Rise to God with Life Skill Professions-Chapter 490 - 479: Mission, Ocean

In the courtyard, a cold wind was blowing bleakly, and the surrounding scenery seemed to have darkened a few shades.

In the corner, a dead tree had long withered, and as the breeze blew, a few leaves fell.

The leaves made a crisp sound when they landed on the ground.

At this moment, in the cold wind, the murderous aura of Qin An burst forth at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The surrounding cold wind seemed to become even more piercing.

Wu Rang stood opposite Qin An, shivering involuntarily after sensing the murderous aura emanating from him.

He couldn’t help but recall the scene on the official road when Qin An, with a single blade, had killed two women from the Ling Sword Sect. His back was chilled, as if cold air was spreading from his spine to every part of his body.

Wu Rang lowered his head and clasped his fists, saying, "Since the master is already aware, then I will take the Ling Yun sword and leave."

He dared not say more, the person in front of him was not only the Tong Daoshuai of the Evil Extermination Bureau, but also possessed strength far beyond the initial stage of the Void Shattering Realm.

He felt that every second standing here was like enduring torment.

Qin An tossed aside the Ling Yun sword and extended his hand: "Bring the five demon souls."

Wu Rang hurriedly took the Ling Yun sword, then took out five demon souls from his chest and handed them to Qin An.

Qin An took them without speaking, just placed them in his chest, turned around, and headed towards the Internal Affairs Department.

Wu Rang saw this scene, watched Qin An’s figure disappear at the end of the courtyard, and only then came to his senses, quietly leaving with the Ling Yun sword.

Soon, the courtyard was empty except for the Tong Daoshuai of the Evil Extermination Bureau who often passed by, as if nothing had happened.

...

On the way to the Internal Affairs Department, Qin An walked as he pondered.

"The Dragon Palace leaked my information, it shouldn’t be the work of Princess Long San, and now with the Dragon Crown Prince soon to be established, the Dragon King wouldn’t expose my information either, so it must be one of the remaining eight Dragon Princes."

"No matter who it is, the situation in the Dragon Palace seems more complicated than I thought."

"But this has nothing to do with me, I just do business with the Dragon Palace. If the Alchemy Master Alliance dares to come looking for trouble, then let them see if my blade is sharp."

"Also, business with the Dragon Palace can continue, but shouldn’t get too involved, as the establishment of the Dragon Crown Prince is likely to be a bloody storm."

"I just need to keep developing."

With this thought, Qin An had completely settled on his future decisions.

Standing at the entrance of the Internal Affairs Department, Qin An stepped inside, arriving at the place of the Daoist Official.

"Find me a task."

Qin An said succinctly.

Currently, he still needed merit, as long as the task is completed and he receives the corresponding merit, he can return to continue cultivating his blacksmithing skill proficiency, which will allow him to deduce the barehanded Cultivation Technique to the initial stage of the Void Shattering Realm after reaching level seventeen proficiency.

It is estimated that by that time, there would be some developments in the black market.

Qin An had three Cultivation Techniques reaching the initial stage of the Void Shattering Realm, making the journey to the black market more assured.

The Daoist Official had changed, not the one Qin An had received his task from before, and thus didn’t recognize Qin An.

However, he recognized Qin An’s badge on his waist, and upon hearing his words, respectfully placed a scroll in front of Qin An for him to choose from.

Qin An made a brief selection, then took a task and walked out of the Internal Affairs Department.

When he came out, Qin An had already picked up a fast horse.

Without saying a word, he mounted the horse and headed towards the location of the task.

...

Langdang Sea, located to the east of Tianyun Dao, about a hundred miles away.

There is a small village here, called Langdang Village, whose residents all rely on fishing for their livelihood.

Due to its proximity to the sea, the village is relatively prosperous.

But recently, there is an unsettling factor looming in the village.

Zhao Tiezhu looked at the fish caught today, his face filled with worry.

"How can these fish be eaten?"

Zhao Tiezhu sighed.

Just as the fish placed on the ground emitted streams of black water.

The black water continuously oozed from the fish scales and mouths.

In recent times, the villagers of Langdang Village noticed that the fish caught started to exude black water during fishing.

Yet these fish were lively.

No one knew what was happening.

A few daring villagers tried eating these fish, only to die on the spot.

This matter quickly reached the local yamen.

But after the constables from the yamen came to investigate, they found nothing further.

They only advised the villagers of Langdang Village not to continue eating the fish caught.

This sudden fishing ban made the villagers of Langdang Village somewhat strapped for cash, as their livelihood was fishing.

If not for their large savings over time, many villagers would have already sought alternative means.

Nearby, quite a few villagers passed by, each carrying a large basket of fish, but the black water emitted by the fish dripped to the ground through the gaps in the baskets.

They tried each day, hoping the caught fish would improve, but each time they returned disappointed.

Zhao Tiezhu sighed, packed the fish in baskets, and prepared to bury them outside.

This was the method instructed by the yamen.

As commoners, they dared not defy the orders of the officials.

Under Mr. Yang’s leadership, they went daily to bury large quantities of sea fish.

The baskets were heavy, but Zhao Tiezhu, being accustomed to this work, was physically strong enough to carry the heavy bamboo baskets on his shoulder and walk steadily.

Upon reaching the concentrated burial site at the village entrance, Zhao Tiezhu suddenly stopped, instinctively casting his eyes ahead, showing a hint of doubt in his gaze.

In the thin mist ahead, there seemed to be a silhouette gradually approaching.

Zhao Tiezhu instinctively placed the fish basket on the ground, looked carefully, and saw the silhouette becoming clearer.

He saw a tall figure clad in dark clothing gradually approaching.

