Chapter 105 : Jade-Faced Shark
Chapter 105: Jade-Faced Shark
Task Hall.
“Junior Sister, this Spirit Fish of yours has a problem. It is not a Snow-Skinned Shark,” Ma Dongmei said. “Therefore, this task cannot be counted as complete.”
“Senior Sister, could you take another look?” Li Lin hesitated for a moment, then drew a few low-grade Spirit Stones from her sleeve and slipped them into Ma Dongmei’s palm.
Ma Dongmei stepped back, her face showing a troubled expression. “Junior Sister, you misunderstand. You also need to understand your Senior Sister’s difficulties.
The Snow-Skinned Shark’s dorsal fin is like jade, its tail fin like thin gauze, its scales translucent like glazed glass, and under sunlight they shine with a pearly luster.”
“The Spirit Fish you brought, though its scales, dorsal fin, and tail fin resemble those of the Snow-Skinned Shark, under sunlight it glimmers with iridescent hues instead.”
Hearing this, Li Lin pressed her lips together.
All spirits were different, none exactly the same.
Her Spirit Fish was a Snow-Skinned Shark variant, hence the scales gleamed with rainbow patterns.
The other party was a Foundation Establishment cultivator of the water attribute. How could she not distinguish a variant from a common fish?
“The task wall already lists the various features of the Snow-Skinned Shark. According to sect law, even if a single trait fails to meet the standard, I cannot count your task as complete. Otherwise, I would bear the responsibility.”
Ma Dongmei paused, feigned compromise, and whispered, “How about this—Senior Sister Lin usually likes collecting Spirit Fish, and she has long kept a bounty posted on the task wall.
Although your Spirit Fish does not meet the Snow-Skinned Shark’s standard, it fits Senior Sister Lin’s request. Why not switch tasks to complete that one instead?”
As she finished, she handed over a private bounty slip, on which was written: Purchase of various rare Spirit Fish.
Li Lin received the bounty slip and instantly understood.
The other party, being a Foundation Establishment cultivator, was not ignorant. On the contrary, Senior Sister Ma was making things difficult precisely because she knew too well.
The sect’s bounty for a Snow-Skinned Shark gave only five hundred contribution points, whereas this private bounty offered one hundred more.
“This…” Li Lin’s face revealed a troubled look.
Completing a sect bounty and completing a private disciple’s bounty were two entirely different matters.
The former’s contribution points could be included in the sect’s assessment index, while the latter’s could not.
Considering time, cultivation efficiency, and other costs, she much preferred to complete the former.
“I still have work to do. If you really cannot decide, Junior Sister Li, you can go back and think it over,” Ma Dongmei said with a smile.
The Snow-Skinned Shark’s variant was also called the Beauty Shark, a living beautifying spirit sought after by Foundation Establishment female cultivators outside the sect. A single one could fetch a price of several thousand Spirit Stones. Yet, within the sect, it was not rare.
After all, Mirror Moon Sect was a renowned alchemy sect in the Earth Proliferation Territory. Female cultivators who cared about their appearance would mostly choose a second-tier superior Spirit Pill, the Beauty-Retaining Pill.
The other party was merely a Qi Refining cultivator. If she refused to yield, the Beauty Shark would just rot in her hands.
Clearly, Li Lin had also realized this.
She gritted her teeth and was about to accept the private bounty when Chen Beiwu, who had been quietly observing nearby, suddenly spoke:
“This Junior Sister, I’ve already waited a quarter-hour. If possible, may I submit my task first?”
At those words, Li Lin instinctively stepped aside and soon saw a familiar figure.
Ma Dongmei frowned instinctively, but upon lifting her head and seeing Chen Beiwu’s face, her frown vanished, replaced by a bright smile.
“This Senior Brother, may I ask what task you wish to submit?”
“This is the required Queen Bee Honey for the collection task,” Chen Beiwu said, taking out two jade bottles.
Ma Dongmei accepted the bottles, opened them, and after a brief glance her smile grew even brighter.
