The room was completely silent.
Chen Huaian was cultivating.
The big green fish and Ba Ji were also cultivating.
As the first major cycle of the Tidal Art was completed, the surrounding spiritual energy surged towards Chen Huaian, forming a vortex within his body with a sudden rush.
With a ‘pop.’
A wisp of clear air rose from the top of his head and dissipated into the universe.
Chen Huaian opened his eyes, his face filled with suppressed joy: “Hehehe, hahaha! It worked! I’ve finally made it!”
Ba Ji, hearing the commotion, opened his eyes briefly, quickly glanced at the level-one cultivator Chen Huaian, then quickly resumed his cultivation in a cat-like pose.
“This is what cultivation feels like?”
Chen Huaian clenched his fist, feeling completely different from before. He could clearly sense the flow of breath through his limbs and organs, and as he clenched his fist, most of the breath was drawn from his dantian and concentrated in his fist.
He looked at the wall, sensing something.
This time, when he punches, he’s sure he can make a dent in the wall.
One small step in cultivation, one giant leap for an immortal.
As he stepped into the early stages of cultivation, his perception became vastly different from that of ordinary people. Immediately, he noticed something odd about the plants on the windowsill.
He leaned closer. The dense spiritual energy flowed like a clear spring, refreshing him with each breath.
“Oh my goodness, I’m sorry, Grass Brother! I’m guilty!”
Chen Huaian stared dumbfounded at the ugly little grass, quickly watering it. Previously, he never watered it, leaving it to grow or die on its own on the windowsill.
Now, upon closer inspection, he realized this unremarkable grass had intricate details, not only crystal clear but also intricately carved with palace structures, rivaling the complexity of the Qingming Scroll!
“It’s really impressive!”
Chen Huaian gave the Nine-Turn Spirit Orchid a thumbs-up.
He initially thought the name was just for show.
But it turned out they really had it!
So the question arises:
If he planted the Nine-Turn Spirit Orchid in the Nuwa soil and waited, could he turn into Sun Wukong?
Chen Huaian looked at the Nuwa soil he dug out, which was about the size of two fists, and decided to put that idea on hold.
“Now all I need is money. I don’t know when the bounty will be issued. Without money, I have no security…” Chen Huaian opened his watch and quickly found the app for taking tasks.
The name was straightforward—Demon-Slaying Division Bounty Center.
Opening the app, a multitude of tasks appeared right in front of him, densely packed from top to bottom with fifty items. Scrolling down, he discovered there were over seventy more pages.
This means the Demon-Slaying Division already has over three thousand unresolved disturbances, and new demons keep appearing. Many disturbances may have happened but haven’t been recorded yet.
“Looks like life under the surface is chaotic… It’s impressive how the authorities manage to keep it under wraps.”
Chen Huaian shook his head.
Following this trend, things won’t stay under control for long.
But he came here to make money, so he didn’t need to worry about anything else.
“There are many tasks, but the bounties are quite low~ The high bounties are far away, and the overseas tasks are ridiculous…”
Currently, the three highest bounties were:
【Task Name】Seal the Demon Sword – Muramasa in Neon – No Time Limit / Location: Osaka / Specific Information: Discuss in person / Task Reward: 10 million / Recommended Strength: Shikigami User
【Task Name】Assist in sealing or eliminating the Bloodline Ancestor in Southeast Europe – No Time Limit / Location: Holy Cathedral / Specific Information: Discuss in person / Task Reward: 30 million / Recommended Strength: Gold Hunter
【Task Name】Investigate the Black Coffin Cliff at Dragon Tiger Mountain – No Time Limit / Location: Dragon Tiger Mountain / Specific Information: Discuss in person / Task Reward: 5 million if you survive and bring useful intelligence / Recommended Strength: Above Soldier Rank
Looking at these tasks, Chen Huaian felt envious.
But that was all he could do.
That demon sword and bloodline ancestor sounded formidable; going up against them would be futile. As for the black coffin, getting rewarded just for surviving and bringing back intelligence suggests that nine out of ten people who enter don’t come out. Otherwise, the task wouldn’t lack details about what’s inside the black coffin cliff.
Not writing it means it’s likely unknown.
And unknown often means dangerous.
What he needed now was a task with a high bounty and close proximity.
Many of these tasks had already been investigated but not resolved.
Even a task was in his neighborhood.
【Task Name】Clear the Ghost – Strange noises at night in Unit 1906, Building 3, Block 1, Jin Cheng Phase 2, suspected ghost activity. Clearing the ghost rewards 5,000, materials submitted separately. / Recommended Strength: White Rank
Ghosts are the lowest level of spirits, weaker than even demons.
According to Three Eggs, the Demon-Slaying Division usually takes on such tasks to gain experience and earn living expenses.
These tasks are also highly sought after.
Besides these simple tasks, many others had piled up in the app.
Small tasks were fought over by demon-slaying masters; there were too few tasks for too many people. Large tasks went unclaimed because capable demon-slaying masters were busy with their own tasks, leading to a buildup of medium-sized disturbances.
Chen Huaian refreshed the page.
Sure enough, the task to clear the ghost disappeared, presumably taken by another demon-slaying master.
But it didn’t matter. His gaze was fixed on a specific task.
【Task Name】Investigate the Century New Town Phase 3 Construction Site (halted) – One-week deadline / Task Reward: 50,000 / Recommended Strength: Master Rank (Note: Three White Rank civilian demon-slaying masters have gone missing. Survive and bring back specific intelligence to receive the reward, additional 50,000 if the disturbance is fully resolved, materials not included.)
“Century New Town Phase 3 Construction Site…”
Chen Huaian recalled.
He seemed to have glimpsed it during his last visit to Dragon Soar Internet Cafe with Three Eggs.
He immediately picked up his navigation and found it was indeed very close, only a ten-minute drive away.
“You’re it!”
Fifty thousand yuan!
Chen Huaian clicked to accept the task.
Glancing at the time, he saw there was still some time before Lin Lingling returned, so he continued cultivating.
…
Meanwhile, at the new headquarters of the Heavenly Abode Demon-Slaying Division—Pan Family Market.
Lin Lingling had already submitted her initial observations on Ba Ji and Xiao Qing and bought a new watch.
Just as she logged in and powered on, a task notification popped up.
【You have accepted a Master Rank task—Investigate the Century New Town Phase 3 Construction Site. Deadline is one week. If you fail to participate within the deadline, your credibility score will be deducted. Please proceed to the task location as soon as possible.]
“Sht! Bullsht!”
Lin Lingling’s hand trembled, almost throwing the watch.
She realized Chen Huaian must have taken the task.
Chen Huaian didn’t have an account, so he used hers, and she hadn’t logged out yet.
But that wasn’t the main issue.
The main issue was that this task was extremely suspicious!
Initially, she wanted to take it, but someone else tried to snatch it from her.
But Wuzzy Beard told her not to go, and the demon-slaying master who tried to snatch the task never returned.
After three White Rank masters went missing, the task was upgraded to Master Rank.
There’s currently no concrete information about this task, suggesting the actual difficulty might be higher than Master Rank, making it a standard trap.
Now it’s perfect.
This big trap was taken by Chen Huaian, the bullsh*tter!
