Instead of standing up immediately, Fang Xing remained seated and familiarized himself with the enormous amount of Qi added to his body.

　　After the beast core of the Python Toad had been absorbed and transformed by the [Scripture of the Revered Spirit], the resultant Jing was like that of an ample well, as though Fang Xing was inside a giant gold mine digging up all of the gold—or in this case, Jing—all for himself. It had not only allowed for an easy breakthrough to the third-tier bottleneck, but had also increased the flow of Qi within his meridians until it was akin to a surging river.

　　In stark contrast, when he had practiced fluctuations with a Spirit Stone, only a trickling sensation of Qi could be felt even when using the utmost effort.

　　Only after another hour had passed did Fang Xing opened his eyes in contentment. He had succeeded. The payoff for this adventure was the sudden advancement from the peak of tier two to the mid of tier three, and with this advancement he had even passed through two bottlenecks between tiers! It was important to understand that to break through each bottleneck was to forcibly exceed one’s own physical and mental limitations, and this was the most difficult roadblock on the path of cultivation. In other words, a cultivator had to be physically and mentally reborn at every bottleneck to keep progressing.

　　‘Sh*t, it’s that stench again….’ Fang Xing’s eyebrows cringed as he smelled the revolting stink clinging to his body before searching for a clear pool of water. Once he had confirmed that the water did not have dangerous creatures and beasts with the [Book of Revelation], he jumped in for a good wash.

　　It could also be said that he was already experienced in this and was thus not in such a panic as he had been last time. He knew that the stench and the black waste that oozed out of his pores were toxins and impurities his body had accumulated over the years; this process was like a very deep cleansing.

　　‘Hrm? It’s almost sunset. Have I been here for an entire day and night?’ As he swam in the pool of water, Fang Xing only noticed so much time had passed after the sun had begun to fall behind the horizon. It must have been the fact that the Qi found within the toad’s beast core had been well beyond his own limit; even though the [Scripture of the Revered Spirit] had miraculous abilities, the process still could only be done one step at a time. It had taken an entire twenty-four hours to finally absorb all that he could for his own use.

　　Of course, the benefit was more than clear. To be able to skip right into the mid of third tier from where he had started from would have easily taken at least one or two years even with an unlimited supply of Spirit Stones, yet a single day and night had allowed him the equivalent of a couple years of hard work. This was definitely a very profitable trade!

　　‘With the Scripture of the Revered Spirit and plenty of beast cores, I’ll potentially be able to cultivate using this method all I want, all without harming myself in the process, too! It’s just like another large door has opened up just for me. It’s as though others need to make money a little at a time, while I have a massive cave of treasures and all I have to do is move them around. This is so much faster than everyone else….’ Fang Xing thought to himself, and the more he pondered on it, the more pleased he became. At one point, he even let out a loud laugh while his eyes glistened with a light that was cold, yet bright.

　　—

　　“I’m finally back, Qing-Yun Sect! I’ve barely made it through alive….”

　　Ten days later, a miserable beggar-like boy walked up to the entrance of the quiet and secluded Qing-Yun Sect. His clothes were tattered, his face full of mud and soil, and behind him was a beast leg nobody could identify that was even larger than he was. Before the sect guards could react, the boy could already be seen crying at the top of his lungs.

　　A few of the guards hurriedly ran up for questioning before the little beggar showed them a small woodblock. “I am an outer court disciple, Fang Xing. Half a month ago, I accepted a Duty Talisman with Shixiong Hou Qing to kill the Python Toad on Mount Miasma, but—” Fang Xing began to sob even louder, “—all the shixiong have died except me…. I somehow made it alive, and I’m finally back….”

　　The little beggar was none other than Fang Xing. After he had spent a few more days at Mount Miasma, he finally began to make his way back. Being the cautious type, he had even crafted a backstory to go along with his current state.

　　“Shixiong Hou Qing is dead?” The sect guards were surprised. They were also outer court disciples who had heard of the famous A-rank disciple, Hou Qing.

　　The guards quickly sent someone to report to the elders at the Duty Talisman Hall while the rest helped Fang Xing into the sect. One of them saw the toad leg Fang Xing had been carrying and offered to throw it away for him, but Fang Xing refused, “Don’t touch my leg! I survived on this leg. Without it, I would have starved to death. Besides, it’s also the proof that we’ve killed the beast, so no one touches it!”

