Chapter 200: A Certificate of Loyalty

“You successfully switched your Cultivation Technique in just one year?”

At the Huan Sha Hall, Steward Zheng met Lin Jing again and was very surprised. Elder Qin truly hadn’t deceived him!

It seemed he had recruited another highly talented member for the Huan Sha Hall!

Seeing the Thousand Illusion True Essence released by Lin Jing, he smiled and said, “Not only was the switch perfect, but your Realm didn’t drop either; you maintained the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. Excellent, excellent.”

“So, you came here this time to accept a mission?”

“Logically, you have three years to consolidate your strength. There’s no need to rush into executing missions—”

“Reporting, Steward, this Disciple wishes to accumulate merit points quickly and become a Sect True Disciple—” Lin Jing chuckled,

scratching his head.

“Haha, good. With this spirit, you will succeed in anything you do. Most Huan Sha Hall Disciples usually avoid missions, so I am very pleased that you are taking the initiative like this.” Steward Zheng walked over and patted Lin Jing’s shoulder again, just as he had a year ago.

“Since that’s the case, I’ll give you a low-risk mission to practice with first!”

“If you can complete it smoothly, I will arrange for you to join the elite squad of the Huan Sha Hall to compete with Cultivators from other Sects for Opportunities! This is not just fighting for the Sect, but also for yourself. You will gain tremendous rewards in the process!”

Having said that.

He took out two portraits.

Both portraits depicted a pure and sweet-looking female Cultivator. Although their appearances were different, their temperaments were remarkably similar.

“Are they beautiful?” Steward Zheng asked.

“They are beautiful—” Lin Jing answered truthfully.

“Hmm???” Steward Zheng frowned.

“This person is named Yan Ran, a Flower Sect Disciple. Five years ago, she disguised herself as a Loose Cultivator and engineered a chance meeting with one of our Thousand Illusion Mountain Inner Sect Disciples. Under her clever manipulation, this Thousand Illusion Mountain Inner Sect Disciple quickly fell in love and, on the day of their wedding held within his Family, he presented her with a Magic Treasure as a symbol of his affection.”

“However, after the marriage, she spent several months setting up a secret technique, draining half of our Sect Disciple’s cultivation. Finally, she exploited her position, absconded with a large amount of property belonging to the Disciple’s Family, and fled.”

“This Flower Sect Disciple plotted for our Sect Disciple’s Magic Treasure and cultivation; she deserves death!”

“Of course, that Inner Sect Disciple was also an idiot to be so easily deceived.”

“Such demonic Sect behavior deserves death!” Lin Jing agreed.

“I could tell she wasn’t a good woman the moment I saw her.”

“You better be.” Steward Zheng said, “Although your talent is high, you only have a little over a decade of experience. You must still be careful when traveling in the Immortal Cultivation World in the future!”

“What good are women? You possess illusion techniques. Once you learn the Reverse Illusion Art, which turns illusion into reality, what kind of Dao Companion can’t you conjure? Our Sect’s secret techniques aren’t limited to just transforming into spirit beasts!”

“So this Inner Sect Disciple was deceived because he was too weak. If he were a True Disciple, he wouldn’t be so obsessed with a woman.”

Lin Jing paused slightly. It sounded like sophistry, but it seemed to hold some truth.

“Recently, through investigations by our Thousand Illusion Mountain Disciples, this Flower Sect Disciple has disguised herself and adopted another name, marrying into the ‘Lin Family of Linlang City.’ This Lin Family has no connection with our Thousand Illusion Mountain, and even if they knew the truth, they would likely not dare to confront this Flower Sect Disciple due to the Flower Sect being such a behemoth.”

“Your mission is to capture this person and bring her back to Thousand Illusion Mountain. If you encounter trouble, you may also kill her directly and return with her head.”

After Steward Zheng finished speaking, he said, “She only has Foundation Establishment Initial Stage cultivation. There shouldn’t be any problem assigning this mission to you, right?”

