The grand gates of the Azure Plum Blossom Sect were a welcome sight, their familiar plum-blossom carvings a stark contrast to the gnarled, leafless trees of the fen. Weeks of mud, mist, and constant vigilance had taken their toll. The air here didn't carry the stench of decay, but the clean, sweet fragrance of home. Alex took a deep breath, the simple act feeling like a luxury.
"We made it," Elara said, a weary but relieved smile on her face.
"Don't celebrate just yet," Lily said, the sharp edge in her voice was softened by her exhaustion. She gestured towards the main plaza. "First things first. I need to report to the Quest Hall."
"We'll come with you," Jay said through his exhaustion.
"Yeah, we also have many materials from other beasts to sell," Alex added, already moving in the direction of the quest hall.
The Quest Hall was less a hall and more a large, meticulously organized office. Tall notice boards covered the walls, displaying requests for everything from herb gathering to escorting merchant caravans. The air smelled of old parchment and sealing wax. Behind a long wooden counter sat a harried, middle-aged man, his robes neat but his eyes holding the weary look of someone who dealt with endless paperwork and over-eager disciples.
Lily strode forward, placing her disciple token on the counter with a sharp click. "Inner Disciple Lily, reporting the completion of D-Rank Subjugation quest: Venom-Spined Marshlurker."
The clerk barely looked up, his brush already moving across a logbook. "Present the materials for verification."
Lily nodded to Jay, who unslung a heavy burlap sack and laid out the harvested venom spines and the neatly folded hide of the Marshlurker. The clerk gave them a cursory glance and ticked off two boxes on his parchment.
"And the beast's core," Lily said, her voice dropping slightly. She carefully took out the heart crystal.
The moment it was placed on the counter, the clerk froze. The murky, dark jade crystal, shot through with writhing black threads, seemed to suck the warmth from the air around it. A palpable, malevolent Qi pulsed from the object, cold and unsettling.
The clerk's bored expression vanished, replaced by one of shock and alarm. He didn't touch it, but leaned closer, analyzing the beast core with his qi sense, finding the corrupt energy. "By the heavens..." he whispered. He finally looked up, his gaze intense and serious, meeting Lily's eyes. "Explain."
"The target was not a D-Rank beast," Lily stated calmly and clearly. "It was far larger than reported and exhibited strength close to B-Rank. We believe its power was amplified by this… corruption." She continued, "On our return journey, we also encountered Blood-Fang Wolves and an emerald serpent much farther north than their typical territory. They were unusually aggressive."
The clerk listened, his face growing paler with each word. He took a deep breath, his professionalism taking over. He pulled out a new, red-bordered scroll and began writing furiously.
"The quest is completed," he said, stamping their document with a heavy seal. "The reward will be issued in full, with a bonus for the unforeseen difficulty, and extra for the information you provided." He pushed a hefty pouch of spirit stones and had them place their sect badges on the counter. With a simple tap, each badge glowed a faint green.
Then, he took the tainted core and carefully placed it in a containment box inscribed all over with runes. "But this requires closer attention. I am classifying this report under the Emergency Protocol. It will be sent directly for further analysis. You may be summoned for questioning, so do not leave the sect until further notice."
He looked at the four of them, his earlier weariness gone, replaced by a grim seriousness. "You four did well to survive. Now go. You are dismissed."
They walked out of the Quest Hall in silence, the weight of the clerk's words hanging in the air. They had completed their first mission, but in doing so, they had stumbled upon a problem far greater and more dangerous than a single rogue beast. The shadows in the southern marshes grew longer.
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After submitting the quest report and selling all the beast materials they had collected, splitting the profits, they each came away with 100 low-grade spirit stones, 3 mid-grade spirit stones, and an astounding 1,000 contribution points.
They were all equally shocked and scared by the sum of wealth that had fallen into their laps.
Lily was beaming with joy, with a slight skip to her step, especially after receiving Jay's 3 mid-grade spirit stones.
Jay had no issues with paying Lily back, but he was a little worried about how long it would take for him to pay her back the remaining 12 mid-grade spirit stones he still owed her.
Alex was happy that he would finally be able to afford the supplies and materials he would need to try his hand at alchemy.
After pocketing the three mid-grade spirit stones Jay paid her, she was practically bouncing on her feet. "Alright! I'm hitting the Exchange Hall. There's something I've had my eye on."
Alex's face lit up with an identical grin. "I was thinking the same thing."
Jay leaned toward Elara. "What do you suppose they're up to?"
Elara just smiled. "Let's go find out."
