Chapter 27 - 27 Abandoning the Task and New Task
Once, the largely circulated map of the Nine States was quite rudimentary, and contained many errors. People often relied on it to traverse the Nine States, inadvertently walking into deadly zones, losing their paths, and barely escaping with their lives. Traveling Monks in the Nine States, often relied not on maps, but on their cultivation skills.
A hundred years after ascending to the throne as the Human Emperor, Jiang Li decided to redraw the map of the Nine States. This should have been a good thing but it was obstructed by the Sky Mechanism Tower.
The reason was simple; the Sky Mechanism Tower held a detailed map of the Nine States, which they sold to monks in fragmented pieces at obscene prices.
There were once great powers who tried to redraw the map of the Nine States, but they were all thwarted by the Sky Mechanism Tower.
The Sky Mechanism Tower, while not one of the six major sects, holds many secrets. Many monks were very wary of them. If you offended the Sky Mechanism Tower, they could spread some of the secrets of your cultivation manner, thus allowing enemies to easily find your weaknesses and usher in your doom.
However, Jiang Li was not afraid of this. By that time, he had already reached the Mahayana Realm, undefeated in Nine States. Who would dare to seek trouble with him? It would be an honor for them to not be sought out by him, to “admire the virtue of the Human Emperor”.
The Sky Mechanism Tower had no means to threaten Jiang Li, so they had no choice but to allow him to redraw the map of Nine States.
Jiang Li convened the six major sects, the Four Dragon Kings of the Seas, and other major sects and countries, to discuss the matter of the map, setting the accuracy standards — they were responsible for the maps in their respective regions. For the other blank regions, the Imperial Palace would fill in.
Eventually under Jiang Li’s direction, a map of the Nine States, several times more detailed than that of the Sky Mechanism Tower, was presented to everyone.
Jiang Li was not stingy either. He let the Imperial Palace engrave the map onto jade slips and sell them slightly above the cost price.
From tnen on, people no longer neeaecl to worry aDout maps.
After the incident, Dao Sect said to Jiang Li that his act was a great merit, and he should receive a merit baptism. However, Jiang Li did not receive any merit, which was quite strange.
Moreover, every past Human Emperor who protected the Nine States should also have great merit, yet there was no trace of merit to be seen.
The Dao Sect speculated that the merit was from the Immortal Realm. After the ladder to Immortality disappeared, the Nine States lost contact with the
Immortal Realm, causing the merit not to descend to the lower realm. If Jiang Li ascends to the Immortal Realm in the future, he may receive a massive baptism of merit.
[New mission release: The once every five year martial arts competition in
Tianqing Prefecture is about to begin. You will be representing the Hua Yun Sect in this competition. You are placed in the Foundation Establishment early stage group. Because Hua Yun Sect always ranks near the bottom, it is ridiculed by other sects. Please win first place in the early-stage area of Foundation Establishment in this competition.]
[This mission can be cancelled.]
[Mission reward: An opportunity to complete any incomplete book, one Dragon-Tiger Golden Core Pill, one Death-escape Talisman.]
Jiang Li found that the rewards for this mission were quite generous. The opportunity to complete any incomplete book was particularly obvious, yet the
Dragon-Tiger Golden Core Pill alone could increase any monk’s Core
Formation success rate to eighty percent, it was absolutely terrifying.
There was also the Death-escape Talisman. Who could guarantee that they wouldn’t be ambushed while adventuring? With the Death-escape Talisman, it was equivalent to having an extra life. The visible value of this is that it could be auctioned at an astronomical price that could make a Nascent Soul Cultivator spend half of their fortune!
However, this Death-escape Talisman could only be used by cultivators at the Golden Core stage or lower.
The rewards were very generous, so Jiang Li chose to give up this task.
“Give up this task.” He said.
[Do you want to give up this task?]
“Yes.”
[To prevent misunderstanding, the system will ask again. Do you want to give up this task?]
“Yes.”
[Do you wish to…]
‘Yes.”
