Yang Chengji's visit could be said to indicate Demon Lord Guifang's attitude. Since the Buddhist Sacred Object was no longer in Mo Tiange's possession, the two of them held no value for Demon Lord Guifang. As Yang Chengji had said nothing, they would no longer face any trouble.
While Mo Tiange breathed a sigh of relief, she did not completely set her mind at ease. She still possessed the Fusheng Sword and had to vanish from public view before others learned of it.
Nie Wushang also understood this point. She taught Mo Tiange some disguise techniques and additionally passed on the Illusion Transformation Art to her. The so-called Illusion Transformation Art was actually a type of shape-shifting illusion technique. Advanced versions of this art could even deceive high-level cultivators, but Nie Wushang indicated that since it was an art, it could be broken. Her version, while considered high-level, probably couldn't deceive a Late-Nascent Soul cultivator.
For this reason, Nie Wushang specifically instructed her to master the disguise techniques as quickly as possible. The crudest methods were also the hardest to break. If she could disguise herself flawlessly, no matter how powerful another's spiritual sense was, it would be useless.
Mo Tiange agreed to everything. Afterwards, she bid farewell to Nie Wushang and quietly left Guifang City.
Of course, this so-called 'quietly' departure was certainly known to Demon Lord Guifang's side. However, as she was now useless, no one came to stop her.
She left Guifang City openly, flew east for several hundred li, and entered the complex mountain ranges of the Beilin Kingdom. This place had neither outstanding spiritual veins nor dense demonic energy. Apart from a small number of low-level cultivators, it was uninhabited.
Mo Tiange carefully checked behind her. Detecting no trace of others, she entered the Void Heaven Realm and, as Nie Wushang had instructed, prepared her disguise.
She stayed in the Void Heaven Realm for several days. Even if someone had truly been following her, they should have left by now. Only then did Mo Tiange emerge from the Void Heaven Realm.
At this moment, she had taken on the appearance of a young scholar.
Although Nie Wushang had indicated that her Illusion Transformation Art couldn't deceive Late-Nascent Soul cultivators, Mo Tiange still used it. Firstly, her stature was slightly shorter than Nie Wushang's, which meant disguising herself as a man could easily arouse suspicion. Secondly, she possessed the Hidden Spirit Pendant. This item, combined with the Illusion Transformation Art, might not necessarily fail to deceive high-level cultivators.
Furthermore, Late-Nascent Soul cultivators were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Tianji only had four or five. Even if Yunzhong had more than Tianji, there were at most a dozen or so. How could one encounter them so easily? As long as she didn't leak information about the Fusheng Sword, even if others wanted to see her, they wouldn't find her.
After transforming her appearance, Mo Tiange swaggered out of the Beilin Kingdom mountains and entered a market town.
She did not conceal her cultivation level. In Yunzhong, Core Formation cultivators were considered high-level but not rare. For now, this could also avoid disturbances from low-level cultivators.
Returning to the Dongtang Kingdom, Mo Tiange randomly chose a cultivation town near the sea to inquire about news of Beiji Island.
Sure enough, few knew about the matter of Nanjie Island. After asking many people, a cultivator who had just returned from Beiji Island told her that Nanjie Island had already sunk. This news was consistent with that from several years ago. It seemed no miracle had occurred; Nanjie Island had truly vanished.
Mo Tiange had been mentally prepared for this and wasn't too disheartened. She quickly rallied and continued to gather information.
Actually, for gathering information, she could have gone to the Jiuyan Sect and asked Ling Yunhe a question or two while collecting her debt. Or, she could have gone to the White Floating Mountain in the Nanzhou Kingdom to seek guidance from Venerable Wuming. However, the matter of the Fusheng Sword made her dare not rashly reveal her identity, so she could only set these matters aside for the time being.
Deepwater City was a small city situated on the shore of the North Sea. In terms of size, it was only slightly larger than an ordinary town. In terms of power, there was only a small-to-medium-sized sect in the surrounding area with one early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. Yet, this small city was quite prosperous because it was located right on the North Sea shore, facing Beiji Island across the water.
No matter how affluent a place was, teleportation arrays were always too expensive for low-level cultivators. Therefore, crossing the sea by boat became their choice.
The sea area near Deepwater City also had a considerable number of low-level sea beasts. Many low-level cultivators who didn't want to take too many risks made a living by hunting beasts nearby.
Deepwater City prospered thanks to these low-level cultivators, becoming a small market for Demon Core trading on the North Sea shore.
Over time, even some high-level cultivators, too lazy to go to Beiji Island, would come to Deepwater City to search for special Demon Cores.
The teahouse in Deepwater City was particularly lively today.
Generally, the grade of cultivators frequenting a town matched the town's specifications. In a small city like Deepwater City, one wouldn't see many cultivators above the Core Formation stage coming and going like in some major cities. The teahouse in Deepwater City usually only had Foundation Establishment cultivators present. Occasionally, when a Core Formation cultivator came to collect Demon Cores, it would cause a stir for a while.
But today's bustling scene was not due to a Core Formation cultivator collecting Demon Cores as in the past.
"Brother, brother, make way." A Qi Refining fifth-layer youth squeezed in from outside the teahouse, calling to the cultivator in front of him. "Excuse me, excuse me."
The cultivator blocking his path was unwilling to move aside, saying only, "Brother, first come, first served."
The youth blinked, puzzled. "I say, esteemed sir, identifying a Demon Core only takes a moment, right? You've been gathered here for a long time. How is it first come, first served?"
"Demon Core?" The cultivator was surprised. "I think you haven't inquired properly, have you? This time, it's not for collecting Demon Cores."
"Huh?" The youth was confused. "Didn't the news just say a Core Formation senior came to our Deepwater City? If not for Demon Cores, then for what?"
