Mo Xingyun was truly startled due to the fact that someone actually got so close to her, and yet she did not even notice it. As a person born and raised in a Devil Cultivating Family, she had to learn at a very young age to always be vigilant.
Otherwise she would not have survived for so long. Even with her status of the descendant of the Heaven Devouring Emperor, her family did not treat her better or give her preferential treatments. On the contrary, they trained even more ruthlessly.
After looking in the surroundings, Mo Xingyun had a frown on her face as she noticed that someone had deployed a powerful formation that surrounded her and the surrounding environment. At first she thought that she was being ambushed, but after a quick analysis of the array, she realized that it was placed only to prevent all the people that were watching the Tournament from seeing what was happening here.
Of course Mo Xingyun did not let her guard down.
A few seconds after checking the surrounding environment, Mo Xingyun saw an ordinary person walking to her. Although that person had a hood on his face, she could tell that it was a man, and she also had a feeling that something was wrong with that person, but she could not tell what it was.
"Who are you? And what do you want?" asked Mo Xingyun calmly. However, she had used her feet to secretly cast an origin spell to prepare to attack at any moment.
"There is no need for you to use any of your little schemes as I can see through them. And I can honestly tell you that this person is nothing but a meat bag that I am using to communicate with you. So, it does not matter if you destroy it."
Although her scheme was seen through, Mo Xingyun did not panic, nor did her facial expression changed; she kept her calm and collected demeanor.
"Since your excellency did not attack me despite having the capability, it can only mean that you want something from me. So, please be direct and stop wasting both of our time."
"Hehe, it is always refreshing to talk to smart people. You are indeed correct that I want something from you. To be exact, I want to make a deal with you."
"A deal? Please be more specific."
"I want you to create a Devouring Talisman for me with your blood essence," replied the hooded figure.
Mo Xingyun frowned after hearing this. As the person with the Heaven Devouring physique, she could make such a talisman, but to use her blood essence to do so…
"Your excellency, you should know that the blood essence of anyone with a special physique is quite special and would not be handed so easily. Adding to that all the terrible curses that need the blood essence of someone to take effect, I truly wonder what you will use to convince me otherwise."
The hooded shadow was silent for a brief moment, and Mo Xingyun had the feeling that he was smirking despite not seeing his facial expression.
"What I will exchange for this talisman is the news about the whereabouts of the Gluttony Swallowing Scripture."
"Your excellency, you must take me for a fool!" replied Mo Xingyun calmly. "It is common knowledge that my ancestor, the Heaven Devouring Emperor did not leave his Emperor Scripture behind, so how could you know about its whereabouts?" replied Mo Xingyun calmly--despite the fact that her heart was rapidly racing.
"You are partially correct about that," replied the hooded shadow with a rigid voice. "Do you know the origin of the Gluttony Swallowing Scripture?"
"Wasn't my ancestor who created it?"
"Not really. The original scripture was created by a Devil God during the Devil Era and left his inheritance in the Myriad Emperor World. During one of your ancestor's fortunate encounters, he got a copy of the scripture, however he only received half of it.
"Later, after your ancestor got his hand on one of the [Twelve Ancestral Talismans] created by the Talisman Ancestor, he combined his understanding of it to finish the second half of the scripture and even created the Heaven Devour Physique--which you inherited.
"Although the Heaven Devour Physique was not acknowledged by Heavenly Dao, it was still a powerful Acquired Physique that could compare to the top 3 Heavenly Physique. And the Gluttony Swallowing Scripture he created eventually became even more powerful than the original."
Mo Xingyun had a frown on her face as her thoughts began to run rapidly. She remembered hearing rumors that her ancestor had indeed acquired the [Swallowing Talisman] in his youth--which was one of the 12 Ancestral Talismans that the Talisman Ancestor left in the Myriad Emperor World after proving the Dao back in the Ancient Emperor Era.
However, there was no evidence to prove otherwise, and anyone who truly knew the truth was probably already killed.
After reigning in her thoughts, Mo Xingyun then said; "So what you are offering is not the scripture created by my Ancestor?"
