Seeing Ji Chan’er’s expression of being thoroughly intimidated, Qi Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It worked!

He had just successfully crafted an image of himself as a deranged lunatic with no weaknesses, one who would definitely seek revenge, paranoid and arrogant. He had successfully made her feel like she couldn’t bite down…

“Sister Zhen?”

Qi Yuan tentatively called out. He saw Ji Chan’er suddenly snap back to reality. She gave him a deep look and said softly:

“Junior Brother Qi, your answer has satisfied this Senior Sister immensely. As long as you can hold fast to your original intentions, your future will undoubtedly be boundless. It’s getting late; I should be going now.”

Compared to before, her voice was indescribably soft and pleasant this time, sweet but not coquettish, causing Qi Yuan’s body to stiffen slightly.

Qi Yuan nodded and said politely:

“Take care on your way, Senior Sister!”

Only after Ji Chan’er had left did Qi Yuan wipe the non-existent sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh.

That woman was definitely up to no good!

Fortunately, I was clever and quick-witted this time. Otherwise, the yang energy I’ve saved up over two lifetimes might not have been preserved.

Thanks to that damn system, Brother here has long since parted ways with integrity. That makes the little chastity I have left all the more important.

I haven’t even had the chance to find a soulmate—a peerless beauty—for a moving and passionate Dual Cultivation session. If I were to be drained by this rather plain-looking demoness, wouldn’t that be a massive loss?

Boys must protect themselves when they’re out in the world.

After leaving Qi Yuan’s cave dwelling, Ji Chan’er was still reflecting on their recent meeting, her heart unable to calm down for a long time.

Not long ago, that man had not only perfectly passed the “Three Questions for Demon Sect Disciple Interview” she had meticulously prepared, but his performance had even far exceeded the standard answers.

Truly worthy of being a born Demon Scion. How terrifying!

Although his spiritual root aptitude was a bit lacking, it wasn’t a major issue.

Compared to the balanced, moderate, and step-by-step nature of orthodox cultivation methods, the techniques of The Saint Sect are known for their rapid progress and fierce, domineering nature. As long as you don’t cultivate yourself to death, you cultivate with all your might. This actually makes them more suitable for cultivators with average aptitude.

Moreover, The Saint Sect is vast and powerful. There are several secret methods that can allow someone to undergo a complete transformation and forcibly improve their spiritual root aptitude. Although these methods either come with severe backlash or an extremely high price, as long as one has the capability, even a waste with four spiritual roots has the chance to become a genius.

Thinking of this, Ji Chan’er narrowed her eyes slightly and quickly made up her mind.

Such a person staying in Falling Cloud Valley, this third-rate orthodox sect, is like casting pearls before swine. It would only be a waste of such astonishingly exceptional temperament and willpower.

Only The Saint Sect is the stage where he can truly shine.

However, her main focus right now was on that ten-thousand-year spirit medicine. She didn’t have much time to engage with him for now. She would have to wait until after retrieving the spirit medicine to fully recruit him.

“Look! Isn’t that Big Qi, the Servant Disciple who eliminated all his competitors in the Outer Sect Grand Competition?”

“It really is him! That monster turned the Outer Sect Grand Competition into a large-scale fraud scene. I was a witness from start to finish; I was completely dumbfounded at the time.”

“Huh? Last time I saw him he was at the fifth layer of Qi Refining. How did he break through to the sixth layer so quickly?”

“Just think about it. He was rewarded with so many Qi Gathering Pills by the sect. Piling up those pills to reach the sixth layer of Qi Refining would be easy.”

“Tsk tsk tsk… This guy even has a Foundation Building realm demon pet. His luck is truly explosive; it’s really enviable…”

As soon as Qi Yuan arrived at the entrance of the Merit Assessment Hall, he immediately attracted sidelong glances from those around him, along with quite a bit of discussion.

Although his reputation in the Outer Sect wasn’t very good now—having offended almost all Outer Sect Disciples—those qualified to come to the Merit Assessment Hall to receive sect missions were all Inner Sect Disciples. So, the glances cast his way weren’t particularly hostile; most were filled with curiosity and scrutiny.

He automatically ignored the discussions around him and went straight to where sect missions were posted.

