Chapter 270: Hurrying On

Several flight lights with astonishing momentum soared from Kunzhong City, startling countless cultivators who then raised their heads to look.

“This… is the momentum of Core Formation cultivators!” mumbled a cultivator, who was staring at the multicolored flight lights converging in the sky.

One, two, three, four… there were actually seven Core Formation cultivators traveling together! The low level cultivators were both envious and frightened upon witnessing such a scene.

At a restaurant, someone picked his teeth and spat loudly. He bared his teeth, gazing at the vaguely visible, ethereal and dazzling flight lights which swept across the sky. He cursed loudly, “Damn it! How good would it be if I could be that impressive!”

A cultivator sitting at the next table turned to look at him. He saw it was a robust man only in the fourth layer of the Aura Refining realm. The robust man was wearing ordinary clothes and had an even more ordinary cultivation level, so that cultivator immediately said with mockery, “You? Take a look at what kind of aptitude you have! Every one of those Core Formation cultivators is a heavenly-gifted genius. At your age, they’d long built their foundations!”

The robust man rolled his eyes, but he didn’t quarrel with that cultivator. He self-righteously said, “I was just talking casually. Core Formation? I’d thank both the heavens and the earth if I could build my foundation.”

What he said was in line with the thoughts of most low level cultivators in the restaurant. The majority of them were mere individual cultivators. Not to mention core-formation, but even foundation-building was practically out of reach for them.

“Ay~ when will I be able to form my Golden Core?!” A group of cultivators gazed at the flight lights in the sky with the utmost envy.

“Fellow Daoist Shoujing, Fellow Daoist Qingwei!” In midair, Daoist Kumu greeted Qin Xi and Mo Tiange, who finally arrived.

The seven of them were all present now. Qin Xi gave them a cursory glance then returned the greetings: “Fellow Daoist Kumu, all Fellow Daoists.”

Daoist Kumu and Tong Tianyun smiled and cupped their hands in greeting; Madam Feng stepped on a lotus leaf-shaped flying magic tool, acknowledging no one; Jing Xingzhi stared at them with a half-smile; and Lei Dongqing, who was still hugging his wine jar, said anxiously, “The two of you are really slow—we’ve been waiting for you for a long time! Let’s go now, let’s go.”

“Fellow Daoist Lei, what are you in such a hurry for?” Daoist Kumu said with a smile, “It’ll take the restrictions on Demonic Mountain six months to one year to slowly weaken and disappear. It’s only been about two or three months from the time we got the news until now—we’ll still have to wait when we arrive at Demonic Mountain!”

“That’s not for certain,” Lei Dongqing argued loudly, “What if it opens a bit earlier? We’d certainly fall behind others and lose out!”

“Old Lei’s right.” Madam Feng had a cold gaze. She looked completely different from when she acted flirtatiously that day. “We still have many things to do when we arrive at Demonic Mountain. Let’s go quickly!”

Since the two of them were so impatient and the others didn’t object either, Daoist Kumu said, “That being the case, let’s get going!”

The seven cultivators each used their own means of speeding towards the east in one formation.

Daoist Kumu rode a Red-Crowned Crane; Tong Tianyun’s flying magic weapon looked like a canoe; Madam Feng stood on a lotus leaf; and Lei Dongqing sat on that wine jar of his. Remembering that he always hugged the wine jar and drank from it, Mo Tiange couldn’t help but get goosebumps. Jing Xingzhi naturally used his flying sword, while Qin Xi used his flying cloud. As for Mo Tiange, she didn’t ride on Qin Xi’s flying cloud like she did during her arrival. Instead, she took out the White Silk Handkerchief and used it as a flying magic weapon. Among the seven people, Qin Xi’s flying cloud, Jing Xingzhi’s flying sword, and Tong Tianyun’s canoes were the fastest, but Mo Tiange also didn’t have a very hard time following them, and the others weren’t weak either.

Although they were hastening on with their journey, they were also evaluating each other’s skills. Upon seeing how easily Mo Tiange kept pace with everyone, Madam Feng couldn’t help but feel rather astonished and pay a bit more attention to her.

“Fellow Daoist Qingwei.” Tong Tianyun, who was sitting on his canoe, was the most relaxed among them. He approached Mo Tiange to talk to her.

Mo Tiange turned to look at him. “Fellow Daoist Tong, is there something the matter?”

