Sacrificial Artifact System: From Bell-ringer to the Ancestral Patriarch

Inner Sect Task Hall.

After more than three years, Li Qian once again arrived here to take on an inner sect mission.

His gaze fell upon the task wall, and indeed the number of extermination missions had significantly decreased.

All the other tasks were long gone, snapped up quickly by others.

He didn't take a task from the wall.

Because the Task Hall had already arranged an inner sect mission for him, which were for those inner sect disciples who had already completed their mandatory tasks to choose from.

Li Qian approached the counter, producing his identity token.

Before long, the staff handed him a task token and a small task booklet.

Li Qian flipped through it, quite surprised, as this task was rather simple for him now.

He guessed it was because he had just broken through to the Innate Realm, so they assigned him a relatively easy task.

In a mine at Xuanzhou City, an Earth Dragon Exotic Insect had appeared, and he was tasked with dealing with it.

"Earth Dragon Exotic Insect..."

Li Qian was somewhat curious.

Exotic beasts, insects, and birds, mainly were mutated creatures like insects, animals, and birds, some dangerous, some not... As for the reason for the mutations, it's said that they're related to the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi, special minerals, and spirit herbs and fruits.

However, these were wild exotic beasts.

Sects like the Divine Sword Sect that practice martial arts... even specially breed exotic beasts.

The importance of these exotic beast breeding techniques is tantamount to the foundation of a sect.

The Exotic Beast Meat Jerky that Li Qian had consumed came from such bred beasts.

If one relied on hunting wild exotic beasts, how could they possibly satisfy the needs of the vast Divine Sword Sect?

The task he took on had two types of rewards: killing the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect would grant five thousand contribution points.

Capturing the Earth Dragon Exotic Beast alive would grant twenty thousand contribution points.

A full four times more.

After all, killing was easy, but capturing alive greatly increased the difficulty.

According to the description of the task, this Earth Dragon Exotic Insect must have mutated not long ago, and anyone above the Postnatal Seventh Layer should be able to handle it.

However, this Earth Dragon Exotic Insect can burrow underground and is hard to locate.

That was the reason he, an Innate martial artist, was assigned this task.

If it were any other ground-dwelling exotic beast of the same level, a few postnatal high-level martial artists could complete the task.

The sooner the task is completed, the better.

Li Qian did not delay, and immediately rode a fast horse away from the Divine Sword Sect.

The sooner he left, the sooner he'd return.

Each extra day he dallied outside, he would miss a day of his cultivation routine.

The fast horses of the Divine Sword Sect were all raised on medicinal diets.

They had exceptional stamina and could cover a thousand miles in a day.

Moreover, the Divine Sword Sect had specially developed the Traveling Horse Pill to feed to the fast horses.

Feeding them a few pills a day allowed the fast horses to maintain their vigor without needing food.

Li Qian, wanting to save time, naturally traveled day and night without stopping.

He remembered that a few years ago, when escorting Mrs. Lin to Xuanzhou City, it took more than ten days to arrive.

But this time, riding a fast horse and traveling without rest day and night, it only took him one day and one night to enter the territory of Xuanzhou City.

...

West Dock Mine.

As one of the largest mines within the territory of Xuanzhou City, there was a huge number of miners working here, along with all kinds of overseers, smelting workers, etc... housing a population of tens of thousands.

The area surrounding the mine was dotted with many wooden shacks.

They served as places for the miners and other workers to rest and live.

Of late, there was a panic among the people in the mine.

Because an Earth Dragon Exotic Insect had appeared in the mineshaft, and in less than half a month, at least dozens of people had been devoured by the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect.

Though the mine had its own martial artists stationed there, they were no match for it.

Moreover, the Earth Dragon Exotic Insect appeared and vanished unpredictably, leaving even the inner sect disciples from the Divine Sword Sect who were stationed in Xuanzhou City at a loss.

On the periphery of the mine, there was an area of neatly arranged houses.

Without a doubt, they belonged to the mine's middle and senior managers as well as the martial artist guards.

"Master Ling, when can your sect send someone over?"

In the room, a burly man couldn't help but ask.

He was the manager of this mining operation, responsible for managing the entire mine.

The owner behind this mine was the Ming Family, one of the three major families in the city of metallurgy. Besides the West Dock Mine, there were many other mines of various sizes, smelting workshops, and so on, with countless industries under their control.

