The Geared Immortal

Chapter 542

(Unedited)

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The thick greenish miasma covers the deep forest of the Dark Omen Valley all year round. Although deep in the valley the green mist is thick and it is dangerous for normal cultivators to enter, there are those who still brave such danger just to get those few rare and precious herbs hidden deep in its belly.

Using alchemy, the students, from the Yin Temple of the Blood Moon Sect, would be able to enter the outer part of the forest for cultivation materials.

This is one of the secrets of the Blood Moon sect and the reason why they are able to enter the Dark Omen Valley easily unlike those from the other sects. The valley is like their goldmine and the source of their pill is an alchemist known only as 'the Hermit'.

The Hermit has been living in the outer part of the Dark Omen Valley for a very long time. He and the sect master are friends and because of that, he has been helping the students from the Yin temple by selling them some pills that can give them immunity to the miasma inside the Dark Omen Valley.

And so for a day, the students can enter the dangerous valley without worrying about being poisoned by the miasma. However, many students would still fall prey to the denizens living in the outer part of the valley.

After Shin Jiao got the information from the young man about the hermit, he immediately enters the portal to the Dark Omen Valley without a second thought.

And after arriving, he soon found himself facing a forest.

Near the entrance of that forest is a small village covered with a golden dome which serves as its protection from the miasma. And in that small village lives many people from the Blood Moon Sect both outer and inner disciples.

Due to the danger of the Dark Omen Valley, there are many missions given to those who are brave enough to enter it. And the reward is very luxurious in both sect contribution points and spirit stones.

As Shin Jiao walked into the village, he saw many disciples hawking different kinds of herbs and beast carcasses. And from what Shin Jiao can see, these things are filled with poison and dark Qi. But of course, he can already see that the things sold here are not useless especially if the buyers are skilled alchemists.

For a normal alchemist, these poisonous materials are dangerous, but for those skilled ones, these things are filled with treasure.

He can even identify many of its uses for cultivation, medicine, and even as a weapon. Hence Shin Jiao looks in amazement at the assorted herbs and beast carcasses all over the small village.

Suddenly, he saw a large group of people lining in one of the biggest building structures in the village. Then when he saw the signpost at the entrance of the building he knew why these people are in this area.

This building is the Yin temple mission assignment building. They are the ones responsible for distributing mission for those who wanted to enter the valley. In this place, they will give those who dare enter the valley a single pill per person along with the mission.

According to what Luji Lao said, he obtains the said paralysis poison from an old man who lives in the Dark Omen Valley when he accidentally got lost in one of his mission.

Luckily the old man is kind enough to help him get back and also gifted him some ointment which can cause paralysis to those who touch it. This is the reason why he is able to get back outside of the valley.

And so, Shin Jiao's goal is to get in the valley and find that old man that Luji Lao called as 'The Hermit'. He has a hunch that if he can find that old man, he can also find a clue to the person who abducted Susan Tang.

And so, Shin Jiao blended with the group of people lining up to the counter.

Suddenly a young man approached him.

"Excuse me, are you new here?" the young man asked in a low voice.

Seeing the careful question from the young man, Shin Jiao felt a bit confused. But when he saw the expectant gaze from the young man he somehow knew what his goal is.

And so Shin Jiao just nodded his head in reply.

"Oh… that's great, our group still lacks some members. Do you want to join us?" he asked.

When Shin Jiao heard his words, a smile crept on his face. He is actually waiting for someone to invite him in a group, that way it would be easy for him to accept a mission from the counter.

The young man's name is Yong Xing, a 9th level gold core realm cultivator which is also a 3rd level alchemist. He wanted to enter the valley in search of Green Snake Bamboo Shoots and to do this he needed to get a mission from the Ying Temple and a group.

Not long later, Yong Xing has already gotten its mission. It was a level 1 mission that is appropriate for gold core realm cultivators like themselves.

They are to hunt twenty green toads in the swampy area of the valley.

