The taverns in Guifang City were no different from those in righteous cultivation cities. They were just as bustling with crowds, just as filled with low-level cultivators coming and going, laughing and talking loudly, exchanging information.
For most low-level cultivators, they couldn't enter the mountain gates, couldn't access high-level cultivators, and couldn't receive guidance. Therefore, they valued communication among cultivators even more, obtaining other cultivation information from fellow cultivators of the same rank, sharing what they had and didn't have.
A cultivation city needed the strength of high-level cultivators for support, but it also needed these low-level cultivators to bring vitality; only then could it prosper.
"Esteemed Immortal, welcome. Please sit here." Upstairs in the tavern, a waiter specially assigned to serve cultivators warmly greeted a female cultivator who had just stepped inside, guiding her to a seat.
Although this waiter was a mortal, having been in this extraordinary place for a long time, he had developed a sharp eye. Just by looking at this female cultivator's appearance, he knew she was a righteous cultivator and asked with full enthusiasm, "What would the Immortal like? We have excellent spirit tea, spirit wine brewed from spirit fruits, and dishes prepared from spirit beasts..."
"A pot of tea, and a few plates of dried fruits will suffice," the female cultivator replied indifferently.
"Yes, yes. Please wait a moment." The waiter bowed repeatedly. In no time, he served the spirit tea and dried fruits. "Please enjoy, Immortal. Call if you need anything."
The female cultivator nodded, picked up the spirit tea, took a sip, but her brows furrowed slightly, as if she wasn't satisfied with the tea. Indeed, in the Demonic Domain, what good spirit tea could a tavern catering to ordinary low-level cultivators possibly have?
This tavern was actually quite famous within Guifang City. Even early in the morning, the second-floor seats reserved for cultivators were already seventy to eighty percent full. Seeing this female cultivator enter, the other cultivators more or less shifted their gazes toward her for a while.
They behaved this way for two reasons: first, female cultivators were not common among loose cultivators, especially here in the Demonic Domain, yet this woman was a Daoist cultivator. Second, although this female cultivator clearly didn't exude a strong aura, they couldn't sense her true cultivation level, which was truly strange.
However, no matter how they looked, the female cultivator remained quietly sipping her tea alone, head lowered as she gazed at the tabletop, seemingly unconcerned with her surroundings.
Seeing this, the surrounding cultivators soon resumed their laughter and conversation.
In the Demonic Domain, although low-level Daoist cultivators weren't numerous, they weren't nonexistent either. Just in this tavern, there were three or five, not particularly rare. Besides, these low-level cultivators were busy with cultivation day in and day out; where would they find the time to meddle in others' affairs?
This female cultivator was naturally Mo Tiange.
After a simple farewell with Nie Wushang, she packed her things and left that temporary cave abode.
Having not appeared among people for several years, looking at the bustling crowds of Guifang City, she couldn't help but want to sit among them for a while, to feel the atmosphere of the mortal world.
Cultivation was a lonely endeavor. The higher one's cultivation, the lonelier it became. Shut inside a cave abode alone, regulating breath and cultivating day and night, painstakingly comprehending profound mysteries—in the blink of an eye, three years, five years, ten years, twenty years would pass just like that. If not for those with a firm Dao heart, how could one persevere? Even Mo Tiange, who considered herself content with solitude, found it inevitably dull and lonely after prolonged seclusion.
She sat leisurely for a while. In the meantime, several righteous cultivators came to strike up a conversation with her. However, Mo Tiange today wasn't in the mood to chat with others and only exchanged a few brief words. Seeing her lack of interest in conversation, the others tactfully didn't disturb her again.
The sounds in the tavern were quite noisy. For low-level cultivators without a sect, communication with fellow cultivators of the same rank was their source of information. Although what they said might not be accurate, Mo Tiange listened with great interest.
Just as she was listening with relish to some bits of gossip, she suddenly heard a Demonic Cultivator at the next table say, "Fellow Daoists, before I came to Guifang City, I heard there were many high-level cultivators here. How come in the month I've been here, I haven't seen a single Core Formation senior?"
This question might seem strange elsewhere—Core Formation cultivators, how could they be so easily seen? But in Guifang City, it wasn't strange at all. Guifang City was originally one of the largest Demonic Domains. Not only did Demon Lord Guifang have many Core Formation cultivators under his command, but many cultivators also resided in Guifang City. Although these low-level cultivators couldn't engage them in conversation, if it was just about seeing them, opportunities were plentiful.
At the same table with this Demonic Cultivator were two others: one was a young man with a scar on his face, the other a gaunt old man.
Hearing this question, the old man continued sipping his tea with relish, while the young man immediately laughed and said, "Brother Yan, you don't know. If you had come to Guifang City on an ordinary day, seeing Core Formation seniors would be simple enough. But now the timing isn't right. Not just our Guifang City, but Core Formation seniors from other Demonic Domains are probably also not in the city."
"Oh?" The Demonic Cultivator addressed as Brother Yan was surprised. "What timing? Has something big happened?"
"Big, very big." The scarred young man shook the wine cup in his hand, took another bite of a dish prepared from a demonic beast, then continued, "Brother Yan, I suppose you haven't been to places like this much recently, have you? This matter now, not to mention our Guifang City, almost no one in the entire Demonic Realm doesn't know about it!"
Hearing this unintentionally, Mo Tiange couldn't help but prick up her ears. A major event had occurred in the Demonic Realm? Involving so many Core Formation cultivators, what kind of event could it be?
"Fellow Daoist Duan, stop keeping me in suspense. What exactly is it? I'm just an impatient person."
"Hehe." The scarred young man laughed twice, thoroughly whetting the curiosity of the Yan-named Demonic Cultivator, before saying, "Brother Yan, have you ever heard of a Magical Treasure called the Heavenly Demon Tower?"
