A Contest of Spiritual Sense

At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), the sky darkened, but the number of pedestrians on the streets increased rather than decreased.

In a sprawling manor, Chu Buyu, Shen Long, and more than a dozen other Nascent Soul Cultivator sat around Zhang Qing stone table, sipping tea and chatting.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, I heard that your Mistress comes from the Han family. You don't have dao companion yet, do you? Have you considered marrying a female cultivator from the Han family, so that you can strengthen family ties?"

A plump, fair-skinned old man in a green robe said with a smile.

"Fellow Daoist Su is too kind. I have no such intention."

Shen Long said seriously.

The old man in the green robe was named Su Shanhe. He came from the Su Family on Black Phoenix Island, and the Su Family and the Han family were rivals.

"I've heard that Fellow Daoist Shen has cultivated two mutated fourth-tier Spirit Insect, which he used to kill several Nascent Soul Realm stage Barbarian Race cultivators. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Shen has any special insights into cultivating Spirit Insect? Or are there any elixirs that can increase the chances of Spirit Insect mutation?"

A tall, thin man in a golden robe asked politely, his face full of anticipation.

The man in the golden robe had a square face and large eyes, and wore a golden Spirit Beast Bracelet on his left wrist.

"There are only so many elixirs that can mutate Spirit Insect, and the materials are hard to find. Fellow Daoist Xu must know a useful method."

Shen Long said with a smile.

The man in the golden robe is True Monarch Golden Bee, one of the Ten Immortals of the North Sea. The Four-Winged Golden Thunder Bee is his Life Spirit Insect, which has helped him kill many powerful enemies and made him famous in the North Sea Cultivation World.

"Yes! Fellow Daoist Shen is right. I remember Fellow Daoist Xu has a mutated fourth-order Spirit Insect, right? Do you still need to ask Fellow Daoist Shen for advice?"

A loud male voice rang out.

True Monarch Golden Crow and Xu Mo walked in, True Monarch Golden Crow with a big smile on his face.

"Its mutated Divine Ability is a supportive Divine Ability and doesn't offer much help in combat."

"That's what the True Monarch Golden Bee explained."

"Fellow Daoist Qin, Fellow Daoist Xu, you've arrived. Please have a seat."

Chu Buyu gestured for them to sit down.

Xu Mo down, smiled slightly at Shen Long, and said warmly, "Fellow Daoist Shen, it's been decades! Congratulations on advancing to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage!"

"Long time no see, Fellow Daoist Xu. Do you know Fellow Daoist Qin?"

Shen Long asked casually.

Xu Mo smiled and nodded, "We do know each other. Fellow Daoist Qin has mentioned you to me more than once."

Shen Long suddenly realized that this explained everything; no wonder Xu Mo and True Monarch Golden Crow both asked Shen Long to help refine the Three-Leaf Jade Spirit Pill.

The group started chatting, and when the topic turned to the Barbarian Race, True Monarch Golden Crow said, "Speaking of which, it would have been great if the Heaven Origin Race had wiped out the Barbarian Race when they invaded the Gan Yang Realm back then; it would have saved us a lot of trouble."

"It's not that easy. I heard that a Spirit Transformation cultivator led a team to destroy the Interface Passage from the Heaven Origin Realm to the Gan Yang Realm, cutting off the Heaven Origin Race's retreat. Without reinforcements, the remaining Heaven Origin Race cultivators were no match for them and were quickly wiped out by the native cultivators of the Gan Yang Realm."

Shen Long said.

"Establishing a secure Interface Passage is not easy; disrupting it is much easier."

Chu Buyu expressed his strong agreement.

Su Shanhe nodded and said, "Yes! I heard that the Heaven Origin Race tried to establish a new Interface Passage to find new Spatial Node and invade the Gan Yang Realm from other places, but the new Interface Passage was quickly destroyed."

After chatting for more than an hour, they moved on to the exchange, where everyone took out their items to exchange.

