After returning from the Wanfa Pavilion, Mo Tiange entered a state of seclusion once more.
Firstly, she had discovered the uses of the seeds Murong Yan had given her from the book "Complete Compendium of Spiritual Herbs," finding several to be quite useful, so she secluded herself to determine the most suitable applications. Secondly, having been idle for a period and with a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills still on hand, it was time to resume cultivation.
Of course, the seclusion of a Qi Refining cultivator like her was not like that of a high-level cultivator who shuts themselves in a training room and never emerges. They needed to eat, move their limbs, and bathe. Therefore, what Mo Tiange called a state of seclusion simply meant devoting all her time outside of these necessities to cultivation, no longer going out to wander aimlessly.
Among the several packets of seeds Murong Yan had given her, there was one called Illusion Flower, which was one of the ingredients for Soul-Dazing Powder. Mo Tiange spent several days thoroughly studying the spiritual energy of the seeds, finally able to make them sprout and bloom in an instant. The scent of this flower indeed had an illusory effect. There was also another type called Fire Thorn, far superior to the ordinary thorns she possessed, naturally imbued with fiery spiritual energy. If one came into contact with it unprepared, they would be burned.
Once she could skillfully utilize these two types of seeds and had stabilized her eighth-level cultivation, she considered herself temporarily out of seclusion.
And at this time, she encountered her biggest problem—she was broke.
In the mortal world, being penniless meant being unable to move an inch. In the world of immortal cultivation, it wasn't much better, except the currency wasn't gold or silver, but Spirit Stones.
Mo Tiange counted and recounted the items in her Qiankun Bag. Aside from the Spirit Stones reserved for setting up arrays and a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills that hadn't found use yet, there were few things she could exchange for money. The Spirit Stones from the An family man had long been spent on purchasing pills. Their spiritual artifacts couldn't be exchanged for money in the Yunwu Mountain market either, or else trouble would find her. What remained were some spiritual herbs, artifact forging materials, and a pearl the size of a wine cup.
After consulting her Second Uncle, Mo Tiange sold off the various materials. As for the pearl, even Second Uncle didn't know its purpose, so she kept it. However, those two men were merely Qi Refining cultivators, and the materials on them weren't particularly valuable, so they didn't fetch much. The money was soon spent, and she was once again struggling with her livelihood. With her poor spiritual roots, she had no choice but to consume pills and use Spirit Gathering Arrays, but all of these required Spirit Stones. Otherwise, relying solely on the sect's monthly allocation of three Nourishing Qi Pills and five Spirit Stones, reaching the tenth level would truly take forever. Yet, aside from array formations, she had no other skills. The money earned from selling arrays was only enough for Second Uncle's treatment.
During another lecture, seeing Mo Tiange sighing deeply, Xu Jingzhi asked her the reason and was surprised. "Junior Brother Ye, why don't you go and accept an assignment? That's much better than trying to figure out how to earn money yourself."
"Ah?" Mo Tiange was stunned.
Xu Jingzhi sighed and earnestly instructed her, "Why do we fight tooth and nail to enter a sect? Isn't it precisely because sects have abundant resources? Besides the monthly allocation, the sect has many assignments for us to undertake, and these assignments come with additional rewards. Look at me—for the past three months, I haven't cultivated much, running around doing assignments everywhere, and I've earned quite a few Spirit Stones, enough for me to go into seclusion for half a year without a care."
These words made Mo Tiange suddenly see the light. She had actually forgotten that sect disciples had benefits; there was no need to think of ways to find work outside. Slapping her own head a few times, Mo Tiange temporarily set aside cultivation and began running assignments.
So-called assignments were tasks given by the sect to its disciples. Some matters were inconvenient for servant disciples to handle, so they would be assigned to formal disciples to complete.
Stepping into the Deacon Hall once more, in the main hall of the courtyard, Mo Tiange saw that Uncle-Master Yu for the second time.
This Uncle-Master Yu was cultivating again. However, there was another Qi Refining disciple nearby sorting something out. Seeing her enter, this rather ordinary-looking male disciple asked, "Are you here to submit or to accept?"
Mo Tiange pondered for a moment before understanding. "I trouble you, Senior Brother. I am here to accept an assignment."
This person stretched out his hand. "Token."
Mo Tiange took out her identity token and handed it over.
This person verified it, confirming the identity token was genuine, then tossed over a jade slip. "The white ones are all available, as long as you meet the requirements."
