Bait

"The symbol decree... in plain terms, it's a mandate for seeking life or death. Disciples of the Dao Sect, upon receiving the symbol decree, are required to execute the tasks stated within, such as slaying demons and monsters, and then bring back their inner cores as proof, for which they are generously rewarded... but... it's also quite dangerous... among the outer disciples, every decade sees about a hundred disciples reaching the peak of the third stage of the Lingdong realm... but among those who enter the inner sect, there are only about a dozen... the rest mostly perish during missions assigned by the symbol decree..."

Inside the wooden house, the chubby Daoist's tongue was somewhat thick, but he still disclosed everything he knew to Fang Xing.

In essence, this Dao Sect symbol decree is like a task card, categorized into various types.

The Demon-Slaying decree is issued when demons or monsters appear within the Qingyun Sect's jurisdiction, requiring disciples to go out and eliminate them.

The Riot-Suppression decree is issued when rebellions occur somewhere, requiring disciples to suppress them.

The Traitor-Execution decree is often directed at disciples who betray the sect, allowing all disciples to execute and receive rewards.

... ...

The Dao Sect usually evaluates the merits and demerits of disciples through these symbol decrees.

After entering the inner sect, there are specified limits on how many times symbol decrees can be obtained. Insufficient decrees result in resource cutoffs.

Among the outer disciples, there are no such limits, but to break through to the fourth stage of the Lingdong realm and enter the inner sect, one must obtain a decree. This is because the key ingredient for refining the Pill for Breaking through from the third to the fourth stage of Lingdong, the "Stone Essence Powder," is tightly controlled by the Dao Sect. Without a symbol decree, one can only purchase it at a sky-high price...

In short, Hou Qing could also be said to have been forced by Fang Xing to take the symbol decree.

Even Fang Xing didn't expect that deceiving Hou Qing with a demonic spirit pill would bring such dire consequences upon himself.

The whole night, there were people monitoring outside the door, seemingly afraid that Fang Xing might do something unexpected.

However, Fang Xing didn't act that way, just remembering the appearances of the two monitors.

When he returned, these two guys and the steward who betrayed him would naturally not fare well.

He packed up everything overnight, including the tobacco pipe, the Nine-Snake Golden Flame Sword, the Torrential Rain Pear Blossom Nail, and spiritual stones, all placed in the Heavenly Cave Ring. Then he tied up his hair with the ring as a hairband, forming a ponytail. Ironically, the most noticeable part was also the hardest for others to notice, while other items like the Ten Thousand Ghosts Mask and the flying sword given by Hou Qing were packed in a bundle.

After that, Fang Xing sat cross-legged, waiting for the sunrise in the east.

In his heart, there was turmoil, and his fighting spirit was high...

The next morning, as the morning star rose, Hou Qing and three other robust outer disciples arrived at Qingxi Valley. They forcibly took Fang Xing and headed out of the valley. Apart from Hou Qing's peak third stage of Lingdong cultivation, the other three outer disciples consisted of two at the third stage of Lingdong and one at the peak of the second stage, making the weakest person roughly equivalent to Fang Xing's current cultivation level, making it quite challenging.

The disciple of Qingxi Valley, Black Three, had long prepared everything with a smiling face, watching the five of them leave.

The chubby Daoist looked at Fang Xing with a desolate expression, wanting to stop him but could only watch as Fang Xing was taken away.

"My surname is Yu, not Zhu... Senior Brother Fang..."

As Fang Xing was about to leave the valley, the chubby Daoist suddenly gathered courage and shouted loudly.

"I know... Senior Brother Pig..."

Fang Xing's voice echoed from afar, and the chubby Daoist instantly collapsed to the ground.

"Hehe, fatso, now that this kid is gone, it's your turn next. Don't worry; I'll accompany you nicely..."

The sinister voice of Liu Feng came from behind, startling the chubby Daoist, who stood up with a shocked expression.

He then realized that his situation might not be any better than Fang Xing's...

Hou Qing had already received the symbol decree, so they could set off immediately that day. The four people took Fang Xing and headed towards the Bisiju Monastery.

Presenting the symbol decree, they then received five Dragon Horses and left the Dao Sect, mounted them, and galloped away. Throughout this process, they kept a close eye on Fang Xing, seemingly afraid that he might cause trouble inside the sect and create problems. However, Fang Xing remained silent, quietly following them out, mounting the horse, and cooperating excellently, which surprised the four men.

