Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Why Does This Feel Familiar?

Zong Ziqi was clearly taken aback by Jiang Xu’s words. After a moment of careful thought, he shook his head and said bluntly,

"I don’t know. I don’t know any inside information."

"Huh...?"

Jiang Xu blinked, finding it hard to believe.

"Wait, you’re an Inner Sect Disciple and you don’t even know about this stuff?"

Zong Ziqi replied honestly,

"I really don’t."

After saying that, perhaps afraid Jiang Xu would misunderstand, Zong Ziqi explained,

"Don’t get me wrong, I’m not holding back or afraid of breaking some Sect rule. I just genuinely don’t know. I’ve never successfully completed a single mission since I joined the Sect."

Jiang Xu’s eyes widened.

"When did you join the Sect?"

"Six years ago," Zong Ziqi replied after a quick calculation.

"In all those years, you’ve never done a single mission? I thought the Sect punishes those who don’t, with no exceptions for Inner Sect Disciples."

Zong Ziqi sounded a little helpless himself.

"It was all my master’s arrangement. He said I was too weak."

"He said that even if I took missions, I’d only be able to do the worthless ones that were a complete waste of time. It was better to just focus on improving my strength first."

"Once I was stronger, I could take on meaningful missions that would actually promote my growth."

"Things like eliminating the core forces of rival sects, killing off Demon Sect villains, or hunting Demon Beasts."

Jiang Xu deeply agreed with this sentiment.

He also felt that the Outer Sect missions were a pointless waste of time—nothing more than manual labor.

At this point, Zong Ziqi’s voice turned melancholic.

"Actually... hunting the Mother-Child Spirit-Devouring Insect was the very first mission I ever took. Unfortunately, I failed."

"Back then, my master looked at the mission and judged the difficulty to be moderate. He thought my strength was sufficient to complete it, so he told me it was time for me to ’leave the mountain.’"

"He wanted me to use that mission, which was plaguing the servant area, as a springboard to tackle more and more difficult tasks, build up my reputation, and finally ride that momentum into Foundation Establishment..."

"But my first outing was a disaster. Right at the start, the insect forced me to the point where my Qi Sea shattered and I lost all my Cultivation. I ended up like this."

Jiang Xu was at a loss for words.

’What an unlucky kid, stuck with an equally unlucky master.’

"When I lost my Cultivation, my master felt it was all his fault, so he was wracked with guilt."

"He believed he was unworthy of being a master and severed our master-disciple relationship."

"He said he needed to repent for his actions and would punish himself by never taking on another disciple."

Jiang Xu complained internally.

’This master is really something else. How could he let his disciple venture out so early?’

’See? Isn’t this proof that he ran into danger?’

’You should let your disciple cultivate until they can’t possibly improve anymore. Whether it’s Magic or Cultivation, as long as there’s no bottleneck, they should just keep at it.’

’It’s best to let a disciple reach Foundation Establishment before they go out. No, Golden Core is safer. Wait, how about Nascent Soul instead...’

As these thoughts ran through his mind, Jiang Xu couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity,

"Fellow Daoist Zong, what exactly happened back then? Are the Mother-Child Spirit-Devouring Insects really that dangerous? I thought they were just bugs that ate Spirit Rice."

Zong Ziqi fell silent for a moment, seemingly lost in recollection, before recounting his experience.

"When I first took the mission, I didn’t have any leads. I searched for a long time without finding their nest, only managing to eliminate a number of the outer Sub-Insects.

Later, I locked onto a single Sub-Insect and followed it for a full day and night. That’s how I finally located their nest.

It was a deep cave at the foot of a mountain. When I reached the very back, I found a huge insect—that was the Mother Insect.

The moment I appeared, the Mother Insect unleashed a massive number of Sub-Insects, catching me completely off guard.

Even though my Profound Dragon Sword is a Tier One Upper Grade Magical Artifact, I was still powerless against those Sub-Insects.

They were like a flowing cascade—unstoppable, unending, impossible to cut through.

Once I realized that, I decided to go for the head—to subdue the Mother Insect.

But when I looked over, I found she had already distanced herself to the very limit of my attack range. Her eyes held a mockery that seemed almost human.

Though I have no idea how I managed to read that from its strange compound eyes.

The only silver lining was that at the very end, with my Magical Power exhausted and my life on the line, I comprehended Sword Intent in that moment between life and death. That’s how I managed a strike that surpassed my limits, luckily wounding the Mother Insect and escaping the cave."

Jiang Xu was horrified.

’No wonder the Mother-Child Spirit-Devouring Insect is ranked in the top 500 of the Ancient Exotic Insect List. It’s incredibly powerful, a true swarm tactician.’

’Even if it’s "only" in the top 500, in the context of the Ancient Times when experts were as common as clouds, a top-500 ranking would mean it’s at least at the Golden Core level, if not Nascent Soul.’

’It might even be stronger than a Nascent Soul cultivator.’

’It’s a shame that insect got away. Who knows where it is now? Is it recuperating, waiting for the next chance to cause chaos?’

’If it grows in secret, perhaps even the Profound Origin Sect couldn’t handle it. I need to make plans early.’

’But my Concealing Breath Spell has reached the Mastery stage. That should be enough to hide from this insect, right?’

After hearing all this, Jiang Xu had completely given up on getting any useful information from Zong Ziqi.

He would have to figure out the Sect mission situation by himself.

Jiang Xu didn’t dare to take advice from someone so unlucky that they lost their Cultivation on their very first Sect mission.

"Oh, right," Zong Ziqi suddenly added. "I remember that if you join the Hundred Arts Pavilion, they issue exclusive missions to their affiliated Outer Disciples."

"You can just complete those missions directly and won’t have to pick any up from the General Affairs Hall."

"The missions there are for Outer Disciples who haven’t joined the Hundred Arts Pavilion."

Jiang Xu’s eyes lit up when he heard Zong Ziqi’s words.

’So that’s how it works.’

’Great!’

Jiang Xu had been wanting to join the Talisman Pavilion anyway. In another month, he would take its qualification assessment.

’All I have to do is pass with the minimum standard.’

’Worst case, I can just say I have a small talent for Talisman Making and that I spent all my Spirit Stones on it, which is why I barely met the standard.’

’This way, the problem of Sect missions will be solved, and I can start trying to sell my Cold Ice Talismans bit by bit!’

’Yes!’

’Everything’s coming together!’

...

WHOOSH—!

WHOOSH—!

Two streaks of red light flashed, and a Sound Transmission Talisman appeared before both Jiang Xu and Zong Ziqi.

As they watched with curiosity, a voice emanated from the talismans.

From the sound of it, it was the Outer Sect Steward.

"Outer Disciples Jiang Xu and Zong Ziqi, heed this order! Senior Sister Yan Chunyu, one of the Top Ten Inner Disciples, has personally selected you to participate in a Sect mission. You must report to the front of the General Affairs Hall before noon tomorrow to await dispatch. You may not refuse unless there are special, life-threatening circumstances."

Huh?

’Who???’

’Yan Chunyu?’

’Is that just a person with the same name, or is it the real deal?’

’Wait a minute...’

’Why do I feel like I’ve had this exact thought before?’