Moonlit West Tower

"Three seniors."

Su Lingyi and Du Yanruo appeared in the alley.

The White-robed Cultivator looked at them and said with a smile, "It seems Fish Abyss Academy is not taking the matter of immortals descending very seriously, actually sending two newcomers who have not yet fully stepped onto the path of cultivation."

Su Lingyi furrowed his brows tightly, but he didn't say anything.

In the Sui Kingdom, there were some sects that sat high above the rest, and even big figures occupying high positions in the imperial court would not dare easily provoke them.

The three before them were genuine cultivators after all. Though their origins were unclear, it was always best to be cautious.

At that moment, the Green-robed Cultivator was gazing intently at a certain dilapidated courtyard.

Because no one had lived there for many years, the courtyard was overgrown with weeds. The half-open door was entwined with spiderwebs, looking rather gloomy.

"There's a problem."

The White-robed Cultivator and the Purple-robed Cultivator exchanged glances.

The former gently waved his hand, and a wind rose from flat ground. Dust and smoke swirled wildly in the courtyard, and all the doors swung completely open with a creaking sound.

They saw that in the room directly facing the courtyard door, a painting hung on the mottled wall.

The painting contained both houses and fields.

Du Yanruo asked curiously, "Senior, what is the problem?"

The Green-robed Cultivator did not speak, instead walking straight inside.

The White-robed Cultivator said with a smile, "The path of cultivation is long and arduous. We have wasted half our lives and are only just starting out. Today we share this affinity, which can be considered building a good connection with Fish Abyss Academy. You cultivate within the academy, only learning theories, but in truth the real mortal world is dangerous beyond imagination."

"The saying goes that reading ten thousand books is not as good as walking ten thousand miles. This is why Sword Pavilion has a large number of disciples descending the mountain every year. The greatest enemy of us cultivators is the monsters. If experience is insufficient, you will end up meeting an untimely demise before your mission even succeeds."

Historical records stated that monsters first appeared six hundred years ago.

Mortal cultivators had once also erupted into war against monsters.

The most recent time, all the nations of the world participated, lasting half a Jiazi, and the battle conditions were extremely tragic.

One could glimpse how fierce it was just by looking at the present, where the mortal world had only the Sui Kingdom and Xitan dividing the realm between them.

Those senior cultivators who stood at the peak had all fallen.

The mortal world suffered an unprecedented grand baptism.

Later generations of cultivators all regarded the subjugation of demons and eradication of monsters as their lifelong great aspiration.

Therefore, the long journey of seeking immortals had also begun.

If true immortals could be present to suppress the situation, cultivators firmly believed that this grand aspiration would no longer be mere wishful thinking.

Although Du Yanruo and Su Lingyi were cultivating in Fish Abyss Academy, they had ultimately not truly stepped onto the threshold, and the business of subduing demons and eradicating monsters naturally did not fall to them.

Had Du Yanruo not hailed from Hun City and this trip not been primarily for seeking Immortal Traces, they would not have been sent.

She looked at the Green-robed Cultivator standing in the dilapidated courtyard, swallowing nervously.

"Hun City is situated at the border of Kutan, and some minor monsters hiding here is certainly not a strange thing, but the strange part is that clearly there are monsters, yet they are extremely difficult to perceive within Hun City. If we weren't standing right here, we probably would have been bypassed by this monster."

The White-robed Cultivator thought again of how monsters Luo Yong had appeared on a large scale in Qixia Street, and his expression grew very solemn.

Yet he could only attribute the reason to Immortal Traces; since immortals had descended, Hun City naturally ought to have its extraordinary aspects.

Inside the dilapidated courtyard.

The Green-robed Cultivator grasped the sword on his back in his hand, and streams of chilling wind rushed against his face, making his hair and robes flutter gently. Within his field of vision, a seductive red glow flickered faintly inside the room.

He stared fixedly at that painting on the wall.

He stood before the real room door, gazing at the house inside the painting, as if he saw a pair of eyes within it.

"Found you."

The Green-robed Cultivator muttered softly, and the flying sword in his hand whined as it shot outward, about to slash apart the painting on the wall.

