The cultivators in the Hidden Dragon Mountain Range usually lived in seclusion. Across the sky, streaks of light rose and fell from time to time. But on this day, wherever the three streaks of light passed, the others gave way. It was because each of the three was an Adept! The one leading them was especially well-known, and anyone who saw him greeted him respectfully. After all, he was one of the three eight-star demon hunters in the Society. Each of them was at the ninth stage of Golden Core and had extensive combat experience. In fact, they were second only to the Sages. Anyone personally escorted by one such powerhouse had to be either an outstanding expert or a newly arrived Adept. Either way, they were not to be taken lightly.

Duan Li stood before a cave residence set low on a slope, feeling unsure. But just as he was about to give up and move on to the next cave, Luo Chen suddenly stopped him. "Actually... this place isn't bad."

Duan Li looked at him hesitantly. "What do you mean?"

Luo Chen smiled. "Although the scenery here is nothing terribly impressive, the terrain flows well and has a good foundation. From what I can tell, the spirit energy below has been accumulating for many years, and there's a lot of it just lying there. If you cultivate here, it could easily save you a century of effort."

Duan Li was surprised. "Didn't expect you to know so much about spirit veins. Can you locate the good points just like that?"

Luo Chen shrugged. "You're giving me too much credit. I just picked up some skills from others."

Then, he pointed toward a small hill a few li away that was shrouded in mist. "Fellow Daoist Xiao Buhuan's Evermount Cave Residence is over there. Back in Winding Island, he told me a lot about the topic, and he mentioned the spirit land cave residences here. Of course, whether you believe it is up to you. Maybe the next one's even better."

Duan Li hesitated for a while, then finally nodded slightly under Luo Chen's sincere gaze. He stepped out of the cave residence and told the bored Angler of his decision. "I'll take this cave."

The Angler frowned. "You sure you want this Hidden Wind Cave? The altitude is quite low, and there are several underground vents beneath it. It's fine for short-term cultivation, but staying here long-term can destabilize both body and spirit. There are risks."

Duan Li hesitated again. He instinctively looked at Luo Chen, but this time Luo Chen turned his gaze away. After thinking for a long while, he finally gritted his teeth and made up his mind. "I'll take it. Being neighbors with Fellow Daoist Xiao Buhuan isn't a bad thing either."

The Angler looked at Duan Li carefully, then cast a subtle glance at Luo Chen. He had noticed it clearly: Before making his decision, Duan Li had instinctively looked at Luo Chen. It seemed his choice of this excellent low-grade third-tier spirit land had been influenced by Luo Chen. Does Azure Yang know how to trace spirit veins too?

He took out a jade scroll from his storage pouch and recorded Duan Li's name on it. Then he turned to the map and erased the glowing mark for Hidden Wind Cave. "Go ahead and take a look around first. If there's anything you want set up, just let me know later. The Demon Hunter Division doesn't take rent for nothing; we'll provide some enchanted artifacts and formations to help with your cultivation."

"Alright! Thank you, Senior," Duan Li said with a respectful bow. The Angler felt somewhat frustrated and left the place with Luo Chen.

***

Two streaks of light drifted through the sky at a steady pace. The Angler held a map and went over the remaining third-tier cave residences to Luo Chen. Occasionally, he pointed out several forbidden zones belonging to the Sages. Unless the cultivator had close ties to them, rogue cultivators were best off keeping their distance.

Luo Chen also found out that the three hermits were not the only Sages of the Society. There were actually seven in total! Another three were not truly rogue cultivators but powerful figures in their own right who had joined under the identity of rogue cultivators for mutual support. The last was the famous newly advanced Sage, Dragon Abyss, who had once been the only nine-star demon hunter in the division.

Luo Chen fell into thought after hearing this. Seven Sages made the Society a formidable force. Yet compared to the twelve lineage lords of the Devil's Snare and the twenty Sages of the Blue Sea Alliance, it still fell short. More importantly, even when all three sides were counted together, the total number of Sages remained low.

In Luo Chen's view, there were too few. In the Eastern Wilderness, each of the thirty-six domains had at least one Sage, and often more. The total easily exceeded fifty. If the Nether Origin Sect was included, the figure would rise even further. By comparison, the Northern Sea should not have so few considering the abundant resources of this region. There could only be one possible explanation—the Primordial Devil Sect gathered not just the greatest number of Sages, but most of their total numbers. And when it fell, countless outstanding Sages perished with it, along with at least two Ascendants. In other words, that single event had cut the Northern Sea's top-tier strength by more than half!

