Chapter 861

"Two young friends." Yan Buji poured two cups of wine with a squinting smile, his cloudy left eye glimmering with an eerie light in the candlelight, "The Yang sisters you just mentioned—are they Yang Qing and Yang Lan?"

"Senior, senior, you've mistaken the person..." The younger Golden Core Cultivator broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead, his fingers furtively reaching for the communication jade talisman at his waist.

Yan Buji lightly tapped the Swallow Desire Pot, the "Chi" character faintly glowing. The eyes of the two Golden Core Cultivators instantly turned dazed, and the hand reaching for the communication talisman drooped.

"Tell me everything you know."

Half an hour later, Yan Buji walked out of the teahouse, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

As he had expected, after Yang Qing and Yang Lan disappeared from the Nan Ting Mountain Region years ago, they actually thrived in the Wan Dao Mountain Range. Now one is a guest elder of the Xuan Men, the other an Elder of the Fa Tian Sect, both having reached Nascent Soul cultivation.

More importantly, there are rumors that the sisters have mastered some secret art that allows them to cultivate different techniques simultaneously...

"The Dao Ce Xuan Zhang..." Yan Buji rubbed the Swallow Desire Pot, its body becoming scorching hot from having absorbed the fate of more than twenty Nascent Soul Cultivators.

It's time to meet these two "old acquaintances"!

The Wan Dao Mountain Range is not merely a mountain range; it is a cultivation holy land occupying the most vital spiritual vein of the Nan Ting Mountain Region.

Here, seventy-two main peaks pierce the clouds, each peak shrouded in thick spiritual mist. The waterfalls and streams between the mountains are not ordinary water but liquefied spiritual energy; even a random wild grass on the ground would be a precious spiritual herb elsewhere.

The seven great imperial clans, the orthodox Xuan Men, the Fa Tian Sect... each power has a Mahayana cultivator holding the fort, and even the shadow of Xuan Men sages can be seen.

This is truly a world of the strong; Nascent Soul cultivators here can only serve as ordinary attendants, and only those at the Spirit Transformation stage count as experts.

Entering the Wan Dao Mountain Range is no simple matter, after all it is the true cultivation realm of the Nan Ting Mountain Region, and one actually needs a pass to go inside.

Yan Buji stood outside the mist-wreathed mountain gate, gazing at the distant pavilions and terraces faintly visible among the clouds, a cold smile curling his lips. He produced the pass he had snatched from some unlucky Nascent Soul cultivator and swaggered toward the gate.

"Halt!" the gate-guarding Golden Core Cultivator blocked the way, "Please show..."

Before he could finish speaking, the "Man" character on the Swallow Desire Pot faintly lit up.

The two guards' eyes instantly turned vacant, their movements sluggish as if walking underwater. Yan Buji strolled past them, casually taking one of their storage bags.

Upon entering the Wan Dao Mountain Range, Yan Buji immediately felt the difference.

Here the spiritual energy is so dense it almost condenses into liquid; each breath feels like one's cultivation is slowly increasing.

On the streets, the lowest cultivators one sees are at the Golden Core stage, and occasionally one can spot Spirit Transformation cultivators soaring past on escape lights overhead.

"It's actually quite similar to those few cultivator cities in Zhong Tian Zhi Yu."

"First, gather some news..." Yan Buji entered an inn called the "Zui Xian Lou". Here consumption is extremely high—a pot of spiritual liquor costs hundreds of Spiritual Stones—but correspondingly, it is also the best place for information.

"Have you heard? Elder Yang Lan has recently been gathering Nine Netherworld Iron..."

"Shh, it's said to be related to that ancient secret realm of the Xuan Men..."

"Guest Elder Yang Qing just defeated a late-stage Spirit Transformation challenger the day before yesterday..."

Yan Buji slowly sipped the spiritual liquor, his ears catching snippets of conversation around him. Suddenly, his single eye narrowed slightly, and the talk of the three cultivators at the neighboring table drew his attention.