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The Exchange Hall was a vibrant, chaotic contrast to the sect's usual tranquility. It was an open-air market where disciples set up booths, creating a cacophony of bartering and boasting. The air smelled of strange herbs, heated metal from the crafting stalls, and roasted meat from various food vendors. It reminded Alex of massive superstores back home, but instead of sections like home and sporting goods, it had sections for alchemy, talismans, and raw materials.
Elara and Lily went their own way, while Jay followed a determined Alex into the alchemy section.
Hours later, the girls found them sitting on a bench, munching on skewers of roasted beast meat. At Alex's feet was a small mountain of goods: sacks filled with dried herbs and monster parts, crates of glass vials, brushes, inks, and a large, expertly crafted cauldron that hummed with latent Qi.
Elara's jaw dropped. "Alex! How much did all this cost?"
Jay let out a laugh before Alex could answer. "Don't even ask. You didn't see him work. It was a sight to behold." He took a bite of his skewer. "He didn't just haggle; he conducted a psychological campaign. He pointed out a microscopic scratch on a vial to get a discount. He asked one shopkeeper about his family's health to distract him. I swear I saw the man who sold him that cauldron shed a single, defeated tear."
Alex shrugged, unbothered. "Where I'm from, that's called Tuesday. If you don't fight for every copper, you get eaten alive. In a place like this," he said, taking a bite of his skewer, "no salesman agrees to a price where they're not still making a profit."
A thought dawned on Jay. "By the way... how do you plan on getting all this back home?"
Alex looked from the mountain of supplies to his friends' faces and gave a sheepish, hopeful grin. "Relying on the kindness of my good-natured friends?"
A minute of silence passed as everyone stared at Alex with blank expressions. Then, Lily stepped forward, a devilish smile spreading across her face. "I can help you. For a small fee. Say, twenty low-grade spirit stones?"
"Five," Alex shot back instantly.
"Fifteen."
"Seven."
"Twelve."
"Eight, and I'll buy you two skewers."
"Deal," Lily said, snatching a skewer from his hand.
As Alex and Jay began to gather the bags, Lily held up a hand. "Hold on. Let me show you why I'm worth more than you paid." She smirked, raised her hand, the one with a shiny new silver ring on her finger, and with a flick of her wrist, the entire mountain of goods vanished into thin air.
Alex was dumbfounded and started to panic, asking what had happened to all his stuff. He stared at the space, defeated, his mind blank. "My stuff... what... where did it go?" he stammered, frantically patting the ground.
Lily triumphantly held her hand up, displaying a ring.
Jay's eyes were wide, locked onto the ring. "You bought one? A storage ring? How much did that set you back?"
"Every last one of my 3,000 contribution points," Lily said with a proud, pained expression. "And I still had to throw in a hundred low-grade and 5 mid-grade spirit stones."
Jay sucked in air at the absurd price, "Expensive, but I guess it is worth it."
Alex, who was still rubbing the ground up to this point, looking for any signs of his items, finally looked at Lily, holding out the ring. "Wait, a storage ring? I've read about those."
Elara chuckled, being the one who explained everything to Alex, she was a little amused that she didn't need to this time. "I guess all that time in the library is paying off."
Alex shrugged his shoulders and then asked Lily if he could see it, wanting to glean even the smallest hint at how it works up close.
She agreed, but warned Alex that only the person who has imprinted it with their spiritual energy can use it.
Alex knew this, but he wanted to take the opportunity to inspect a storage ring up close because it is one of the items he would eventually like to try making if he could. He took the ring from Lily and tried reading the runes inscribed on it. He could recognize a few, like the spatial rune used for creating the space where everything is stored and the rune used for preserving the items, but the others left him lost and baffled. Realizing he still had a long way to go.
After handing back the ring to Lily, they left the exchange hall and walked to Alex's residence.
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The group left the vibrant chaos of the Exchange Hall. The path back to Alex's residence was a clear indicator of the sect's hierarchy; manicured gardens gave way to overgrown weeds, and ornate stone pathways turned into simple dirt tracks the further they got from the sect's core.
But as they approached Barrack Thirty-Two, the path changed again. A neat, new walkway made of flat, carefully laid stones replaced the muddy track. The cabin itself stood straight and sturdy. The roof had been meticulously patched with fresh planks, the walls were free of holes, and a newly fitted door hung squarely in its frame. It looked less like an abandoned shack and more like a cozy, rustic cottage.
Jay stopped in his tracks, his amber eyes wide. "By the heavens, Alex... is this Barrack thirty-two? I know the rumors about this place. I thought it was condemned."
Alex chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "It was close. Just needed some love."
