Chapter 135: Mission about Green Hollow City

The lingering wilderness was peaceful. The sunlight pierced gently through the heavy canopy, painting broken patches of golden light across the mossy forest floor.

A gentle breeze blew through the pines, carrying the fresh scent of dry leaves and damp earth.

Three figures walked along a narrow pathway.

Lin Yuan walked in the middle, his steady footsteps crunching over leaves. Chen Ming walked on his left, casually tossing a small pebble into the air, while Lian Nichang walked on his right with a calm posture.

Lin Yuan’s hand rested against the hilt of the sheathed sword resting at his hip. The dark great sword remained quiet in its scabbard.

Chen Ming stretched his arms wide, his joints popping with a satisfying crack.

“Man, finally! A damn mission without some ridiculous, overpowered Rank-Six monster hiding behind a tree waiting to chew our heads off.”

Lian Nichang immediately looked at him with a side-eye. “Don’t say shit like that, Chen Ming.”

Chen Ming blinked, looking offended. “Why not? I’m just appreciating the peace!”

“Because every time you open your big mouth and say something stupid like that, some absurd disaster immediately drops out of the heavens,” Lian Nichang sneered, clicking his tongue.

Chen Ming couldn’t counter. He looked around at the trees in slight panic, as if expecting a giant dragon to crash through the canopy right that second.

“Haha.. You are right, Lian Nichang!” Lin Yuan smirked, walking straight.

“Both of you are assholes!” Chen Ming rolled his eyes and groaned.

Lin Yuan pulled out the sect’s mission parchment from his robe pocket and unfolded it as they walked. “This should be the designated zone.”

The parchment contained details outlined in black ink:

Mission: Collect Moonshadow fruits and Three-Leaf spirit grass.

Location: Mistpine Forest – Western Ridge.

Required amount:

10 Moonshadow Fruits15 Three-Leaf Spirit GrassEliminate any hostiles or wild beasts inhabiting the collection zone.Danger Level: Moderate.Recommended Cultivation: Spirit Beast Realm and above.

Lin Yuan looked up from the scroll, darting his eyes across the surrounding bushes. “We’re already inside the marked boundary.”

“So where the hell are these beasts then? I thought we were supposed to clear the area,” Chen Ming leaned over his shoulder, squinting at the map.

Lian Nichang suddenly halted, his hand dropping aside. “Right behind us.”

“What?” Chen Ming grunted, his cocky expression instantly changed.

The rustling bushes suddenly ruptured outward. Three massive, crimson-eyed fang wolves lunged out of the bushes with bared, yellowed fangs, followed by a pack of smaller, hyper aggressive forest beasts kicking up dirt and leaves.

Chen Ming’s panicked look vanished, replaced by a wide grin.

“Finally! Some action!” He muttered, his green beast essence burst outward. He broke through mid stage last night. “Leave these bastards to me!”

He slammed his foot into the earth and lunged forward with an immense speed.

Chen Ming’s essence-infused fist slammed into a fang wolf’s lower jaw with devastating force. The wolf’s head snapped backward with a crack, sending the beast spinning sideways through the air before it slammed into an oak tree.

Lian Nichang moved almost simultaneously toward the remaining two wolves. His movements were flexible, clean, and terrifyingly efficient. He crouched under a slashing claw, grabbed the beast by its legs, twisted his hips, and slammed its body flat against the grassy ground heavily.

“You two really don’t miss an opportunity to go wild, do you?” Lin Yuan sighed, shaking his head gently.

A stray fang wolf broke off from the pack and leaped toward Lin Yuan’s neck, its jaws snapping in the air.

Lin Yuan didn’t even try to dodge. He simply reached down and unsheathed his Wànshī.

The pitch-black blade flashed in the sunlight. Lin Yuan made his beast essence flow smoothly into the blade.

A clean arc cut through the air. The wolf’s lunging attack was cleanly severed before it could even reach within three feet of his chest.

Lin Yuan slowly took half a step sideways as the beast’s momentum carried it past him, following up with a light, precise flat strike to its body.

The wolf collapsed onto the dirt vehemently.

“Holy shit, you’re using that dark monster sword?” Chen Ming turned around, wiping his dusty knuckles, and blinked in surprise.

“It’s a sword, Chen Ming. What the hell else am I supposed to do with it? Wave it around dramatically to scare birds?” Lin Yuan stared down at the dark steel of Wànshī before smoothly sliding it back into its sheath.

Lian Nichang let out a rare laugh, wiping off his hands. “That’s probably what he was doing in his room yesterday.”

“Tsk!” Lin Yuan clicked his tongue, letting out a deadpan look at them. “Shut the hell up, both of you.”

Within less than five minutes, the whole pack of wild beasts was driven off, and the elegant sounds of the forest returned.

“Well, that was surprisingly easy. It was barely even a workout,” Chen Ming scoffed, wiping a thin bead of sweat from his forehead.

Lin Yuan folded the mission scroll and tucked it back into his robes. “Don’t start celebrating yet, idiot. We still have to gather the materials.”

They walked forward into the misty ridge. It didn’t take long to spot the Moonshadow fruits, which grew high up on the upper branches of tall pine trees.

Lian Nichang pointed toward the upper canopy. “There they are.”

Chen Ming looked up, lifting his neck, and his face immediately fell. “Are you kidding me? That’s at least twenty meters straight up!”

Lin Yuan stared sideways at him. “So?”

“So… who’s climbing up there to pick them?”

Lin Yuan didn’t even hesitate. He casually walked right past Chen Ming. “You.”

Chen Ming pointed at his chest in disbelief. “Why the fuck me?!”

“Because you’re the one who stared at them first,” Lin Yuan smirked, nodding his head.

“That doesn’t make any damn sense!” Chen Ming pouted in childish anger.

