Given how much Old Man Hunmo knew about the Jinghai Sect, Primordial Lady Yuyi would not believe for a second that he had no idea what treasures it held.
Old Man Hunmo's eyes shifted slightly.
Catching his gaze, Primordial Lady Yuyi felt her heart tighten, though she kept the smile fixed on her face.
Old Man Hunmo gave a soft chuckle and said with a faint, ambiguous smile, "Nothing escapes Fairy's discerning eyes. This old man came for only one thing: a sea chart. If Fairy happens upon it, I hope you won't hesitate to share."
"A sea chart?"
Primordial Lady Yuyi was quite surprised, having misunderstood his intention. "With Fellow Daoist's strength, you wouldn't need a sea chart to cross the storm belt to the Beichen Realm, would you? I heard you once crossed paths with a mysterious expert from the Beichen Realm and sparred with him. Is that true?"
"Indeed. That person possessed several avatars, wielding them with supernatural mastery; this old man didn't gain much of an upper hand. I struck a deal with him, promising not to set foot in the Beichen Realm for three hundred years."
Old Man Hunmo admitted it candidly, then shifted his tone. "This old man has no intention of breaking my word. That sea chart points to somewhere else entirely."
"Somewhere else?"
Primordial Lady Yuyi was puzzled at first, but then her beautiful eyes went wide with shock. "Zhongzhou! The legendary Zhongzhou truly exists, and the Jinghai Sect has a sea chart leading there?!"
Old Man Hunmo remained noncommittal and countered, "Fairy knows of Zhongzhou as well?"
"I thought it was merely a legend. To think it's real—the North Sea truly has a route to Zhongzhou..."
Primordial Lady Yuyi let out a soft breath, steadying her racing thoughts. "This path exists only in lore; no one knows whether it truly exists. Why are you so certain that the Jinghai Sect treasures such a chart?"
Old Man Hunmo raised his black bamboo staff and pointed down toward the Jinghai Sect. "Don't you find it strange? In the North Sea, the Daoist and demonic paths flourish, while Buddhist sects are utterly insignificant. Their lineages are severed, and those who achieve Core Formation are few and far between. Why would a Buddhist sect so terrifyingly powerful suddenly appear out of thin air, completely unknown to the world?"
Catching his implication, Primordial Lady Yuyi wore an expression of utter disbelief. "Are you saying the Jinghai Sect hailed from Zhongzhou? How could that be possible?"
"It is merely this old man's speculation," Old Man Hunmo chuckled, unwilling to dwell further on the matter. Changing the subject, he added, "If Fairy is interested, once this old man obtains the chart, I can share it with you. Once you break through to the late Nascent Soul stage, perhaps we can travel to Zhongzhou together and look out for each other."
"Late Nascent Soul, hah!"
Primordial Lady Yuyi gave a bitter smile and shook her head. She voiced her thanks, then asked with measured care, "Can a late Nascent Soul cultivator truly pass through the storm belt safely and reach Zhongzhou?"
"We will only know once we have the chart in hand and try. Though if this old man is fortunate enough to break through to the Soul Formation stage, I probably won't have any need for a sea chart anyway," Old Man Hunmo said uncertainly, stroking the bamboo staff in his hand.
***
In front of the pagoda.
The three cultivators touched down one after another.
The thirteen-story pagoda rose high into the air, each level standing twice the height of a man.
Built entirely of stone, its doors and windows were tightly shut. Sculpted upon the exterior were lifelike carvings of unknown arhats and buddhas, appearing almost as though they were gazing down at the intruders.
A layer of golden radiance draped the surface of the entire pagoda—a distinct Buddhist restriction.
The light here was rather dim; the restriction's power fell short of the one at the Golden Peak.
The Ghost Mother had already visited this pagoda.
However, in order to make the seal last a little longer, she had acted with great caution and had not completely shattered the pagoda's restrictions, leaving no apparent trace of human interference on the surface.
The three looked up for a while. Buddhist restrictions were foreign to them, leaving them no choice but to force their way through.
