Guiyuan Hall.
"Your Excellency Ghost Face, two of your personal commissions have been completed."
A voluptuous woman in her thirties, with a beautiful face, looked at the strong figure before her, her eyes showing a mix of curiosity and respect.
"Excellent, where are the items?"
Lin Sheng's face broke into a smile as he spoke gently.
There had been no news from the commissions posted on Dark Star for days, and he had thought he wouldn't make it, but unexpectedly, there was news now.
So, upon receiving the message, he immediately rushed to Guiyuan Hall.
"The items have arrived in the city. Where would you like them placed?"
The voluptuous woman asked softly.
"South District, Changshun Street, No. 147."
Lin Sheng directly stated the location of his residence.
"Which two commissions were completed?"
"Yes, the Long-Bearded White Ape and the White-Crowned Pygmy Gliding Mouse."
"I understand. If anyone completes the remaining commissions, just send them directly to that address."
Lin Sheng nodded, gave his instructions, then turned and left.
He didn't linger and returned directly to his residence.
Dark Star's efficiency was unexpectedly fast; within half an hour of returning to his residence, the courtyard gate was already being knocked upon.
Two tightly wrapped carriages stopped outside the gate, and then two strong men carried sealed metal boxes into the courtyard.
Accompanying them were two Hidden Star Envoys. After confirming that the exotic beasts in the metal boxes were correct, the two Hidden Star Envoys bid farewell and left.
After seeing them off, Lin Sheng approached the two iron boxes.
The iron boxes were ordinary iron boxes, not made of azure gold.
With a swipe of his palm, Lin Sheng split open the two iron boxes, revealing the two exotic beasts within.
One was a monkey covered in long fur, about the size of an adult man; the other was a rat about the size of a domestic cat, entirely black except for a tuft of silver-white hair on its head, making it look as if it was wearing a white hat.
"Long-Bearded White Ape, White-Crowned Pygmy Gliding Mouse."
Lin Sheng's gaze fell upon these two exotic beasts.
Of these two exotic beasts, the Long-Bearded White Ape was a genuine Advanced Level Spirit Beast, and while the White-Crowned Pygmy Gliding Mouse wasn't an Advanced Level Spirit Beast, it was still a top-tier Elementary Level Spirit Beast.
However, the two exotic beasts in the boxes were motionless, even though they were now completely exposed.
The reason was simple: these two exotic beasts were already dead.
Otherwise, they would have been sealed in ordinary iron boxes.
When he issued the commission, he hadn't specified live creatures; dead ones were acceptable, but the only requirement was that they had to be complete, without too much damage.
The fatal wounds of these two exotic beasts were both to the head; apart from that, there was no other damage.
Lin Sheng's palm rested on the White-Crowned Pygmy Gliding Mouse, and its information immediately appeared on the System panel.
"Beast Name: White-Crowned Pygmy Gliding Mouse (Spirit)"
"Intelligent, good at perception, especially with astonishing sense of smell, agile movements, good at concealment..."
"Integration Requirement: None"
"Integration Effect: Perception +6, Agility +6"
"Talent: Enhanced Smell (Level 3)"
"It's a pity there's no mental boost, but 6 points of Perception attribute is still decent."
After a glance, Lin Sheng turned his attention to the other white ape.
Compared to the White-Crowned Pygmy Gliding Mouse, he valued the Long-Bearded White Ape the most.
After all, it was a genuine Advanced Level Spirit Beast, and most ape-like exotic beasts were known for their intelligence, with white apes being among the best. Therefore, he held considerable expectations for this exotic beast.
Especially the description of the Long-Bearded White Ape in the manual emphasized its high intelligence, noting that some Long-Bearded White Apes could imitate human speech and even read Buddhist scriptures and ancient scrolls proficiently.
As his palm touched the Long-Bearded White Ape, its related information immediately appeared on the System panel, and Lin Sheng's eyes instantly lit up.
"Beast Name: Long-Bearded White Ape (Spirit)"
"Pure white fur, long beard, emerald eyes, extremely intelligent, naturally spiritual, studious, mischievous temperament..."
"Integration Requirement: Spirit 3"
"Integration Effect: Agility +8, Strength +7, Physique +5, Spirit +2"
"Talent: Spirit Heart (Elementary)"
"There's actually a two-point Spirit increase!?"
Lin Sheng exhaled, his eyes gleaming.
Originally, he had guessed that the Long-Bearded White Ape would provide a one-point Spirit increase, but to his surprise, it was two points, completely exceeding his expectations.
Although he had previously seen the Ling Shu Jade Soul Elephant, which had a four-point Spirit attribute increase, the latter was a powerful Yao Beast.
The Long-Bearded White Ape was only an Advanced Level Spirit Beast. Besides the Ling Shu Jade Soul Elephant, this was the highest Spirit attribute increase he had seen in an exotic beast.
