Chapter 731 - 730: Someone Actually Contracted a Mosquito? Is Gu Yuexi Brainless?

The staff member stared at the very real, fingernail-sized White-striped Aedes Mosquito.

He was dumbstruck.

His mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg.

It took him a long moment to react.

’It... it really is a White-striped Aedes Mosquito!’

The staff member was completely flustered, nearly dropping the Spiritual Qi form in his hands.

He had worked at the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion for over a hundred years.

He had never seen anyone contract a plain, ordinary White-striped Aedes Mosquito.

Forget about combat...

You could kill it with a single slap. Why would anyone contract it?

’To keep as a pet?’

A few nearby Cultivators who had noticed the commotion glanced over, then gathered around to see what was going on.

When they clearly saw that the ordinary White-striped Aedes Mosquito on the counter was, in fact, Gu Yuexi’s Contracted Beast, each of them looked utterly shocked and incredulous.

"You’ve got to be kidding me. Since when can a mosquito be a Beast Pet?"

"This Female Cultivator is gorgeous, but she’s clearly not all there."

"Beast Tamers rely on their Beast Pets for combat. If she contracts a mosquito, that’s like having no combat ability at all!"

"Wasting a Beast Taming Contract slot like that... what a complete and utter waste."

The murmurs rose and fell, filled mostly with ridicule and confusion.

Tang Jiesheng, who had been watching Gu Yuexi from a corner the whole time, also saw Chu Sheng on the counter.

A look of utter disbelief instantly crossed his face.

Then, it was replaced by a disdainful sneer.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Using a mosquito as a Contracted Beast."

"Is this Female Cultivator out of her mind?"

Huang Mao sidled up, nodding obsequiously.

"Boss Tang, don’t you always say that the prettier the woman, the fewer brains she has?"

"I think this woman’s a perfect example of that. All looks, no substance."

Tang Jiesheng nodded smugly, a sinister glint in his eyes.

He whispered an order to Huang Mao.

"Go keep an eye on her. See what kind of mission she takes."

"We’ll follow her afterward."

"When she runs into trouble she can’t handle, we’ll step in and play the hero saving the damsel in distress."

"Dumb, weak women like her are total suckers for that routine."

"Once that happens, she’ll be putty in our hands."

"You got it!"

Huang Mao chirped in agreement.

He squeezed his way toward the large mission screen with a shifty, furtive look, his peripheral vision locked on Gu Yuexi’s every move.

Meanwhile, Gu Yuexi had finished her registration.

She walked over to the large mission screen and began looking for a suitable mission.

According to the rules of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion,

her Realm and registered level only allowed her to accept Profound Understanding Level missions.

She searched for a long time.

The missions on the screen were either finding lost Spirit Beast cubs or hunting Low-Level Demon Beasts to collect materials.

The rewards were pitifully small, twenty Lower-Grade Spirit Stones at most.

That wouldn’t be enough to afford a regular inn, let alone a luxurious hotel.

Gu Yuexi frowned, turned, and walked back to the counter to ask the staff member a question.

"Are there any missions without level restrictions?"

The staff member thought for a moment, then pointed to a corner of the large screen.

"There’s one long-term mission with no power or level restrictions. You could take a look at that one."

"However, it’s extremely difficult. It’s been up for a long time with no one able to complete it."

Gu Yuexi walked in the direction the staff member was pointing.

There, in the far corner of the screen, was a line of text.

[Unrestricted Mission: Capture a live Soul-Collecting Butterfly of the Divinity Transformation Realm.]

[Location: North Suburban Forest.]

[Mission Reward: 100 Lower-Grade Spirit Stones per Soul-Collecting Butterfly, limit 100.]

[Currently Completed: 0/100.]

Compared to the other missions, which offered a maximum reward of 20 Lower-Grade Spirit Stones, the reward for this mission to capture live Soul-Collecting Butterflies was incredibly generous.

Without the slightest hesitation,

Gu Yuexi turned and walked back to the counter to accept the mission.

An elderly Cultivator standing nearby saw that she, a cultivator in the Profound Understanding Realm, was about to accept this mission and couldn’t help but speak up to warn her.

