"?"
A small question mark popped up slowly on Chu Liang's forehead. He couldn't help but say: "Master, among all the peaks, Jade Sword Peak has the most power, nearly a hundred disciples, some of whom are famous Golden Core Realm cultivators. Their chances of becoming the chief disciple are indeed the greatest. As for me... I just broke through to the Divine Consciousness Realm a few days ago."
The position of chief disciple is the figurehead of each generation of the Shu Mountain Sect, and the competition for such a high-profile position is naturally fierce.
The title of Peak Master among the Thirty-Six Peaks is reserved for the most powerful and highly respected person. Apart from the scenario in which the four Zhenshan elders can not be the sect leader, the first in line to be the next Sect Leader is the Peak Master.
As for Empress Feng...
She is famously considered the scourge of the Shu Mountain, renowned for her drinking habits, fighting skills, and explosive temper. Initially, she managed to forcefully claim the position of Peak Master due to her amazing cultivation skills, but the Shu Mountain Leader always hesitate to assign disciples to her, fearing that she might steer them astray.
In the end, it was not until she went down the mountain to uphold justice and picked up Chu Liang, who had the qualifications for cultivation, that she finally accepted a disciple without any objection from others. Presumably having discovered that mentoring wasn't as enjoyable as she thought, she never took on a second disciple.
Suddenly, she now wants to send this single disciple of hers to compete for the position of Chief Disciple, and to snatch Peak Master... even Chu Liang himself was a bit surprised.
How dare she even think about it?
Subsequently, Empress Feng walked over and patted him on the shoulder, "You don't have to be under too much pressure. There are at least half a year left, just prepare well... If you really manage to become the chief disciple, I, as your master, will definitely not treat you unfairly. You can choose whatever reward..."
At these words, Chu Liang glanced at the Empress Feng's chest.
"Oh!" The look in Empress Feng's eyes suddenly became dangerous, as she pointed at him, "What are you thinking about?"
"Master, please don't misunderstand." said Chu Liang, "I was just thinking that the master has already wagered the precious Phoenix Soul Blood Jade, it's assured that this disciple will do his best to prepare. However... this mission is indeed challenging, and if I fail, I hope that master will not blame me."
"Oh, looking at the jade, huh." Empress Feng touched the jade pendant on her chest and chuckled.
She continued, "Anyway, you just do your best. If you become the chief disciple and I become the Peak Master, we will both have access to a massive amount of resources... At that time, we as master and disciple can share, seven-to-three ratio, wouldn't it be splendid..."
Imagining the beautiful future, she couldn't help but let out a shaky laugh.
"He-he-he-he-he..."
...
Chu Liang walked out of the pavilion, calmed himself, and headed to his next destination.
Tontian Peak, the main peak of the Shu Mountain.
Among the Thirty-Six Peaks of the Shu Mountain, Tontian Peak is the location of the Unbounded Palace and also serves as the capital, where the important halls of the sect are located.
Chu Liang flicked his fingers, the ring on his hand transformed into a flying sword, positioned horizontally in front of him. He stepped onto it, and in an instant, the clearly visible sword light left Silver Sword Peak.
Sword flight!
With the loud roar of the wind past his ears, beneath him was the boundless expanse of the Cloud Sea. The lofty and precipitous peaks of the Thirty-Six Peaks rising from the cloud sea looked like ingredients tumbling in a hot pot soup.
Lights were shuttling back and forth among the group of peaks, all Shu Mountain disciples hurrying to and fro. Anyone who couldn't fly would find it difficult to get around here. Occasionally, a few spirit beasts would whistle past, causing all disciples on their sword light to make way. Those who could afford these creatures as mounts were either elders or peak masters, or had extraordinary backgrounds, and it would be unworthy to provoke them unintentionally.
In the Shu Mountain Sect, disciples need to complete tasks for the sect to obtain the resources required for their daily lives and cultivation. And the place to receive these tasks is the "Sword Exchange Pavilion".