“Senior Brother Chen, the Queen Bee Honey you collected is of excellent quality. You may receive eight hundred contribution points,” she said crisply.
Seeing this, Li Lin’s palm clenched within her sleeve, her fingertips digging deep into her flesh, her knuckles pale.
Both of them had overfulfilled sect tasks, yet she was met with endless obstacles while Senior Brother Chen’s was settled with ease.
Senior Sister Ma truly knew how to treat people differently!
Only when his identity jade slip registered an additional eight hundred contribution points did Chen Beiwu turn toward Li Lin.
Li Lin suppressed her dissatisfaction, bowed respectfully, and said, “Senior Brother Chen.”
“Junior Sister Li, will you sell this Spirit Fish?” Chen Beiwu asked bluntly.
In the Immortal Alliance, the Snow-Skinned Shark was called the Jade-Faced Shark.
Its official website price was as high as one thousand five hundred Spirit Yuan, marking it as a rare second-tier superior Spirit Fish, constantly in short supply.
Once, a Foundation Establishment cultivator in Fallen Dragon Manor had fished a Snow-Skinned Shark from the main flow of the Still Abyss River. It was instantly bid up by fishing fanatics to a terrifying price of two thousand five hundred Spirit Yuan.
The Jade-Faced Shark before him was still a variant, and its worth was even higher than that one.
After all, female cultivators of the Immortal Alliance, in pursuit of beauty, never hesitated to spend Spirit Yuan.
“Senior Brother Chen, you want this Snow-Skinned Shark?” Li Lin was slightly taken aback.
Unlike female cultivators, male cultivators of the Southern Wastes usually focused on Spirit Fish that could enhance their strength, not on those that could beautify skin and delay aging.
“Yes,” Chen Beiwu replied.
Rare things were valuable. Rather than selling it off, the best use for this Snow-Skinned Shark variant was as a gift to repay favors.
Chen Beiwu had not forgotten—his Yellow-Tailed Dendrobium business thrived not because of product quality alone, but because someone powerful was backing him.
If not for Xu Lingling disdaining such petty ventures, he would even have shared some profits with her, in exchange for the protection of a Golden Core True Person, ensuring his online trade ran smoothly.
“If Senior Brother likes it, five hundred contribution points will do,” Li Lin seized the chance decisively.
What was a mere hundred points?
The reason she was belittled and obstructed was her low cultivation and lack of backing.
If this gave her a chance to build some connection with Senior Brother Chen, then completing tasks in the Task Hall would go much smoother in the future.
“Alright,” Chen Beiwu nodded, then turned to Ma Dongmei. “Please help me post a bounty for acquiring Spirit Fish, with a reward of five hundred contribution points.”
“No problem,” Ma Dongmei said with her same bright smile, completing the task procedures for him.
“Much obliged.” After speaking, Chen Beiwu glanced at Li Lin and handed her a Messaging Talisman. “Junior Sister Li, if you plan to sell Spirit Fish in the future, you can contact me.”
Li Lin nodded, relieved, and left the Task Hall. Chen Beiwu then walked to the task wall at the center of the hall, continuing to search for suitable tasks.
“Spirit Field Pest Removal. Requirement: Late-Stage Qi Refining. Clear out the exotic insects [Three-Dipper Locusts] infesting the herb fields. Reward: fifty contribution points.”
“Cold Pool Mining. Requirement: Late-Stage Qi Refining. Water-Earth dual-attribute root cultivators skilled in mining arts. For every two catties of Cold Pool Profound Iron extracted, reward: one hundred contribution points.”
“Copying Cultivation Methods. Requirement: None. Transcribe and upload cultivation methods. If verified by the Moon-in-Water Mirror as genuine and not yet included in the Transmission Hall, contribution points will be awarded according to the method’s grade.”
At the last bounty, Chen Beiwu’s eyes lit up.
Knowledge is wealth. The ancients never deceived me!