The Transmigrator’s Cultivation-Chapter 55 - Arc 5: Loose Cultivator Alliance | : Mission
Translator: Lynn
Sponsored chapter (3/10)
The Trading Hall comprised a seven-story tower, with Xu Ziqing having explored the first three floors. However, the fourth floor and those above differed from the lower levels.
The fourth floor served as a hub for issuing tasks to cultivators affiliated with the alliance. It was a place where they could train, earn contributions, or seek survival opportunities. As the widest floor in the tower, it had been expanded through the use of powerful cultivators’ magical techniques, allowing it to accommodate up to a thousand people.
On the fifth floor, the mission recording office could be found. Cultivators who desired specific resources and could afford a substantial price would post their missions there, offering rewards in exchange for contributions. Additionally, cultivators who found themselves unable to defeat an enemy could hire high-ranking cultivators through posted missions. Once confirmed by the steward, these missions would be displayed on the fourth floor. The fourth and fifth floors were closely intertwined.
The sixth floor housed the Treasure Auction Office, where an annual auction took place. At this event, rare and valuable items were sold to the highest bidders.
As for the seventh floor, Xu Ziqing had sensed the presence of a powerful cultivator at the Yuan Transformation stage stationed there. This cultivator’s purpose was to deter anyone involved in illicit trading within the tower.
Considering his limited resources, Xu Ziqing couldn’t ascend to the fifth or sixth floor. However, the fourth floor seemed to be a suitable destination. It would provide an excellent opportunity for him to assess the effectiveness of his cultivation over the past year.
Standing at the entrance of the fourth level, Xu Ziqing observed the surroundings. Many cultivators could be seen gathered together, standing alone in front of the task wall, or hurrying out. Among them, some appeared joyful, while others wore frowns or maintained a cautious demeanor.
This tower level featured eight quest walls, which were categorized into four classes: beginner, intermediate, high level, and difficult tasks. The beginner quests occupied four sides of the wall, the intermediate quests took up two sides, the high-level quests claimed one side, and the difficult tasks were assigned one side as well.
Cultivators who hadn’t established their foundations typically accepted more beginner and intermediate tasks. High-level tasks often required a group effort, while difficult tasks were best avoided unless one had a solid foundation.
Xu Ziqing’s first step was to examine the first-order task wall and carefully assess the task difficulty, rewards, and other details.
Upon closer inspection, Xu Ziqing noticed that these tasks were not exclusively limited to cultivators in the loose cultivation alliance. For example, on the left side of the first wall, there was a reward for eliminating the bandit leader in the Western Mountains. The issuer was the governor of Ling Shui County, situated beneath the Western Mountains. The fee for the task was not restricted to contributions; it also included three spiritual pearls. If converted into contributions, it would amount to 300.
Since someone had already completed this task, the silk cloth recording the mission burst into flames before Xu Ziqing’s eyes. It became evident that although no one from the alliance had taken on the task, it had been claimed elsewhere. This realization led Xu Ziqing to recall his time in the Xu clan, where tasks assigned by the family resembled those found in the trading hall.
Without dwelling on it, Xu Ziqing shifted his attention back to the other tasks.
Most of the tasks were suitable for mortals or low-cultivation cultivators, often involving revenge or the slaying of demonic beasts. Having surveyed all four walls, Xu Ziqing began to develop a clearer understanding.
If he sought a task, it wouldn’t be difficult to find a low-ranking one that could be found in various markets or trading places without offering a reward. However, situations beyond one’s capabilities, such as seeking revenge or eliminating evil, necessitated seeking assistance.
During his observation, Xu Ziqing spotted a young monk swiftly pulling off several silk cloths from the wall, accumulating them in his arms before leaving. The vacant spaces on the wall were promptly covered with identical purple silk cloths, indicating that the monk had claimed all the tasks.
Surprised by this sight, Xu Ziqing read through the ten or so tasks. It became apparent that all these missions revolved around eliminating first-order demonic beasts. Furthermore, the locations for these missions were concentrated in the southeastern part of Upper Luzhou. The young cultivator intended to venture in that direction, realizing that by taking multiple missions simultaneously, he could save time and effort.