At the same time, the geography of the Northern Sea also played a role. Powerful cultivators often chose to live in seclusion. Some ruled their own territories, while others remained hidden and avoided worldly affairs. Figures like Fairy Jadecold and Sage Resonant Jade had not been counted among the three major forces before the battle at Coldlight Island. The Myriad Immortal Society had only been established for a short time, so it could not possibly gather all rogue cultivators under its banner. All things considered, the Northern Sea cultivation world still possessed a formidable foundation. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"The three great hermits cultivate within the mountain range. As for Sage Dragon Abyss, he usually stays in Dragon Abyss City. The other three Sages rarely show themselves. Unless something major happens, they won't come to the mountain range. If you want the details, you can check the division's intelligence archives later. No need for me to go into it now," the Angler said casually.

Seeing his manner, Luo Chen glanced at the map in his hand and secretly laughed. Then with a flick of his hand, a jade scroll appeared, which he casually pushed toward the old man.

"What's this supposed to mean?" the Angler asked in surprise.

Luo Chen smiled. "Earlier, I noticed you seemed quite intrigued by my body. I figured you might be interested in Physique Refinement. This jade scroll records some of my own insights, along with a third-tier Physique Refinement technique. Feel free to take a look, and maybe you'll get something out of it. You looked out for me and shared quite a bit during the assessment. This is just a small token of gratitude; please don't turn it down."

This time, the Angler was genuinely taken aback. He hesitated as he accepted the jade scroll and did not open it immediately, instead looking seriously at Luo Chen. "A small token? A gift like this is worth a fortune!"

Luo Chen nodded slightly. This was indeed not a small gift. Even though he had omitted some key aspects and the third-tier technique included was among the more basic ones, the combination was still worth more than half a million. If someone relied on this knowledge and cultivated persistently, they could develop a strong physique within a hundred years.

This was especially true for late-stage Adepts. To advance to the Nascent Soul Realm, a cultivator had to perfectly fuse the vital essence, qi, and spirit in order to reach the state of Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown. Among them, the First Flower, the vital essence, meant the blood essence and the physical body. Without a sufficiently strong and resilient physique, a cultivator could not support the formation of a Nascent Soul. Thus, even qi cultivators could not ignore this. At higher realms, tempering the physique became essential. The Angler stood at the ninth stage of Golden Core and naturally could not overlook such matters.

Seeing Luo Chen's sincerity, the Angler thought for a moment before finally accepting it. He had been genuinely astonished by Luo Chen's physique several times, yet he had not expected Luo Chen to take it to heart, let alone offer up something so precious. "You've put real thought into this, but this gift is too valuable. It far exceeds anything I've done for you. That said, I truly need this, so I won't refuse you. If you have other requests, say them now."

Luo Chen was unceremoniously pointing at the map. "I want information on mid-grade and even top-grade third-tier cave residences!"

The Angler furrowed and carefully sized Luo Chen up before slowly nodding. He swept a hand across the map. At once, the spirit light rippled, and a dozen more bright points appeared. These were clearly another batch of unclaimed cave residences, and their quality surpassed those he had shown Duan Li earlier.

Luo Chen felt relieved. As expected, the Angler would not act without seeing some benefit. Duan Li had offered nothing, so the Angler had only shared basic information and kept the better cave residences to himself. Most of the places they had visited earlier were of poor quality. The Hidden Wind Cave Luo Chen had recommended was indeed the best among them, but even that one was not amazing. As expected, his judgement had been right!

The Angler tapped the map and said solemnly, "Azure Yang, I should remind you that these places may be top quality, but the rent isn't something the average rogue cultivator can afford."

Luo Chen smiled. "Isn't there a discount for demon hunters? And with you around..."

The Angler shook his head. "Even with the discount, they're still ridiculously expensive. The prices were set by a Sage and I can't give you any extra discounts. Anyway, let's go take a look first."

Mana surged as the cloud beneath them sped up at once. The Angler showed no concern over whether Luo Chen could keep up. With him leading the way, Luo Chen began to inspect the truly high-quality cave residences within the mountain range.