Desolate Ancient Martial God

The entire Heavenly Secrets Hall was like a small city, complete with restaurants and various other facilities. Even martial arts techniques were sold here, though most were basic and of little note.

Xiao Yun made his way to the weapon shop.

“What do you need, sir?” the shop attendant asked eagerly, hurrying over to serve him.

“I want to buy a knife,” Xiao Yun replied.

“Please follow me, sir. We have some excellent blades inside.” The attendant’s enthusiasm was evident as he led Xiao Yun deeper into the shop, where numerous knives were displayed.

Xiao Yun glanced around but quickly shook his head. These knives were far too ordinary.

Noticing Xiao Yun’s disappointment, the attendant offered hurriedly, “Sir, these knives don’t meet your standards? Wait just a moment—I’ll bring something better!” He turned and disappeared into the back of the shop, soon returning with a long knife in hand.

The blade gleamed with an azure sheen. Xiao Yun immediately recognized the material—Hundred-refined fine iron. The craftsmanship was excellent, and the blade had impressive flexibility, marking it as a top-grade weapon among ordinary blades.

Of course, this was still not comparable to a spiritual weapon.

Spiritual weapons were incredibly rare, and those that could be found were prohibitively expensive, far beyond what ordinary martial artists could afford.

Xiao Yun weighed the blade in his hand and found it to his liking. “How much is this?” he asked.

“Twenty gold coins—no bargaining,” the attendant said firmly.

“That expensive?”

Xiao Yun frowned slightly, but in the end, he reluctantly took out twenty gold coins and handed them over.

Looking into his purse and seeing only six silver coins left, Xiao Yun sighed deeply. The path of martial arts required not only talent but also vast amounts of money. Without money, even a decent weapon was unattainable.

He sheathed the Hundred Refinement Iron Knife and turned to leave the store.

At that moment, a girl dressed in green approached him.

“Brother Xiao, why are you here?” The girl’s voice carried surprise as she recognized him.

“Long time no see, Sister Ye,” Xiao Yun replied with a smile.

The girl in green was Ye Ling. She had entered Heavenly Secrets Hall a year after Xiao Yun. In the past, during his travels and tasks, Xiao Yun had taken Ye Ling under his wing for practice several times, and they had developed a good relationship.

“Brother Xiao, you entered the inner sect, didn’t you? How is it there?” Ye Ling asked curiously.

“I’m no longer in the inner sect. I’ve returned to Heavenly Secrets Hall,” Xiao Yun replied calmly.

“Back to Heavenly Secrets Hall?”

Ye Ling blinked in surprise. Then, noticing Xiao Yun’s outer sect disciple attire, she was momentarily stunned.

When she felt the faint aura of Xiao Yun’s Qi Sea and noticed he was only at the seventh level of the Qi Refining realm, realization struck her.

Generally, inner sect disciples only returned to the outer sect’s eight halls after being defeated and crippled in a fight.

“Brother Xiao, who was so cruel? Who did this to you? Tell me—when I enter the inner sect, I’ll help you get revenge!” Ye Ling said indignantly.

“There’s no need. I’ll take care of it myself,” Xiao Yun said, shaking his head.

Ye Ling wanted to say more, but Xiao Yun’s firm expression made her hold back. She knew his personality well—he was incredibly stubborn. If he didn’t want to talk about something, no amount of pressing would make him reveal it.

“Brother Xiao, if you ever need my help, just ask,” Ye Ling said sincerely.

“Alright. I’ll come to you if I need anything,” Xiao Yun nodded.

Ye Ling opened her mouth to say something further, but a voice interrupted her from behind.

“Junior Sister Ye, our mission time is almost up. Don’t waste time here.”

Three outer sect disciples stood waiting nearby. Their cultivation was impressive—the weakest was at the eighth level of the Qi Refining realm, and the leader stood at the peak of the eighth level.

