Chapter 210: Killing the Corpse Taoist and Returning to the Mission Hall
The Corpse Taoist's mouth hung open, his face filled with shock.
In all his years, it was the first time he had encountered such a brutal takeover.
This person actually wanted his yin corpses!
"Se—Senior, if you had told me sooner, I would have handed over the yin corpses without a word," he forced a smile, suppressing his pain.
Shen Mo responded indifferently, "Lead the way."
The Corpse Taoist pointed toward the riverbank, "Head a hundred and fifty li south of Pingcheng. There's a protruding rock called Swallow Cliff."
Shen Mo nodded slightly, "Have that yin corpse take those two mortals back to the city gate. Do it quickly."
"Yes, yes," the Corpse Taoist replied.
He had no choice but to command the yin corpse to carry the young man and woman away.
Moments later, the yin corpse returned to the Corpse Taoist's side.
"Let's go to Swallow Cliff," Shen Mo said calmly.
"Please follow me, Senior." The Corpse Taoist had the yin corpse lift him up.
He wanted to escape, but the young cultivator behind him possessed unfathomable strength, far beyond what he could withstand.
For now, he could only take things one step at a time.
Perhaps leading him to the yin corpse cultivation site could offer some chance to escape using the terrain's advantages.
Shen Mo glanced at his life panel and smiled.
Elsewhere, the young man and woman regained consciousness, still shaken by fear.
"The Corpse Taoist! He's the one abducting people!"
"I'll carry you to the medical hall to reattach your arms, and then I'll report this to the City Lord so he can capture that Corpse Taoist!" the woman said urgently.
"Alright, I'll follow your lead." The young man, though bleeding heavily from his arms, nodded firmly.
...
Beneath Swallow Cliff.
The Corpse Taoist looked at the dark river, handing Shen Mo a dark pill.
"Senior, this is my special Breath Sealing Pill—superior to ordinary ones."
Shen Mo chuckled faintly, declining the dubious pill and instead producing a Water Bubble.
In an instant, he submerged into the river, protected by the Water Bubble, allowing him to breathe and move freely without concern for the pressure at the riverbed.
The Corpse Taoist observed the strange spiritual tool with suspicion.
He dared not say anything and led the way ahead.
Soon, they reached a concealed underwater entrance.
After the yin corpse removed a boulder blocking the cave's mouth, they entered in succession.
They swam through a sloping passageway, emerging into a space beyond a magical barrier that kept the water out.
Beyond the water curtain lay a dry cavern.
Upon entering, Shen Mo immediately sensed a dense presence of yin energy.
The air was thick with a foul, decaying stench.
Shen Mo scanned the area.
It couldn't be called luxurious; in fact, it was downright shabby.
The cavern walls were lined with numerous alcoves about ten feet high.
Each alcove held a yin corpse with closed eyes.
At the center of the cavern stood a large vat of dark green liquid.
The ground was littered with trash and debris.
To put it bluntly, even a dog wouldn't want to live here.
"Please take a seat, Senior. I'll retrieve the bell used to control the yin corpses for you," the Corpse Taoist said, forcing a smile as he backed away slowly.
Shen Mo smirked, "Backing away? Preparing to release poison fog, perhaps?"
The Corpse Taoist's eyes widened in shock and anger.
What was going on?
His every thought was being seen through as clearly as if the man could predict the future!
"Die!" he snarled, gritting his teeth and deciding to go all out.
He had long since set up a poison fog array within the cavern.
The array was far more potent than any spirit tool or poison he possessed.
Once activated, even if his opponent survived, he would be in terrible condition!
But he had overestimated himself once again.
Before he could activate the array, a flash of lightning-infused sword light appeared in an instant.
The Corpse Taoist's expression froze.
The next moment, a line of blood appeared across his neck.
In an instant, his head flew, and his headless body collapsed backward.
Shen Mo casually wrapped the severed head and stored it in his storage ring.
Then, as if splitting melons, Shen Mo proceeded to slice open each of the yin corpses.