Lin Jing nodded, naturally having no issues, though he was more concerned with how many merit points the mission was worth.

This mission could also be considered a Certificate of Loyalty.

Whether capturing or killing a Flower Sect Disciple, it signifies enmity with the Flower Sect, a Soul Transformation Sect. Only by going this far can Thousand Illusion Mountain more confidently foster the Lin Family of Linlang City.

Lin Jing was quite familiar with them; he had met a member of the Lin Family when he was first teleported to Qing Province. He never expected such a coincidence that his very first mission was related to this Lin Family.

This Flower Sect Disciple, Yan Ran, has now disguised herself as a young female Cultivator named “Yan Xin” and married into the Lin Family, becoming the wife of a Lin Family young master whose talent is not particularly high.

Although this Lin Family young master is not highly talented, he is very diligent and hardworking, thus deeply loved by the Lin Family Patriarch.

He received continuous rewards of various Medicinal Pills, and his personal cultivation was therefore quite high, reaching the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage!

According to Thousand Illusion Mountain’s investigation, Yan Ran likely targeted this Lin Family young master named Lin Tian precisely because of this. After intimacy, she could not only plot for his cultivation using a secret technique but also obtain a large number of Medicinal Pills!

However!

When Lin Jing arrived at Linlang City, he found that the situation was unfolding strangely.

Lin Jing stealthily entered the Lin Residence.

He discovered that Lin Tian’s Family elders were angrily criticizing him.

“You just married such an outstanding wife, and yet you—you rebellious son!”

“How could you Cultivate the ‘Immortal Slaying Art’ that Lin Yun picked up, causing yourself to become barren!”

“You don’t understand. Xin’er is indeed excellent, but after marrying her, my body has gotten worse day by day, and my cultivation even tends to regress. I can’t let this happen. How can the Realm I worked so hard to Cultivate drop? After my younger brother Yun Cultivated the ‘Immortal Slaying Art,’ his cultivation advanced rapidly, and he is now at the Foundation Establishment Initial Stage. When I saw that, I truly felt—”

“A man must prioritize cultivation!”

“Felt like crap! Now your wife has vomited blood and left home because you Cultivated the ‘Immortal Slaying Art.’ It’s bad enough you aren’t chasing her, but you’re still here talking nonsense!”

Lin Jing finished listening in silence.

Wait?

How did someone in your Lin Family actually Cultivate this Cultivation Technique!

However, it seems to have accidentally worked out, preventing this Flower Sect demoness from draining the Lin Family young master’s cultivation using her secret technique.

Lin Tian possesses such willpower, managing to withstand the meticulously designed deception of the Flower Sect demoness despite coming from a small Family. He is bound to possess the potential for Soul Transformation in the future.

But where has this Flower Sect demoness run off to now?

This mission is his first, and it serves as his Certificate of Loyalty to Thousand Illusion Mountain. He absolutely cannot fail so easily.

He grabbed the arm-sized, loach-like Fire Scale Dragon and spoke:

“The target shouldn’t have run far. Can you smell anything unusual?”

“Roar—” The Fire Scale Dragon, dragged out by Lin Jing, finally got some fresh air outside. It thought something good was happening, but it turned out it was going to be used like a dog.

How could it smell anything like a dog’s nose—

“Are you saying that a Rank Four Alchemist, capable of refining Rank Four Medicinal Pills and distinguishing subtle differences between every Medicinal Pill with their eyes closed, has a sense of smell inferior to a dog?” Lin Jing said, “Hurry up and help.”

“Roar—” The Fire Scale Dragon reluctantly sniffed its nose, then discovered a faint scent of Medicinal Pills different from those in the Lin Residence. It seemed to be the aura of a Medicinal Pill infused with a Shapeshifting Flower—

“That’s the scent. The person who took the pill must have already left the residence. Take me to follow the scent and find her.” Lin Jing’s Buddha Heart shone brightly; he was determined to punish the demoness and avenge his fellow Senior Brother and his ‘brother’ from the same lineage.