"Senior Brother, don't you think this mission is a bit weird?" A woman, who appeared to be in her late teens, asked while furrowing her eyebrows.
"What do you mean by weird?" Another woman, looking just a few years older asked, her gaze as if reprimanding her to not speak nonsense.
"I mean, the reward of the mission is kind of high, but there is no reward other than contribution points," she explained.
"Is reward the only thing in your mind?" A guy next to her twitched his eyebrows.
"No. That isn't what I mean. I know how hard it is to fork out a cultivation resource as a reward, but the mission is from the government of Fengyun City, right? They should be able to at least bring out some Spirit Stones, no?"
They fell silent as her words made some sense. A deep, calm voice soon echoed, breaking everyone's thoughts.
"Either way, the mission is related to the Blood Madness Cult. We have to cut them down."
They sensed something within his words as they couldn't help but stare at his back. Despite showing an emotionless expression, his words were sharp as though he was holding some form of grudge.
These four people were the group that had taken on the mission to investigate the matter about the Blood Madness Cult near Fengyun City. They had been running for a whole day and would arrive at Fengyun City in just two more days.
For a normal mortal, it would take them at least a week to cover that distance by foot, four days by horse. It was no wonder that the cultivators were revered as their physical abilities alone made horses look slow. There were even stronger cultivators than them.
The group continued to travel at that speed until they arrived.
…
Two days later.
They could see the buildings from a distance. Knowing that they had reached Fengyun City, they slowed down their pace, wondering where the cultivator from the Blood Madness Cult was. Unfortunately, they couldn't meet him because they entered the city from the west gate instead of the south gate.
While Fengyun City was fortified with a city wall, they didn't build it tall because it was far from a neighboring country and a cultivator could easily destroy it. If a cultivator wanted to sneak in, they would have no problem.
However, the group decided to enter the city through a normal means.
"Hmm?" One of them furrowed their eyebrows when they saw the city gate. On the contrary to the bustling city, there seemed to be a lot of people leaving.
"It seems that the situation is worse than we originally thought. The rumors should be true, so these people are leaving to avoid the disaster."
"I couldn't care less about these people. I just want to finish the mission and return to the sect."
The strongest among them only stated, "We'll directly head to the government office to gather some information. Considering the sun is about to set, we'll be staying for the night before starting our investigation early in the morning."
Although they were confident they could eliminate the threat right away if the initial information was correct, they had to obey their senior brother. It was normal for someone to be addressed as 'senior' if their strength was above them no matter their age. And the person who led them not only was stronger but also older, showing that he had more experiences than them. So, even if they were reluctant, they had to obey his words.
"Let's go."
The four of them walked toward the city gate, only to be getting stopped by the city guards.
"Stop!" The city guards were confused. After seeing so many people leaving the city, they were surprised that some would actually come in. But as expected of cultivators, who thought themselves to be above the common people, the youngest one stepped forth and shouted, "We are here to solve your problems, but you dare to stop us?"
The city guards were bewildered by her statement, but the eldest brother actually grabbed her collar and pulled her back before showing a wooden token. The wooden token had a lotus symbol on it, signifying their identity.
"We are from the Azure Lotus Sect, coming here after learning about the Blood Madness Cult's incident."
Because of their prestige, no one dared to impersonate themselves as one of their disciples. While it was useful to do that, they would be hunted down by numerous cultivators if they dared to do it. Hence, the moment they saw the token, the guards immediately bowed their heads.
"We're very sorry for stopping you. Please enter."
This exchange caused a bit of commotion, causing the people to stop while watching their interaction. Seeing the people's gazes were on them, the oldest asked, "Where is the government office?"
"It's at…" The guard abruptly stopped and corrected himself, "…let me guide you there."
"No need. Just tell us the location." He shook his head calmly. Even though he was the most rational among them, it didn't change the fact that he was a cultivator. In his mind, their speed was much faster, so it would be better if they went alone.
The guard paused for a moment before describing the route. "The government office is at the center of the city. If you go straight the main road, you will find a huge plaza at the heart of the city. You just have to turn left and you will find the area on your right."
