Chapter 184: The Mysterious Taoist Nun and Another Task
Chapter 184: The Mysterious Taoist Nun and Another Task
As Ye Rong stepped into the low-lying area, he immediately sensed something strange. It felt just like stepping into water, with a bizarre floating force that left him neither up nor down.
“Junior Trail-breaking Pony is here to pay respects to the senior. I seek the method to craft the Heavenly One Mystic Ice Banner.”
Trail-breaking Pony took two steps forward and shouted respectfully from a distance, far from the thatched cottage.
“There is a restriction outside the thatched cottage. If you take another step forward, you will be thrown back.”
“Oh, so there is such a mystery.”
Ye Rong was stunned for a moment. This was the first time Trail-breaking Pony had spoken to him since they set out together.
He was not very eager to receive the task of crafting the Heavenly One Mystic Ice Banner from Taoist Nun Min. It was enough if one person in his faction could get it, even if the efficiency would be a bit slower.
He had come along mainly to see the overseas scenery with his own eyes, to personally set foot in the sea areas and experience them.
Regarding the future development of the Green Emperor Alliance, he had also been thinking a lot in his spare time. The Sichuan Region had many players, and with a giant like the Shushan Sword Alliance nearby, it was extremely difficult to expand outward.
It was already quite an achievement for the Green Emperor Alliance to hold onto the territory near the Qingcheng Sect, along with the entire Dujiangyan Waters.
But with such limited space, it was clearly not enough to grow and strengthen. Maintaining a faction in the Far Shore was very difficult; it was not as if once established, everything would be fine and worry-free.
If a low-ranking faction failed to meet the requirements, the System might even force it to disband, and it could cease to exist.
To develop, since the land had already been divided up almost entirely, the only way was to find a different path and discover a pristine, undeveloped land that no one had set foot on yet.
After much thought, Ye Rong could only set his sights on the Overseas World—a vast, boundless world with resources several times that of the land, yet more challenging to develop.
“As long as Dream Butterfly can quickly build the Bodhi Wood into a high-level ship, the two of us can explore the Overseas World ahead of others. Maybe we can gain some benefits before other player factions, or even acquire a Rogue Cultivator’s Immortal Manor, finding a foothold for the Green Emperor Alliance’s overseas Guild Stronghold, and develop from there.”
Even coastal factions, or even the Tsunami Longevity Pavilion, whose entire strength lay in the sea areas, currently did not have the capability to venture deep into the ocean. Their main area of activity was still within five thousand miles of the coast, far from the true deep sea.
As for maritime sects like the Southern Sea Xuan Turtle Hall, they were only about a thousand miles from the land by sea, not very far at all.
Creak! A wooden door of the thatched cottage was pushed open, and a Taoist nun in a plain robe walked out. Her face was as clear as water, without any expression.
“Trail-breaking Pony, are you here again to ask me for the method to craft the Heavenly One Mystic Ice Banner?”
“Yes, please grant me this request, senior.”
Taoist Nun Min’s expression remained unchanged, her face always carrying a look of sorrow, as if she bore great worries and troubles in her heart that remained unresolved.
“Go. The Heavenly One Mystic Ice Banner is the exclusive banner formation of the Jellyfish Palace. It is not easy for a Qingcheng Disciple like you to craft it.”
A plain, cold-colored banner floated out from Taoist Nun Min’s hand and landed in Trail-breaking Pony’s grasp. This meant he had received the task.
Such a banner had no attributes and was completely useless. Only by following the task requirements—slaying Ice-type Spirit Creatures and absorbing their Essence Spirit into the banner—could it take form.
Moreover, depending on the type of Ice-type Spirit Creature essence absorbed, the attributes of the formed Heavenly One Mystic Ice Banner would have slight differences. Perhaps the attack power would vary, or the additional special attributes would lean in different directions.
The crucial point was that this blank Heavenly One Mystic Ice Banner could only exist for one shichen, or two hours.
If the number of Ice-type Spirit Creature essences absorbed within two hours was insufficient, the banner would automatically shatter and become a useless flag, meaning the task had failed.
Every time Trail-breaking Pony received the task, he rushed back frantically. Then a team of people desperately lured Ice-type Spirit Creatures for him, weakening them until they had only a sliver of Health Points left, then letting him deliver the final blow.
However, Ice-type Spirit Creatures were already scarce, and even fewer met the requirements for the Heavenly One Mystic Ice Banner.
So, whether this task could be completed often depended more on their luck than on their strength.
Even with Ye Rong joining, if they simply couldn’t encounter any Ice-type Spirit Creatures, even if he had heaven-defying abilities, there was nothing he could do.
But then he remembered a place teeming with Ice-type Spirit Creatures: the Min Mountain Snow Ridge. The Snow Howlers there should meet the requirements.
Even now, however, he did not dare to provoke the group of ten thousand Snow Howlers. The sight of thousands of Renwater Ice Thunders being unleashed still made Ye Rong wary, so he had listed the Snow Ridge as a forbidden area.