Although other attributes were weaker compared to Advanced Level Spirit Beasts, the two points of Spirit attribute were enough to compensate for everything.
Without any hesitation, Lin Sheng's thoughts moved, and he successfully integrated the Long-Bearded White Ape.
Instantly, he felt a jolt to his spirit, and his mind became indescribably clear and relaxed.
"The enhancement of Spirit is truly wonderful!"
Feeling the changes in his Spirit, Lin Sheng couldn't help but close his eyes and sigh. Compared to the improvement in physical fitness, the changes in Spirit felt more real and mysterious.
After carefully experiencing the Spirit enhancement for a while, Lin Sheng remembered the Long-Bearded White Ape's Talent.
"Spirit Heart?"
Lin Sheng savored the name of this Talent in his mouth.
This made him recall the Heart Monkey Talent of the Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey. Both had the character 'Heart' in their names.
Given this name, it was highly likely not a combat-type Talent.
Lin Sheng's thoughts stirred, and the Spirit Heart Talent activated.
Instantly, he felt some changes.
Although there were no physical alterations, his mind became calm.
Some chaotic thoughts that were originally in his mind seemed to suddenly vanish.
His entire being was in an extremely clear state; while his mind was calm, his thoughts were extremely active.
"This feeling is like an amplified version of the Mingxin Realm?"
Lin Sheng carefully savored this feeling, gaining some understanding of this Talent in his heart.
Upon reaching the Mingxin Realm, one's learning ability would receive a significant boost, which could also be considered a change in Aptitude.
And the effect of this Spirit Heart Talent was also inclined towards this.
It similarly enhanced one's learning ability, and the efficiency of the enhancement was much stronger than that of the Mingxin Realm.
Lin Sheng was quite satisfied with this Talent.
Although it wasn't a direct combat power enhancement Talent, this kind of auxiliary Talent was even more rare and valuable.
Enhancing one's learning ability could, in a sense, also be considered an improvement in Aptitude.
"Naturally spiritual' must refer to this Talent," Lin Sheng thought, recalling the Long-Bearded White Ape's description, and murmured to himself.
"I wonder if I can find one or two more exotic beasts that increase Spirit before I leave."
Collecting through Dark Star's channels was indeed highly efficient, but the price was also quite high.
In fact, the prices he offered were 20-30% above market price, otherwise, the efficiency wouldn't be so high.
This single Long-Bearded White Ape alone cost him nearly 300,000 taels of silver.
It was only because he currently enjoyed generous treatment within Dark Star; otherwise, he might not be able to afford it if this continued.
He shook his head slightly, looking at the two exotic beast corpses before him.
Lin Sheng still called Gou Donglai and asked him to dispose of them.
As for himself, he returned to his room and continued his cultivation.
Now that his Spirit had increased again, he naturally wanted to test his current cultivation efficiency.
Time flowed like water, and in the blink of an eye, three more days passed.
The order to set off finally arrived.
In the mansion, Lin Sheng wore a black tight-fitting suit. Although he had deliberately chosen a loose style, even in his compressed state, he was still over two meters tall and powerfully built.
The broad, tight-fitting suit was stretched taut, subtly revealing the strong muscle lines beneath.
"During my absence, if anyone comes to the door, just leave the items."
After giving Gou Donglai a few instructions, Lin Sheng strode out, pushing the door open.
The sun hung high in the sky, emitting a scorching glow that fell upon the ground, making it feel as if the earth was being roasted.
"It's a good day."
Lin Sheng's gaze fell upon the pond in the courtyard.
At this moment, only a few koi remained in the pond; as for the Spirit Bone Python King, it had disappeared. He had originally intended to cultivate this Spirit Bone Python, but with the mission falling upon him, he naturally couldn't spare any attention for it.
He also didn't feel at ease leaving it in the courtyard, so he simply sent it to Guiyuan Pavilion.
Woof!
A crisp bark sounded from a corner of the courtyard.
Then, a yellow shadow darted over; it was Big Yellow, of course.
Compared to the Spirit Bone Python King, he trusted Big Yellow and Little Black more.
The crow and the dog had been sent over yesterday.
He had decided to bring these two with him on this mission. Although they were only Elementary Level Spirit Beasts, they were much stronger than ordinary Elementary Level Spirit Beasts.
Big Yellow's Perception was excellent, and it also had the Evasion Talent.
He couldn't always have the Evasion Talent on him during the journey. With Big Yellow, if there was any real danger, it could give an early warning. As for Little Black, it was at least an avian Spirit Beast.
Although his current strength was formidable, he still lacked the ability to fly. While Little Black's strength wasn't impressive, its flying speed wasn't slow, making it a decent mount.
He stroked Big Yellow's head. Outside the courtyard, Qi Ning and Huang Quan were already waiting.
