Luo Tian City.
After more than four months, Li Mu returned to this city again.
Currently, the Loose Cultivator Alliance was offering a reward for his whereabouts, and he had previously encountered three 'old acquaintances'. To avoid further complications, Li Mu chose to disguise himself, intending to gather information from the Tianji Pavilion and then leave immediately.
Li Mu silently circulated the Reversal Yuan Illusion Breath Art to conceal his cultivation, and used a fifth-grade Linglong Mask to change his appearance, transforming into a graceful Golden Core True Person.
A Golden Core True Person entering the city naturally did not need to queue. After a brief registration, he bypassed the guards' inquiries and entered Luo Tian City directly.
Upon entering the city, Li Mu headed straight for the Tianji Pavilion.
The Tianji Pavilion was still packed with guests, overflowing with people. The tea seats in the main hall were filled with Cultivators, listening to the Tea Master recount current hot news.
Seeing Li Mu's arrival, the Qi Refining Cultivators and Foundation Establishment Cultivators lowered their voices in respect.
"Senior! Welcome to Tianji Pavilion. If you wish to enjoy tea, I will lead you to the VIP room," a young maid stepped forward, warmly greeting Li Mu.
Li Mu waved his hand, indicating it was unnecessary. He stood and listened to the Tea Master's narration for a while, but quickly lost interest.
After listening for a while, Li Mu found that the Tea Master's content consisted of information with little value.
The Tea Master also touched upon the events that occurred at Yu Ling Sect over a month ago. Many Cultivators listened with great interest, but Li Mu found it uninspired. The content was cut short, lacking insider details, and far less clear than what he, as a direct participant, knew.
Li Mu instructed the maid to take him to the second floor, intending to purchase information.
The maid readily complied, respectfully leading the way.
The maid led Li Mu into a Celestial Mystery Chamber, where he successfully met Shi Hongyao.
After a familiar exchange of pleasantries, Li Mu went straight to the point: "I need information regarding places where Yin and Yang Qi are simultaneously concentrated. Does your esteemed pavilion have any?"
"Of course!" Shi Hongyao quickly replied, then asked, "Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment. This information is quite obscure, and I need to look it up."
Information about places where Yin and Yang Qi gather was rarely sought after, and even the knowledgeable Shi Hongyao had forgotten such details. She turned and walked to a bookshelf, quickly flipping through geographical books.
In less than fifteen minutes, Shi Hongyao had found something. She returned to her seat with a smile, looked at Li Mu, and quoted, "Fellow Daoist, detailed information about such places requires thirty thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones."
Upon hearing this, Li Mu was slightly surprised. This information was a bit expensive. Could it be a good place?
This amount of Spirit Stones was but a drop in the bucket for Li Mu's current wealth. With a wave of his hand, he took out three hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones from his nine storage spiritual pearl and promptly paid for the information.
Shi Hongyao joyfully accepted the Spirit Stones, transcribed a Jade Slip, and handed it to Li Mu, explaining, "Fellow Daoist, there are three places where Yin and Yang Qi gather simultaneously. The first, and furthest, is called Thousand Star Island. This island is located in the western Changmin Sea, a million miles from our Southern Spirit Domain. The journey is long, perilous, and inconvenient to travel."
"The second is located in the core area of Tianlong Mountain. There is a spiritual mountain where Yin and Yang Qi gather, restricted by some unknown Dao principles. However, this mountain is in the core of Tianlong Mountain, where high-level Yao Beasts are abundant, and even True Dragons have been sighted. It is still inconvenient for a Fellow Daoist of your cultivation to go there."
"As for the third place, it is at the junction of the Central Spirit Domain and our Southern Spirit Domain, a place called Yin Yang Valley."
