After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

As they spoke, the two arrived in front of Wanbaoge.

Lin Zhixu looked up and couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

The name Wanbaoge might lead you to believe it's a pavilion, but once you see it, you'll discover that it's actually a tower-shaped building.

The Wanbao Pavilion soars into the clouds, with at least a hundred floors at a glance, and its entire body shimmers with a pale golden spiritual light.

The tower is covered with intricate runes that shimmer in the sunlight, and one can feel a powerful yet restrained spiritual energy simply by standing in front of it.

He suddenly remembered the day he became an apprentice, when Yu Linzhou casually tossed him a token and said that he could take whatever he wanted from Wanbaoge.

After that, one thing after another happened, and I haven't had time to come and check on it.

Seeing him gazing up in awe, Jiang Che chuckled, "Isn't it spectacular? I stood here for ages the first time I came. Let's go, the mission reception area is in the lobby on the first floor."

Once inside the hall, I realized there were a lot of people.

Disciples came and went in a constant stream, some gathering in twos and threes in front of the notice board to discuss in hushed tones, others hurrying to the jade counter to hand over their task vouchers, and still others happily counting their rewards after handing in their tasks.

Although there were many people, everything was well-organized.

The steward disciples, dressed in their managerial robes, stood behind the counter, deftly checking task vouchers and distributing rewards.

The most eye-catching thing is the huge notice wall directly opposite the hall. The entire wall is a complete jade disc of spiritual light, densely covered with countless mission tokens.

Arranged into three levels—Heaven, Earth, and Man—with colors ranging from dark to light, they resemble a flowing star map when viewed from afar.

The smaller jade discs next to them displayed newly released mission information, and disciples would occasionally squeeze to the front to look up and examine them closely, then reach out and pluck a suitable one.

Lin Zhixu had a dazed feeling that he was in a technological age.

This jade disc is almost like some kind of otherworldly version of an intelligent announcement system.

He thought to himself, "Indeed, no matter what world you're in, the wisdom of the people is boundless."

Jiang Che patted his shoulder: "I'll go hand in my mission first. You can wander around by yourself. If you see a suitable token, just take it off and ask at the counter over there."

Lin Zhixu nodded, and after everyone had walked away, he walked to the huge mission wall and looked up to examine it closely.

After looking at it for a long time, the tasks were so numerous that his eyes were blurry.

He casually picked one off the wall and glanced at it.

It's a personal-level quest. Go to a place called Qingxi Village to investigate the reason why the crops withered. The reward is ten low-grade spirit stones.

Lin Zhixu: "..." So few.

It is truly easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality

He actually felt that ten low-grade spirit stones were too few one day.

When he first arrived, he didn't even have a dozen taels of silver on him. He ended up paying for his meals with the spirit stones that Yu Linzhou had given him.

In total, two low-grade spirit stones are enough for a good meal, and ten low-grade spirit stones are really not a small amount for an ordinary disciple.

After all, the tasks are quite simple, and it's easy to accumulate small amounts into a large sum.

Just as Lin Zhixu reached the counter, Jiang Che finished handing in his task. Turning around and seeing the token in Lin Zhixu's hand, he exclaimed in surprise, "You've already made your choice?"

Lin Zhixu nodded and handed him the token.

Jiang Che glanced at it and nodded, saying, "This is good. Although investigation-type missions don't pay much, they are safe and suitable for first-timers to practice."

He then handed the token to the middle-aged cultivator behind the counter, saying, "Senior brother, please take a look. This is his first time accepting a mission."

The middle-aged cultivator took the token, glanced at it, and said, "You're really lucky. This task was just submitted a couple of days ago. This year, the crops in Qingxi Village are not thriving; the yield is more than 30% lower than in previous years."

"Actually, there were also reduced yields in other places, but it was most severe in Qingxi Village. The local government officials investigated for half a month but couldn't find the cause, so they turned to us."

"All you need to do is investigate the cause and report back truthfully, and that's it. If they need more manpower to handle it later, that's a separate task, and the pay will be different."

Lin Zhixu nodded: "Understood, I'll take this task."

The middle-aged cultivator then asked him to sign his name on the token, and with a flash of spiritual light at his fingertips, he recorded the information into the jade disc.

He instructed, "Remember to keep the token with you at all times. We'll sense if anything unexpected happens. Be careful during the investigation; sometimes things in the mortal world seem simple, but there might be something else behind them."

Lin Zhixu put away the token and nodded his thanks.

Perhaps seeing that Lin Zhixu was young and it was his first mission, he offered a word of advice: "It's inevitable that you lack experience on your first mission. Do you want to find someone to go with you? But then you'll have to share some of the reward."

"However, Wanbaoge doesn't care about that; you can discuss and allocate the resources yourselves. But I can ask around to see if anyone is willing to form a team."

Lin Zhixu thought about it and still refused.

The person who is willing to organize such a simple task must not have a high level of cultivation.

If something really goes wrong, who knows who will help whom?

The middle-aged cultivator nodded and said no more.

He simply offered a dutiful reminder; whether or not the other person was willing to accept it was their own business.

The two strolled around Wanbaoge, and Jiang Che also accepted a mission.

However, the tasks he took on were much more difficult than those Lin Zhixu's.

He was going to slay a demonic beast and extract its essence and blood.

Jiang Che rarely takes on casual missions anymore. He is currently at the fifth level of the Foundation Establishment stage and is stuck in a bottleneck period, having not made a breakthrough for a long time.

Therefore, the only way to break through is through battle.

The two left Wanbaoge and said goodbye at the mountain gate.

Jiang Che flew north on his sword, and his figure quickly disappeared into the clouds.

Lin Zhixu then flew south on his sword, heading towards the mortal realm below the mountain.

……

Qingxi Village is nestled between two low mountains. From the air, it looks like there are only twenty or thirty households. A small stream meanders through the fields in front of the village.

Logically speaking, with its fertile terrain and favorable weather, the yield reduction should not be this severe.

Lin Zhixu put away his flying sword outside the village and did not rush into the village. Instead, he first walked around the ridges of the fields.

It was early autumn, but the rice in the fields was sparse, most of it had withered and turned yellow, with the ears of rice drooping and the grains shriveled like empty shells.

He squatted down and pinched a handful of soil. The soil was loose, moist, and not lacking in water.

I turned over a few more dead leaves and examined them carefully. The leaves were very clean, and there wasn't even a single common aphid in sight.

No matter how meticulously crops are cared for, there should always be some signs of insect bites, but there's nothing here, as if the crops themselves have given up on survival.

Just then, an old man carrying a hoe walked up from the other side of the field. Seeing him squatting by the field, the old man called out from afar, "Who are you? What are you doing in my field?"

Lin Zhixu stood up and dusted off his hands: "Old man, I was sent by the government to check on the crops."

As the old man approached, he realized that the man was indeed no ordinary person and became much more respectful.

He sighed and said, "It's a waste of time. Two or three groups of people have come before us, but they haven't found anything."

"This year there were no pests or floods. We farmers rely on the land for our livelihood, and we take good care of it. We thought that with the autumn harvest approaching, we could sell the grain and have a good New Year. Who would have thought it would turn out like this?"

The old man looked distressed: "It's probably because God doesn't give us food."