Chapter 3
With the date of the inner sect mission assignments approaching, disciples in seclusion were awakened, and those training outside used various means to rush back to the sect. The Hehuan Sect was unusually lively these days. A large market had formed in the northeast corner of the sword practice arena, where inner and outer disciples set up stalls to sell pills and weapons, preparing for their missions. Disciples constantly entered and exited the Treasure Pavilion, exchanging admiration points for pills. The Scripture Pavilion, which housed various secret techniques and books, was even more bustling.
In contrast, Heng Yu appeared rather relaxed. She spent her days in the courtyard, taking pills to heal her injuries. Once her meridians had mostly recovered, she rose from her meditation mat, picked up her sword, and flew to the sword practice arena.
The market was bustling. An outer disciple was selling something resembling candied hawthorns. The bright red spiritual fruits emitted a faint spiritual aura.
Heng Yu tossed over a piece of low-grade spirit stone. “Two skewers of candied hawthorns, please.”
The outer disciple grinned, accepting the spirit stone. Before reaching for the candied hawthorns, he glanced up at Heng Yu, his heart skipping a beat. “How can I let Lord Luo spend money? If Lord Luo likes them, just say the word.” He was about to return the spirit stone to Heng Yu.
“It’s fine.”
Heng Yu joined two fingers and made a slicing motion in the air. Two skewers of candied hawthorns flew into her hand.
As she walked into the market, Heng Yu ate the candied hawthorns. Sweet and sour, the taste wasn’t much different from those sold in the mortal world. Most Hehuan Sect disciples cultivated charm arts, so whether it was intentional or not during recruitment, the sect seemed to select only good-looking disciples. Along the way, Heng Yu noticed that all the disciples were above average in appearance.
Her face was familiar to the other disciples. After walking a few meters, at least ten disciples had given her flirtatious glances.
“The Hehuan Sect disciples are a bit too enthusiastic,” Heng Yu murmured.
To be honest, she liked enthusiastic people. But this kind of enthusiasm that only wanted to strip her bare… she felt a little overwhelmed, ahem.
Deeper into the market, Heng Yu saw some things that piqued her interest. She walked to a stall and pointed at a sachet. “What’s inside this sachet?”
The stall owner looked about seventeen or eighteen, with a youthful, doll-like face. Not exceptionally beautiful, but cute.
Heng Yu’s question made the doll-faced stall owner blush slightly, their ears turning pink. “In reply to Lord Luo, it’s powder made from ground Hehuan flowers.”
Hehuan flower powder had aphrodisiac properties.
Heng Yu raised an eyebrow and pointed to another jade bottle. “And what’s in this?”
“It’s colorless and odorless Fish Water.”
“Fish Water?”
The stall owner’s ears practically burned. “It’s also an aphrodisiac, but it only works on those below Foundation Establishment.”
Heng Yu looked around. The stall wasn’t large, with sachets and jade bottles taking up most of the space. As for the other items… they were all aphrodisiacs.
Looking at the stall owner again, Heng Yu felt she understood. The shyness and hesitation were all an act : ) This type, seemingly hesitant yet alluring, was more likely to arouse the desire for conquest in some female cultivators.
She was quite curious.
Heng Yu picked up the jade bottle containing Fish Water and played with it. “How effective is this aphrodisiac?”
“Even a disciple at the peak of Qi Refining would have no resistance.”
Heng Yu raised an eyebrow, opened the bottle, and took a closer look. She couldn’t see anything special about it.
“Give me one of each item on your stall.”
These things were useless to her, but it wouldn’t hurt to have some for fun. As a Hehuan Sect disciple, she felt she wouldn’t have the proper image if she went out without some aphrodisiacs.
“Ah?” The doll-faced stall owner was stunned for a moment, then quickly nodded, gathering one of each item and handing them to Heng Yu. As Heng Yu took the aphrodisiacs, their fingers brushed slightly. The doll-faced stall owner’s neck flushed, their eyes watering as they gave her a flirtatious look.
Heng Yu: “…”
Usually, she enjoyed flirting back when someone flirted with her. But flirting back in the Hehuan Sect… felt too dangerous. What if someone misunderstood and thought she wanted to sleep with them—
What a loss that would be for her!
Heng Yu placed the aphrodisiacs in her storage ring, tossed ten low-grade spirit stones onto the stall, and turned to flee. For the next few days, she stayed in her courtyard, waiting for the official start of the inner sect mission assignments.
Three days later, countless beams of light shot up from the Scripture Pavilion, flying towards the various main peaks. One of these beams flew towards Ning Yu Peak, landing on Heng Yu’s barrier and transforming into a paper crane.