"This place is rather peculiar, with effects that can make one lose Divine Soul, disrupt the five senses, and affect the Divine Soul. However, Transformation God cultivators have already investigated this place. The core area is full of vitality and abundant Spiritual Qi, with Yin and Yang Qi polarizing, yet there are no Heaven And Earth Treasures, nor much life. It is almost a barren land, with frequent strange phenomena, quite eerie."
"This place is quite dangerous and unsuitable for human habitation. Even Yao Beasts are unwilling to go there, and it has gradually become desolate."
...
Shi Hongyao recounted the three places where Yin and Yang Qi gathered. When she spoke of Yin Yang Valley, Li Mu's eyes lit up. Wasn't this exactly the place he was looking for?
It was even better that such a place was unoccupied!
Li Mu took the Jade Slip and immersed his Divine Sense into it to check the location of 'Yin Yang Valley'.
The border junction of the Central Spirit Domain and the Southern Spirit Domain, this Yin Yang Valley was extremely far from Luo Tian City. Traveling by Celestial Shuttle Spirit Ship would probably take a year and a half.
The Central Spirit Domain, where the Xuantian Sword Sect was located, was truly a place teeming with powerful individuals and countless Prodigies.
Sects like Qingxuan Sect, Yu Ling Sect, etc., might be local overlords outside of the Central Spirit Domain, but once in the Central Spirit Domain, they would probably be relegated to third or fourth-rate forces.
However, this Yin Yang Valley was still some distance from the Central Spirit Domain and not in the core area. Furthermore, it was an ownerless land, so occupying it should not be a problem.
Thinking about traveling such a long distance, Li Mu felt a headache. Should he waste so much time on the journey?
Li Mu's furrowed brows caught Shi Hongyao's attention.
Shi Hongyao smiled slightly and kindly advised, "Fellow Daoist, are you planning to go to Yin Yang Valley? I suggest you first raise your cultivation before going to that dangerous place!"
Facing Shi Hongyao's kind reminder, Li Mu nodded and thanked her, then asked, "Fellow Daoist Shi, is there any way to quickly reach Yin Yang Valley?"
Seeing that Li Mu was determined to go, Shi Hongyao no longer tried to dissuade him and replied, "Fellow Daoist, if you want to quickly reach Yin Yang Valley, you can take the Illusory God Sect's teleportation array."
"Teleportation array?"
Li Mu raised an eyebrow, asking curiously.
"Yes, Illusory God Sect is a major Sect in the Central Spirit Domain. They have established a branch Sect in Luo Tian City in the Southern Spirit Domain. Because it is extremely far from their main Sect, they set up a teleportation array here when they were stationed, which can travel between multiple cities, including those that can directly reach Central Domain and nearby cities."
"Barren Ancient City is located near Yin Yang Valley. You can quickly reach it by taking the teleportation array. Our Tianji Pavilion headquarters is in Central Domain, and we occasionally use Illusory God Sect's grand teleportation array to travel back and forth. However, a short-range teleportation costs several hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones per trip. To reach Yin Yang Valley, which is seven to eight hundred thousand miles away, passing through more than a dozen cities, the estimated cost would be several thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones." Shi Hongyao paused here, looking at Li Mu, her meaning self-evident.
For a Golden Core Stage Cultivator, unless they were an Artifact Refiner, a Formation Master, or an Alchemist, the total wealth of an ordinary Golden Core Stage Cultivator would only be a mere thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones.
The cost of using such a grand teleportation array was extremely high, and generally, one would be reluctant to spend it.
Li Mu didn't mind and continued to ask Shi Hongyao how to get to Illusory God Sect's headquarters to take the teleportation array.
Just then, a powerful Divine Thought swept across the entire Luo Tian City. Li Mu was also swept over by this Divine Thought, followed by a thunderous roar.
"How dare you!"
Luo Tian City Lord Liu Wuji flew out, confronting three Venerable Deity Transformations.
Immediately after, several other figures gathered around the Luo Tian City Lord, preparing to face the three Transformation God cultivators who had swept the entire city with their Divine Sense.
