Today was the day! Jia and I had no chores to do today so it was time for us to go take on our first mission!
We got dressed and went down the mountain to the mission hall.
The inside of the mission hall reminded me of the description of an adventurer’s guild in the stories I read as a child. On one long wall, hundreds of papers were hung up, just waiting for disciples to take them. On the opposite side from the entrance multiple tables were set up with servants or disciples manning them. Disciples of various levels milled about, going from the wall with papers on it to the tables on the far side and back again.
Someone must have noticed that we hadn’t been in the hall before because a kind looking older disciple walked up to the two of us.
“Hello ladies, is this your first time in the mission hall?” He asked us. We both nodded and he smiled warmly at us.
“Then allow this humble Bilan Jou to explain how it all works.” He said with an exaggerated bow. I giggled at his antics and looked over to Jia who looked a little uncomfortable.
I figured it couldn’t be that bad, so I agreed for the both of us.
“Sure, Jou, show us the ropes please!” I told him and he smiled at me.
“Very well, follow me!” he told us and walked over to the wall with the papers hanging up on it.
“This is the mission wall, you look through the posted missions, find one you’re allowed to take and are interested in and then take it up to the front desk.” he said. He then walked us over to the tables being manned by servants and disciples.
“This is the front desk; you choose your missions at the wall and then bring them over here to be registered to you so no one else can take the mission. Once you’ve completed your mission, you come back here with any needed proof, and you’ll be given your rewards for the mission. And that’s the whole process. Do you have any questions?” He asked.
I shook my head and Jia shook hers as well.
“No thanks, Jou. That was very informative, thank you!” I told him. He bowed again in the same overly exaggerated way he had before and made his way back to the mission board to look for his own mission.
I looked over to Jia and she looked visibly relieved that Jou had left.
“Well, now that that’s done, do you want to split up and look for some missions to take? I figure we could take a few and get them all done at once for a bunch of points!” I told her.
“I agree, let’s split up and meet back here in a few minutes.” She told me.
We both walked to the mission board, and I read a few of the missions.
Mission: Eliminate the Black Fang Gang from their hideout on Liusha mountain.
Difficulty: Medium-hard
Description: The Black Fang Gang have been harassing various merchants and trading caravans in the vicinity of Liusha mountain. It is believed that their hideout is located somewhere on the mountain. We have been asked to eliminate the gang.
Requirements: A group of at least five, and at most seven, inner disciples of the sect.
Reward: One tier three treasure or lower for each participant and five thousand sect points.
Mission: Collecting qi infused medicinal plants from the areas surrounding the sect.
Difficulty: Easy
Description: Elder Du Guan has a standing order for any qi infused medicinal plants that are commonly found in the areas around the sect. Speak to elder Du Guan or one of his assistants for more information on specific plants needed.
Requirements: None
Reward: Varied based on the amount and quality of plants retrieved.
Mission: Escort the Golden Crow association caravan from Cheng Lian city to Liusha City.
Difficulty: Easy-Medium
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Description: The Golden Crow association is planning a large merchant caravan trip from Cheng Lian city to Liusha city and back. They have requested a small group of outer sect disciples to supplement their own personal guards for the caravan for their trip.
Requirements: A group of at least three and no more than five outer sect disciples.
Reward: A tier two or lower treasure from the treasure pavilion for each participant and three thousand sect points.
I took off the second and third mission from the wall, thinking we could get the medicinal herbs in one day and then go to Cheng Lian city for the escort mission.
I met back up with Jia who had one mission in her hand. We traded the missions we had grabbed, and I laughed at the coincidence.
Mission: Deliver an important item from Cheng Lian city to Fuschia village
Difficulty: Easy
Description: A VIP friend of the sect has asked for a small, discreet group of disciples to hand deliver an item for them from Cheng Lian city to Fuschia village. The group of disciples should head to the Violet Abyss trading association in Cheng Lian city to retrieve the item and learn more about the mission.
Requirements: A group of at least two and no more than three outer disciples
Reward: A tier two treasure or below for each participant and two thousand sect points.
After reading through the mission Jia had chosen and she read through mine we both agreed they all seemed reasonable to do at once. Jia assured me that Fuschia village was on the main travel path between Cheng Lian city and Liusha city.
