74: Chapter 74 Mission

The other person was surprisingly the mysterious female Cultivator in white who helped the Chen Family resist the Blood River Old Man in the Market yesterday.

She wore a wide-sleeved dress of ice silk and flowing clouds. Her white clothes, as bright as frost and snow, seemed to float like mist among the mountain haze. Silver threads embroidered with a thousand lotus patterns adorned her waist, shimmering with a moonlight-like luster in the twilight.

Her black hair was half-tied with a simple jade ring. The dark ice hair ornament slanted in her hair swayed with her steps, causing nine chains of frost crystals to hang down and collide, producing a clear sound like breaking snow.

A cinnabar mole between her brows made her jade-like face appear even colder. Her eyes were like a cold pool reflecting stars, yet within their depths, a hint of compassionate warmth flickered, like the rare Udumbara flower blooming unexpectedly on the perpetually snow-covered peak of Kunlun.

Upon closer inspection, her appearance was actually comparable to Chen Youwan's.

"Why is she here?"

Chen Jiancang couldn't help but look a couple more times. The female Foundation Establishment cultivator in white also noticed Chen Jiancang's gaze and looked towards the entrance.

Their eyes met. After Chen Jiancang politely nodded, he walked towards Dan Chamber Jia Si.

At this time, Qingfeng and Qingyue were guarding the entrance of the Dan Room. Seeing Chen Jiancang arrive, Qingfeng quickly stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and said, "Sir, the Deacon just came looking for you and asked you to find him."

"Oh?" Jiancang slightly furrowed his brow, unsure why Chen Youyun was looking for him.

But he still returned the way he came and walked towards Dan Chamber Jia Yi.

"Chen Jiancang," Chen Youyun said, seeing him enter. With a smile on his face, he stood up, pointed to a chair nearby, and motioned for him to sit down. "I called you here this time because there is an important task to entrust to you."

After Jiancang sat down, his expression was focused. "Please instruct me, Deacon. Jiancang will certainly go all out."

Chen Youyun nodded, looked out the window, and slowly said, "Deep within the Qingya Mountain Range, several rare spirit herbs are about to mature.

These spirit herbs are crucial for the Dan Hall to refine High Grade Dan Pills. They require an Alchemist to determine if the spirit herbs are fully mature. This task happens to fall to our Small Cloud Mountain Dan Hall. The other Alchemists haven't finished their Dan refining tasks for this month, so we can only entrust this trip to you."

Chen Jiancang's heart grew solemn. The depths of the Qingya Mountain Range have always been fraught with danger. Not only are there various fierce demonic beasts lurking, but there are also often people from rogue Cultivator forces secretly coveting things. Moreover, magic Cultivators have been rampant recently. Although the Blood River Old Man has been suppressed, it's hard to guarantee there aren't any fish that slipped through the net, so the difficulty of this mission can be imagined.

Chen Jiancang didn't want to go. Although he had just broken through to the Qi Refining Stage Seventh Level and barely entered the ranks of experts in the Qi Refining Stage, placing himself in danger, this kind of adventurous behavior, still caused him strong discomfort.

"Deacon, may I know the specific arrangements for this trip to the Qingya Mountain Range to collect spirit herbs?" Chen Jiancang asked with a frown.

Chen Youyun looked at him with a bit of trust in his eyes. "For this mission, you will lead the team. The Law Enforcement Hall will arrange at least one Qi Refining Eighth Layer Disciple to lead a team to ensure your safety.

In addition, I have selected several Disciples from the Dan Hall who have better Aptitude and rich experience to go with you.

Your main task this time is simply to ensure the spirit herbs are mature and safely collected and brought back."

Chen Jiancang stood up, thought for a moment, cupped his hands, and said, "Deacon, please rest assured. Chen Jiancang will certainly not fail you.

It's just that the Qingya Mountain Range is dangerous. I would like to know how many people the Law Enforcement Hall will send and the specific details of the accompanying Dan Hall Disciples."

Chen Youyun took out a list and handed it to Chen Jiancang. "The Law Enforcement Hall will send five Core Disciples to assist you. Each of them is remarkably strong and experienced.

There are a total of three accompanying Dan Hall Disciples, all of whom have some experience in identifying and collecting spirit herbs.

I have compiled their information on this list. You can take a close look."

Chen Jiancang took the list and quickly scanned it, gaining a general understanding of the accompanying personnel for this trip.

