13 First Quest Completed! (1/2)

The nut was the reason why Fen Wudao had picked her up what seemed already a long time ago. He said himself he had sensed Shinsoo fluctuations.

If Shin Sumi was correct, the snakes would definitely be attracted to the Shinsoo in the nut.

The trajectory of the nut was about to end when a few snakes appeared.

Shin Sumi was confused. ”Only a few of them, this time?” she mumbled.

An almost empty high grade spirit stone had attracted thousands of snakes but the strange nut and it's weird properties that surprised her time after time didn't attract all of them?

The nut bounced a few times with a 'poc' sound. The snakes around it turned to look at it but soon turned around, confused.

After a few seconds of searching for something they disappeared once again. The nut started rolling on the floor and returned to the pool.

Shin Sumi extended her arm and placed the back of her hand on the ground. The nut rolled into her and lightly bit her as she plunged it once again in the water. It was it's way of telling her to stop throwing it around.

Shin Sumi resumed her meditation, contemplating the matter of the snake pit.

***

A few hours later, Shin Sumi opened her eyes. The twenty four hour mark was passed, she had been recovering for a full day.

Carefully she extended her leg outside the water. With slow exercises she tested her left leg.

”It's already repaired. The bone was definitely fractured but now it's as good as new” she said half impressed. She knew the healing powers of the nut were incredible but it was still quite a shock to see it. The kid from East Seaside Village all those years ago had suffered for months, stuck in a chair without being able to get up. And here she was, jumping and running a day after breaking her leg.

”The Immortal world is beyond comprehension for mortals” she sighed.

Her skin was full of wrinkles and her robes were soaked. The fabric was cut open in a few places.

Thankfully Shin Sumi had brought something to change into. The bag of holding she had been given was too strange for her to understand how it worked, but it definitely seemed like it's insides were bigger than it looked.

She took out new robes and donned them. On her waist, the bag was hanging, looking empty as always. She had bathed a whole day with it but her second set of clothes was dry.

It felt good to change, Shin Sumi was already feeling better.

”I have to go back to the sect now. The plants haven't grown by that much, but I will come back soon” she told herself. ”It should be safe, I can't imagine anyone coming to this place without the copper bell or a similar treasure. If the snakes are attracted to Shinsoo, no cultivator after the Shinsoo Gathering stage would dare come down here!”

Shin Sumi was right. The reason she hadn't been attacked by the poisonous snakes the first night was because of her lack of Shinsoo. The snakes were dangerous but not because of their intelligence. They responded almost entirely on instinct and seemed blind to anything other than Shinsoo and blood.

Shin Sumi didn't know the extent of the snakes' power but she figured ”Since I found a treasure I guess no one has ever stayed long enough down here to find it before me. Apart from the guy who lost the bell of course.”

That meant that the snakes were probably dangerous even for Core Development Realm Elders.

Smiling at herself, Shin Sumi left the bottom of the chasm, not without picking up as many White Cloud Lotus flowers as she could.

”With the bell, this place is a cultivation paradise for me! I can grow all the plants I want and nobody will ever know!”

Her plan to reach the Shinsoo Gathering stage was slowly starting to take shape.

She was careful during her ascent this time, checking every rock and committing to memory the safe path to follow.

There were still many mysteries related to the dark chasm in her mind, but they would have to wait for another day.

Shin Sumi wanted to rest. There had been so many events recently and she wanted to lay down on her bed and sleep. Unfortunately there was still much to do.

After a few hours of walking, Shin Sumi found the western gate of the lower valley.

She took a deep breath through her nostrils. She had been gone for only three days and a half but it felt good to be back.

Shin Sumi didn't go directly back to her house but instead stopped at the Quests Pavilion.

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Her first quest was to gather ten stalks of White Cloud Lotus flowers. She had picked up five times more than the requested amount. Luckily all the quests involving numbers were implicitly stating 'at least the amount indicated' and the more items disciples could gather, the better.

Inside the Pavilion, Shin Sumi walked to one of the many counters where clerks received the returning disciples.

Shin Sumi put her identification medallion against the surface of a grey rock that resembled a tombstone.

Thankfully the stone shone indifferently for every talent level and Shin Sumi kept her cover.

Taking out all the White Cloud Lotus flowers from her bag, the clerk looked at the counter with wide open eyes.

Before, he had simply been doing his job without the slightest expression of interest. Now that Shin Sumi had revealed more than fifty stalks of White Cloud Lotus flowers, he was definitely impressed.

”Fellow disciple, can I ask you your name ?” he said.

”My name is Sumi, from the Shin family. What is yours, brother ?” replied Sumi. She didn't understand why the clerk would be interested, but she decided to play along.

”This one's name is Lu Dong. Sister Shin, where did you find that many White Cloud Lotus flowers ?”

Shin Sumi furrowed her brows. Showing a complicated expression on her face, she answered hesitantly.

”Well... Brother Lu, sorry if it seems rude but I can't tell you. Besides it wouldn't even matter. I was simply struck by chance and found these flowers randomly while I was in the training grounds.”

Shin Sumi didn't look like it but she was angry on the inside. ”So he was just greedy after all.”

If she hadn't been instructed by Xiao Yue previously, Shin Sumi may have answered Lu Dong. But now she realized that the clerk obviously wanted to harvest the flowers himself.

White Cloud Lotus flowers were Yin type spirit plants. They weren't too rare but because they required dense Yin Shinsoo concentration to grow they were hard to find. Most of the time disciples would be lucky to find one or two stalks. Fifty at the same time was very unlikely.

To Lu Dong it seemed like Shin Sumi really had struck gold. When the stone had scanned her medallion, it had revealed that it was her first quest, thus leading to Lu Dong to try to bamboozle her.

”Can I have my rewards now ?” Shin Sumi said with a serious face. She didn't seem threatening at all but she was serious enough to change the clerk's attitude.

”Sorry Sister Shin. Here.”

Lu Dong pressed a special jade against the stone. Nobody under the Core Development Realm could feel it but the spirit automaton of the Quests Pavilion woke up. It scanned the pile of White Cloud Lotus flowers stalks, imprinting the number in its records and giving Shin Sumi her rewards.

Her identification jade flashed briefly.

Shin Sumi didn't have the power to read what was imprinted on her medallion, having not reached Shinsoo Gathering. Instead she had to go to one of the many test stones around.

They were called test stones because they looked exactly like the second trial to enter the Dark Sky Starry Sect but the way they worked was fundamentally different.

Once pressed on the surface, an identification jade's information was displayed on the surface of the stone. It worked with some kind of magic Shin Sumi didn't understand.