Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 221 Hidden Sect of Yunmeng Mountain

His face was covered in mud and grime, but his eyes shone brightly, as if he had finally seized a good opportunity.

"Fellow Daoist, I have what you want."

Song Yan looked at him blankly, without saying a word.

His handsome face was now filled with anxiety as he looked around nervously: "It's just a Fallen Vine, I have it, I have it. I hope they don't kick me out."

?

Song Yan was startled, her brows furrowed, and she abandoned her playful mood.

Was this person eavesdropping on my conversation with Manager Zhang?
However, he did not realize that someone was investigating him at the time.

Moreover, he was just an ordinary person.

He frowned slightly, but before he could ask any questions, two managers from Lanxifang hurried over.

One of them shouted sternly, "Stand right there! How dare you, a mere mortal, trespass into the land of immortals?"

The other person quickly bowed to Song Yan and apologized: "Fellow Daoist, this person is probably a mortal who got lost on Shouyang Mountain and accidentally wandered into the market. We stopped him just now, but we didn't pay attention and he slipped in. Please forgive us for the disturbance."

After saying that, she reached out to grab the boy.

The boy gripped Song Yan's sleeve tightly, refusing to let go, and said urgently, "Fellow Daoist, I really do, I..."

Song Yan raised his hand to signal the two stewards to wait a moment, and quietly scanned the boy's body with his divine sense.

The meridians were empty, and there was no sensation of Qi in the Dantian.

There was absolutely no fluctuation of spiritual power; he was just an ordinary mortal.

But here's the problem.

The medicinal herb, Fallen Vine, is extremely precious. If I hadn't obtained this Thousand Elixir Formula, I probably wouldn't have even heard of it.

Not to mention ordinary people, even a low-level cultivator like myself might not know his name.

How dare he deceive himself in a place full of cultivators?
Furthermore, how did this person know that he needed this item?
His gaze darkened, and he immediately asked, "Who told you I needed this?"

Before the mortal could respond, the market manager was already growing impatient.

Although they didn't know what this mortal possessed, it was something Song Yan needed.

One of them immediately spoke up: "Fellow Daoist, do not listen to the nonsense of this mortal! The spiritual items needed by cultivators are not something that ordinary people can obtain."

The young man looked at the two managers but didn't refute them. Instead, his eyes darted around and his gaze fell on Song Yan.

“It’s alright.” Song Yan pondered for a moment, then waved his hand and said, “How about this, you two stewards, I’ll question him a bit.”

"He's just an ordinary person; he can't cause any trouble."

"If he really has news of the miraculous medicine, then he has done me a great favor. Whether he stays or leaves is up to him."

"If he's talking nonsense and deceiving me... well, there's no need to let him leave."

Upon hearing this, the boy showed no fear and nodded repeatedly.

"This……"

The two stewards looked at each other in bewilderment.

However, in the end, they didn't make things difficult for him. What the other party said was absolutely right. In the end, he was just an ordinary person who couldn't cause any trouble.

He gave a few brief instructions and then left.

Song Yan led this person away from the market and into a secluded grove.

He casually took out a set of array plates and set up a soundproof array.

"May I have your name."

The young man cleared his throat and gave a proper bow: "My name is Wang Ke, courtesy name Anning, and I am from Yunmeng Mountain."

Yunmeng Mountain?
Does the State of Chu have such a place? Song Yan had never heard of it.

He stared at the boy in front of him, his voice slightly cold: "You... just overheard my conversation with Manager Zhang?"

"Uh……"

The young man seemed a little embarrassed and quickly apologized, "Fellow Daoist, I'm truly sorry, I'm also at my wit's end, so..."

"How did you do it?"

Song Yan had no interest in hearing his apology and asked a question instead.

"Huh?" The boy was taken aback.

"I didn't notice anyone watching or spying nearby. How did you, a mere mortal, manage to do that?"

Let alone ordinary people, even cultivators, with Song Yan's current spiritual sense, would need to be at least at the Foundation Establishment stage to eavesdrop on his conversations without anyone noticing, unless the other party also has a special method for cultivating spiritual sense.

It is precisely for this reason that Song Yan spends time on a mortal.

Song Yan would never believe that he truly possessed the Fallen Vine.

In his opinion, this person must have used some trick to overhear his conversation with Manager Zhang.

As for their purpose, it was nothing more than the same as mortals seeking immortality and enlightenment: they wanted to join the immortal sect.

Once he explained the situation, he sent him out of Lanxi Cave.

Those previous threats were just empty words.

There's no need to get angry and kill someone who's just trying to take advantage of others.

However, Wang Ke did not reply to Song Yan's words.

He simply extended one hand, and in his palm was a white chess piece.

"Ok?"

Just as Song Yan was about to ask a question, the chess piece suddenly shattered with a bang.

Then, a flash of inspiration struck, and the chess piece vanished.