When Shin Jiao saw the location of their mission in the animal skin map, a smile crept on his face. This is because of the direction where 'The Hermit' lives according to what Luji Lao has drawn is near the swamp area of the valley.

And with that, Shin Jiao and a group of five people began their preparation for their travel. After a quick introduction, Shin Jiao knew the four others in the group.

The two women in the group seem to be inner disciples, but they just let Yong Xing be their leader. This only shows that the group trusted him. Plus Shin Jiao can see that this group has already a good camaraderie.

"Since it is already this late and it's almost night time, we should go and enter the valley tomorrow before the break of dawn. Although the mist is heavier at that time, the green miasma would be suppressed, that's why it is the most perfect time to enter the valley." Yong Xing suggested which the others agreed.

Shin Jiao on the other hand just nodded his head and agreed with the group.

As they dispersed to do their own things, Yong Xing approached Shin Jiao.

"Well, do you already have a place to stay?" he asked.

"No, not yet… I'll just manage on my own."

"Well, if you will agree you can stay with us. The group is staying in a small house that we already bought. You see we have been together for many years, so we trusted each other. Why don't you join us?"

Hearing this, Shin Jiao squinted his eyes trying to assess the true intention of the young man beside him.

"Oh, don't get me wrong… I… I just think that you are a trustworthy fellow." He said with a smile.

"Why is that?" Shin Jiao asked with a bit of confusion in his eyes.

Yong Xing walked closer to Shin Jiao and said in a low tone.

"It's your aura… you don't have a dark aura unlike most of the people in here. If you notice we too don't have a thick dark aura."

Upon hearing the young man's words, Shin Jiao now understood why, but he is still a bit confused why? However, he didn't want to ask for more information. The important thing for him is to enter the valley. No matter what scheme these people have, they would not be able to hurt him anyway.

And so, he followed the group towards a small courtyard.

Upon seeing the courtyard with three houses, he was a bit amazed. It seems that this group are good at what they do.

"Impressed? Haha… this is the fruit of our labors." Yong Xing said with a proud smile on his face.

The others just shook their heads with a smile.

"Hey, Yong Xing… it's your turn to cook today, right?" suddenly one of the young women named Mei Feng said with a mischievous smile on her face.

When Yong Xing heard her words, he showed a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Wait… I was the one who cooked…"

"Yeah, it's been a long time since we tasted your cooking, Yong Xing. Since we have a new member, why don't you show off a little bit." A young man named Zhou Xian said while patting Yong Xing's shoulder.

This was agreed by the rest of the team which made Yong Xing sighs helplessly.

Seeing this, Shin Jiao patted the young man's shoulder.

"I'll help… I also know how to cook a little bit." Shin Jiao said as he got a favorable impression of the team.

It is rare to see such a good relationship among team members. It was as if they belong to a big family.

And so that night, Shin Jiao and Yong Xing cooked a hearty meal. The team enjoyed a good dinner while talking about themselves, even Shin Jiao shared a little about himself. Shin Jiao now knew a great deal about the people in this team. He was amazed by his luck to find such good people.

And soon after a night of rest, they all began their preparation to enter the valley before the break of dawn.

Shin Jiao saw the group donning in their armors and preparing their weapons. He can see some tension in their eyes in contrast to the relaxed atmosphere the group displayed last night.

Not long later, they along with many other teams began walking down the road to the entrance of the valley.

Shin Jiao noticed that almost all of those disciples who are entering the valley prefer such a time. Hence right now, they're almost hundreds of people in their own groups preparing to enter the valley. They are all just waiting for the huge gate of the village to open.

"Here we go… take the pills now." Yong Xing suddenly said as he pops a pill to his mouth.

The rest of the people in their team followed suit.

Shin Jiao upon eating the pill found something interesting. Upon sensing it inside his body, a small smile crept on his face.

"Interesting… 'The Hermit' huh… I can't want to meet you."