The woman's tone was calm but curious.
Aksai looked at the screen for another mont before turning toward her.
"Yes," he replied with a small nod.
The woman's expression brightened slightly.
"That's good," she said.
She gestured toward the other mbers of her group.
"We have already planned to accept this mission."
Aksai glanced at the six other Experts standing behind her. They were all studying the mission details.
"We were waiting for more Experts to join," the woman continued.
She pointed toward a section of the mission description.
"The battle formation provided for this mission requires nine Experts."
Aksai looked at the battle formation diagram displayed on the spectral screen.
The formation clearly required nine Expert-level cultivators to function properly.
"We only have seven people right now," the woman explained.
She then smiled lightly.
"Fellow cultivator, if you join us, we will only need one more Expert before we can officially accept the mission."
Aksai remained silent for a brief mont as if thinking. Then he nodded without hesitation.
"Sure. I'll join you. Please tell all the details, fellow cultivator," he said courteously.
The woman looked pleased. Although it wasn't difficult to find Experts on Erald Cove Island, missions to hunt down 3rd Order demon beasts carried a certain level of risk even for the most experienced Experts. As such, there were not many willing participants among rogue and non-aligned Spirit cultivators despite the generous rewards.
This was not the group's first ti accepting such a mission. She was used to waiting for days before the missions officially began. This was her first ti finding a willing participant this early in their planned schedule.
"Great," she said while turning back toward her team.
"We just need one more person."
The group began quietly discussing the mission again. anwhile, Aksai stood beside them calmly while looking at the glowing spectral screen.
From the outside, he appeared to be just another Foundation Establishnt cultivator looking for a profitable mission. But inside his mind, he had already begun preparing for what might co next.
The group did not have to wait long.
After a short while, another cultivator approached the sa spectral screen. He appeared to be a middle-aged man with a steady aura and a calm face. His cultivation was also at the Foundation Establishnt stage.
The woman quickly spoke with him and explained the mission. The man looked at the mission details for a few monts before nodding.
"I'll join," he said simply.
With that, the team of nine cultivators was finally complete.
The woman seed satisfied.
She stepped closer to the spectral screen and raised her hand. The screen reacted to her Spirit energy and several lines of glowing text appeared in front of her.
As the only late-stage Foundation Establishnt Expert in the group, she naturally acted as the team leader. One by one, she began entering the details of the team mbers into the system. The spectral screen displayed small symbols beside each na as their identities were registered.
After entering all nine nas, she pressed her palm lightly against the glowing interface.
The screen flashed once.
Mission accepted.
A small seal of approval appeared on the mission details. At the sa ti, the battle formation diagram was sent to each mber through their identity tokens.
The woman turned around and looked at the group.
"Since we will be traveling together, we should at least know each other's nas," she said.
She spoke first.
"My na is Lurina Vale," she said calmly. "Late-stage Foundation Establishnt. I have completed four similar missions before."
The other mbers nodded lightly.
Aksai stepped forward next.
"I am Naran Netherfire," he said in a calm voice.
"I'm a loose cultivator from the mainland. I ca to Erald Cove Island recently. Joining the Erald Cove Guild allows to access resources while still staying independent.
"I don't have any imdiate plans to join a sect yet. As such, I'll act as a guild mber of this for quite so ti, at least until I reach the peak of the mid-stage Foundation Establishnt realm."
The others listened without suspicion. Loose cultivators traveling between islands and guilds was a common thing. One by one, the rest of the mbers introduced themselves.
Most of them were also loose cultivators or minor sect mbers who had joined the guild to earn resources. Their introductions were brief. No one spoke too much about their past.
After the introductions were done, Lurina nodded.
"Good. We should depart soon," she said.
The group left the guild hall together.
Outside, the evening air was cool and calm. The harbor of Erald Cove Island was still busy with many ships moving in and out.
The team quickly rented a dium-sized Spirit ship that was suitable for a small team of cultivators.
