Chapter 45 : A New Task Had Appeared
Chapter 45: A New Task Had Appeared
To be honest, when that cold yet familiar System notification sound rang out in his mind without any warning, accompanied by the damn task panel forcibly popping up, Long Tao’s heart did not actually stir up much of a reaction.
Toward this dog System that kept trying every possible way to get him killed, he had never one hundred percent believed that so-called promise of “no new tasks within a month” from the very beginning.
This thing had even been extremely “considerate” in raising the punishment value from 20 to 25, clearly afraid that after his Soul Lamp value increased to 24, he might still survive if he abandoned the task.
But having psychological preparation was one thing—what needed to be cursed still had to be cursed, not a single word less!
“You f***ing dog System!” Long Tao cursed violently in his heart.
“At least wait until I’ve completely finished breaking through before coming, will you?! You just can’t stand seeing me comfortable for even a moment, is that it?!”
And the difficulty of this task seemed to have refreshed his understanding yet again.
Yaoguang Azure Phoenix?!
Damn it! This thing was renowned throughout the Cultivation World! According to legend, it was a mixed-blood descendant of the Azure Luan and the Phoenix, possessing a bloodline so noble it was terrifying.
It combined the elegance of the Azure Luan with the sacredness of the Phoenix.
It was said that even the trajectory of its flight subtly corresponded with the mysteries of the circulation of the celestial stars! It had always been a top-tier spirit beast that all major top-level forces would fight over until their heads split open.
There were even underground rumors claiming that this thing had already touched the threshold of a “Sacred Beast”!
If the core objective of this Secret Realm opening was that bird… then with his paltry cultivation getting involved would be like an old man eating arsenic—courting death!
The previous two tasks had been dangerous, yes, but at least they were within the sect.
In the end, True Person Mingzhu, for the sake of his own disciple and that poem, had not actually gone for the kill.
At the end of the day, no matter how fierce things got among fellow disciples, there was always a bottom line.
But outside the sect, it was a lawless slaughterhouse! Not to mention the Wuyi Sect, which had always been at odds with the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect and used underhanded methods—just the independent cultivators swarming in like sharks at the scent of blood would be enough to get him killed a hundred times over! Those people would slaughter each other until rivers of blood flowed for the tiniest bit of resources, let alone a supreme treasure like a Yaoguang Azure Phoenix Egg that could trigger sect-level wars!
There was also one key variable—Nan Yuchen.
Would that idiot go to this Secret Realm or not? If he went, then with the “Child of Destiny” halo, following behind him to leech off some Destiny Luck might give Long Tao a slim chance at survival, making the task difficulty barely negotiable.
But if he was still confined to Moon-Washing Peak in seclusion…?
Just imagining the scene of himself stealing the Azure Phoenix Egg right under the noses of numerous sect elites, elders, and ruthless independent cultivator bigshots, then breaking through layers of encirclement and escaping all the way back to the sect… was enough to make Long Tao sigh, chilled to the bone.
Sigh… It seemed that no matter what, he had to find a way to trick that kid into going.
But now there was an even more troublesome problem.
This time, the System did not provide a clear task time! It only vaguely hinted that the “Secret Realm entrance would suddenly appear.”
Then… when exactly was he supposed to set out? And how was he supposed to go? Where was the Secret Realm entrance? All of these crucial pieces of information were completely absent!
Sigh… There were far too many uncertain factors.
Long Tao felt a headache coming on.
For now, he could only take things one step at a time and gather relevant intelligence as quickly as possible.
He only hoped that before that damn “Secret Realm entrance” appeared, he could successfully break through to the Qi-Refining Sixth Layer, at least gaining one more shred of capital to preserve his life.
“Daoist Friend Long Tao? What’s wrong with you?” Luo Yusi’s concerned voice pulled him back from his chaotic thoughts.
She clearly could not comprehend the storm raging in Long Tao’s heart.
Seeing him suddenly fall silent with his expression constantly changing, she thought he was feeling unwell after breaking through.
