Chapter 26: Accepting the Task

Facing the beauty's gaze, Li Qing's heart remained undisturbed.

Strictly speaking, Mu Qing's offer was actually quite enticing.

The price offered by the Mu family was high enough, and they were willing to help Li Qing coordinate and resolve the threat from Wei Xuan.

Unfortunately, Li Qing had no intention of giving up the Foundation Establishment Pill for the time being.

Moreover, the moment where he would be forced to abandon it had not yet arrived.

Once something is lost, it is not so easy to get it back.

From Mu Qing's words, Li Qing also heard a deeper meaning.

That was that they could help him *coordinate* the issue, rather than completely *solving* the trouble for him.

Once he handed over the Foundation Establishment Pill, there was no guarantee that Wei Xuan's retaliation wouldn't strike again.

"Fellow Daoist Mu, to tell you the truth..."

Li Qing looked at Mu Qing with a "bitter smile."

"I have not yet made a decision regarding the Foundation Establishment Pill."

"However, since you have brought it up, if I do decide to act, I will consider your clan's eldest brother first."

Hearing this response, a flash of disappointment crossed Mu Qing's eyes.

In truth, she had anticipated this; after all, if he truly intended to trade it away, he would have done so long ago.

"Very well, then I thank you, Fellow Daoist Li."

Mu Qing revealed a charming smile once more.

At the very least, her trip was not a total loss; he had at least promised to consider her family first.

Mu Qing was an extremely intelligent woman. Seeing that the matter had reached a tentative conclusion, she immediately changed the subject.

Then, amidst their lighthearted conversation, they arrived at the Internal Affairs Hall.

Along the way, passing cultivators looked on with confusion as they saw Li Qing and Mu Qing chatting so amiably.

Mu Qing's beauty was well-known in the Outer Sect, and combined with her background from a great clan, she had many suitors.

"Fellow Daoist Li,"

"We have reached the Internal Affairs Hall. I need to go in to collect a mission. Farewell."

Li Qing smiled and cupped his hands, watching the beauty depart before walking into the hall alone.

His deliberate attitude was part of his own calculation.

Because his predecessor had spent all his time in secluded cultivation, he knew very little about the internal affairs of the sect.

His most important task now was to become familiar with the sect's internal situation to facilitate his future actions.

The Thousand Water Spirit Control Sect had existed for thousands of years, and its internal factions and powers were incredibly complex. Li Qing currently lacked the strength to stand above the rules; only by understanding the struggles between these factions could he potentially use their strength against them.

The Thousand Water Spirit Control Sect was a behemoth.

Even a slight tremor within it could result in countless lives being lost.

What he needed to do was to thoroughly integrate into this behemoth and slowly accumulate strength to grow himself.

To gain a deeper understanding of the Thousand Water Spirit Control Sect, the family behind Mu Qing was undoubtedly an excellent avenue.

***

After entering the main hall of the Internal Affairs Hall, Li Qing walked toward the mission collection area.

Inside the hall, a middle-aged man at the late stage of Qi Refinement sat quietly.

"Senior Brother, I am Li Qing,"

"I have come to collect a sect mission," Li Qing said as he stepped forward.

"Fine, Li Qing, right?"

At this point, the middle-aged man paused noticeably. Li Qing immediately and keenly sensed this subtle change.

"Junior Brother Li, there is a mission that requires going out to White Jade Island to collect a batch of harvested Warm Jade. We are currently short one person; you shall go as well."

Before Li Qing could even react, the man had already written his name in the mission ledger.

It seemed he was given no opportunity to argue.

With a flip of his hand, Li Qing produced five low-grade spirit stones.

"Senior Brother, I have some matters to attend to recently. I wonder if I could exchange this for an in-sect mission instead?"

Li Qing stepped forward and quietly placed the spirit stones in front of the man.

A flash of greed crossed the middle-aged man's eyes upon seeing the stones.

He seemed to think of something, then immediately put on an expression of righteous indignation.

"Junior Brother, this kind of mission is a rare opportunity. This is Senior Brother's way of nurturing you."

As he spoke, the man pushed the spirit stones away.

Seeing this, a strange look flashed in Li Qing's eyes, and he said no more.

"You have half a month to prepare. Gather at the main hall in half a month; other Senior Brothers will lead you all out."

"How strange, picking and choosing even with such a good mission..."

A moment later.

Li Qing took the token handed to him and silently walked out of the hall.

In truth, this sect mission was not bad at all; in fact, it was the kind of mission that even Outer Sect disciples would scramble for.

The reason was simple: it was fast.

A single trip would take about half a month, and the sect contribution points were not low.

However, after seeing the man's peculiar behavior, Li Qing understood that someone was definitely pulling strings behind the scenes.

Normally, one could not accept such a mission without connections.

Li Qing returned to his cave dwelling alone.

He began to contemplate his next move.

Since someone was playing games, the most likely culprit was Wei Xuan.

Aside from Wei Xuan, the only person he had been in contact with was Mu Qing.

But it clearly couldn't be Mu Qing; she wouldn't have acted so quickly.

He just couldn't figure out why Wei Xuan would deliberately arrange such a mission for him.

After a moment, Li Qing shook his head slightly.

He was certain of one thing: Wei Xuan definitely wouldn't kill him. Without him, Wei Xuan wouldn't be able to obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Since he couldn't figure out the motive, he decided not to bother with it. Regardless, Wei Xuan certainly wasn't doing this for his benefit.

In that case, he should plan ahead.

He needed to prepare contingencies to ensure he was ready for anything.

The spirit fish inside the Sea-Suppressing Pearl were about to mature, but Li Qing did not plan to sell this batch for now; he intended to consume them himself to increase his strength.

His current supply of medicinal pills was still somewhat abundant, so he didn't need to worry about them for the time being.

Currently, he had about four hundred low-grade spirit stones left, which was enough for emergencies.

***

As a mist appeared, Li Qing began to consolidate his cultivation within his cave dwelling.

During this time, Li Qing made another trip to Crescent Moon Island.

As he continuously consumed the spirit fish, his supply of spirit fish fry was slowly running low, and he needed to replenish them.

A day later, he returned to his cave dwelling to resume his secluded cultivation while waiting for the sect mission.

During this outing, he had spent almost all the spirit stones in his possession to purchase Black Water Spirit Fish and Blood Spirit Fish fry.

In addition, there was a new talisman in his storage bag.

A high-grade, first-tier exquisite talisman: the Golden Essence Sword.

This talisman had cost Li Qing over five hundred spirit stones; he had to carefully sell off some spirit fish to afford it.

The attack launched by this exquisite Golden Essence Sword talisman was equivalent to a full-strength strike from someone at the peak of Qi Refinement.

Although talismans were single-use attacks, the price difference between each grade was enormous.

The reason was simple.

A powerful talisman could often decide the outcome of a battle at a critical moment.

With this trump card in hand, Li Qing's heart finally felt a bit more at ease.

(End of Chapter)