Soon, the ship sailed away from Erald Cove Island. The Spirit formations beneath the ship humd softly as the vessel moved across the wide sea.
The journey toward the mainland began.
During the first few days, the group mostly focused on travel. The ship cut through the calm waters of the Dadangar Seas while Spirit energy powered its speed.
Occasionally, they encountered other ships or flying cultivators traveling between islands. The team kept a low profile. After several days of sea travel, the ship finally reached the mainland coast.
The group disembarked and continued their journey inland. The Duya Forest was far from the coast, but the team used various shortcuts to reduce the travel ti.
So parts of the journey were completed on smaller flying artifacts. At other tis, they used fast ground movent techniques through mountain paths and open plains.
In short, the group traveled carefully but quickly. Even with the distance involved, they managed to complete the journey within a week. This was the advantage of having a team that comprised all Experts.
At last, the land around them began to change. Tall trees appeared on the horizon. The air beca thicker with wild Spirit energy. A deep green sea of trees stretched across the land.
The Duya Forest.
The team stopped at the edge of the forest.
The sunlight struggled to pass through the thick canopy of leaves. Strange sounds echoed faintly from within the dark woods. The place carried a natural sense of danger.
Lurina looked at the group and spoke calmly.
"We have reached the outer region of Duya Forest."
She then looked at the mission details once more.
"The target demon beast was last spotted several hundred miles inside in that direction."
The group nodded silently. Without wasting more ti, the team of nine cultivators stepped into the vast and dangerous Duya Forest together.
The team spent two days moving deeper into the Duya Forest. Lurina led the team carefully while checking the mission map stored inside her jade slip.
Several tis they encountered smaller demon beasts along the way. These beasts were mostly 2nd Order creatures. The group avoided unnecessary fights and only dealt with the ones that blocked their path.
Finally, on the third day, they found signs of their target. The ground was torn apart in several places. Large trees had been broken like dry sticks. Deep hoof marks were pressed into the earth.
Everyone stopped when they saw the signs.
"This should be it," Lurina said quietly.
The group spread out carefully and followed the tracks. After moving deeper into a rocky clearing, they finally saw it. A massive demon beast stood in the center of the clearing.
It was a huge boar-type creature. Its body was almost as large as a small house. Thick black fur covered its back like armor. Two curved tusks extended from its mouth like sharp blades. Its eyes glowed with wild Spirit energy.
The beast snorted loudly as it sensed the approaching cultivators. Spirit energy began gathering around its body. Lurina imdiately raised her hand.
"Formation," she said firmly.
All nine cultivators quickly moved into their assigned positions.
The battle formation activated.
A faint glowing pattern appeared on the ground around them. Thin streams of Spirit energy connected each mber of the team together.
Aksai quietly took his assigned position. He controlled his aura carefully so that it matched that of an early-stage Foundation Establishnt Expert.
From the outside, he looked calm but slightly cautious. Just like soone facing a 3rd Order demon beast for the first ti.
The giant boar demon beast suddenly roared and charged forward. The ground shook under its heavy steps. Its body crashed toward the formation like a moving mountain.
The formation reacted instantly. A glowing barrier appeared in front of the team. The boar smashed into it with full force.
Swoosh. Ram. Boom.
The impact shook the entire clearing. However, the barrier held.
Part of the demon beast's strength was absorbed by the formation and redirected through the Spirit energy network connecting the nine cultivators.
The team held their ground. The boar roared again and released a Spirit spell. Sharp spikes of stone rose from the ground and shot toward the group.
'Hmm. I might as well play my part and act stressed,' Aksai thought to himself before expressing a mix of fear and uncertainty through his body language as he faced the 3rd Order demon beast.
The Spirit farr wasn't really interested in taking the rewards of the mission, which were the demon beast's body and Spirit Core. He wanted to see what would happen after the mission was completed.
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