Chapter 10: Gu Xiangxiang

The person who arrived was the Third Elder's disciple, Mei Qianxue's junior sister, Gu Xiangxiang.

She wore a moon-colored long dress, her long hair pulled up with a jade hairpin, a few strands hanging down, adding an air of intellect.

When Lu Chen looked at her, she was barefoot landing from her sword, her every move revealing a calm and unhurried elegance.

Although she was over thirty, time had left no trace on her.

Of course...... Lu Chen knew in his heart that it wasn't just the face that bore the marks of time.

"Junior Brother Lu, have you been having a hard time these days with Senior Sister Mei?"

She walked toward Lu Chen at a leisurely pace, a smile on her lips, her gaze appearing very gentle.

Since Lu Chen met her, she has always been like this.

Over the years, aside from dual cultivation, I have never discovered another side of her.

From beginning to end, she has always been this easygoing and mature manner.

Adding to this attire, if placed outside, no one would guess she is a demonic cultivator.

Nevertheless, even so, Lu Chen had the lesson of Mei Qianxue as a warning, and he dared not let his guard down too much.

The more a woman is like this, the possibly darker her heart.

Last time he was almost drained dry; this time, if he were even slightly careless and lost his life, it would be troublesome.

"......"

After walking up close and carefully examining Lu Chen from all sides, Gu Xiangxiang immediately fell into thought.

"He's actually reached Foundation Establishment?"

"It seems these days, Senior Sister Mei has put a lot of effort into him; otherwise, with such a dual cultivation speed, how could he possibly break through to Foundation Establishment?"

"A supreme yang spiritual root furnace cauldron of Foundation Establishment—truly never enjoyed."

"It's a pity that the master sent me out to find someone; I should report back to the master later before coming to seek him."

Seeing Gu Xiangxiang somewhat lost in thought, Lu Chen quickly waved his hand.

"Senior Sister, is there something you need from me?"

These senior sisters looking for him are certainly not just for idle chat; he has long been accustomed to it.

"Nothing much, just happened to pass by and saw you." Gu Xiangxiang chuckled, then suddenly shifted the topic: "Junior Brother, are you free tonight?"

"Replying to Senior Sister, yes."

Lu Chen had long anticipated that she would say that, and he answered truthfully.

"Then... how about coming to see Senior Sister tonight?"

Before she even finished speaking, he had already roughly guessed the next sentence.

Thus, he quickly replied: "Yes, Senior Sister."

Hearing his answer, Gu Xiangxiang gave a light laugh, seeming somewhat pleased.

She had just wanted to say a bit more, but then suddenly remembered she still had things to do, so she quickly returned to her sword and left this place.

"Then see you tonight, Junior Brother."

Watching her departing figure, Lu Chen felt a bit strange.

He always felt that her urgent matter seemed related to him.

Moreover, deep down he felt it was connected to the matter of him establishing his Dao foundation that night.

"I originally thought Senior Sister Mei would be in seclusion, allowing me to rest a few days, but now it seems impossible to have any rest before the grand competition."

"Yet during this period I must increase my strength; otherwise, if trouble comes knocking, it'll be like lighting a lamp in the toilet to look for excrement."

He secretly sighed, then set foot on the road to the Mission Pavilion.

The Mission Pavilion is not far from the Hall of Killing Qi; he soon arrived before it.

After showing his disciple token, he quickly entered the Mission Pavilion and came to the place where tasks are received.

Because he is in the interior of the Demonic Sect, under normal circumstances he basically has no contact with orthodox cultivators, or even some common folk.

Therefore, the sect tasks of the Nine Abyss Sect are very singular.

In short, it basically consists of gathering herbs, running errands, and killing demonic beasts—these three repeated.

Previously, Lu Chen basically dared only to take the first two kinds of tasks.

But now, having broken through to Foundation Establishment and possessing three demonic arts, taking on the task of hunting demonic beasts is also not impossible.

Most importantly, he can also use the occasion to verify his current strength level.

By the way, find an opportunity to go out to an open area and try the speed of the Blood Escape Technique.

Although he thought that way, in the end he still only accepted the task of harvesting first-rank demonic beast bones.

A first-rank demonic beast is roughly equivalent to a Qi Refining cultivator; although he has reached Foundation Establishment, stability is most important.

After all, in this place, once you capsize, there may be no day to turn over again.

"Harvest a first-rank demonic beast, the Azure Leopard."

"Submit the task before sunset; overtime counts as task failure."

The disciple issuing the task had a cold expression; after handing him a token, he went off to attend to other matters.

Lu Chen took the token without a word, merely turning his gaze toward another task point's exchange counter.

"I've done tasks for five years, accumulating not a few task points; once this task is done, I'll come back to see if I can exchange them for something."

Soon, he left the Mission Pavilion and headed toward the sect's main gate.

The Nine Abyss Sect lies within the Demonic Sect's interior; aside from the mountain range, the remaining plains are other demonic sects.

Because there are too many demonic sects, many areas have been divided into their respective territories.

Therefore, for Lu Chen to complete his task, he can only go to the Nine Abyss Mountain Range belonging to the Nine Abyss Sect.

"I don't know how many tens of thousands of miles this demonic sect spreads...... With my current Blood Escape Technique, I fear I cannot escape from it."

He walked to the gate, Lu Chen gazed into the distance with a somewhat lost expression.

Earlier he had already learned just how vast the area covered by the Demonic Sect he was in was.

Thinking of this, he knew he probably couldn't leave the Demonic Sect in the short term.

Since that's the case, he should still try to find a way to grow within the Demonic Sect.

Moreover, thinking positively, since he was in the heartland, even if the righteous and demonic factions went to war, he wouldn't be affected so quickly.

Thinking that, he arrived at the sect's main gate.

"Halt, show your token."

After presenting his disciple token, he smoothly left the sect and set off on the road to the Nine Abyss Mountain Range.

However, not long after he left the sect, Wang Qun's figure appeared at the sect gate.

Behind Wang Qun followed several familiar faces.

"You actually went out alone to hunt demon beasts—how naïve."

Wang Qun's eyes turned cold, his face full of contempt.

"Senior Brother Wang, are you sure you don't want us to come along?" After Wang Qun finished speaking, someone behind him suddenly spoke up.

At that moment, Wang Qun furrowed his brows, obviously sneering at the other's idea:

"He's just barely reached Foundation Establishment; how strong could he be? Don't worry, you guys go back and prepare some good food and drink—I'll be back soon."

Wang Qun waved his hand and quickly caught up to Lu Chen from behind.

Seeing him go alone to chase Lu Chen, the few disciples at the gate exchanged glances.

"You guys say, Senior Brother Wang shouldn't run into any trouble, right?"

One of them looked somewhat worried.

"What could happen? He's been immersed in mid‑Foundation Establishment for many years, after all."

"Besides, he has the cultivation technique given to him by Senior Brother Wang Lan."

"In a one‑on‑one fight, even someone at late Foundation Establishment might not necessarily gain the upper hand."

The remaining few, hearing this, all spoke up.

"That's true; then let's do as Senior Brother Wang said and prepare food and drink while we wait for him to return."