Dual cultivation makes you stronger, everyone else is a prodigy, and I'm the only one slacking

The airship landed, and the valley entrance was right in front of us.

A deacon sat behind a stone table, looking utterly bored.

The three of them went over and checked the mission tokens.

The man then waved his hand lazily: "Go in. Ten Dew-Condensing Grasses will get you one contribution point. Remember to take the medicinal herbs and the Spirit-Sealing Box. Once you dig up the herbs, quickly put them into the Spirit-Sealing Box to seal their spiritual energy and prevent their medicinal properties from evaporating."

"If the drug wears off, it doesn't count, and your digging will have been for nothing."

Lu Mingyu cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you for your guidance, senior."

The three of them made preparations beforehand, picked up their tools, and headed towards the medicine valley.

Yu Luoning's heart stirred.

She had thought that even if it was just a perfunctory gesture, at least they would pretend to put a seal on the Qiankun bag and read out some rules.

As a result, the law enforcement elder here didn't even blink, and released the person with a wave of his hand.

Although the Dew-Gathering Grass is just an ordinary herb used to refine the Bigu Pill, it is still a spiritual herb and worth some money, right?

Yu Luoning's heart sank even further.

Mo Fei, still basking in his smugness, turned to Yu Luoning and said, "Hey, see that? They're really lenient! Cousin, you're amazing!"

Yu Luoning didn't say anything at all, but just awkwardly tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Um! Hopefully you'll still be this happy later, right?

As Yu Luoning walked, she silently calculated in her mind that ten spirit herbs could be exchanged for one contribution point.

She had glanced at the task list before, and the rewards for gathering herbs in other herb valleys were mostly three herbs for one or five herbs for one. This Cloud Valley was too stingy.

She pursed her lips and followed the two into the valley.

Mist surged up from the valley floor, and a band of blue clouds wrapped around the mountainside, where clusters of medicinal herbs were visible, their spiritual energy permeating the air.

Murphy's eyes lit up. "Tsk tsk tsk, these herbs are so dense you could walk on them! The Upper Sect truly lives up to its name. If my family's herb field had a harvest like this, my grandfather would probably be laughing in his sleep."

Lu Mingyu rarely showed a smile, and bent down to identify the herbs at his feet.

The reason why basic herbs are considered basic is because they are abundant.

After walking for a short while, the vast expanse was covered with dew-collecting grass.

The three of them had only taken a few steps when there was a rustling sound from the bushes.

Three dark figures suddenly darted out from the bushes of herbs.

"Holy crap! Where did this rabbit come from?"

Mo Fei reacted extremely quickly; his sword was already drawn, and a snow-white wind-eared rabbit instantly fell to the ground.

The other two missed, bared their teeth, and pounced again.

Lu Mingyu flicked his longsword and killed one, as did Yu Luoning.

Before the three of them could catch their breath, a rustling sound came from the bushes again.

This time it turned out to be a Purple Spider.

"Damn it, that Purple Spider is poisonous! Get out of the way!"

The three of them had no time to think about gathering herbs; they immediately took off running.

Over the next hour, they encountered about ten small demonic beasts.

How to put it? Although these monsters are not powerful, there are so many of them that they are like mosquitoes, extremely troublesome, and it takes too much effort to fight them.

The three were exhausted and sat slumped on the ground, looking disheveled and pathetic.

Yu Luoning, panting, said, "Now I understand why Cloud Valley is so poorly managed."

Mo Fei: "Why?"

Yu Luoning wiped her face and pulled off the black cloth that was making her feel uncomfortable. "Gathering herbs is just a cover. The real purpose of bringing us here is to clear away demons for the sect."

"Do you remember that notice posted in the mission hall? In other secret realms, you get one contribution point for killing a monster, but in Cloud Wandering Valley? Ten plants only get one contribution point. They use the guise of gathering herbs to make us catch bugs for them, and we don't even have to pay extra contribution points."

"What a profiteer!"

Murphy and Lu Mingyu were speechless for a moment.

After a while, Mo Fei covered his face and muttered, "No wonder when the three of us chose this place, the butler at the counter said something like, 'You can't reason with a damned ghost.'"

Lu Mingyu nodded silently. Before the three of them could even rest for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, there was another commotion in the bushes.

A wave of monsters seemed to emerge from underground, roaring as they pounced.