Although the man was dressed in dark clothing, his body emitted a suffocating aura.

His features were handsome, yet he exuded an air of aloofness that seemed to repel those around him.

The straight blade hanging from his waist only added to his intimidating presence.

As Zhao Tie Zhu was lost in a daze, the young man in mysterious attire had already approached him.

Before Zhao Tie Zhu could speak, he heard a steady and calm voice.

"I am Tong Daoshuai of the Evil Extermination Bureau, ordered to investigate the affairs of Langdang Sea. Where is your village chief?"

With these words, Zhao Tie Zhu snapped back to reality, showing a look of astonishment.

This village was relatively wealthy and had broader connections, so they understood the weight of the Evil Extermination Bureau’s name.

If the Evil Extermination Bureau was dispatched, there must be harm from evil spirits or pseudo-gods.

Looking at the ominous fish in the basket, a tinge of horror arose in Zhao Tie Zhu’s heart: "Could this ominous fish be connected to evil spirits or pseudo-gods?"

With this thought, Zhao Tie Zhu quickly shivered and waved his hands in response.

"Sir, sir, please come into the village with me!"

Since the matter has called for personnel from the Evil Extermination Bureau, it surely isn’t trivial.

As a humble villager, he naturally couldn’t make the decision.

After saying this, Zhao Tie Zhu realized he hadn’t asked for this gentleman’s name, quickly inquiring tentatively: "May I ask how to address the esteemed gent?"

The young man in mysterious attire cast a light glance at him, his voice unruffled: "Qin An."

Hearing this, Zhao Tie Zhu felt a chill like a cold wind, shivering once more. Only then did he raise his hand in welcoming, "Sir, please come with me; our village chief is inside."

Qin An nodded slightly, said no more, and followed Zhao Tie Zhu into the village.

However, his gaze silently swept over the ominous fish, forming an idea in his mind.

"These are fish polluted by Evil Qi."

After accepting the mission, he rushed towards Langdang Sea without delay.

During his journey, he had already guessed that the pollution here might be related to Evil Qi.

Now, seeing this, he was even more convinced.

But all this requires more clues to proceed.

Upon entering the village, Qin An found the atmosphere unusually tense.

The villagers walked back and forth either with heads down and eyes full of melancholy or sat in front of their doors, sighing continuously. Some were even angrily beating the fish they had just caught at their doorstep. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Zhao Tie Zhu cautiously led the way at the front, soon arriving at the largest wooden house in the village.

Inside, an elderly man was seated on a stool, gently swaying a palm fan.

The old man had white hair and a beard, yet his face bore an ingrained sadness.

Seemingly aware of footsteps, the elder looked up, his gaze passing Zhao Tie Zhu, landing on Qin An. He then stood up abruptly, tremblingly walked out of the house, and greeted Qin An with a bow.

"I am the village chief of Langdang Village, named Yang Wenyuan. Greetings to the distinguished sir. May I know your name?"

As he spoke, Mr. Yang lowered his gaze to the ground, not daring even to glance at Qin An’s shoes.

After reporting his name, Qin An then said: "I have been ordered to resolve the situation in Langdang Village. Tell me the full story, and also tell me the exact location where you fish."

Since the resolution requires going to Langdang Sea, solving such an enormous sea will indeed be difficult.

Thus, they start investigating from the villagers’ fishing areas.

Mr. Yang dared not be verbose and explained the situation in detail.

As Qin An listened, he nodded occasionally.

These matters of Langdang Village had been understood in detail when Qin An accepted the mission.

A detailed comparison needs to be made to check for discrepancies.

After this comparison, he found no discrepancies.

With this thought, Qin An slowly said: "Take me to the place where you fish."

Since there is no discrepancy in the mission, action must commence.

Qin An did not want to waste time; he simply wanted to complete the achievements quickly and return to the Evil Extermination Bureau to cultivate blacksmithing skills.

Mr. Yang was not a man fond of idle talk, in fact, he had long hoped for personnel from the Evil Extermination Bureau to come and resolve the black water issue for Langdang Village.

Then, Mr. Yang looked at Zhao Tie Zhu standing beside him and said, "Take this esteemed sir to our fishing spot to have a look."

Zhao Tie Zhu, standing aside, initially felt he had nothing to do, but unexpectedly, the village chief suddenly instructed him to lead Qin An to locate the fishing spot.

However, since the village chief had given the word, Zhao Tie Zhu naturally dared not refuse, hurriedly agreeing.

"Let’s go," Qin An said softly.

Zhao Tie Zhu immediately agreed respectfully and then led the way.

The two quickly vanished into the forest outside the village.

...

The Langdang Sea wasn’t far from Langdang Village.

After passing through the dense forest ahead, Qin An heard the surging sound of seawater.

He looked up and saw a wide, sandy beach.

At the beach’s edge was the azure sea.

At this moment, under the sun’s rays, the sea shimmered with dazzling light.

As a gentle breeze blew, the calm sea began to ripple.

The foam-covered seawater spread over the beach along with the waves.

With the ebb and flow of the tide, from here, along with the bright sun in the sky, the scene was rather magnificent.

On the sea surface were several simple fishing boats, and fishing nets and various fishing tools were scattered around.

"There are no people here anymore," Zhao Tie Zhu said as he walked: "Ever since the yamen of Tianyun Dao issued a fishing ban, we only catch a small number of fish each day, checking for any improvement."

Qin An nodded slightly and then walked towards the water.

The closer he got to the sea, the more he felt a chill of Evil Qi climbing from the sea surface, surging towards the shore.

The Evil Qi was faint, and ordinary people would only feel it was regular cooling.

Soon, Qin An arrived at the beach by the sea.

At this moment, he looked at the vast sea, but furrowed his brows.