"Demon qi?" Cui Hao glanced at the mist-shrouded expanse of Yunmeng Marsh before him, his tone tinged with confusion. "Why can't I sense it?"
Chen Baiqing sighed softly:
"Sometimes when you think about your own cultivation level, you can find the answer to a lot of things right there."
Hearing this, Cui Hao looked at Chen Baiqing with aggrieved eyes:
"Senior Sister, so are we going in now?"
"Not yet. Let's wait for Wang Chuan and Li Zhuhua first. By my calculation, they should be done gathering intel and heading back soon."
Chen Baiqing stepped out of the carriage, using spiritual energy to lightly suspend herself above the ground rather than setting foot directly on it.
The reason was simple—Yunmeng Marsh was thick with moisture. Any path was practically a mud pit, and anywhere that wasn't a path was basically a swamp.
This road was no exception. Even the spirit horses, bred for cleanliness, had been worn down to total resignation, their coats caked in mud.
Chen Baiqing gazed at Yunmeng Marsh, blocked by towering mountains ahead, her expression growing solemn.
The Northern Julu Continent near Central Province and the Northern Julu Continent further inland were practically two different worlds.
Near Central Province, many customs and architectural styles leaned toward Central Province norms.
But the further inward you went, the more the Northern Julu Continent revealed its original character.
Development across the interior of the Northern Julu Continent was minimal, and the deeper you went, the fewer towering walls and cities you saw.
The further inward, the more it felt like stepping into a primordial wilderness.
Most people here lived in village clusters. Only at places of mutual exchange would there be an agreed-upon trading point, and most transactions were barter-based.
The local dialect was also hard to understand. The Northern Julu Continent's vernacular was complex, though it seemed to have evolved from Central Province standard speech. Direct conversation would probably leave both parties staring blankly.
But with some gesturing, communication was still possible.
Fortunately, these people were remarkably simple and honest.
Chen Baiqing had observed carefully—they didn't treat outsiders differently, and they would genuinely help anyone in need.
At the very least, in the village settlements, Chen Baiqing hadn't seen the beggars common in other regions.
The intelligence reports described the Northern Julu Continent's folk customs as honest and its people as kindhearted, and that was immediately apparent.
Beyond all that, the Northern Julu Continent's distinguishing feature from other continents was its extraordinarily diverse and unusual beliefs.
Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism—aside from areas near Central Province where they still had some presence, further inland you wouldn't see a trace of them.
In their place were mountain gods, water gods, marsh gods, and more, each taking different forms.
Statues were built for these deities as well.
Chen Baiqing had also observed these statues, and they were all completely different. Nearly every statue seemed to derive from demons.
A mountain god might be a fierce tiger standing upright, its tiger paws transformed into hands gripping a mountain staff symbolizing divine authority.
A river god would be a turtle or fish from the water.
Unlike other continents, where statues might look fierce but were still humanoid, here the forms were entirely different.
The most common buildings in the Northern Julu Continent were probably temples, though most were built extremely crudely, with many being little more than rough carvings.
Placing an incense burner in front of a statue counted as a temple. The bare minimum was just a cleared patch of ground, not even sheltered from wind and rain, left out in the open.
Additionally, these rural temples all had extremely thriving incense offerings.
The best-selling item in the Northern Julu Continent was incense.
Whenever you went out, the one thing you absolutely had to bring was incense.
In the Northern Julu Continent, there was no concept of an "abandoned temple." The only rule was: every temple must be worshipped at.
And this practice reached its peak once you arrived at Yunmeng Marsh.
Around Yunmeng Marsh, there was no longer anything like a dynasty. The power to manage and punish people had fallen into the hands of temple abbots.
Cultivators were also extremely rare, and when you did encounter one, it was usually a demon who had ventured out.
Yunmeng Marsh… it seemed to have no native cultivators at all, as if the cultivation world had deliberately forgotten this place.
Or perhaps Yunmeng Pavilion was responsible for recruiting disciples with spirit roots from here.