The Ming Family was able to hold so many industries, thanks to its intricate connections with the Divine Sword Sect.

There were descendants of the Ming Family cultivating in the Divine Sword Sect.

"Manager He, it should be within these few days, and... your anxiety is futile."

The man sitting opposite was a robust man dressed for combat, with a sword placed beside him.

He spoke calmly while drinking tea.

"Alas, I'm just anxious. One day of mine closure results in an enormous loss."

Manager He sighed.

Those lowly miners' deaths were trivial; at most it would cost a small compensation.

But the losses from even a single day of halted mining operations were significant.

If it weren't for the excessive deaths these past couple of days, and the pressure coupled with the miners' unrest, making them afraid to work, he probably would not have wanted to stop the operations.

Suddenly, a guard martial artist ran in and said to Ling Xingfeng, an Inner Sect Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect, "Senior Brother Ling, the Sect has sent someone to deal with the Earth Dragon Exotic Insects."

"Excellent."

Senior Brother Ling immediately responded, "Manager He, hurry up and come out to greet them with me."

The Sect's dispatch to handle the Earth Dragon Exotic Insects would certainly be a Postnatal Martial Artist.

In the Divine Sword Sect, Postnatal Martial Artists were at least core disciples of each main peak, backed by elders, each with a profound background, far beyond what he, a Registered Disciple, could compare to.

Generally speaking, when elders take on Direct Disciples, they must see the potential for them to become Postnatal Martial Artists.

Otherwise, one would remain merely as a Registered Disciple.

Ling Xingfeng had average talent, but thanks to his daring and struggle, coupled with years of arduous cultivation, he had broken through to the Ninth Layer of the Postnatal realm.

But he was already in his thirties; to expect to break into the Innate Realm on his own potential was wishful thinking.

His greatest wish now was to accumulate enough contribution points to exchange for an Innate Pill and step into the Innate Realm.

Even though that was just being Half-step Innate.

But that was still far stronger than any Postnatal Martial Artist.

Many Inner Sect Disciples of the Divine Sword Sect, if they saw no hope of breaking through or became Half-step Innate, would often choose to return to their hometowns to start a family business.

A large number of Inner Sect Disciples leaving the Sect would still maintain contact with the Divine Sword Sect, becoming the Sect's potential strength outside.

"Here they come, this is wonderful..."

Manager He was overjoyed upon hearing this. The savior had finally arrived.

Thus, he and Ling Xingfeng quickly left the room to greet the Innate expert dispatched by the Divine Sword Sect.

Soon, an Inner Sect Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect arrived with a young man in a gray robe leading a fast horse.

This young man in a gray robe was naturally Li Qian.

He arrived at the West Dock Mine immediately by following the map.

The mine was full of shafts, very desolate, with scarce vegetation, as mining operations had devastated the environment.

"I am Ling Xingfeng, a Registered Disciple of Dishui Peak, I have the honor of meeting Senior Brother."

Upon seeing the young man brought over by his fellow disciple, Ling Xingfeng was initially startled, but he quickly realized and hurried forward to greet him.

Manager He next to him was also perplexed, questioning how he could be this young?

However, he did not speak, just watched from the side.

"Just call me Senior Brother Li."

Li Qian was to the point, tossing out a Task Token.

After Ling Xingfeng took a glance, he immediately returned the Task Token with both hands, "Senior Brother Li, this is Manager He of the West Dock Mine, responsible for all the affairs of the mine."

He mentally went through the list of core disciples with the surname Li in the Inner Sect, recalling there were many, yet none seemed to match the one before him.

Despite this, he still didn't dare to underestimate and was extremely respectful.

Manager He might look like a simple and burly man, but he was actually meticulous on the inside, skilled at reading people and situations, otherwise he would not have been able to become the manager of the West Dock Mine.

From Master Ling's expression and behavior, he could tell that this young man in a gray robe definitely had an extraordinary identity and background.

Immediately, he bowed slightly, speaking respectfully, "This humble one, He Wufan, has the honor of meeting Martial Master Li."

He kept his posture very low.

Back in the West Dock Mine or even in the city of metallurgy, he was a person of some status, but before a great Sect's Innate expert, he was nothing at all.

Even towards Inner Sect Disciples like Ling Xingfeng, he normally treated them with the best of hospitality, not daring to offend them in the slightest.

.....