Lily's eyes circled the cabin, a look of grudging admiration on her face. "He's right, this is it. I remember when I was still an outer disciple, I heard a rumor that a senior brother dared his friend to spend one night in there. The guy came out the next morning, swearing he felt his Qi stagnating just from sleeping inside. Claimed the whole place was built on a 'dead' Dragon Vein." She shrugged. "Someone probably just made the whole thing up, but no one's taken this place since."
"I don't know about any Dragon Veins," Alex said with a confident smile, "but the only thing dead in here was the rats under the floorboards."
Elara laughed, genuinely impressed. "You took the most infamous shack in the outer ring and made it a home. I really shouldn't be surprised at this point."
Lily then flicked her wrist, and with a soft thud, the entire mountain of alchemical supplies reappeared on the new stone path, the expertly crafted cauldron looking surprisingly at home next to the well-kept cabin. "Alright, my job is done. Eight spirit stones, please."
As Alex handed over Lily's delivery fee and the four of them worked together to move the supplies inside.
The interior was just as transformed. Spotlessly clean, organized, and surprisingly spacious now that the broken furniture had been repaired or replaced. It was a proper home.
Once everything was settled, the four of them sat around a newly repaired wooden table in the center of the room. The space was cozy, filled with the scent of fresh-cut wood and drying herbs.
"Tea?" Alex offered, moving to a small stove he'd installed in the corner. He returned a few minutes later with four steaming ceramic cups.
As they took their first sips, their eyes widened in unison. It wasn't just ordinary tea; a gentle, warming Qi spread from the liquid, soothing the lingering weariness from their journey.
"Are these Spirit-Nourishing Herbs?" Elara asked, looking at her cup in surprise. "Even the low-grade ones are a little expensive."
Alex simply smiled and jerked his head towards the window. The three of them looked outside and saw what lay behind the cabin: a small but impressively well-tended garden. Neat rows of the sect's most common spirit herbs—Dusk Lilacs, Sun-petal Flowers, and Iron-root ginseng—were flourishing in the rich soil.
"Wow," Jay said, genuinely impressed. "You weren't kidding about being self-sufficient."
As they finished the last of the spirit tea, the quiet camaraderie of their shared victory settled in the room. The physical exhaustion of the journey was still there, a dull ache in their muscles, but it was now overlaid with the satisfying feeling of a trial overcome.
It was Lily who finally broke the quiet. "So, what's next? We saw the postings at the Exchange Hall. The Core Disciple tournament starts in a week. Things are going to get... tense around the sect."
"Agreed," Jay said, his expression serious. "We should use this time to train. That fight in the fen was a mess. We were lucky to get out of there without worse injuries. I need to hone my skills and practice my earth manipulation."
Elara nodded, a thoughtful look on her face. "The tournament will be a good chance to observe some real experts. The sect's tournaments are always one-on-one duels between the best golden core cultivators in the sect. It's the best place to see high-level techniques in action and see how they use their elemental Qi. Plus, it'll be fun"
Alex listened, his interest piqued. He'd seen how Lily, Jay, and Elara fought, but he had never seen a true, high-stakes duel between two seasoned cultivators. "I'm going," he said decisively. "I need to see how people in this world fight."
The others nodded in agreement. Their plan was set. For the next week, they would train together, honing their teamwork. And then, they would watch the best duelists the sect had to offer, learning from every parry, every spell, and every victory.
A comfortable silence settled over the group. The plan solidified in the cozy warmth of Alex's cabin.
Elara was the first to stand, stretching her tired muscles. "That's a good plan for the week," she said, a soft but weary smile on her face. "But for tonight... I think we've all earned some rest. I need to go meditate on the journey and consolidate what I've learned."
Jay nodded in immediate agreement, his amber eyes serious. "My foundation is still new. It needs to be stabilized, and after fighting all those different beasts over the last two weeks, I can sense another breakthrough around the corner."
Lily, never one to be left out, stood as well, tapping the new storage ring on her finger. "Fine by me. I need to organize my new inventory anyway." She shot Alex a final, teasing smirk. "And count my eight new spirit stones."
They said their goodbyes, the feeling less like a formal departure and more like the comfortable end of a long day spent together. As Alex watched them walk down the stone path he'd built, the setting sun casting long shadows behind them, a profound sense of contentment washed over him.
He closed the door to his newly repaired home and looked at the neatly stacked supplies, the gleaming cauldron, and the faint scent of the spirit-nourishing tea still hanging in the air. The quest had been brutal and terrifying, but it had forged them into stronger cultivators.
He sat on his cot, the day's exhaustion finally settling in. But it was a good exhaustion, one earned through struggle and shared victory. He closed his eyes, not to sleep, but to check his status, consolidate everything he experienced, and finally break through to the Foundation Establishment realm.