Chapter 794: High Efficiency

Lu Yang wondered how the Artifact Refining Peak could possibly earn money for the Dao Seeking Sect through patent fees if they all thought this way. He believed he was, after all, a person with a firm Dao heart. Despite being surrounded by a group of lunatics, he remained undisturbed by them; his thoughts were perfectly normal.

Lu Yang's inner thoughts earned the Immortal Fairy's approving nod. She pointed at the five elders, declaring, "Yes, yes, yes, they're all insane. Only our minds are normal."

"Look at the rubbish the Blazing Sun Sect is researching. They're not fully utilizing solar energy at all," she continued. "If it were me, I'd simply push the sun towards the far north, melt the glaciers there, revive the vegetation, and create a pleasant climate."

Lu Yang thought to himself, 'Fairy, are you trying to turn the far north into a vast sea?'

When Lu Yang returned to Skygate Peak, preparing to hand over the tribute from the Nine Nether Sect to his Eldest Senior Sister, he happened to find her speaking with Meng Jingzhou.

"Junior Brother is here too. Perfect! You two are clever; this task is suitable for you both to handle," Yun Zhi called Lu Yang over. Originally, Yun Zhi had intended for Lu Yang to go, but at that time, he was busy misleading two sect leaders at a barbecue restaurant. Yun Zhi had no choice but to settle for the next best option and called Meng Jingzhou, who had just emerged from seclusion.

"Eldest Senior Sister, what's the matter?"

"As you know, our Grand Patriarch has been with our sect for a year now, and he has successfully cultivated to the Foundation Establishment stage," Yun Zhi explained. "According to regulations, after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, every disciple must complete two missions annually."

"Originally, I thought the Grand Patriarch wouldn't need to do sect missions; he had enough experience in his youth. But the Grand Patriarch is very stubborn. He insisted he couldn't be treated specially and had to do the missions. A few days ago, he just completed his first mission, and something unexpected happened during it."

"What kind of accident happened?" Lu Yang asked curiously.

"He got lost."

Lu Yang:

"I was worried he might encounter another danger, so I wanted to find someone clever to accompany him."

"So that's how it is." Lu Yang nodded; this indeed suited the Grand Patriarch's character. "Eldest Senior Sister, don't worry, leave it to me and Old Meng. We'll make sure to protect the Grand Patriarch!"

Meng Jingzhou then thought of another problem: "However, the Grand Patriarch doesn't seem to be very willing to have people follow him. If we follow him secretly and only act when he's in danger, won't we expose ourselves?"

Yun Zhi's decision was also based on the fact that both Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had interacted with the Grand Patriarch before. Even if they were discovered, the Grand Patriarch wouldn't say much due to his pride.

Lu Yang thought for a moment: "This problem isn't difficult to solve. We just need to add something to the list of exchangeable items in the Mission Hall."

"Before setting off, I should exchange for some life-saving items," the Immortal Daoist murmured to himself. Although his face still held a youthful innocence, his worldly experience was profound; he wouldn't depart unprepared. However, he didn't have spare spirit stones, so he couldn't exchange for anything too good.

"Let's see, a Rejuvenation Pill, quickly restores spiritual power, 120 contribution points. A bit expensive." He scanned the list. "Heartbreak Poison, a highly toxic item, 10 contribution points... Wait, why does the sect sell poison, and why is it so cheap? Three Yang Power Pill. Consuming it grants the power of Three Yangs, significantly boosting combat strength for a short period with no side effects after use, 100 contribution points."

The Immortal Daoist pondered. It seemed like a temporary combat strength-enhancing pill, which would be very helpful to him, and the price was suitable. "This is it."

The Immortal Daoist, now prepared, set off for his destination. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou followed secretly. Both were now at the late Nascent Soul stage, while the Immortal Daoist was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, making it impossible for him to discover them.

"Speaking of which, what mission did the Grand Patriarch receive?" Lu Yang asked Meng Jingzhou.

"It's about a small village called Wangjia Village in Jizhou, located deep within a remote mountain forest. It takes two hours to walk to the town at the foot of the mountain. Several disappearances have occurred in Wangjia Village; all the missing individuals are young, able-bodied men. It seems they were disoriented and lured away by something. The government also sent people to investigate, but unfortunately, they found nothing. Wangjia Village is surrounded by mountains, making it difficult to locate the missing individuals even with spiritual sense spread out. Furthermore, there are no powerful cultivators in that area; it's already impressive if one can cultivate spiritual sense, let alone rely on it to find people. The senior brother in the Mission Hall inferred from the intelligence that these disappearances were likely caused by a demon creature that had secretly entered Daxia, and its strength had not yet reached the Golden Core stage."

Although the Immortal Daoist was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, he possessed combat strength comparable to an early Golden Core cultivator. It could be said that no one at the Foundation Establishment stage would be stronger than him; this was the advantage of re-cultivating after dispersing one's cultivation.

Lu Yang mused, "This mission sounds like it will take a long time. The Grand Patriarch will be quite busy."

"The missing individuals are all young, able-bodied men. I wonder if the creature is after their virile essence for blood sacrifice or their physiques for dual cultivation."

Meng Jingzhou nodded: "That demon creature acts cautiously, making the missing individuals leave the village willingly, which leaves almost no clues. And after so much time has passed, clues will be even harder to find."

The two of them studied the mission. If it were them, they wouldn't have any better ideas either. They could only start by interviewing people and investigating what the missing individuals had in common, then disguise themselves as ordinary people, hoping the demon creature would abduct them. This entire process would take at least half a month. This didn't even account for the round trip.

The Immortal Daoist sat on the flying boat, his eyes closed in meditation, constantly deducing how to complete this mission. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, meanwhile, secretly flew behind, almost getting discovered by the captain. If they had been discovered, they would surely have been suspected of being rogue cultivators attempting to rob the flying boat. Fortunately, both were experienced individuals, and no mishaps occurred.

The Immortal Daoist calculated that they were nearing the destination. He opened his umbrella, leaped into the depths of the mountain forest, then released his right hand, and the umbrella instantly folded and flew back to the flying boat with a whoosh.

"This should be near Wangjia Village," the Immortal Daoist murmured to himself, looking around. The area was deserted, making him feel a little apprehensive. "It should be, right?"

Following the mission description and his own intuition, he walked deeper into the mountains. After walking for about an hour, he finally saw a place where people lived. It was a cave, and at its entrance, there was an extinguished campfire that seemed to have gone out less than a day ago. The Immortal Daoist entered the cave, heard sounds from within, happily quickened his steps, and then loudly asked: "Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to Wangjia Village?"

He paused, astonished by what he saw inside the cave. Inside the cave was an alluring woman, completely naked, flicking a snake-like tongue, entwined with several muscular men.

The alluring woman saw the Immortal Daoist and froze as well. "A cultivator? How did you find this place?"