The Merit Assessment Hall was one of the powerful departments within Falling Cloud Valley. It was responsible for issuing sect missions, assessing the cultivation progress of disciples under its purview, and administering corresponding rewards and punishments.

There were two types of sect missions.

One type was publicly posted bounty missions displayed on the mission wall outside the Merit Assessment Hall. These included but were not limited to hunting down rampaging demon beasts, gathering spirit herbs, exterminating evil cultivators, etc. Inner Sect Disciples could voluntarily accept these missions for corresponding rewards.

The other type was missions directly assigned by the sect to specific disciples. These missions were generally used to test newly promoted Inner Sect Disciples. They weren’t very difficult but offered relatively high rewards—a kind of beginner’s benefit for many disciples.

Completing these missions would earn corresponding merit points as rewards.

Merit points were hard currency within the Inner Sect. By spending a certain amount of merit points, one could exchange them for spirit stones, cultivation techniques, pills, talismans, magical instruments, and other items at the Treasure Pavilion.

Of course, within the Supreme Mystery Sanctuary, there was also a Mission Hall. The merit points from the Supreme Mystery Sanctuary were even more valuable; what they could be exchanged for far exceeded what a small sect like Falling Cloud Valley could offer. Even in the outside world, they were considered hard currency.

As a Holy Scion of the Supreme Mystery Sanctuary, Qi Yuan wouldn’t do missions within the Sanctuary himself. On the contrary, he belonged to the tier that issued missions to others.

Within the Supreme Mystery Sanctuary, he could freely issue missions to Sanctuary disciples and set certain merit points as rewards.

Soon, Qi Yuan arrived at a spacious study hall next to the Merit Assessment Hall; this was where sect-assigned missions were handled.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw a familiar figure sitting behind a desk casting a cold gaze toward him—it was none other than Yin Hong, the Merit Assessment Hall’s managing disciple he had seen not long ago.

Seeing Qi Yuan enter, Yin Hong’s eyes flashed with a cold gleam. Expressionlessly pulling out a jade slip from his desk, he said indifferently:

“Big Qi, this is your assigned sect mission this time. You have one month to complete it. Otherwise, it will be automatically judged as failed, and ten times the merit points will be deducted.”

Qi Yuan took the jade slip, scanned its contents, and immediately understood.

As expected, this was a mission “custom-made” for him.

Although it seemed fine on the surface, it actually harbored hidden malice. It was probably meant to trap and kill him while his cultivation level was still low.

The mission location was Reed River City, located outside Canglan Mountain. Since the beginning of this year, cultivators passing through there had occasionally gone missing. After investigations yielded no results, the City Lord could only seek help from Falling Cloud Valley.

Upon receiving this request, Falling Cloud Valley’s Merit Assessment Hall issued this mission. Two Inner Sect Disciples who accepted it went together to Reed River City, only to also disappear.

His mission objective this time was to find those two missing Fellow Disciples and uncover the truth behind the cultivators’ disappearances.

Not even mentioning how the original three-month mission period had been compressed into one month, this type of search-and-rescue mission clearly looked extremely difficult.

Those two Fellow Disciples who accepted it each had cultivation at the Perfection of Qi Refining, yet they still mysteriously vanished. They were obviously in grave danger.

Using his authority within the Merit Assessment Hall, Yin Hong assigned this mission—meant for someone at the sixth layer of Qi Refining—to him. His intentions were clear without asking.

What made it even more insidious was that Wang Luchuan’s Wang Family were local powers in Reed River City. It was said there was even a Golden Core Patriarch overseeing things within their family. Dealing with one “Qi Refining realm ant” would be all too convenient, and afterward, they’d ensure not a single trace of evidence remained.

Although it wasn’t likely that the Wang Family knew Wang Luchuan’s death was related to him, they definitely wouldn’t mind killing their direct descendant’s former enemy just for some cathartic release…

“Big Qi, if you’re scared, you can give up this mission. You just need to pay five thousand merit points as a penalty.” Seeing Qi Yuan remain silent, Yin Hong wore an expression like he had him cornered, his tone full of smugness. “Of course, next month there will be another new mission waiting for you. Believe me, that mission will be ten times harder than this one.”

“And also, your current merit points are zero. After being fined five thousand merit points, you’ll owe five thousand merit points back. If you can’t repay them within the stipulated time frame, the consequences will be severe!”