The Contribution Division didn’t possess their own hall on the Tongyou Peak and they were allocated a region somewhere near the top of the Tongyou Peak. It wasn’t too far from the main hall!
When Shang Xia arrived at the entrance of the Contribution Division, he discovered that it wasn’t like what Shang Quan had said. There were several disciples picking out their missions, but it wasn’t as bustling as he had thought.
“A lot of them have already accepted their missions and left the Tongyou Peak.” A voice rang from behind him and Shang Xia’s head snapped around.
Noticing the lady standing behind him, a look of joy appeared on Shang Xia’s face. “Senior Sister Sun, have you left seclusion? Did you actually enter the Martial Intent Realm this time?”
A bitter smile appeared on her face and she sighed, “It’s not that easy! Even though the remnant energy around the pool allowed me to take another step towards the Martial Intent Realm, it wasn’t enough for me to cross the threshold!”
A look of shock flashed across Shang Xia’s eyes. “Senior Sister, did you refine the medicine you need to break through? Wouldn’t that mean…”
“Of course not. I plan to eat it only when I have accumulated enough inner qi to break through.” Sun Haiwei explained. A self-defeating smile soon appeared on her face. “I didn’t think that breaking through would be so difficult! At least I know the way to break through now. I need to look for several regions with thick heaven and earth qi to strengthen my inner qi. It’s a matter of time before I finally enter the Martial Intent Realm…”
Shang Xia nodded solemnly before talking about something else. “Senior Sister Sun, did you come to accept a mission for the institution?”
She was just about to reply when she felt something coming from outside.
Shang Xia was able to feel the disturbance too, and he looked in the direction she was staring at.
In the air above the main hall of the Tongyou Peak, a pillar of light pierced high into the heavens.
Many disciples noticed the abnormality and turned to look up at the sky.
Soon after, the rattling of chains that couldn’t be more familiar in the ears of those who took part in the war rang through the skies. A formless barrier seemed to form around them, surrounding the entire Tongyou Peak.
When the formless barrier took shape, the pillar of light that came from the top of the Tongyou Peak disappeared.
“What’s going on?! Did someone attack us again?!” One of the weaker disciples cried in panic.
“No. This is a sign that the protection formation of our Tongyou Peak has been completely restored!” Sun Haiwei yelled to calm the crowd down.
Audible sighs of relief could be heard through the land.
Even though the disturbance only lasted for a short period of time, it caused such a huge commotion that not only did those from the Tongyou Peak notice it. Those who were situated extremely far away from them could probably also notice the change!
A mighty voice rang in the minds of everyone who was within a ten-mile radius of the peak. “Everyone please refrain from panicking. This is a sign that our protection formation has been fully restored!”
Shang Xia could tell that the voice belonged to Liu Qinglan, and the commotion soon died down.
A look of confusion could be seen on Shang Xia’s face and he turned to Sun Haiwei, “Senior Sister Sun, this…”
“I have no idea what’s going on. However, I am sure that the protection formation is completely restored now.”
Nodding slowly, Shang Xia continued to walk into the hall.
“Junior Brother Shang, what mission do you plan to accept?” Sun Haiwei looked at the huge board before asking.
Shang Xia was examining the missions on the jade board and he sighed, “I don’t know much about the battlefield between two worlds and I can’t make my decision easily. I’ll take a look before making my decision.
Sun Haiwei’s eyes brightened up all of a sudden and she tilted her head to look at Shang Xia, “Why don’t we join hands and take on a mission together?”
Shang Xia raised an eyebrow in suspicion when he saw the look of expectation on her face.
“What do you have in mind?”
Sun Haiwei giggled and chose one of the missions on the board before passing them to Shang Xia.
“Essence stone mine?” He started to look through the information on it.
A moment later, he seemed to have reached an understanding. “Hahaha! Are you planning to make preparations for your advancement?!”
Sun Haiwei didn’t bother hiding her intentions either. “Of course! The mine might be a little barren, but the heaven and earth qi in there should be dense enough. We might not be able to extract the ores as we please, but I should be able to cultivate there for quite some time!”
Shang Xia sighed in response, “Things might get dangerous there though…”
“The beast tide just passed, and the disciples of the Four Spiritual Peak suffered greatly in the war that passed! It’s extremely unlikely for them to appear at this time and the worst we should face should be some random beasts that chose to nest there. However, the mine I chose seems pretty barren and higher leveled rare beasts shouldn’t bother taking it as their territory. We should face some rank two beasts and it’s nothing we can’t handle.”
“What if we really run into a rank three rare beast?” Shang Xia couldn’t help but ask. “I know the reason behind choosing this particular mine. Other mines would be populated with Martial Intent Realm cultivators and we won’t be able to gain much from being there. That’s the reason we get to accept this mission! However, we should plan for the worst in case anything happens.”
Sun Haiwei wasn’t annoyed by his comment in the slightest. Instead, a trace of admiration flashed across her eyes. “Relax. I’m more than confident in our ability to retreat unharmed.”
Shang Xia nodded and chose to remain silent. He didn’t think that she was overestimating herself either.
After all, her talent was extraordinary. The institution wouldn’t allow her to die easily!
The two of them received the mission and obtained a piece of directional talisman from the disciple of the Contribution Division. However, they had to pay twenty silver essence in order to accept the mission.
The locations in the battlefield between the two worlds changed all the time. No one knew if the location of the mine had changed. That was why a disciple left behind a guiding talisman, allowing them to look for its approximate location. The twenty silver essence was to pay for the guiding talisman that made their mission easier.
When the duo left the region protected by the formation on the Tongyou Peak, Shang Xia whistled loudly.
A clear chirp came from the skies and a ray of cold light flashed through the air, landing accurately on Shang Xia’s shoulders.
Sun Haiwei looked at the large bird that was close to the size of his head and gasped, “Oh right, I forgot that you are able to call the Lightning Bird for help. This way, our journey to the mine should be much smoother than I thought!”
Shang Xia chuckled before whispering into the Lightning Bird’s ears. Chirping loudly, it soon shot back up into the clouds.
Sun Haiwei activated the guiding talisman at the same time, and a streak of golden light flew in a certain direction, sending them on their way.
“Let’s go!” Retrieving the talisman, she spoke to Shang Xia.
“How many times can we use this talisman?” Shang Xia asked.
Since becoming a rank two talisman master, Shang Xia was able to understand the principle behind the talisman with a glance.
Every time it was activated, it could point them in a certain direction.
Of course, it couldn’t be used unlimited times. After the energy contained in it was exhausted, it would shatter.
As such, they couldn’t use it repeatedly. Otherwise, they would exhaust the talisman completely before finding the mine, causing them to waste all their time looking for it.
“We can use it seven more times!” Sun Haiwei replied. “However, it would give us a proper sign when we arrive within ten miles of the mine and we might not need to use all seven chances.”
The two of them weren’t weak, and they traveled quickly.
Since the beast tide had subsided, the region around the Tongyou Peak was pretty peaceful.
After leaving three hundred miles from the Tongyou Peak, the two of them finally ran into some trouble. Several tiny beasts came to attack them.
Luckily, they had the Lightning Bird to warn them. They managed to deal with the threat easily.
Resting at the side of a tiny stream, Sun Haiwei activated the talisman for a second time.
All of a sudden, loud chirps came from above them. Looking at the Lightning Bird circling the skies above, Shang Xia frowned.
“What’s wrong? Are we in danger?” Sun Haiwei asked.
Sighing softly, Shang Xia replied, “Nope. The Lightning Bird probably discovered something wrong up ahead. There seem to be some people fighting in the region. Should we head over to take a look?”