"So what?" replied the hooded shadow. "You should be aware of your situation. Although your physique is powerful, you cannot properly use it without the right cultivating method. I guess that your plan was probably to swallow other Heavenly Physique to make up for the gap, then use the 3000 Dao Tablets to create a scripture that suits you best.
"Unfortunately, I can see that you are not nearly as talented as your ancestor. So even with the tablets, there is no guarantee that the scripture that you create will be up to par.
"As for the physiques that you swallow, without the proper method, it will take you a lot of time for you to digest their powers and there will still be flaws afterwards. In front of ordinary Heaven Chosen, your powers would be more than enough.
"But in front of people like Wang Wei and Di Tian, they will instantly take advantage of the slightest of flaws you have and completely annihilate you--especially knowing how terrifying your physique can be."
After hearing this, Mo Xingyun tried her best to remain calm, however it was quite difficult; so she secretly bit her tongue to distract herself from her excitement and anger.
She knew that this hooded shadow was correct. Although she had the same physique as her ancestor, her talent paled in comparison to him. The only advantage she had was the fact that she was born in a Glorious Age--thus granting her access to countless Heavenly Physiques.
However, this was also a disadvantage as the geniuses that appeared in this Age were truly devil-like. So, the threshold for strength and talent was dramatically increased.
After taking a moment to calm her emotions down, Mo Xingyun then said: "I can accept your deal, but you have to help me catch a few of the other Heavenly Physique--especially the ones in the top 5."
"No," replied the hooded figure. "You can either accept my terms or we can part ways."
Mo Xingyun frowned after hearing this as she could not tell whether this deal was very important to that person.
"Before I give my answer, I have one last question. If you know the whereabouts of the [Gluttony Swallowing Scripture], why not take it for yourself? Since you want a Devouring Talisman from me, then it is obvious that you need the power of Devour to do something, so why not take the scripture and accomplish your goals?"
The hooded shadow pause for a few seconds before answering: "Do not ask stupid question. If I could do that, do you think I would negotiate with you?"
Mo Xingyun then secretly sighed in relief as she finally found some form of advantage during this negotiation; from this answer, she could determine that this hooded person had some kind of restriction that prevented him from directly forcing her to do his bidding.
Of course she will not let her guard down because of this fact. "So, how do we make sure we each keep our part of the bargain? A Dao Heart Oath?"
The hooded shadow secretly sneered after hearing this; he knew that Devil Cultivators care little for Dao Heart, so he would not fail for such a simple trick. Without hesitation, he took out a contract that he made himself and sent it to Mo Xingyun, who took it and read it carefully.
She was not disappointed that her little trick failed as she did not expect much of it. After making sure that there were no hidden conditions inside, she signed it.
If it was any other time, Mo Xingyun would never sign some random contract made by someone else; she would use her own instead. However, she did not have much of a choice.
As the inheritor of the Heaven Devour Physique, her life was constantly in danger due to the actions of her ancestor. So, she needed to increase her strength as soon as possible.
After both of them signed their names on the contract, oddly, neither of them actually tried to cheat the other. Mo Xingyun made the Devouring Talisman with her blood essence, and the hooded shadow gave her detailed information about the Secret Realm that holds the second half of the [Gluttony Swallowing Scripture]. He even described some of the tests she might encounter inside.
After the deal concluded, the hooded shadow instantly teleported somewhere and the array in the surrounding was lifted. The entire world could see Mo Xingyun again--however, she looked pale compared to a few hours ago.
As for the hooded figure, he appeared in a special place: the residence of the Seeded Players.
Soon afterward, the person or body under the hood turned into countless particles and evaporated. He was replaced by an illusory figure floating in the air.
The illusory figure then secretly entered a specific residence.
Inside was a young taoist priest wearing black white clothes with the Yin-Yang Symbol engraved in the front. The taoist priest was actually Feng Heng from the Taiyi Profound Gate.
As soon as the illusory figure entered the room, Feng Heng opened his eyes from his meditation and said to the person: "Master, where have you been?"