"Amazing! Senior Sister is truly wise beyond measure to have thought of such a method of swinging the hammer," Yuan Ming thought to himself, complimenting aloud.
"Don't talk nonsense, how could I come up with such a method? It originated from an Artifact Refining Master in our sect a hundred years ago. That master was inherently weak and invented this method to compensate for his lack of strength," Chen Wan's face turned slightly red as she shook her head.
"So it was like that. May I ask the name of that Artifact Refining Master? Is he still in the sect now?" Yuan Ming asked curiously.
"Master Hei Mu was one of the top geniuses among Artifact Refiners in our sect over the past hundred years. Unfortunately, he mysteriously disappeared many years ago. If he were still here, the level of artifact refining in our Biluo Cave would never be limited to what it is today," Chen Wan said with a hint of regret.
Yuan Ming had no interest in artifact refining and couldn't grasp Chen Wan's thoughts, so he shifted his focus to the Exorcism Technique.
Having been in the sect for half a month, he had gained some basic understanding of Biluo Cave. Chen Wan mentioned that the Gui Cang Pavilion was where the sect stored its spells, secret techniques, and cultivation methods.
Biluo Cave was somewhat lax in its educational approach for disciples, except for the Inner Sect Disciples personally taken in by the elders and the Cave Master. Ordinary Registered Disciples who wanted to learn new cultivation methods or secret techniques had to exchange them at the Gui Cang Pavilion and then comprehend them on their own.
The Gui Cang Pavilion, as an official institution of the sect, was unlike Toad Valley. You couldn't barter goods here; instead, you needed something called "Contribution Value."
For new Registered Disciples, the sect would grant twenty contribution points to help them get settled, but these weren't distributed until the end of the month.
Yuan Ming could also earn some contribution value by working in the Fire Workshop, but he too had to wait until the end of the month to receive it, so he still couldn't exchange for any techniques as of today.
"Don't think too highly of it. Theoretically, using the Exorcism Technique to assist in forging is feasible, but in practice, it's fraught with difficulties. Although the technique is easy to learn, integrating it with physical strength for artifact refining is not simple, especially for a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator. Many inherently weak individuals in our sect have tried it but very few have succeeded. Weigh it yourself. I have other things to attend to, so I'll be leaving first," Chen Wan cautioned Yuan Ming before turning to leave.
"Senior Sister Chen, if it's not too much trouble, could you take me to the Execution Hall?" Yuan Ming called out to her.
"The tasks issued by the Execution Hall are not easy, and a slight carelessness could be life-threatening. It seems too soon for you to take on tasks just after joining the sect. Maybe wait a while longer," Chen Wan frowned and advised.
"It's alright, I just want to go and take a look. I don't necessarily plan to take on any tasks," Yuan Ming waved his hand. The next moment, he felt a chilling sensation surge from behind and couldn't help but shiver.
"What's wrong?" Chen Wan asked in surprise.
"No... nothing, I might just be a little cold," Yuan Ming touched his nose and caught a glimpse of a silvery figure dashing past a large tree outside the casting house.
"Are we still going?" Chen Wan asked.
"Let's go," Yuan Ming withdrew his gaze and responded.
The two left the Fire Workshop and walked down the mountain, soon arriving at a valley between three tall peaks, where a large gray stone tower stood, clearly divided into three layers.
A stone pillar was erected at the entrance of the stone tower, bearing the red characters "Execution Hall."
There was a constant stream of people entering and leaving the Execution Hall, making it quite lively.
The Execution Hall was where Biluo Cave Disciples could undertake bounty tasks to earn contribution value.
Contribution value was very important, as it could be used not only to exchange for magic skills at Gui Cang Pavilion but also to obtain elixirs, talismans, spiritual materials, and other items elsewhere.
Yuan Ming had heard about this place before but had been busy with forging and cultivation. Today was his first visit.
"Alright, I've brought you here; I won't say more. Take care of yourself," Chen Wan said, then turned and left.
Yuan Ming stood still, looking at the gray tower for a moment before deciding to step inside.
"Junior Brother Yuan Ming, are you here to take on a task?" a timid voice came from behind him, belonging to Qiqige.
"Senior Sister Qiqige, I'm just familiarizing myself with the place. Are you here to take on a task?" Yuan Ming replied with a smile.
"Yes," Qiqige said very shyly, immediately lowering her head when her eyes met Yuan Ming's.
"Then let's go in together; it's my first time here, so I might need some guidance from you," Yuan Ming said. The most up‑to‑date version is on *.
"Okay," Qiqige uttered softly and walked in with her head down.
Yuan Ming also entered the Execution Hall, which was quite spacious, spanning a hundred feet in diameter. The first thing he saw was a long stone counter inside, where two elders dressed as deacons were registering disciples who had taken on tasks.
Beside the counter stood a white jade stele seven or eight meters high and three or four meters wide. Restricted spells displayed various sect tasks on it.
About a dozen Biluo Cave Disciples were gathered around the stele, most of them Registered Disciples, quietly discussing the contents on the stele.
"There aren't many people here; I thought there would be many disciples taking up tasks," Yuan Ming remarked.
"Most of the sect disciples spend the majority of their time doing their main duties within their own halls and the rest of the time in cultivation, so not many come to the Execution Hall to take tasks," Qiqige spoke softly.
