Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 191: Rules

Morning eventually arrived, and Mary knocked at the sliding door to warn the couple about the event. Liam and Melissa didn’t waste time leaving the building, but their departure featured a specific difference now. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Despite the early hour, a few cultivators and some drunkards still occupied the lower floors, but the couple didn’t merely ignore them now. At least, Melissa made sure to announce something she hadn’t done earlier.

The Sect was an isolated environment, and Melissa had to play tricks with Liam to get his unique brain to understand their mutual affection and attraction.

The strategy had been successful, so, despite Melissa liking physical contact, she had avoided reiterating it in the outside world, especially since the mission took priority.

Yet, Liam had rejected Melissa’s idea of covering her face, so she had decided to cling to him in public again. It was nothing major or too intimate, but it acted as a declaration that kept most unwanted attention away.

That had been true both in the Mercenary Guild’s building and Thornvale’s main street. Still, crossing the town’s gate made Melissa drop that loud gesture since something connected to the mission had been waiting for the couple.

Elliot had been nowhere to be seen during the departure, but the couple found him outside the gate, solemnly waiting by the carriage that the Mercenary Guild had prepared.

"Seniors," Elliot promptly bowed. "Please, make yourself comfortable. We’ll reach Birgan Falls by tomorrow at dawn."

Liam didn’t think much about the matter and let Melissa go into the carriage first, only to stop on the steps when he saw Elliot still bowing outside.

"Won’t you join us?" Liam questioned.

"Senior, I wouldn’t dare to intrude on your privacy," Elliot explained. "I’ll be next to the coachman."

"No, join us," Liam refused, wanting to get those pleasantries done with as soon as possible. "I have questions anyway."

"Senior, you honor me," Elliot said, not missing that opportunity to start building a connection with his ticket into a Sect.

Liam and Melissa settled on the same side. Instead, Elliot sat on the opposite side, his stance tense, wanting to remain alert for whenever those two cultivators might need him.

The carriage began to move, and Melissa sat cross-legged, closing her eyes to meditate. That was Liam’s plan, and he had already proven his superior aptitude when it came to those kinds of missions, so she would leave the logistics to him.

"Elliot, explain something," Liam called, his mind already fully focused on the mission. "What exactly is a spirit stone’s spring?"

Elliot didn’t dare harbor useless thoughts. He didn’t care if Liam was merely testing him or was truly clueless about the topic. He would reply to the best of his ability to show his knowledge.

"It’s a body of water that can take many shapes," Elliot explained. "Many deposits of spirit stones form underground where the Qi can’t disperse as easily. Currents can flow through them and drag them to the surface."

Liam nodded internally. He believed he had read about the topic. Just like with Joel’s mineral, spirit stones formed naturally, with the richest mines existing underground.

Actually, some theories said that spirit stones were crystallized Qi that failed to disperse or affect the environment, leading to the creation of those deposits.

"Birgan Falls is split into three sections," Elliot continued. "The outermost section covers a waterfall and the lake it creates. The middle one follows the river from the waterfall to where it surfaces."

’It was a river then,’ Liam thought.

"Instead," Elliot added, "The innermost section is underground. I never saw it myself, but rumors say you can access it through a series of caves."

"I’m guessing most spirit stones are in the innermost section," Liam exclaimed. After all, if it were about dragging minerals, chances were most had remained stuck underground.

"You are correct," Elliot confirmed, "As expected of Senior. Despite the entirety of the spring being rich in Qi, only a small amount of spirit stones reach the surface every day, and most get eaten by the magical beasts."

Qi attracted magical beasts, which often created lairs around such locations. Liam had acknowledged that as an official truth now.

Nevertheless, Liam also knew that locations like the Mutated Battlefield were far from common, and Birgan Falls couldn’t be worse than that. Actually, Liam wondered whether the Divine Cult’s ruins had been more challenging.

"Which magical beasts occupy the area?" Liam questioned.

"Coyotes," Elliot revealed. "The attempts to clear the lair have pushed them back, but I’m afraid it also enforced their cooperation. They used to be more solitary when their territory was larger."

’Small wolves basically,’ Liam considered. ’This doesn’t sound too hard. Their teamwork might be a problem, but ...’

Liam couldn’t help but glance at the bow on his left shoulder. He had the means to make full use of his hunting experience now, adjusting it to his superior status as a cultivator.

Of course, level one magical beasts didn’t occupy Liam’s thoughts, not entirely at least. He was mostly worried about eventual stronger creatures, which he guessed had to be around.

’Can I kill a level two magical beast now?’ Liam wondered. ’Can I hunt it, rather?’

Liam couldn’t answer that until he took a good look at those magical beasts, but Elliot could still solve his last doubt.

"Who manages the spring?" Liam asked. "Who checks the findings and assigns rewards?"

"Envoys from the Mercenary Guild manage the clearing operation," Elliot explains. "Official members of the Guild are the main force behind the mission, but they accept the support from other cultivators, especially if they prove themselves worthy."

’Did they monopolize it?’ Liam guessed, his hunches pointing at similarities to how the Pale Moon Sect operated.

After all, the Mercenary Guild had no parties with superior authority fighting for the spring since the six neighboring Sects were keeping their distance.

"Of course," Elliot exclaimed, "Seniors such as you won’t need to prove your worth before gaining access to the innermost sections. I believe the Mercenary Guild would be honored to make Seniors part of their main force."

Liam smelled something off. Spirit stones weren’t useful inside Sects, at least in theory, but they could provide buying power in the cultivation world in general, which wasn’t something cultivators would miss out on.

The mission especially sounded relatively average, proper for inner disciples. Liam couldn’t believe he had been the first to consider completing it, meaning that politics were probably at work.

’I guess I’ll be punished again,’ Liam mentally accepted that outcome. He didn’t know which rules were at play, but he could understand that he was about to break them.

Still, Liam’s mind remained set. He only had to see the place for himself to decide how to break those rules.