Sect Leader! Please strengthen our Dao Sect!

"That's true."

Shen Shanshui nodded; there was nothing to hide.

"Then please, fellow Daoists, follow me to complete a brief registration. This is the official procedure for accepting bounties; it is not my fault." The clerk was very polite, clearly a seasoned professional.

"We should cooperate."

Shen Shanshui smiled and didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

Besides dealing with the unruly cultivators causing trouble, the official residence was also responsible for supervising them. Since he wasn't a wanted criminal, there was no need to hide it.

Seeing that Shen Shanshui was so easy to talk to, the clerk secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Unruly cultivators are often unruly and prone to outbursts of temper. Although he was a government official, his cultivation level was low, only at the second level of Qi Refining, so he always acted with caution.

"Tianyi Sect. Shen Shanshui."

"Shen Lingxi of the Heavenly Dao Sect."

……

The clerk took careful notes, and although he had never heard of the two men's sects, he remained polite.

After registering briefly with his junior sister, Shen Shanshui continued searching for interesting bounty missions on the list.

Shen Lingxi was also looking at it carefully, muttering to herself.

"A young woman, aged sixteen, went missing on the third day of the twelfth lunar month at the hour of Chen (7-9 AM). Whoever finds her will be rewarded with five hundred gold coins and ten low-grade spirit stones. — Li Family, Qingyang County"

Muttering to herself, Shen Lingxi frowned. This bounty seemed unusual, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was strange about it.

"Fellow Daoist, are you interested in this? Let's choose another one. This bounty was already paid out this morning, but it hasn't been removed yet."

The clerk may have heard Shen Lingxi's murmur and kindly offered a reminder.

The little girl was even more surprised upon hearing this and asked, "Today is the fifth day of the lunar month. She went missing yesterday morning. Normally, if someone goes missing during the day, it would take half a day for the family to realize they are missing and about half a day for them to search for them themselves."

Another reward has been offered at the government office. Surely it won't be that quick?

"Moreover, her family must have been very worried about her getting lost, but they didn't write down where she got lost or what her characteristics were."

That's really impressive; they managed to find him.

Shen Lingxi, who is usually dull and dazed, suddenly displayed amazing wisdom and accurately analyzed a series of unreasonable points.

The clerk remained silent, but Shen Shanshui noticed his unnatural and somewhat nervous expression and could roughly guess what was going on.

That family's daughter might not have been lost; more likely, she was kidnapped, and the ransom was traded through government offices, instantly turning illicit funds into legitimate income.

It's not that I'm afraid of being ruthless, it's that I'm afraid of being shrewd.

Whether the clerk was involved or not was unknown, but he was certainly aware of it. Shen Shanshui didn't expose him; he wasn't the kind of saintly figure overflowing with a sense of justice. Besides, the reward had already been paid, so why bother having him meddle?

"I see."

"It's so pitiful. Her family must not like her. She deliberately ran away from home to get their attention. But she couldn't stand the hunger the next day and went back."

Together with the famous detective Shen Lingxi, they analyzed the situation and arrived at a conclusion that they believed to be completely correct.

Upon hearing this conclusion, the clerk chuckled awkwardly. He only occasionally stole glances at Shen Shanshui, who remained silent throughout.

Although the young Taoist priest didn't reveal any trace of cultivation, the official always felt a subtle sense of pressure whenever the priest's gaze swept over him. This was a keen sense he had developed over many years of dealing with various cultivators in the official residence.

However, seeing that the other party either didn't notice or didn't want to get involved, he felt relieved.

He did indeed know the whole story of the Li family's daughter's "disappearance." Having spent years dealing with unaffiliated cultivators in the official residence, no one knew more about the various factions in Qingyang County than him.

The Immortal Dynasty set up official residences for independent cultivators, but there are always some people with wicked intentions who still do as they please.

These people only sought money and didn't harm anyone; they were also extremely clean in their dealings. Therefore, as long as things didn't go too far, officials often turned a blind eye, fearing they would get into trouble.

[Seeking a high-level cultivator to guide my son's Qi into his body.]

Regardless of success or failure, reaching the seventh level of Qi Refining rewards fifty low-grade spirit stones, the eighth level one hundred, and the ninth level one hundred and fifty. Refining to perfection rewards five hundred spirit stones.

If you can help my son embark on cultivation, I will reward him with five hundred high-grade spirit stones!

—Tangjia Village, Qingyang County

"I really want to ask him, how exactly are you so rich?"

Upon seeing the bounty, Shen Shanshui couldn't help but marvel.

Highly skilled cultivators can indeed help ordinary people without talent to draw qi into their bodies and forcibly cross the threshold of cultivation.

However, doing so would be completely counterproductive. Without the opportunity to reverse one's aptitude, it would still be difficult to go far in the future.

How much would a Foundation Establishment cultivator give for helping? He's desperately short of spirit stones right now.

I doubt that in the entire Jiangnan Prefecture, apart from Shen Shanshui, there would be no other Foundation Establishment stage expert who would stoop so low as to do something so forceful for a few spirit stones.

There's nothing we can do; this is how a poor Foundation Establishment cultivator is.

"Are you interested in this?" The clerk casually switched to a more respectful form of address.

"With so many spirit stones, it's hard not to be interested."

Shen Shanshui has always been honest and never hides his desire for spirit stones.

"Tang Yan, the young master of the Tang family, has aspired to cultivate since childhood. Unfortunately, he has very poor talent and has not been able to draw qi into his body until now."

If your cultivation level is sufficient, you might as well give it a try. Several people have already gone before, and although they didn't succeed, the host family was still very generous with the spirit stones they received.

"Tang Yan, is that the person on stage just now?"

Not long after the incident, Shen Lingxi immediately thought of that poor rich man.

"Senior brother, why don't we give it a try? We'll get spirit stones anyway."

"We can give it a try." Shen Shanshui didn't hesitate much; such an easy opportunity to earn spirit stones was rare.

The official was shocked. He actually accepted! So his feeling earlier was right; this young Taoist priest in front of him was at least at the seventh level of Qi Refining!

"Then I will first write the official residence certificate for the two of you."

……

……

Qingyang City, Tang Mansion.

The mansion boasts grand gates and expansive grounds, with burly guards patrolling throughout, many of whom exude faint fluctuations of cultivation power.

Tang Xiao's face showed melancholy.

The servants just carried his unconscious son back to the mansion, which gave Tang Xiao quite a fright.

He lost his wife in middle age and only had one son. What use would his vast fortune be if something happened to him?

"Ugh!"

"Master Tang, please don't sigh. I will personally try it on your son later."

If your son is capable of cultivation, our Langya Sword Pavilion can make an exception and recruit Young Master Tang.

The cultivation world is teeming with treasures, and I've even heard of some extraordinary opportunities that can transform the mundane into the miraculous. As long as one can cultivate, there's a chance to compete for them.

An elderly man with white hair, claiming to be from Langya Sword Pavilion, stood in the hall, stroking his beard, exuding an air of otherworldly elegance and the appearance of a highly accomplished Taoist master.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Immortal Master."

Tang Xiao repeatedly clasped his hands in thanks, but he didn't hold much hope in his heart, as he had suffered too many setbacks over the years.

"I dare not accept the title of Immortal Master. I have now completed the Qi Refining process, and I may never be able to establish my foundation in this lifetime. I am merely an outsider."

The white-haired old man sighed repeatedly, "If you don't enter this gate, how will you know how difficult the path of cultivation is?"

……