novelraw Chapter 551 Triggering the Side Mission - Human Support Plan
Chapter 551 Triggering the Side Mission - Human Support Plan
"Congratulations on taking another step in exploring the new world!" The little Elf smiled and said, "According to the usual rules, to ensure your safety, I must determine whether you have the ability to explore the upper layer of the mine."
She scattered golden letters in mid-air and began confirming one by one.
"What a pity, farming, logging, and combat skills have all reached the level nine threshold, except for collection, which is just a bit short.
I’m sorry, my best friend, you haven’t passed the test. Go collect some wild fruits and herbs, and then pay 300,000 Spirit Stones, and you can go to the third layer!
Of course, these Spirit Stones aren’t taken for free. I’ll upgrade the warehouse to store more loot and upgrade the Teleportation Array so you won’t waste time on the road."
Well, I thought all skills reaching level eight was enough, but it turns out level nine is stuck just at the third layer. Who can I appeal to?
Jiang Yuan sighed inwardly, realizing that his collection skill indeed lagged behind recently. If worst comes to worst, he could go to the woods to collect wild mushrooms for a few days and see if he could quickly make up for the difference.
Anyway, since I can’t enter the third-layer mine to find the Life Stone, I’ll simply take out the Teleportation Scroll and directly teleport to Wangshi Ridge.
"What a sin! Is your second child alright?"
"Quickly go up the mountain, something big has happened! Let’s see how they solve it!"
"I told you, we should pray to Taishang Laojun, we can’t rely on the same tree forever!"
"What should we do? Will we also..."
...
As soon as he landed, Jiang Yuan heard chaotic noises.
The weather at Wangshi Ridge was clearly not good. Early in the morning, the sky was covered with dense clouds, and a cold wind was howling, coupled with the panicked expressions of the townsfolk, an ominous feeling permeated everywhere.
"Brother, what happened?" He stopped a farmer dressed in coarse cloth who was hurrying past, politely asking, "Isn’t there a Fox Immortal Sect in this town?"
The farmer scrutinized this new face, noting that although his clothes were silk, the color was somewhat plain, far from the brightly colored silk robes worn by gentry and nobility, thus judging him to be a young man with a little money, but not wealthy.
"If you’re looking for the Fox Immortal Sect, you can follow them up the mountain." He spoke in a heavily accented dialect, pointing at the flustered crowd heading up the mountain in groups of three or five, and sneered disdainfully, "Seeing you’re young and healthy, I advise you not to mess around with them. Taishang Laojun already said that the Fox Immortal Sect is wicked!"
Taishang Laojun?
Jiang Yuan was stunned, and the farmer pointed behind him to the statue in the center of the town, explaining, "For so many years, we’ve been worshiping Taishang Laojun, praying for everyone to be free from monster disturbances. Isn’t that great? All we have to do is offer some Silver Coins annually, if we seek the protection of Immortals, giving them incense and offerings, they bless us with peace, isn’t that normal?
Unexpectedly, suddenly a so-called Fox Immortal Sect emerged.
Every day they claim that those asking for incense and Silver Coins are Evil Gods, real Immortals demand nothing yet bless the common folk with Skills and good fortune. Demand nothing yet offer blessings, where on earth does such a good thing exist? Can you believe that?
Even my wife knows this, yet there are those who are greedy and try to take advantage, thinking Fox Immortal Sect is good, they don’t trust Taishang Laojun anymore! And now, there’s trouble!"
Being too far away, the system couldn’t identify what kind of Demon Cultivator’s statue it was. Jiang Yuan wasn’t in the mood to explore, quickly asking, "What exactly happened?"
Before the farmer could respond, a woman hurriedly ran up from the street corner, looking panicked, "Dashuang, come quickly and help! They’re all on the mountain... Lu Erxi is not around, the door is locked, Li Family’s little Si’er in the front yard went mad and is biting people everywhere. I’ve found two ropes, hurry and help me tie him up!"
