Novel Bin Chapter 209: Urgent Mission
Chapter 209: Urgent Mission
The peak\'s most striking feature was a huge valley, said to be the very site where the formidable Demon-Suppressing Pagoda once stood. When the pagoda went missing, all that remained here was a huge crater. Over time, this crater unexpectedly evolved into a valley.
Many disciples of the Mount Shu Sect were believed to have visited this site and admired the remnants of the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda and its surroundings.
The answer to the second puzzle lay in this area as the paintings bore a striking resemblance to the scenery observed in this valley.
Chu Liang descended, casting his gaze left and right as he sought out the location. He scanned the surroundings with his divine sense as he slowly advanced.
At last in the heart of the dense jungle, he figured out the rough location.
There stood a massive stone and it seemed like he would have to push this stone aside.
Chu Liang raised his arms and effortlessly pushed the massive stone aside. Despite its weight, he moved it with ease. Such a task might pose a challenge for a third-realm cultivator.
Even if Chu Liang\'s cultivation energy were to suddenly surge, it wouldn\'t be necessary, as his physical strength alone was sufficient to move the massive stone.
With a rumble, the massive stone was shifted to the side.
As Chu Liang had expected, a dark opening lay before them, surrounded by soft, dark soil. It was evident that this hole had been recently excavated specifically for the Mountain God Memorial Ceremony.
As he was about to venture inside, he heard a rustling sound nearby, followed by a lightning-fast streak of silver light racing towards him, seemingly about to collide.
Whizz—
Just as the streak of lightning was about to collide with Chu Liang, the creature suddenly recognized him and abruptly halted, leaving two deep tracks on the ground.
"Why are you here?" Chu Liang burst out with a question as he embraced the Baize youngling that crashed into him.
As the Baize youngling lifted its head with a proud expression, it called out, "Hreeooorrh!"
Chu Liang stared at it and burst into laughter. "Did the elder assign you to guard the third puzzle? This seems like quite a bully move, doesn\'t it?"
This has become quite a conundrum.
If anyone else were to push the massive stone open, the Baize youngling would emerge and block their path. For ordinary disciples at the third and fourth realms, they wouldn\'t stand a chance against it. Even if they joined forces to fight it, who would dare to act ruthlessly against the celestial beast of Mount Shu?
Perhaps this had been the intention of the one who came up with the challenge.
To prevent a single small team from easily gaining access to the next puzzle, they arranged for the Baize youngling, which required the effort of many to drive away, to stand guard here. This would then force several teams to unite for the sake of securing the third puzzle.
Luckily, this stage posed no challenge for Chu Liang whatsoever.
He gestured towards the opening ahead and calmly instructed, "Lead the way!"
"Hreeooorrh!" The Baize youngling immediately cried out as it bounded forward cheerfully, displaying no hesitation as it defied the elders.
With it leading the way, the journey into the tunnel became really remarkably smooth. There were some enchanted formations set up along the path, but their attacks simply collided with the Baize youngling. Due to its incredibly thick and robust skin and flesh, it effortlessly walked by the formations.
The higher ups of the Mount Shu Sect wouldn\'t have expected that the second challenge they had set up would ruin the third challenge.
They reached the end of the tunnel and discovered a wall adorned with intricately carved jade.
There was a picture carved on the wall, depicting a moon suspended in the center of the sky. In the center of the moon was a white translucent glass cup.
It was a White-Jade Porcelain Cup.
What is the meaning of this carved jade wall? Is it saying that the White-Jade Porcelain Cup is on the moon? Chu Liang thought to himself.
Chu Liang recognized that this was the third puzzle to figure out, and solving it successfully would lead him to find the White-Jade Porcelain Cup[4]. However, this puzzle was even more difficult to unravel than the previous one.
After dedicating some time to pondering and ensuring that any additional clues hadn\'t been overlooked, Chu Liang decided to leave the tunnel.
He could have destroyed the jade wall before departing. By doing so, he would have been the only one at Mount Shu to see this third puzzle.
However, that was an action he hadn\'t done.
...
Two days later, the entire Mount Shu Sect was engulfed in a fervor.
Everyone delved into deciphering the puzzle at the second stage of the Mountain God Memorial Ceremony, contemplating the meaning of the four paintings if they were assembled together.
In the beginning, the people who had gotten their hands on the puzzle thought it was a secret and analyzed it quietly. However, people soon realized that all the teams participating in the Mountain God Memorial Ceremony managed to purchase this painting[1].
However, it didn\'t matter as the fact that everyone knew about it made discussing this puzzle convenient. As a result, many of the people who should have been eliminated long ago found joy in participating.
Throughout the generations of the Mountain God Memorial Ceremony, there had never been a first round where nobody was eliminated. Thanks to the selfless dedication of a handsome lad, everyone was able to advance to the second round.
"Wow... So many sword coins."
Chu Liang and the team members participating in the Mountain God Memorial Ceremony gathered together, marveling at the sword coins resembling miniature mountains. This time, almost all the teams from Mount Shu had purchased the puzzle, resulting in earnings totaling nearly seven thousand sword coins.
The amount was much more than what Chu Liang had imagined.
Such remarkable achievements were largely thanks to Lin Bei; he alone sold more than half of the drawings. Some teams, initially uninterested and considered hopeless business opportunities by the three lackeys from the Cloud Horizon Peak, only agreed to purchase the drawings because Lin Bei sought them out for a second time and successfully persuaded them into making the purchase[2].
As Chu Liang watched Lin Bei\'s excited demeanor, he felt that if Lin Bei were to be in real estate, he could probably single-handedly sell all the units in a building.
