Mortal: Fairy Song Yu has issued you a task.

Chapter 20 Cloudy Mystery Realm

Vacation days always fly by; with so much to do, a month's vacation is gone in a flash.

Inside the quiet room, Lin Jingchu, who was sitting cross-legged on a futon, slowly opened his eyes.

Without the aid of a superior elixir like the Qingyun Pill, his cultivation speed returned to its previous snail-paced pace.

Song Yu is currently in seclusion, so his quest system is like a hero with no place to use his skills.

Although Elder Feng and Elder Wei are both characters in the storyline and can trigger quests, their statuses are vastly different. Without a suitable opportunity, how could one possibly come into contact with them and successfully accept the quest?

Well then, the path of cultivation is inherently long and arduous.

Lin Jingchu composed himself, got up and left his residence. He now needed to report to the General Affairs Hall.

"Senior brother, this is my identity token."

Inside the General Affairs Hall, Lin Jingchu handed his identity token to the steward.

"Please wait a moment." The deacon took the document and began to review the records.

Lin Jingchu watched the busy stewards and couldn't help but wonder where he would be assigned this time. He just hoped he wouldn't get involved with Xu Fuzi, whose identity was questionable.

First, work steadily and peacefully. Once Song Yu emerges from seclusion, find a way to trigger more quests and increase your favorability.

With such a golden touch, the future looks promising.

As Lin Jingchu was lost in thought, he suddenly noticed the steward's brows furrow slightly.

"what?"

"What's wrong, Senior Brother?"

"It's nothing, I just didn't expect that my junior brother would be assigned to guard the Cloud Mist Secret Realm this time."

"The Mysterious Cloud Realm? Where is this?"

"It's normal that you haven't heard of it, Junior Brother. This secret realm only opens about once every six years."

"Six years?! Does that mean the disciple needs to stay here for six years?" Lin Jingchu was shocked to hear this.

The steward noticed his resistance and comforted him, saying, "Junior brother, don't be anxious. This secret realm is where the sect cultivates rare spiritual plants and raises spiritual beasts."

"The spiritual energy is far richer than outside, making cultivation twice as efficient, and the monthly stipend during the stay is very generous. Only inner disciples are ever allowed to enter; countless outer disciples would kill for it!"

It sounds tempting, but that's for ordinary people. With the task system, the biggest shortcut is to "farm" Song Yu's favorability.

If one can share the Heavenly Spiritual Root aptitude, what do "abundant" spiritual energy and "generous" salary matter?

"Senior brother, can this arrangement be changed?" Lin Jingchu asked, clinging to a sliver of hope.

The disciple in charge helplessly shrugged: "The list of candidates was finalized two days ago. Moreover, it concerns the secret realm, so it's no child's play. Unless you can get the sect leader or some elder to intervene, there's absolutely no possibility of changing it."

Lin Jingchu knew immediately that it was hopeless. If it only required getting the supervisor or manager involved, it would be easier to handle.

He had gotten to know several senior uncles from the General Affairs Hall during the process of selling formations. He thought he could get it done by paying a certain price, but how could he get in touch with the sect leader and elders?

The deacon was clearly aware of this, and continued according to procedure:

"Now that you know, Junior Brother, please finish your personal matters as soon as possible and head directly to the Chengxuan Platform on the back of the main peak. You are the only one of the array masters who has not yet arrived for this shift."

Since the situation was beyond repair, Lin Jingchu could only suppress his frustration and return to Tianquan Peak. After entrusting the matter of the Purple Frost Fruit to Zhou Qinghe, he headed towards the main peak.

As for the plan to sell the Blazing Sun Banner to purchase Foundation Establishment Pills, it has to be abandoned. Firstly, time is too short, and selling it would likely result in a lower price; secondly, Foundation Establishment Pills are always available on the market as long as one is willing to spend spirit stones, while talismans are extremely rare.

Passing through the clouds and mist, a huge stone platform, rigidly embedded in the steep mountain wall, came into view.