The Heavenly Demon Tower? What was that? Judging by his tone, it seemed to be an extraordinary Magical Treasure. Mo Tiange, not very familiar with Yunzhong, was filled with doubt.
"Heavenly Demon Tower?" The Yan-named Demonic Cultivator repeated, his expression first blank, then flushing red with excitement. "The Heavenly Demon Tower, the most powerful Magical Treasure of Demon Sovereign Tianyao from tens of thousands of years ago, the Sacred Object of the Demonic Path, the Heavenly Demon Tower?"
"Correct!" Seeing the other guess it immediately, the scarred young man was quite satisfied. "Apart from this Heavenly Demon Tower, what else could make those high-and-mighty seniors pay such attention?"
The young man again spoke only half the story. The Yan-named Demonic Cultivator hurriedly asked again, "What exactly is going on? Fellow Daoist Duan, just tell me!"
"This matter, let this old man explain." The old man who hadn't spoken until now opened his mouth. His cultivation was a bit higher than the other two, already at Qi Refining tenth layer. Considering his age, his experience was likely considerable. His eyes shone with a sharp light, clearly indicating a shrewd individual.
"The matter starts from two years ago." The old man spoke unhurriedly. "About two years ago, not just our Guifang City, but the entire Demonic Realm was abuzz with rumors of the Heavenly Demon Tower reappearing in the world. What kind of treasure the Heavenly Demon Tower is, Fellow Daoist Yan knows. We Demonic Cultivators most admire cultivators with great power. Demon Sovereign Tianyao was undoubtedly the most powerful Demonic Cultivator in Yunzhong's history. The Heavenly Demon Tower in his possession was refined back then by pooling the strength of the ten most powerful Demon Lords of the Demonic Path, using various supreme treasures of the Demonic Path. It can be said to be the number one Magical Treasure of our Demonic Path, hence also called the Sacred Object of the Demonic Path..."
The old man roughly explained the origins of the Heavenly Demon Tower, conveniently clearing up Mo Tiange's confusion.
She had indeed heard of Demon Sovereign Tianyao, but she wasn't very interested in matters of the Demonic Path. She only knew this person was acknowledged by Yunzhong's Demonic Cultivators as the strongest Demonic Path cultivator. Although he had disappeared tens of thousands of years ago, his residual prestige still remained in Yunzhong's Demonic Path, and he was also the only Demonic Path cultivator to be crowned with the title of Demon Sovereign.
Judging from the old man's words, this Heavenly Demon Tower was the most powerful Magical Treasure in Demon Sovereign Tianyao's possession and was called the Sacred Object of the Demonic Path. It must be truly extraordinary. However, this Demon Sovereign Tianyao had vanished from the world tens of thousands of years ago. Was this Magical Treasure still intact?
As this thought crossed her mind, Mo Tiange recalled the Fusheng Sword she had unintentionally obtained years ago. That Fu Yaozi was also a cultivator from tens of thousands of years ago. His Magical Treasure had been corroded in the Demonic Domain for tens of thousands of years, yet still retained such residual power. If this Heavenly Demon Tower had been well-preserved in a specific place all along, it truly might still be intact.
"...This matter, even us Qi Refining cultivators heard about it, so we all thought it was just catching at shadows. Otherwise, how could news like this be something we could know? Who would have thought, a few months ago, the high-level seniors of our Guifang City all set out one after another. Only then did we know this matter wasn't merely a rumor. Now, almost all seniors at Core Formation and above in the entire Demonic Realm have gone to search for this Sacred Relic."
"Oh, so that's how it is..." The Yan-named Demonic Cultivator clicked his tongue in wonder after listening. "Legend says after the Demon Sovereign successfully reached Deity Transformation, he vanished from the world, and the Heavenly Demon Tower disappeared at the same time. It's been tens of thousands of years. This Sacred Object of the Demonic Path has actually reappeared in the world? That's too miraculous!"
"Who says it isn't!" The scarred young man said while eating dried fruits. "What a pity our cultivation is too low. The Sacred Relic appearing has nothing to do with us. Sigh, if it were a few hundred years later..."
"A few hundred years later, you might not necessarily form your Golden Core. Even if you do form your Core, this Sacred Relic probably still wouldn't be something you could snatch." The old man slowly cracked peanuts, saying, "Although those Core Formation seniors have all set out this time, in my opinion, in the end, only the Three Great Demon Lords will be able to join the fight for it."
The scarred young man nodded in agreement. "Yes, not to mention Core Formation seniors, even among those Nascent Soul seniors, those with slightly weaker strength probably won't have a chance either. Hehe, our Demonic Path's Sacred Relic will naturally fall into the hands of the most powerful Demonic Cultivator. The others are just watching the excitement."
"Exactly. I hope our city lord can seize the Sacred Relic. That way, our Guifang City will become the number one Demonic Domain in the future. When that time comes, even small cultivators like us will benefit a lot!"
These Demonic Cultivators said a few more words before their topic shifted to other matters. The emergence of the Demonic Path's Sacred Object was, of course, an extraordinary major event for the entire Demonic Realm. But for small cultivators like them, it was merely idle chat material.
Mo Tiange pondered for a moment, called the waiter to settle the bill, and left the tavern.
On the surface, this matter seemed unrelated to her. However, upon careful thought, that might not necessarily be the case.
The emergence of the Demonic Path's Sacred Object had stirred up the entire Demonic Realm. And in Yunzhong, although cultivators of different realms had national distinctions, they all lived mixed together. Once the Demonic Path was in turmoil, the Daoist, Confucian, and Buddhist realms would inevitably follow suit. It seemed she needed to finish her business quickly and leave Yunzhong.