Chapter 45 Accepting a Commission

The Myriad Things Realm.

The name of this world had been a source of complaints for a full thousand years, with every successive generation of disciples grumbling about it.

Just like right now.

"The names of other worlds are always so refined, things like Azure Depths or Verdant Bamboo Grove. Why does the place that issues commissions to disciples have such a tacky name?" Qin Xi muttered as she wandered around the Myriad Things Realm. "It literally sounds like a foreigner trying to give themselves a Chinese name."

"What foreigner? Outside the State of Qi... the Great Chu?" Jiang Baiqiu trotted along behind Qin Xi and asked.

"Uh... probably a bit further out than that."

Of course, there were no foreigners in the cultivation world.

If this were the original Earth, and people could summon wind and rain, drive thunder and lightning, and shift the stars around just by practicing cultivation... the physics textbooks would probably be entirely in Chinese.

It was even questionable whether a subject like physics would exist at all.

And as for the guy beside her—this fellow who had turned out to be a spiritual root—she could definitely pass the Turing test and act as a strong artificial intelligence...

No, given her intelligence, that was hard to say!

"You're coming to take on commissions right after entering the sect?"

A figure appeared before them, someone unfamiliar to most, but very familiar to Qin Xi.

Liang Xiaolong.

At the moment, he was acting as a customer service representative in the Myriad Things Realm, solving problems for everyone.

This was the first time the four of them had come to the Myriad Things Realm. According to reason, newcomers who had just entered the sect should be focusing on consolidating their Qi-refining foundation and strengthening their primordial essence.

However, the talents of these four individuals were rather abstract. One was a Confucian Sage spiritual root; consolidate her foundation? Her foundation might well be what others spent an entire lifetime striving for.

Another possessed a heaven-defying spiritual root, with a cultivation speed running neck-and-neck with a celestial spiritual root. Furthermore, it came with a "reversal" attribute. While cultivation for others was like rowing upstream—where not advancing meant falling back—her cultivation was like an out-of-control airplane that only went forward and refused to retreat, completely devoid of brakes. Apart from being a bit unlucky, she was among the absolute strongest when it came to cultivation talent.

A third clearly had a formidable background. Even before arriving at the Great Thousand Sect, she was already at the ninth layer of Body Tempering. Reaching the Qi-refining stage had been the result of rigorous tempering, making her realm exceptionally solid. Solely in terms of physical strength, she could probably go toe-to-toe with cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage.

And then there was the most cheated one of all, whose cultivation was played like a cheap online game—as long as she idled, her experience points shot right up.

So, consolidating foundations? That concept simply did not exist for them.

"So, what commission do you want to take?" Liang Xiaolong asked, tidying up the commission bulletin board.

Qin Xi glanced over it and found that most of the commissions here were for the Foundation Establishment stage, with an occasional Golden Core stage task, though those were extremely rare.

It seemed that in this world, Golden Core stage combat power was already quite formidable.

This commission was the one Ah Ling wanted to take, so she stepped forward. "Senior Brother, I'd like to take the commission for Qingyuan Village."

"Oh? That's the one that was just posted a few days ago. Let me find it... Wait, hold on. Are you guys sure you want to take this?"

Liang Xiaolong pulled out the commission slip, froze for a moment, and then shook his head. "This commission isn't something you can handle right now."

Qin Xi asked curiously, "Is it very dangerous?"

"Dangerous isn't quite the word, seeing as it's a Foundation Establishment task. If you maintain the performance you showed during the sect trials, you'll probably be fine just protecting yourselves," Liang Xiaolong said hesitatingly. "The catch is that this commission is actually a 'targetless commission' issued by the local residents."

"What does that mean?"

"It means this commission wasn't just sent to the Great Thousand Sect; it was sent to every sect capable of resolving the issue. That means cultivators from many other immortal sects will also be going to complete it."

"But this is a Foundation Establishment task, so naturally other sects will send Foundation Establishment disciples to handle it. Your cultivation is still shallow, and if you try to wrangle commissions from a bunch of seasoned Foundation Establishment veterans... getting nothing done would be a good outcome. What I'm afraid of is those cultivators killing each other to secure the credit. After all, as you know, righteous cultivators in this Age of Dharma's Decay can sometimes be even more outrageous than evil cultivators."

