In the past, when Song Shi cultivated, there were still phenomena. This time, it was like a black hole. The Spiritual Qi was completely devoured, looking especially terrifying.
Those who were resting nearby were alarmed. They walked out and looked at Song Shi's courtyard in surprise.
"Who is this? Why is there such a huge commotion?"
"No one's been staying here before. Are you new?"
"Why did I see the deacon bring him here personally?"
Many people began to discuss. The tppic of Song Shi's origins gradually spread throughout the Heaven Patrolling Hall, and for a time, it became a topic of conversation.
Two days later, the Vajra Saint came over. When he saw that many people were watching Song Shi cultivate, he frowned. "Do all of you have nothing to do? Do you want me to give you some Quests?"
As soon as he said this, the people who were watching the show nearby immediately retreated.
The Vajra Saint landed in front of Song Shi. "Little friend, it's me."
The Array Formation disc beside Song Shi vibrated and stopped cultivating. Seeing that it was the Vajra Saint, he stood up and walked out, opening the Array Formation.
"Your identity token is here. I helped you get the first month's offerings in advance. They're all here."
The Vajra Saint threw over a bag. There was a blue token and a storage bag inside.
"Thank you!"
Song Shi said solemnly. The other party could have asked one of his subordinates to do this. Furthermore, there was no need for him to receive a month's worth of offerings in advance. He was doing this because he was taking care of him.
"Work hard on your cultivation. Recently, the demons have made some movements. There might be another war in the future."
The Vajra Saint reminded, "You can only protect yourself if you're strong enough. You're talented and have a high upper limit. I might have to rely on you in the future."
"Haha, no problem. Since you're taking such good care of me, I will be sure to do the same."
Song Shi laughed.
"That's all. I still have to go on patrol. I'll take my leave first."
The Vajra Saint did not hesitate and left readily.
Song Shi did not say anything and secretly noted this down.
"I'll start my seclusion and quickly increase my strength!"
He took out all the monthly offerings and threw all the one thousand high-grade spirit stones that were sparkling and translucent under him. He sat on the spirit stones and began to cultivate.
With the help of abundant spirit stones, Song Shi's Dharmic powers were completely restored in half a day. Then, he easily broke through small bottlenecks and constantly improved.
After more than half a month, Song Shi reached the late-stage Soul Transformation realm in one go. Only then did he stop the explosive increase in his cultivation. Next, he only needed to polish it for a period of time to reach the perfected Soul Transformation realm.
At this point, all the spirit stones and medicinal pills had basically been consumed. Among them, the Vajra Saint had lent them to Song Shi.
"Time to make some money."
Song Shi stopped cultivating.
To him, it was only because of this special situation that he had cultivated in seclusion for so long.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be in seclusion given his normal speed.
Song Shi got up and walked out of the courtyard. He walked around the Heaven Patrolling Hall and began to understand the situation here.
With every step he took, he felt that the Array Formation was changing. From time to time, a force would sweep past his body.
He probably had an identity token and did not encounter any obstacles.
After walking for half a day, he had a feeling that this place was like a big city, but a city prepared for war.
The entire Black Tortoise Holy Palace was a terrifying war machine. The Array Formation contained in it was complicated and mysterious. Moreover, he could not see through the Array Formation here at all.
Song Shi felt like he had just entered the city from the countryside. He was shocked by many things. He had been walking for most of the day without getting bored.
"Every place contains array formations that far exceed the sixth-grade. They're impregnable. It's very difficult to leave or enter casually."
Song Shi, who had walked around the vicinity, stopped and looked up at the Void. He suddenly understood why the Vajra Saint wanted to get his identity token immediately.
If one did not have the authority to walk around here, the Array Formation Power would have long crushed them over.
He turned to look at the other side of the interface and frowned. "In that case, it's probably even more difficult to enter the Black Spirit Realm than the Heavenly Demon World. Even if I wasn't swallowed by the Demon Refinement Ground previously, I might not have been able to avoid these if I wanted to enter."
He had a vague feeling that the entire Black Spirit Realm had a line of defense that could not be entered casually.
"Fellow Daoist, I see that you've been walking around for a long time. You should be new, right?"
Someone walked over from behind and greeted him.