Having reviewed the lower-level quests, Xu Ziqing decided against taking any from this section.
He had already attained the eighth level of Qi refinement and had ventured out to prepare for his advancement, not just to make contributions. Therefore, he examined all the lower-ranked missions, which were not beneficial to him, so naturally he dismissed them.
Moving on, he arrived at the two walls displaying middle-ranked quests. These quests did not involve rare plants and followed a similar rationale as the lower-ranked ones. They were mainly divided into two categories: exterminating demonic beasts and serving as guards.
Most of the rewards here were for cultivators between the fifth and eighth levels of Qi refinement, targeting demons that had caused harm to heaven and earth. The demonic beasts, on the other hand, were primarily of the second order. However, Xu Ziqing was more interested in the escort missions displayed on the wall. These missions were more challenging than the previous two types and offered more flexibility. Typically, these missions were arranged by clan members as part of their training.
The clan’s experts would accompany the participants, along with hired casual cultivators, providing a chance to gain knowledge and live without fear. There were also cases where guards were hired to protect their employers’ lives while venturing into dangerous locations in search of valuable items. In such situations, the guards didn’t need to fight for their own lives. After spending a considerable amount of time observing the middle-ranked quest wall, Xu Ziqing finally made a choice. Stepping forward, he unveiled the brocade cloth that revealed his selected mission.
“Within three days, the Wang Clan of Pinglan County in Upper Luzhou will hire eight cultivators above the seventh level of Qi refinement to accompany their clan’s sons and daughters into Shangyan Ridge for a period of two days. The base commission is ten spirit pearls each, with additional rewards for those with higher cultivation.”
The Wang clan, a well-known medium-sized family, existed outside of Upper Luzhou. They specialized in cultivating a spiritual herb known as “double-veined grass” for generations. While others could also cultivate it, the Wang clan’s herbs were of higher quality and potency, for reasons unknown.
The Wang clan had maintained a sensible approach. Although they didn’t align themselves with any major powers, they maintained a strong friendship with the Scattered Cultivator Alliance. Every five years, they paid 50% of their double-veined grass harvest to the alliance, while allocating 20% to other larger powers as a personal favor. Only 30% was kept for the clan’s own use. This strategy helped the clan firmly establish itself over the years.
The fame of the double-veined grass was primarily due to its role as a key ingredient in the Foundation Establishment Pill. When a cultivator reached the peak of the tenth level of Qi refinement, building the foundation was the final obstacle before stepping onto the path of immortal cultivation. This was the first significant breakthrough for cultivators.
However, crossing this barrier was not an easy task. Out of the countless cultivators in the world, only a mere 1% could successfully build a foundation. In other words, one person out of a thousand had a relatively good chance. Even for those expected to build their foundations, it wasn’t simply a matter of absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. External assistance was required.
When spiritual energy entered the human body, its violent nature caused trouble, especially during the foundation-building process. Except for single-rooted cultivators who could ensure that only compatible spiritual energy entered their bodies, dual-rooted and mixed-rooted cultivators had to rely on the Foundation Establishment Pill.
The Foundation Establishment Pill provided a substantial amount of pure spiritual energy for foundation building and helped the cultivator expel the disordered spiritual energy from their body, ensuring a smooth foundation construction process. Moreover, the higher the quality of the Foundation Establishment Pill, the stronger its effect and usefulness to the cultivator. The quality depended on the alchemist’s skill, the quality of the furnace and fire used, and most importantly, the quality of the various spiritual herbs and materials in the formula.
The “double-veined herb” consisted of two plants, the “golden-veined herb” and the “silver-veined herb.” For high-quality herbs, the two plants needed to have a balanced ratio in terms of fatness stems, leaves, and fullness.
The Wang clan’s double-veined grasses had almost no discrepancies between the golden and silver textures, showcasing the expertise of those tending to the herbs and enabling the Wang clan to stand out among other clans.
Xu Ziqing chose this mission because, in addition to the training aspect, he was also curious to witness how the Wang clan cultivated the spiritual grasses.
<<End of Arc 5: Loose Cultivator Alliance>>
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