realm Middle Stage. Even he had never thought about taking on a low-level Spiritual Rank task, and they had never even set foot in the right side area of the task wall.

”Hmph, really think that with a bit of trickery, you’ve forgotten how much you weigh? I don’t believe for a second you’d dare take on a Spiritual Rank task,” said Xuan Zhi, who bore resentment towards Yun Xiao not of one day or two. Seeing everyone’s attention on the young man in coarse clothes, he couldn’t help but feel envious because such attention should belong to him, the Third Prince. Thus he couldn’t resist sneering out loud.

In Xuan Zhi’s view, Yun Xiao was merely trying to attract attention in such a public setting, perhaps to ultimately return to take on a Mortal Rank task obediently?

Tasks at the Jade Pot Sect Task Hall usually correspond to the disciples’ own cultivation. The three realms of Mortal Rank have correspondingly the low, middle, and high levels of tasks.

As for the low-level Spiritual Rank tasks, they correspond to one of the realms of the Spiritual Rank Three Realms, the Meridian Rushing Realm. Such level tasks are usually only dared taken by the exceptionally brilliant Inner Sect Disciples, and if an Outer Sect Disciple took them on, it would mean seeking death.

The reason these Outer Sect Disciples didn’t even look at these Spiritual Rank tasks was also that they knew Spiritual Rank tasks weren’t to be taken lightly. If they failed to complete a task, they would face severe penalties.

As everyone’s eyes were on Yun Xiao, he began reviewing the first low-level Spiritual Rank task, murmuring, ”Low-level Spiritual Rank task: bring back the corpse of a Fourth Rank Vein Demon ’Purple Fire Wolf’, task reward points: twelve hundred, penalty for task failure: two hundred points!”

”Penalty points even for task failure?”

When Yun Xiao read the last few words, his brows slightly furrowed, and he realized why no one even glanced at these Spiritual Rank tasks.

Most of those present were Outer Sect Disciples, their points typically earned from tasks. A middle-level Mortal Rank task’s reward is only three or four hundred points, and the penalty for failing was more than half of that. Who would risk it?

Furthermore, seeing the words ”Fourth Rank Vein Demon,” Yun Xiao couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head; even though he was the reincarnation of the Long Xiao Battle God with plenty of techniques and considerable experience, he wouldn’t dare say that he could face a Fourth Rank Vein Demon with only the cultivation of the Meridian Gathering Realm Early Stage.

A Fourth Rank Vein Demon was equivalent to the human cultivator’s Meridian Rushing Realm. Perhaps only those inner disciples of the Jade Pot Sect would dare to take on such tasks.

Regarding this first task, Yun Xiao didn’t linger, and he moved past it. Seeing his actions, Xuan Zhi, who had just sneered, felt even more certain that the lad was only showing off for attention.

Yun Xiao’s gaze swept over these low-level Spiritual Rank tasks, and the first three were beyond his ability to complete; either obtaining the corpse and Demon Core of a Fourth Rank Vein Demon or securing some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures guarded by a Fourth Rank Vein Demon, he really was powerless for such tasks.

”Hmm?”

When Yun Xiao scanned the fourth low-level Spiritual Rank task, his eyes lit up because it seemed to be the Yurong Mountain task that Tan Yun had mentioned.

”Low-level Spiritual Rank task: obtain a ’Fire Spirit Crystal’ from within the Yurong Volcano, task completion reward points: two thousand, penalty for task failure: five hundred points!”

Yun Xiao murmured to himself, but the slight brightness in his eyes quickly dimmed. This task was described too simply. What exactly was this so-called ”Fire Spirit Crystal”? Even the soul of the reincarnated Long Xiao Battle God was somewhat baffled.

In his past life, Yun Xiao was indeed a Holy Rank Meridian Refining Master, his knowledge far surpassing that of cultivators of the Hidden Dragon Continent, but this didn’t mean he knew every detail of all Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

The continent was full of a myriad of oddities, with many things being unique. Some things that exist on the Hidden Dragon Continent might not necessarily exist in the Jiulongxiao, and if one doesn’t see such things with their own eyes, no one can recognize them.

For example, this Fire Spirit Crystal; while it might not be the only item of its kind in the world, at least Yun Xiao had no memory of it. Since it’s classified as a low-level Spiritual Rank task, it implies that this task would not be too simple.