Chapter 634: Mo Sang

"This is our guild's Second Elder, Elder Mo Sang!"

"He is going to Solong Mountain this time; friend, you may travel with our Elder Mo Sang!"

At the guild's entrance, the Third Elder pointed to a short, even slightly hunched old man.

He Pingsheng cast a glance.

The old man's cultivation base sent chills down the spine—he had already reached the twelfth layer of Soul Transformation peak.

That was interesting!

At the twelfth layer of Soul Transformation, theoretically, swallowing the 【Devil Infant Pill】 would allow entry into the Void Refinement realm!

Most people wouldn't linger long at this twelfth layer.

Unless he had no Devil Infant Pill—or worse, had lost his wisdom.

But the idea that he lacked the Devil Infant Pill was unlikely.

It was almost certainly loss of wisdom!

"Elder Mo Sang, greetings!" Though countless thoughts flashed through He Pingsheng's mind, his movements remained smooth and unhurried as he bowed respectfully to Mo Sang.

Mo Sang, equally composed, returned the gesture: "May I ask your name, friend?"

He Pingsheng replied: "I am Long Zhe."

The name Long Zhe had become increasingly useful.

"Friend Long Zhe!" Mo Sang looked at him, outwardly warm but his tone utterly flat: "Our guild only escorts you into the trading venue; once inside, you have no further connection to us!"

"This must be made clear."

"If you cause trouble here or attract attention for some treasure, I will not intervene to save you!"

"This is my principle—and the guild's principle!"

He Pingsheng nodded: "Understood."

"Then let's go."

The two instantly teleported.

One teleport took them beyond the city gate, to the outskirts of the Imperial City.

Outside, Mo Sang produced a flying vessel and flew westward with He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng noticed this Mo Sang was, in fact, a human?

Yet despite being of the same race, the old man's attitude toward He Pingsheng remained cold, devoid of warmth.

He Pingsheng understood.

Along this journey, every human he'd met—aside from the Li family—had been ordinary; some demon races had even treated him better than humans had.

So he wouldn't lower his guard just because he encountered a fellow human.

Sometimes, the closer the kin, the more caution required.

Especially among humans.

The flying vessel moved swiftly; within a day, they reached a towering mountain.

The mountain range stretched endlessly.

Lower slopes were lush with trees; higher peaks were blanketed in snow.

Solong Mountain was a snowy range.

At its summit stood a lone, evergreen pine, standing defiantly amid snow—hence the mountain's name, and likely the origin of Solong Daoist's own name.

Several thousand zhang north of the pine lay a massive volcanic crater.

From within the crater, molten magma continuously erupted.

Thus, in this frozen land, heat rose, warming the air and nurturing a ring of verdant vegetation around the crater, beyond which lay a vast complex of buildings—the sect of Solong Daoist.

A beautiful female disciple of Golden Core, clad in a pale moon-white robe, stood respectfully at the gate, examined Mo Sang's token, then said: "Ah, senior from the Heavenly Fire Guild… please enter… follow me!"

The beautiful cultivator personally led He Pingsheng and Mo Sang through the mountain gate, winding through corridors until they reached a grand hall.

The hall was spacious, with several large armchairs arranged in the center.

A quick count suggested roughly a dozen seats.

Some of the armchairs were already occupied.

Mo Sang said nothing, greeted no one, and simply took a seat.

He Pingsheng chose a seat near Mo Sang.

His gaze swept the room: besides himself and Mo Sang, sixteen others were already seated.

Men and women alike.

But all were at Soul Transformation.

Of course, these sixteen were mostly human.

Only two or three were demon races, among them one striking Zhu Que.

At first, He Pingsheng thought Solong Daoist disliked demon races, hence the heavy human presence—but upon reflection, he understood.

Today's trading session was themed: Alchemy Material Exchange.

Who typically received invitations?

Obviously, most were alchemists.

Alchemists, pill-makers, talisman artisans—all were, in theory, mostly human.

Demon races' spiritual sense was inherently weaker than humans', making such crafts unsuitable.

Thus, it made perfect sense.

Another two hours passed; all attendees arrived.

Fewer than forty in total.

As everyone settled, a short old man in purple-red Daoist robes entered.

This man was Solong Daoist.

Solong Daoist took the seat of honor, chuckled, and said to all: "All of you were invited by me; your presence is greatly appreciated."

"Hehehe…"

"Alchemists and pill-makers are much the same—we must constantly exchange materials to fully utilize them!"

"Friends, isn't that true?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Solong Daoist suddenly turned his gaze to Mo Sang of the Holy Fire Guild and asked: "Elder Mo Sang, since the Yin Emperor Palace has closed, has any 【Dragon Scale Immortal Wood】 surfaced?"

"No."

Mo Sang shook his head: "I heard a Void Refinement-level ghost emerged in the Abyss of Malevolent Qi within the palace—extremely powerful. Not only is finding the Dragon Scale Wood impossible, even entering the abyss is now perilous!"

"What?"

"A Void Refinement ghost?"

"This…"

"How could such a thing arise?"

"Didn't the Demon Emperor cleanse it?"

Many began murmuring in unison.

"Enough, enough…" Solong Daoist waved his hand: "If it hasn't surfaced, let's drop it!"

"That Dragon Scale Wood is not easy to obtain!"

As he spoke, Solong's gaze fell upon He Pingsheng: "This friend seems unfamiliar—brought by Elder Mo Sang?"

"Yes!" Mo Sang hurriedly replied: "Friend Long Zhe is a distinguished guest of our Holy Fire Guild—he has some knowledge of alchemy, so I brought him along to observe!"

"Long Zhe?"

Solong's pupils narrowed slightly: "I heard someone named Long Zhe entered the Yin Emperor Palace's secret realm—could you be that person?"

He fixed his gaze on He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng remained calm and nodded: "Yes…"

Others knew nothing of He Pingsheng's deeds in the secret realm, but Solong had heard whispers; he nodded slowly: "Good, good, good…"

"Then let today's trading session begin with you, Friend Long."

"Show us any alchemy materials you have."