After binding with a genius, I became an immortal by exploiting loopholes.

Chapter 126 Rewards

The client explicitly mentioned "the person who sabotaged the plan"—someone who didn't know the specifics of the plan but knew the target was someone who had broken something important.

As for who the middleman was, and who was above him, this person only had a vague outline of a gray robe in his memory—a person who always wore a hood, whose voice was processed by spiritual power, making it impossible to even distinguish his gender.

All communication channels were cut off after the mission was launched.

The trail went completely cold at this point.

When Elder Han reported the results of the soul search to Palace Master Su Mingyuan, he summarized it with eight words: "Shrewd and meticulous in his actions, leaving no room for error."

Su Mingyuan sat behind his desk, on which lay Elder Han's soul-searching records and the autopsy report of the attacker.

The candlelight flickered, casting his shadow on the wall, which swayed twice.

"Send people deep into the sect's territory to target a spirit plant grower on a farm."

Su Mingyuan slowly spoke, "The other party knows the layout, personnel, and daily routine of Qingmu Manor like the back of their hand, and even knows the location of the protective spirit field. It would be impossible to do this without an inside agent."

Elder Zheng nodded: "The female cultivator named Han Shuang was found in the valley, rescued and brought back to the manor to recuperate. Then, she released a sleeping potion under the cover of night. The whole process was meticulously planned and cannot be done by an ordinary rogue cultivator."

Su Mingyuan remained silent for a long time.

"Strengthen security at all villages, especially Qingmu Village. The Hall of Affairs will secretly send people to guard the perimeter of Qingmu Village."

He looked at Elder Zheng, "In addition, that Lu Qingchen's cultivation level is not high, but he has made meritorious contributions twice."

"This time, he remained conscious even amidst a sleeping incense that had knocked out even Foundation Establishment cultivators, and managed to revive Zhao Demao, helping to hold off five invading enemies."

"The Dream-Sinking Incense, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the early stages couldn't withstand its allure. How did a mere Qi Refining Level 2 cultivator manage to block it?"

He remained silent for a moment.

"Let him come to see me."

Lu Qingchen was summoned to the quiet room three days later.

He hesitated for a moment before going—Su Mingyuan was a Spirit Mansion True Person, and he wasn't sure if the first level of the Concealing Spirit Technique could hide from the detection of a Spirit Mansion Realm expert.

Rather than having your abilities exposed and then having to explain, it's better to proactively unleash your cultivation.

Su Mingyuan sat behind the desk, not displaying the imposing aura of a palace master, but simply asked him to sit down opposite him and pushed a wooden box in front of him.

His gaze lingered on Lu Qingchen for a moment, then he suddenly asked a question that seemed unrelated to the main topic.

"When did you break through to the third level of Qi Refining?"

"Just a short while ago."

Lu Qingchen replied, "At Qingmu Manor, I deal with spiritual plants every day and cultivate the 'Qingmu Spiritual Essence Technique' to condense pure energy using the vitality of plants. My progress is faster than when I was in the sect."

Su Mingyuan nodded slightly and did not ask any further questions.

It's not uncommon for a cultivator to grow faster in a manor than in a sect—the "Azure Wood Spiritual Essence Technique" is a cultivation method meant to be practiced in spiritual fields, surrounded by plants and trees, so naturally, the cultivation speed is faster than sitting quietly in a meditation room.

He had seen many cultivators who broke through to the top in the manor, and Lu Qingchen's speed was only considered above average, not particularly outstanding.

"You've done another great service this time. The master of the manor was drugged, and you were the one who woke him up. The attackers were targeting you, but you didn't panic. Instead, you helped the manor hold them off."

Su Mingyuan's voice was not loud.

"Here are some items that the Spirit Plant Hall is rewarding you with. They are all quite practical: spirit stones, pills, and a protective talisman. Wearing it can withstand a full-force attack from a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It can only be used once."

Lu Qingchen accepted the wooden box with both hands and bowed respectfully.

The wooden box felt slightly heavy in his hand. He opened it and glanced inside—there were three hundred spirit stones, a bottle of pills, and the quality of the pills was no worse than the Qi-Nourishing Pill from last time. At the bottom was a pale golden talisman, which was slightly warm to the touch and had a faint flow of spiritual energy.

This time the reward is much more generous than the last one, especially the talisman, which can save your life in a critical moment.

He put the wooden box into his storage bag and looked up at Su Mingyuan again.

Su Mingyuan scrutinized him for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Even the early Foundation Establishment stage cultivator couldn't withstand Chen Mengxiang's power. How did you manage to stay conscious?"

Lu Qingchen remained expressionless. He knew before he came that someone would ask this question sooner or later, and he had already prepared his answer.

"Reporting to the Palace Master, this disciple was not in the room at the time."

"Not inside?"

"Yes."

Lu Qingchen spoke frankly, "After I finished cultivating that night, I felt uneasy, so I went to the Spirit Protection Field to check on the growth of those Vermilion Fruit seedlings."

"After staying inside for a while, when I came out, I smelled a very faint fragrance in the air. I immediately sensed something was wrong, so I retreated back into the protective spirit field and used the formation to isolate myself from the outside world."

"After the fragrance dissipated, the disciple came out and found that everyone in the manor was unconscious, so he hurried to find the manor lord."

""

Su Mingyuan nodded slightly after listening.

Although the protective array of the spirit field is only a low-grade first-order array, it is indeed somewhat effective in isolating the poisonous miasma and fog from the outside world.

This explanation is reasonable.

"Good alertness."

Su Mingyuan didn't press further, but simply offered a light compliment.

Do you know why those people wanted to arrest you?

Lu Qingchen paused for a moment, then answered truthfully, "Because my spirit rice ruined their plans."

Su Mingyuan nodded.

He gained a deeper understanding of this young plant grower—calm, alert, neither arrogant nor humble, and well-informed.

Such people are worth nurturing.

He pondered for a moment, then said slowly, "Lu Qingchen, you have been a disciple for less than a year. Although your cultivation level is not high, your deeds have already made many people remember your name. Cultivation can be improved slowly, but character is something that cannot be built up with spirit stones."

He paused for a moment: "Cultivate diligently and reach Foundation Establishment as soon as possible. The sect will pave the way for you after Foundation Establishment."

Lu Qingchen bowed respectfully and left the quiet room.

As he walked down the corridor, he touched the storage bag at his waist; the wooden box inside seemed to be slightly warm.

Zhou Yuandao called out to him at the corner of the corridor, and it's unclear how long he had been waiting there.

"Come with me."

Zhou Yuandao said.

The two entered the meditation room one after the other. Zhou Yuandao closed the door, turned around and looked at him, and after a moment of silence, he spoke: "I heard that you remained conscious while you were in the incense."

Lu Qingchen remained silent.

"They also saved Zhao Demao."

Lu Qingchen still did not respond.

He didn't know what the cheap master wanted to say, so he simply waited for him to finish speaking.

Zhou Yuandao did not press the matter further.

He sat down behind the desk, remained silent for a long time, and then slowly said, "I have been preparing for the breakthrough to the Spiritual Mansion recently, which has taken a lot of effort. I have indeed neglected to teach you, but I am very surprised that you did well this time."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I only accepted you as a disciple before because of Senior Brother Sun. But these past few times, you've really impressed me."

Zhou Yuandao placed something on the table and pushed it over.