Sigh, even if I've been caught in the rain myself, I still want to hold an umbrella for my First Senior Brother.
Since he's already at the Golden Core stage, eating the Blue Lake Scallops would only be the icing on the cake for him. He can just have them as an occasional snack.
The five of them were eating them so frequently only because they were pressed for time. They wanted to improve their ability to break through illusions and gain an extra measure of self-protection before leaving the sect. They had no other choice.
Gu Ningyun cooked and packed the remaining Blue Lake Scallops from her spatial ocean, leaving only one pair of rank one scallops and the rank two one.
Jiang Yao took a portion for Shu Ziming, and Jun Luo took two—one for his first senior brother and one for Senior Brother Lu Heyun.
Wen Xuan and Mu Chenze each took two portions for their own senior brothers and sisters.
Gu Ningyun sent a portion to Senior Sister Yang Churan and another to Senior Sister Kong Lingyan.
The very last portion she saved for the fat duck.
It always loved delicious food, though she wasn't sure if it would like Blue Lake Scallops.
With the scallops in her spatial ocean nearly depleted, Gu Ningyun felt much less pressure, and she even found more motivation to learn 《Guiyuan》.
A month later, the five of them boarded a spirit boat from the World Carriage House. They flew from Wuxin City to Yushui City, then took to the air using object-kinesis, heading southeast.
In the cultivation world, most Daoist cultivators lived across the Five Continents and Four Seas.
Geographically, Yunzhou was at the very center.
To the east of Yunzhou was Cangzhou, and further east lay the East Sea, which contained the Penglai Archipelago.
To the west of Yunzhou was Shaozhou, and further west was the West Sea. At the end of the West Sea lay the territory of demon cultivators, known as the demon world.
The demon world was separated from the outside by a barrier, preventing demonic qi and spirit energy from intermingling.
To the north of Yunzhou was the North Sea, and further north was Dingyuanzhou. Beyond Dingyuanzhou lay the territory of the demon race, known as the demon realm.
The demon realm was teeming with demon beasts. Those who cultivated to high ranks and took human form were known as demon beast cultivators.
Outside of the demon realm, the Five Continents and Four Seas were filled with countless mountain ranges and forests.
After the war between cultivators and demons eight thousand years ago, most demon beasts that didn't return to the demon realm retreated into the deep mountains and forests, claiming territory for themselves to live and multiply.
To the south of Yunzhou was Nanwangzhou. To the southwest of Nanwangzhou was the South Sea.
To the southeast of Nanwangzhou lay the Luan'an Mountain Range, stretching for hundreds of miles along the border.
Across the Luan'an Mountain Range was a continent where spirit energy was sparse. It was dotted with mortal kingdoms and was known as the mortal realm.
The mortal realm was surrounded by the mortal sea on three sides, with barriers over the water that cut it off from the South Sea to the northwest and the East Sea to the northeast.
Yushui City was the largest city in the southeast of Nanwangzhou. Beyond it were only small towns, which the World Carriage House's spirit boats did not service.
The further southeast they flew, the thinner the spirit energy became, and mortal towns and villages began to appear more frequently.
The Luan'an Mountain Range sat at the intersection of the mortal realm and Nanwangzhou. There were no spirit veins in the mountains, and spirit energy was almost non-existent.
The forests were mostly inhabited by ordinary animals. Even if there were demon beasts, they were at most rank one.
The five did not stop, flying directly over the Luan'an Mountain Range.
After crossing the sprawling mountains, they arrived at the first city of the mortal realm—Luan'an City.
“Luan'an City was built with funds pooled by the immortal sects. It doesn't belong to any single power and is governed collectively by the sects,” Jiang Yao explained.
“The Nine Sects and Eight Schools, Penglai, and other sects of various sizes all have outposts in the city. The various mortal nations also have embassies here to facilitate communication with the immortal sects.”
“Whenever the sects are recruiting disciples, they send cultivators to the Luan'an City outposts in advance to post notices and age requirements so that interested mortals can prepare. Just before the recruitment begins, cultivators come to the city to act as guides.”