As soon as Lin Jingchu flew nearby, several undisguised divine senses swept over him, clearly from the overt guards stationed at the entrance to the secret realm.

He remained calm and presented his identity token after the stone platform was lowered.

"Disciple Lin Jingchu is the formation master stationed in this secret realm."

A voice, its direction unclear, echoed from the deserted stone platform:

"The array masters stationed here all entered yesterday. Why are you so late?"

"Reporting to my senior uncle, I was on leave some time ago and only went to the General Affairs Hall today to receive my transfer order, so I am a day late. I hope my senior uncle will forgive me."

A ripple of spiritual energy spread outwards.

The next moment, the scene in front of Lin Jingchu was like a stone thrown into a calm lake. Amidst the distorted light and shadow, a huge golden gate appeared out of thin air in front of the mountain wall.

Along with the Guangmen, there was also a middle-aged cultivator dressed in a yellow and white Taoist robe.

Lin Jingchu sighed inwardly, "As expected of the Illusion Stone Peak's methods, this illusion is completely undetectable."

"My nephew, come inside with me."

"Yes, ma'am."

Lin Jingchu followed closely in the footsteps of his Uncle Huan Shifeng and stepped into the portal of light.

In an instant, it was as if he had pierced through an invisible film of water. Immediately afterwards, a rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth enveloped him.

A feeling of complete comfort welled up inside him, leaving him momentarily stunned.

"Hey——!"

A loud bird call came from high above, startling Lin Jingchu from his reverie.

He looked around and saw that the sky was clear and bright, and several beautiful birds with gorgeous feathers were gliding by gracefully.

The horizon is dotted with rolling mountains, which trace a graceful arc before converging to form a vast basin.

Looking back, there was a portal of light right next to the cliff face, but this time the portal was a pale blue.

"How is it? You didn't expect the spiritual energy in this secret realm to be so rich, did you, junior nephew?" The senior uncle from Illusionary Stone Peak, who was leading the way, smiled slightly. "Your aura is still a bit weak, so you must have just broken through not long ago. In this secret realm, you can consolidate your realm in peace, and your foundation building will surely come naturally in the future."

"Thank you for your kind words, Uncle-Master." Lin Jingchu quickly composed himself and bowed in thanks.

"Alright, you have plenty of time to enjoy the scenery now. Come with me to the campsite."

After saying that, Uncle Huan Shifeng summoned a jade tablet flying artifact with flowing spiritual light, carried Lin Jingchu, and flew towards the center of the basin.

During the flight, the silhouettes of spirit birds occasionally swept through the clouds. Several of them possessed such powerful auras that Lin Jingchu felt a chill run down his spine.

As it was flying, a blue-green bird suddenly emerged from the clouds to the side and curiously circled around the jade plate.

"Go away, go away, don't linger here." Uncle-Master Huan Shifeng waved his hand to drive them away.

The blue-green bird seemed to let out a clear cry of dissatisfaction before flapping its wings and flying away.

"This is a rare Azure Light Eagle, which you've probably seen before. They're the most common high-level spirit birds in the secret realm. Don't worry, all the spirit birds and beasts in the secret realm have been tamed by the sect and won't harm you. At most, they're just a bit curious, like this fledgling."

Once fully grown, the exotic Azure Light Eagle becomes a level five demonic beast, with strength equivalent to a cultivator in the early stages of Core Formation. Its supernatural abilities are limited, except for its ability to change size. It is an important spirit bird for long-distance transportation within the sect. He had ridden it before when traveling on official business.

The jade tablet flew for about ten miles before finally landing slowly in an open space among a group of stone houses.

"Let's go, I'll take you to see the senior brother in charge of this place first." The senior uncle stepped down from the jade tablet first.

Lin Jingchu naturally had no objection and followed.

As he walked, he curiously looked around at the place where he would be living for the next six years.

However, the next moment, Lin Jingchu's pupils suddenly contracted sharply!

Xu Fuzi?!

He's here too!