Chapter 121: Targeting

"Is Xu Yang there? Come out and see me."

Just as the atmosphere in the courtyard was a bit weird, a voice came from outside the courtyard.

Xu Yang's heart sank. The owner of this voice was none other than Xiao Hua, the deacon of the Mission Hall.

He didn't know if it was for something else or because of Li Rui'an's matter.

On the day Li Rui'an disappeared, he had also left the sect and gone to Qingyang City. If the sect investigated carefully, they would definitely discover this.

"Disciple is here!"

He walked out of the courtyard and saw Xiao Hua standing expressionlessly outside, with Lu Ren and Gu Haoming standing beside him, as well as an outer sect disciple he didn't know.

"May I ask why the deacon is looking for the disciple?" Xu Yang cupped his hands.

Xiao Hua opened his mouth with a fake smile and said: "It's a good thing. The medicinal herb warehouse in Qingyang City has no one guarding it. I recommended you to the sect. Pack your things quickly and rush to Qingyang City with them."

"This is a good thing. You get twenty contribution points a month, there's little to do, and there are many contribution points. You have the same treatment as a disciple who has refined qi into steel."

Hearing that it wasn't because of Li Rui'an's matter, Xu Yang breathed a sigh of relief, but his heart sank again.

Xiao Hua was clearly targeting him. If it were really a good thing, no one would be left to guard it.

And with Xiao Hua's character, he wouldn't take care of him.

Although he had the same treatment as a disciple who had refined qi into steel, he was also doing the same things as a disciple who had refined qi into steel. Once danger appeared, the probability of him dying young was very high.

"This is trying to harm me!"

Although he didn't know how dangerous the task of guarding the medicinal herb warehouse was, looking at Lu Ren and Gu Haoming, he knew that at the very least, one had to refine qi into steel to do this task.

For a "Qi Gathering" martial artist to be mixed in, the degree of danger could be imagined.

And at this time, he should be in seclusion to impact refining qi into steel, but Xiao Hua wanted to force an arrangement for him to do a mission, probably still holding the idea of not letting him impact refining qi into steel.

As for the reason, he had guessed a few points. The first point was probably the matter of Xiao Hua framing him a few days ago, which made Xiao Hua lose face.

There was another point, which should be because of Lin Cheng. Lin Cheng entrusted Xiao Hua to take care of them, but Xiao Hua took the gift and didn't take care of them. He had seen the unbearable side of Xiao Hua, so there was this series of targeting.

"Junior Brother Xu is in trouble!" Sun Tao, who followed out, also noticed the problem of Xu Yang being targeted.

Xu Yang's last mission had only ended a few days ago. Even a beast of burden needed to rest, but Xiao Hua arranged a mission for him without stopping.

And it was in the case of not having refined qi into steel, going to Qingyang City to guard such an important place as the medicinal herb warehouse. The intention of targeting was undisguised.

"May I ask the deacon, can the disciple refuse? The disciple wants to do missions on his own." Xu Yang took a deep breath.

Xiao Hua sneered: "Who do you think you are? The sect specifies missions; where is there room for you to refuse?"

Beside him, Lu Ren was expressionless.

Gu Haoming and the other person both had expressions of gloating.

Under normal circumstances, the Mission Hall would not arrange missions for disciples unless your contribution points were not up to standard and you only wanted to be lazy, then they would force a mission on you.

Xu Yang had only been a beast of burden in the Lihuo Peak for forty days and had only rested for a few days; it was clearly not this situation.

"Then may I ask the deacon, how long does this mission need to be done?" Xu Yang said again.

"Three months!"

Xiao Hua showed an impatient expression, threw a token to Xu Yang, and said: "Ask them about the mission. Go down the mountain quickly. If you delay the mission, I'm afraid you'll have to bear the consequences."

Three months—it wasn't long; just endure it and it would pass.

Since things had come to this, he had to accept this mission. Fortunately, he had already refined qi into steel, so the degree of danger was not that great.

Taking the mission token, he went down the mountain with Lu Ren and the other two and walked toward Qingyang City.

Along the way, the atmosphere was somewhat silent.

Although the relationship between Xu Yang and Lu Ren was special, they had clashed several times, and he had even defeated Lu Ren in the Wu Ke examination, so Lu Ren didn't take the initiative to talk to him.

He had refused Gu Haoming's solicitation, and Gu Haoming had once declared that he would make him unable to move an inch in the Purple Sun Sect.

He didn't know if today's matter was Xiao Hua's own doing or if Gu Haoming was involved, because he couldn't determine whether Gu Haoming had taken this mission voluntarily or if he had been designated by Xiao Hua like him.

So Gu Haoming didn't talk to him either.

As for the other person, Xu Yang had no impression of him, so he didn't take the initiative to strike up a conversation.

Walking along, the three soon entered Qingyang City and found the place that needed to be guarded.