Tong Tianyun said, “I’ve inquired about that matter you asked me about—that friend of mine said that since we’re planning to go to Demonic Mountain, he hopes Fellow Daoist Qingwei can pick up an unusual object from Demonic Mountain to exchange with him.”

Mo Tiange was baffled. “What do you mean?”

Tong Tianyun smiled. “I’ll be frank with Fellow Daoist Qingwei. My friend’s just like me; he also doesn’t have much time left in his lifespan. However, because of family reasons, it was inconvenient for him to come with us to Demonic Mountain. The Chalcedony he bought was originally going to be used to concoct medicinal pills, but he doesn’t absolutely have to use that Chalcedony. There’s a unique spiritual object on Demonic Mountain that’s extremely useful to him. If Fellow Daoist Qingwei’s lucky and can obtain that spiritual object, my friend’s willing to exchange it for the Chalcedony.”

Mo Tiange took a moment to think before she spoke. “Fellow Daoist Tong, this exchange isn’t fair. Which one of the spiritual objects on Demonic Mountain isn’t extremely rare? Although a thousand-year-old Chalcedony is rare, it’s still much less valuable. Besides, trying to find a certain designated spiritual object on Demonic Mountain is just too hard.”

Tong Tianyun stroked his beard with a grin and said, “The value of things depends upon the demand. If one needs it, it’s worth it no matter the price. Fellow Daoist Qingwei certainly understands this principle, right?”

Mo Tiange naturally understood it. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have spent so much in trying to get the steward’s hall to obtain those materials. But understanding it was one thing. In conducting business, she naturally couldn’t allow herself to lose out too much.

“Fellow Daoist Tong’s right, but I wonder how badly your friend needs this spiritual object?”

“Well…” Tong Tianyun paused for a moment then chuckled while shaking his head. “Fellow Daoist Qingwei, with all the wealth Xuanqing School has, why should you bicker with us individual cultivators over petty profits? Rest assured—my friend said the spiritual object wouldn’t be too hard to find. Regarding its value, it’s indeed worth a bit more than Chalcedony. However, if Fellow Daoist needs Chalcedony, Fellow Daoist also won’t lose out too much from this trade.”

Mo Tiange gave the matter some thought then chose to take one step back. “Alright. Fellow Daoist Tong should tell me what he’s looking for first. If I happen to find it on this trip, we can discuss an exchange again. If I can’t find it, we can only drop the matter.”

Tong Tianyun nodded. “That’s good then. At the very least, I can explain to my old friend afterward.”

Once the two of them finished their discussion, both once again focused on hurrying onward, although they still exchanged a few words occasionally. Because the two of them talked through voice transmissions, the others had no idea what they talked about; Jing Xingzhi was the only one who turned to look at them. A smile was pasted on his face.

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Seeing his enchanting face and flirtatious gaze made Mo Tiange feel disgusted, so she looked away.

But Jing Xingzhi wasn’t angry. Still with a slight smile, he turned his head and continued to follow Daoist Kumu slowly.

They spent the next few days dully hastening on with their journey. In the sky, cultivators frequently flew at high speeds like them. Upon seeing so many Core Formation cultivators in their group, those with slightly lower cultivation levels would avoid them. Once in a while, they also ran into cultivators in the same realm. During such times, they unavoidably exchanged a few words of greeting but they would eventually go their separate ways.

Compared to Foundation Building and Aura Refining cultivators, Core Formation cultivators were obviously much colder, or perhaps it could be said they were much prouder. Every cultivator who could advance to the Core Formation realm either had terrific talents or obtained great fated chances—which one of them didn’t look down on ordinary cultivators? Those with a slightly higher status were elders in big cultivation groups. Those with slightly lower ones also lived prosperously in small cultivation groups. Their talents didn’t need to be mentioned even more so if they were individual cultivators. None of the individual cultivators who could advance to the Core Formation realm wasn’t outstanding.

However, in these past several days, Mo Tiange got along quite well with Tong Tianyun and Daoist Kumu. Even Madam Feng, who now probably felt Mo Tiange wasn’t that unpleasing to the eye, also talked to her once in a while. Mo Tiange, who initially could be considered sticking herself into the group in midway, gradually blended into this small group of Core Formation cultivators.