Unable to see inside, they had no idea the pagoda had already been picked clean. To their eyes, the damage to the restriction was simply the result of the scarlet flames battering the seal.
No one noticed that Realized Master Chijie's gaze was somewhat amiss.
He was no longer as excited as before. Staring at the stone base of the Scripture Pavilion beside the thirteen-story pagoda, he was on the verge of tears.
"Let's begin!"
Realized Master Chijie sighed deeply and summoned a needle-shaped magic treasure specifically meant for breaking restrictions.
The other two were not about to fall behind.
Just as Realized Master Chijie raised his magic treasure to strike, an inexplicable trace of unease welled up in his heart. Then, he felt a sudden chill materialize out of thin air on his left shoulder, giving him a frightful jolt.
"Don't move!"
A frigid warning sounded right by his ear.
Old Man Hunmo!
Realized Master Chijie froze, stormy waves crashing through his heart.
He recognized at once what was perched on his shoulder. He had seen it with his own eyes during the ambush on Valley Master Mu—a bizarre entity akin to a ghost spirit, deeply sinister and unnerving.
If Valley Master Mu had not summoned a peculiar protective treasure, he would never have escaped, and all three of them would have perished at Old Man Hunmo's hands.
Even before becoming a great cultivator, Old Man Hunmo had enjoyed a terrifying reputation. His enemies had died abruptly time and again without anyone ever uncovering the cause, which was very likely due to this ghost spirit's ability.
Realized Master Chijie did not even know when the move had been pulled on him.
Primordial Lady Yuyi and the others were right beside them, yet none of them had noticed anything amiss!
*No! That's not it! He couldn't have done it in front of so many people! It must have been during the attack on Valley Master Mu—the old devil took advantage of the chaos to plant the ghost spirit on me. He never trusted me...*
Realized Master Chijie's mind raced, hitting upon the only plausible explanation.
"I know what you are looking for," Old Man Hunmo's voice murmured, as cold and indifferent as ever, regardless of what Chijie was thinking. "You shouldn't have kept it from me... I owe your master a favor. Once I obtain the Spirit-Calming Incense, I can let bygones be bygones."
Hearing the words 'Spirit-Calming Incense,' Realized Master Chijie abandoned the last shred of wishful thinking. Feeling as though half his body was turning to ice, he struggled to keep his expression steady and stammered, "Junior was foolish and blinded by greed. I beg Senior's forgiveness! But... the Scripture Pavilion has already been destroyed. Master told me the Spirit-Calming Incense wasn't in the pagoda, but kept together with its refinement method, both preserved in the Scripture Pavilion. I fear it too has..."
Not daring to hide a single detail, he poured out everything he knew.
Old Man Hunmo did not seem surprised. He gave a faint sigh. "So it was indeed in the Scripture Pavilion... No wonder you looked so dejected just now. Go, unseal the pagoda and see what lies inside."
Nascent Soul cultivators were capable of controlling their emotions.
However, some did not always bother to do so, because there was no need.
Moreover, when gripped by profound joy or sorrow, emotional ripples were inevitable. After all, they were living beings, not inanimate objects.
Realized Master Chijie had gone through immense hardship thinking he was on the verge of achieving his goal, only to find that not even the ruins of the Scripture Pavilion remained; his despair was easy to imagine.
Yet even an emotional tremor could be detected by the possessing ghost spirit.
Tightening with dread, Realized Master Chijie grew ever more fearful of Old Man Hunmo's methods.
A moment later, he crept toward the pagoda in trepidation, summoned his needle-shaped magic treasure, and began mechanically bombarding the Buddhist restriction.
The two beside him noticed nothing unusual about his behavior.
***
Meanwhile, within the medicinal garden.
Qin Sang and Tan Hao were hard at work harvesting the most valuable spirit herbs.
With guidance from the Ghost Mother and having spent a considerable amount of time in the Jinghai Sect, Tan Hao possessed a deep understanding of the restrictions here.
Guided by Tan Hao, Qin Sang took action personally. Each time a restriction broke, the disturbance was extremely faint, drawing no notice from anyone outside.
Chapter 1423