At the foot of West Kunwu, in a small town, a streak of azure light flashed across the sky as a young man descended with a girl.
It was Ye Jingwen and Mo Tiange.
Two days ago, the two had returned to Mo Village. Ye Jingwen expressed his intention to take Mo Tiange away, and none of the Mo family dared voice any objection. Afterwards, Mo Tiange packed her belongings and bid farewell to Tian Qiao.
Upon learning everything, Tian Qiao was both envious and reluctant to part. Unfortunately, Ye Jingwen said she had no spiritual roots and could not cultivate immortality. The two children could only part with tears in their eyes.
Over these two days, Mo Tiange learned many things from Ye Jingwen.
It turned out that her father had left ten years ago to seek opportunities at a secret location. To the east of the Tianji Region, there was a mountain range that was the territory of the Demonic Path. It was said that during the great war between the righteous and demonic paths a hundred thousand years ago, the Demonic Path was defeated and thus ceded Mount Kunwu. The righteous and demonic paths were then divided by a mountain: the northeast belonged to the Demonic Path, while the southwest was the domain of the righteous path's leader, the Tiandao Sect. This mountain was named Tianmo Mountain.
It was said that Tianmo Mountain was the battlefield of the ancient war between Immortals and Demons. To this day, it retained extremely powerful restriction arrays and other artifacts. Ordinary cultivators would die upon entering, but many treasures were also left behind, so people often went there seeking opportunities. Ten years ago, the restrictions in a certain part of Tianmo Mountain vanished, and both righteous and demonic cultivators swarmed in. Mo Tiange's father, Ye Hai, left the Mo family at that time to go to this place. Unfortunately, not long after, only a small portion of the cultivators who entered managed to escape. It was said all the others perished. Perfected Lord Shoujing of the Xuanqing Sect had gotten acquainted with Ye Hai during this journey, and the two disappeared together in this mountain.
Originally, many people thought Perfected Lord Shoujing had unfortunately perished. Unexpectedly, not long ago, he returned safely. However, all the cultivators who disappeared with him had perished. He had also used a secret technique, nearly losing all his cultivation base, to manage to escape. Upon returning to the Xuanqing Sect, Perfected Lord Shoujing had suffered a great loss in cultivation and had to enter seclusion immediately. It was said that his ability to escape this time was also due to a great favor from Ye Hai, hence he sent Ye Jingwen to arrange his posthumous affairs.
From Ye Jingwen, Mo Tiange learned that there were still blood relatives on her father's side.
The Ye family was originally a cultivation clan of Qingmeng Mountain in West Kunwu, but they were few in number, and in the end, only two cultivator brothers remained. In the past, when Ye Hai was present, his formidable reputation ensured no one dared to bully them. However, ten years ago, when news of his disappearance in Tianmo Mountain spread, the Ye family lost its only Core Formation cultivator and could no longer maintain its foothold on Qingmeng Mountain. The last remaining cultivator had no choice but to relocate the family to the mortal world and become a Loose Cultivator himself. This cultivator was precisely Ye Hai's younger brother, Mo Tiange's uncle.
"Once we find your uncle, you can both follow me back to Taikang Mountain. You can join the Xuanqing Sect, or rebuild the family—either is possible."
Ye Jingwen had told her that the Xuanqing Sect was one of the seven great sects of Tianji. With the Xuanqing Sect as their backing, they need not fear being bullied. Tianji had seven great sects, among which the Tiandao Sect was the most powerful, and the Xuanqing Sect was second only to it, making it the number one sect in West Kunwu.
Mo Tiange had no objections. She had hoped for so long, only to learn that her father was no longer here. Now, as long as she could leave that home, she didn't care where she went. If she still had any expectations, it was that she still had an uncle.
They had set off from Mo Village two days ago and finally arrived here. Ye Jingwen said there were cultivators here.
Mo Tiange looked around curiously but found this was just an ordinary town.
Seeing her disappointed expression, Ye Jingwen smiled and said, "These are just mortals. The dwellings of Immortals cannot be seen by mortals." With that, he led her into a dilapidated small temple.
Mo Tiange didn't notice anything unusual about this temple either. Ye Jingwen took out a jade pendant from his robes and handed it to Mo Tiange: "This was given to you by my uncle-master. From now on, do not part with this item. Wearing it, even a Nascent Soul stage senior will not be able to discern your constitution."
