Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

Ye Xuan recognized the voice outside the door; it was the same formal disciple he had seen when he first entered the mountain gate this morning.

In Qian San's memory, one of them was named Fang Zhengge, and he was a drinking buddy.

But what does this have to do with Zhao Wu? Or rather, why would someone he has no connection with suddenly come knocking on his door?

He first extended his senses outside the door and saw Fang Zhengge with his ear pressed against the crack in the door, waiting quietly. He didn't seem to be in a hurry, as if he knew there was someone inside.

"They're here."

Ye Xuan got up and got out of bed, his steps unhurried. He knew in advance that the environment of this so-called Holy Sect was not friendly.

He pushed open the wooden door and calmly looked at Fang Zhengge.

A smile spread across the other person's face as they stepped into the room first. Their gaze swept over the simple furnishings, and when it landed on Ye Xuan, their eyes flickered.

"Junior Brother Zhao, I heard you've returned, so I came to see you."

Fang Zhengge sat down at the stone table by himself. He had been following Ye Xuan since he finished his shift this morning, so how could he not know that his junior brother had just returned from the Zhaixing Hall?

"Qian San... is truly a pity."

But it's truly remarkable that you returned from the wasteland alone, successfully bringing back an earth dragon.

Seeing that Fang Zhengge was still beating around the bush, Ye Xuan didn't respond.

Zhao Wusheng was not good with words, so his silence at this moment seemed quite natural.

Fang Zhengge, seeing that he remained silent, did not mind and continued:

"Junior brother, to be honest, I admire your successful return from the wasteland."

That godforsaken place—even many formal disciples who go there, if they're unlucky, will probably end up empty-handed.

Fang Zhengge tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his tone still unhurried, and he was still saying some polite words.

Ye Xuan couldn't help but raise his hand to interrupt him, "Senior brother, you've come all this way today, is there something you need?"

He paused, observing Ye Xuan's expression, before finally revealing the true purpose of his trip.

"Oh dear, your senior brother saw that you have very few merit points left, so he came here specifically to point you in the right direction."

"A clear path?"

Fang Zhengge stood up, walked to Ye Xuan's side, and patted him on the shoulder. "That's right, Minglu!"

"My senior brother accepted a mission from the Star-Picking Hall. It's not very difficult, but the merit points are generous."

As he spoke, he took out a wooden plaque from his pocket and handed it to Ye Xuan.

"Here are the mission details; please take a look."

Ye Xuan took the wooden plaque and probed it with his spiritual energy. A simple passage of text appeared—

[Class B Quest: Hunt down a Tier 3 Earth Dragon, one Gold Crystal, reward 100 Merit Points]

[Team Leader: Fang Zhengge]

On the back of the wooden sign was a marked map, indicating three chances.

"We'll depart the day after tomorrow, and the merit points will be split 30/70. How does that sound?"

Realizing that Ye Xuan had just finished reading, Fang Zhengge couldn't wait any longer.

This time, Ye Xuan wasn't in a hurry. He was thinking about the matter. According to his current understanding, the tasks of the Star-Picking Hall were divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D, with the difficulty decreasing from high to low.

The "Bing" character is usually taken by formal outer disciples. Of course, sometimes there are also arrogant, registered disciples who dare to risk their lives to try it.

Apart from missions of Grade A and above, disciples can accept them entirely voluntarily... The difficulty of each mission is well controlled, so there is no question of competition.

"Why is my senior brother looking for me?"

The difficulty of the task is another matter, but at least it wasn't deliberately made difficult in terms of rules and regulations, which is quite rare.

But neither he nor Zhao Wu knew Fang Zhengge, so how could good things possibly fall into his lap?

"You went to the wilderness with Qian San, he died, but you came back alive. You must have some skills. Your senior brother values ​​you."

Ye Xuan put away the wooden plaque, but returned it to Fang Zhengge.

"Forget it, senior brother, with my cultivation level, I'd only be in the way."

His tone was indifferent. Ye Xuan seemed to have the desire but not the courage to take advantage of this opportunity to mentor a newcomer, which was practically a free opportunity to earn merit points.

"No way, would your senior brother harm you?"

I heard you didn't pass your first test, so this is good experience... In that case, let's split the profits 50/50!

Hearing Fang Zhengge say this, Ye Xuan finally nodded.

"good!"

Fang Zhengge's smile widened. "See you the day after tomorrow. Remember, at Chenshi (7-9 AM), at the outer sect's main gate."

After saying that, he turned and left, leaving Ye Xuan a manual of cultivation techniques before he left.

He said he bought it from the library for a small amount of money, but it was of no use to him, so he gave it to him to practice with...

Ye Xuan sat back down on the wooden couch, closed his eyes, and only after confirming that the other person had gone far away did he begin to recall the information about Fang Zhengge from Zhao Wu and Qian San's memories.

Fang Zhengge, Foundation Establishment Completed, is a formal outer disciple.

Known for his "warm-heartedness" in the outer sect, he often helps newcomers to the sect and talks about mutual help all the time.

However, Qian San once complained after drinking that Fang Zhengge actually had ulterior motives and that the tasks he introduced were very strange. Several disciples who traveled with him either died outside or did not have a smooth cultivation journey afterward.

"Looks like they've got their eyes on me."

Ye Xuan opened his eyes, and a flash of blue and white light appeared in his pupils.

He went to the stone table, opened Zhao Wu's miscellaneous notes, and slowly ran his fingers across the pages.

"On the seventh day of the fourth month, I only had six merit points left. Today, Senior Brother Fang came to visit me and invited me to carry out a mission together the day after tomorrow."

Quietly writing down the last word, Ye Xuan closed the notebook and looked out the window.

The sun had risen high in the sky. On the mountain path outside the cave, disciples occasionally hurried by. No one spoke; only the sound of their footsteps echoed on the stone steps.

In this Holy Sect where everything requires merit points, the pace of life is no slower than the 996 work schedule in big cities.

"The day after tomorrow... there's still time."

Ye Xuan muttered to himself. He needed merit points to maintain his identity and avoid giving himself away, and he also needed more information about the changes in the Holy Sect and the Short-lived Realm.

In the realm of the Golden Core cultivator, one is virtually invincible in the short-lived world, but in the realm of the long-lived world, one must proceed with caution.

Although Fang Zhengge's mission is suspicious, it is also an opportunity.

As for the risks? He didn't care.

With the sun shining brightly, Ye Xuan decided to go for a walk, setting his sights on the dense forest outside the south gate.

After leaving the residence of the registered disciples, he roughly counted that there were eighty-three cave dwellings in total, and there were four more such places outside the Holy Sect.

Currently, there are no fewer than four hundred disciples registered as outer disciples of the Holy Sect. Higher-level formal disciples must have a cultivation level of at least Foundation Establishment Perfection and pass the sect's assessment in order to have a star added to their token.

Everything here is done without coercion. Anyone who can enter the Holy Sect, even if they are just a low-level registered disciple, is at least considered a long-lived person with good talent.

Despite the fierce competition here, countless people are still willing to join the Holy Sect, just to seek a breakthrough under these extremely harsh advancement rules, hoping for that vague opportunity to ask about immortality someday.

As he pondered, Ye Xuan quickened his pace, and two quarters of an hour later, he arrived at the dense forest outside the south gate.