"That's enough." The cultivator nodded his head and waved his hand, signaling the others to follow him. After entering the city, they leaped onto the roof of a building and began running, avoiding all traffics on the ground.
The people couldn't help but gasp. After witnessing such actions, they couldn't help but ask, "Is the city safe now?"
"The Azure Lotus Sect has sent their cultivators, so they will solve the issue…"
"Should we still leave the city?"
They couldn't help but look at each other, wondering what they should do from now on.
Meanwhile, the four cultivators covered the distance in only five minutes. Upon their arrival, they took out their tokens and shouted, "Disciples of Azure Lotus Sect are here."
The guards of the area couldn't help but feel startled because these four just jumped down the building and introduced themselves.
But they immediately guided them inside to talk with the South District Administrator, who was in charge of the matter.
"South District Administrator Gao Ke greets esteemed cultivators." Gao Ke cupped his hands.
There seemed to be a look of contempt in the cultivators' eyes, thinking that even a high-ranking official had to bow their head before an outer disciple like them.
Their senior brother simply said, "We have come upon learning the situation. We'll begin the investigation tomorrow, so I want you to give us some information regarding this matter."
Gao Ke didn't have any change of expression, but he felt a bit annoyed by how he worded it. It felt like he was just a servant. Still, Gao Ke had to be humble and explained, "I understand. Since esteemed cultivators must be tired from a long trip, I shall explain it briefly. The Dark Cultivator is south of the city. He has massacred a village and seemed to be cultivating through their blood. The bodies are piled up around him, so after looking through the record, we believe that he is from a Blood Madness Cult."The cultivator looked down for a moment, recalling the information about the Blood Madness Cult.
The cultivator looked down for a moment, recalling the information about the Blood Madness Cult. "The record is similar to what you've described. Then, how about the rumors?"
"We don't know where the rumors originated. Even the government can't completely suppress the people from talking about it. However, we haven't found any other disciple except for that one, so I think the rumor is false," Gao Ke replied with a serious expression as though he was not responsible for the rumors.
"I see. We can see whether the rumor is true or not by interrogating that person."
"We'll assist you in any way we can."
The cultivator thought for a moment and said, "You just have to tell us the position of the village and we'll head there ourselves."
"Understood. We have set up a perimeter around the village, so esteemed cultivators should be able to find the soldiers standing by. They will be able to guide you directly to the village."
"Alright."
"In that case, please let me guide you to your inn." Gao Ke extended his hand, offering it because the cultivator had clearly stated that he would begin the investigation in the morning. "It's not far from here."
The cultivator had the same idea and nodded his head. Gao Ke carefully led them to the inn not far from the government office. It was the best inn in the city since it often hosted cultivators. Gao Ke had informed the inn about the arrival of their guests in advance, so Gao Ke told them that everything in this inn was free.
Compared to thousands of gold ingots or cultivation resources, letting them eat, drink, or sleep however they wanted was a cheap price to pay.
After Gao Ke left, one of them couldn't help but comment, "I don't like him. He should offer more items like jewels to show his sincerity."
"Is reward the only thing in your mind?"
The same conversation started again while the oldest simply said, "Either way, we can't afford to waste more time since the enemy is cultivating. Use tonight to completely condition yourself to face that person."
"Senior Brother, why don't we lead that cultivator to this city to give them a scare before eliminating it? Won't we look like a hero? Besides, the government is useless as they can't even control their people and investigate the rumors properly."
"As much as I don't care about the people, I don't want unnecessary problems in this mission. Instead of talking nonsense, go back to your room." He looked at them with a cold gaze as if he started getting annoyed by their spoiled character.
…
While the cultivators took their time to rest, one person was actually too excited to rest. He was Hao Yu.
A moment ago, he was in the office, tidying up the matter when Zhang Xin came, informing him and Gao Ke, "The cultivators have arrived."
Since then, he had been thinking a lot about the cultivators. He stood in front of the window while looking at the full moon, saying, "While I cannot kill them right now, they are still useful. I hope that you can entertain me, cultivators."