This was a shop called Hundred Medicine Hall, which was a place specifically used by the Purple Sun Sect to collect medicinal herbs.

Qingyang City was located in the hinterland of the Yunling Mountain Range and was a natural treasure house. Many martial artists would come here to search for treasures, and most of them would choose to sell the spiritual herbs and old herbs they found that they couldn't use in Qingyang City.

The Hundred Medicine Hall did business with this group of people. The useful medicinal herbs were digested by the sect, and those that were not useful were sold.

The four showed their mission tokens and soon passed through the shop to the backyard, where they saw a young man with a sharp aura.

This person was named Jin Lei, and he was also one of the outer sect disciples, but not from the same year as Xu Yang and the others, but a disciple from the previous year.

"Listen well, your mission is to ensure that there are no problems with the warehouse and also to ensure the safety of the shop. If you die, the medicinal herbs cannot have any problems."

"When guarding, keep your eyes open. Don't let people slit your throat without even knowing it. For the first month, you are responsible for guarding at night..."

Jin Lei explained some other things, arranged the patrol range for the four, and left directly.

At this time, Xu Yang knew that the person was called Hu Fengyi, and he and Gu Haoming guarded the entrance of the warehouse, responsible for checking the identity of people entering.

He and Lu Ren were responsible for patrolling around the warehouse.

The next few days were peaceful. Xu Yang guarded the Hundred Medicine Hall at night and returned to the Purple Sun Sect to cultivate during the day.

The time used for cultivation was much less, but fortunately, he had already refined qi into steel. Even when patrolling, his cultivation was slowly growing.

And he now only had the Burden-Bearing Bear Scripture and the Diamond Steel Art to cultivate, so having less time didn't have much impact. Gradually, he adapted to this life.

These few days, he also learned some things. Lu Ren, Gu Haoming, and Hu Fengyi were friends, and the three of them had made an appointment to take this mission together. Only he had been forcibly arranged by Xiao Hua.

Time flew, and it was time to issue the Qi Gathering Pills again. This time, Xu Yang successfully received the elixirs without any trouble.

He swallowed one on the spot and found that it was indeed as the rumors said: Qi-Nourishing Pills had little effect on Marrow Cleansing martial artists and were not as obvious as when he was in the Qi Gathering realm.

He put away the remaining two, intending to sell them when he had the chance, turned around and entered the restaurant, and soon met Qin Ze and the other four.

"Let's talk about the progress in cultivation first. Has anyone refined qi into steel?" Qin Ze spoke first.

Without strength, an alliance was a joke, so what everyone cared about most was the progress of strength.

Yue Gui said: "I refined qi into steel five days ago."

"I also refined qi into steel."

The one who said this was Liu Qian. She had a calm smile on her face; she had actually also refined qi into steel.

Added to Qin Ze, the alliance suddenly had three experts who had refined qi into steel.

Although compared to those old disciples of the outer sect, refining qi into steel didn't count for much, among the new disciples, this was definitely a cultivation that walked ahead of most people.

"I'm still a bit short." Chen Jiang's voice was a bit weak.

Then everyone looked at Xu Yang.

He pondered for a while and said: "Within a month, I should be able to break through."

He didn't intend to reveal the matter of refining qi into steel for the time being.

Last time, he only revealed the Wind-Thunder Force, and the Heroes' Gathering came to his door the next day. Although it didn't cause trouble, it was triggered by this.

There was also the matter of Xiao Hua targeting him, and he guessed it might be related to this.

If he were just a mediocre person, not to mention Xiao Hua just framing him a few times, even if he slapped him a few times, he would be powerless to resist.

But he had become a genius who could almost rival the Ten Heroes, so Xiao Hua would naturally worry about his revenge after he grew up and would want to trip him up.

Qin Ze said: "Now the alliance already has three experts who have refined qi into steel, which is very good. When we meet next time, everyone should be able to refine qi into steel."

Speaking of this, everyone showed a smile.

Although some people hadn't refined steel qi yet, this step couldn't stop everyone's pace.

Yue Gui said: "This time, let's add a resource-sharing segment. My Qi-Nourishing Pills are useless. Does anyone need them? Just give them at the black market price."

Qin Ze's eyes lit up and said: "Exchange them with me. My Spirit Monkey Fist Hall still has a few junior brothers who haven't reached the perfection of Qi Gathering."

Although the black market was five kilometers outside the mountain gate, not everyone had the courage and ability to take a trip to the black market. If they were unlucky, they wouldn't be able to return after going.

Seeing Qin Ze preempt him, Chen Jiang's slightly opened mouth made no sound.

"Mine are also useless, also at the black market price!" Liu Qian said softly.

"Exchange with me." This time Chen Jiang spoke first.

A flash of displeasure flashed in Qin Ze's eyes, but he didn't express anything.

