Chapter 176: Danger or Opportunity?

Chapter 176: Danger or Opportunity?

My mind pours over the information flooding into me from my scan. The star renewal flower is an extremely rare 10 pedaled flower that grows in deep, jungle-like, spiritual beast territory. Knowledge about where it grows is rare because uses for it have not been publicly determined at this time.

Its name comes from its appearance, as well as the fact it seems to periodically bloom at night. In addition, it has the tendency to bring lightning bugs around it when it blooms. Only problem is, these bugs are parasitic and will latch onto low tier cultivators, like ticks. With similar risks and treatment needed. Not a fun situation, especially if you have to head to a physician covered in the equivalent of Christmas lights.

That isnt the serious part, though. Its the fact that you have to go deep into a jungle with a large variety of creatures, plants, diseases, and a whole mess of other traps/environmental hazards. This jungle is also covered in low tier spiritual beasts of all shapes and sizes.

A treasure trove for higher tier cultivators that can easily handle such dangers and near impossible for low tier ones (without support).

With that said, if you had support, as would normally be expected, you would be able to buy a number of different concoctions and talismans to be able to make it through this journey.Yôur favorite stories at novelhall.com

So, in all technicality, this really is a normal request for low tier cultivator that believes they have the support and framework together to be able to handle a normal inner court request. Especially, since anyone who is able to make it into the inner court would normally either have the skill or the backing to support them being there.

Now, for someone like me, with the scanning and taming ability, this is somewhat difficult, but manageable. I found the information needed, can move quickly, and can handle most of the environmental dangers (including the spiritual beasts).

But all of this should still be, from her perspective, impossible. All because of one stipulation shes added, the time limit.

The information itself on where to find it would be possessed by alchemists, who would have a relationship with the guild, or the guild itself.

If I skip the guild, they could delay the information by putting pressure on the alchemist I contact. Even for a normal request, this time limit is short. They only need to delay me for a few days and that would be enough to make me fail (if I was normal).

If I go directly to the Alchemy Guild, they can help me and assist me in getting into the inner court at a huge cost.

Its likely she doesnt know of the attempt on my life, but even considering that the Alchemist Guild would likely still negotiate. They could extract a lot from me in that position. For both past offenses and the current request.

There are a lot of things that make this request an absurd one. One that no one in their right mind would take.

Almost mirroring my thoughts, she gives me an out but stresses this point.

In a day, I will be back here watching some of the other tests. If you would like to cancel this challenge, you can do so at that time. Otherwise, I expect this completed within 16 days, at the end of this series of examinations.

I see.

By giving me an impossible challenge, she can show shes followed the guidelines, but is still giving face to the person who requested to keep me in the outer court and the Alchemy Guild. If I accept a request like this, it will show that she didnt have a chance to prevent me in the first place.

Without scanning her, its so hard to tell what she knows and doesnt know. Either way, I can assume this is done with good intentions.

Finally reaching the ground, I use my height and speed to move extremely quickly down the mountainside.

I could use the merchant path, but my scan shows that going down that way will gain much too much attention. I have a small window of time from where information will be shared and Ill start getting tracked by different groups.

Part of the reason that I did the challenge at the time I did was because at that point in time only the elder there is usually watching. It would be considered rude for another cultivator to use their spiritual sense to watch whats going on.

By her keeping everyone there, including that cultivator that was interjecting, shes bought me enough time to reach the forest, if I rush.

The item Im looking for can be found in several jungles. The most easily accessible is The Injured Web, hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.

While there are other jungles with the item that is physically closer, they connected this one to a teleportation network in the outer city. If I can get there and pay my way in, I can be there by the end of today.

At the speeds Im traveling, I actually make it down the mountain well within 30 minutes. Each step downward was a strain, but my time in the tunnels and the constant healing of my body helped me deal with it.

It scared me a little.

What would happen if I actively trained my limits?

Distracting me from this train of thought is something like a notification from my scan. A thing I knew would happen eventually, but was surprised happened right now.

As of this moment, every homeless person on the streets in this part of the outer city has been healed. They havent gotten past the giant walls sectioning off the other areas, but within here the healing rats spread to every place.

My first step into this same part of the city reveals something else. Something that directly contradicts what I just received from my scan.

The sick old man is on the corner. The one I saw at the temporary dorms when I first entered the city. And the scanning vibes I get from this is that if I heal him, Ill have it.

My Cultivation method.

This seems way too much of a coincidence.

right?