The Sword Departs Qinglan

This period of closed-door cultivation lasted for a full half-year.

Through six months of ceaseless refinement day and night, she had brought both of her sword styles to the Mastery realm.

At the same time, Ye Ling consumed all the cultivation and body-tempering pills previously gifted to her by the Peak Master of the Spirit Medicine Peak.

The spiritual pills that solidified her foundation and nurtured her essence nourished her dantian and meridians, making her spiritual energy circulate with greater richness and longevity. Her cultivation progressed from the early-stage Xiantian Realm to the mid-stage.

Day after day, the body-tempering medicines cleansed her bones, muscles, and flesh. Her physical toughness and explosive power leapt forward, granting her a physique far superior to ordinary cultivators of the same realm.

However, this high-intensity half-year of closed-door cultivation, especially the continuous circulation of the True Dragon Unfettered Art to temper her physical body, was extremely consuming of spirit stones.

The ten thousand plus spirit stones she had received upon her investiture as a True Disciple were now completely exhausted.

Even so, it was still far from enough to push the True Dragon Unfettered Art from the first layer to the second layer.

Ye Ling silently calculated that she was still at least over a hundred thousand spirit stones away from breaking through to the second layer. With her current reserves completely down to zero, her prior accumulation was merely a drop in the bucket.

Although her body-tempering cultivation method had not advanced, this period of closed-door cultivation had still yielded rich rewards.

With both of her sword styles reaching Mastery, her cultivation entering the mid-stage, and her physical body greatly strengthened, her overall combat strength had long since undergone a complete transformation, far surpassing her peers of the same generation.

Even if she were to face an established, veteran cultivator at the peak of the Xiantian Realm Great Perfection, she would have the confidence to contend with them.

Withdrawing her sword and ending her stance, a gentle breeze brushed through the green bamboo, and the bamboo courtyard fell back into silence.

Having exhausted her current resources and hit a temporary bottleneck in her cultivation, it was the perfect time for Ye Ling to end her seclusion.

She had already decided that upon leaving seclusion, she would immediately head to the Mission Hall to take on and complete a backlog of sect missions, using the rewards to make up for her lack of spirit stones.

Once everything was settled, she would take the opportunity to apply for a homecoming mission and return home to visit her parents and clan members.

Her closed-door cultivation over, Ye Ling packed her belongings and stepped out of the bamboo courtyard. Her first stop was the Miscellaneous Affairs Peak.

As a True Disciple, she received a dedicated monthly allowance. Having not claimed it for half a year, the manager counted it up and handed her six thousand low-grade spirit stones.

With six thousand spirit stones in hand, her completely depleted storage bag was slightly replenished.

Yet, it was still a far cry from the hundred-odd thousand spirit stones required to break through to the second layer of the True Dragon Unfettered Art.

After collecting her monthly allowance, Ye Ling walked straight into the Mission Hall of the Miscellaneous Affairs Peak.

Sect disciples came and went here in an endless stream, making it far more bustling than any other place in the sect.

Within the sect, there were only two ways to steadily accumulate contribution points.

One was to receive monthly allowance contribution points, and the other was to earn them by taking on missions.

The fixed monthly contribution points for disciples of different ranks varied greatly. Outer sect disciples received only ten points a month, inner sect disciples forty points, ordinary personal disciples seventy points, and standard True Disciples one hundred points.

As a special True Disciple, Ye Ling received a whopping two hundred points per month.

The rewards for sect missions were quite good, and the generous payouts drew countless disciples to gather here to accept missions, hoping to save up more contribution points to exchange for cultivation resources.

The missions posted in the Mission Hall were all for the Xiantian Realm, scattered across the four corners of the Qingyun Kingdom, spread out over various distances.

The missions for outer sect disciples were collected at the branch hall on the outer sect's Miscellaneous Affairs Peak, which were all suited for Houtian Realm martial artists.

Ye Ling did not want to travel too far, so she specifically filtered out missions located in the areas surrounding Heishui Commandery, choosing tasks with appropriate difficulty and a convenient route.

In addition to spirit stones, each mission also rewarded dozens of sect contribution points.

Ye Ling looked over the wooden plaques one by one. When her gaze fell upon a bounty hunt mission, her eyes suddenly lit up.