Shen Long traded the Demon Core of a fourth-tier Green Thunder Falcon with Su Shanhe for two Demon Core of fourth-tier Yin Beast, as well as Demon Core of a fourth-tier Blood Toad Beast and a Millennium Green Wind Grass, making a modest gain.

Xu Mo took out a piece of thousand-year-old Golden Thunder Bamboo, which Chu Buyu then traded for.

After the exchange concluded, the cultivators departed one after another.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, please wait."

Xu Mo called out to Shen Long and quickly caught up with him.

Shen Long paused, slightly taken aback.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, what is it?"

Shen Long asked.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, may I have a word with you in private?"

Xu Mo said politely.

After a moment's thought, Shen Long nodded in agreement and followed Xu Mo to a three-story Cyan Pavilion.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, I've heard your Divine Sense is very powerful. I'd like to challenge you to a contest of Divine Sense, what do you say?"

Xu Mo asked, his face full of anticipation.

"I heard?"

Shen Long frowned. He rarely displayed his Divine Sense in front of outsiders. Needless to say, it must have been True Monarch Golden Crow who told Xu Mo back then, when they went deep into the heart of the Barbarian Race territory to cause trouble, Shen Long used his powerful Divine Sense to avoid the high-level cultivators of the Barbarian Race.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, you misunderstand. My Divine Sense is not strong."

Shen Long politely declined.

It was truly strange that Xu Mo sought him out for a sparring match without any apparent reason.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, this is the Inner Core of a mid-stage fourth-tier Yin Beast. If you win by comparing Divine Sense, this Demon Core is yours. How about it? I have no other intentions. I've been stuck at a bottleneck for many years and just wanted to spar with you. Comparing Divine Sense won't damage our friendship."

Xu Mo spoke sincerely as he took out a black Demon Core.

Shen Long pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "This place isn't suitable. Let's compete in Divine Sense near the Marketplace!"

Yin Beast are rare to begin with, so a contest of Divine Sense has no effect on Shen Long.

"Okay, it's a deal."

Xu Mo agreed.

After leaving the Marketplace, Shen Long and Xu Mo flew southeast for fifty miles before stopping.

Shen Long unleashed his Divine Sense, carefully surveying the nearby sea area to prevent any ambush.

Seeing Shen Long's caution, Xu Mo didn't pay much attention.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, are you ready?"

Xu Mo said.

Shen Long nodded and said, "Fellow Daoist Xu, please come at me."

A dazzling golden light emanated from between Xu Mo's brows, and a two-inch-long Golden Flying Knife shot out, heading straight for Shen Long.

Divine Sense Manifestation!

Only Nascent Soul Cultivator with exceptionally strong Divine Sense can master this ability. Generally speaking, Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivators can master this energy. Using Divine Sense Manifestation and attack consumes a lot of Divine Sense, and enemies can easily avoid it. Nascent Soul Cultivator rarely use their Divine Sense Attack enemies in combat.

Shen Long snorted coldly, a bright red light emanating from between his brows, and a Red Flying Knife about a foot long shot out to meet the attack.

The Red Flying Knife collided with the Golden Flying Knife, which crumbled like paper, while the Red Flying Knife headed straight for Xu Mo.

Xu Mo swayed, dodging the Red Flying Knife.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, this Demon Core core is yours."

Xu Mo flicked his wrist, and a black Demon Core flew out of his hand, heading towards Shen Long.

Shen Long caught the black Demon Core, examined it carefully, and found nothing wrong. There were no other cultivators around.

He looked completely bewildered, unable to figure out what Xu Mo was up to.

Shen Long couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it, transformed into a Escape Light, and left, returning to the Marketplace.

Xu Mo also returned to the Marketplace and came to a secluded Blue-tiled Courtyard, where the True Monarch Golden Crow was sitting in a Cyan Stone Pavilion.

"See? I wasn't wrong! Fellow Daoist Shen's Divine Sense is almost on par with Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator."

"That's what the True Monarch Golden Crow said."

"His Divine Sense is exceptionally strong, even surpassing that of Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator. It seems he has consumed a considerable amount of elixirs and miraculous medicines to enhance his Divine Sense."