"Since everyone has put in a lot of effort, everyone should get this amount," Chu Liang said as he lifted his hand and gestured the number two.
Everyone felt exhilarated.
If everyone was getting twenty percent, this meant that this amount would be equally distributed among the five of them. This was a substantial amount.
Upon further thought, they felt slightly embarrassed.
This was particularly true for Lin Bei. He had received an equal share of the earnings from the mission at Black Whale Mountain and had already made a fortune. If he had taken advantage of Chu Liang again this time, it really wouldn\'t sit right with him.
He then asked, "Is that really okay? You\'ve been leading the entire time. If each of us is taking that amount, wouldn\'t it be unfair to you?"
"I think it\'s fine," Chu Liang said with an honest expression. "Ninety-two percent is already a lot for me."
"...I see how it is." Lin Bei no longer felt that sense of shame.
However, even if it was a mere two percent, each of them would get over a hundred sword coins. To the disciples at the Spiritual Awareness Realm, this amount was already a lot. If they weren\'t following Chu Liang, it would have taken them a long time to earn this much sword coins.
Lackey A said, "Actually, we didn\'t put in the same amount of effort. Brother Lin Bei sold much more than us."
"Hehehe," Lin Bei laughed as he waved his hand and said, "Let\'s not dwell on these matters."
"Yeah," Chu Liang also said, "You three can just work harder next time."
"Uh..." Lackey A nodded, suddenly sensing that something was wrong. "What do you mean by next time?"
As they were happily splitting the earnings, they suddenly heard the cry of a white crane from outside. Once again, it was a letter for Chu Liang from the Heaven-Reaching Peak.
Chu Liang opened it and discovered that it was a summons from Elder Shen.
Recognizing the urgency in the tone of the writing, and with matters settled here, he hurried over.
Upon arriving at the Sword Exchange Pavilion, he saw Elder Shen waiting there with a welcoming smile.
"Do you know why I called you here this time?" he asked Chu Liang.
"I suppose there\'s another challenging task for me?" Chu Liang replied.
"Very smart." Elder Shen nodded and said, "It\'s no small matter this time either. Signs of the diabolical sect, the Soul Destroyer Sect, were discovered in the Misty Waters City near the East Sea and almost ten mortals already died. Their deaths were suspected to have been caused by the remnants of the Soul Destroyer Sect, the ones at the third realm. Therefore, we need a disciple at the Golden Core Realm to lead the team and capture the remnants. You were the first on my recommendation list."
"Thank you for the recommendation," Chu Liang hastily expressed his appreciation.
Chu Liang was not very familiar with the name Soul Destroyer Sect because it had been destroyed a few hundred years ago. Occasionally, remnants of the sect would surface only to be swiftly crushed and attacked by the sects in the Divine Nine.
When diabolical sects were involved in harming citizens in mortal cities, addressing the issue became of paramount importance.
For a task this important, a recommendation would certainly bring Chu Liang to the attention of the higher-ups in Mount Shu Sect. However, he had already caught their attention by following his esteemed teacher around and scamming people.
Successfully completing this mission would offer him an opportunity to improve his reputation.
Elder Shen added, "Put your best effort into completing this mission. If you successfully lead the team and accomplish the task, you might get the same type of treatment as Xu Ziyang and Jiang Yuebai."
If his treatment within the sect matched that of Xu Ziyang and Jiang Yuebai, he would be treated as a core disciple.
"I will try my best!" Chu Liang declared.
"You will need two to three disciples at the Spiritual Awareness Realm. Are you going to recruit them yourself or would you like me to handle the recruitment?" asked Elder Shen.
When Chu Liang heard this, he couldn\'t help but feel emotional. Not long ago, he had been the one supporting the team. But now, he had become the disciple at the Golden Core Realm that led the team.
He pondered for a bit before he answered, "Let me ask two of my fellow disciples. It\'s easier to work with people you know."
"Alright," Elder Shen agreed.
After Chu Liang went back home, he asked Shang Ziliang and Lin Bei to visit him.
"We\'ve been assigned an urgent task from the higher-ups, and we need two cultivators at the Spiritual Awareness Realm. If you\'re free, join me," Chu Liang said.
Shang Ziliang was at the peak of the Spiritual Awareness Realm and was preparing for Core Formation. Lin Bei was only at the later stage of the Spiritual Awareness Realm, but he played a significant role when traveling.
Lin Bei could save him a lot of trouble on the road.
Since they were familiar with each other, Chu Liang chose them without any hesitation.
Lin Bei readily agreed, while Shang Ziliang suggested, "Going on a mission? How about I bring my two brothers along? Having more people makes us stronger."
"Hmm..." Chu Liang pondered for a moment and replied, "With your two brothers, our overall strength might not necessarily increase significantly, but the increase in food expenses will be quite significant[3]. Maybe next time."
Shang Ziliang had no choice but to nod and say, "True."
1. Not gonna lie. I was so confused when I was translating this. I was like "bought?" Is this even right? What\'s going on?? Until I realized that this fker is an entrepreneur seizing business opportunities. I have been getting to know Chu Liang for such a long time. How did I not realize that??? Shame on me. I think I am just so used to the OP MC getting the second puzzle and instantly winning it all that I still can\'t get used to this MC\'s unique way of doing things. I am really loving it. lol. ☜
2. Business 101. Don\'t give up on the first try. ☜
3. NOOOO! NOT YOU DISSING LACKEY B\'S LOVE FOR FOOD ☜
4. Refer to Translator\'s Thought on what they look like. It\'s very pretty. ☜