Nevertheless, when they were resting midway, Qin Xi secretly pulled her to a stop.

“Junior Martial Sister Qingwei.”

Nowadays, Mo Tiange was already accustomed to the constantly changing names he called her. If he called her Tiange, it meant his mood was good. If he called her Junior Martial Sister Qingwei, it meant he wanted to put some distance between them.

Upon reflecting on these points and giving it some thought, Mo Tiange felt extremely helpless. Why was it that after the fact was uncovered, this Senior Martial Brother Shoujing seemed to feel even unhappier than she did? According to his mental state and cultivation, he shouldn’t act like this, right?

Mo Tiange’s thoughts wandered around and so did her gaze, so for a moment, she didn’t answer.

Qin Xi frowned then called her again: “Junior Martial Sister Qingwei?”

His voice was slightly raised, snapping Mo Tiange’s mind back on track. Mo Tiange was rather vexed to find herself lost in her thoughts. This wasn’t a good habit for cultivators.

“Senior Martial Brother Shoujing, is something wrong?”

Qin Xi tossed her a glance then said faintly, “Junior Martial Sister seems to be getting along quite well with them these past few days?”

Them? Daoist Kumu and the others?

Mo Tiange said, “We were just chatting. Is something wrong?”

“No. I just wanted to tell you—you better keep your distance from them.”

“En?” Mo Tiange was bewildered. “Since we’re companions, shouldn’t we interact more? We were initially strangers to each other. If we don’t communicate, it’ll be very hard to coordinate with each other.”

Qin Xi smirked somewhat mockingly. “That’d be alright if this was in the past. However, do you remember what happened before we left? That Old Tong obtained a ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plant from his exchange with you.”

Mo Tiange nodded. “He did. Is there a problem?”

“Of course—the matter’s extremely problematic.” Qin Xi said faintly, “Ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plants can’t be used by ordinary Core Formation cultivators. Considering the might of Kunzhong City and the fact that there’s no Nascent Soul cultivator backing them up, if there were any ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plants, they’d have long been taken by Nascent Soul cultivators. That day, Old Tong openly said he wanted a ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plant at the trade fair, so word of this matter must’ve already spread. Every Core Formation cultivator in Kunzhong City’s individual cultivator alliance is astute—how could he have made this kind of mistake? Moreover, soon after he got the ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plant, he left for Demonic Mountain with us. Within such a short amount of time, it would’ve simply been impossible for him to concoct medicinal pills from that ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plant.”

Mo Tiange, who took a moment to ponder the matter, asked with a bit of astonishment, “Then what was Fellow Daoist Tong’s purpose in getting a ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plant?”

“I don’t know either.” Qin Xi shook his head and asked back, “What did he and Daoist Kumu talk to you about in these past few days?”

“… Nothing important,” Mo Tiange mused, “They just talked about some miscellaneous things in Kunwu. It seems that there was nothing unusual… oh, right! The two of them seemed very confident about this trip.”

Qin Xi smiled. His gaze looked even firmer. “I was right. The ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plant isn’t for pill-concocting.”

Not for pill-concocting? Mo Tiange felt rather confused. “Then what else could it be used for?”

“Present.”

“Present?” Mo Tiange finally understood after some thought. “They want to give it to a Nascent Soul cultivator as a present?”

Qin Xi nodded. “Most likely.” He paused for a moment before continuing on slowly: “In the beginning, they simply might not have thought they could obtain a ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plant. Maybe they simply wanted to use those Crystal Soul Jades to exchange for a few things with a Nascent Soul cultivator. Although Crystal Soul Jades aren’t as rare as a ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plant, collecting so many of them also isn’t much easier than finding a ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plant. I’m afraid those weren’t collected by Old Tong alone. Rather, they were collected by dispatching the strength of the entire Kunzhong City.”

“Then what’s their purpose?”

“Maybe they want to exchange it for a certain kind of object.” Qin Xi wrinkled his brows and thought about the matter for a while. However, he eventually shook his head. “These are just my guesses in the end. There’s no solid proof at all. You just have to be a bit more careful on this trip.”

“En…” Mo Tiange complied as she thought inwardly. Sure enough, as a Core Formation cultivator, she still had much to learn. Based on only such tiny hints, Qin Xi was able to deduce such a possibility. Regardless of whether his guess was right or not, at least he could be more on guard and avoid potential danger.