Mo Fei leaped up and slashed the charging snake demon in half with his sword: "Damn it, do they really think we're just lowly soldiers?"

This endless cycle is not a solution.

The three quickly came up with a plan and divided the work: two people were responsible for blocking the monsters, while one person focused on collecting herbs. The collected herbs were eventually converted into contribution points, which were then divided equally among the three of them, and no one had any objections.

Yu Luoning first squatted down and picked two plants, carefully probing the soil with the shovel, afraid of breaking the roots.

The medicinal efficacy of herbs that have lost their roots will be halved.

If the steward at the entrance of Medicine Valley refuses to accept it, all our efforts will be in vain.

When Yu Luoning dug up the second plant, her wrist started to feel slightly sore.

Gathering herbs isn't difficult, but it's incredibly tedious; she'd rather go and slay monsters.

Lu Mingyu immediately noticed the impatience in her eyes, and silently walked over, handing her the sword: "Miss Luo Ning, let me take over. You help guard."

"Okay, let's switch."

Yu Luoning smiled, took the sword, and nimbly stood on the outer perimeter.

She guarded the outer perimeter, slaying the attacking monsters with each sword strike, her gaze gradually hardening.

These demonic beasts generally had low cultivation levels, but there were simply too many of them.

As she swung her sword, she silently calculated in her mind that if she sent all of this to the Cleaner's Lake, it would be enough for it to have a good meal.

Once the thought arose, it could no longer be suppressed. Yu Luoning glanced at the two who were still focused.

It's a pity, though. With them around, the Sky-Crossing Technique is too noisy to use openly.

What if the cleaners get mischievous and bump into them?

At this moment, Yu Luoning felt a little regretful. If she could act alone, she would have no worries.

Just then, a deep, muffled roar from the depths of the forest shattered the sky.

Yu Luoning's gaze sharpened as she looked in that direction. There she saw a giant azure-scaled python emerge from the dense forest, its body measuring eight zhang in length, its scales gleaming with a ghostly light like armor.

Good heavens, it's actually a giant snake with eight levels of Qi Refining.

Mo Fei's expression changed. This guy was at the same cultivation level as him, and it was really hard to say whether he could beat him.

Yu Luoning's eyes lit up. She immediately drew her longsword and transformed into a blur as she rushed toward the giant snake.

Countless sword marks pierced the snake's body.

The giant snake's vertical pupils narrowed, and it unleashed all its fury on Yu Luoning.

"Mo Fei, Senior Brother Lu."

"You gather the produce on the outskirts, then return to your quarters."

Before she finished speaking, Yu Luoning ran into the depths of the forest, with the giant snake roaring as it chased after her.

With a flick of her sleeve, the treasure-hunting rat poked out half its head, its two eyes darting around.

Yu Luoning: "Shushu, you stay and follow them. You have a keen sense of things, so keep an eye on them for me and make sure nothing happens to them."

The mouse shook its whiskers and nodded solemnly.

Yu Luoning narrowed her eyes and sped even faster into the depths of the forest.

She personally chose this mission, so it was naturally her responsibility to ensure her safe return.

With no worries about the future, Yu Luoning swung her arms and charged forward.

Deep in the dense forest, a giant snake, accompanied by a foul stench, pounced forward, its gaping maw ready to swallow Yu Luoning whole.

Yu Luoning lightly touched the tree trunk with her toes, turned around, and used a teleportation technique on the snake's head that was lunging at her.

A purple halo suddenly exploded in the air. The great demon at the eighth level of Qi Refining was pouncing and couldn't withstand the force at all. He watched helplessly as he fell headfirst into the halo.

The whole snake vanished in a flash, like noodles, slid right into my mouth.

Yu Luoning smiled and, with a light touch of her toes, darted into the woods again.

A strange sound came from the bushes on the left, and a demonic wolf pounced out, activating a circle of light—"Go!"

A moment later, another one appeared from the right—a large wild boar with huge tusks.

Once the aperture is opened, it's time to go!

Then she encountered several more demon monkeys, and they followed suit!

She became more and more skilled, even staring at the footprints on the road to look for signs of communal living.

First, she provoked those demonic beasts to chase her frantically, and then, taking advantage of their inability to stop their speed, she turned around and used a teleportation technique to send them all over.

Go away, go away, all of you go away!

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, at the Cleaner's lake.