Immortal Reincarnation Tribulation

Chapter 194 Barley City

"The distance between the two sides goes without saying, but the key is that the monsters in the Eastern Sea are not benevolent. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator cannot guarantee that he will be safe and sound if he flies to the depths of the Eastern Sea."

As for the cultivators from the Earthly Fiend Islands being able to infiltrate the Nine Provinces Continent, it's because they possess special methods for controlling sea monsters. Among those monsters are many high-level monsters renowned for their speed, and it is through these methods that they have entered the lands of my Nine Provinces.

Chihiro smiled slightly and spoke with considerable patience.

"I see. Thank you for informing me so much, Elder Qianxun. I have no further questions." Du Fan smiled and cupped his hands in thanks to Qianxun.

"It was nothing, Lord Du, please don't take it to heart. I wonder what Lord Du's plans are next?" Qianxun's eyes flashed as she smiled and said.

"It's not that I don't trust Elder Qianxun, but for the sake of everything, I still need to go to the Hunter's Guild and issue a bounty there. That way, I'll feel a little more at ease," Du Fan said with a sigh.

"Yes, the Hunter's Guild is indeed a good choice. By the way, if you go south for several hundred miles, there is a city called Barley City. A branch of the Hunter's Guild is stationed there." Elder Qianxun nodded and said.

"Alright, thank you for your guidance, Elder Qianxun. I am worried about my friends and I feel uneasy if I cannot do anything for them. I wonder if it is appropriate for me to leave now?" Du Fan pondered for a moment before speaking hesitantly.

"It's alright. I can just give a heads-up to the other Golden Core elders."

"I almost forgot, I have a communication talisman here, Fellow Daoist Du. Please keep it safe. After I return, I will arrange for disciples within my sect to assist Elder Du. If there is any news, I will inform Elder Du through this communication talisman."

Seeing that Du Fan was about to leave, Qianxun suddenly remembered something. With a flick of her sleeve, she took out an ancient-looking talisman, handed it to Du Fan, and said with a smile.

As for the true purpose of this talisman, both of them knew perfectly well. Qianxun had told Du Fan so much without reservation, surely it wasn't for free, it was a favor.

"In that case, I shall accept it without further ado." Du Fan said politely, then took the communication talisman and carefully put it away.

Chihiro smiled slightly, then suddenly flicked her sleeve, and the protective light barrier surrounding the two of them dissipated, transforming into a magical artifact, which she instantly put away.

"Lord Du, since you have important matters to attend to, I will not linger any longer. If you happen to pass by the Netherworld Sect in the future, please inform me of this matter so that I may fulfill my duty as a host and make up for today's regrets," Qianxun said with a hearty laugh.

"Certainly, Elder Qianxun, until we meet again." Du Fan clasped his hands in a slight fist salute, smiled and spoke, then turned and dashed away into a mountain forest.

A few breaths later, Du Fan's figure disappeared into the nearby dense forest.

Witnessing such a bizarre scene, the Golden Core elders were naturally dumbfounded. They had no idea what the two had said inside the barrier, but how could they appear so familiar with each other like brothers as soon as they showed up...

"Wait a minute, who is Du Gongfeng...?"

After a moment of astonishment, the people from all directions realized what had happened and the same question popped into their minds.

The other Golden Core elders were still puzzled and astonished, but the barefoot giant was anxious. With a glare in his bull-like eyes, he couldn't help but transmit his voice:

"Brother Qianxun, what do you mean by this? Why did you let this child go?"

"Didn't you hear me call this person 'Du Gongfeng' just now? Brother Tong, doesn't the name Du Fan sound familiar?" Qianxun transmitted his voice expressionlessly.

"Du Fan... Du Gongfeng... Ah! Could this person be the one from the Seven Star Merchant Alliance of Zhongzhou?" The barefoot man muttered to himself, his eyes suddenly brightening as he transmitted his voice in disbelief.

"Brother Tong has finally remembered. If it's not that person, how many more Du Gongfengs are there?" Qianxun replied calmly.

"How did he end up here... Never mind, this has nothing to do with me. Even so, we can't let him go. Our Soul Devouring Technique still depends on this person!"

"Brother Qianxun, since everyone here saw you let this person go, perhaps we can secretly capture him..."

The barefoot giant, who had seemed somewhat exasperated a moment ago, suddenly changed his expression and transmitted the following words.

"Don't even think about it! I'm warning you, this person has the Seven Star Merchant Alliance's vice-leader's command flag!" Qianxun frowned. Given the other party's reckless nature, he was genuinely worried that he might do something irrational, so he directly warned him.

"What? The Vice Alliance Leader's Command Flag!" The barefoot giant's momentum plummeted upon hearing this, and he muttered in frustration.