　　Without knowing whether to laugh or cry, the guards let him be. At the sight of Fang Xing’s misery, however, most of them then felt a sense of despair and fear; in order to become an inner court disciple themselves, they would also one day be faced with a Duty Talisman mission unless their clan paid a fortune for their own Poji Pellet.

　　“Where is the disciple that has returned from the beast-slaying mission?” Soon, an elderly man dressed in a cyan-colored robe hurriedly flew over on his Flying Sword. From afar, Fang Xing could see that this man was in the seventh tier.

　　“All of them died…” Fang Xing once again burst into uncontrollable tears, giving the old man a fright.

　　“Who’s ‘them’?” It was not the answer the old man was looking for, as he knew what must have happened and he creased his eyebrows. Besides, Fang Xing was still carrying a toad leg with him.

　　“Besides me, Shixiong Hou Qing, Shixiong Lyu San, Shixiong Qian Tong, and Shixiong Zhao Zhi have… they’ve all died….” Fang Xing appeared to be in a state of extreme sorrow with a hint of fear, as if he had been mentally defeated by what had happened.

　　“Come with me.” With a grave expression, the elder picked Fang Xing up onto his Flying Sword and flew towards a mountain peak within the sect.

　　Four deaths in a low-grade Duty Talisman of Extermination mission was not exactly a small matter.

　　There had been plenty of instances where both outer and inner court disciples—even core disciples—had never returned after accepting Duty Talismans, and the total wipeout of an entire team was not unheard of. However, it was a rare sight for a low-grade Duty Talisman of Extermination to have this many casualties.

　　It didn’t take long for the elder to arrive at the great hall on top of a mountain peak hiding behind a group of clouds. This was the Duty Talisman Hall, and instead of walking directly inside, the elder took Fang Xing to a small garret room beside it, asking Fang Xing to sit atop one of the praying mats to wait. He then sent a Message Talisman for the remaining two elders in charge of the hall to join them.

　　Fang Xing’s curious gaze wandered about the entire room. To say it was a small garret room was perhaps not accurate, as its interior was rather spacious and it was more like a study. Large sandalwood bookcases filled with numerous jade plates were placed on either side of the room, and in the middle were three old-fashioned armchairs. The cyan-robed elder sat on the leftmost armchair while waiting for the other two to arrive. Thirty feet in front of the armchairs, a total of seven neatly-placed praying mats had been laid on the floor, and Fang Xing sat on the one right in the center.

　　This place would be the room that housed the council of elders who were in charge of any matters relating to the Duty Talisman Hall. Fang Xing sat quietly and well-behaved while plotting what he would say to them shortly.

　　Two elderly men arrived not long after, both of them in their seventh or eighth tier. Fang Xing knew that these elders had been inner court disciples when they were younger only to be promoted to sect elders once they’d reached a certain age. It was usually these lowest-ranked elders who would be the head of each department and hall.

　　Elders like these who had chosen to stay within the sect were in the minority. Most of the inner court disciples that reached a certain age without achieving higher levels would usually choose to return to their clans or families in the mortal realm for marriage and children. They hoped that one day, a child born from their blood would be endowed with great zi’zhi and luck to continue the path of cultivation on their behalf.

　　“Young one, what might your name be?” one of the elders asked in a heavy voice once all three had been seated.

　　“Outer court disciple, Fang Xing. Please accept my sincere respect,” Fang Xing answered.

　　The cyan-robed elder gave a nod. “Tell us the entire course of the mission, in detail.”

　　“As you wish, sir.” Bitterly, as though he was being forced to remember something so painful once more, Fang Xing began the story that he had fabricated in great detail. “Shixiong Hou Qing along with the four of us made our way to Mount Miasma for a beast-slaying mission. There was originally a very precise set of plans, but they didn’t tell me all of the details because I’m young. Basically, we were to set up a trap for the beast toad, then we would use a bait to lure it towards our trap….”

　　The elders exchanged looks with each other; they were all too clear on the score. They’d been through it all, and upon hearing what Fang Xing said, they immediately knew what the plan had entailed.

　　“They did not tell you what the bait was?” an awe-inspiring elder asked.

　　“Shixiong Hou Qing did not say anything. Shixiong Qian Tong, however, did tell me that I would know soon….” At this moment, all three elders once again looked to each other in unison before beckoning for Fang Xing to continue