Choosing a mission

Standing in front of the mission board, Song Yang's excitement died down when he saw the type of missions available at his current cultivation level.

Picking up Spiritual Plants in the Spirit Forest for the Alchemist Hall. Picking up Spiritual Ores in the Spirit Mine for the Blacksmith Hall. Cleaning the Market Hall. Cutting Spiritual Woods for the Inscription Hall...

None of them sounded exciting!

Usually, these kinds of jobs were done by the working disciples of the sect but, contrary to the outer disciples, they didn't receive Contribution Points for doing them.

'My expectations were probably too high. I can't help but feel disappointed.' He thought.

Unfortunately, missions involving killing Demonic Beats were only available to the disciples at the fifth level of the Eight Meridians Opening realm and higher... Too bad, these missions sounded really amazing: collecting Demonic Cores, group subjugation of a mighty Demonic Beast, collecting corpses of Silver Monkey for the Blacksmith Hall...

With no other choice, Song Yang sighed and chose the mission that appealed to him the most. He took the poster off the board and read it carefully.

Title: Spiritual Plants for the Alchemist Hall

Type: Collect

Description: In the eastern part of the outskirts of the Spirit Forest, collect 10 Water Spirit Flowers and 10 Black Earth Roots (ask the receptionist for more details about these Spiritual Plants)

Cultivation level: Third level of the Eight Meridians Opening realm

Difficulty: Easy

Time limit: None

Rewards: 100 Contribution Points

He was intrigued by the Spirit Forest and the plants of this world that was why he chose this mission. The reward didn't seem high but it was actually the highest amount of Contribution Points he could get with a mission at his current cultivation level.

Satisfied, Song Yang walked over to the receptionist with the poster in hands.

"Elder, I chose the mission for the Alchemist Hall. Can you please tell me more about the Water Spirit Flowers and the Black Earth Roots?" He asked.

"Sure." She answered.

The elder took out and gave him two sheets of paper. On them, Song Yang saw that there was a drawing of the plants as well as their description and location.

The Water Spirit Flower looked a lot like a lotus flower on Earth except that it was completely blue and lit up slightly in the dark. The flower mainly grew near water sources and could only survive a few hours after being picked up. For this reason, one needed to complete this mission quickly after picking them up or store the flowers in a Storage Pouch to prevent them from wilting.

On the other hand, the Black Earth Root looked exactly like a ginseng on Earth but was completely black. It usually grew in dark places out of direct sunlight and, contrary to the Water Spirit Flower, it could survive a very long time after being picked up.

After reading the two papers, Song Yang became even more curious about the Spirit Forest and really wanted to explore it. But he realized that he actually didn't know how to go there.

"Thank you, elder. Then, do you know how I can go to the Spirit Forest?" He asked.

"The Spirit Forest is located directly at the base of the sect. To go there, you must leave the Outer-Sect Area through the west gate. If you don't know the surroundings of the sect, I recommend you to buy an interactive map at the Market Hall." Answered the elder.

"I understand. Thank you, elder." He said.

"I need your name and your Sect Token to register the mission." Said the elder.

"Song Yu Qi." Said Song Yang as he gave her his Sect Token.

"Alright. Once you have picked up all the Spiritual Plants, you must bring them here to complete the mission. The Contribution Points will then be credited directly to your Sect Token." Explained the elder.

Song Yang took back his Sect Token and thanked the elder before leaving the Mission Hall.

The Market Hall was his next stop and, even if the elder hadn't recommended him to go there, he still planned to go.

Since he would leave the Outer-Sect Area for the first time since he had come to this world, he wanted to buy some supplies to protect him like Barrier and Healing Talismans or Qi Replenishing Pills. Although the mission was easy, it didn't mean that he was out of danger. He had unfortunately made enemies in the sect and his 'beauty' could also attract some pervert older disciples wanting to assault him...

Song Yang entered the Market Hall and remembered that the cultivation resources were located on the second floor, so he directly walked towards the stairs.

However, on the way, he spotted a lot of older disciples lining up in front of a stand. There were at least fifty of them so he couldn't help but wonder if there was a special event or something.

Curious, Song Yang walked towards them and asked a girl next to him what was going on.

"Senior sister, why are there so many people?" He asked.

"The Market Hall is selling Spirit Wine today so everyone is here to buy a bottle." Answered the girl.

"Spirit Wine? What's so special about it?" Wasn't it just alcohol? Song Yang didn't know why it seemed so popular.

"You don't know? Spirit Wine is a delicacy that even the emperors of the secluded world don't have the chance to taste. Even in the sect it is only sold once every few months." Said the girl, smiling.

Something that even emperors couldn't have? It obviously piqued Song Yang's curiosity, he absolutely had to buy this Spirit Wine!

He rarely drank alcohol in his previous life because for him alcohol was something that needed to be shared with friends. Unfortunately, he didn't have any friends in his previous life...

Fortunately, in this life it was different! Tan Yanyan and Xia Zilin were his best friends and he considered them as family. Even if he knew them for only three months, he was very close to them since he was literally living with them. He knew that they were pure, kind and gentle girls and not greedy and manipulative girls.

'I will share the Spirit Wine with Sister Yanyan and Sister Zilin.' He thought, smiling.

Then, he suddenly remembered that his body and his two roommates were only fourteen years old.

Was there a minimum legal age for drinking alcohol in this world? Since he didn't want to unintentionally break the law, he asked the question.

"Senior sister, is there a minimum age for drinking alcohol? I'm only fourteen." He asked.

The girl looked at him for a second before laughing out loud.

"Hahahaha! For us cultivators, age is nothing but a number. There is no such a thing as minimum age. Junior sister, if you want to drink alcohol, just do it!" She said.

"I understand. Thank you, senior sister." He thanked her.

Song Yang waited in silence until it was finally his turn.

He widened his eyes when he saw the price of the Spirit Wine: 20 Spirit Stones for a bottle of one liter! And because the stocks were limited, a person couldn't buy more than one bottle.

Thankfully Song Yang had a lot of Spirit Stones. Even without counting the 50000 he had received with his system, he still had more than seventy Spirit Stones thanks to his monthly allowance.

After Song Yang bought the precious bottle of Spirit Wine, he directly walked towards the second floor of the Market Hall.

On the second floor, there were several stalls selling everything a cultivator might need on their journey to cultivation: pills, talismans, artifacts, weapons...

Seeing all these stalls, Song Yang's eyes shone brightly. He felt like a kid in a video games store!

Actually, that was bad. Song Yang was an impulsive buyer in his previous life. Every time he saw something that interested him, he would buy it even if he didn't need it.

'Okay... I have to control myself and spend my money wisely.' He thought, sighing.

He decided to first buy a Storage Pouch to cover up the inventory of his system. Being able to use his inventory in public would make his life a lot easier!

Song Yang would have preferred to buy a Spatial Ring but, unfortunately, according to Tan Yanyan, only inner disciples could buy one...

As he walked towards the stand selling Storage Pouches, someone suddenly called out to him.

"Song Yu Qi?"

Turning to the direction of the voice, Song Yang recognized the person who called him. It was Hu Xia, the boy he beat during the final of the tournament.

Song Yang was surprised to see him here since he had not heard about him in the past two months. He wondered what Hu Xia wanted... Was he mad at him because he shattered his swords? Did he want to take revenge on him?

'Man, I already have enough enemies. I hope I won't need to add a new one to the list...' He thought.