"Brother Tong, there's no need to be so dejected. This boy owes me a favor, not too big, not too small. Since we can't rely on him for our personal matters for the time being, we can still talk to him about business."

Completely disregarding the strange looks from the other Golden Core elders, Qianxun swaggered and transmitted his voice.

"Official business...what official business?" The barefoot man was taken aback.

"The great war between our Jizhou and the Disha Islands is about to break out. I am referring to the matter of borrowing troops from Zhongzhou. And this matter will most likely fall to this young man." Qianxun glanced at the barefoot man and transmitted his voice meaningfully.

"Yes, there is such a matter. Given Du's status, he is more than capable of handling it. If we can establish some business dealings with him regarding this matter, there might be opportunities for both of us in the future..."

The barefoot man's eyes suddenly lit up, and he instantly understood.

"It's good that Brother Tong understands. This matter cannot be rushed; we must act according to the circumstances."

By the way, two days ago, I received a secret message from the sect that sea monsters will launch a large-scale attack on the coastal area in the coming days. Our Netherworld Sect has already withdrawn all the disciples distributed in the coastal mines.

If I remember correctly, your Ciguang Sect also has a coastal mine, right? This time, the monster attack was quite large, and with the limited strength of your mine, you absolutely cannot defend it.

"Let's just give up now. After all these years of mining, there's not much good stuff left."

Chihiro nodded in satisfaction, then her expression shifted, and she brought up another matter.

"Oh? Is that so? Thank you for informing me, Brother Qianxun!" Upon hearing this, the barefoot man's face darkened.

……

The journey of several hundred miles was only a matter of a few hours for Du Fan, so he arrived at the barley city that Elder Qianxun had mentioned as dusk approached that year.

After entering the city gate, Du Fan immediately hailed a beast-drawn carriage and headed straight for the Hunter's Guild.

Qingke City wasn't very big, only a small to medium-sized city, so in less than half an hour, Du Fan was sitting in an elegant room of the Qingke City Hunter's Guild.

"I need to issue two bounty missions, the kind that are issued simultaneously across Kyushu. If possible, let's both be classified as A-level," Du Fan said, getting straight to the point as soon as he sat down.

Before him stood a young man, dressed in a purple brocade robe, who appeared to be in his thirties.

"Hehe, it seems you are quite familiar with our guild and must be a frequent visitor. This saves me a lot of trouble."

There's no problem with offering bounties across all nine provinces. As for the rank, according to our guild's rules, you'll need to provide me with the relevant information about the assigned mission before I can make a determination.

The man in purple robes was clearly surprised by Du Fan's straightforwardness, but after a slight pause, he chuckled and said with a normal expression.

"Alright, their information is contained in these two jade slips. Fellow Daoist is also a cultivator, so exploring their contents should be an extremely easy task."

Du Fan nodded and handed the jade slip containing information about Ruoxi and Xiaohu that he had prepared earlier, as well as a copy of the jade slip given by the ghost woman, to the young man opposite him.

The man in purple robes smiled faintly, took it, and released a wisp of divine sense to begin probing it.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the purple-robed man withdrew his divine sense, his expression unusually solemn. After a long while, he smiled at Du Fan and said:

"The person you are looking for is no ordinary individual; placing them at Rank A is no problem. However, the probability of successfully completing such a special mission is not very high. You should be prepared for that."

"It's alright. I'm just doing my best and leaving the rest to fate. As for the outcome, let's leave it to fate."

However, I require that both tasks be kept completely confidential, and no information should be leaked at all, regardless of the final outcome.

"Fellow Daoist, please don't misunderstand. I don't have any doubts about the Hunter's Guild, but this matter is of great importance. After all, I don't know your guild's hunters very well, so..."

Du Fan took a deep breath, cupped his hands in greeting to the man in purple robes, and said solemnly.

"You have absolutely no need to worry about this."

This is no secret, so I might as well say it outright: all the hunters under our guild have signed a special soul contract. If they violate the rules of our guild, they will immediately suffer a soul backlash, with no chance of escaping unscathed.

Do you have any further questions?

The man in purple robes wasn't too surprised. After a slight smile, he gave Du Fan a rather casual explanation.

"I see. In that case, I have no more concerns. Let's begin." Du Fan felt relieved upon hearing this and said with a smile.

……

Half an hour later, Du Fan left the Hunter's Guild, flagged down a beast-drawn carriage, and planned to find an inn to stay in for the time being.

Sitting in the beast-drawn carriage, Du Fan suddenly had an idea and asked the driver about the Seven Star Merchant Alliance.

The result was naturally disappointing; there was no Seven Stars Branch Alliance in Qingke City.

After about the time it takes to eat a meal, Du Fan got off the beast-drawn carriage and arrived at an inconspicuous inn. After paying the silver, he was immediately led to a room by a servant.