Xu Mo said in a deep voice.

True Monarch Golden Crow was somewhat surprised and said, "No way! His Divine Sense is even stronger than that of Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator?"

"I've competed with Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator in Divine Sense, and we were evenly matched; my Divine Sense is inferior to his."

Xu Mo said solemnly that he had taken some elixirs to enhance his Divine Sense, and his Divine Sense was now approaching that of Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator.

True Monarch Golden Crow nodded and said, "That's fine, but his Divine Ability are considerable. If we invite him to help, and there really is something good, we might not be able to compete with him."

"Wu Dong and Wu west are missing. They might have met with an accident. If we delay any longer, things could get complicated. Your spiritual sense is a bit weak, not as strong as mine. I alone cannot break the restriction."

Xu Mo said.

Both he and True Monarch Golden Crow were in the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, but Xu Mo's Divine Sense was stronger.

Golden Crow True Monarch sighed and said, "That's all we can do. Those two idiots, Wu Dong and Wu Xi, left the market without a word and we haven't been able to contact them. I thought they secretly went to break the seal, but it turns out they didn't. I don't know where they went. What if they reappear after we break the seal?"

"Hmph, did we even need to pay attention to them back then? It's strange, they were worried about you going to retrieve the treasure and followed you the whole time, so why did they suddenly separate from you without even saying goodbye? That's really odd."

Xu Mo asked, puzzled.

"Perhaps they've discovered their enemy, or maybe they're stuck at a bottleneck and have gone out to hunt Demon Beast! Never mind, if they don't show up after the Auction, we'll go find Fellow Daoist Shen and ask for his help."

"That's what the True Monarch Golden Crow said."

······

Three days passed quickly.

Shen Long arrived at Chu Buyu's residence and met Chu Buyu without any problems.

"Fairy Chu, are you ready?"

Shen Long asked.

Chu Buyu nodded and said, "Fellow Daoist Shen, please come with me!"

She led Shen Long to a secret chamber, where numerous fire-attribute runes were engraved on the stone walls, and waves of heat rolled in.

In the lower left corner was a Soundproofing Array about ten feet in size. Chu Buyu pointed to the Soundproofing Array and said, "Fellow Daoist Shen, you should stay inside the Soundproofing Array so as not to disturb my refining. Take out the treasure you want to refine!"

Shen Long took out the Dragon-Slaying Saber and asked solemnly, "Fairy Chu, how confident are you?"

He had to be cautious because it concerned his Life-Bound Dharma Treasure.

"Absolutely certain."

After Chu Buyu finished speaking, she opened her almond-shaped mouth, and a command flag flashing red light flew out.

"Spirit Treasure!"

Shen Long was overjoyed.

"After returning from the East Hua Cultivation World, I collected materials and upgraded my Life-Bound Dharma Treasure Li Fire Flag, to Spirit Treasure. The Spirit Treasure that Auction six months later was also crafted by me."

Chu Buyu said confidently.

"It's not that I don't trust you, this treasure is very important to me."

Shen Long explained.

"Don't worry! If I say it can be done, it definitely can."

Chu Buyu said seriously.

Shen Long nodded, handed the Dragon-Slaying Saber to Chu Buyu, and walked to the Soundproofing Array.

Chu Buyu cast a spell into the Soundproofing Array, and a pale blue light screen appeared, trapping Shen Long inside.

He couldn't hear the sounds outside, but he could see Chu Buyu refining the weapon.

Chu Buyu sat cross-legged on a Red Prayer Mat, closing his eyes to rest.

After a short while, Chu Buyu opened his eyes, flicked his sleeve, and a Golden Refining Furnace shot out and landed on the ground.

The Artifact Refining Furnace has four sets of two handles, and a flame pattern on its surface.

She opened her almond-shaped mouth, and a ball of snow-blue flame flew out, landing at the bottom of the Artifact Refining Furnace. She Dragon-Slaying Saber into the Artifact Refining Furnace, followed by the other materials, closed the lid, and began forging.