Chapter 270 Escort Mission

"According to the information I have, as early as a year and a half ago, Qi-refining monks disappeared for no reason near Xiaohu City, but the number and frequency of disappearances were not high until recently, so no one paid attention to it at that time." Bearded man analyzed.

"Also a year and a half ago, Zhenling Sect failed to investigate the murderer and temporarily gave up the large-scale search. Instead, it issued a high-priced reward to collect clues about the murderer. When the time of the two is compared, the conclusion is much narrower." Bearded man said with great confidence.

"Daoyou, do you mean that the person who killed the elder of Zhenling Sect and the one who killed the Qi-refining monk are the same person?" Yuan Ming's face was full of shock, as if he had discovered some incredible secret.

"According to my speculation, the murderer also wanted to attack the foundation-building monk at the beginning, but he chose the wrong target and accidentally killed the elder of Zhenling Sect. That's why he lurked for a while, and then turned to attack the Qi-refining monks. He was also very cautious at the beginning, but later he saw that no one could find him, and became more and more arrogant, which attracted attention again." Bearded man said with certainty.

"Daoyou's analysis is clear and convincing, but there is no evidence. If the inference is wrong, isn't it an exaggeration?" Yuan Ming said after hearing this.

"Haha, if my inference is wrong, the murderer is not strong, isn't it a good thing? I have also inquired in advance. The reward for the murderer set by the Loose Cultivator Association is 3,000 spirit stones. As long as we can catch him, even if the three of us share it equally, each of us will get 1,000, which is really a lot." The bearded man was very free and easy.

Yuan Ming smiled: "Daoyou is right, but I'm sorry, I'm not good at fighting with others. For this task, Daoyou should ask someone else."

The bearded man looked disappointed and persuaded a few more words. Seeing that Yuan Ming had made up his mind, he stopped pestering him, saluted, and turned around and left with his companions.

Yuan Ming watched the two of them leave, pondered for a moment, took out the task list and flipped through it. Sure enough, he found the bounty task posted by Zhenling Sect.

"Find out the whereabouts of Gu Qiuming. Those who provide reliable information will be rewarded with 1,000 spirit stones, and those who capture him alive will be rewarded with 3,000 spirit stones."

Yuan Ming shook his head. He didn't expect that Gu Qiuming was suspected by Zhenling Sect. His "value" is not low now.

He sighed secretly, and then looked for the mission of Shengye Sect mentioned by his grandmother.

Zhenling Sect offered such a high reward, but Gu Qiuming could not be found in two years, which made him feel relieved.

And he had been practicing hard at home for a long time, but his cultivation level still did not improve much. He agreed to take on the mission of Shengye Sect from his grandmother, not only for family affection, but also to go out and relax.

Soon, he found the one that his grandmother mentioned among many tasks.

"Escort mission, escort the Qi-refining disciples of Shengye Sect to the mountains and forests of Zhao State to collect spiritual medicines. The mission will depart in five days. The recipient must have lived in Xiaohu City for more than one year and have a cultivation level above the foundation-building stage. The reward is two bottles of Four Spiritual Pills or equivalent spiritual stones."

Yuan Ming thought for a moment, then called the waiter again: "I want to take the mission of escorting the disciples of Shengye Sect."

"Okay, please leave your name and cultivation level, and I will record it for you." The waiter took out a jade slip.

"Ha Gong, early stage of foundation-building." Yuan Ming reported a pseudonym.

"Okay, I have recorded it for you, please keep this token. Please go to the second floor of this association at 7:00 in two days, holding the token, where the Shengye Sect will assess you." The waiter handed over a black token.

"Do you still need to be assessed?" Yuan Ming was slightly startled.

"Yes, because it is a routine task of Shengye Sect, many cultivators have signed up in previous years, and because the escorts are all their elite disciples, for safety, Shengye Sect has high requirements for the character and strength of the recipients, so they have set up a special assessment for selection." The waiter explained.

"How many people have signed up now? Who are they?" Yuan Ming asked curiously.

"Including the seniors, there are thirteen people in total, but according to the regulations, I cannot reveal their names to the seniors, please forgive me." The waiter said.

Yuan Ming didn't care, nodded, put away the token and turned away.

...

Two days later.

Yuan Ming came to the Sanxiu Association at the end of the Mao hour. After showing the token, a waiter immediately took him to the second floor.

The rooms on the second floor of the Sanxiu Association are carefully designed, not adjacent to each other, and are all arranged with special soundproofing arrays to prevent people from eavesdropping.

The room reserved by Shengye Sect is located deep in the second floor, and when Yuan Ming walked into the room, he saw that there were already eight cultivators waiting in the room.

There were men and women among them, and their ages were different.

Yuan Ming didn't know any of them, and he didn't want to say hello, so he just found a chair and sat down, closing his eyes to rest.

Then, three more monks entered the house after Yuan Ming. Some of them knew the monks who came before, so they sat together and talked in a low voice.

Not long after, it was Chenshi, and the door was pushed open again, and a smell of medicine followed.

Yuan Ming opened his eyes and saw two late-stage foundation-building monks walking into the house one after another.