Suddenly, however, a plume of black smoke rose up. The flying sword met obstruction and was forced back into the Green-robed Cultivator's hand.

"Indeed some demonic entities with a bit of cultivation."

The Green-robed Cultivator looked as though his interest had been piqued.

The flying sword in his hand went from trembling slightly to growing increasingly violent.

The sword hummed crisply, and at a certain moment, like an arrow released from a string, it plunged directly into the painting.

The painting, which had originally appeared ordinary, abruptly gained an extra flying sword.

Following that, the painting seemed to come alive.

The wheat in the fields began to sway with the wind, while the flying sword pointed straight at the dwelling inside the painting.

The Green-robed Cultivator was fully focused.

Manipulating the flying sword within the painting, sword qi spanning the entire artwork instantly destroyed the dwelling.

A patch of grey-white vapor-like gas quickly spread outward from the painting, enshrouding the entire dilapidated courtyard.

Su Lingyi and Du Yanruo experienced a brief trance in their minds.

Before Su Lingyi, many voluptuous women with alluring appearances appeared.

Yet because he had already crossed half a foot over the cultivator threshold, he quickly steadied his mind, though breaking free immediately remained quite difficult.

As for Du Yanruo, amidst her hazy confusion, Jiang Wang's face also appeared before her eyes.

Though his figure was lean, he possessed a handsome appearance with well-defined facial features as if sculpted, his eyes seeming to radiate brilliance, and a seductive smile hung at the corners of his lips, causing one to unconsciously immerse oneself within it.

Only the three cultivators present were unaffected.

"Audacious Wangliang, how dare you act presumptuously!"

Wangliang was a collective term for a certain category of monsters.

They were basically the remnant souls of great monsters that had run rampant in the mortal world a hundred years ago, and thus could only hide within paintings or various old utensils.

If not for cultivators with a sufficiently firm willpower, escaping the inescapable net woven by Wangliang's illusions would be extremely difficult.

Even with the slightest carelessness, it could cause cultivators to suffer a massive stumble.

The White-robed and Purple-robed Cultivators immediately stepped forward to help.

Three flying swords emerged in unison, mincing the painting to pieces.

Without a natal object to harbor them, the Wangliang had nowhere to hide.

Yet a wisp of azure vapor escaped from the shattered painting, fleeing straight toward the outside of the alley.

Jiang Wang had just arrived in the dilapidated alley.

When he saw a mass of azure vapor charging straight toward him.

The incident happened too suddenly, and he had simply no time to react.

Yet Xiaoyu, who was very protective of her master, had already unsheathed her sword, its blade striking fiercely against that mass of azure vapor.

However, the azure vapor split directly into two, about to brush past Jiang Wang on either side.

Abruptly, a sizzling sound rang out.

A scorching heat current swept through the entire alley, accompanied by a shrill scream, and that mass of azure vapor was instantly vaporized into nothingness.

It was as though nothing at all had happened just now.

Su Lingyi quickly regained clarity, panting heavily.

At this moment Du Yanruo's face was as alluringly flushed as a blossoming flower, and catching sight of Jiang Wang standing in the dilapidated alley, the scene in her mind vividly presented itself. Shame and anger surged within her, and she instinctively averted her gaze.

Neither of them had witnessed the scene that just unfolded, but the three cultivators saw it with absolute clarity.

Exchanging glances, they all walked toward Jiang Wang.

"We are cultivators of Moonlit West Tower. May we ask which mountain the fellow daoist hails from? Are you also here for the Immortal Traces?"

Moonlit West Tower was a sect within the Kutan Region.

Because the number of cultivators in the entire world was scarce, and those with inferior aptitude found it difficult to rise to power in major sects, they met and came to know one another, bringing about the existence of Moonlit West Tower.

Ultimately, it was a place for those unsatisfied on the path of cultivation to huddle together for warmth and support.

In all realms of the Sui Kingdom, sects like Moonlit West Tower existed.

The sudden appearance of Jiang Wang had effortlessly exterminated the Wangliang.

Causing the three cultivators to think a great deal all at once.