"Ning-jie, Brother Huang."
Seeing the two, Lin Sheng smiled and nodded.
"Although your assigned direction, Yu Hai Pass, is not far from the front lines, my brother-in-law has already contacted the Southern Qi personnel responsible for the rendezvous. They will make extra preparations to ensure you don't delve too deeply."
"Additionally, this time, you will be accompanied by three Blazing Star Envoys, all of whom are quite strong. You should be able to handle any dangers you encounter."
Qi Ning said seriously, then sighed softly.
"I had originally wanted to go with you, but unfortunately, the commotion caused by Tainnan is quite significant, and I must return to Tainnan in a few days."
"Don't worry, Ning-jie. Nothing will happen. However, with the Three-Eyed Rakshasa in Tainnan, isn't it a bit dangerous?"
Lin Sheng raised an eyebrow.
"Don't worry, my brother-in-law will also go with me then."
Qi Ning said with a smile.
"In that case, I'm relieved."
Hearing this, Lin Sheng nodded.
"It's getting late, we should set off."
"Let's go, I'll take you there."
Qi Ning also nodded in agreement, then led Lin Sheng towards the city gate.
"This is... Big Yellow!?"
Huang Quan, who was beside them, was first stunned when he saw Big Yellow following Lin Sheng. Soon, as if he remembered something, he spoke with some surprise.
"Woof!"
Big Yellow barked softly, then lifted its head and gave Huang Quan a rather arrogant glance, before turning its head away.
"..."
Seeing Big Yellow's behavior, Huang Quan immediately confirmed his guess.
"That's right, it's Big Yellow. He's been eating too well lately, so he's grown a bit."
Lin Sheng replied with a smile.
"Uh... I see."
Huang Quan nodded in sudden understanding, but inwardly, he was grumbling.
How is this "grown a bit"? This is clearly already a Spirit Beast!
He thought back to how he had recognized something extraordinary about this scruffy stray dog, but Lin Sheng wouldn't let go. Now, he could only lament the missed opportunity.
The three walked quickly, and within the time it took for an incense stick to burn, they were already out of the city.
Once outside the city, with no more inhibitions, the three quickened their pace.
Soon, they arrived at a bamboo forest about 50 li west of the city.
Two carriages were parked in the bamboo forest.
Two elderly men, wearing bamboo hats and holding horsewhips, looking like coachmen, were waiting in the forest.
Seeing Lin Sheng and the two arrive, the two old men also came forward to greet them.
"Your Excellency Thousand Faces."
The two first cupped their hands towards Qi Ning, then their gazes fell upon Lin Sheng.
"This must be Your Excellency Ghost Face."
"Greetings, Seniors." Lin Sheng cupped his hands towards the two old men.
"Senior is too much. You are the Divine Lord's Disciple; just call us by our names."
The two old men waved their hands repeatedly.
"Alright, Ghost Face, these two are the Blazing Star Envoys, White Silkworm and Golden Sun, whom I spoke to you about earlier."
Qi Ning introduced with a smile.
The two old men were one tall and one short. Although they appeared unremarkable on the outside, like ordinary people.
However, Qi Ning had already told him on the way that both of them were experts at Divine Transformation Realm Stage five, placing them among the masters even within the Blazing Star Envoys.
After a brief exchange, Qi Ning and Huang Quan departed.
Lin Sheng naturally sat in the carriage, while Golden Sun and White Silkworm acted as coachmen, driving the carriage.
As a Dark Star Disciple and a Dark Star seed, even though he was also a Blazing Star Envoy, his status was naturally above theirs.
And the two of them were very clear about this.
Lin Sheng was not a talkative person, but the two were quite enthusiastic.
"Young Master Lin, our journey is long. We have to cross two prefectures to reach Donghai Prefecture. The other Blazing Star Envoy is currently in Donghai Prefecture overseeing the mining of red crystal ore. By the time we arrive, the first batch of red crystal ore should be almost ready. Then, we will pass through Jade Dragon Pass to enter the Southern Qi territory. A few days for the handover with the Southern Qi people will complete the mission."
White Silkworm raised his horsewhip, letting it fall on the horse's head in front, while also explaining the specific route of this mission to Lin Sheng in the carriage.
"Donghai Prefecture, huh? That's quite far indeed."
Lin Sheng listened carefully. He had only recently learned the name Donghai Prefecture. It didn't belong to the prefectures under Volong Road but rather to those under Araki Road.
"Who says it isn't? Donghai Prefecture is already on the edge of the East Sea. The East Sea is vast and boundless, with countless types of sea beasts, completely different from our inland Volong Road. Speaking of which, the last time this old man went to Donghai Prefecture was twenty years ago..."
White Silkworm, like a chatterbox, kept talking while driving.
Lin Sheng, however, did not feel annoyed; instead, he found it quite interesting.