Upon hearing this, Ah Ling turned back to look at the other three. A hint of hesitation flickered in her eyes as she said, "Then I'll just go alone..."

"Taking money and not delivering won't do." Qin Xi stepped in front of Ah Ling. "We're taking this mission."

Jiang Baiqiu tilted her head. "Isn't it too dangerous? Can I not go?"

"No."

"But you're the one who borrowed the money..."

"What do you think I borrowed it for?"

"Mmph mph mph!"

Qin Xi grabbed Jiang Baiqiu's face, stretching her cheeks out, and forcibly shoved her into the team.

Just then, the last of the four spoke up.

"You must have brought me along just to beg for my assistance!"

"But what a pity! I've been far too busy lately embedding seeds into strawberries and drilling holes in lotus roots, so I won't be able to accompany you for the time being!"

Hearing that the trip was dangerous, Bu Weiwei put her hands on her hips and laughed imposingly, immediately preparing to make a grand escape!

Bu Weiwei used "Retreat"!

When it came to cowardice, she never changed. Perhaps this was what they called staying true to one's original aspiration.

Qin Xi released his grip on Jiang Baiqiu's face. "Your divination might not be accurate, but you're an information anchor. That's very important."

"Besides, overcoming a Foundation Establishment expert while still in the Qi-refining stage will definitely leave a glorious mark on your life."

"Just think, when the Bu family compiles their genealogy in the future, they'll have to kneel and put you right at the very top... Qi-refining defeating Foundation Establishment, Foundation Establishment defeating Golden Core, Golden Core defeating Nascent Soul—these achievements and titles are indispensable!"

Bu Weiwei's retreating steps came to a halt. Qin Xi's words struck right at her soft spot; her greatest obsession was to become the most famous diviner in the world, followed closely by making the Bu family clan renowned across the realm.

So, from the depths of her cowardly heart, she squeezed out a shred of bravery. "...Fine! Consider it repayment for bringing me into the sect!"

The four of them reached a consensus.

"I still haven't agreed... Ow!" Jiang Baiqiu clutched her reddened face.

Liang Xiaolong let out an awkward chuckle. "Well, since you're so daring, I'll assign this task to you."

"Remember, the moment you encounter danger, don't get bogged down in combat. Just flash the Great Thousand Sect token. At most, I reckon they'll only dismantle your limbs."

"......That sounds worse than dying."

Qin Xi lowered his head to look at the task description. "Qingyuan Village. It's said that strange occurrences have been frequent in the village recently. There seem to be traces of monsters outside the village, and inexplicable sounds of infant crying inside, leaving the villagers too absent-minded and terrified to even step out of their homes."

"What's more, there isn't just one monster. Some villagers saw a fox as tall as a horse out in the wilderness and were too scared to leave their houses ever since. Others spotted horse hoofprints, but nobody in the village can afford to raise a horse, and no merchants or travelers have passed through the area recently. Hence, the villagers suspect it's the work of demons."

"The objective of this task is to investigate the bizarre events happening within the village and restore peace to Qingyuan Village."

"Task completion reward: Three hundred spiritual stones."

The reward for this task was really just a bonus, especially since Ah Ling was footing the bill.

A wealthy girl would handle all financial matters, so all Qin Xi needed to do was handle the wealthy girl.

No, wait, she was a wealthy young lady, and she didn't seem particularly fond of playing with steel wire balls either. She was practically perfection.

"Alright, demons and ghosts aren't anything special; dealing with them is my specialty!"

Qin Xi clenched his fist. Their quartet could be considered the group least afraid of such supernatural entities.

Jiang Baiqiu, with her Confucian Sage spiritual root, treated ghost stories like listening to cross-talk; beating up spectral entities was a breeze for her. Add in Ah Ling's combat prowess, Bu Weiwei's intelligence gathering, and his own sharp mind—barring any unforeseen accidents, this task shouldn't be too hard to resolve.

Qin Xi snorted, as if everything was completely under his control.

"Qin Xi, I just cast a divination and got a Great Auspice!" Bu Weiwei squatted on the ground, staring at the oracle slip she had drawn.

".......?"

Um, excuse me, can you decline a commission after accepting it?