"Seed Demon Path..."

"Hermit Xin Shan..."

"Are his Senior Disciple and Junior Disciple only at the Qi Refinement Stage? The Seed Demon Path isn’t doing so well these days..."

Liu Ciming rubbed his temples, seemingly unwilling to cause further trouble.

"Tell them to behave and not provoke anyone from the Six Major Sects."

"Yes, Senior Brother."

He had no desire to deal with such childish squabbles.

He waved his sleeve and left.

The Cultivators of the Yellow Springs Demonic Path also left with Liu Ciming.

The Demonic Cultivator who had been arguing with Sheng Nian and the others also departed.

Only Sheng Nian and a young Cultivator remained.

"Junior Brother."

The young man’s name was Lyu Qin, and he was currently Hermit Xin Shan’s eldest Disciple.

"Getting into an argument with a Cultivator of the Yellow Springs Path in this region is not a smart move."

"Hahahahaha..."

Sheng Nian laughed, "Sorry, sorry, Senior Brother, I just didn’t like the look of him."

"However..."

His tone changed, becoming filled with coldness: "Whether it’s smart or not..."

"It doesn’t seem to be your place to lecture me, Senior Brother Lu."

"..."

Lyu Qin’s expression was rather ugly, and he remained silent.

He shot Sheng Nian a venomous glance, then left the area on his own.

Watching the departing figure, the wild and arrogant look on Sheng Nian’s face slowly faded.

In the dim moonlight, he sat alone under a withered tree, meditating and adjusting his breathing.

Within his Sea of Consciousness, demonic shadows surged.

"Kid, you’re quite the actor..."

"That Hermit Xin Shan mistakenly believes you’ve acquired some Demonic Path secret treasure."

"Based on his assumptions about you, the more arrogant and disdainful you appear, the more at ease he will feel."

"Hermit Xin Shan’s Lifespan is nearing its end, and his Demonic Technique is about to reach a crucial bottleneck. He will definitely want to use a secret art to Possess you."

"This person will be the first great aid on your path to Immortality."

Sheng Nian frowned, "But Lyu Qin is quite troublesome."

"Demonic Cultivators all harbor ulterior motives. If my guess is correct, he was sent by Hermit Xin Shan to monitor me."

"Any clue, no matter how small, must be reported."

"Changping is in utter chaos right now, with evil spirits, demons, and the Six Sects of the Righteous Path..."

"The Great Night Demonic Heaven Technique is about to Breakthrough. I’m just worried that if he notices something and informs Hermit Xin Shan, your plan might be delayed..."

"Can I kill him?"

"..."

The demonic voice within him pondered for a moment, then slowly said:

"I am currently unable to act. With your strength alone, you can’t even kill him cleanly."

"Besides..."

"He definitely has Hermit Xin Shan’s demonic seed within his body."

As soon as these words were spoken, their meaning was self-evident.

If he killed him, Hermit Xin Shan would surely know.

"..."

With no perfect solution, he could only take things one step at a time.

Sheng Nian frowned and sighed softly.

What a hassle... In a blink of an eye, half a month passed.

The scarcity of Cultivation resources in Changping truly astonished Song Yan.

He racked his brain, wondering what these Demonic Cultivators were doing here and what they were after.

Fortunately, he had made ample preparations before setting out.

For now, he didn’t need to worry about Cultivation resources.

Moreover, after wandering around Changping Prefecture City with Dai Rui these past few days, he had become somewhat familiar with the area.

As a major town in the Border Region, there were still some unranked Spiritual Veins nearby, supporting a few small Cultivation Families.

However, they were all insignificant, with nothing particularly noteworthy.

About fifty to sixty li away from Changping Prefecture City, there was a Little Cold Mountain.

Within the Little Cold Mountain region, there was the Cold Mountain Market, considered one of the larger market towns in Changping.

Although he hadn’t visited it yet, this meant he wouldn’t have to worry too much about Cultivation resources.

Visiting on a day when he was off duty from patrols, having a place for bartering was always better than being isolated from the world.

Days passed, and he gradually grew accustomed to this arduous life.

The only thing that made Song Yan’s murderous intent grow stronger was Cheng Yu.

Initially, he had been somewhat puzzled by the man’s constant targeting of him.

But now that he knew his parents were Elders of the Sheyang Sect, there was nothing strange about it.

In this Cultivation World, the arrogance displayed by those from Immortal Families was probably even more pronounced than that of many royal nobles in the mortal world.

The Chu Kingdom’s Cultivation World was not particularly strong to begin with.

Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators could already be called powerful, but how many could truly reach the Golden Core Dao?

Therefore, a portion of Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators, if they had good Aptitude and hope for a Golden Core, would leave the Chu Kingdom in the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment to seek a Breakthrough.

The other portion... would entrust their unfulfilled aspirations for this life to the next generation.

Such high hopes naturally led to immense doting.

Unlike Dan Zifeng, who had no parental protection and inherited the legacy of his predecessors, Cheng Yu had real backing.

Such people existed everywhere... and unfortunately, this person was at odds with him.

This led to him frequently having to participate in extra patrol missions, under the pretext of needing to patrol.

His Cultivation time was already limited, and such strenuous activity sometimes made it difficult to complete even his daily Cultivation.

"...I should have teamed up with Gou Sheng to kill this kid back in Bei Ya Mountain."

Song Yan was filled with regret now.

In the current situation, it would be difficult to find an opportunity to kill this person.

Cheng Yu would naturally have times when he was out on rotating patrols, but if Song Yan were to kill him, it would be easy for someone to find clues.

"If only Gou Sheng were here. I could let him do it; he’s a Demonic Cultivator anyway."

He walked out of the Yangwu Courtyard and looked up at the clear sun.

Today was a rare day; his patrol was off.

Song Yan planned to visit the nearby Cold Mountain Market.

The Cold Mountain Market was to the northeast of Changping Prefecture City, geographically closer to the interior of the Chu Kingdom.

Therefore, it wasn’t as dangerous.

Moreover, unlike the lawless lands of the Border Region, the market town’s location was somewhat awkward.

Spiritual Qi and resources were equally scarce, but because it was close to Huadu Temple, Demonic Cultivators couldn’t act with impunity, so there were basically no Foundation Establishment Realm Demonic Cultivators active in this area.

In fact, Song Yan had noticed this long ago.

Aside from the Disciples of the Six Major Sects, he rarely saw any local Loose Cultivators above Qi Refining Stage 6.

After a moment’s thought, he could guess why.

The main reason for the Six Sects’ presence was that group of mysterious Demonic Cultivators. In terms of the threat level from Changping’s local forces, the biggest was merely a demon Cultivator from the Corpse Bone Abyss.

As for those Loose Cultivators... simply surviving here with all their limbs was already a great effort.

Without reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm, one couldn’t fly with objects. He could only activate a Wind-Walking Spiritual Talisman and chose the fastest route to travel.

His trip to the Cold Mountain Market, besides wanting to familiarize himself with the route, was mainly to inquire about a local specialty Medicinal Pill that Dai Rui had mentioned.

The Netherworld Meditation Pill.