In the Immortal Cultivation World, gold and jewels bear no significance for most cultivators. So, the currency in circulation is usually equivalent items like spirit stones used for forging and smelting, elixirs that assist in cultivation, and versatile talismans.
Among them all, Spirit Stones were the most valuable.
In the inner Shu Mountain Sect, the coins cast from Spirit Stones were used as the sect's currency. In the earliest period, the manufacturing process was quite primitive, merely grinding Spirit Stones into a round shape and splitting them in half, thus they were named "Round Spirit Stones" for their shape.
But because Round Spirit Stones were too simple, soon, disciples began to produce inferior quality counterfeits, leading to adverse effects. As a result, the sect improved the process and intricately carved the Spirit Stones into the shape of butterflies, referred to as "Butterfly Stones".
However, the problem with Butterfly Stones was that the crafting process was too complex, making large scale production difficult. As soon as the sect grew, the supply couldn't keep up. Eventually, the then Head Master of Shu Mountain came up with a solution: making the Spirit Stones into a simple sword shape and infusing them with a unique Sword Qi. This was easy to produce and impossible to replicate, so they were called Sword Spirit Stones.
Thousands of years later, this evolved into the "Sword Coins" currently used in Shu Mountain, which is also the origin of the name "Sword Exchange Pavilion".
...
Sword Exchange Pavilion, second floor.
The grand Sword Exchange Pavilion only has three floors, but its vast space and high dome make it exceptionally impressive. Most of the work is done by the disciples deputizing, but there are always a few Elders stationed upstairs, and they have to step in for some difficult issues.
Chu Liang then visited the chamber of one of the elders.
"Elder Shen, I apologize for disturbing you again," he greeted with a smile as soon as he entered the room.
"Ah, it's Little Chu." The person sitting in the room was a big-bellied, somewhat bald elder in voluminous robes. He had a transcendent temperament and a friendly smile. "What disturbance? You're back so quickly. It seems that your last task was a successful one, wasn't it?"
"Thanks to your good wishes, it went quite smoothly. Today, I'm here to report back," Chu Liang replied.
"Alright, don't rush. Let's have a game of chess first," Elder Shen waved his big sleeve, and a chessboard with black and white chess pieces appeared on the table in front of him.
"I was lucky enough to win a game from Elder Shen last time and it looks like you're not taking that defeat lightly," Chu Liang didn't turn down the offer and took a seat, saying with a smile.
"Of course. I have been pondering over it for quite some time, and I've found a way to break your formation," said Elder Shen, placing a piece on the board.
"Well, as per the usual rule, you have to give me some inside news if you lose," Chu Liang said in an innocent tone.
Half an hour later.
The sunlight moved a bit higher up.
The meddling young man, chuckling to himself, rested his hands in his sleeves and watched the elder he stumped on the chessboard. "Elder Shen, it's definitely a deadlock."
"Hmm…" Elder Shen scratched his sleek head, examined a few times, then lifted his gaze and shook his head, saying: "you, on the one hand, are always smiling and looking harmless, and on the other hand, you're developing an aggressive and ruthless way of playing at each step."
"Oh, it was just luck. There were a few times when I almost lost," Chu Liang replied.
"Ah, I'm just getting too old... I can't keep up with you young people," Elder Shen leaned back and patted his belly, and said, "Apart from reporting your accomplishment, you came to choose a new mission, am I right?"
"Yes, but there are hundreds of tasks at the Divine Consciousness Realm, I don't know how to choose," responded Chu Liang.
"Let me think... You prefer demon extermination tasks, as for the better ones..." Elder Shen considered for a moment before lifting his hand. At once, one of the drawers from the row behind flew out and landed in his hand, "Take a look at this one."
Chu Liang took the sign and saw a line of text.
"Capture a demon at Landlord Ming's mansion in Xingzhou City."