Don't Spread It Around

Jiang Youfu and Liu Yunan, standing to the side, watched with immense envy.

Yi Gao had a disciple now too!

They also really wanted to take in a disciple just for fun.

Lin Xiao, on the other hand, was thinking that the construction of the demonic beast cultivation facility, which had been put on hold, needed to be put on the agenda.

After all, there was more than just that lazy chicken, Little Luan, in the sect now.

Speaking of which, if it weren't for the incident with Tuantuan, perhaps that spirit stone mine wouldn't belong to their sect.

Just like how, if it weren't for Little Luan, he might not have met Yi Gao so early on.

All of this was probably what people called fate.

The ways of the world were unpredictable; no one knew what they would encounter or miss on their next step.

But it was precisely because of this that life became interesting and full of challenges.

That evening, the results of the first session of the county examination were announced, and Sun Yigao unsurprisingly advanced to the second session.

During the two days waiting for the second session, Sun Yigao continued to bury himself in his books, while Lin Xiao and the other two took Tuantuan and huddled in their respective Peach Blossom Spirit Gathering Arrays to cultivate.

The array Tuantuan used was given to it by Sun Yigao, as he didn't need it at the moment anyway.

Besides, the Peach Blossom Spirit Gathering Array, which covered a radius of one meter, could easily accommodate a tiny cat for cultivation even after fitting a person inside.

It was just that Tuantuan didn't like being too close to them. Wasn't it nice to have its own independent spirit gathering array? It could even roll around inside.

The time for the second session of the exam arrived in the blink of an eye. Just like the first day, the group got up while it was still dark and saw Sun Yigao off to the examination hall.

Meanwhile, back in Liaoju Prefecture, the time rewinded to the day after the children were rescued.

After hearing the children say last night that the underground cave was filled with glowing stones, Jin Nanhuan had guessed they were spirit stones.

It had been the middle of the night, and the children were terrified in the dense forest, clamoring to go home. With Prefect Tong constantly urging him, he had no choice but to escort them back first.

The next day, he ran to the cave entrance to investigate himself.

Seeing that it was indeed a Concealment Array and a Spirit Locking Array, he was pleasantly surprised and immediately dove headfirst into it.

Who would have thought that what greeted him was not a cave full of spirit stones, but a solid rock wall.

Jin Nanhuan did not leave right away, because he suddenly remembered the children saying yesterday that the person who rescued them had shouted that there was danger and told them to run quickly.

He guessed: could the black-robed man have left some kind of trap, blowing up the cave after his death to bury everything alive?

Thinking of this, he felt he had discovered the truth, so he immediately began bombarding the rock wall with spells.

At the thought that an entire spirit stone mine might be buried beneath this rock wall, Jin Nanhuan felt he was going to strike it rich.

However, as he kept digging, he saw nothing at all.

Suddenly, he realized that ever since he entered through the upper entrance with the Spirit Locking Array, he hadn't felt the abundant spiritual energy that a spirit stone mine should have.

Looking at the rock wall he had excavated almost into a tunnel, he fell silent.

Could it be that this wasn't a spirit stone mine?

But if so, what was the deal with the Spirit Locking Array above, and the glowing stones the children mentioned...

Could it be that the black-robed man wasn't after a spirit stone mine, but had another purpose?

Was the Spirit Locking Array set up by the black-robed man to prevent others from discovering what he was doing inside?

In any case, it certainly couldn't be that the young man who rescued the children had moved the entire spirit stone mine away, right?

If the youth truly had such an ability, then he, Jin Nanhuan, wouldn't dare to dream about that spirit stone mine anyway.

Having worked for nothing, he had no choice but to head back.

Forget it. How could something like a spirit stone mine exist in the mortal realm?

If the mortal realm had spirit stone mines, it wouldn't be the mortal realm anymore.

He'd better stop thinking about this and hurry back to the sect to claim his reward; that was the proper business. He could already see the late Foundation Establishment stage waving at him!

As for Mo Yuanjiao and Guard Mo, after undergoing some questioning at the government office, Mo Yuanjiao signaled Guard Mo to take out their General's Estate token. After receiving special treatment befitting the young master of the General's Estate, they left the office looking radiant.

The two mounted their recovered horses and continued to whip their steeds, heading east the entire way.

A few days later, they arrived at Cuifeng Town.

They found a small tea stall to take a brief rest.

Mo Yuanjiao and Guard Mo were sitting and drinking tea.

When traveling away from home, everything was kept simple, and the Mo family had always treated their close-quarters guards as half-members of the Mo family.

Although it was coarse tea from a small place like Cuifeng Town, Mo Yuanjiao, who had been trained since childhood, drank it without changing his expression.

He had frequently drunk bitter tea brewed from the roughest tea stems when he was young.

At this time, Guard Mo, while drinking tea, frowned slightly and looked toward the town entrance, saying with some concern:

"Young Master, if we go further east, there will only be some villages and no county seats. We are almost at the border of our Pusi Country. I heard that over there are continuous mountains with nothing else, and it's said that there are many ferocious wild beasts deep within the mountain region."

Mo Yuanjiao's mouth was moistened by the tea. He wiped his mouth and looked at Guard Mo with sparkling eyes, saying:

"Isn't that exactly where a hidden sect should be! It seems we haven't gone the wrong way!"

Guard Mo: ...No, Young Master, that's not what I meant.

Seeing his young master's excited appearance, Guard Mo had no choice but to bite the bullet and remind him:

"Young Master, if there really are all kinds of ferocious beasts in those mountains, wouldn't it be too dangerous?" What if one dragged you away? He would have to search everywhere again.

The problem was that wild beasts were not like people; they wouldn't wait or listen to you beg for mercy. When they were hungry, they would really bite down and gnaw!

Mo Yuanjiao waved his large hand:

"It won't happen! Destiny will bless me. Old Que, you can just relax!"

Seeing that he indeed couldn't dissuade him, Guard Mo sighed in his heart and resigned himself to fate. Let them drag him away then. Anyway, he would try his best to save him; if he truly couldn't save him, then he would just let those beasts drag him away together.

After resting, the two got up and left the tea stall, walking toward the town entrance.

Arriving at the entrance of Cuifeng Town, Mo Yuanjiao suddenly thought of something and grabbed an old man nearby who was preparing to enter the town, saying:

"Old man, do you know if there are any, um... places around here where immortals might reside?"

The old man, suddenly grabbed, was a bit dazed. Hearing this question, he looked at him with an inexplicable expression and said:

"What are you asking this for, little boy?"

Mo Yuanjiao smiled shyly and said:

"I'm here to join a master's sect."

Hearing this, the old man's expression became even more inexplicable,

"The Shangyang Sect just finished recruiting disciples a few days ago."

Mo Yuanjiao said somewhat anxiously:

"I don't want to join the Shangyang Sect. Old man, you've lived here for so long, haven't you heard of any other immortal sects existing around here?"

The old man looked Mo Yuanjiao up and down, then glanced at Guard Mo behind him. He hesitated for a moment before pulling Mo Yuanjiao aside to a secluded spot and whispering:

"I'll tell you, but don't spread it to anyone else."