"City Lord Liu, we have no intention of offending Luo Tian City. We are merely here to find a murderer, please forgive us!" Venerable Tianyin quickly bowed and apologized to Liu Wuji.
"If you want to track down a murderer, you cannot act recklessly!" Liu Wuji's expression softened slightly. Considering their equal cultivation, he chatted with them for a while, implying a willingness to assist them in searching for the murderer.
...
The disturbed Cultivators within Luo Tian City looked up in fear, seeing the three Transformation God cultivators and City Lord Liu chatting and laughing, not fighting. They all breathed a sigh of relief.
Tianji Pavilion, inside the Celestial Mystery Chamber.
Li Mu's expression turned serious. After being swept by Venerable Tianyin's Divine Sense, he knew that his three 'old acquaintances' had caught up!
Had Yu Ling Sect betrayed him?
This thought first appeared in Li Mu's mind, but he immediately dismissed it. Venerable Lei Hong and Purple Azure Thunder Beast were not such people; there must have been some unnoticed detail that exposed his tracks.
"Fellow Daoist, Illusory God Sect is located to the east of Luo Tian City, on Luoyun Mountain, a hundred miles away. You can go directly there." After realizing that the outside world was safe, Shi Hongyao regained her composure and introduced to Li Mu.
"Okay! Thank you for the guidance, Fellow Daoist." Li Mu gratefully thanked her and turned to leave the Tianji Pavilion.
Li Mu did not take the arrival of the three Transformation God cultivators in Luo Tian City to heart.
The fifth-grade Linglong Mask and the perfected Reversal Yuan Illusion Breath Art were enough to conceal his aura. Moreover, he had never truly met them face-to-face, so Li Mu was not worried about being recognized.
Li Mu settled into an inn in Luo Tian City called Tianfu Lai. He would sometimes meditate in cultivation, and sometimes enter the Painting World Treasure Mansion to inventory his spoils, refine Spiritual Artifacts, craft Puppets, etc. Under the very noses of the three Transformation God cultivators, he peacefully cultivated, indifferent to the outside world's commotions.
Time flew by, and half a month passed.
Fire Tian Venerable and Venerable Linhai could no longer bear it. With Liu Wuji's cooperation, Luo Tian City had almost been dug up three feet, yet there was no trace of 'Li Jianxian'.
They suspected they had pursued in the wrong direction, and the three of them each chose a direction and went their separate ways.
Li Mu continued to 'hole up' in the inn for another half a month. Under the Star Concealment Divine Ability, he confirmed that there were no traces of the three Soul Transformation grand Cultivators within a two-hundred-mile radius. Only then did he fly towards Luoyun Mountain, where the Illusory God Sect was located.
Just as he was about to reach Luoyun Mountain, Li Mu once again used the Reversal Yuan Illusion Breath Art, restoring his cultivation to the Early Stage Nascent Soul. He put on a black magic robe, and the fifth-grade Linglong Mask transformed his face into that of a seventy-year-old man.
Li Mu put away his Flying Sword and flew through the air towards the Illusory God Sect on Luoyun Mountain.
Luoyun Mountain towered into the clouds, and the Illusory God Sect's station was built halfway up the mountain. Unlike ordinary Sects, they did not activate their Sect-protecting Formation to prohibit outsiders from entering. Instead, it was like a scenic spot, with Cultivators constantly coming and going, arriving by sword, in an endless stream.
Li Mu, in his black robe, with a sinister face, exuded the powerful Spiritual Pressure of a Nascent Soul True Lord. He clearly wasn't someone to be trifled with. The surrounding Golden Core cultivators and Foundation Establishment Cultivators all respectfully avoided him, fearing to provoke him.
Soon, Li Mu landed at the Illusory God Sect's station, which resembled a plaza. As far as his eyes could see, there were thousand-zhang high mountains, shrouded in spiritual mist. In front of the plaza station stood a towering mountain gate.
