Xuantian 1: Ancient Xuandongtian

Chapter 253 Taking office
Yanmo Mountain, Zongwu Hall.

At the foot of a mountain lies the courtyard of the elders and deacons.

boom!boom!
Two slightly hurried knocks on the door.

"Who?"

An elderly man, well past fifty, opened the door after twenty-seven breaths.

"Hey? Brother Mu, it's you?"

Upon seeing the person who arrived, his displeasure turned into a smile.

"Elder Xu, could you assign me a mission that's a bit far from the sect and takes a while?"

Mu Hanchan didn't waste any words, not even exchanging pleasantries, and went straight to the point.

"Oh? You came to see me in the middle of the night just for this?"

Xu Changshu was somewhat puzzled.

"Yes."

Why the sudden urge to undertake a long-term project?

Xu Changshu asked again.

Because Mu Hanchan always accepts sect missions that are short-term and as close to home as possible.

Mu Hanchan did not answer immediately.

"Oh, okay, I was just being nosy."

As an elder in charge, Xu Changshu was a cunning old fox who had been in the Clan Affairs Hall for nearly a hundred years. He immediately realized that the other party was probably unwilling to reveal the reason.

However, Mu Hanchan still said, "While parents are alive, one should not travel far."

"Oh, I see, it's because of someone close to you, right?"

"Ah."

"Okay, please allow me a moment to think about it."

Xu Changshu quickly searched his mind for sect missions, muttering to himself, "Guarding the forests in the Northeast? Not suitable, though it's far away, it's close by."

He understood that Mu Hanchan wanted to stay away from people.

Then he thought, "Suppressing the bandits in the south? That's far enough, but it won't last, because they'll have to come back to report after the bandits are eliminated?"

“Serving in the Empire? That won’t work either; it takes too long, and I’ll have too much contact with mortals.”

After about four hundred breaths, Xu Changshu's expression kept changing as he quickly filtered through the information in his mind.

Mu Hanchan remained silent and waited.

The two stood there in front of the courtyard gate, one outside the threshold and the other inside.

"found it!"

Xu Changshu said with a happy expression, then hesitated for a moment and said, "It is far, but it is probably farther than you think."

"How far?"

"77 li to the southwest. (The distance from the Earth to the Moon)"

"so far?"

Mu Hanchan was also taken aback. His ideal expectation was to travel 80,000 miles away in the four directions of west, southwest, east, and southeast, which meant leaving the territory of Yunyang Sect.

Because heading north, and to the northeast, is the realm of clouds and mist.

To the east and northeast is the Yunxi Sect.

The Qianwu Super Spirit Mine is located at the intersection of three sects in the northeast. It is the largest spirit mine in the central and western regions, but it is extremely difficult to mine and explore, resulting in very low output. Therefore, no one has devoted enough effort to exploring it, so much so that even the Righteous Alliance does not know its exact size.

"They must have left the territory of Yunyang Sect and the Three Clouds Land long ago, right?"

"Yes."

"Then why are there sect missions here?"

"Because there's a small spirit mine here, which was rented to us about three hundred years ago for 100,000 spirit stones. It was rented, not sold. I forget which elder organized it back then, but it was criticized quite a bit afterward."

But since we'd already rented it, we always sent someone to manage it afterwards.

“Well, it would probably take at least three months, maybe even half a year, to get here by riding a fifth-tier flying beast,” Mu Hanchan said.

“Yes, the other disciples who take on this mission go for three years, return for three years, and serve for five years, for a total of eleven years,” Xu Changshu said.

"How much is the reward?"

Mu Hanchan asked a question as a formality.

"Fifty spirit stones a year, excluding round-trip travel expenses."

"..."

"How much do we need to pay to the sect to manage this spirit mine?"

"Theoretically speaking, land ownership belongs to the sect. Any spirit mine mountain range, any primeval forest, lake, or even lava swamp, cave, or sand cave, if it yields rare and precious treasures, should be handed over to the sect."

It doesn't belong to you; you just discovered it. This is a matter of legal principle and patriarchal tradition.
In reality, you only need to hand over 333 spirit stones a year.

Because the sect only wants to recoup its losses; as for the disciples, they are merely there for training.

“Okay, I’ll take it,” Mu Hanchan said immediately.

"Alright, go to the Clan Affairs Hall to get the plaque tomorrow."

"I want it now."

"So urgent?"

Xu Changshu looked Mu Hanchan up and down, a sense of doubt creeping into his heart.

"Okay, then I'll go with you."

He added, "By the way, I'm afraid that won't work, because the minimum requirement for this mission is the Spirit Origin Realm."

But as soon as he finished speaking, his expression changed, and he asked, "Your cultivation level? Early stage of the Spirit Realm?"

"It was just a short while ago."

"Great! Congratulations!"

Zongwu Hall.

Watching Mu Hanchan's departing figure, another Night Watch Elder asked, "Old Xu, who is this? They actually brought you here in the middle of the night. They must have a lot of influence."

"He once gave me a pill of praline, which improved my meridians."

"Oh, no wonder, you look much healthier these past few years."

"When the meridians are open and the Qi is flowing smoothly, that's natural."

Huan Shui Manor.

Mu Hanchan did not leave immediately.

Instead, they were waiting in the manor.

Even though the Soul-Sealing Talisman was almost at the end of its two-day effective period.