“You suddenly stopped talking, and your complexion doesn’t look very good…”
“Oh… no, nothing.” Long Tao snapped back to his senses, forcibly squeezing out a smile as he brushed it off casually.
“It’s just… thinking that there’s only the final step left, I got a bit nervous instead.
I’ll head back to my room to regulate my breathing first. I’ll have to trouble Daoist Friend Luo again for the next stage of the breakthrough.”
“Mm, don’t worry. Go rest properly.” Luo Yusi nodded obediently, all six of her eyes filled with sincere encouragement.
Long Tao turned and walked back into the room, closing the door behind him.
Leaning against the door panel, he let out a long, silent breath of turbid air.
Even the sunlight outside the room seemed to be tinged with a layer of blood-red hue.
……
After his emotions calmed slightly, Long Tao began reorganizing his tangled thoughts.
The manifestation of any Secret Realm entrance was a sensational event for the surrounding sects, yet he had not heard even the slightest rumor…
This meant that that damned System likely truly possessed something eerie and unfathomable—it was actually able to capture the fluctuations of a Secret Realm entrance appearing before anyone else and accurately smash the intelligence straight into the face of him, this “lucky one.”
Of course, this so-called “precognitive” advantage was of rather limited use to him.
Long Tao knew himself well.
There was absolutely no way he could sneak into the Secret Realm ahead of everyone, stuff the treasure into his bosom, and then slip out unnoticed.
The reason was simple: regions like the “Azurewood Demon Forest,” known areas where Secret Realms might be born, had long been placed under key surveillance by surrounding major forces.
There were disciples patrolling year-round, and even small-scale frictions and clashes were not uncommon.
The two colossal powers, the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect and the Wuyi Sect, kept an especially tight watch, with a whole bunch of medium and small forces lurking below like hyenas, waiting to grab a share.
According to Long Tao’s estimate, at most one or two days would pass before the newly born Secret Realm entrance was discovered by patrolling disciples.
The news would then spread like wildfire among the upper echelons of all sides.
Immediately afterward would come the familiar process of major forces urgently reallocating manpower and assembling exploration teams.
At this thought, Long Tao suddenly shuddered, finally realizing the true value of the System’s “early warning”—it was not about allowing him to seize how much of an advantage inside the Secret Realm, but rather, exactly like the core difficulty of the previous two tasks: how to obtain an entry “ticket”!
The System’s task templates were always designed according to the power-fantasy script of someone like Nan Yuchen, a “Child of Destiny,” so this dog thing never considered the issue of how Long Tao was supposed to “enter the stage.” But for him, how to enter safely was a massive hurdle every single time.
For the first Windless Cliff task, he had exploited a loophole in a cleaning task, barely managing to take a shortcut.
For the second voyeurism task, it was entirely thanks to Nan Yuchen’s foolish, sweet nature that opened a back door for him—pure dumb luck.
And this time was the same.
Using conventional means to enter was fundamentally impossible…
Him, Long Tao, wanting to properly pass sect selection and join an official Secret Realm exploration team? That was nothing but a fool’s dream!
Explorations of mid-to-low-tier Secret Realms located at the borders between forces had always been the main battlefield of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
On rare occasions, a few Qi Refining cultivators could squeeze in, but without exception they were all Qi-Refining Twelfth Layer great completion, half-step Foundation Establishment geniuses with deep backgrounds and bodies covered in magic treasures.
Most of the time, they went in either to seek special Foundation Establishment opportunities or to act as assistants for senior brothers and sisters.
As for Golden Core cultivators and above? According to the unspoken rules of the Cultivation World, unless the Secret Realm itself underwent a shocking mutation or involved core sect interests that forced all sides to tear their faces off, bigshots of that level generally would not personally enter the fray.
Firstly, they truly did not want to completely fall out.
Secondly, such Secret Realms were essentially small Pocket Realms.
If the Pocket Realm was not sturdy enough, the full-force killing moves of Golden Core cultivators could very likely damage the space itself.
When that happened, no one would benefit.
“So… after going around in circles, the first problem is still this ‘ticket,’ huh…” Long Tao rubbed his throbbing temples, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness.