Situ Yuelan spoke with utmost seriousness, and Chen Ming's expression grew solemn as well.
"Those two qi-gathering magic arts aren't something I don't want to teach you; I simply can't remember their exact contents. I won't hide it from you: only when I condensed the talisman that day did I realize—I am Situ Yuelan, and I can also be said not to be her!"
It turned out that the Situ Yuelan before him was the spirit of a Spirit Condensation Realm Supernatural Ability given form.
She was merely a Supernatural Ability that had escaped from the body of the Spirit Condensation Realm cultivator Situ Yuelan after she abandoned her fleshly body, and she had gained a few of Situ Yuelan's memories.
After inheriting some of the Spirit Condensation Realm cultivator Situ Yuelan's Divine Soul memories, she had mistakenly believed she was that very cultivator, Situ Yuelan, and had merely been injured.
The two were originally one, sharing the same source. She had also taken form from the fundamental Supernatural Ability through which Situ Yuelan had attained the Spirit Condensation Realm. Now that she had gathered only part of the memories, she was both Situ Yuelan reborn and a spirit with a measure of her own awareness.
That was why she knew the names of the two qi-gathering magic arts but could not condense the arts themselves.
"No wonder you once said, 'I am not myself' that day. So that was the reason!" Chen Ming said, suddenly enlightened.
"I am formed from Situ Yuelan's Supernatural Ability and part of her memories. Now, I am her, and yet I am not her!"
"Perhaps if I recover my fleshly body, I'll find other scattered memories, and may be able to condense those magic arts again!" Situ Yuelan said.
"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Situ. Since you've been candid with me, our pact still stands."
Chen Ming offered a few words of reassurance. Only when Situ Yuelan saw that he had no intention of breaking their agreement did she finally relax.
"Let's enter the mountains first and find a secluded place to rest for a while. We can discuss the rest afterward!"
Once the two had reached an agreement, Situ Yuelan once more withdrew into the Bronze Mirror.
It wasn't very convenient to travel with Qing Ling, either.
Chen Ming simply took the branch that had transformed from the Grotto-Heaven Dojo and gave it a gentle shake, drawing both the Bronze Mirror and Qing Ling inside. Then he entered the Vast Mountain Range alone.
Chen Ming had been in the Vast Mountain Range for only a few days when a Luan Bird descended from the sky, its body wreathed in seven-colored clouds. It was none other than Fairy Caiyi, who had caught up with him.
"Did he hide in the Vast Mountain Range?"
Fairy Caiyi made a divination with her fingers, but the chaotic spiritual energy of the Vast Mountain Range thwarted her, leaving her unable to see clearly.
She lingered outside the Vast Mountain Range for several days, not daring to enter.
"There's plenty of time yet. Let's see how long you can keep hiding!"
Fairy Caiyi recited an incantation. A seven-colored talisman appeared, then vanished around the perimeter of the Vast Mountain Range.
After setting the talisman in place, Fairy Caiyi gave a cold laugh and rode away on the Luan Bird.
As soon as Chen Ming came out, the talisman would sense his aura, allowing Fairy Caiyi to use it to descend swiftly to his location.
Chen Ming entered the Vast Mountain Range alone, expecting to find nothing but barren mountains and treacherous waters.
Unexpectedly, the Vast Mountain Range held other mysteries, forming a world of its own.
Among the towering mountains and rushing waters, there were also mountain-valley villages and Mortal Cities, scattered here and there between the peaks and streams.
Though the terrain was not as gentle as that of the outside world, the settlements were still quite substantial.
"I've heard that the Vast Mountain Range isn't just home to Heretical Paths; demons and monsters also dwell here. So how can there be such peaceful scenes?"
Puzzled, Chen Ming connected his Spiritual Sense to the Grotto-Heaven Dojo and questioned Situ Yuelan inside the Bronze Mirror.
Situ Yuelan replied, "It looks peaceful, but wherever there are mortals, cultivators protect them. They're merely raising them to produce Incense and Fire, or using them for Flesh and Blood Sacrifices."
"Fortunately, I've sensed something. In the tribe ahead, there should be a Spiritual Item formed from my body that was left behind. You might as well experience the customs of the Vast Mountain Range."
Chen Ming sensed the area. The strongest aura in the tribe belonged to someone at the Contemplation Realm, and there was nothing there that could threaten him. He concealed his aura, took on the appearance of a mortal, and quietly slipped inside.
The tribe was called "Minping," and its people worshipped a Totem God known as the "Auspicious Spirit God."
The Auspicious Spirit God cultivated the water aspect. The tribe favored blue and green, and their clothing and utensils were decorated with water patterns and fish scales.
When Chen Ming arrived, the Minping Tribe was holding a market after its grand sacrifice. The place was bustling.
The Minping Tribe was fairly large, and its sacrificial ceremonies were held on a grand scale. It also had several kinds of specialty Spiritual Items, drawing people from nearby tribes and cities to trade.
Chen Ming had arrived at just the right time and didn't look out of place.
"This Minping Tribe carries a hint of the untamed wilderness, yet the Auspicious Spirit God has tempered it with gentleness. It has a character all its own!"
Chen Ming admired the Minping Tribe's architecture, customs, and clothing, and voiced his praise.
"Hm? The aura from those tiles up ahead feels strangely familiar!"
Chen Ming suddenly sensed a few Green Tiles on a stall in front of him. The aura they gave off felt inexplicably familiar, so he went over to take a look.
The stall belonged to a boy in his early teens. When Chen Ming approached, the boy stammered, "What would you like, sir? Please, please have a look!"
Chen Ming picked up one of the Green Tiles and sensed it briefly. Only then did he realize where the familiar feeling came from.
The material of the Green Tiles was indeed very similar to that of the Spirit Devouring Jar.
When the Spirit Devouring Jar had been refined, it must have incorporated this kind of Green Tile.
What's more, mysterious patterns were engraved on the Green Tiles.
To an ordinary person, those patterns looked merely ancient and mysterious.
But under Chen Ming's Spiritual Sense, they were actually an incomplete method of Artifact Refining.
"I'll take these Green Tiles. How much do you want for them?" Chen Ming asked.
The boy perked up when he heard Chen Ming wanted to buy them. "I found these tiles in some ruins in the mountains. I just thought they looked nice, but there was once a cultivator practicing True Person Cultivation there, so I don't know how much they're worth. If you have any Spiritually Endowed Herbs, I'd be willing to trade for those."
"Oh?"
In an instant, Chen Ming understood what the boy meant.
The Spiritually Endowed Herbs he spoke of were just plants touched by a trace of spiritual energy. They were quite useful to mortals.
But to cultivators, they were no different from weeds.
Chen Ming had plenty of Spirit Grass on hand, all nurtured by the spiritual energy of Cuiping Mountain. He wouldn't lose out by trading one for the Green Tiles.
But then he reconsidered. If he traded Spirit Grass for the tiles like that, it might not necessarily be a good thing for the boy.
With a thought, Chen Ming secretly drew in an ordinary herb and infused it with a spark of vitality from the Azure Wood Life and Death Gas.
The ordinary herb changed in an instant. Its stem and roots turned jade-green, its leaves unfurled, and a faint vitality flowed through it. At a glance, it was clearly no ordinary herb.
Chen Ming took the herb and handed it over. "What do you think of this one?"
The boy saw the herb and hurriedly said, "That'll do, that'll do! Thank you, sir—"
Before he could finish, a group of people with wave patterns on their clothes came over, surrounding a young nobleman.
The young nobleman wore the Auspicious Water Pattern, a mark of his birth.
"Put those tiles away. The Old Ancestor has been collecting things with secret patterns lately," the young nobleman said coolly, pointing at the Green Tiles on the boy's stall.
Someone beside him stepped forward to take the tiles.
The boy clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot, his teeth gritted, his whole body trembling. He suddenly snatched the Green Tiles into his hands. "These are mine! And this gentleman already said he'd buy them. How can you just snatch them?"
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