Chapter 56: The Mission

Among the five attributes of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, the one Yan Xiao was most unfamiliar with was the Wood attribute.

The Wood attribute encompasses ten thousand plants; used well, it is a miraculous remedy to save the world, but used poorly, it is a lethal poison.

To bring the Wood attribute to its extreme, he still needed an Encyclopedia of Vegetation.

"Owner, have you given up on the Wood attribute? The Wood attribute is very powerful, you know..."

The system changed its voice to that of a little loli again, speaking in a soft and cute tone.

"Whether killing or saving, the Wood attribute is indeed powerful, but I am not cut out for medicine, and I have zero interest in alchemy or anything of the sort. I only need to be able to absorb Wood Spirit Qi and keep the Five Elements Divine Art in balance."

Yan Xiao said, lacking any ambition.

"No, if you want to cultivate the Five Elements Divine Art to the extreme, you must be proficient in every attribute. If the Owner is severely lopsided in their studies, you will suffer a Qi deviation."

The system would not have it, speaking in a huff.

Is there such a thing as being lopsided in one's studies?

Good heavens, becoming proficient in the Wood attribute is definitely a technical and mental task; one must be proficient in both physics and chemistry. This was exactly what Yan Xiao feared most—a headache!

"Owner, for the sake of your future development, the system has automatically purchased the Immortal World Encyclopedia of Vegetation 【Refined Edition】 for you. Remember to read it when you have time."

The system giggled, sounding very cute.

But when Yan Xiao saw the consumption record in the backend, he no longer felt the little loli was cute.

"Little sister, does this crappy book really cost 8,000 Fear Value?"

Yan Xiao felt like crying; he had finally managed to save up 30,000 Fear Value, and just like that, so much was gone. His heart ached terribly.

"This is the Encyclopedia of Vegetation personally adapted by the Medicine Saint, you know. It is a high-quality product, authoritatively certified, so the price is naturally a bit higher, hehe..."

"I feel like it's a lot higher. Next time, without my permission, you are not allowed to buy things randomly..."

Yan Xiao walked toward the sixth level, feeling dejected.

In the great hall, seeing Yan Xiao actually walking toward the entrance of the sixth level, everyone held their breath.

"If you have the guts, go down. The sixth level is Metal attribute; if you go down, you will definitely be sliced into pieces."

Bai Yuming prayed in his heart; he actually hoped Yan Xiao would overestimate his own abilities and enter the sixth level.

"Junior Brother, stop him quickly."

Luo Cang shouted loudly at Luosang, truly afraid that Yan Xiao would be arrogant enough to jump in.

Yan Xiao walked to the side of the entrance, leaned his body over to look inside, and discovered he couldn't see anything, which left him feeling a bit disappointed.

"Hello, is anyone there?"

He shouted loudly toward the cave entrance, acting very childishly. As the words left his mouth, he started laughing at himself.

Like a fool.

"What is he doing? Why hasn't he gone in yet?"

Bai Yuming said anxiously.

The crowd rolled their eyes at him; the intentions of this old fellow were too obvious, weren't they?

Luosang's sharp gaze arrived, and endless sword intent suddenly erupted from his eyes. Bai Yuming only felt a pain in his chest; the sword Qi had already injured his heart.

"If you speak without restraint again, I will kill you."

Luosang said coldly.

Bai Yuming bowed and retreated, not daring to say another word.

Yao Youzi looked at him with sympathy; they all wanted the brat Yan Xiao to die, but one couldn't show it right in front of the others!

Enter the sixth level?

Yan Xiao was not that stupid. The Spirit Qi pressure of the fifth level was already his limit; his current cultivation base definitely could not withstand the sixth level.

Once he became the Sect Master of Luoxia Mountain, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future; there was no need to rush.

Walking to the corner of the wall, Yan Xiao used Earth Escape to leave, and in a moment, his figure appeared in the great hall of Luoxia Mountain.

"Everyone, how was my assessment? Did I meet the standard?"

Yan Xiao asked with a smile, looking at everyone present.

"Brother Yan Xiao has truly opened my eyes. I have also entered this Spirit Cave, and even now, I can only persist for a moment on the fifth level; I am not as at ease as you are, brother."

Chang Yongsheng immediately stepped forward to congratulate him, giving Yan Xiao plenty of face.

"Brother-in-law is the best!"

