The Jade Moon Market, with its lingering scent of lotus and the hum of bartered secrets, faded behind them. Wang Jian and Princess Yue Lingshan, now both solid Sixth Stage Qi Condensation cultivators, their storage pouch significantly heavier with spirit stones and raw alchemical ingredients, turned their attention to a more mundane, yet necessary, task: completing their sect missions.
'Can't just vanish indefinitely,' Wang Jian mused as they activated their Flying Leaves, soaring into the vast, blue sky. 'Need to maintain the facade of diligent outer sect disciples. Besides, a completed mission, however trivial, adds to our sect record. Useful for avoiding unnecessary scrutiny later.'
Their missions were, by cultivator standards, laughably simple. Wang Jian's was to survey the Western Foothills for 'unusual beast activity' and map local flora. Princess Yue Lingshan's was to deliver a sealed scroll to the Cloud Mist Monastery.