Chen Jiancang carefully put away the list and said to Chen Youyun, "Deacon, since I now know the situation of the accompanying personnel, I will go back and make some preparations, striving to depart tomorrow and complete this mission."

Chen Youyun nodded with satisfaction, passed over a map, and instructed, "This shows the location and route of the marked spirit herbs. Be careful in all matters. The depths of the Qingya Mountain Range are fraught with danger, so you must not take it lightly.

If you encounter something difficult to resolve, prioritize your own safety."

Chen Jiancang responded with a sound and left Dan Chamber Jia Yi.

After returning to his Dan Room, he didn't delay at all and immediately began preparing for the trip to the Qingya Mountain Range.

He deeply understood the danger of this mission. Although there were experts from the Law Enforcement Hall accompanying him, an extra layer of protection meant an extra layer of safety. Leaving his safety in the hands of others was irresponsible towards himself.

Chen Jiancang took out a Talisman brush from his storage bag, dipped it in spirit ink, and stared intently at the Talisman paper.

In his mind, he recalled the drawing methods and key points of various Talismans.

For this trip to the Qingya Mountain Range, what he needed most were defensive and offensive Talismans.

Compared to Dan refining, his talent for Crafting Talismans was higher. With the added experience in Crafting Talismans, he could easily draw inferences about other types of Spirit Talismans.

Relying on his memory, he decided to first draw the Golden Body Talisman.

This was a variant Talisman of the First Order defensive Spirit Talisman, Golden Light Talisman. Its defensive power was stronger than the Golden Light Talisman, capable of forming a solid shield. Even at First Order Low Grade quality, it could withstand a full-power strike from a mid-stage Qi Refining Cultivator.

His brush tip glided gently on the Talisman paper, each stroke containing his spiritual power.

As the spiritual power was infused, mysterious runes gradually appeared on the Talisman paper.

These runes flickered with faint light, as if alive. Chen Jiancang controlled every stroke perfectly.

The spiritual power was also under his control, steadily infusing into the Talisman paper.

As the final stroke fell, the runes on the Talisman paper burst forth with a bright luster.

"First Order High Grade!" A light smile appeared at the corner of Chen Jiancang's mouth.

After taking a Qinghe Qi Cultivation Pill, he continued drawing.

Chen Jiancang tirelessly drew Talismans, one Golden Body Talisman after another being born under his brush.

The consumption of spiritual power caused fine beads of sweat to slightly appear on his forehead, but his eyes remained firm and focused.

Continuously replenishing the spiritual energy within his body by taking Qinghe Qi Cultivation Pill, after several hours of effort, he had already drawn 50 First Order High Grade Golden Body Talismans.

"With 50 First Order High Grade Golden Body Talismans, even if a Foundation Establishment cultivator wanted to break through the defense, it would take some time, right?"

Chen Jiancang looked at his masterpiece and nodded with satisfaction. First Order High Grade Golden Body Talismans could completely withstand a full-power strike from a Qi Refining Ninth Layer Cultivator.

If 50 Golden Body Talismans were used simultaneously, their defensive bonus could reach a terrifying level.

However, having only defense was not foolproof. Chen Jiancang immediately prepared to refine a powerful offensive Spirit Talisman.

After searching his mind, Chen Jiancang felt that drawing the Fire Cloud Talisman was the most suitable.

The Fire Cloud Talisman used spiritual power to ignite the fire element within the Talisman paper, forming a fiercely burning cloud of fire to attack enemies.

This type of Talisman had extremely strong explosive power and a wide attack range. A First Order High Grade Fire Cloud Talisman had power comparable to a strike from a high-stage Qi Refining Cultivator.

Of course, the drawback was also obvious: it took a long time to activate. However, with the defense provided by the Golden Body Talismans, even if he encountered danger, he would have enough time to activate the Fire Cloud Talisman.

Chen Jiancang took a deep breath and calmed his mind.

He picked up the Talisman brush again, dipped it fully in spirit ink, and slowly outlined the shape of a fire cloud on the Talisman paper.

As spiritual power was infused, the fire cloud on the Talisman paper gradually became lifelike, as if it could ignite at any moment.

However, just as he was about to complete the final stroke, a sudden series of urgent knocks sounded.

Chen Jiancang's heart grew solemn, and the Talisman brush in his hand trembled slightly. With a 'poof', this Fire Cloud Talisman immediately lost its luster; the refinement had failed.

He put down the Talisman brush with some annoyance and got up to open the door.

Standing outside the door was surprisingly...