But when asked, no one could give a definite answer.
Chen Baiqing exhaled softly.
All of this indicated that Yunmeng Pavilion had near-total control over Yunmeng Marsh, which was why even the cultivation world and secular dynasties were kept out.
After all, Yunmeng Marsh was a land of fish and rice—how could any secular dynasty ignore such a place for development?
And yet, in a place like Yunmeng Marsh, which Yunmeng Pavilion treated as its exclusive domain… how could a Spirit Transformation evil cultivator possibly slip in?
This mission location was probably specifically chosen by Li Moze.
Or perhaps Li Moze couldn't understand it either and was suspecting whether Yunmeng Pavilion, like the Buddhist Sect, had been infiltrated by demons.
A Xuanqing Heavenly Sect disciple entering this place to investigate its secrets might not necessarily come out safely.
But she was different. She was Chu Xingchen's disciple.
If she actually ran into Yunmeng Pavilion disciples, she could just reveal her identity. Even if they didn't roll out the red carpet, they'd at least escort her out politely, maybe even provide protection.
And compared to a Xuanqing Heavenly Sect investigation, her investigation might be more tolerable to Yunmeng Pavilion.
Chu Xingchen was targeting demons, and so was she.
The Xuanqing Heavenly Sect's sect master really knew how to make the most of his resources.
"Cui Hao, deal with the spirit horses," Chen Baiqing continued. "Yunmeng Marsh will likely have Yunmeng Pavilion cultivators. If we just barge in, we'll probably be politely escorted out within two days."
"From now on, we enter Yunmeng Marsh entirely on foot, keeping our spiritual energy completely suppressed."
Lu Lingyi also stepped down from the carriage. Hearing Chen Baiqing's arrangements, she nodded lightly in agreement:
"That makes sense. Team Leader, I've already memorized the topography of this area on the way here. There's a decent-sized settlement about thirty li west of here. We can go there first to gather intelligence."
Chen Baiqing nodded slightly at this:
"You contact Wang Chuan and the others. We'll regroup there."
Lu Lingyi cupped her fists in acknowledgment, then turned and drifted away, her toes lightly tapping the ground as she glided off.
Cui Hao dismounted and reined in the horses, sending a voice transmission to Chen Baiqing:
"How should I handle them? Kill them? These spirit horses aren't stupid—they'll probably run off."
Hearing the transmission, Chen Baiqing sighed lightly and looked directly at the spirit horses.
The spirit horses sensed something and turned to face Chen Baiqing.
A faint purple light gleamed in Chen Baiqing's eyes.
The next moment, the spirit horses lifted their hooves and headed east.
Seeing this, Cui Hao smiled awkwardly:
"Senior Sister's methods are truly superior."
"It's not that my methods are superior—it's that you've been slacking too long." Chen Baiqing pulled two absurdly thick books from her spatial ring and handed them to Cui Hao.
"You used to be a scholar too. You should know that classics, histories, and philosophical texts reveal human nature best and teach the most effective methods."
"The path of immortality is the same. If you just read a bit more, you'd know how to handle things."
"These are basic cultivation common sense—really, just fundamentals. The Eldest Senior Sister passed them to me, and now I'm passing them to you. Study them well. Understanding them will always benefit you."
Cui Hao looked at the two books and took them without resistance, storing them in his spatial ring.
Seeing Cui Hao accept them so readily, Chen Baiqing added:
"I've already memorized everything in them. I'll be testing you on the content before long. I hope you won't have forgotten by then."
Cui Hao smiled, his tone confident:
"Don't worry, Senior Sister. When it comes to studying, I'm a genius."
"Good. Let's move out." Chen Baiqing turned toward the western settlement. After a few steps, she spoke again. "Don't think Senior Sister is being harsh on you."
Cui Hao followed behind Chen Baiqing and immediately responded:
"I understand. If it were anyone else, Senior Sister probably wouldn't even bother giving them a book, let alone saying more than a word."
Chen Baiqing didn't turn back and didn't say anything more.
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