She was so out of breath she was incoherent, holding two hemp ropes, anxiously beckoning him to go up the mountain together.
"Sis, we don’t believe in that Fox Immortal Granny, that’s the Fox Immortal Sect’s business, let Lu Erxi solve it, let’s not interfere." The farmer shook his head, sneering, "They are all wicked, now a group of people can’t even handle a little kid, our presence won’t help."
Jiang Yuan, upon hearing, speculated part of the inside story. Some sect members, like Lu Shaojie, may have been possessed by numerous Divine Souls, lacking Spiritual Energy to nourish them, resulting in desperate food-seeking, potentially causing havoc.
Ignoring everything else, he immediately summoned the Bright Moon Sword, soaring quickly to Wangshi Ridge using Sword Flight.
Locals called it a "mountain," but it was barely a small hill, about four to five hundred meters in height overall. The Bright Moon Sword was exceptionally fast, Jiang Yuan, now accustomed to Sword Flight, was no longer timid, and urged the Flying Sword swiftly due to the urgency.
The farmer and woman hadn’t reacted yet when they saw the young man asking questions suddenly fly away, leaving them stunned and frightened for quite a while.
"That man can fly!"
"More mysterious than the Fox Immortal Sect! Not even Lu Erxi can fly."
"Should we still go up the mountain?"
"Don’t go! Less trouble means avoiding more problems!"
After a brief discussion, the two decided not only not to go themselves but also stood at the town entrance, persuading those not worshipping the Fox Immortal Sect not to join the spectacle.
Nevertheless, Jiang Yuan encountered quite a few scattered locals as he ascended. Some had intact Divine Souls, while others glowed green. A quick scan revealed dozens had fallen victim to some possession, their Divine Souls partly taken.
[Trigger Side Quest: Human Support Plan]
[Three hundred years ago, Spiritual Energy vanished abruptly in this Human World. Though not disintegrated like other worlds, due to certain reasons, after losing the germination of life force, the world’s barriers became exceedingly fragile.
The Wilderness came with Spiritual Energy Revival, also bringing numerous dangers. However, nearly all human wisdom from this world was swept away by the fleeing human Cultivators, leaving the world precarious with shortages of resources, inner conflicts, and urgent support needed.]
[Mission 1: Use the mission-required Soul Hook to collect 300 pieces of Mysterious Soul Fragments possessing humans. Reward: Permanent Soul Hook Blueprint +1]
[Soul Hook (Task-specific): When worn, it can discover Mysterious Soul Fragments possessing humans, hook and collect them, and also bring back the replaced soul, completing the whole human Divine Soul. Note: Current item only for side quests, self-crafted permanent Soul Hook usage is unrestricted]
Oh my! This is a massive undertaking!
Jiang Yuan carefully read the side quest details, and equipped the newly obtained task-specific Soul Hook from his Storage Bag.
"Swoosh!"
With a slight sound, a black iron chain, almost identical to the Soul Hook carried by Yin Messenger Ma Hongtu, wrapped around his right wrist. A casual flick of the wrist caused the skull claw at one end to extend and grab in the air.
Indeed, following the same procedure as Yin Messenger’s ghost-catching and soul-hooking, he practiced a few times to get used to its usage and then attentively observed in mid-air.
The Fox Immortal Sect occupied a large area on Wangshi Ridge, although not luxurious buildings, they constructed several courtyards atop the hill, showing that Lu Erxi spent most of the "Life-Buying Money" given by the Green-eyed Fox on this aspect.
Currently, all doors and windows were tightly shut, even the more than a meter-high gate was locked, suggesting Lu’s father and son hadn’t returned from Celestial Sword Sect, nor did he know who else lived there.
From afar, Jiang Yuan glanced at the "Taishang Laojun" in the town center, understanding why Lu Erxi inconveniently built the sect in this location—outside the Demon Cultivator statue’s coverage range, the eerie fluctuations during granting Skills would be less detectable, allowing both sides to coexist peacefully.