Chapter 25
The sect mission was out.
Although Jiang Hao didn’t show it, he was very concerned. So, after collecting the bubbles, he went to the foot of the mountain where the Law Enforcement Hall was located. He stood in front of the announcement board and saw his name.
Jiang Hao of the Cliff of Broken Hearts: clean up the Devil’s Den.
‘It’s a team mission,’ thought Jiang Hao, ‘Who are the others?’
He saw the names of four people. Two were from the place he least wanted to see:
Qing Xue of the Heavenly Joy Pavilion.
Lou Feng of the Heavenly Joy Pavilion.
Xin Yuyue from the Thunder Fire Peak.
Zheng Shijiu from the Ice Moon Valley.
‘Two from Heavenly Joy Pavilion. I wonder what their cultivation levels are,’ wondered Jiang Hao.
He hadn’t had much contact with the Thunder Fire Peak and the Ice Moon Valley, so he probably wouldn’t make enemies with them after all. But the two from Heavenly Joy Pavilion were bad news.
He looked at the date when the mission would commence. It will be at the end of the next month. There was still a month and a half left.
Forty-five days.
‘I should advance to a higher level first, then consolidate my cultivation, then save up a month’s worth of Spirit Stones to buy a powerful magic treasure. I’ll use the remaining half a month to practice. And then, spells… I don’t have anything suitable for the Hong Meng Heart Sutra, so I’ll ask the Cliff Master,’ decided Jiang Hao.
Although the Cliff master didn’t really think highly of him, he would still help him if he asked.
The Heavenly Joy Pavilion would definitely cook up something in this trip to the Devil’s Den. Master would understand his situation.
The Devil’s Den was a blessed land with many sect experts cultivating inside. It was said that the Devil’s Den used to be the territory of the demon dwellers. Now, the demon dwellers were sealed in the deepest part of the cave. Even if they could escape, they would only be at the Foundation Establishment Stage.
The sect experts didn’t care about these small flies, so they needed the inner sect disciples to enter the cave and clean them up. The cleaning time would roughly extend from one to three months. It depended on their progress.
When they return after finishing, they would be rewarded according to the battle results. It was also a good place to train. If only Jiang Hao hadn’t offended the Heavenly Joy Pavilion, he would be very excited to join the team because the training didn’t only offer actual combat experience but also allowed him to find dropped bubbles.
He left the announcement board and decided to find the team members and ask about their experience. He needed to make preparations.
“Junior Brother, we meet again,” said a young girl in green.
“Senior Sister Ming Yi,” greeted Jiang Hao politely.
This was the substitute Saintess of the Heavenly Saint Sect. She was in the early stage of the Golden Core Realm. She was also a spy. The level of danger was high with her.
Fortunately, they had cleaned up the traitors last time, so these people were, hopefully, well-behaved. Moreover, with the appearance of the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower, they didn’t dare to act rashly. They were even more worried. Everyone knew that the flower was there to fish them out.
Apart from that woman, there was no one who dared to bite the hook.
“Junior Brother is really polite. I just saw your name. Are you going to the Devil’s Den?” Fairy Ming Yi said with a smile.
Senior Sister Ming Yi looked sweet, and her smile was as warm as the sun. However, Jiang Hao knew that she was vicious and merciless, and there was a knife hidden in her smile. It was best not to offend her.
The early stage of the Golden Core Realm was like an insurmountable mountain pressing down on him. He was no match for her.
“Yes.” Jiang Hao nodded. There was no point hiding it anyway. “I’m going to the Devil’s Den to carry out a mission at the end of next month.”
“This is for you, then,” she said. “I just happened to get it, so take it as a thank you for Junior Brother’s help in the past. I will look for you if I have some difficulties. I hope you won’t refuse to help me. Bye. Good luck with your mission.”
Senior Sister Ming Yi placed a piece of paper on Jiang Hao’s hand and left. Jiang Hao opened the letter. Perhaps having a friendly spy was worth it after all. The paper had the list of his team members’ names along with their strengths:
[Heavenly Joy Pavilion’s Qing Xue: Late Foundation Establishment Stage, close to a breakthrough. She mainly cultivates the Heavenly Joy Celestial Path. The more you see her cold and elegant outlook, the easier it is for you to fall into temptation.
Heavenly Joy Pavilion’s Lou Feng: Middle Foundation Establishment Stage, close to breakthrough. She mainly cultivates the Heavenly Joy Fallen Immortal Path. She can cause one’s mind to fall into chaos.
Thunder Fire Peak’s Xin Yuyue: Early Foundation Establishment Stage. She mainly cultivates the Heavenly Fire Thunder Sword. She is best at summoning Heavenly Thunder to counter the Heavenly Joy Pavilion’s Fallen Immortal Path.
Ice Moon Valley’s Zheng Shijiu: Late Foundation Establishment Stage. She mainly cultivates the Thousand-Mile Ice Seal. She is decisive in killing and looks down on the Heavenly Joy Pavilion.]
Jiang Hao felt strange looking at their information in the paper. The first two definitely would dislike him from the beginning. However, the last two seemed like they were especially chosen to retrain those from Heavenly Joy Pavilion.
‘Is someone helping me?’ Jiang Hao immediately thought of the Cliff Master.
Although he wasn’t the most gifted, surely, he was worth a little to the Cliff of Broken Hearts. Jiang Hao felt that the Cliff Master had done this to help him. He had selected other two team members who could balance out the malice of the Heavenly Joy Pavilion.
The Pavilion Master’s hatred of him was because he had killed his vessel for his cultivation. If he found a new body, Jiang Hao will be fortunately forgotten. But if he couldn’t find someone soon…
Jiang Hao would have to run for his life, because they would be after him forever. Even if he revealed his cultivation, his master might not be able to save him. It would be too dangerous for the mater to get involved. He would be spied on all the time and if it got out of hand the Devil Sect might not be able to accommodate him any longer.
However, he wasn’t sure what would happen if he died. There was danger everywhere.
“Hey, isn’t this Junior Brother Jiang Hao from the Cliff of Broken Hearts?” said a voice.
He raised his head and saw a man walking over to him. The man’s hair was messy, and his eyes were bloodshot. There was an indescribable viciousness in his eyes. He was in the Middle Foundation Establishment Stage.
“Hello Senior Brother. Do I know you?” Jiang Hao asked politely.
“We’ll go to the Devil’s Den next month. We are on the same team. I hope Junior Brother is well-prepared.” Lou Feng patted Jiang Hao’s shoulder. “With your body this delicate, you will die if you go in the den carelessly. Don’t blame me for not saving you,” he said mockingly.
Lou Feng laughed menacingly and left.
Jiang Hao lowered his eyes. He knew who he was. Lou Feng of Heavenly Joy Pavilion.