The Dragon Horses they rode were bred by the Dao Sect over thousands of years, possessing the bloodline of ancient dragons with scales all over their bodies. Not only could they travel a thousand miles in a day, but they could also swim directly across rivers and lakes, extremely miraculous. Any Dragon Horse like this, if found in the mortal world, would be highly sought after by officials and nobles, exceptionally popular and valuable.

Once, Fang Xing's second uncle had seen an official's Dragon Horse being transported to the imperial capital and immediately liked it very much, gathering a group of brothers to snatch it. However, the escorts were also formidable, and the two sides fought fiercely, resulting in heavy losses on both sides. In the end, when his second uncle realized he couldn't snatch it, he poisoned the Dragon Horse to death. Such was the nature of a bandit; if I can't get it, I won't leave it for you.

Because of this, Fang Xing found riding this Dragon Horse quite novel.

Despite having the bloodline of ancient dragons, the Dragon Horses were very docile, a result of breeding for many generations over thousands of years. They obeyed commands readily, stopped when asked to stop, almost as if they could sense the rider's intentions, quite mystical.

Of course, these Dragon Horses were mainly for inner and outer sect disciples. True disciples and sect elders would not ride such mounts; they either flew on clouds or subdued demonic birds, being the true masters roaming the skies.

The two most outstanding true disciples of Qingyun Sect, Xu Lingyun and Xiao Jianming, rode a white crane and an iron eagle respectively.

After a day of swift travel, they were already a thousand miles away from Qingyun Sect. As darkness fell, they stopped and found a place to rest.

"Hou Senior Brother, what are we... what are we going to do this time we go out?"

Fang Xing pretended to be a timid and fearful child, shyly asking Hou Qing.

Hou Qing had a somewhat amused expression, glanced at Fang Xing, and said lightly, "Naturally, we're going demon-slaying. Are you afraid?"

Fang Xing shuddered as if extremely frightened and said, "Wh... what kind of demon is it?"

Hou Qing sneered but didn't speak. One of the Lingdong third-stage disciples beside him, named Qian Tong, coldly chuckled, "It's a powerful Fourth Rank demon, the Python Dry Frog. Be very careful; if it swallows you whole, you'll become demon dung!"

"Ah..."

Fang Xing let out a low cry, his face filled with horror.

"Haha..."

The several men burst into laughter simultaneously, their demeanor relaxed.

However, from the depths of their gazes, Fang Xing also sensed a hint of seriousness, clearly not as relaxed as they seemed on the surface.

"Um... Senior Brother Hou, if we succeed in slaying it... will I really get this flying sword and... ten pieces of spiritual stone?"

Fang Xing suddenly asked cautiously, as if afraid but also a bit greedy.

Hou Qing was somewhat surprised, looked at Fang Xing's face, smiled slightly, and said, "I keep my promises!"

The other three chuckled but remained silent.

Fang Xing, as if summoning great courage, straightened his chest and said, "Fortune favors the bold. I'll... I'll give it my all!"

This show of boldness amidst fear made the others speechless.

As long as Fang Xing was greedy, they didn't have to worry about him escaping. Their usual vigilance would naturally relax a bit.

The next day, as the morning star rose, the group mounted their horses again and set off. From this point on, Fang Xing worked hard to make these people relax their guard against him. He completely disguised himself as a slightly ambitious yet naive child, unable to contain his excitement, which made the four adults somewhat speechless.

At each rest stop, Fang Xing fetched water, fed the horses, made fires, hunted, and worked diligently. He always pretended to be respectful and sought advice on cultivation issues from these people, subtly extracting their bravest deeds. Whenever they bragged happily, Fang Xing would show admiration in his eyes at the right moment.

In this way, during the three days of travel, Fang Xing actually became familiar with these people, calling them senior brothers and growing close to them. Even these disciples seemed to have taken a liking to this "Junior Brother Fang," and the Lingdong third-stage disciple, Liu San, who had grown a full beard, had sighed softly several times while looking at Fang Xing's innocent face.

On the third night, after Fang Xing appeared to fall asleep deeply beside the fire, Liu San quietly approached Hou Qing and asked in a low voice, "Senior Brother Hou, is there no other way?"

Hou Qing glanced at Fang Xing, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully with a hint of childish sweetness on his face, lowered his voice, and said, "There's no other way. After all, that's a Fourth Rank giant demon. With our cultivations, we can't take it head-on. We can only use strategy. That beast loves to eat humans, especially young men with cultivation. It's like a rare delicacy for it. When the time comes, we can only use this kid to lure it out, and then..."