Xu Yang watched all this and also spoke: "I have reached the perfection of Qi Gathering and also don't need them. However, I just tried one, and there are only two left. Just give me four contribution points."

This time Chen Jiang spoke first again, taking two Qi-Nourishing Pills for four contribution points. He was full of smiles, completely unaware of the fleeting displeasure in Qin Ze's eyes.

After the exchange of elixirs and contribution points ended, Qin Ze said: "Does anyone have any intelligence to share?"

Xu Yang shook his head: "My mission is in Qingyang City. Recently, I've been running between the city and the sect, so I don't have any useful news."

Chen Jiang showed a look of surprise: "Brother Xu, didn't you just finish the Lihuo Peak mission? Why are you doing missions again? You should calm your heart and go into seclusion."

Qin Ze nodded: "Brother Xu, if your resources are not enough, I can lend you some, and you can return them to me after you refine qi into steel. Contribution points are certainly important, but cultivation is the foundation."

Both of them thought that Xu Yang was working so hard to earn contribution points.

Yue Gui said: "I heard that Brother Xu's mission was forcibly arranged by the deacon of the Mission Hall. Is that so, Brother Xu?"

Once these words were spoken, Qin Ze and Chen Jiang's expressions changed slightly. So he was being targeted.

Xu Yang nodded: "That's right."

Liu Qian said: "Brother Xu, please be careful. I heard from my older brother that the errand of guarding the Hundred Medicine Hall is not easy to do, and disciples guarding it often die, so few people do it."

"Especially when the shop receives precious spiritual herbs, it's most prone to accidents."

Xu Yang cupped his hands: "Many thanks for the information, I will be careful."

Soon, the group talked about intelligence again.

Yue Gui said: "I have a piece of news: there is a force in the city called the Ten Thousand Treasure Pavilion, which occasionally sells elixirs for the Marrow Cleansing realm, but you have to spend more than five thousand taels there to be qualified to buy them."

"If you have any ideas, you can go to the Ten Thousand Treasure Pavilion to spend more."

Elixirs for the Marrow Cleansing realm could also be exchanged with contribution points in the outer sect, but a lot of contribution points were needed.

Many people had money at home and could only go outside to buy elixirs for the Marrow Cleansing realm.

Yue Gui's words made Liu Qian and the others happy, completely ignoring the threshold of five thousand taels.

Several people felt that this intelligence was very useful and thanked him one after another.

After the thanks ended, Liu Qian spoke again. This time, he used a gloating tone.

"I heard from my older brother that the Ruifeng Hall and the Dawn Society have joined forces, and Cao Rong and Yun Feng have started to require those ordinary members to pay a certain amount of contribution points as membership fees every month."

Xu Yang was somewhat surprised. He didn't expect Yun Feng and Cao Rong to start harvesting leeks so quickly. He didn't know if Zhang Yong and the others were on the leek list.

Yue Gui smiled: "They deserve it. They really thought there was a pie falling from the sky. They didn't think about what the identities of Young Master Cao and Young Master Yun were, providing them with protection for no reason."

Qin Ze frowned: "Don't these people know how to resist?"

Liu Qian shook his head: "Cao Ren of the Cao family is one of the backers of the Dawn Society in the inner sect. How dare they resist? Besides, it's currently just boiling a frog in warm water, and the collection is very small, within their acceptable range."

"Yun Feng and Cao Rong are not fools. Collecting too much at once will only cause resistance. They probably plan to do it little by little."

After a while, the group said some other unimportant intelligence, and this meeting of the alliance ended.

Xu Yang stood up and intended to leave, only to find that everyone was sitting still.

Chen Jiang smiled: "Brother Xu, you go first. We all want to ask Brother Yue to help us move around and get a mission with little work and many contribution points."

Yue Gui had connections and could use money to get good missions.

Xu Yang nodded, turned around, and pushed the door to leave.

The room was quiet for a while, as if confirming that Xu Yang had gone far away, before Qin Ze spoke: "Speak, Brother Yue, what did you mean by letting the four of us stay after the alliance meeting?"

"Xu Yang is also an ally; it's not good to do this behind his back."

It turned out that Chen Jiang's words were just an excuse. The four had arrived here a step before Xu Yang, and Yue Gui had already communicated with the three before, letting Xu Yang leave first this time, as he had something to say to the three.

Chen Jiang smiled lightly: "Brother Qin, don't you understand yet? Brother Yue is considering it for us. Now in the outer sect, everyone knows that we are allied with Xu Yang."

"He is now being targeted by the deacon of the Mission Hall and has been assigned a mission that is extremely dangerous. If we few continue to maintain an alliance relationship with him, aren't you worried about being implicated by the deacon of the Mission Hall and being given small shoes to wear?"

Once these words were spoken, Qin Ze's expression changed slightly.

The deacon of the Mission Hall really held their lifeline. If he wanted to target someone, he could assign you a few dangerous missions, and ten lives wouldn't be enough to die.