Behind the mountain gate was a concealing Formation, making it impossible to see what was beyond. Li Mu, being cautious, did not release his Divine Sense to peek.
On either side of the colossal mountain gate, eight Foundation Establishment Cultivators stood guard. Several long lines formed in front of them, as they questioned those entering and exiting about their destination or collected teleportation fees.
With his Nascent Soul cultivation, Li Mu took a special passage. There were only seven or eight Nascent Soul True Lords in line, and it was soon his turn to enter.
"Immortal Master, may I ask if you are entering Illusory God Sect to use the grand teleportation array, or for something else?" The Illusory God Sect Disciple looked at Li Mu and asked enthusiastically.
"To use the teleportation array. I wish to go to Barren Ancient City!" Li Mu stated his destination.
"Understood, Senior. Please wait a moment. I will have a guiding Disciple attend to you."
This Illusory God Sect Disciple respectfully gestured to Li Mu, then took out a token and sent a message.
Not long after, a Golden Core cultivator flew over and respectfully introduced himself to Li Mu: "Hello, Senior. Junior - Yanlingzi. The teleportation array to Barren Ancient City currently has a small number of people, so it will likely activate in about three days!"
"No problem, how many Spirit Stones will it cost?" Li Mu looked at the other party and asked with concern.
"If enough people gather, it will cost three thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones. If there aren't enough people in three days, the cost will increase by twenty percent!" Yanlingzi said apologetically.
"Hmm! Help me reserve a spot." Li Mu nodded, indicating his agreement.
"No problem, you need to pay a deposit of one thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones first." Yanlingzi looked at Li Mu and indicated.
Upon hearing this, Li Mu didn't waste words and directly took out a thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones, paying the deposit.
Yanlingzi joyfully accepted the Spirit Stones, took out a green jade pendant, and handed it to Li Mu, respectfully saying, "Senior, this is a Transit Token. If Senior doesn't mind, you can temporarily stay in our Illusory God Sect for three days. When the teleportation Formation opens, I will inform you with the Transit Token, and you can take the teleportation array on time."
Li Mu didn't refuse. He took the jade pendant token and, under Yanlingzi's guidance, entered the Illusory God Sect's Sect station.
Under Yanlingzi's guidance, Li Mu settled into an elegant ancient courtyard.
Li Mu casually set up a warning and protection Formation, then sat cross-legged to cultivate, waiting to leave Luo Tian City in three days.
Three days passed in a flash.
Following the guidance of the 'Transit Token', Li Mu arrived at a hundred-zhang wide blue rock array ground. In the center was a circular teleportation array, carved with complex array patterns and embedded with a hundred fist-sized Top-Grade Spirit Stones. The Dao of Time was abundant, and an ancient, vast aura assailed him.
At this time, more than a dozen Cultivators were already standing on the grand teleportation array. There were men, women, old and young. Besides two Transformation God cultivators, most of the others had Nascent Soul or Golden Core cultivation. They all wore high-grade magic robes, exuded extraordinary temperament, and were either rich or noble.
Thinking about it, the cost of this grand teleportation array was not something an ordinary Loose Cultivator could afford.
"Senior Zhang, you've arrived! I apologize, but the number of people for this teleportation to Barren Ancient City isn't complete yet. You'll need to pay another 2800 High-Grade Spirit Stones." Yanlingzi looked at Li Mu apologetically.
Li Mu nodded and promptly paid the Spirit Stones to the other party from his nine storage spiritual pearl.
Yanlingzi joyfully accepted the Spirit Stones and enthusiastically led Li Mu into the array.
Li Mu curiously examined the array patterns. It was his first time seeing a grand teleportation array, and being proficient in Formations, he couldn't help but observe its workings.
Under the Talent Divine Power - Identify Myriad Spirits, all information about the grand teleportation array appeared in the character log box.
Just then, a sudden change occurred.