Mo Tiange input her spiritual sense, and all the assignments appeared in her mind.
These assignments could basically be summarized into a few categories: first, miscellaneous tasks within the sect like guarding or delivering messages; second, going out to search for certain things; third, guarding Spirit Stone mines or managing shops. The first category of assignments was quite popular. Just think of the attitude of the guarding disciple at the Wanfa Pavilion that day—the rewards were good and the work was within the sect. The second category had rich rewards but was more difficult and required luck. The third required a lot of time and being away from the sect, which Mo Tiange was unwilling to do. Although there would be plenty of time for cultivation outside, the spiritual veins outside certainly couldn't compare to the sect's. Thus, only the first category was left to choose from.
Mo Tiange looked up and smiled. "Senior Brother, I'd like to take this assignment of collecting Heavenly Dew."
"Oh?" This disciple gave her a few extra glances, precisely because this task's compensation wasn't high and it was quite tedious, so few were willing to do it. Of course, he wouldn't object. He took a jade token, recorded something on it, and handed it to her. "Alright. Go to the Zhengyang Hall on the North Peak and find Uncle-Master Wang Qiao. They'll tell you what to do there."
Mo Tiange took the jade token, thanked him, and hurried off to the North Peak without delay.
In truth, how could she not want a better assignment? But after looking them over, the good assignments were already taken. Although this one was troublesome, at least it was on the North Peak. The spiritual energy on the North Peak was dense. Spending a bit of time cultivating there each day might be much better than cultivating on the South Peak.
With the jade token on her person, she encountered no obstacles on her way to the North Peak. The North and South Peaks of Yunwu Mountain were separated by several hundred zhang, with a deep chasm in between. Qi Refining disciples couldn't fly through the air. If one used Lightness Art to travel from the South Peak to the North Peak, it would probably take the better part of a day. However, a senior expert had erected an iron chain bridge between the two peaks, greatly facilitating the movement of disciples. Crossing the bridge took only a moment to reach the North Peak.
As soon as she arrived at the North Peak, Mo Tiange felt that the spiritual energy was several times denser than on the South Peak. Cultivating in such a place would yield results far superior. Moreover, the North Peak was heavily guarded. Not only were there Foundation Establishment cultivators patrolling, but there were also extremely powerful array formations and restrictions. With Mo Tiange's level of array formation knowledge, she could only tell that this was part of the same set as the Cloud Mist Sect's mountain-protecting grand array. Simply put, it was an array within an array. According to common knowledge, the inner array's power could split mountains and part seas; it was a final, mutually destructive measure.
Mo Tiange found the Zhengyang Hall and explained to the guarding disciple that she was looking for Uncle-Master Wang Qiao. This person pointed to a side hall. She walked over and looked around. Inside, there was only a female Qi Refining tenth-level disciple, which puzzled her.
This disciple was a female cultivator, also around twenty years old, with delicate features—female cultivators were rarely ugly. As cultivators, they naturally had some methods different from the mortal world to beautify themselves. Moreover, with spiritual energy in their bodies, their skin naturally became fair and smooth.
This female disciple turned and saw her, asking, "Who are you? What business do you have?"
Mo Tiange hurriedly bowed in greeting. "Senior Sister, I've accepted the assignment to collect Heavenly Dew and am here to find Uncle-Master Wang."
"Oh, come in. I'm his apprentice. Just tell me."
Hearing this, Mo Tiange handed over the jade token she had received.
After checking it and finding no issues, this person revealed a smile. "So it's Junior Brother Ye. My name is Wang Qianyi. From now on, just discuss matters regarding this assignment with me."
She also had the surname Wang, and from her tone, her relationship with Uncle-Master Wang was not shallow. Mo Tiange acknowledged, "Yes. May Senior Sister please tell me how to go about this?"
Wang Qianyi took out several jade bottles and handed them to her. "Heavenly Dew is the dew on spiritual herbs in the early morning before it dries, carrying spiritual energy. Every day during the Yin and Mao hours, you go into the forest to collect dew. Bring it back when the bottles are full. Remember, only collect dew from clean spiritual herbs. Don't take any others."
"Understood." Mo Tiange took the jade bottles and asked further, "I wonder how many bottles need to be collected per day?"
Wang Qianyi laughed. "If you can collect one bottle a day, that's already good. Forget about several. Just go ahead. Come to me every day during the Mao hour to submit what you've collected. Whatever amount you have will do."