Song Shi turned around. The person who spoke was a Daoist. He was short and muscular. He had a beard and looked honest.
He replied calmly, "More or less."
"Then you'll have to walk around for a few days to familiarize yourself with the entire Black Tortoise Palace. However, I don't suggest you do this. It's easy to be suspected."
The Daoist said meaningfully, "You'd better only be familiar with the hall you're in. If there's no need, don't go to other areas."
Song Shi understood that he had walked into the other party's territory and was suspected of having ulterior motives.
He nodded. "Thank you for the reminder. Which hall are you from?"
"Heaven Punishment Hall."
The Daoist said with a smile.
"…"
Song Shi was a little speechless. He was just here to take a look. Was there a need to do this?
"Fellow Daoist, there's no need to panic. Our hall usually does things impartially. Without evidence, we won't arrest people casually."
The Daoist was implying something.
"There are so many spies?"
Song Shi retorted.
"That's for sure. The Demon Realm covets our Black Spirit Realm and hasn't given up. All sorts of spies have been sneaking in. Some have possessed us, some have disguised themselves, and some have deliberately reincarnated in the Black Spirit Realm. They all want to break through our defense from the inside…"
The Daoist said matter-of-factly, "I hope you're not one of those."
"Of course I'm different."
Song Shi shrugged. "You do you. I'll continue walking around."
Seeing that Song Shi was not guilty at all, the Daoist did not say anything else. He cupped his fists and turned to leave.
Song Shi did not continue watching for long before the Vajra Saint came looking for him. "Song Shi, you have been targeted by the guys from the Heaven Punishment Hall. Don't come out to shop if you have nothing to do. Those guys are quite sensitive and are afraid that you are the enemy."
"How can there be so many demons? Why didn't I encounter any?"
Song Shi did not care much, but when he saw that the Vajra Saint was implicated, he still changed his words. "I won't go around for no reason."
"As long as you know your limits."
The Vajra Saint did not say much about this to avoid making people hate him. He changed the topic. "I see that your condition is not bad. You're already a late-stage Soul Transformation cultivator. The treatment I'll give you is just right for your strength."
"Speaking of benefits, is there any way to make extra money?"
Song Shi asked casually.
"Of course. If we want to earn more resources, we naturally have to patrol dangerous places. The more dangerous the place, the higher the reward."
The Vajra Saint said, "Your identity token can accept some special missions and complete special missions. You can choose not to do regular missions, but I don't recommend you to do these things as soon as you come. You are not familiar with the nearby situation, so special missions are still too dangerous."
"I want to try and earn some resources as soon as possible."
Song Shi was interested instead.
Now that his cultivation level had increased, he was just short of dying once and continuing to train in the Demonic Refinement Ground.
Otherwise, it would be too boring to stay here and be an ordinary patrol guard.
"Sigh, young people are so bold. Just like my great-grandson, he was arrogant and accepted special Quests. In the end, he might have just lost his life."
The Vajra Saint sighed.
Song Shi felt that this sentence was implying something.
He continued the main topic. "How do I accept the special Quests?"
"Through your identity token, you can directly check the current mission list and accept special Quests."
The Vajra Saint frowned. "Think about it carefully before deciding. I don't think you'll be able to accept a special Quest without any Normal Patrol Quests. Without enough EXP, the probability of you dying after going is very high."
Song Shi hurriedly took out his clone token and probed it with his thoughts. Apart from some conventional things, he really saw a special piece of information.
Inside was the special Quests. He entered with his thoughts and looked at the top of the list.
"The reward for patrolling the demon cave is three thousand high-grade spirit stones each time. You will be paid 10% in advance."
Seeing the first Quest, Song Shi asked, "What's a demon cave? Is it nearby?"
"The demon cave is a special space that the demons specially opened up in the vicinity to form a cave abode when they attacked back then. It's connected to the Heavenly Demon World. There's Demonic Qi and various traps inside. It's equivalent to a fortress."
The Vajra Saint explained, "There are still many remnants of these demonic caves. If there are demons, they will basically hide in the demonic caves to replenish their strength. In other words, if you patrol near the demonic caves, it's very easy to encounter demons. It's very dangerous."
"Then I'll go here."
Song Shi said without hesitation, causing the Vajra Saint to be stunned.
