As soon as he entered the quiet room, Steward Zhang waved his sleeve, and four bronze oil lamps lit up. After sitting down himself, he beckoned Gu An to sit as well.
"Gu An, I heard from Xiao Song that you want to find a spirit beast farm tending assignment?"
"Why not follow Zhang Song to the Demon-Hunting Team?"
Steward Zhang took a light sip of tea, getting straight to the point.
Gu An replied respectfully, "Steward Zhang, you may not know this, but I cultivate the Water Origin Art, and my spellwork is not very proficient. I'm afraid no one would want me for demon hunting."
"Fortunately, I worked at the Spirit Chicken Farm for three years and accumulated some experience. So I was thinking of taking on a spirit beast breeding assignment."
Steward Zhang took another sip of tea, thinking to himself: "This Gu An has Three Spirit Roots and is very diligent in his cultivation. I heard from Xiao Song that he broke through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining less than a month ago-such progress is truly remarkable!"
"And he has a good relationship with Xiao Song. Ah well, I'll help him out."
He spoke: "You certainly have patience, but spirit beast breeding assignments have always been in high demand!"
"Don't even think about the ones near the sect, and the ones with good returns are out of reach. That only leaves remote Spirit Lands."
"Let me take a look."
Steward Zhang sank his Divine Sense into the jade slip, browsing through it carefully. Gu An watched expectantly from the side, not daring to make a sound.
"Found them." Half an hour later, Steward Zhang looked up and rubbed his eyes, seeming somewhat tired.
"I've picked three assignments for you. Let me tell you about them."
"First, go twenty li outside Cloudmist Market to raise spirit chickens-five spirit stones a month. There's a Colorful-Feather Chicken farm there, and you're familiar with these spirit chickens!"
"The sect recalled its people some time ago due to the Demon Beast Unrest, but now that the unrest has subsided, they've issued the assignment again."
"The advantage is that all kinds of supplies are ready-just a little tidying up and you can start. Aside from the quota the sect requires, you don't need to worry about the rest. Qingyun Tower in Cloudmist Market will reopen, and you can sell them the surplus."
"The disadvantage is that the Spirit Vein is small, with sparse spiritual Qi. Considering what you need for daily cultivation, it can only support about sixty or seventy spirit chickens. Also, it's not very safe-no one knows if the Demon Beast Unrest will break out again."
Gu An frowned slightly but didn't voice an opinion.
"Second, go on Garrison Duty in Blackrock Commandery, Yun Kingdom-six spirit stones a month. This assignment mainly involves protecting mortals and dealing with various Demon Beasts and Rogue Cultivators."
"Recently, a First-Grade Middle-Tier Spirit Vein was discovered in the commandery, forming a small Spirit Lake. It's suitable for your cultivation and can also be used to raise some spirit fish."
"Also, since the sect assignment is to garrison Blackrock Commandery, the Spirit Lake is just a bonus, so everything you get from it is yours."
"However, it's undeveloped land. You'll have to set everything up yourself, which means a large initial investment. And in three years, it will likely be split into two assignments, so you'll need to reapply."
Gu An's eyes lit up. Taking advantage of Steward Zhang's pause to drink tea, he quickly asked, "Is the Spirit Lake permitted for use by the sect? After all, it's a Garrison Duty assignment."
"The sect doesn't object-it's considered customary."
Steward Zhang tapped the table and continued.
"Third, there's a Snake Valley in Chen Country that's recently recruiting. You don't need to worry about anything there-just raise the spirit snakes well. The Mission Pay is also high-ten spirit stones a month."
"The disadvantage is that you'll be under someone else's command, which is quite restrictive. There are many venomous snakes, making it dangerous, and since you're only responsible for the work, there aren't many side benefits."
Gu An lowered his head and thought carefully. Steward Zhang wasn't in a hurry; he picked up his tea and savored it slowly.
First, the Cloudmist Market assignment wouldn't work. He had heard from Senior Brother Wang that Demon Beast Unrests were frequent there-it could break out again at any time. He just wanted a place to raise spirit beasts and cultivate, so it wasn't suitable.
