As soon as he entered the Quiet Room, Manager Zhang waved his sleeves and four bronze oil lamps flickered to life. He seated himself and gestured for Gu An to sit as well.
"Gu An, I heard from Xiao Song that you're looking for a task involving a spirit beast farm?"
"Why not just join Zhang Song on the Demon Hunting Team?"
Manager Zhang took a light sip of tea and went straight to the point.
Gu An answered respectfully, "Manager Zhang, you might not know—my cultivation is in the Water Element Technique, and my spell skill isn't very refined. For hunting demons, no one would take me."
"Fortunately, I spent three years working at the spirit chicken farm, so I've got some experience. I thought it better to take on a spirit beast raising task."
Manager Zhang sipped his tea again, thinking to himself: This Gu An has three spirit roots, cultivates diligently, and Xiao Song said he reached the fourth layer of Qi Refining in less than a month. Impressive!
He's also close to Xiao Song… fine, I'll help him out.
"Hmm, you've got patience, but spirit beast raising tasks are always highly sought after," he said aloud. "Near the sect, forget it. The well-paying ones are only in remote spirit lands. I'll see what I can find."
His spiritual sense probed the jade slips, scanning carefully. Gu An stood quietly nearby, watching eagerly.
"Found it." After a quarter-hour, Zhang raised his head and rubbed his eyes, looking a little tired.
"I've picked three tasks for you. Let me explain."
First, raise spirit chickens twenty li outside Yunwu Market—five spirit stones per month. There's a Rainbow-Feather Chicken farm there, which you're already familiar with.
"Earlier, the sect had withdrawn due to a demon disturbance, but now that it's settled, the task is available again."
"The advantage is that all the equipment is ready—just a quick setup, and aside from the sect's required numbers, you don't need to worry. Yunwu Market's Qingyun Tower will reopen, and you can sell the surplus."
"The downside is the spiritual vein is small and the spiritual energy sparse. With your daily cultivation, you could only raise sixty to seventy chickens, and it's not exactly safe—demon outbreaks might occur again."
Gu An frowned slightly but didn't comment.
Second, be stationed in Hei Yan County of Yun Kingdom—six spirit stones per month. This task involves protecting mortals and handling demons or rogue cultivators.
"Recently, a first-rank mid-grade spiritual vein was discovered there, forming a small spirit lake. Ideal for cultivation and raising spirit fish."
"Since the mission is primarily for stationing, the lake is extra—so everything you gain is yours."
"However, it's undeveloped land. You'll need to provide everything yourself initially. After three years, the task might split in two, requiring renegotiation."
Gu An's eyes lit up. During Zhang's tea sip, he quickly asked, "The lake—does the sect allow its use? After all, this is a stationing mission."
"Nothing against it. It's standard procedure," Zhang tapped the table and continued.
Third, in Chen Kingdom, there's a Snake Valley hiring. You only need to manage spirit snakes well, and the reward is high—ten spirit stones per month.
"The downside is you're under someone else's command, which is restrictive. Lots of venomous snakes, dangerous work, and not much extra benefit."
Gu An lowered his head to think carefully, while Zhang sipped his tea leisurely.
Yunwu Market: Too risky—frequent demon outbreaks. He just wants a quiet place to raise spirit beasts and cultivate.
Snake Valley: Reward is high, but under someone else's supervision. [Spirit Source Feedback] wouldn't recognize the effort. And even if it did, his cultivation would be obvious to them—no good.
Hei Yan County: Perfect. Solo work, water-element vein suits his cultivation, all spirit stones are his, and near his hometown Blackstone City.
"I've decided—I'll take the stationing task in Hei Yan County," Gu An said firmly.
"Alright, give me your sect token and I'll register it," Zhang said, not objecting. After all, he had already weighed the pros and cons and found all three options reasonable.
Gu An took his sect token from his storage bag, holding it with both hands and handing it over.
Zhang drew a line with his own sect token across it and tossed it back.
"This journey to Yun Kingdom is long and inconvenient. I'll give you an advance—half a year's pay. Here are thirty-six spirit stones. Future payments can be collected at Yun Kingdom's royal city, once a year."
He pulled the stones from a golden-threaded storage bag—the sect issued these, large capacity, tied to position, not person. Upon leaving office, the bag must be returned.
"I am deeply grateful for this favor. I will repay it in time," Gu An said, bowing as he accepted the stones. Not just for the payment, but because this task wasn't given by pulling strings—he could finally utilize [Spirit Source Feedback].
A smile appeared on Zhang's face. "No need for thanks. I've heard Zhang Song praise you endlessly. Seeing you in person now, he wasn't lying."
Gu An nodded. "I'm also grateful to Brother Song for looking out for me."
Zhang chuckled, sipping his tea—this time to bid farewell.
Gu An said nothing more, bowed once again, and left.
Back at his small courtyard, he sat under the apricot tree, twirling a few leaves between his fingers, organizing his thoughts.
The Hei Yan County task was in seven days, 1,800 li away. Buying a fast horse would get him there in three days—no rush.
First, he needed to buy supplies, especially spirit fish fry. The lake is for raising fish, but the sect doesn't provide them, so he must choose carefully.
He also needed some mortal medicines—strengthening and longevity types—for his parents.
And a spell tool—his combat ability was still weak; he didn't want to be kicked to death.
So many things! Gu An worried whether the spirit stones would be enough. He counted:
41 spirit stones
One standard semi-spell sword issued by Qingyuan Sect
Three sets of standard disciple robes (plus one worn)
17 ordinary apricots
Various jars and containers, none of which were spirit items
Gu An felt a pang of despair. Everything required spirit stones—tools, formations, spells… He sighed. Better to wait a few years, first priority: fish fry!