Chapter 28

"I've been busy cooking every day and just forgot about it."

Hearing this, a thought occurred to all the disciples simultaneously.

Junior Brother Changqing had to go out for a mission, and an investigation mission at that. This would take at least several days, meaning they wouldn't be able to eat the food he cooked for at least a few days?

Everyone was not having it.

But this mandatory mission was a sect regulation. Not to mention handyman disciples, even direct disciples like Xu Jie and Liu Shuang had to complete their mandatory missions.

Their gazes fell upon Ye Changqing, and someone said,

"Junior Brother Changqing, I’ll go with you."

Junior Brother Changqing was currently only at the Body Refining realm. Going alone would inevitably waste time. If an outer or inner sect disciple accompanied him, it would be much simpler.

A mere half-demon—let alone investigating it, killing it would be a matter of flipping one's hand. Once they finished it quickly, it wouldn't delay everyone’s mealtime.

As soon as this was said, it immediately received support from many disciples. ===== CHAPTER 52 =====

"Junior Brother Changqing, I’ll go with you."

A disciple spoke up, and the remark immediately drew support from the crowd.

"That’s right, Junior Brother Changqing, we’ll go with you. A mere half-demon can be wiped out with a wave of the hand."

"Exactly, Junior Brother Changqing can just rest on the side. We senior brothers will handle the rough work for you."

The disciples spoke all at once, appearing even more proactive than if they had accepted the mission themselves.

Just kidding, how could they let Junior Brother Changqing be distracted by a mission? They would help with it; it was just a half-demon, they could kill it easily.

The sect didn't forbid helping, and there were even team missions.

However, such situations were rare because asking someone for help meant sharing sect points with them.

Sect points were very precious in the Dao One Sect, and no one was willing to do that.

But in Ye Changqing’s case, the disciples didn't care about sect points at all; they simply wanted to help, nothing more.

Facing their proposal, Ye Changqing smiled embarrassedly.

"Thank you, senior brothers, but it’s just an investigation mission. I think I can handle it alone..."

Ye Changqing didn't want to trouble everyone; after all, he had Xiaobai, and traveling back and forth was convenient. He was perfectly fine alone. But before he could finish, he was interrupted by the crowd.

"What are you saying, Junior Brother Changqing? Isn't it only right for fellow disciples to help each other?"

"Exactly, and I have business in Leshan Town anyway, so I can just handle it on the way."

"Don't refuse, Junior Brother. I have nothing to do and just want to go out for a stroll."

Unable to refuse, Ye Changqing felt helpless. Finally, Hong Zun spoke up and designated an inner sect disciple to accompany him.

"Kid Changqing, let Jin Min go with you. She’s good at investigation missions, even better than Youyou. It will save a lot of trouble."

Jin Min’s combat power wasn't considered strong among inner sect disciples—at most, it was middle-to-lower tier—and her cultivation was only at the Core Formation realm perfection.

Letting Jin Min follow wasn't out of concern for Ye Changqing’s safety—after all, he had Xiaobai—but mainly because the cultivation technique Jin Min practiced gave her keen perception, which would help with the investigation and save time.

Seeing that even Hong Zun had spoken, Ye Changqing didn't refuse in the end.

"Try to come back early."

Hong Zun said as he left after breakfast.

He was also worried that if Ye Changqing stayed away too long, he wouldn't be able to eat, which was why he arranged for Jin Min to go along.

After arranging Ye Changqing’s mission, the disciples left one after another, though their moods were downcast at the thought of having no lunch.

They wouldn't be back until at least evening.

"Junior Brother Changqing, you must come back quickly."

They said one by one, looking reluctant. Ye Changqing nodded with a bitter smile. Was it really necessary to be like this just because he was going out for a mission?

And with Xiaobai and Jin Min, an inner sect disciple, accompanying him, was it really that serious?

After seeing everyone off, Ye Changqing looked at Jin Min.

She was a tall, pretty girl, slightly older than Ye Changqing.

"Senior Sister Jin, please wait a moment. I’ll pack up and we can leave."

"Alright, Junior Brother."

Jin Min smiled, and with the smile, two small dimples appeared on her face, which were sweet enough to melt one's heart.

Jin Min had no resistance at all to accompanying Ye Changqing; finishing the mission quickly meant eating sooner. That was Jin Min’s thought, and it was the thought of all the disciples, including Peak Master Hong Zun.

After packing simply, the two rode Xiaobai and left Profound Sword Peak, heading straight for Leshan Town.

With Jin Min there, Ye Changqing finally got to experience what it was like to stand on Xiaobai’s back. Spiritual power protected them both, completely blocking out the fierce winds.

At the same time, Xiaobai’s speed had increased significantly, much faster than last time.

While Ye Changqing and Jin Min were rushing to Leshan Town, in the mountains outside the town, there was a seemingly unremarkable mountain peak. However, the interior of the peak had been completely hollowed out, forming a massive space.

It looked like a great hall, and in the center of the hall, five figures sat in a circle.

Their forms resembled humans, but they had varying degrees of beastly features. Without a doubt, these five figures were transformed demonic beasts.

Demonic beasts also had cultivation levels, starting from the lowest level of Transformed Demon, followed by Mortal Demon, Profound Demon, Violet Demon, and Origin Demon.

These corresponded to human cultivators at the Qi Condensation, Pulse Opening, Core Formation, Violet Palace, and Nascent Soul realms, respectively.

To be able to transform, a demonic beast had to be at least at the Violet Demon level.

Since these five could transform, they were undoubtedly Great Demons at the Violet Demon realm.

And since they were gathered outside Leshan Town, it was clear that the situation in Leshan Town was not that simple.

In fact, through the conversation of these five Violet Demons, it was confirmed that the situation in Leshan Town was indeed so.

"Leshan Town is under the jurisdiction of the Dao One Sect. If we act like this, the Dao One Sect must have already become alert."

"Then what can we do? Should we just leave those remains alone?"

"Don't worry, we have always sent that half-demon out to investigate. Even if the Dao One Sect knows, they will only think it’s a half-demon causing trouble and will at most send some outer sect disciples, which is not worth mentioning."

"This time, we must bring back the remains of Lord Black Feather."

The purpose of these five Violet Demons gathering here was because the remains of a Great Demon were hidden beneath Leshan Town, and these remains were very important to them.

However, because Leshan Town was very close to the Dao One Sect, they dared not expose their tracks, or they would surely be hunted down by the Dao One Sect.

So, these five Violet Demons used a secret technique to control a half-demon, using it to enter Leshan Town. It looked like a half-demon was causing trouble, but in reality, they were secretly searching for the Great Demon’s remains.

A half-demon was clearly not worth the Dao One Sect’s attention. Even if they sent disciples, they would at most be outer sect disciples, and eight out of ten times, they would be handyman disciples.

And to them, there was no difference between outer sect disciples and handyman disciples; they could crush them easily.

Getting the Great Demon’s remains without attracting the Dao One Sect’s attention and then fleeing quickly—that was the plan of these five Violet Demons.

So far, the plan was perfect. By controlling the half-demon, they had roughly located the Great Demon’s remains.

Now they were just waiting for the right moment to act.

It was estimated that even the Dao One Sect wouldn't have expected that there were five Violet Demons operating in the shadows behind this matter. Otherwise, this mission would have required at least inner sect disciples to handle it; it would never have been given to handyman disciples.

Unfortunately, these five Violet Demons were hidden too deeply. From beginning to end, they never showed themselves, and no one knew of their existence.

And the oblivious Ye Changqing was currently on his way to Leshan Town with Jin Min. ===== CHAPTER 53 =====