There were twenty yin corpses in total within the cavern.
After dismantling them, Shen Mo indeed found two Yin Fiend Beads.
"Not bad, these two Yin Fiend Beads should be enough to upgrade my Dan Crown to blue."
He searched the cavern further.
Finding nothing else of value, he decided to leave immediately.
However, just as he emerged from the river, he noticed a large crowd gathered on the riverbank.
These people held torches, peering intently into the water.
Leading them was a figure with Core Formation cultivation.
It seemed this was the chief deacon sent by the Jade Cauldron Sect to guard Pingcheng.
"Who goes there?!"
The Core Formation deacon noticed Shen Mo and shouted in shock and anger.
Shen Mo tossed over the Jade Cauldron Token. "I am an elder of the Jade Cauldron Sect. The Corpse Taoist and his yin corpses have been eradicated. There is an underwater cave below containing all of the Corpse Taoist's refined yin corpses. Take your men down to retrieve the bodies."
The deacon recognized the Jade Cauldron Token, his heart trembling, and he immediately bowed respectfully. "Yes, thank you, Elder, for ridding us of the Corpse Taoist menace!"
Shen Mo nodded slightly, then ascended into the air and quickly disappeared into the horizon.
When the news spread, the citizens and soldiers of Pingcheng rejoiced.
The Corpse Taoist was dead, and the shadow that loomed over the surrounding cities had finally lifted.
Of course, this was of little importance to Shen Mo.
It was merely a means to earn contributions.
...
At the Jade Cauldron Sect's Mission Hall.
Although this hall wasn't as critical as the Treasure Pavilion or the Scripture Pavilion, nor as grand, it was bustling with people from morning till night without rest.
Shen Mo landed at the entrance of the Mission Hall.
He went straight up to the third floor.
Compared to the first and second floors, the third floor was much quieter.
There were significantly fewer people here.
Like the halls on the lower floors, a large stone tablet displayed various missions.
However, the mission tablet on the third floor was accessible only to elders.
Shen Mo looked at the top row of the tablet.
"Nine-Star Mission: Assist the Guardian in mating. Reward: One A-rank contribution and a Dragon Favor from the Guardian."
The Guardian, of course, was the honorific used within the Jade Cauldron Sect for the Li Fire Flood Dragon.
After all, it had once fought alongside the sect's founding ancestor.
Shen Mo continued scanning the tablet.
There were several other nine-star missions.
Nine-Star Mission: Restore an Ancient Pill Recipe.
Reward: Dependent on the level of the restored recipe, ranging from one C-rank to one A-rank contribution. Additionally, a fifty percent discount on pill exchanges from the Treasure Pavilion.
Nine-Star Mission: Refine crystals for the Heavenly Treasure Nine Dragon Cauldron.
Reward: One A-rank contribution and access to use the Heavenly Treasure Nine Dragon Cauldron once per month.
Nine-Star Mission: Find a Li Fire Flood Dragon Egg.
Reward: One A-rank contribution and a Dragon Favor from the Guardian.
Shen Mo pondered.
He had heard of the ancient pill recipes.
Long ago, a powerful sect named the Nine Transformations Pill Dao Sect existed on the land of Yuzhou.
Even the Emperor Jing had to purchase pills from the Nine Transformations Pill Dao Sect back then.
Later, the Nine Transformations Pill Dao Sect attempted to overthrow the imperial power, leading Emperor Jing to join forces with Yuzhou's major sects to destroy them.
Dan River Sect inherited part of the Nine Transformations Pill Dao Sect's alchemy techniques, making it now the sect most skilled in alchemy among the three sects of Yuzhou.
The Jade Cauldron Sect, on the other hand, had managed to seize several fragmented pill recipes and the Heavenly Treasure Nine Dragon Cauldron, a powerful celestial-grade spiritual artifact.
However, fully restoring those fragmented pill recipes was an enormous and arduous task.
This mission had always been left untouched, as no one was willing to undertake it.
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