Heng Yu was sitting cross-legged on her bed, healing her injuries. The last trace of hidden danger had been eradicated. Opening her eyes, she noticed the anomaly outside her barrier. Heng Yu raised her hand, and the bell bracelet on her wrist jingled, a clear “ding—” echoing in the room. The next moment, the paper crane that had been hovering outside the barrier zipped into her hand.
“Inner sect mission assignments will begin. Inner disciples, please proceed to the Scripture Pavilion to receive your missions.” A disembodied voice, neither male nor female, transmitted into Heng Yu’s ears.
Heng Yu waved her hand, and the paper crane dissipated into a stream of light. As the light vanished, she had already taken several steps forward, breaking the closed barrier. In the next moment, she soared into the sky, flying towards the Scripture Pavilion on her sword.
At this time, thousands of disciples were also rushing towards the Scripture Pavilion. Out of billions of living beings, tens of millions sought the path of cultivation, and many possessed decent aptitude. The Hehuan Sect was vast, with thousands of inner disciples, tens of thousands of outer disciples, and a staggering fifty thousand registered disciples.
A quarter of an hour later, Heng Yu arrived at the plaza below the Scripture Pavilion. The plaza was enormous, easily accommodating the more than one thousand inner disciples without feeling crowded.
Heng Yu stopped and looked up. The Scripture Pavilion stood amidst swirling clouds and mist, surrounded by various halls. Perhaps due to the Sword Spirit’s awakening, the usually simple Scripture Pavilion now held an indescribable solemnity.
To reach the Scripture Pavilion, the disciples needed to ascend nine hundred and ninety-nine steps. However, it wasn’t time for the pavilion to open yet, so everyone could only wait.
“Lord Luo.”
Nearby disciples noticed Heng Yu and cupped their hands in greeting.
The original body had a naturally cold demeanor. Maintaining her persona, Heng Yu nodded in return.
After waiting for two quarters of an hour, all the inner disciples had arrived. The ancient bell outside the Scripture Pavilion suddenly began to sway. A deep, resonant bell sound echoed throughout the Hehuan Sect.
As the bell subsided, the distant voice of the Sword Spirit resounded: “All disciples, ascend the Scripture Pavilion.”
“Yes!”
Countless figures cupped their hands, bowing towards the Scripture Pavilion. Then, some began to ascend the steps.
Heng Yu wasn’t in a hurry to climb the stairs. She was carefully observing her surroundings. Soon, her gaze met that of a seductively dressed woman — Wu Mei.
Wu Mei raised her hand, touched her lips with a slender fingertip, gave Heng Yu a sly smile, and then merged into the crowd, ascending the steps.
Heng Yu looked away and saw another familiar figure — Lord Mu, Mu Huan.
At this moment, Mu Huan’s charming face held an expectant smile, likely anticipating the task of pursuing the Buddha-son.
Heng Yu chuckled softly and began to ascend the steps with her sword. Along the way, disciples who saw her cupped their hands in greeting.
“Lord Luo, please go ahead.”
Some disciples even deliberately moved aside, allowing her to pass first. Heng Yu found this sect quite interesting. They were even more particular about etiquette than some righteous sects.
She didn’t decline their courtesy and continued climbing the stairs, passing the other disciples.
Soon, Heng Yu reached the top and stepped onto the open space in front of the Scripture Pavilion. This space was smaller than the plaza below, but it could still hold more than a thousand people. Many attractive inner disciples were standing there, either chatting in groups or standing alone.
At the front of the open space stood a dozen or so men and women in flowing robes, all sect elders, responsible for presiding over this event.
Seeing that all the disciples had arrived, a woman in blue smiled and asked Elder Cao, who stood at the very front, “Elder Cao, do you think we can let the disciples enter the Scripture Pavilion to receive their mission plates now?”
Elder Cao glanced at the crowd. “It’s about time.”
He looked at the disciples, his voice amplified by spiritual energy. “All inner disciples, please enter the Scripture Pavilion to receive your missions.”
The last inner sect mission had been forty years ago. None of these inner disciples had participated in one before. After Elder Cao spoke, no one stepped forward immediately. They all stood and watched, waiting to see who would be the first to receive their mission.
Seeing that they were all motionless, Elder Cao frowned slightly. He pointed to a male disciple closest to him. “You go in first.”
The designated male disciple felt a bitter taste in his mouth, but he didn’t dare disobey the elder’s order. After bowing, he took a deep breath and quickly entered the Scripture Pavilion.