"So, taking tasks at the Execution Hall is akin to doing odd jobs," Yuan Ming drew a comparison.
"You could say that," Qiqige responded, slightly startled.
Yuan Ming nodded and looked at the stele.
The tasks listed on the stele varied widely, with the simplest being errand-running tasks such as delivering letters, mainly letters from Biluo Cave Disciples to their families.
These tasks were safe but offered meager rewards, merely one to two points of Contribution Value.
Slightly better rewarded were collecting tasks, which involved going to dangerous places to collect Spirit Grass and spiritual materials or hunting Fierce Beasts to obtain their materials, offering several to dozens of points of Contribution Value.
There were even higher paying tasks which involved dangers beyond collecting spiritual materials or hunting Fierce Beasts.
Yuan Ming's gaze fell on the highest-paying task, an assassination mission, targeting not a Fierce Beast but a cultivator named "Ma Xingkong."
According to the task description, this person was a defector from Biluo Cave, his Cultivation had reached the Qi Refining Peak, and he possessed a spirit beast whose strength was comparable to that of the Foundation Establishment Stage. Biluo Cave offered a thousand Contribution Value for capturing him, dead or alive.
"Senior Sister Qiqige, do you know this Ma Xingkong? His name sounds like he's from the Central Plains," Yuan Ming inquired.
"I know a bit; he is indeed from the Central Plains, originally a disciple from the Beast Taming Hall. It's said he was born a Fur Beast Slave and was personally brought into the Sect by Elder Meng Shan. He suddenly defected more than a year ago and hasn't been caught since," Qiqige replied more confidently without her initial shyness.
"This Ma Xingkong, as formidable as he might be, is just a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator. Why would Biluo Cave offer a thousand Contribution Value for his capture?" Yuan Ming asked, puzzled.
"I don't know about that," Qiqige shook her head.
Yuan Ming had only asked casually and soon put it out of his mind, continuing to examine the tasks on the stele.
He had come here today not just to look around but to try and pick a suitable task to earn some Contribution Value.
He dismissed the errand tasks without consideration; the Contribution Value was too low, and they were time-consuming. Any one of them would take at least ten days to a half-month, and he had to work at the Fire Workshop, so he couldn't leave for that long.
Yuan Ming narrowed his focus to the collecting tasks and quickly selected one.
"Collect Fire Jade: Travel to Tali Volcano to collect Fire Jade, exchanging five pieces for one point of Contribution Value. Team completion allowed."
Since entering Biluo Cave, Yuan Ming had deliberately learned about the nearby geography and had heard of Tali Volcano, which was only about a hundred miles from the entrance to the Biluo Cave, round trip could be finished in half a day.
This task allowed for team completion and was not very dangerous, making it suitable for him.
"Senior Sister Qiqige, you can get back to your tasks; don't worry about me," Yuan Ming said to Qiqige.
Qiqige nodded, turned to look at the stele, quickly headed to the long stone platform to accept a task, and left on her own.
After watching Qiqige leave, Yuan Ming approached the platform, took out his Identity Plate, and handed it to a black-clad deacon, "I'd like to take task number thirty-five, collecting Fire Jade."
"The Fire Jade task is done in a team. There is a team currently recruiting, would you like to join them?" the black-clad deacon took out a white Jade Talisman, tapped Yuan Ming's Identity Plate with it, and asked with an expressionless face.
"I would like to join," Yuan Ming said immediately.
"Very well, the team is over there; you can go straight to them," the black-clad deacon returned the Identity Plate, pointing towards a corner of the hall.
Following his gesture, Yuan Ming saw four Biluo Cave Disciples standing there, all Registered Disciples, and among them was a familiar face, the bald Agula.
His brows furrowed slightly, then relaxed as he walked over.
Noticing someone approaching, all four turned to look.
Upon seeing Yuan Ming, Agula was visibly startled.
"Did this Junior Brother also take the Fire Jade task? Hehe, a new face. I wonder which hall's disciple you are?" a beautiful woman with a silver ornament on her head asked after sizing up Yuan Ming, appearing to be the leader of the group.
This woman in her early thirties had a pleasant and gentle facial contour, wearing a sparkling silver bracelet on her wrist, seemingly not an ordinary item, and hung a green Spiritual Beast Bag at her waist.
Standing next to the woman was a dark-skinned man, his upper body clad in a piece of Beast Skin, revealing half of his chest with a red tiger head tattoo on his shoulder, and a thick black iron rod in his hand, clearly a man of great strength.
The last person was a young man with triangular eyes wearing a felt hat, his expression cold and standoffish, giving off a 'stay away' vibe.
"My name is Yuan Ming, a newly admitted disciple of the Fire Refining Hall; nice to meet you all," Yuan Ming greeted and bowed.
"Fire Refining Hall? Agula, is he one of yours?" the beautiful woman turned to Agula.
Agula forced a smile towards the woman, then turned to Yuan Ming with a grim expression, speaking coldly, "Yuan Ming, you've only been in Biluo Cave for half a month. You probably don't even know three paths in the Sect. Why are you so eager to take on tasks? Are you seeking death?"
Yuan Ming's eyebrows knitted together. Agula was targeting him again, and he did not recall ever offending the man.