Instead, a withered vine was used.

The vine had a dark golden hue, and although it was dry, there was a faint spiritual light flowing between its veins.

Song Yan's pupils suddenly contracted.

Fallen Vine!?

"you……"

He was extremely shocked, completely unprepared for what was happening before his eyes, and stood there speechless.

Wang Ke chuckled before explaining, "Fellow Daoist, you may not know this, but I am also a cultivator, and I come from a small, secluded sect."

"However, there are some old customs and rules in the sect. When disciples go down the mountain to travel, they must seal all their cultivation before they can leave the sect."

He said with a hint of helplessness.

Song Yan was filled with surprise and doubt.

"What kind of rule is this?"

If a disciple were to travel among mortals and encounter martial artists or bandits, and die a violent death, it would be far too unworthy.

“Who says otherwise?” Wang Ke also seemed somewhat indignant: “They’re all just traditional dregs!”

"Aren't you afraid that I'll kill you right here and take the spirit artifact?"

"Hahahaha." Upon hearing this, Wang Ke suddenly laughed: "Fellow Daoist, don't scare me. I can tell fortunes. You are definitely not a bloodthirsty person."

"..."

However, Song Yan didn't care about anything else. Right now, the Fallen Vine was on the person in front of him, which meant that his Foundation Establishment Pill was right in front of him.

How could anyone not be excited?
"Tell me, what do I need to give you in exchange for this spiritual item?"

"It's very simple. A month later, escort me to Beiya Mountain to participate in the Chess Tournament, and then send me to the Chu capital after it's over. It's that simple."

"escort?"

Song Yan frowned.

Escorting someone means there is definitely danger involved.

"Hehe." Wang Ke chuckled, "I was targeted by quite a few cultivators the other day because of my flaunting of wealth."

"But don't worry, fellow Daoist, they are all Qi Refining stage cultivators. If they follow us, just kill them all."

“They are all vicious and wicked, so let’s just consider this a way of punishing the wicked and eliminating evil.”

Song Yan was somewhat baffled.

Why does this person seem so confident in his abilities?
After a moment of silence, a wisp of sword energy surged into his eyes as he activated his Observation Sword Eyes.

Seeing the change in Song Yan's eyes, Wang Ke was slightly startled: "Fellow Daoist, what are you doing?" "Your sect..." Song Yan said, while holding up a finger: "Doesn't seem like a small sect."

hum-

A wisp of sword energy slowly condensed and touched Wang Ke's brow.

In the void, ripples like water spread out, and straight lines like ink paintings appeared, resembling a corner of a chessboard.

The sword energy was firmly blocked outside and then quickly dissipated.

"With this level of restriction, unless you offend several Foundation Establishment cultivators who attack you at the same time, how could you possibly be in trouble?"

Wang Ke touched his undamaged forehead and smiled bitterly: "I know they can't hurt me, but they can trap and capture me."

"After all, I am no different from an ordinary person now, and I have no way to resist. I'm just afraid of missing the Chess Tournament."

Song Yan became increasingly curious: "What's so special about this Chess Tournament?"

"What's special about it?" Wang Ke was taken aback. "Nothing special."

"What kind of precious prize or spiritual item is it?" Song Yan asked again.

Wang Ke paused slightly, pondered for a moment, and finally said, "No, it's just a chess score."

"Without any special opportunity or rare reward, why are you taking this risk to participate in the Chess Tournament...?"

Wang Ke was stunned, then spread his hands and said, "I just like playing chess."

"..."

Song Yan was speechless and choked with emotion.

He found it hard to understand what was going on in the minds of those who were obsessed with the art of self-cultivation.

It doesn't matter, the journey from Lanxi Cave to Beiya Mountain is not far, and although Beiya Mountain is some distance from Chu Capital, it is nothing for cultivators.

He got such a precious elixir just by escorting one or two people; he really hit the jackpot.

I had originally wanted to ask Wang Ke, who was so wealthy, why he didn't ask someone else to help him find me, but after thinking about it, I decided not to ask.

If you ask someone and they agree with your reasoning but then run away, where will you get the real vine?

In fact, Song Yan was unaware of something.

The Fallen Vine is extremely precious, and the Chu Kingdom is located in a remote area with scarce cultivation resources. As the cultivation world in the Chu Kingdom has developed to this point, many spiritual items have long since disappeared.

Those pills that required this ingredient to be refined have long been modified by various alchemy masters, resulting in versions that do not require it.

Over time, these cultivators at the Qi Refining stage became almost unrecognizable.

Many people have only seen the name in the alchemical texts, and even if they were presented to it, they would not recognize what it is.

This was the only thing in Wang Ke's Qiankun bag that someone recognized and urgently needed.

Song Yan didn't hesitate and immediately nodded in agreement. Just as they were about to discuss the contents of the agreement, Wang Ke spoke first.