“Brother Huo Lian, our mission is short of one person. How about letting Brother Xiao come with us?” Ye Ling quickly asked the young man at the peak of the eighth level of Qi Refining.

The reward for this mission was substantial. If Xiao Yun could join them, he would earn a share, which could be exchanged for potions to speed up his recovery.

Huo Lian glanced at Xiao Yun coldly and scoffed, “Junior Sister Ye, if you want to find someone else, I won’t object. But if you want to bring along a useless person for this escort mission, I suggest you drop the idea.”

He sneered again, his tone dripping with disdain. “Xiao Yun, who once ranked fifth in Heavenly Secrets Hall, has now fallen to the point of needing charity. How pitiful and sad.”

“I don’t allow you to speak about Brother Xiao like that!” Ye Ling retorted angrily, defending Xiao Yun.

“Junior Sister Ye, forget it. You all go. I won’t join—I don’t want to drag you down,” Xiao Yun said calmly.

“If you don’t go, I’ll give up the mission,” Ye Ling declared stubbornly, gritting her teeth.

“Junior Sister Ye, don’t mess around! This is a silver-level mission. If you give it up, you might not get another chance!” Huo Lian said anxiously.

Heavenly Secrets Hall rarely issued missions, and even bronze-level missions—numbering just a few hundred per month—were snatched up immediately upon release. Silver-level missions were even more precious and rare.

Xiao Yun was surprised. He hadn’t expected Ye Ling to take a silver-level mission. In his three years in Heavenly Secrets Hall, he had only ever heard of four silver-level missions, all of which were claimed the moment they were announced.

“Senior Brother Huo, why don’t we let Senior Brother Xiao join us? We’re short one person anyway,” said a slightly plump outer sect disciple.

“That’s right. Adding one more person won’t make much difference. Even if he can’t contribute much, he won’t drag us down,” added another disciple, a slightly older woman.

Huo Lian snorted coldly, ignoring them, but his dissatisfaction was clear as he shot another glare at Xiao Yun.

“Brother Xiao, this is Senior Brother Li Feng and Senior Sister Feiyan,” Ye Ling introduced the two other outer sect disciples enthusiastically.

Xiao Yun nodded politely in response.

Li Feng and Bu Feiyan returned the gesture with slight nods of their own. Although it was their first time meeting Xiao Yun, they had heard of him.

Xiao Yun had once ranked fifth among the outer sect disciples of Heavenly Secrets Hall. Not long ago, he had entered the inner sect, but now he had been abandoned and forced to return to the outer sect.

Li Feng and Bu Feiyan couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for him.

“Brother Xiao, the silver-level mission I accepted is quite simple,” Ye Ling explained. “We only need to travel to Red Moon Camp, which is 100 miles away, and escort the prepared carriage and goods back to Heavenly Secrets Hall within 12 hours. The reward is 20,000 sect contribution points. Divided equally, each of us will get 4,000 contribution points.”

“20,000 contribution points? That much?”

Xiao Yun was taken aback. He had done bronze-level missions before, but the rewards for those were typically no more than 500 to 600 contribution points. Earning 2,000 to 3,000 points in an entire year had been an achievement even when he was ranked fifth in Heavenly Secrets Hall.

The rewards for silver-level missions were indeed generous. It was no wonder outer sect disciples competed fiercely to get them.

“However,” Ye Ling continued, “to get to and from Red Moon Camp, we have to pass through Yunwu Mountain. There are often demonized beasts there, so we must be cautious.”

“Why waste your breath on him?” Huo Lian interrupted impatiently. “If we run into trouble, he’ll be no help at all. He might even become a burden. Let’s stop wasting time and get moving.”

Though Huo Lian was arrogant and unpleasant, he was also the strongest among the group. If they encountered any real danger, they would have to rely on him to see the mission through.

For the sake of ensuring the mission’s success, Ye Ling and the others refrained from arguing with Huo Lian further.