After about ten breaths, the male disciple came out. At the same time, golden words appeared above the Scripture Pavilion:
[Xiao Yun, early Foundation Establishment, inner sect mission: pursue Sword Sect inner disciple He Rou Rou, time limit: two years, C-rank mission.]
After ten more breaths, the golden words dissipated completely.
Soon, a female disciple in pink was called in:
[Qiao Yan Ran, early Foundation Establishment, inner sect mission: pursue any inner disciple of the Piao Miao Sect, time limit: two years, D-rank mission.]
Heng Yu raised an eyebrow. She noticed that both of these inner sect missions involved pursuing someone, and both targets were inner disciples of righteous sects.
After these two disciples, Elder Cao’s gaze swept over the crowd, and he suddenly called out a name.
“Chi, you go in.”
One of the ten young masters, Chi. He had a cold and aloof demeanor, as pure as a representative of light. Standing among the crowd, countless female disciples cast admiring glances at him.
Hearing Elder Cao’s words, Chi smiled and opened his folding fan. “Yes.”
He stepped forward and entered the Scripture Pavilion under everyone’s gaze. This time, he stayed inside for a longer period. Everyone waited for almost half a quarter of an hour before Chi emerged from the Scripture Pavilion. His eyes were narrowed slightly, as if lost in thought.
At the same time, the inner sect mission Chi had received appeared above the Scripture Pavilion.
[Chi, peak Foundation Establishment, inner sect mission: pursue Piao Miao Sect Saintess Lu Fu, time limit: five years, S-rank mission.]
As soon as these words appeared, the previously quiet crowd erupted in commotion.
“Since the founding of our sect, there have only been a dozen or so S-rank missions, right?”
“As expected of the sect’s chief disciple, an S-rank mission is well-deserved.”
“Chi’s admiration value has already exceeded one hundred thousand, even higher than some elders. It’s not surprising that he received a mission of this level.”
These comments were relatively objective.
“Ahhhhh, Lord Chi is so strong!”
“As expected of Lord Chi! Aside from the mission to pursue Buddha-son Liaowu, no one’s mission could be more difficult than his, right?”
These voices mostly came from female cultivators who admired Chi.
Heng Yu’s gaze fell on Chi, her eyebrows raised slightly. This person appeared holy and elegant, yet exuded an air of danger. The Hehuan Sect truly had hidden talents. Each of the ten young masters was not to be underestimated.
After Chi, Elder Cao didn’t intend to keep everyone in suspense. He clearly knew what the disciples were anticipating.
“Wu Mei, you go in.”
Dressed in red, Wu Mei’s face bloomed with a brilliant smile. Just looking at this smile, many male cultivators around her felt their bones melting.
She smoothed her clothes and entered the Scripture Pavilion.
“The mission to pursue the Buddha-son must have fallen to Lord Mei, right?”
“How do you know?”
“Of course. Think about it, why did Elder Cao call Lord Mei first? It shows that the elders are more optimistic about her completing this mission.”
Hearing these whispers, Heng Yu raised an eyebrow. She also agreed with the last statement. Between Wu Mei and Mu Huan, she was more optimistic about Wu Mei — after all, Wu Mei seemed much more intelligent than Mu Huan.
After a short while, Wu Mei came out, her face rather unsightly. The elders noticed her expression and exchanged glances.
Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long for the results. A line of golden words appeared above the Scripture Pavilion.
Then — the clamor spread.
[Wu Mei, late Foundation Establishment, inner sect mission: pursue Sound Sect Chief Disciple Yu Xia, time limit: five years, quasi S-rank mission.]
“It’s not Lord Mei!”
“My heavens, it seems this mission is going to fall to Lord Mu.”
“Lord Mu is exceptionally talented in dual cultivation, hehehe. It seems that monk will be getting lucky.”
“If it were me, I’d also be willing to spend a night with the Buddha-son.”
“But is that Buddha-son even a man, hahahahaha.”
To be honest, a quasi S-rank mission was already quite impressive. In the history of the Hehuan Sect, such missions had only appeared about a hundred times. However, compared to the mission of pursuing the Undying Sect’s Buddha-son, it paled in comparison.
Wu Mei walked into the crowd, her face still unsightly. She scanned the area, locating Heng Yu.
“This mission can’t really be going to that woman Mu Huan, can it?”
“I’d rather it fall to you, Lord Luo, than let her benefit.”
As Wu Mei approached Heng Yu, she transmitted her voice with resentment.
Heng Yu: “…”
She didn’t think this was a good thing, thank you very much.
Staring at Mu Huan, who was walking towards the Scripture Pavilion, Heng Yu could only pray silently: This mission absolutely must fall to Mu Huan!
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