Jiang Yao looked at the city in the distance with some emotion. “In Luan'an City, mortals don't dare to act out, especially when cultivators are waiting at the outposts to receive them. I learned about the recruitment while I was on the road and rushed here. I gained the protection of Xiaoyao and finally escaped the Emperor's pursuit.”
The city was filled with mortal shops and inns, a picture of prosperity.
Occasionally, a cultivator would pass by, but they were too far away to see their robes clearly, so it was impossible to tell which sect was currently recruiting.
The five weren't there for the city. They slapped Invisibility Talismans on themselves and flew straight toward the southern border of the Jing Kingdom.
The Jing Kingdom was the nation where Jiang Yao was born.
On the walls of Dingsha City at the southern border, a soldier stood guard every ten meters.
Outside Dingsha City, yellow sand filled the air. Beneath the desolate landscape lay an endless aura of slaughter.
This was an aura forged by years of constant warfare.
Hidden in mid-air, Jiang Yao looked down at the city his parents had given their lives to defend and the places where they had once fought. For a long time, he was speechless.
Gu Ningyun and the other three didn't say a word, simply standing behind him in silent support.
Jiang Yao was, after all, a Foundation Establishment cultivator who had experienced much. Before long, he regained his composure.
He pricked his fingertip and drew out a drop of blood.
His fingers moved in a spell, and the blood soon transformed into a streak of spirit light, flying off in a certain direction.
This was the Relative-Seeking Art. Within a certain range, one could use the blood of a close relative to find their kin, starting with those most closely related.
They crossed the vast battlefield and reached a rocky desert.
The spirit light circled above the desert several times before splitting into two and diving into the rocks.
Gu Ningyun took out a stack of Soil-Turning Talismans.
These were originally used by cultivators to turn soil before planting spirit herbs.
None of the five of them had a gold spirit root, so she had specifically learned how to make these talismans before leaving the sect.
Jiang Yao took one and activated it.
Following the guidance of the Relative-Seeking Art, the thick sand and soil were quickly turned over, revealing two sets of skeletal remains. There were no tiger tallies or any other personal effects near the bones.
The bones were covered in cracks, and beneath the cracks were several arrowheads made of refined iron.
They had been shot to death by a barrage of arrows.
As if realizing something, Jiang Yao activated sixteen Soil-Turning Talismans in succession. Soon, he had uncovered two hundred sets of remains.
Beside each set of remains was a black iron token engraved with the word “Jiang.”
“They were my parents' personal guards.”
There was also the Marrow-Leading Art, which could use a piece of bone to find all other related remains.
Using the Marrow-Leading Art, the five of them reassembled the skeletons and followed Jiang Yao back to the Jiang family's ancestral graves.
The personal guards were orphans adopted and raised by the Jiang family; their parents and ancestral homes were unknown.
After returning his parents to the ancestral graves, Jiang Yao chose a spot nearby and designated it as the Loyal Bone Garden. The five of them then buried the guards there.
The Jiang family and Jiang Yao's maternal family, the Lin family, were both military lineages that had guarded the borders for generations.
Jiang Yao went to the capital and the ancestral lands of both the Jiang and Lin families, using the Relative-Seeking Art at each location.
Aside from the ancestral graves, he found no other living relatives.
Excluding any distant relatives too far for the spell to reach, he was the last of the Jiang and Lin bloodlines.
Once Jiang Yao had finished paying his respects to his parents, they applied fresh Invisibility Talismans and went to the imperial palace.
When the Emperor returned to his chambers to sleep, Mu Chenze set up an isolation array in the room to block all sound and aura.
Wen Xuan took out a stick of Dream-Inducing Incense.
This was an incense she had specifically refined for this trip. It was colorless, odorless, and formless, capable of confusing a person's mind and making them lose their wariness, making it easier for them to speak the truth.
If used on a mortal, once the incense was extinguished, no trace would be left on their body, no memory would remain in their mind, and there would be no side effects.
After the five of them held their breath, Wen Xuan flicked her finger to ignite the Dream-Inducing Incense.
The Emperor opened his eyes, his gaze somewhat dazed.
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