Chapter 76

Walking out of the Duty Hall, Jiang Ye did not delay and went straight to the Duty Hall located halfway up the mountain.

Stepping into the hall, a young woman dressed in deacon robes immediately came to greet him.

She was about twenty-five or twenty-six, with a pretty face and a clever look in her eyes; she was Cao Ying, a deacon of the Duty Hall.

Cao Ying looked at the white-haired, unfamiliar old man before her, a flash of surprise crossing her eyes.

She could feel the scorching, sun-like aura around the old man.

Without a doubt, this was an elder of the Embracing the Pill Realm.

But she had been working in the Duty Hall for several years, and while she might not know all the elders of every peak, she had met most of them at least once.

She had absolutely no impression of the one before her.

With a thousand thoughts in her mind, the smile on Cao Ying's face became even more respectful.

She bowed slightly, her voice crisp:

"Elder, are you here to accept a mission?"

"Yes."

Jiang Ye nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping across the hall.

"Elder, please follow me; you can take a look at the commission papers and pick a mission you'd like to accept."

Cao Ying led the way, bringing Jiang Ye to the center of the hall.

It was covered with all kinds of commission papers, densely packed, with at least a hundred of them.

Jiang Ye scanned them casually.

Hunting down a fugitive, reward five hundred contribution points.

Investigating a missing Tianqing Sect disciple, reward eight hundred contribution points.

Escorting supplies to a certain place, reward one thousand two hundred contribution points...

Most were trivial matters, with rewards ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand, none of which caught his eye.

If he was going to do it, he would do something big.

His gaze continued to wander, and suddenly his eyes lit up.

A pale yellow commission paper hung quietly in the corner, the handwriting on it clear and powerful: Exterminate the Black Wind Stronghold, reward twenty thousand contribution points.

"Black Wind Stronghold..."

Jiang Ye reached out to take the commission paper and began to browse through it carefully.

The commission paper recorded: Black Wind Stronghold is located on Black Songshan, fifty miles east of the prefecture city; the terrain is steep and difficult to attack.

The stronghold gathers over a hundred fierce bandits, and the five leaders are all of Transformation of Force cultivation, specializing in robbing merchant caravans, and are notorious.

In recent years, many merchant caravans have fallen victim to them, suffering heavy losses.

"Specializing in robbing merchant caravans... they must have looted quite a lot of money..."

A flash of brilliance crossed Jiang Ye's aged eyes.

Dealing with this group of mountain bandits would not only earn him twenty thousand contribution points but also their ill-gotten gains.

It could be called a win-win!

This is the mission!

The only thing that Jiang Ye found strange was that with such a generous reward, why hadn't any other Embracing the Pill Realm elders accepted this mission.

After all, the five leading mountain bandits were only of Transformation of Force strength; how was this any different from a free gift?

"Elder, are you going to accept the mission to exterminate the Black Wind Stronghold?"

Cao Ying asked softly from the side.

"Yes."

Jiang Ye nodded slightly.

Hearing the confirmation, a flash of hesitation crossed Cao Ying's face, and she seemed to want to say something but stopped.

A moment later, she said: "Elder, please give me your token, and I will help you register."

Jiang Ye casually took out his elder token and handed it to her, while asking curiously: "Has no other elder accepted this mission?"

Cao Ying took the token and replied softly: "Several elders have accepted this mission..."

She paused, "But none of them were able to complete it."

"Oh? An Embracing the Pill Realm elder can't deal with these mountain bandits?"

A flash of surprise crossed Jiang Ye's aged eyes.

Could it be that the waters of Black Wind Stronghold were deeper than he imagined?

"Elder, this is the file on Black Wind Stronghold; you can take a look."

Cao Ying turned and took a scroll from the shelf, handing it to Jiang Ye with both hands.

Jiang Ye opened it and saw that the information about Black Wind Stronghold was recorded in great detail.

The First Leader of Black Wind Stronghold, nicknamed Zhou Laoguai, is at the peak of Transformation of Force, wielding a fast sword with fierce and ruthless sword techniques.

The Second Leader, nicknamed Bao Shanxiong, is at the Great Achievement of Transformation of Force, with powerful fist techniques and infinite strength.

The Third Leader, nicknamed Chuan Shanlang, is at the Great Achievement of Transformation of Force, with agile movement and skilled in using short blades.

There is not much recorded about the Fourth and Fifth Leaders, but they are also experts at the mid-stage of Transformation of Force.

The five of them work together with tacit understanding, and even when facing an average early-stage Embracing the Pill expert, they have the strength to fight.

If they can't win, they can retreat calmly.

They have gathered many experts of Hidden Force and Open Force strength, and relying on the steep terrain of Black Songshan, they are difficult to attack and can be called local tyrants.

Moreover, their style of operation is very cunning, focusing primarily on seeking wealth.

They rob merchant caravans with great discretion and never touch the big families in the prefecture city.

As for medium-sized families, they usually just collect a symbolic toll and don't easily provoke them.

They mainly target small families, each time collecting a hefty toll.

From time to time, they will launch a big operation against a small family, snatching both people and goods, and then extorting a huge ransom.

"So they like to make money... very good..."

After reading the file, the smile in Jiang Ye's aged eyes grew even brighter.

However, he was still a bit puzzled as to why the Embracing the Pill Realm elders of the Tianqing Sect couldn't exterminate these mountain bandits.

It shouldn't be that weak.

"Elder, you don't know."

Cao Ying said with a bitter smile:

"These mountain bandits are very cunning; the terrain on Black Songshan is steep, and they have set up hidden sentries everywhere. As soon as they discover a strong enemy, they don't fight hard but run away directly. The several elders of our Tianqing Sect who accepted the mission before all suffered losses here."

She paused and added: "Black Songshan stretches for dozens of miles, with gullies crisscrossing; it's just too easy to hide someone. Unless they can be blocked in the stronghold and wiped out in one go, as long as a few escape, they will make a comeback before long."

"So that's how it is."

Jiang Ye nodded thoughtfully.

A moment later, he said: "This is the mission; I accept it."

Cao Ying was slightly startled, then nodded respectfully and registered both the token and the commission paper.

At the same time.

Prefecture city, Su family residence.

In the hall, the atmosphere was as cold as ice.

Su Yan stood in the hall, her pretty face, which usually wore a bright smile, now looking as if it had been frozen, all the color fading in an instant.

Her beautiful eyes were wide open, staring fixedly at the travel-worn steward who was full of guilt, her voice trembling slightly:

"What? Our goods... were robbed by the people of Black Wind Stronghold?!"