"... Those sisters' techniques are indeed strange; they clearly cultivate the orthodox Xuan Men methods, yet they can execute Fa Tian Sect arts..."

"It's said they possess half of an ancient secret canon in their hands..."

"Keep it down! You wanna die? Those two are now..."

Yan Buji set down his wine cup, the smile at his lips turning ever more sinister. He could basically confirm that Yang Qing and Yang Lan indeed possessed the Dao Ce Xuan Zhang, and it was likely the third chapter, "Ignoring Qualifications to Cultivate Any Technique".

After leaving the inn, Yan Buji found a secluded spot and took out a secret manual from his bosom—the very Holy Primordial Source Scripture he had exchanged with the Yang sisters during his mortal years!

"I should be able to find them." Yan Buji narrowed his eyes, tapped the Swallow Desire Pot, and a golden light turned into a thread, linking with the Holy Primordial Source Scripture and beginning to guide his direction.

Before dawn, mist enveloped the isolated peaks surrounding the Wan Dao Mountain Range; Yan Buji stood on the cliff's edge, his gray-white hair dancing wildly in the biting mountain wind. His rough fingers lightly stroked the Swallow Desire Pot at his waist, following the direction of the chasing golden thread.

In the morning light, the pot's mouth glowed with an eerie light, constantly trembling as it pointed toward the northwest—Yuxiao Peak, where the headquarters of the Xuan Men is located.

"Yang Qing... Yang Lan..." A flicker of coldness passed through Yan Buji's eyes. Those sisters were merely mortals over five hundred years ago, and their lifespans were nearing their end.

Yet now they are a guest elder of the Xuan Men and an Elder of the Fa Tian Sect. Such cultivation speed is not fast, but certainly not slow. How could an ordinary mortal, without any fortuitous opportunity, possibly set foot in the cultivation world?

Besides the Dao Ce Xuan Zhang, he could think of no other possibility.

"Back then, although I returned to look for them, I got no news; it seems they must have found a way to enter the Wan Dao Mountain Range to cultivate." Yan Buji frowned.

But how did they manage to get in?

The Wan Dao Mountain Range has restrictions; ordinary cultivators can't even enter, let alone two mortals. If they had already achieved Nascent Soul cultivation back then, they couldn't possibly be only at the Spirit Transformation stage now.

There must certainly be some hidden secret here!

The loose cultivator market at the mountain's base has already become bustling.

Yan Buji altered his appearance, turning into a young man, and blended into the bustling crowd. At a roadside tea stall, several cultivators were speaking in lowered voices:

"I heard that for this Nine Netherworld Secret Realm exploration, Guest Elder Yang specially invited her sister from the Fa Tian Sect to assist."

"Indeed, it's said that relics from the era of the Human Emperor were discovered inside that secret realm..."

"Shh! Watch your words! The Xuan Men enforcement squad is nearby..."

After the enforcement squad left, the surrounding cultivators finally dared to continue their discussion.

"Speaking of which, with so many powerful figures in the Xuan Men, why do they still need to recruit people for this exploration?"

"Isn't that simple? Either that secret realm is too dangerous, or there are certain restrictions. Moreover, since they dare to let outsiders in, it shows that anything truly valuable definitely won't be discovered by outsiders."

"Oh, fellow Daoist, high insight!"

Yan Buji ordered a pot of spiritual tea and sipped it slowly. The tea reflected his distorted visage; years of fleeing had etched ravines into his face, and the abnormality of his left eye made his whole person exude an evil aura.

However, now Yan Buji does not fear that someone could see through his youthful disguise; after all, with the aid of fortune and the rare treasure technique, even if someone could see through, it would only be possible if a Void Harmony cultivator personally appeared, stood before him, and carefully released their divine sense to observe.

"This fellow Daoist." A sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked cultivator came over, "Are you interested in joining the Xuan Men's secret realm exploration? I have a way in..."