When they reached the spot where the team had met the elder for the first time, the latter stopped and instructed them to move ahead while he and Wu Guang would stay. He did not explain the reason, but as it was a direct command, nobody asked anything.

A few minutes that were spent in silence later, Wu Guang was spoken to via qi transmission

"I will stay here for a few days. I will send a glyph to inform the sect, but in any case, I will tell you the reasons for you to pass to Head Core Elder Mo"

"Head core elder..." Wu Guang could not resist as to mutter this. He understood that Elder Mo was not a simple Elder, and even elder Chen had referred to him as a high elder, but still, a high elder was far cry from the real status. A normal high elder was simply an elder that had a say in the general discussions and decisions, but the head core elder status meant that not only he was the second person in the sect after the headmaster, but also would act as the headmaster in cases where the latter was not present.

"Oh? So you did not know? Well, he will tell you today in any case, so there should be no problems. Still, don't talk about this to others until he permits you, understood?"

"Yes"

"Good. Now for the reasons. The amulet was indeed corrupted, but it's not natural. Someone deliberately did it and what's even more appalling, took at least a few hundred undead from here. I will try to find traces to where they were moved to as you can't possibly hide more than a thousand undead, so until I do, I will not return. Thankfully I took the mission myself, as if it was someone other, he would have missed it. Pass this exact words if asked"

"Understood" Wu Guang nodded.

"Now, before you leave... I noted that you tried to sense how I had appeared before your group, did you manage to do it?"

"I did not. Albeit I ask the elder for forgiveness, as I did not mean any ill or to offend Elder"

"Do not worry about it, if I was offended, I would simply state that to you before slapping you dead..." This phrase albeit transmitted via qi and so not containing any strong emotions still sent shivers down Wu Guang back. Granted in his memories he had been and had meet experts from realms so high that a Soul realm would not dare even to look at them, but currently, he was far weaker than the elder.

"Haha, forget about it. In any case, like I was saying, I sensed your interest. And given the situation around you and the dangers you may face, I will pass you this way. It's called 'Counting steps towards Hell and Heaven'. It's a real combat movement technique, far different from the ones available in the Martial Library. Speaking of which, have you learned any of them?"

"Yes, I have begun training the 'Flaming Impulse', albeit I have not mastered or used it enough" Wu Guang answered the truth as indeed, he had learned and even mastered the technique to a decent level, but still, its current qi usage was enormous and so could be used only for a few moments. The technique itself was meant to serve as a boost to the cultivator speed, either for evasion, attacking, or even general movement, but it required at least reaching the Soul realm to really be usable for a prolonged time. The latter being because the technique required expulsing qi from one's body before igniting it, and so Spirit realm uncontrolled qi would dissipate at least by half before ignited.

"Hmm, I see... Judging from your previous techniques, are you aiming for the 'Flaming Body'? If so, it's a good goal. Still, even if you master it, the 'Flaming Impulse' spends too much qi to reach comparable speed to a normal movement technique, not to mention that it's too flashy and dangerous to be used while not in combat. The technique that I will pass to you is the complete opposite. It has a very low qi usage and depends only on your cultivation and body for improvement. Granted it can't be used offensively as yours, but moving behind one's opponent without leaving any traces could be far more effective" With this explanation the body of the elder as Wu Guang guessed that most probably the elder itself was either not present or even the this body itself wasn't his moved. Now easily discernible, dead body approached Wu Guang and extending a bony finger touched his glabella.

Wu Guang did not resist and so after a brief moment, a torrent of the information entered his mind. It mostly contained details about the technique, but surprisingly experiences and conclusions from the elder were mixed among them, which would make the progress far easier. As soon the technique and insights were passed, and the elder lowered his hand, Wu Guang bowed in thanks.

"Now go. Your friends are waiting for you a few miles away. I was also asked to tell you that you should go to the Arts hall at sunset. So you should use your day to prepare, as tomorrow you will leave" With this phrase, the elder's body disappeared as before, still, now Wu Guang understood how it was achieved, and so after bowing for a few more moments straightened up and started moving towards the place where the three were waiting for him.