The Snake Valley was also out. Although the spirit stones were plentiful, he didn't know what kind of person the steward was. Most importantly, if a group of people were feeding snakes, Spirit Source Feedback wouldn't recognize it either!
And even if it did, under someone else's watchful eye, he couldn't hide his cultivation speed. No good, no good.
But the Garrison Duty assignment in Blackrock Commandery, Yun Kingdom, suited his needs perfectly. Alone, with a water-attributed Spirit Vein suitable for his cultivation!
All the spirit stones he earned would be his own. No one would compete with him to feed the fish, and it was close to his hometown, Blackstone City. Perfect.
"Steward Zhang, I've made my decision. I'll take the Garrison Duty assignment in Blackrock Commandery, Yun Kingdom." Gu An had made up his mind and spoke to Steward Zhang.
"Since you've decided, give me your Sect Token. I'll register it for you." Steward Zhang neither approved nor disapproved of Gu An's choice-he had already analyzed the pros and cons, and in his view, all three options were decent for Gu An.
Gu An took out his Sect Token from his storage bag and handed it to Steward Zhang with both hands.
Steward Zhang swiped his own Sect Token against Gu An's, then tossed it back to him.
"This trip to Yun Kingdom crosses mountains and rivers, making travel inconvenient. I can advance half a year's Mission Pay at my discretion. Here, thirty-six spirit stones."
"Future pay can be collected at Yun Kingdom's royal city, once a year."
Steward Zhang took out the spirit stones from a gold-threaded storage bag. This storage bag was issued by the sect, with a very large space. It was tied to the position, not the person-when Steward Zhang stepped down, he would have to return it.
"This kindness, your disciple will remember in his heart. I will surely repay it in the future." Gu An made a bow and accepted the spirit stones.
It wasn't just for the spirit stones. If Steward Zhang hadn't pulled strings for him, he wouldn't have had the chance to receive such an assignment and make use of Spirit Source Feedback. So he was truly grateful.
A smile spread across Steward Zhang's face. "Don't mention thanks. I used to hear this kid Zhang Song talk about how outstanding you were every day. Meeting you again today, it's indeed true."
He credited this favor to Zhang Song.
"Brother Song has always taken good care of me. I'm grateful for that too." Gu An added.
Steward Zhang laughed heartily, picked up his teacup-this time signaling that the conversation was over.
Gu An said no more, made another bow, turned, and left.
After finishing his last sip of tea, Steward Zhang tossed the teacup into his storage bag, watched Gu An's retreating figure for a moment, then left the meditation room.
...
Gu An returned to his small courtyard, sat cross-legged under the apricot tree, and rubbed a few apricot leaves between his fingers as he sorted through recent events.
The assignment in Blackrock Commandery, Yun Kingdom, was seven days away. The distance was only eighteen hundred li. He could buy a fast horse-it wouldn't be much slower than his own speed, but it would save him the fatigue. Three days' travel would get him there, so there was no need to rush.
First, go to Cloud City to buy some things, especially spirit fish fry. Raising fish in the Spirit Lake was a side benefit of the assignment-the sect wouldn't levy taxes on it, but they certainly wouldn't provide fish fry either. He needed to choose carefully.
Also, buy some mortal pills-the kind that strengthen the body and prolong life. He could stop by home on the way and leave a few for his parents.
And buy a magical artifact. His combat ability was still too weak. He didn't want to get kicked to death by someone-that would be too unjust.
And...
A thousand tangled threads pulled at him. Gu An felt a bit worried, wondering if these spirit stones would be enough. Thinking this, he began to stock his storage bag.
Forty-one spirit stones, one half-magical artifact longsword of Qingyuan Sect standard issue, three sets of standard disciple robes (plus the one he was wearing), seventeen ordinary apricots, and some jars and pots-none of which were spiritual items.
A wave of sorrow washed over Gu An. He felt that everything required spirit stones. He wanted to buy a magical artifact, wanted to buy a Formation, wanted to switch cultivation techniques... Well, he'd have to wait a few years. First priority: buy the spirit fish fry.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzjRfEiqVd
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