The Cave Nether Realm following Hundred Days Foundation Establishment was the first true realm for cultivators in the real sense.

And those who cultivated to the peak of the Cave Nether Realm were all capable of Return to Simplicity.

Older individuals were not necessarily weak, because they might simply not wish to restore the youthful appearances of their prime.

Yet younger ones very likely might be great cultivators who had already achieved Return to Simplicity.

Unlike Su Lingyi and Du Yanruo, whom they could see through at a single glance.

In their eyes, Jiang Wang was fundamentally an ordinary person.

Yet what had just happened proved that was definitely not the case.

In their view, if Jiang Wang was not a powerhouse who had achieved Return to Simplicity, he could only be a disciple of a major sect.

Although Su Lingyi and Du Yanruo both hailed from Fish Abyss Academy, they could hardly be compared with a young cultivator who had already truly entered the path.

Regardless of which category Jiang Wang belonged to, he was worthy of respectful treatment from the green-robed trio.

Jiang Wang breathed out slightly.

Looking at the three cultivators before him, who at this moment were actually gazing at him with a somewhat respectful expression, for a moment he didn't even know what he ought to say.

And Xiaoyu, standing by Jiang Wang's side.

Her expression at this moment was also extremely shocked.

She couldn't help suspecting, could it be that all these years Young Master had been concealing his true strength?

When that mass of azure vapor had charged straight at them, Xiaoyu had clearly seen the terrifyingly abnormal face inside it.

She had seen the world and knew that was a monster.

Thinking about how formidable Young Master was, the peerless secret manual he gave her must certainly be formidable as well, and she would have to practice even more diligently.

Meanwhile, the green-robed trio, seeing that Jiang Wang still had not replied, nodded with a sense of sudden comprehension.

They guessed that Jiang Wang might be a Sword Pavilion disciple.

Although Sword Pavilion disciples descending the mountain every year was a matter known to all cultivators, in reality descending Sword Pavilion disciples never proclaimed their own origins.

Everyone could only guess their identities from the swords they used, and facts had proven they had never guessed wrong.

Pondering this, the expressions of the green-robed trio grew even more respectful.

After all, Sword Pavilion was the largest sect in Kutan; casually pulling out any one of them could probably flatten Moonlit West Tower.

The Green-robed Cultivator asked cautiously, "May I ask your esteemed surname?"

Jiang Wang said in a daze, "My surname is Jiang..."

The Green-robed Cultivator hurriedly cupped his hands in salutation. "Mr. Jiang, we have already ascertained that immortals have descended in Qixia Street, but confirming the target will likely require a few more days. Since Mr. Jiang has arrived, should any difficulties arise, I'm afraid we will need Mr. Jiang to take action. We won't disturb you further; we take our leave."

Jiang Wang watched speechlessly as the other party talked to themselves and then departed respectfully.

Although his purpose in coming here was to once again place himself in a perilous situation—and it seemed this matter was now complete—why did he always feel like something wasn't quite right?

It seemed I hadn't even figured out what was happening, yet it was already over?

Watching the green-robed trio soar directly away through the air, he revealed an envious expression.

Du Yanruo looked toward Jiang Wang at this moment, still blushing somewhat.

Furthermore, she found it extremely puzzling why those three seniors' attitude toward Jiang Wang had been like that just now.

Did the Xunyang Marquis Manor wield such massive influence?

Su Lingyi had guessed something, and his complexion was very ugly as he thought that Jiang Wang seemed even more formidable than he had imagined.

While Du Yanruo was troubled in her thoughts, Jiang Wang was also looking at her.

Seeing that her cheeks were excessively flushed, Jiang Wang kindly reminded her, "You seem to have fallen ill. You should hurry home and take some medicine."

Du Yanruo snapped out of it and said with a mix of shame and anger, "You're the one who's ill!"

Jiang Wang said as a matter of course, "I am ill, yes."

Du Yanruo was left speechless.

Immediately letting out a cold snort, she grabbed Su Lingyi and walked swiftly away.

In a place where Jiang Wang did not notice, a pair of eyes was watching him, then slowly vanished into the darkness.