Outskirts of the Black Water Sect.
The crimson sun flared at the peak of the sky, indicating a new day for all cultivators around the Fallen Continent.
A man with black hair with a high ponytail sat up right, his lips moving like he was muttering something.
"System, claim the rewards" The man said.
[Ding!]
[Host: Xu Xiong]
[Yesterdays evaluation: E+]
[Rewards: Double yesterday's cultivation insights! Double the amount of yesterday's Qi Refinement!]
Xu Xiong took in a deep breath as warm breath filled his body. It was like a mini heater was suddenly placed in his chest.
Yesterday's mistakes on cultivation, especially swordsmanship, seem to be a little clearer.
A few minutes would pass by, and Xu Xiong got up from the ground and dusted off his pants, and picked up a shirt that was hanging off the wall as well as the sword placed next to it.
Currently, Xu Xiong is living in a cave that is prepared by the sect. Each cave has a rich amount of pure Qi, which is very important to every cultivator on this planet.
Xu Xiong doesn't know much about what happened 30,000 years ago, but it's said that the phoenix tribe overthrew the heavens, slaughtering the dragons, making luck in this world cease to exist.
Not only did luck not exist in this world, but everyone is cursed by the immortal phoenix.
Well, some sects actually call it a blessing.
The Immortal Phoenix curse is what it sounds like, any cultivator who dies, is resurrected a few minutes later, around the place where they've just fallen.
This sounds amazing, doesn't it? But the truth is very harsh.
Anyone reborn by the curse will slowly lose themselves, becoming a mindless beast that is rejected by the heavens!
Since the phoenix tribe is rejected by the heavens because of their rebellion, all their techniques are cursed as well. Even a curse!
This has led to a scarce amount of cultivators in the world, and the phoenixes still reign supreme.
Xu Xiong quickly cleaned himself up and stepped out of his cave.
Stepping out, Xu Xiong felt the brutal hot winds slamming onto his face, and took in the eerie red painted mountain tops. Even the fog turned into a blood like mist.
Taking out a cloth and causally whipping off the sweat that trickled down his face, Xu Xiong's goal this day is the Task Board in the sect.
Every Sect member is supposed to take one task every week, and no excuses are allowed, even if you're injured.
Xu Xiong light steps fluttered to the Task Board in a couple of minutes, and took a look at the pieces of papers that were hung up with daggers, his eyes darting from piece to piece.
'Village looting? No. Signs of a half bird? Ha, with my cultivation level at the peak of purity, I'll die immediately. Who the hell put this task up? Only Inner members can take this on.' Xu Xiong thought, and became more and more baffled as time went on.
In this world, cultivation starts at purity, a realm that constantly tempers your body to resist the hot Qi in the air and to make sure when we do start cultivating Qi, it's nice and strong, which is the realm limit of the outer sect, and the next realm is the scarce realm.
Each realm goes from 1-9, and the number doesn't drop, meaning when you break through to the next realm, your number goes from 9 to 11. This is because you're never actually supposed to stop cultivating purity, so the numbers have gradually changed to levels over the course of one thousand years during the ancient period.
Xu Xiong could be said to be level nine, and needs to temper his body to make it more pure so he can enter the scarce realm and start to use Qi!
Though the amount of Qi you have is scarce, hence the name "Scarce Realm."
And a half bird is equivalent to the peak of the scarce realm, a level 19! So whoever posted this is a monster in disguise!
Xu Xiong shook his head. He's been in this Sect for over four months now, and has gradually become numb to this life. As a native, six months ago his village was attacked by a Dead Bird, the weakest monster in this world, and all of his family and friends died that day.
But his grandfather made him take a strange jade emblem with him as he ran, saying it was a relic from ancient times.
To be honest, he thought it was a bunch of bullshit at first, but when he was running and accidentally scratched his arm on a tree, a bit of blood flowed onto the jade, causing the jade to enter his mind as a 'Daily Cultivation System.'
This system has helped him out tremendously, as without it, he'd probably still be in the 5th level.
'Signs of a pack of Dead Birds in Ashen Village?'
Xu Xiong took a good look at this task. In fact, most of the tasks Xu Xiong takes are exterminations of Dead Birds due to his hatred for them.
After all, having everyone you knew slaughtered, and was completely helpless to do anything takes a toll on one's mental health, so he finds pleasure in killing them.
'Ashen Village is roughly a six hour walk from here. If I take a bike, it shouldn't be long. At most, three hours.' Xu Xiong thought.
Since the air in this world is hot and barely has any oxygen in it, horses aren't a form of transportation, but some old cultivator made some strange object with two wheels that could safely travel through the rocky mountains.
'I'll take it.' Xu Xiong thought, and grabbed the dagger and pulled it off the Task Board, and slotted it in an open leather pocket around his waist that fit perfectly with the dagger. As for the paper? He just tucked it into his shirt.
With his task in hand, he left the Task Board, swerving his way around fellow disciples of the sect.
There weren't many outer disciples, as many died during their tasks.
Sadly, it's the only way forward in this world, and the sects need to get rid of the Fallen Birds that have become monsters so they can have a stable business.
After all, a sect can't survive without money, and the people can't survive without protection from outsiders.
Even within the empire isn't safe, as most Fallen Birds live underground and take helpless prey at night.
Shifting through the outer sect, Xu Xiong eventually made his way over to the west gate, where he'll be setting out to Ashen Village.
The border walls stood tall, standing roughly 300 feet in the air and made out of black stone and gold.
Gold is a very unique metal in this world, as gold is the gift of dragons, while copper is the gift of the phoenix. So having gold around you will cause those who have fallen to burn under the resentment of the dragons.
Using large amounts of gold will deter those who have fallen.