We went up to the front desk and asked them to reserve all of the missions for us. The attendant looked through the list and asked us who our other members were for the escort mission.
“Do we need to have anyone else with us?” I asked. The attendant looked at me wanly and pointed to the requirements section of the mission.
“Yes, this mission requires at least three disciples.” She said to us.
I furrowed my brow and thought about what to do, but as if the heavens were looking out for me, I heard a familiar voice from nearby and smiled. I told the attendant to wait for a minute and ran over to where I heard Fuan Ji talking to some friends.
“Fuan Ji! Just the man I was looking for!” I told him. He smiled when he saw me.
“Ah, Astra, how have you been?” he asked.
“No time for small talk I'm afraid, Ji, Jia and I are planning on taking a mission, but we need three outer disciples to take it, can you do me a favor and come with us on the mission?" I asked. He thought for a few moments and smirked at me bouncing from one foot to another. He was enjoying making me squirm.
“Alright, that is agreeable. Let me come meet this Jia and we will accept the mission together.” he said. He bid his friends goodbye and followed me back up to the front desk. The attendant was getting impatient, and I apologized as I introduced our third member.
“Sorry for the wait, this is disciple Fuan Ji, he has agreed to join us on the escort mission.” I told the attendant. She confirmed Ji’s consent to add him to the mission and we were all set.
“Okay Ji, thanks again for joining! We’ll meet up in two days to head to Cheng Lian city for the mission, ok?” I asked him.
He looked between me and Jia for a few meaningful moments before I remembered I needed to introduce them.
“Ah I forgot, Lian Jia, this is Fuan Ji. He’s a body cultivator and joined the sect during the same admissions process we did if you remember.”
She squeaked out a quiet ‘nice to meet you’ to him and he, much more boisterous than the shy young lady, proclaimed ‘It is nice to meet you Jia.” Jia looked uncomfortable but she would warm up to Ji with some time.
Jia and I left Ji then and went to work on the first mission. A little bit into our walk, Jia spoke up.
“Astra, I thought It was just going to be us, I didn’t expect you to invite a stranger to our group.” Jia said. I felt bad about ambushing her with Ji joining our group.
“I’m sorry Jia, Ji’s a friend and we needed a third member. Just give him a chance, he may be a lot right now but once you get to know him some, I think you’ll end up liking him.” I told her.
“If you say so.” she said, sounding a little downtrodden.
We walked down the long set of stairs leading out of the sect and into the nearby mountains.
With the assistance of my qi sensing glasses, finding medicinal plants and plants filled with qi was simple enough. We spent hours out in the mountains, fighting with some tier one and tier two demon beasts when we encountered them. We even encountered one tier three demon beast protecting a flower that Text identified as a tier three heaven’s fire blossom. It was a beautiful plant with bright red and orange petals that shone like the sunset. We collected the cores from the beasts we killed and the plants around the mountain range.
When the sun was going down, we returned to the sect and turned in the medicinal plants.
“With the quality and quantity of these herbs, the total comes out to four thousand three hundred and forty sect points. Would you two like to split the points evenly?” The attendant asked us. We both nodded and he took our sect tokens and distributed the points to us.
We walked back to our dorm, the setting sun providing a beautiful backdrop to our climb. Jia’s mood looked to be much better now, and we laughed and talked about the day’s activities.
“What are you going to do tomorrow?” I asked her.
“Hmm I think I’m going to continue body cultivating wind qi.” She said.
“I’m pretty close to the next level and If what Text told you about not getting too far in spirit cultivation without having your body cultivated being important is true, then I need to get further in my cultivation and soon.”
“That makes sense.” I told her.
“I think I’m going to work on spirit cultivation. I’m still only at the middle stage of the foundation establishment realm after all, and according to text, I should be able to safely cultivate to the peak before I need to return to body cultivation in earnest.”
We made more small talk until we made it back to our dorm and cultivated for the rest of the night. After two days, We met up with Ji and the three of us stepped onto the teleportation formation after giving the formation our travel destination and paying the sect points tax to use the formation.
As a team, the three of us stepped out into the bustling cityscape of Cheng Lian city once more.