The monk in the lead was wearing a dark green robe, of medium build, with a pair of wide eyes under his thick eyebrows, like a tiger, very majestic.

The monk following behind him was Bai Ye, Yuan Ming's old acquaintance in southern Xinjiang. He was also a little surprised when he saw Yuan Ming, but soon, he showed joy between his eyebrows again, and they smiled at each other.

"I am Lu Shensheng, the foreign affairs elder of the Ye Sect. According to past practice, the tasks issued by our sect require only living in Xiaohu City for a full year. However, you should have heard about what happened in the city recently. Therefore, for the safety of our disciples, only cultivators who have lived in the city for more than two years can participate in this task." The cultivator in the dark green robe glanced at the room and spoke.

As soon as this was said, some cultivators immediately expressed dissatisfaction.

"Why didn't you make it clear when issuing the task? What a waste of time!" A short and fat Taoist priest stood up and left.

Lu Shen was unmoved: "I feel very guilty for letting some Taoist friends make a wasted trip. For this reason, I specially prepared some spiritual tea and took a portion when I left."

The short and fat Taoist priest just walked to the door at this time. When he heard this, his body froze, but he seemed to be too embarrassed to turn around and ask for spiritual tea. After hesitating for a moment, he snorted coldly and pushed the door open and left.

Although other cultivators were dissatisfied, they were no longer angry when they heard that there was spiritual tea as compensation. They took the spiritual tea and left.

Soon, there were only four cultivators left in the room except Lu Shen and Bai Ye, including Yuan Ming.

"Four Taoist friends meet the requirements. This mission, our sect only needs the participation of two Taoist friends. Therefore, please show your magical powers to each of the four Taoist friends. I will select the two with the strongest strength to participate in the mission. However, you can't show them in this room. Please follow me to the martial arts arena to try your skills." Lu Shen made a gesture of invitation.

At this time, Bai Ye suddenly said: "This Taoist friend Ha Gong doesn't need to go. I have seen his strength with my own eyes. He is not inferior to me."

"Elder Bai, this is related to the safety of our sect's disciples. How can we ignore the rules because of human feelings? This Taoist friend Ha Gong is only in the early stage of foundation building. How can his strength be better than yours?" Lu Shen frowned, a little unhappy.

"Brother Lu, what Bai said is absolutely true. If it weren't for Fellow Daoist Ha Gong's rescue, Bai would have died in Southern Xinjiang. This fellow Daoist is not only extremely powerful, but also has good character. Don't forget this mission, reliable character is the most important." Bai Ye said, and seeing that Lu Shen still didn't believe it, he quietly sent a message and said something to him.

Hearing Bai Ye's message, a trace of surprise flashed across Lu Shen's face. After a moment of silence, he nodded: "What Elder Bai said makes sense. Since you are so protective, let's take this fellow Daoist."

Hearing this, the expressions of the other three cultivators also changed. Some were disdainful, some were surprised, and one had a look of inquiry.

However, since there was still one spot left, they did not intend to compete with Yuan Ming. Seeing that Lu Shen didn't say anything more and turned to leave the room, they all followed him out.

After everyone else left, Yuan Ming bowed to Bai Ye: "Fellow Daoist Bai Ye, how are you?"

"We didn't expect to meet here after we parted in Southern Xinjiang. Are you living in Xiaohu City now?" Bai Ye said with a smile.

"Yes, after the Biluo Cave incident, I traveled all the way here. I feel that this place is comfortable and suitable for my practice. Is Fellow Daoist Bai from Shengye Sect? Why do you call you elder?" Yuan Ming was puzzled.

"Hehe, my sect has always been on good terms with Shengye Sect. Every year, the two sects often co-organize the disciples' training. Now I am reluctantly serving as an elder in the sect to handle these small matters." Bai Ye said modestly.

"I see. This is also the first time I have done such a task. I wonder if there is anything I need to pay special attention to?" Yuan Ming nodded and asked again.

"Don't worry too much. Elder Lu said it so seriously, but in fact, the place chosen by the disciples for training every year is not a dangerous place. We, the foundation-building stage, follow them secretly just for safety. We rarely encounter situations where we need to take action." Bai Ye waved his hand and said indifferently.

Yuan Ming nodded in understanding, and then the two chatted for a while, exchanging some of their situations over the years and what they saw in various places.

Time passed quickly, and soon after, Lu Shen also returned to the house with the selected cultivators.

"This fellow Taoist is called He Wendao, who is particularly good at earth magic. He is very skilled in earth escape techniques, and it is perfect for protecting disciples." Lu Shen introduced.

He Wendao is not very old, and he has a white face and no beard. He looks a little delicate, and his cultivation level seems to be in the middle stage of foundation building.

When he heard Lu Shen introduce himself, he hurriedly arched his hands to Yuan Ming and Bai Ye, and they were considered to be acquainted.

Seeing this, Lu Shen looked at Yuan Ming: "I wonder what magic skills Fellow Daoist Ha Gong is good at?"

"I have some experience in taming beasts." Yuan Ming said half-truthfully.