A small city like Deepwater City was destined not to have high-level cultivators staying long. Those high-level cultivators either just passed through or came specifically to collect special Demon Cores. There had never been an exception. Those who truly wanted high-level Demon Cores or to hunt high-level sea beasts would teleport directly to Beiji Island. Who would come to Deepwater City?
Before this cultivator could answer, someone nearby interjected, "I say, Fellow Daoist, didn't you find out before coming? This senior is here not to collect Demon Cores, but to gather strange tales and unusual news."
"Huh?" The youth was astonished. "How is that? Strange tales and unusual news?" It was no wonder he was so surprised. Upon first hearing this, everyone had reacted the same way. Which high-level cultivator wasn't busy with cultivation? What use was hearing strange tales and unusual news?
"This senior said that he collects these strange tales and unusual news to explore some secret places. Some things, viewed individually, aren't strange. But if collected together, they might reveal some wondrous locations. His cultivation has reached a bottleneck, so he is traveling the world, gathering strange tales and unusual news, hoping to find some clues that might help him break through his bottleneck."
"So that's how it is." The youth scratched his head. "These profound seniors certainly think more clearly than we do."
"Isn't that right? If this senior hadn't said so, I would never have thought of it!" The previous cultivator agreed. After chatting for a few sentences, the two felt closer. This cultivator pulled the youth forward a bit and said, "Let's squeeze in and listen here. This senior is quite generous. Just tell him some rumors, and you can ask for pills or Spirit Stones. If someone seeks guidance, he doesn't refuse either. Listening nearby, we might gain something."
As soon as he finished speaking, another person nearby made a shushing gesture and whispered, "This senior is about to speak. Be quiet."
The cultivator quickly shut his mouth and focused intently, listening attentively.
After a moment, a gentle male voice came through: "Your cultivation itself isn't the problem; the problem lies with your state of mind. With each advancement in realm, besides the increase in cultivation, your understanding of the Daoist scriptures and teachings must also progress a step further. Set aside cultivation for now and travel around. When your understanding of the scriptures advances a step, then return to cultivation."
The Foundation Establishment cultivator sitting on the outer side of the long table was stunned. He pondered carefully for a moment, then suddenly understood, repeatedly cupping his hands in salute. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior. This junior finally understands."
On the inner side of the long table, the gentle-faced young scholar waved his hand. "This is your reward. No need for thanks." He then looked behind the Foundation Establishment cultivator. "Is there anyone else?"
"Me, me!" Someone immediately squeezed forward from behind. It was a man in his thirties, dressed in short work clothes, with Qi Refining cultivation. One look told he was a low-level rogue cultivator making a living by hunting sea beasts in Deepwater City. Under other circumstances, he would never dare to be so presumptuous in front of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. But this senior had said earlier that regardless of cultivation level, as long as the information provided was valuable, one could exchange it for a reward here.
The previous Foundation Establishment cultivator frowned as the man brushed against him. But with a Core Formation senior present, and this senior had been smiling all along without a hint of impatience, he had no choice but to endure it. He bowed to the senior, pushed through the crowd, and left the teahouse.
"Sit." The young scholar pointed to the seat in front of him. "Do you have any news?"
The man sat down nervously, glanced at the young scholar, his face showing unease. He timidly stretched out his hand. "Senior, this junior doesn't have any news. But... this junior has a peculiar treasure in hand. I wanted to show it to you, Senior, to see if you're interested..."
His voice grew softer as he spoke, until it faded away completely. He looked anxiously at the young man before him. This senior had clearly stated he was here to collect strange tales and unusual news, not to exchange items. His behavior actually violated the rules. If this senior became angry, then he...
Sure enough, upon hearing this, the young scholar's brow furrowed slightly. But the next moment, his gaze still fell on the man's hand.
It was a stone, completely translucent red and crystal clear, emitting a faint spiritual energy. For a Qi Refining cultivator, it was indeed a treasure. However, for a Core Formation cultivator, the spiritual energy was somewhat too weak.
The young man was about to speak when he suddenly noticed something. He reached out, picked up the stone from the man's palm, and examined it carefully. "This is Fire Glow Stone. It's not too precious and is a bit on the small side, but the quality is good, so it has some value."
Hearing this, the man was overjoyed and quickly nodded. "Senior has a good eye! When I took this stone to a shop to sell, they only offered ten Spirit Stones. The shopkeeper really didn't know its worth, so I never sold it. Senior, this... do you want it?"
The young scholar thought for a moment. "This item is somewhat useful to me. Taking it wouldn't be a bad idea. Ten Spirit Stones is indeed too low. For this quality, it's probably worth around a hundred Spirit Stones. See, do you want Spirit Stones or pills?"
"Around a hundred..." The man was ecstatic. For a low-level cultivator like him, a hundred or so Spirit Stones was no small amount! However, he glanced at the several jade bottles and pile of Spirit Stones on the table, swallowed his saliva, and cautiously said, "Senior, I... can I exchange for pills?"
The young man nodded. "Of course you can." As he spoke, he pushed one of the jade bottles toward him. "The pills in this bottle are for Qi Refining stage consumption. This bottle is worth about a hundred and eighty Spirit Stones, which is quite equivalent in value. Take it."
"Thank you, Senior! Thank you, Senior!" The man grabbed the jade bottle, stored it in his Qiankun Bag, and repeatedly expressed his gratitude.
The young man waved his hand. "Go on." Then he raised his voice. "Is there anyone else?"
"Me! Me!" The man's experience made some of the low-level cultivators behind who were originally just watching the excitement also step forward. This senior had a gentle temper and was generous. If they could exchange some pills for Spirit Stones with him, that would be a great gain.