Jiang Li felt that this counter-attack system was very much like annoying software from his previous life.
[The task has been successfully abandoned.]
The system said nothing more after that.
Jiang Li blinked, waiting for a long time for a new task, but none came.
“System, where’s the new task?” He asked
[Please wait patiently, Host.] The system responded
Jiang Li was speechless, so giving up on a task didn’t mean he could move on to the next one immediately.
“Hello, hello, hello, is Jiang Li there? I was so happy just now, I forgot to tell you something.”
The Remote Communication Talisman rang. Before Jiang Li could answer, the other party had already projected an image.
The projection of the Sect Master of Dao Sect appeared in front of Jiang Li. Jiang Li thought that this bastard was taking advantage of being the maker of the Remote Communication Talisman to control his talisman.
“What is it?” Jiang Li asked politely.
“How can you, a member of the Dao Sect, address the Sect Master in such a way?” The Sect Master of Dao Sect pretended to be angry. Seeing Jiang Li’s rage brewing, he quickly shifted the topic.
“The Yin Yang Heaven Seal is going to be refined once more, according to my observation, there is less than a year’s time left. At that moment, our Dao Sect will hold an Immortal Artifact Appreciation Conference. Please, Brother Jiang Li, give us some face as the current Human Emperor and grace the occasion.” He implored.
As this was actual business, Jiang Li’s attitude improved a bit and agreed.
“Then, it’s settled. When the time comes, I will send you an invitation so you can sit in a special seat.”
The sect master of Dao Sect quickly shut down the Remote Communication Talisman.
The Yin Yang Heaven Seal was going to be further refined.
This was indeed an important matter and a big one at that. The Dao Sect would be busy preparing for it for a year. Jiang Li was likely the first to know about this.
Some people claimed that the Yin Yang Heaven Seal of Dao Sect was the number one treasure of Nine States, there was not a shred of exaggeration in this claim. At least Jiang Li believed that the Yin Yang Heaven Seal deserved this title.
The founding master of Dao Sect was known as Daozu (Dao Ancestor), an incredibly terrifying title that shared the same name as a title used in the Immortal Realm. This should have attracted divine retribution, but Daozu himself was unscathed. Therefore, some people speculated that the founding master of Dao Sect was the true reincarnation of Daozu or maybe the embodiment of a catastrophe, or a three-corpse body, anyway, he was closely related to the real Daozu.
The Yin Yang Heaven Seal was created by Daozu of Dao Sect, and as soon as it was created, it was considered an Immortal Artifact, with unlimited power.
After Daozu of Dao Sect ascended, he left the Yin Yang Heaven Seal in the Nine States as the treasure of the sect, suppressing the sect’s destiny.
The magic of the Yin Yang Heaven Seal is that it can refine itself. Every refinement enhances its power by one level.
The last time it refined itself was three thousand years ago. The important figures in Nine States all attended that grand event. It was quite lively.
After three thousand years, how could Jiang Li miss the opportunity to witness the Immortal Artifact self-refinement?
Jiang Li did not leave Da Zhou but secluded himself for cultivation on the spot to consolidate the gains he made during his last Heavenly Tribulation.
Two months later, Jiang Li broke away from his meditation and the system finally stirred once more.
[New mission release: The Mysterious Secret Realm is about to open and only those under twenty-five bone-age and at the Foundation Establishment stage are allowed to enter. The Hua Yun sect has one quota, which you obtained after defeating Yun Bo. However, people from other sects look down on you since you are only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment and you are ridiculed. Please become the champion in this Mysterious Secret Realm. ] [This mission can be cancelled.]
[Mission reward: Unlock the spatial teleportation feature, unlock the source reading function and a 500 cubic-meter storage ring.]
According to Jiang Li’s estimate, given two months’ time, if it was himself, it would be just enough time to cultivate from the early stage of Foundation Establishment to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.
When he saw the rewards for this mission, he smiled slightly.. With the unlock of spatial teleportation ability alone, he couldn’t give up this task!