“The greater the risk, the more likely that there would be a great reward.”

Hundred Graves!

When several cultivators saw the mission-request posted on the board, there was a tinge of fear and excitement that welled up in them—apparently, they knew what the Hundred Graves was.

For one, they were mostly excited about the possibility of gaining 1000 Merit Points but, on the other hand, they were apprehensive of entering the well known ‘forbidden’ ground.

When the same information about the new mission came to Qai’s knowledge, he was definitely intrigued.

And so he made some inquiries of his own and found out that the so-called Hundred Graves was widely believed as a small-sized pocket dimension that was opened through a natural Array formation.

Accordingly, the entrance was situated some distance away from the small village called Stonecrest. And it was the people of the said village that actually put up the mission.

Rumors had it that the place itself was the home to hundreds of lost souls since it had been the ground of an earth-shaking battle among high leveled cultivators which eventually became their graveyard—thus the namesake.

The problem was that, apparently, it had been continuously releasing an obnoxious mist that could cover the entire dimension. And the villagers feared that one day, said mist would leak and reach Stonecrest village.

In the past, several attempts were already made to investigate the said Hundred Graves but apparently, none of those who entered the Hundred Graves ever returned.

Obviously, in the eyes of the cultivators, such occurrence meant that there was a precious treasure in there—but the fatality rate based on those who previously went in made it difficult for other cultivators to explore the place.

Qai pondered as to why no elite Core Formation stage cultivator and above ever bothered to check the place.

‘Maybe the value of the treasure inside is not worth it to risk one’s life. That should be it. This area of the continent is one of those spots that has little opportunities for cultivators so perhaps not even this so-called Hundred Graves can produce anything precious.’

Apparently, the ever-cautious Qai was smart enough to back down from the lure of treasures when there was no certainty of success.

So while his interest was piqued to see the place himself, he controlled his desire and decided to let others take up the mission. Besides, the mission board belongs to him to begin with—so it would look bad if he would take up a mission himself.

And so, Qai waited for a week to see if any cultivators would be willing to take up the mission and to see whether they could return alive. Unfortunately, none was confident enough to brave the dangers of the Hundred Graves.

After an entire month, Qai felt bad for the villagers that no one still dared to pick up the mission so he decided to test the waters and secretly sent 2 Ant Workers first to check the area.

To him, it was the most secure method he knew of so he decided to use it to his advantage.

Three days later, Qai received a message from the Queen Ant that the Ant Workers would no longer be back.

‘Dead!?’

Even without further asking, he knew that the 2 Ant Workers perished inside the Hundred Graves.

However, from the speculation of the Queen Ant, he now got an idea of why the place was highly dangerous—the mist that the Hundred Graves continuously produced was highly toxic in itself and had another dreadful effect of hallucination to whomsoever was affected resulting to killing one another or committing suicide.

In short, it was an attack harmful not to the physique but to one’s soul.

Soul attack!

From the investigation conducted by the giant Ants, there were no lost souls present in the place—only a boulder-sized treasure stone Artefact that can actually produce soul attacks.

And Qai wanted it.

But he didn't know how he would be able to get it.

He recalled during the ranking tournament back in the Precious Tree Sect how he had almost lost to a certain disciple named Zhao Feng who had a soul attack derived from the disciple’s unique eye abilities.

Were it not for the Queen Ant, he would have lost the match.

Now that a treasure that can produce soul attacks had presented itself, he definitely wanted it for himself.

According to the Queen Ant, since the 2 Ant Workers were not able to defend from the attack, it was highly possible that the Queen Ant itself didn't have any method to fend off the soul attack as well.

However, the contracted Spirit Beast suggested that perhaps Qai’s own Cornelia Flame shield may be able to somehow reduce the hallucinating effects—but then of course, that remained only a theory that still needed to be proven.

And Qai was not willing to take the risk.

The only advantage that he possessed was that perhaps he was the only one who knew what was actually inside the Hundred Graves.

Thus, he immediately posted in the mission board a 5000 worth of Merit Points for anyone who could provide him a treasure that could repel soul attacks. Of course, in case there would be more than one treasure offered, it would be up to him to choose.

“5000 Merit Points!?”

In just a matter of 3 days after the ‘mission’ was put up, 5 cultivators appeared in the Saints Hall Teahouse.

Said cultivators waited for Qai’s arrival who had already been notified of the appearance of the cultivators who claimed to have completed the mission—each bringing different treasures.

Unfortunately, if not disposable Talismans, the rest were low-grade items except for one which happened to be slightly better than the rest. Apparently, the best one was a piece of leather that was said to have come from a level 3 Spirit Beast Python. And it had a high defensive character capable of deflecting soul attacks.

Of course, Qai brought with him Old Ye Mo who had a better eye in appraising the value of treasures and had ascertained that the leather’s ability was genuine.

“Old Ye Mo, do you think you can refine my cloak with this?”

Qai was, of course, was referring to his dark-brown cloak that can enhance his speed.

“Hah, I am more than confident, young master. With this leather, your Cloak would be greatly enhanced. It would have two minor abilities and thus we could say that it would become a treasure close to quasi-Artefact rank.”

Qai nodded and recalled that his own Guandao, according to Old Nanfeng, was also a quasi-Artefact in rank.

He then turned to a middle-aged cultivator who came with the precious leather and asked if it belonged to him personally. However, the answer he received was beyond what he imagined.

Unexpectedly, the leather was sent by the Patriarch of Fang clan—the village clan from which the 3 Fang disciples were from.

Obviously, the Patriarch of the said clan had long heard of the clans 3 promising descendants ending up becoming Saints Hall disciples. And while it was far from the Patriarch’s plans, the outcome was still to the satisfaction of the entire village clan.

In fact, the Patriarch had already learned of the current cultivation achievements of the 3 and this ‘mission’ was actually the Patriarch’s means of finally getting a chance to be personally acquainted with the Saints Hall’s young lord.

Qai dismissed the other cultivators who painstakingly brought their items.

And although his own Saints Hall had plenty of better defensive talismans and treasures. He did not show any ridicule to the cultivators who came. Instead, Qai thanked them and generously awarded them 200 Merit Points each.

Thereafter, Qai once again faced the cultivator who brought the leather and inquired about the Fang Patriarch.

“Tell me, is the current Fang Patriarch in the city?”

“That is indeed the case, young lord.”

“Then, please send my message to the Patriarch to visit my Saints Hall. I will personally hand him the reward. And depending on the efficiency of this treasure, I might even grant your clan a much more handsome reward.”

The cultivator was stunned.

He was actually an elder of the clan. And he clearly understood that their clan had just been presented with a great opportunity.