This was a pleasant surprise—it was actually a rogue martial artist in the late-stage Xiantian Realm.

She could use this person to test the physical strength of her True Dragon Unfettered Art, verifying the results of her six months of closed-door body tempering.

She finalized the five missions she would accept. First, a herb gathering mission.

Gathering Quiet Heart Grass in Heifeng Valley of Heishui Commandery: enter the valley, harvest fifty mature stalks of Quiet Heart Grass, and turn them in. Reward: one hundred and twenty spirit stones and seventy contribution points.

Second, a bounty mission: hunt down and capture a fugitive late-stage Xiantian Realm martial artist roaming Heishui Commandery. Bring back his head within half a year. Reward: four hundred spirit stones and one hundred and twenty contribution points.

Third, an exploration mission: survey the outskirts of Luoxing Mountain in Heishui Commandery. Chart the terrain and record the distribution of demon beasts. Reward: one hundred and fifty spirit stones and sixty-five contribution points.

Fourth, also an exploration mission: inspect the caves of Duanyun Cliff in Heishui Commandery. Venture deep into the caves to clear out fierce beasts and bring back samples. Reward: two hundred and ten spirit stones and eighty contribution points.

Fifth, another exploration mission: investigate the miasma crisis in the southern foothills forest of Heishui Commandery. Kill the venomous beasts and uncover the source of the miasma. Reward: one hundred and seventy spirit stones and seventy-three contribution points.

All five missions were concentrated in the Heishui Commandery area. There was no need to traverse the entire Qingyun Kingdom, and the route was coherent and smooth, allowing her to complete them all in one go.

Individually, the reward for each mission was not particularly generous, but since she was currently in desperate need of spirit stones to fill the deficit for her True Dragon Unfettered Art, this steady stream of income was a welcome surprise.

Ye Ling thought to herself that her current cultivation consumed an immense amount of resources, and her monthly allowance alone was far from enough. In the future, she indeed should come to the Mission Hall more often to take on missions.

Over time, she would not only accumulate a large number of spirit stones but also amass contribution points, which would be enough to exchange for pills and body-tempering spiritual materials.

Having made up her mind, she went forward to register and file her request, accepting all five Xiantian Realm missions in the vicinity of Heishui Commandery.

After registering and receiving the five mission tokens, Ye Ling did not set off down the mountain immediately. Instead, she went to bid farewell to several people in turn.

She first ascended the main peak's grand hall to pay her respects to Sect Master Leng Zhiwei, bowing as she explained that she was heading to Heishui Commandery to handle several Xiantian Realm missions, with her return date undecided.

Next, she sought out her senior sister, Nalan Yanli, briefly outlined her route, and asked her to look after the bamboo courtyard in her absence.

Finally, she went to the outer sect disciples' residences to find Su Qinghan and Su Qinghe to bid them farewell, promising to gather again once she returned from her duties.

Having completed her farewells one by one, Ye Ling finally hung her sword at her waist, stepped out of the gates of the Qinglan Sword Sect, and made her way down the mountain.

She was completely unaware that high in the clouds above her head, an indifferent figure had concealed their aura, following her from a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

On the high platform of the main peak, Leng Zhiwei stood quietly at the corner of the eaves.

Her gaze locked onto the green-robed figure fading into the distance as she murmured softly under her breath.

“Ye Ling, oh Ye Ling, your talent is beyond question; you are a peerless genius rarely seen in this world.”

“Within the Qingyun Kingdom, there is no one who can match you.”

“But your foundation is still shallow, and you have not yet truly grown. This journey is fraught with danger, so you must survive.”

The person secretly following in the clouds was precisely the guardian senior she had specially arranged.

This old senior of the sect had long reached the Tongxuan Realm Great Perfection and had not appeared in the sect for decades.

The outside world, including the other three major sects, had long assumed that her lifespan had run out and she had passed away. No one knew she was still alive.

This time, Leng Zhiwei had personally gone to invite her out of retirement to closely accompany and protect Ye Ling.

However, the two had an agreement beforehand: the senior would only follow in secret and would absolutely not intervene unless Ye Ling encountered a life-threatening crisis.

All the slaughter, danger, and trials along the way would be left for Ye Ling to face and temper herself alone. The senior would only step in to save her at the critical moment of life and death.