"I'll give you a piece first."

After he finished speaking, he shoved the withered vine from his hand over.

"?"

Song Yan stared blankly at the withered vine in his hand, his eyes filled with confusion and disbelief.

"I'll give you another piece once it reaches Beiya Mountain, and another piece once it reaches Chu Capital."

Wang Ke rubbed his hands together.

There was no reluctance to part with the elixir in his clear eyes, only a longing to play chess with someone.

"you……"

Now, Song Yan is genuinely considering the possibility of murder and robbery.

Who is this person from?
He originally thought that after the Chess Tournament ended, it would be sent to the capital of Chu, and only then would he receive a piece of it.

The rarity and value of the *Pterocarya stenoptera* need no further explanation.

Song Yan searched so many markets and towns, but still couldn't find any news about it.

The group of people in their prime explored the cave of an ancient cultivator, but they did not find the item in their Qiankun bags.

This person, however, struck with a single blow, cutting the target into three pieces.

Could it be that he comes from a sect famous for cultivating rare and precious medicinal herbs?
In Song Yan's memory, there didn't seem to be such a place in the State of Chu.

With such abundant spiritual resources, could this be a core disciple of the Xuan Yuan Sect?
But I've never heard of any rule in the Xuan Yuan Sect that requires disciples to seal their cultivation when they go down the mountain to travel.

"it is good."

He nodded, which was considered an agreement.

Wang Ke couldn't help but beam with joy: "Hey, fellow Daoist, I haven't yet had the pleasure of asking you a question...?"

“Song Yan, courtesy name Yesheng.”

"Then I'll have to trouble Fellow Daoist Song."

With a month to go before the start of the Go Tournament at Beiya Mountain, Song Yan did not want a stranger like him to stay in the nameless valley.

So, in Lanxifang, they found a place called the Immortal Inn for this "mortal" Wang Ke and paid him a month's worth of spirit stones to stay there temporarily.

As soon as Wang Ke entered the room, he carefully took out the things from his bag.

They're all things like chessboards and game records.

They're so obsessed with this...

Song Yan and he agreed on a time: to depart five days before the start of the Yi Dao Tournament, so that they could arrive at Beiya Mountain three days in advance.

Afterwards, he left Lanxifang and returned to the nameless valley.

He went straight back into his cave and entered the alchemy room where the sword-wielding alchemy furnace was located.

He took out the piece of Fallen Vine from his Qiankun Bag and examined it from all angles.

Although he had never seen the Fallen Vine before, the section in his hand was full of spiritual energy, contained within and not released, which clearly met the standards for refining pills.

"This is so strange..."

Song Yan muttered to himself.

He had imagined many scenarios in which he would acquire this item.

For example, it can be found by searching within a lost secret realm, obtained from the Qiankun bag of a demonic cultivator after slaying him, or acquired at an auction during one's travels.

To my utter surprise, this item was ultimately delivered to my door by a strange "mortal".

"Yunmeng Mountain..."

He racked his brains, but couldn't find any words related to this place in his mind.

If you can't think of something, just stop thinking about it; the result will be good.

"It is true that after searching high and low for something, it is finally found without any effort."

This section of the Fallen Vine is about four inches long, which is enough for Song Yan to try to refine four improved versions of the Foundation Building Pill as the main ingredient.

Once he delivers the other party to the capital of Chu and obtains all the spirit vines, it means that he can try at least twelve times.

"If I can't make a pill even once in these twelve attempts, I, Song Yan, will never refine pills again in my life."

He made a harsh statement in his heart.

He then carefully put away the Fallen Vine, rested for a while, and then laid out the materials for refining the Wuxiang Pill.

I'm going to try the No Thought Pill again.

Now that the Fallen Vine has found a home, Song Yan plans to speed up the process and accumulate experience for the Foundation Establishment Pill as soon as possible.

He sat cross-legged, his sleeves fluttering even without wind.

The ugly alchemy furnace with a toad-shaped lid sat quietly on the ground in front of him, its patterns gleaming faintly.

He lightly tapped the sword furnace with his fingertip, and a wisp of sword energy disappeared into the furnace like a thread, immediately producing a soft "hum" sound.

The toad opened its mouth and exhaled, and a ring of sword energy appeared out of thin air between the top of the furnace and the base, with dark red burning flames clinging to it and flowing within it.

He held out his left hand in a gesture of support, while his right hand formed a sword incantation, and sword energy surged forth from the Zhendao Sword Mansion like a tidal wave.

The sword energy and the raging flames subdued each other, eventually forming a semi-transparent phantom of a crimson-gold alchemy furnace.

Here, we can't help but admire the genius of senior Chen Yi.

In this way, the stability of the sword energy input intensity is greatly improved.

All he needed to do was concentrate on controlling the sword energy to process the pills.

(End of this chapter)