Chapter 335: Not a Single Cultivator on the Street—Something Must Be Going On

"Hey! Hey! Hey!"

Amidst the synchronized shouts, the coolies jointly lowered the ship's cargo slowly; several uniformed Japanese men stood nearby, inspecting each item as it was unloaded, all businesslike.

Feng Xue scanned their lifespans and found they were roughly average human levels, with no special aura or spiritual radiance—clearly ordinary people.

At this moment, Feng Xue very much wanted to unleash a full "Ghost Blinds Eyes—Ghost Clouds Mind—Imperial Dew" combo, but he still had reason, and restrained himself from activating World Debug Mode.

Though personally, activating World Debug Mode in Japan might seem morally fitting, the problem is that humans are path-dependent; once accustomed to a certain rhythm, escaping that comfort zone becomes extremely difficult.

This is precisely why, despite having largely resolved his lifespan issue, Feng Xue still never relaxed a moment—he feared that if he let his guard down even once, he'd fall into habitual laziness.

Rather than face some future day when he couldn't solve a problem and only lament his past slackness, he felt it better to suffer now.

Likewise, Feng Xue didn't want to become a brainwashed maniac who reached for Debug Mode at every problem; occasional use was fine, but large-scale deployment? No thanks.

As he observed his surroundings, a subtle sensation suddenly rose from within his heart—no, that phrasing wasn't quite accurate, because the sensation didn't originate from himself, but from his soul-sea, from the King Ghidorah enshrouding his spiritual phantom.

"Is this the foundation of the Dragon King Temple?"

Watching the massive wooden crate carried by eight men, Feng Xue stirred his spiritual power and communicated with the nearby cultivator.

The cultivator blinked in surprise, as if stunned for a moment, then nodded.

"Brother Daoist has sharp eyes—if you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have noticed! But it must be that."

He added with a peculiar tone:

"They're going all out this time—I'm actually curious what they're summoning down."

"Who knows?" Feng Xue gave a look of complete confusion, as if he had no idea what the man meant; the cultivator laughed heartily, yet his gaze never left the wooden crate.

"Wait!" Whether due to the cultivator's stare or routine procedure, the Japanese inspector shouted to the eight coolies carrying the crate—followed by the voice of the merchant guild member who had come with the ship:

"Stop! Everyone stop!"

He hurried forward, speaking fluent Japanese to the inspector, who nodded but still said:

"Open it."

"Of course, please wait a moment—this is too heavy; placing it on the ground will make it hard for the workers to move!"

He shouted for nearby unloading coolies to bring a weighing platform to place beneath it.

Seeing this, Feng Xue frowned:

"Should we try to stop them?"

"No no!" the brokerage manager immediately whispered through spiritual transmission, "These inspectors are all ordinary people; even a common cultivator wouldn't detect anything wrong with that foundation. Going through official channels is safer—don't worry about this, come with me for identity registration. But remember: you're here as a study delegation. Though there are plenty of spoiled heirs using this excuse for free travel these days, you still need some cover."

Feng Xue had no objection to the manager's words; customs here clearly weren't as standardized as in the future, and identity verification was processed quickly—though thinking carefully, the brokerage likely had pulled some strings. Outside the port, several Japanese men speaking the Uta dialect immediately approached, guiding them to a nearby inn.

At first, the cultivators remained somewhat wary—being alone abroad, everything seemed dangerous—but as time passed and not a single cultivator appeared, this made everyone…

Even more wary.

"Uta City is Japan's capital, their Tian Nao settlement—why can't we see a single cultivator? Could there be an ambush?"

The composed cultivator frowned, yet at this moment, his mind was already imagining encountering Japanese cultivators lying in wait on the street, and how he could cover the retreat with enough elegance and decisiveness.

"It's unusual, but probably not aimed at us. Japan has ninja culture—if they truly targeted us, they wouldn't make such a basic mistake."

The brokerage manager whispered through spiritual power, yet pulled out a jade talisman from his robe—a treasure.

Though Feng Xue carried many treasures, for cultivators of this world, treasures were luxurious, useless luxuries—even when made, they were almost always designed for functionality.

The manager's treasure was no exception; with a barely perceptible flicker of spiritual light, a tiny bell's chime reached Feng Xue's ears:

"Master, he's emitting electromagnetic waves. Should I analyze them?"

Feng Xue didn't think the manager would become a traitor, but still asked:

"Can you know what message he's sending without disrupting its original function?"

"Of course," Mo Ying scoffed inside Feng Xue's mind. "Do you think spies in dramas can tap phones without the other side hearing?" Feng Xue realized he'd asked a stupid question—but in that brief distraction, Little Xiao Lingdang had already cracked the brokerage manager's simple encryption.

Indeed, he'd overthought it—the manager's message was sent straight back home.

"Tsk tsk. Technology hasn't caught up yet, but the mystical side already has ultra-long-range spiritual reports? The cost seems rather high."

Before long, a reply came; before Little Xiao Lingdang could decode it, the guild manager's face turned cold:

"Multiple cities back home have been attacked by Japanese cultivators—and somehow, they've gained recognition from the Human Dao's spiritual mechanism. Even our own Xuan cultivators' actions are now judged as karmic offenses, making confrontation extremely costly!"

"What?" The impatient young cultivator gasped. The composed cultivator immediately grabbed his arm and said:

"Given how long we've seen no cultivators here, Japan must have emptied its ranks entirely—this is exactly our opportunity!"

"Exactly. First, set up the ritual framework and notify the Grand Masters. I'll send detailed intelligence back. So far, only a thousand Japanese cultivators have appeared—nowhere near total mobilization. More are surely still lying low. If they plan to infiltrate the capital, that's a major crisis!" At this, the group immediately grasped the danger. The composed cultivator declared:

"Fine. You set up the ritual. I'll go cause trouble—see if I can lure some Japanese cultivators back!"

"No. You stay and set up the ritual. I don't understand your rituals. Rather than send a technician to stir up trouble, let me go instead!"

(End of Chapter)