Based on the experiences of Qingcheng Disciples who later went to the Snow Ridge, once they reached the higher levels, they would face endless attacks from Renwater Ice Thunders, with no mercy shown, making progress nearly impossible.
So, that place was out of the question as well.
Trail-breaking Pony glanced at Ye Rong, signaling that he could step forward and try to receive the task. Whether he succeeded would depend on his own ability.
“Senior, I would also like to receive the method to craft the Heavenly One Mystic Ice Banner.”
“The Jellyfish Palace’s secret techniques are not for just anyone to obtain easily!”
Taoist Nun Min’s sorrowful face tightened as she spoke coldly, flatly refusing his request.
Ye Rong shook his head helplessly and prepared to step back. He already knew that since other players couldn’t receive this task, it was unlikely to change for him. Trail-breaking Pony must have had a special opportunity to have such luck.
Otherwise, the world wouldn’t be filled with Celestial Blazing Fire Banner Arrays and Xuanming Yin Water Banner Formations, while the much more powerful Heavenly One Profound Ice Banner Array had never been assembled by any faction; even a single banner was rarely seen.
“What do you mean, the Jellyfish Palace’s secret techniques? You’re openly teaching them yourself. I wonder who this old Taoist nun is in the Jellyfish Palace. Since she knows the method to craft the Heavenly One Mystic Ice Banner, could she be a Registered Disciple of the Water Mother or something like an auditing disciple in the palace?”
Ye Rong muttered to himself, also speculating about Taoist Nun Min’s background and origins. The figure of the Water Mother was too significant; even someone with the slightest connection to her deserved extra attention.
Long-Legged Lady’s master, Yan Yingmu, known as the number one female immortal in the world with boundless magic power, had also been a disciple under Jellyfish Mother Ji Xuan.
Moreover, among the Far Shore’s major treasure locations, the Purple Cloud Palace Golden Court Jade Pillars were left behind by Jellyfish Mother Ji Xuan. If this Taoist Nun Min really had some connection to the Jellyfish Palace, in the future, they might even use this connection to reach the Purple Cloud Palace.
“Wait, what is your name?”
A look of surprise suddenly flashed across Taoist Nun Min’s face as she asked quickly.
“I am Yijian Kurong.”
Ye Rong was completely confused, his mind full of unanswered questions, but he still obediently gave his name.
But he thought to himself: I’ve heard of sinister curse techniques that only require knowing the other person’s name. I hope I haven’t fallen for one. Don’t tell me this old Taoist nun has taken a fancy to me and cast a love curse…
Taoist Nun Min’s expression changed several times before she finally let out a long sigh and took out a golden page.
“You are also connected to me by fate. This is a golden page left by an ancient deity. It is said that one can use it to find a lost Immortal Manor in the deep sea. It depends on whether you have this opportunity.”
Ye Rong was taken aback and accepted the golden page. It was densely covered with tiny characters, but he couldn’t understand a single one.
“In that Immortal Manor, there is an item very important to me. I don’t want any other treasures. As long as you bring me a fan from inside, I will teach you one Gui Water Element Divine Power of your choice, and you may also choose three Gui Water Element Magic Treasures.”
After speaking, Taoist Nun Min did not linger for even a moment. She turned around and went back into the thatched cottage, not coming out no matter how much anyone called from outside.
“What is this all about? Another forced task? At least there’s no time limit for completion, and no mention of failure penalties.”
This matter of searching for a deep-sea Immortal Manor—with only a golden page left by an ancient deity, no sea chart, or other clues—was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Besides, since she had the golden page, why didn’t Taoist Nun Min search for the Immortal Manor herself? Why give the benefits to me?
No matter her background or origins, her power far surpassed Ye Rong’s, so her chances of finding the deep-sea Immortal Manor should be much higher.
She even promised that once he found the fan treasure and gave it to her, she would teach him one Gui Water Element Divine Power and give him three Gui Water Element Magic Treasures.
This task made no sense at all.
“Forget it. It doesn’t harm me anyway. Having this golden page left by an ancient deity gives me one more clue to find the deep-sea Immortal Manor, which can be considered a good thing.”
Since he couldn’t figure it out, he stopped thinking about it. Ye Rong directly stored the golden page in his Universe Pouch.
As long as he acted carefully and cautiously, how could he be tricked by an NPC?
Trail-breaking Pony also looked completely baffled. He had only come to receive the Heavenly One Mystic Ice Banner task. Not getting it was normal, but such a turn of events was something he had never heard of before.
He spread his hands toward Ye Rong, indicating that he was also at a loss and didn’t understand what had happened.
Although he had been to Bolang Isle many times, each time he only came to receive the Heavenly One Mystic Ice Banner crafting task and never had any other communication with Taoist Nun Min. He had no idea something like this could happen.
“Never mind, let’s not worry about it for now. Pony, where do you usually go to hunt Ice-type Spirit Creatures?”
Ye Rong set the matter aside for the moment. He planned to find an opportunity to ask Long-Legged Lady for help; perhaps she could find out some information from her master, Yan Yingmu.