That's why almost every sect has gold in their walls.
Walking up to the gate, Xu Xiong went straight to a fellow disciple who grants access in and out of the sect, and also rents out bikes to those who have a task on them.
"Hmm, fellow disciple Xiong, taking another Dead Bird task I'd assume." The man asked.
He wore a broken straw hat and sat on a rotting rocking chair. His face was slightly moist due to sweating in the intense heat all day, and most of his skin was a slight red.
"Cut the bullshit small talk Rong. I want a bike and a token to leave." Xu Xiong said to the man named Rong.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mr. Bloodlust needs his daily killing." Rong said, giving him an 'I understand' look.
Xu Xiong's face darkened. His look reminded him of the times in the village when he said he was going out to his grandpa. It wasn't till later he understood that look.
Does he think he wants to go kill the Dead Birds for sexual pleasure?!?
Calming his anger down, he just stared directly at Rong.
"Jeez, someone without a sense of humour. Lighten up some day, this world is filled with darkness, and your terrible sense of humour will make it worse." Rong said, shaking his head.
"Here is the token to leave, as for the bike, ten silver." Rong said, tossing Xu Xiong the token.
Xu Xiong grabbed it, and tossed ten silver over.
Rong counted the silver and nodded his head.
"You know where the bikes are, go get one yourself." Rong said, leaning his body back into the rotting wooden chair.
Xu Xiong snorted and walked past him and into a side room where all the bikes are held. He picked a bike that was strong and sturdy, and took it out of the room and walked to the gate where five other disciples stood watch.
Seeing Xu Xiong with a bike, the five nodded their heads and didn't even bother asking for a token. Any one with a bike means they're going out on a mission, and bikes cannot be privately owned in the sect, not to mention that they recognize Xu Xiong.
After all, the amount of missions he's taken on over the past two and half months is numerous.
The five men hurried to open the large metal gate.
"Mr. Xiong, for a reminder, the gates will only open when the sun rises to the highest point in the sky. So make sure to arrive by then." One of the guards said, kindly reminding Xu Xiong.
Xu Xiong gave a slight nod to the guard and sat on the bike and began to pedal off.
"Sigh, Xu Xiong is so hard working. I don't remember any newcomer like him who was so eager to hunt Dead Birds." A guard said, closing the gate when Xu Xiong left.
"That lad has probably been through it. I heard from others that his whole village was slaughtered by a pack of Dead Birds." Another guard chimed in.
"Speaking of Dead Birds, there have been a lot of packs recently. Has a Copper Palace appeared?"
When the guard mentioned the Copper Palace, everyone around couldn't help but feel a chill.
"Shao Yun! Do you have any nerves saying that!" The captain of the guard team overheard their conversation and yelled at them.
"Sorry captain! I will never mention it again!' The guard said, his back straightening.
"You better." The captain said, giving him a cold snort.
Xu Xiong didn't hear their conversation as he was already long gone into the forest. Though, if he did hear the guard mention the Copper Palace, he'd probably curse him out.
The Copper Palace is a holy land for Fallen Birds, and if there truly is a Copper Palace around here, total mayhem will be unleashed, and almost all commoners will die. Not to mention cultivators.
Deep within the forest, Xu Xiong pedal past the enormous black gloomy trees. He had his eyes set on the path ahead, his eyes focusing to try to see past the thick red fog that blocked his sight.
While doing that, he must whip his face every minute or two just so his eyes don't get blocked with sweat.
The heat in the forest is much greater than in the mountains in the sect. You'd think that the forest would be much cooler because it blocks out the sun, but the trees now absorb the coldness and let out heat, making forests extremely dangerous to stay in for long, as one might die because of dehydration or heat stroke.
Only cultivators dare to adventure into the forest, since they need less water than an ordinary human.
After biking for roughly an hour, Xu Xiong stopped his bike and took out his bag and opened it up. Inside the bag, Xu Xiong reached for a large silver bottle that was cold to touch, and opened it up and poured water into his mouth.
Feeling the nice cold water go down his throat, he couldn't help but shiver.
"Coldness, what a wonderful feeling." Xu Xiong couldn't help but sigh.
The silver bottle is one of the items he redeemed with merit points at the sect for completing his mission. The silver bottle can stay cool for a long period of time and can use the heat in the air to create water.
After taking another chug, he put back the silver bottle and took out his map and unfolded it.
'I'm roughly here, in the Sunless Forest, if I head north, I should be able to reach Ashen Village without any unforeseeable circumstances.' Xu Xiong pondered, his finger tracing the map.
'Hmm?' Xu Xiong suddenly frowned.
'This smell… Water?" Xu Xiong's nose wrinkled, causing his eyelids to jump and to scream in his heart.
'Not good!' He quickly put away his map and hurried to put his bag around his shoulders and started pedaling to the nearest mountain.
'If I remember properly, there seems to be a cave over in this direction.' Xu Xiong thought, and started pedaling at extreme speeds, ignoring the path in front of him.
Suddenly, a loud roar could be heard off in the distance, but Xu Xiong had no time to worry about that.
'Why does my luck have to be so shitty.' Xu Xiong couldn't help but complain, and after a few minutes, reached the cave he remembered.
Just as he entered the cave, the sky seemed to let out a terrifying cry, and a downpour of water came crashing down.
'I guess I was lucky to make it in the cave on time.' Xu Xiong trembled as he listened to the scream of a nearby beast.
Xu Xiong looked at the water that touched the ground that instantly turned into water vapour because of how hot the ground had become.
Rain is said to come from the blood of the heavens, and can kill even the strongest cultivator. Only by staying in shelters or caves can survive the intense heat. Though, the trees have evolved to deal with such circumstances.