Feng Jingxuan had been won over by Yan Xiao's strength to the point of blind worship.

He winked at Feng Jingxuan in response.

Yan Xiao passed the assessment; some were happy and some were worried. The happiest were the Feng Family, who were now the in-laws of Luoxia Mountain and the family of the Sect Master's wife.

With Luosang, Luoxia Mountain's strength and reputation rose with the tide; a Spirit Void Realm great cultivator was already the number one expert in Luoyue City on the surface.

"The succession ceremony begins."

Following a loud shout from Luo Cang, Yan Xiao, dressed in fine robes, sat upon the Sect Master's throne.

All the cultivators of Luoxia Mountain bowed and saluted, shouting in unison: "Greetings, Sect Master."

"Congratulations, Brother Yan."

Chang Yongsheng cupped his hands in congratulations, treating him as an equal.

"City Lord, you are too kind. Please, take a seat."

Yan Xiao laughed and returned the salute.

"Sect Master Yan... I have matters to attend to at Baihe Mountain, so I will not disturb you further. Farewell..."

Bai Yuming's face was deathly pale; he had clearly been injured not lightly by Luosang. Today, he had truly lost all face.

"Walk slowly... I won't see you out. Anyone who has business may leave first; no need to be polite." Yan Xiao's tone was calm, but anyone could hear the arrogance in his heart.

"Everyone knows that my ability to sit on the Sect Master's throne is the will of heaven, but what is unknown behind the scenes is my unremitting effort and my spirit of never giving up."

Hearing this, even the corners of Chang Yongsheng's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

How shameless.

Don't you have any self-awareness about how you ended up in that seat?

The crowd collectively rolled their eyes.

Yan Xiao's skin was so thick that he acted as if he saw nothing, continuing to speak with great fervor, "I know everyone has looked down on me and looked down on Luoxia Mountain, but it doesn't matter. Today, I, Yan Xiao, will put it on the line: within three years, my Luoxia Mountain will definitely be the head of the Seven Spirits."

The crowd was stunned; their first reaction was that Yan Xiao was bragging, and he had already bragged his way to the heavens.

Although Luoxia Mountain now had the great help of Luosang, all their talent in various fields had been poached, so the chances of climbing from the bottom to the top within three years were extremely slim.

"Alright, enough said. Thank you all for coming to my Luoxia Mountain despite your busy schedules. I am very grateful."

Yan Xiao finally ended his shocking speech, and Luo Cang broke into a cold sweat for him, fearing that the several Sect Masters might leave in a fit of rage.

"Everyone, please take your seats and have a simple meal together. Please forgive our poor hospitality, please forgive our poor hospitality."

Luo Hai and Luo Tian were busy running around, exhausted.

After drinking a cup of wine, the several Sect Masters took their leave one after another, and the small factions attached to them also mostly departed.

Only Chang Yongsheng, the Feng Family, and the Dadao Sect did not leave, which avoided the tragedy of the tea going cold once the guests had left.

"Little brother, shall we two brothers have a drink?" Chang Yongsheng looked at Yan Xiao with a playful smile.

"No problem. Yan Xiao thanks you, elder brother, for your help."

Yan Xiao laughed, walked over with his wine cup, and readily drank a full cup.

"Little brother's drinking capacity has improved quite a bit. Elder brother will finish his."

Chang Yongsheng downed the wine in his cup in one gulp, not forgetting to tease Yan Xiao.

"Elder brother is leaving now too. If you have any difficulties, just mention them to me; I will help you as much as I can."

After drinking three cups, Chang Yongsheng said his goodbyes and left.

Yan Xiao nodded repeatedly and escorted Chang Yongsheng all the way to the Injury Gate before returning.

"Sect Master, the Dadao Sect wants to attach themselves to us. How should we handle this?"

Behind him, Luosang asked Yan Xiao.

"Is there money to be made?"

Yan Xiao let out a wine-induced burp, his eyes bleary and drunk.

"After the Yuhua Sect left, the Dadao Sect was ostracized by various factions; they are at the end of their rope and completely destitute," Luosang said.

"How many disciples does Luoxia Mountain currently have?" Yan Xiao asked.

"Uh... fewer than 100."

"Be more specific."

"Fewer than 50." Luosang's palms were sweating.

"Be even more specific."

"After Ma Pangzi and his group left, there are now 28 disciples in the sect: 20 female disciples and 8 male disciples," Luosang said shamefully.