Kill Matt Night Senior once more fixed Shen He with a fierce glare.
Shen He had already figured out Night Senior’s weaknesses. Anyway, in front of Xie-shixiong, Night Senior wouldn’t do anything.
“Shall we go check out Senior Brother Qian’s shop?”
“That works, but first we need to exchange for some Spirit Stones that circulate in the True Realm and inquire about the prices here.”
In the background Li Pinghu had written for Xie Linlang, there was a detail that he hailed from the Xie Clan, which meant he should know the situation around the Boundary Gate.
With Night Senior stubbornly perched on his shoulder, Xie Linlang could only try his best to act like someone who had been here before, knew a little about the situation, but had only passed through and wasn’t clear on the specifics.
“Should we find an information broker then?”
“Let’s find one. We can also inquire about some news. I heard Senior Brother Qian mention that many reclusive seniors and powerhouses among the Loose Cultivators will participate in this exploration.”
As Shen He and Xie Linlang chatted, they jumped off the small boat and entered the lake market.
They found a young Qi Refining cultivator—a female cultivator who looked about sixteen or seventeen. She said she had originally been a mortal doing business with passing cultivators in the area, had obtained a fortuitous encounter, and become a cultivator. She was very familiar with the surroundings.
“You two seniors wish to exchange Demonic Stones for Spirit Stones? The exchange rates vary between shops.”
The female cultivator was straightforward. “Big shops give fewer Spirit Stones. The black market gives more, but it’s easy to be targeted by certain Loose Cultivators. The nearest big city from the lake market takes three or four days even flying on a sword—very prone to ambushes. It depends on your choice.”
Xie Linlang said, “We came following the sect’s Treasure Ship and might take the market’s Teleportation Array directly.”
The female cultivator was somewhat surprised. “Activating the lake market’s Teleportation Array once is quite costly. You two seniors must hail from prestigious sects with limitless future achievements.”
Her words were sweet, and she spoke candidly. “Then this little one can hitch a ride and take you two to the black market to exchange Demonic Stones? I’ll earn a bit of referral fee too?”
Shen He had done this kind of work before and took a liking to her demeanor, so he looked to Xie Linlang. “Xie-shixiong, what do you think…?”
Xie Linlang nodded. “Good, lead the way.”
“Tell us about the recent rumors, especially those related to Jiuxia Mountain.”
“Ah, that has to be the buzz about Linlang Dao Lord’s Mustard Seed Realm about to open!”
The female cultivator led the two swiftly through large ships, soon arriving at an area linked by small black-awning boats that was clearly more secretive and chaotic.
As she led the way, she said, “Linlang Dao Lord was a renowned pill master of Jiuxia Mountain. A year ago, he failed his Tribulation Transcendence and left behind an immortal-grade Mustard Seed Realm containing the Pill Dao Inheritance. After careful study, Jiuxia Mountain discovered that Linlang Dao Lord had bound the inheritance to the Mustard Seed Realm—only the cultivator who obtains the inheritance can claim the immortal-grade Mustard Seed Realm.”
Shen He could not help but say, “Then if it’s not a Jiuxia Mountain disciple who obtains the inheritance, won’t Jiuxia Mountain have to give away an immortal-grade Mustard Seed Realm?”
The female cultivator let out a silvery bell-like laugh. “Yes, so initially Jiuxia Mountain wanted to keep the inheritance within their own sect and planned periodic trials for their disciples. But who would have thought, about four or five months ago, the Mustard Seed Realm suddenly wanted to leave.”
Shen He: “…What? Wanted to leave?”
Wait, could a Mustard Seed Realm grow legs and walk away on its own?
Night Senior, nestled on Xie Linlang’s shoulder, also straightened up.
Although Pei Jiye had his own intelligence channels, his position was too high. He had directly obtained the information that Jiuxia Mountain was opening the Mustard Seed Realm but was unaware of the little gossip circulating privately.
The female cultivator laughed uncontrollably. Her speech was rapid but clear—she had obviously told this story many times.
“Yes, interesting, right? It seems that one morning, all the cultivators within Jiuxia Mountain’s range had the same dream. In the dream, the immortal-grade Mustard Seed Realm transformed into the image of a sword with a mouth on its blade. It claimed to be Linlang Dao Lord’s sword from before his death, didn’t want to stay at Jiuxia Mountain anymore, and said the world was so big—it wanted to see it…”
Kill Matt Night Senior coughed repeatedly, the bird hunching over as if on its last legs.
Xie Linlang’s expression was somewhat subtle, pensive.
Shen He felt as if a new world had opened before him. “Linlang Dao Lord’s sword wants to take the immortal-grade Mustard Seed Realm traveling the world?”
The female cultivator was still suppressing her laughter. “Linlang Dao Lord was famous across the land and surely had many powerful magic artifacts. Everyone thought he would successfully transcend the tribulation, but the Dao Lord perished instead, meaning the Heavenly Tribulation he faced must have been extraordinarily powerful. Even his sword was surely damaged during the tribulation. Anyway, it’s said Jiuxia Mountain didn’t recover much of Linlang Dao Lord’s possessions from before his death.”
Shen He sucked in a breath and continued asking, “Then this so-called sword…?”
The female cultivator explained, “Word is that the Immortal Sect Orthodox sent people to Jiuxia Mountain for a thorough investigation. They said Linlang Dao Lord had stored various heaven-and-earth spiritual items in the immortal-grade Mustard Seed Realm, giving it its own spirituality and intelligence. The sword was just an illusion from the Realm Spirit—not a concern. But if they didn’t quickly select a Pill Dao Inheritor, the Mustard Seed Realm might really run off on its own.”
Shen He put on an expression of having gained new knowledge. “I see. Then Jiuxia Mountain should have selected from their own sect disciples first, right?”
The female cultivator said meaningfully, “That naturally failed.”
Shen He could not help but chuckle. “So they invited cultivators from across the continent to participate in the trials?”
“Yes. It’s said the successful inheritor must duplicate the inheritance and give a copy to Jiuxia Mountain.”
The female cultivator added casually, “To prevent the inheritor from reneging, Jiuxia Mountain also invited many other Immortal Sect Orthodox as witnesses.”
Shen He nodded in understanding. “I see.”
Night Senior settled back down.
Xie Linlang mentally calculated the timeline. Four or five months ago? Wasn’t that right around the time of his resurrection?
