Chapter 360: There

“Hey! Hey! Hey!”

Amidst the synchronized shouts, the laborers jointly lowered the ship’s cargo slowly; several Japanese men in uniforms 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 spiritual radiance or aura—clearly ordinary people.

At this moment, Feng Xue strongly desired to activate his “Ghost Veil Eyes—Ghost Obsession—Imperial Dew” sequence, but he still had reason, and restrained himself from indulging in this world-debugging mode.

Though personally it might seem fitting for him to activate world-debugging mode in Japan, the problem is that humans are path-dependent; once accustomed to a certain rhythm, it becomes extremely difficult to break out of that comfort zone.

This is precisely why, despite having largely resolved his lifespan issue, Feng Xue never dared to relax—even a moment’s slackness terrified him, for fear he’d fall into habitual laziness.

Rather than face some unsolvable problem in the future and lament his past complacency, he preferred to endure hardship 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.

As he observed his surroundings, a subtle sensation suddenly rose from within his heart—no, that wasn’t quite accurate, for 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 Daoist priest.

The Daoist priest blinked in surprise, as if stunned for a moment, then nodded:

“Brother Daoist, sharp eyes! Had you not pointed it out, I wouldn’t have noticed! But it must be it.”

He added with a peculiar tone:

“They’re going to such lengths this time—I’m actually curious what they’re bringing down.”

“Who knows?” Feng Xue gave a look of complete ignorance; the Daoist priest laughed, but his gaze never left the crate.

“Wait!” Whether due to the Daoist’s stare or routine procedure, the Japanese inspector shouted to the eight laborers carrying the crate, followed by the voice of the merchant association 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; the workers can’t move it once it’s on the ground!”

He shouted for nearby laborers preparing to unload to bring a weighing platform to place beneath it.

Seeing this, Feng Xue frowned:

“Should we try to stop them?”

“No need, no need!” the brokerage manager immediately whispered through spiritual power, “These inspectors are all ordinary people; even a common Daoist wouldn’t detect anything amiss 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 many spoiled heirs these days use this excuse for free travel, you still need some cover.”

Feng Xue had no objection to the manager’s words. Customs in this era clearly weren’t as standardized as in the future, and identity verification was processed quickly—though upon reflection, the brokerage must have pulled some strings. Outside the port, several Japanese men speaking the Yuta dialect immediately approached, guiding them to a nearby inn.

At first, the Daoist priests were somewhat wary—being alone abroad, everywhere seemed dangerous—but as time passed and not a single Daoist appeared, this only made everyone…

More wary.

“Yuta City is Japan’s capital, their Tian Nao settlement—why can’t we see a single Daoist? Could there be an ambush?”

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

“It is indeed unusual, but likely 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 a jade talisman from his robe—it was a magical artifact.

Though Feng Xue carried many artifacts, for Daoists of this world, artifacts were luxurious, useless trinkets; even when made, they were almost always designed for functionality.

This artifact from the brokerage manager was no exception. With a barely perceptible flicker of spiritual light, a faint bell chime reached Feng Xue’s ears—

“Master, he’s emitting electromagnetic waves. Should I analyze them?”

Though Feng Xue didn’t think the manager would betray them, he still asked:

“Can you know what message he’s sending without disrupting its original function?”

“Of course,” Mò Yīng scoffed in Feng Xue’s mind. “Do you think spies in dramas can eavesdrop on phones without the other side hearing?” Feng Xue realized he’d asked a stupid question—but in that brief distraction, the little bell 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 long-range spiritual messaging? The cost seems high.”

Before Feng Xue had finished thinking, a reply came. Before the little bell could decode it, the merchant association manager’s face turned cold:

“Multiple cities back home have been attacked by Japanese Daoists. Somehow, they’ve gained recognition from the Human Dao’s spiritual mechanism—when our own Xuan cultivators act, it’s judged as karmic debt, making confrontation extremely costly!”

“What?” The impatient young Daoist cried out in shock. The composed Daoist immediately grabbed his arm and said:

“Given how long we’ve seen no Daoists here, Japan must have emptied its ranks entirely—this is exactly our opportunity!”

“Exactly. First, set up the ritual. Notify the Grand Masters. I’ll send detailed intelligence back. So far, only a thousand Japanese Daoists have appeared—nowhere near total mobilization. More are surely lying low. If they plan to infiltrate the capital, that’s a major crisis!” At the manager’s words, they all grasped the danger. The composed Daoist immediately said—

“Fine. You set up the ritual. I’ll go cause trouble—see if I can lure some Japanese Daoists back!”

“No. You stay and set up the ritual. I don’t understand your rituals. Better to let me handle the distraction than send a technician into the field!”

(End of Chapter)