"Young lady, take an old man’s advice. This mission is not as simple as it looks."

"Killing Soul-Collecting Butterflies is easy enough."

"But capturing them alive is extremely difficult."

"Soul-Collecting Butterflies are incredibly fast, can cast illusions on one’s Divine Soul, and always travel in swarms."

"Some Cultivators who had reached the Void Refinement Realm took this mission before."

"They all came back empty-handed, and some were even gravely injured."

"It’s far too dangerous for someone in the Profound Understanding Realm to go in there."

Gu Yuexi calmly said, "Thank you for the warning," and accepted the mission without any hesitation.

Seeing this, the old Cultivator shook his head and sighed.

"Young people these days... so reckless and overconfident."

The other Cultivators watching the spectacle also began to comment disdainfully.

"She’s completely delusional."

"A Profound Understanding Realm cultivator? Forget capturing a Divinity Transformation Realm Soul-Collecting Butterfly alive..."

"Just running into one at that level is a death sentence."

"Such a waste of a pretty face. They probably won’t even find her body by tomorrow."

Everyone chattered away, all of them convinced Gu Yuexi was going to her doom.

Gu Yuexi turned a deaf ear to their comments.

After accepting the mission, she turned and walked out of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion.

Once Gu Yuexi had left, Huang Mao scurried back, his face alight with excitement.

Tang Jiesheng immediately asked, "Well? What mission did she take?"

Huang Mao caught his breath.

"Boss, she took that long-term mission to capture live Soul-Collecting Butterflies!"

"What?"

Tang Jiesheng was stunned for a second, then his face twisted into an incredulous expression.

"A mission that even Void Refinement Realm experts can’t complete, and she dares to accept it as a mere Profound Understanding Realm cultivator."

"She really is all curves and no brain."

Huang Mao shook his head, then said with a hint of worry,

"But Boss Tang, we can’t complete that mission either."

"The Soul-Collecting Butterflies travel in swarms. The three of us won’t get far if we go in."

"I’m afraid that ’hero saves the damsel’ plan is a no-go."

Tang Jiesheng’s face darkened, and he smacked Huang Mao hard on the back of the head in annoyance.

"Useless idiot. Who said anything about saving her?"

"If she knows what’s good for her and obediently plays along with the boys, I’ll let her live."

"But if she doesn’t..."

Tang Jiesheng snorted, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.

"Hmph!"

"Once we’re outside Luoping City, out in the wilderness, who’s going to know if we kill someone from the Profound Understanding Realm?"

Huang Mao and Rat’s eyes lit up, and they immediately began to shower him with praise.

"You’re brilliant, Boss!"

"A true alpha, Boss!"

"Leave it to the Boss to have a plan!"

"Let’s go. Follow her. Don’t let her get away."

Tang Jiesheng waved his hand.

The three of them furtively followed Gu Yuexi.

...

The North Suburban Forest was just over ten li from Luoping City.

After leaving the city, Gu Yuexi used Instant Teleportation to appear at the edge of the forest.

After receiving the legacy of Immortal Venerable Shi Xi,

her comprehension of the various Laws had reached an extremely high level.

Even experts of the Celestial God Realm could not compare to her.

According to the mission description,

Soul-Collecting Butterflies were social Demon Beasts, adept at casting illusions on the Divine Soul, and incredibly fast.

The strongest in their swarm, the Butterfly King, could reach the Integration Realm.

Weaker Demon Beasts dared not provoke the swarms of Soul-Collecting Butterflies, so they avoided making their homes in the North Suburban Forest.

Even stronger Demon Beasts couldn’t withstand a coordinated Divine Soul Attack from tens of thousands of them.

Thus, they avoided the place as well.

Over time, the Soul-Collecting Butterflies became the only Demon Beasts left in the North Suburban Forest.

The same logic applied to Human Cultivators.

Any Cultivator below the Integration Realm who entered would be committing suicide if they ran into a swarm.

Even on the off chance they encountered a lone butterfly, swarms of its brethren would arrive as backup before a capture could be made, making the attempt not worth the risk.

As for experts at or above the Integration Realm, they looked down on such a meager reward.

That was why this mission had been posted for so long without anyone managing to catch a single butterfly.