Lian Nichang burst out laughing at Chen Ming’s face.

“Why am I always the one doing the grunt labor around here? I’m a fighter, not a damn squirrel!” Chen Ming muttered, climbing up the slick bark, muttering curses under his breath.

Below a few paces away, Lin Yuan calmly crouched near the base of the roots, carefully plucking Three-Leaf spirit grass from the ground and placing them into storage bags. “Because you have way too much useless energy, Chen Ming.”

“That is not a compliment, you bastard!” Chen Ming yelled down from a few meters above.

Lian Nichang just shook her head, a soft grin on his face as he collected the remaining herbs nearby.

After about an hour of work, Lin Yuan sat down on a mossy rock and checked out their collection.

“Ten Moonshadow Fruits,” he noted, checking the padded crate Chen Ming had lowered down.

He opened his leather herb pouch next. “Fifteen Three-Leaf Spirit Grass… Huh! Perfect!”

Chen Ming dropped down from the lowest branch, landing lightly on his feet with a quiet thud. “So we’re done?”

Lin Yuan nodded, tying the pouch. “Mission complete.”

Chen Ming wiped his hands on his pants and grinned widely. “See? What did I tell you? Finally, a peaceful, normal mission with zero life-threatening bullshit.”

“Ahh… don’t say that shit again,” Lian Nichang immediately stared at him, his eyes wide with warning.

Chen Ming instantly slapped both hands over his mouth, nodding frantically. “Right, right. Sorry. My bad.”

“Let’s head back to the sect before your big mouth summons a danger on us,” Lin Yuan let out a slight laugh, standing up and slinging his pack over his shoulder.

The three turned around, their cheerful banter fading as they disappeared along the forest path.

****

Qinglin Continent — Detective Faction Headquarters

Cang Ming stepped into the center of the main hall, his footsteps echoing off the marble floor. He stopped at the elevated dais.

He slammed his palm against his other hand, releasing a loud pulse of spiritual qi that reverberated through the air.

“Everyone! Give me your attention!” Cang Ming’s loud voice boomed across the chamber.

The murmurs and rustling papers instantly died down. The hundreds of sharp, frantic eyes turned toward the central platform, focusing on Cang Ming.

“We have just received a critical, high-priority assignment from master Cang Xuanyin,” Cang Ming darted his eyes across the faction members.

He paused, letting the weight of his words settle over the crowd.

“I require two senior masters and three elite young disciples to form an advanced team.”

A few younger disciples immediately stared at each other surprisingly, whispering quietly among themselves.

“This operation,” Cang Ming announced, his voice booming across the hall, “concerns about the Green Hollow City.”

Cang Ming continued, his eyes locked on the crowd. “We need every bit of information from the city and its surrounding provincial borders. We need eyes on every faction, every major clan, and every abnormal sign.”

He looked across the rows of gathered cultivators. “Anyone willing to take this assignment, step forward and state your details!”

An eerie silence lingered over the hall for a few seconds. The disciples knew that any mission involving demonic corruption was a walk along the edge of a blade.

Then, a footstep broke the silence as a young man stepped out from the ranks.

“My name is Mu Yue Hanfeng,” the young man declared, bowing respectfully toward Cang Ming. “Spirit Beast Realm — Peak Stage.”

Behind him, the faint, icy silhouette of a frost wolf manifested, letting out a silent, frosty breath. “I volunteer for this assignment.”

Cang Ming gave a satisfied nod. “Good!”

A second young man stepped out beside Hanfeng. “My name is Qin Zhaoyang. Core Beast Realm — Lower Stage.”

A crackling, yellow silhouette of a thunder falcon appeared behind his back, its wings spread wide with sparks. “Count me in.”

Cang Ming nodded again in satisfaction.

Then, a third figure walked forward with calm steps. The young man wore dark-green robes embroidered with a distinct, unmistakable crest of the Gu Clan.

“My name is Gu Yichen,” he announced smoothly.

A few nearby detectives immediately turned their heads, their eyes widening at the emblem on his chest. Because one of his clan members fell into demonic corruption in the Green Hollow City.

“Core Beast Realm — Lower Stage,” Gu Yichen continued, his expression calm and unbothered by the stares.

Behind his shoulders, the silhouette of a flame serpent curled into the air, its eyes burning bright. “I am interested in this mission.”

Cang Ming’s eyes lingered on Gu Yichen for a second. He knew the young man’s lineage, but he also knew his record within the faction.

Without making a comment, Cang Ming turned his gaze toward the senior ranks.

Two veteran cultivators immediately stepped forward from the front row.

The first, a heavily scarred man, bowed slightly. “Bai Qin Hanqiu. Core Beast Realm — Peak Stage. Spirit Beast: Frost bear.”

The second, a tall man with electric blue eyes, followed suit. “Lu Liefeng. Core Beast Realm — Peak Stage. Spirit Beast: Thunder wolf.”

Cang Ming nodded proudly. “Excellent!”

He turned toward the five selected members. “You five will depart without delay.”

His expression changed, becoming extremely pale. “Green Hollow City has become the central part of our investigation into the demonic signatures. Whatever is festering there, it poses a threat to the continent.”

He looked straight into Gu Yichen’s eyes. “I want you all to gather every bit of information you can find.”

Cang Ming then waved his hand toward the grand hall’s main exit. “Prepare the fastest winged-caravan in the courtyard!”

The three disciples and two senior masters bowed at once, their voices echoing off the tall pillars. “Yes, Cang Ming!”

Cang Ming stood calm on the dais, watching them walk out of the grand hall.

“Green Hollow City…” Cang Ming murmured under his breath, his fists slowly clenching at his sides. “What secret are you hiding down there?”

Outside in the courtyard, the preparations for the long journey began immediately.