Indeed they were and Kuang Jing asked him about why the elder made him stay, to which Wu Guang answered with half the truth

"The elder feels that some undead may have moved from the place and so decided to check that before returning. Especially as the undead are dangerous to normal people and should be returned for burial. As it's his personal decision, he asked me to inform the Sect on his behalf"

With such an explanation the image of the elder changed for the listeners, as in place of the pretty cold elder they had seen, they found that in truth he greatly cared for the people living around and the corpses themselves. Wu Guang did not lie, as the fact that the elder wanted to track the undead meant that he wanted to return the bodies and avoid harm, and as for the real reason, there was no way he could tell them without being allowed.

The return was similar to their journey here, albeit this time they did not talk at all. Everyone was busy thinking about the experience. Although Wu Guang was mainly thinking about what he learned and examining the newly acquired technique, which to his surprise he found to be an evolving type.

Such techniques were extremely rare as they would actually grow alongside one's cultivation and so until the owner found something better suited to his combat style, could be used at any realm. So in truth, it should be considered a Martial Skill and not a spirit technique. The main point of 'Counting steps towards Hell and Heaven' was basically that one's step would increase and so with every cultivation level, realm, or by advancing the mastery, fewer steps would be required to reach either the hell, the heaven, or one's destination.

Adding that it only used a bit of qi infused into the legs, the mysterious disappearance and appearance of the elder were easily explained, he simply had reached a level where every step under the technique would move him enough for them to lose track of him.

In such contemplative mood, the four of them arrived at the sect right as the sun rose. Their first destination was the mission hall, which thankfully opened right as they neared it, and so without much problem, they reported the mission and after Wu Guang presented a small token given to him by the elder before they left the cemetery, everyone received their points. Originally the points for the mission were meant to be 500 and so everyone would get 125, but for some reason, the reward was doubled and they got 250 points each. Knowing that sometimes it's better to don't ask and just go with the flow, Wu Guang and the other two stopped Kuang Jing from asking and left the hall.

Outside they explained their mindset to the still questioning Kuang Jing and the latter seemingly accepted that receiving more was far better than receiving less. After this quickly saying their farewells and confirming that today they would not meet, they reminded each other to prepare carefully for tomorrow and separated.

Wu Guang did not return to the residence as Yuan Taotu but walked towards the Sect's store. In there he proceeded to the fourth floor which sold weapons and asked if there were any available rune weapons. As expected they were some and Wu Guang managed to find something that could be used for now and could be bought with his current points. In truth, he longed for a spirit weapon, but such were hard to find and would be sold only in auctions or if considering getting one from the sect, given out by it for some outstanding deed.

Still, his find was a good one indeed. A long one-handed saber made from spirit beast bones. The handle was a foot long and so could be used with both hands if needed, while the almost four feet long blade would give him an advantage in range over the normally shorter one-handed weapons. Obviously the size and material came with several disadvantages such as weight, durability, and the fact that it could only be carried on one's back, but the runes engraved on it helped solve the first two.

First, there was a set of weight controlling runes which made it possible to make it almost weightless by lowering the original fifty pounds to only ten, or on the contrary increase its weight five times, to the practically unmovable two hundred and fifty.

And secondly, there was a rune set for maintaining its edge and letting it repair by absorbing any kind of beast bones, which meant that Wu Guang could not worry about it breaking or becoming dull.

This left him with only the disadvantage in size, as well the fact that he was required to infuse qi constantly or the runes would disappear as there was no gathering set engraved. Although thanks to this, the price was only 230 points in place of the normal 500 or so for a two rune sets weapon.

Initially, he had guessed that he could not afford a rune weapon and would be forced to find some way to coax Elder Mo to give him one, but somehow it worked out and Wu Guang left the store with the weapon. The rules actually prohibited such, but after explaining that he would directly go to his residence and train with it there, he was allowed to buy a single-use holding box for 15 contribution points to transport the weapon without having to wait for it to be delivered.

This rule also generated a question in how he would transport the blade the next day, but he decided to throw it at Elder Mo, after all, he intended to use it during the mission that came from the latter.