Mortal: I'm in Tianxing City, intelligence updates daily.

"Why would a Core Formation cultivator go to the outer star sea for the sake of us juniors? Besides, my Gu family has three branches. The previous late-stage Core Formation elder was from our eldest branch, and the Golden Core Dao Inquiry Talisman was also the private property of our eldest branch. Now that the eldest elder has perished, even if the two remaining Core Formation elders in the clan are willing to go, my eldest branch will probably not even get a sip of soup."

Li Shizhou nodded: "I see. But your main branch must have quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators, right?"

After taking a sip of tea, Gu Ci said, "There are indeed quite a few, but it would be safest for this trip if the cultivators are at the late Foundation Establishment stage. There are only a few who fit the description, and most of them are not currently in the clan. One of my clan brothers will be going with me."

After listening, Li Shizhou tapped the tea table rhythmically with his fingers as he pondered.

After a while, he said, "Junior Brother Gu, this matter is of great importance, and I need to consider it further. I will give you an answer before noon tomorrow."

"Then I'll wait for Brother Li's news. If you're willing to go, you'll definitely get one once the Golden Core Dao Inquiry Talisman is finished. If it's really difficult, just let me know, Brother Li, and I'll find someone else."

Afterwards, Gu Ci added some details, drank some tea for a while, and then got up to say goodbye and leave.

After seeing Gu Ci off, Li Shizhou paced back and forth in the main stone chamber.

In the past, for safety reasons, he would never have agreed to go to a place like the Outer Sea, which is teeming with monsters.

But now that he has a level 5 demon beast at his disposal, a Purple-Eyed Bi with true spirit bloodline, he feels much more confident.

Moreover, he had inquired about the "Golden Core Inquiry Talisman" for a long time. If there had been no news about the talisman, it would have been fine, but now that he knew about it, he felt a little unwilling to miss it.

So after careful consideration, he decided to go to the outer sea.

The next day, Gu Ci was overjoyed to hear the news. To prevent any unforeseen complications, he made an appointment with Li Shizhou to set off the following day.

......

The next day.

Li Shizhou brought along all three spirit beasts, including the level-five Purple-Eyed Bi.

Although Gu Ci and he were from the same sect and had known each other for many years and had a good relationship, if they were to fall out unexpectedly, he would never show mercy.

On the way out, I passed by Zhuo Ruting's stone chamber. She had been in seclusion for several months, trying to break through the bottleneck of the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

Li Shizhou did not disturb them, left a communication talisman, and then flew out of the cave on his sword.

Yesterday, I arranged to meet Gu Ci at the "Starry Sky Palace".

The teleportation array from Tianxing City to the outer star sea is located within the "Starry Sky Palace," on the fiftieth floor of the Holy Mountain.

He arrived in the blink of an eye, despite the distance being only three levels. Before he even landed, two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators had already come to greet him.

Aside from Gu Ci, the other person was a middle-aged male cultivator with a sallow complexion.

"Brother Li, this is my cousin, Gu Linyuan." Gu Ci introduced his cousin to Li Shizhou.

"Junior Brother Gu, it's a pleasure to meet you." Li Shizhou greeted the yellow-faced cultivator with a cupped hand.

Gu Linyuan also exchanged a few polite words: "Senior Brother Li, I have long admired your name. I hope you will take good care of me on this trip."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the three walked into the "Starry Sky Palace".

After walking about a hundred steps along a corridor that was about ten feet wide, the view suddenly opened up before you.

A vast, open hall, spanning over twenty feet in length and width, came into view.

There are dozens of teleportation arrays of varying sizes in the hall, each labeled with its destination.

More than a dozen cultivators dressed in various colors were already waiting in the hall. Their cultivation levels ranged from the mid-Foundation Establishment stage to two high-level Core Formation stage cultivators.

Li Shizhou and his two companions were all dressed as independent cultivators, so they didn't attract anyone's attention when they entered.

As they stood before the teleportation array leading to "Ningcui Island," two cultivators in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage came to greet them.

One of the old cultivators in a black robe said, "Fellow Daoists, please wait a moment. We two are also going to Ningcui Island. The teleportation is charged by the number of times it is done. How about we teleport together as a group of five, and the spirit stones will be split equally among us?"

As disciples of the Star Palace, Li Shizhou and his two companions naturally knew that the teleportation array charged spirit stones based on the number of uses. However, disciples within the sect only needed to spend a certain number of merit points to use the teleportation array. Teleporting together with two unfamiliar cultivators added unnecessary variables.

Gu Ci then decisively refused, and after speaking, took out the Star Palace identity jade token.

Upon seeing the Star Palace identity jade token, the old cultivator in the black robe wisely remained silent.

Holding a "teleportation talisman" in their hands, after a flash of white light, Li Shizhou and his two companions appeared in a simple stone house.

Inside the room was a Star Palace cultivator who was meditating with his eyes closed. After glancing at the three people, he closed his eyes again to continue his cultivation.

After exiting the stone house where the teleportation array was located, a narrow street about three zhang wide came into view.

There were some simple houses built haphazardly nearby, and in each house sat a monk dressed as a shopkeeper.

This is clearly a small market town.

Although this market is simple, it has all the shops commonly found in the cultivation world, such as "magical artifact shops," "talisman shops," and "general stores."

It's quite a coincidence that Han Laomo's first teleportation to the outer sea also took him to "Ningcui Island".

As Li Shizhou looked around curiously, he heard Gu Ci's voice transmission: "Brother Li, let's go, we still have more than ten days' journey to go."

"Okay," Li Shizhou replied telepathically.

The three of them each took out their flying magical artifacts and soared into the air, flying towards the southeast.

On the way, Li Shizhou asked, "Junior Brother Gu, so many years have passed, could the Illusion Heart Grass have been picked by passing cultivators?"

"Don't worry, Brother Li. The cultivation site is extremely remote and the spiritual energy is thin. Very few cultivators go there. In order to cultivate the Illusion Heart Grass, my Gu family buried a piece of Spirit Eye Jade inside it and also set up a defensive formation. Once the formation is broken, the Spirit Response Plate in my hand will shatter."

After Gu Ci finished speaking, he took out a perfectly intact black jade plate from his storage bag.

"Then I'm relieved."

After flying for more than ten days, the three arrived at a sea area full of small islands.

Gu Ci breathed a sigh of relief and said excitedly, "Brother Li, we're just ahead. We'll take the Illusionary Heart Grass and head back immediately."

Li Shizhou nodded. The journey had been relatively smooth, with only a few groups of low-level demonic beasts that were oblivious to their own mortality, which they had easily dealt with.

After flying for another half hour, they arrived at a small island that stretched for several miles. The island was bare, with only a few small shrubs growing sparsely in the crevices of the gray-white rocks.

The three of them used their divine senses to explore for a while before landing on the island.

......

In a secluded cave thirty or forty miles away from the island where the "Illusion Grass" is cultivated.

Two monks sat cross-legged on futons on the ground, meditating.

One of them, dressed in a gray robe, was a one-eyed male cultivator in his fifties with a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation level.

The other person was a burly, bald man with a fierce face and a robust build, whose cultivation had already reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.

The bald, burly man suddenly said impatiently, "Brother Jiang, I've been waiting for you in this godforsaken place for five years, and the person you promised to fetch the medicine still hasn't arrived."