Cultivation begins with planting techniques

During times of conflict, the Heavenly Sword Sect has a long history of missions to join the front lines of conflict. They are usually deployed to a certain battlefront, where they are assigned further tasks and their sect contributions are distributed based on their performance.

Those who do not hold a long-term position will usually be directly recruited or summoned by the sect.

Given Li Ye's status, accepting such a mission would naturally not be a problem for him.

But as he accepted the task under the steward's surprised gaze, before he could even leave, three people came to him.

"I've long admired Junior Brother Li's reputation, but I never expected to meet him here!"

The burly, bearded young man who was leading the group stepped forward and said with a smile, "I am Lü Jinyang, this is Junior Brother Cheng Linjue, and this is Junior Sister Zhuo Xuan..."

"Greetings, senior brothers and sisters."

Li Ye cupped his hands in greeting, a hint of amusement appearing in his eyes.

The arrival of these three was truly a stroke of luck.

According to what he learned in his spare time, all three of them were disciples of the sect's elders.

If nothing unexpected happens, their presence here should be a special arrangement sent by the sect leader to accompany him and reduce the risks.

A thought flashed through his mind, and then he heard Lü Jinyang continue,
"It just so happens that we also intend to go and slay the enemy to hone our skills. Why don't we travel together?"

Li Ye glanced at him, then at Zhuo Xuan and Cheng Linjue behind him.

Zhuo Xuan, with a smile and curiosity, was dressed in a rather traditional female swordsman's attire, her clothes fluttering, exuding a heroic air.

When Cheng Linjue looked at Li Ye, he maintained a calm expression, but Li Ye clearly noticed that he was somewhat nervous.

I've never had any interaction with him before, and I have no idea why he's so nervous...

Li Ye inwardly scoffed, but nodded and smiled without hesitation.
"What a coincidence! Then I, Li, shall humbly accept your offer!"

Having guessed that they were there on orders from the sect leader, Li Ye naturally wouldn't refuse.

Otherwise, if there are too many arguments, it might lead to the exposure of the sect leader behind the scenes, causing him to simply keep him inside the sect and not allow him to go out easily.

Let's agree to this in advance and make further arrangements when we arrive at the destination.

Seeing that Li Ye agreed so readily, a hint of surprise flashed in Lü Jinyang's eyes, but he also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

They came under the personal orders of the sect leader, but they couldn't reveal themselves directly to Li Ye. Since he trusted them, it was best to avoid any trouble.

Without wasting any time, Lü Jinyang and the other two stepped forward to accept the mission and left the mountain gate with Li Ye, heading towards the location indicated by the mission.

………………

Although the battle is fierce, the Heavenly Sword Sect will not suffer any losses with its offensive methods.

Within their own sphere of influence, they were almost unaffected by the demonic cultivators. At most, a few would occasionally emerge and cause some trouble, but these would be quickly resolved.

The journey to the front lines was uneventful, and the four of them got to know each other better along the way.

A few days later, they arrived at a campsite.

As soon as you approach, a chilling aura hits you, and most of the cultivators walking around are filled with a murderous aura, with a sharp intent swirling around them.

A small number of people were injured and showed signs of being tainted by blood evil or having their bodies invaded by malevolent energy.

What Li Ye found even more interesting was that a few Pure Spirit Willows had also been planted in this very place, but they were shrouded in an array, which served as a base point to optimize the quality of spiritual energy in the camp.

At a glance, the formation seems to have a self-destruct function, presumably to prevent the leakage of such important spiritual objects should there be a possibility of it being breached.

As the cultivators came and went, many of them immediately changed their expressions and showed surprise upon seeing Li Ye and his group.

Their gazes lingered on Li Ye's face for a moment longer than usual. Some even took the initiative to greet him with a bow, saying, "Greetings, Master Li!"

"Li Zhenchuan's cultivation of the Pure Spirit Willow has brought blessings upon us all; he has truly done something unprecedented and unparalleled..."

"With this spiritual plant, my bottleneck has loosened considerably. If Master Li has any questions, please feel free to ask me..."

Many simply greeted him, while a few offered numerous words of praise, seemingly with an intention to curry favor.

Li Ye responded to each of them, not caring much about it.

Those who merely offer a greeting need not be taken too seriously, but those who intentionally try to curry favor are generally those who want to use his identity to achieve certain goals.

Upon seeing these individuals, Lü Jinyang suddenly spoke:
"Junior Brother Li, please be careful in your judgment. Although our sect has always advocated fighting with swords, there are ultimately some weaklings who lack willpower and have no other skills to contribute to the sect..."

"They were summoned by their sects, and fearing death at the hands of demonic cultivators, they are unwilling to wield swords and kill enemies. Their intention to befriend someone like you might be to use your identity to leave the front lines..."

"Be careful not to be used by these people!"

As he said this, a hint of disgust and disdain appeared on his face, clearly showing his contempt for those who avoided the war.

Li Ye's gaze swept across his face.

Lu Jinyang was indeed highly talented and was accepted by the elders as soon as he entered the sect.

As an elder's disciple, he has had a smooth and successful cultivation journey so far. He has never paid attention to the struggles of less skilled cultivators and does not understand their actions in order to cultivate and survive.

Cheng Linjue and Zhuo Xuan, who were following behind him, nodded subconsciously, showing some approval.

However, Li Ye did not come here to relieve suffering, so he naturally did not have the time to deal with these matters.

After hearing this, he casually replied, "Thank you for reminding me, Senior Brother Lü. I will take note."

As they walked and talked, Lü Jinyang showed no intention of hiding anything, so their conversation naturally reached the ears of the nearby cultivators.

This immediately changed the expressions of some people, whose eyes flickered as they watched them leave.

The four of them went straight to the center of the camp, registered their identities, were assigned accommodations, and then chose their missions.

“Junior Brother Li, there just happens to be a mission that requires us to work together to eliminate evil cultivators. Even if we split the rewards equally, it would still be a much more lucrative mission than others. Why don’t we form a team first to earn more contribution points?”

Lu Jinyang, who had come with a mission from the sect leader, immediately asked.

"Let's do as you say, senior brother."

Li Ye nodded.

He could use this mission to subtly demonstrate his strength, letting the three know what he was capable of, so that they wouldn't press him further when he mentioned acting on his own later.

Although he was somewhat eager to improve his cultivation, his main body had not yet broken through to the Nascent Soul stage, so he didn't need to rush.

It's fine to play along with them.

"Excellent!" Lü Jinyang nodded in satisfaction.

"I've heard that Junior Brother Li cultivates the Longevity Sword Manual, so we don't need to worry about recovering from our injuries..."

Zhuo Xuan chuckled softly.

Only Cheng Linjue felt helpless.

In the past, he regarded Li Ye as a rival among the younger generation who could compete with him. However, he found that after planting trees for a few years, he became the true disciple he had always dreamed of by cultivating spiritual plants. He no longer had any thoughts of competing with him.

But now he was secretly tasked with training and protecting Li Ye during his travels. This disparity in their status left him with mixed feelings. (End of Chapter)