Mo Tiange accepted it. The pendant was round, the jade warm and smooth, with cloud patterns painted on it and tied with a red cord. She turned it over and found a small character "Qin" engraved in the center of the other side.
Ye Jingwen said, "My uncle-master's surname is Qin, known as Qin Shoujing." With a wave of his hand, the scene before them instantly changed. The fallen deity statue in the temple had disappeared, replaced by a street market flanked by shops. Ye Jingwen took her hand: "Let's go."
It looked just like an ordinary small town street, nothing like a place where Immortals lived.
Hearing Mo Tiange say this, Ye Jingwen laughed: "So-called Immortals are merely people who have not yet become Immortals. These markets still in the mortal world are gathering places for Loose Cultivators. Generally, there are no major powers here, so of course there's no grandeur to speak of."
As soon as the two entered the market, they attracted the gazes of others. For no other reason than Ye Jingwen's imposing aura and the robes he wore. A Foundation Establishment expert, wearing the Xuanqing Sect's Daoist robes—truly enviable.
As they walked along, Mo Tiange discovered it was still different from the mortal world. For example, the people setting up stalls on the street had all sorts of strange things on their stalls. Some people simply hung out a sign stating what they were selling. Others led birds and beasts never seen in the mortal world, though these were not many.
Ye Jingwen led her without glancing sideways, weaving through streets and alleys until they entered a shop.
The shop was very large, and it was unclear what it sold. Only a high counter was visible, with no goods in sight. As soon as they entered, Mo Tiange saw that the shopkeeper guarding the counter wore robes very similar to Ye Jingwen's—also blue robes with white lining—though not as exquisite as his. Mo Tiange could also sense his cultivation level wasn't much higher than hers.
As soon as they entered, the shopkeeper took a careful look, came out to bow, and addressed Ye Jingwen as "Uncle-Master."
Ye Jingwen nodded and asked, "Where is the manager here?"
This shopkeeper was clearly also a disciple of the Xuanqing Sect. He hurriedly invited them in and said, "Uncle-Master Chen is upstairs. Please, Uncle-Master."
Going upstairs, Mo Tiange saw the second floor was the same as the first, filled with counters. However, there were many chairs to the side, like a reception area.
The shopkeeper led them to a corner, to an old man in his fifties or sixties, and respectfully reported, "Uncle-Master Chen, an Uncle-Master from our sect has arrived."
The old man seemed to be dozing. He opened his eyes, saw Ye Jingwen, and perked up, instructing the shopkeeper: "You may go. Serve tea."
"Yes," the shopkeeper responded and withdrew.
Seeing Ye Jingwen wearing the attire of a high-level disciple of their sect and being so young, the old man dared not be negligent. He stood up, cupped his hands, and asked, "Junior Brother, I am the manager here. My humble surname is Chen, name Youli. May I ask which Perfected One Junior Brother is a disciple of, and what brings you here?"
Ye Jingwen returned the courtesy and said, "I am Ye Jingwen of Qingquan Peak, sent by my uncle-master Shoujing to inquire about someone's whereabouts."
"Oh?" Hearing the words "Qingquan Peak," the old man became even more cautious. Qingquan Peak was where the sect's founder, Jinghe, cultivated in seclusion. This founder had always had a bad temper and was extremely protective of his own. "Does Junior Brother Ye have a token?"
Ye Jingwen nodded, took out a palm-sized jade token from his robes, and handed it over. After verifying it was correct, the old man returned the token to Ye Jingwen and invited the two into an elegant room set with restrictions.
"Junior Brother Ye, please speak."
Ye Jingwen admired his cautious manner and his tone became much more cordial: "Senior Brother Chen, the person we're looking for is a Loose Cultivator named Ye Jiang, at Foundation Establishment cultivation, quite old in age, likely appearing around fifty years old. It's said someone saw him pass through here."
Chen Youli stroked his beard in thought for a moment and said, "Please wait here a while, Junior Brother. I'll send disciples to make inquiries."
Ye Jingwen nodded: "Please, Senior Brother."
Chen Youli withdrew and had someone bring tea.
Mo Tiange was astonished to see that this tea actually contained spiritual energy.
Ye Jingwen explained to her: "This is just tea cultivated in a spiritual energy-rich place, not some rare variety."
Mo Tiange made an understanding sound, then asked him: "Brother Ye, is this a shop opened by your sect?"
Ye Jingwen replied: "Correct. We have shops in various markets. Disciples outside who need assistance can all seek out the managers."
"I see."
The two waited for a while before Chen Youli returned.