Wangsong County

Once the contract was signed, everyone was on the same side. Then, Sister Yu gave a pep talk, saying that if the branch company grew bigger and stronger and was to be spun off and listed independently, she, Sister Yu, could also take advantage of this good Fortune and successfully achieve Nascent Soul stage.

Then Huang Liang complained, saying that since his girlfriend had run away, if he couldn't achieve Nascent Soul through physical cultivation, he could only achieve it through spiritual cultivation.

Sister Yu almost lost her temper on the spot, but Huang Liang was now also in the Golden Core Late Stage, so neither of them could do anything to the other.

During the conversation, Hu Mang also asked about the "Demonic Net," because Sun Youcai had previously invited him to meet several other "Seven Wonders Friends," but not in reality, but in the Demonic Net.

Hu Mang had heard Jiang Kuisha mention this "Demonic Net" before; it sounded mysterious and extremely dangerous. Since there were two professionals right in front of him, he decided to inquire about it.

"Oh, the Demonic Net? You need a VPN to access this website. Oh, Master Hu, you're overseas, so you don't need one," Huang Liang said casually. To be fair, after changing into men's clothing, he was indeed a very handsome man.

"What exactly is the 'Demonic Net'? I often hear about it overseas; it's very mysterious," Hu Mang asked.

"It's just an underground network, an encrypted network, nothing special. At most, there's some black market trading involved," Sister Yu said dismissively.

Is that all?

Huang Liang, however, offered a different explanation.

"Master Hu, do you remember what I told you before? The first version of Divine Sense Internet was actually Soul Internet. It's just that the cultivators inside the Heavenly Gate didn't have strong enough souls, so it was downgraded to Divine Sense Internet. According to the hacker Daoists I know, the Demonic Net was actually the first generation of technology back then. But for some reason, it spread overseas and was modified by the demonic sects, who then pushed this immature technology to the market."

"The demonic path is nothing more than those three things: cultivating external demons, nurturing inner demons, and practicing killing techniques. So, if you're not a professional and frequently browse the Demonic Net, you might get tainted by something unclean. Especially since those demonic cultivators have no morals and often remotely steal souls and manipulate people's brains when they're online. I've heard their network infrastructure isn't very good either, so if you go online on the Demonic Net overseas, the pressure on your soul will be immense, and you might even become an idiot."

"Therefore, ordinary people cannot actually connect to the Demonic Net; they can be controlled by those practicing demonic arts."

"That's not necessarily true. Unless you, Master, directly storm the Overseas Devil Sect's online headquarters, it's not actually that dangerous. Just take precautions. Master, have you forgotten what we do? Bring you a set of that internet access equipment later. If you want to go online, our Mystic Shield Sect will provide you with 24-hour network security services. Besides, the Cultivation Method you created is actually quite effective against demonic paths."

"Moreover, instead of worrying about the demonic path, I should worry about the online inner demons and virtual external demons that my colleagues create under the guise of the demonic path. Those are the real ruthless tricks."

Huang Liang's rant.

The three chatted for a while, which helped them bond, before Hu Mang took his leave and headed straight for his hometown. Since he was back, he figured he should go home and check on his mother's new cave abode, see if it was being built and if it needed any Spirit Stones. He also wanted to ask Old Xie if he could create a simplified version of his "Three Teachings in One" method.

This Cultivation Method is exceptionally difficult to master.

Five days later, Hu Mang returned overseas. After making complete preparations, he traveled back to this Thunder Net space. Standing on the small Ascension Platform, as the lightning patterns on it were activated one by one, a flash of light appeared, and his figure disappeared.

Southwest of the Central Continent

A flash of inspiration struck, Hu Mang's figure appeared in the desolate wilderness.

Hu Mang looked around. Although it was a desolate wilderness, it was filled with a special charm, as if every inch of the land beneath his feet was alive and breathing at an extremely slow frequency.

"No wonder the cultivators of this realm Unity of Heaven and Man as a physiological phenomenon. The mountain and river veins seem poised to enter this Unity of Heaven and Man at any moment. Moreover, this desolate wilderness is actually a mid-level Spiritual Qi zone. Goodness, are you kidding me?"

The Hu Mang muttered to itself.

"If you were to comprehend the Unity of Heaven and Man here, the efficiency would be exceptionally high."

"It's a pity I already know how to do this, and besides, this mountain—"

With the help of the Crimson Blood Fox's bloodline, the Hu Mang could clearly sense that there were demons on the mountain, and not just one, nor just on one mountain.

Many of the mountain monsters gave him a strong sense of threat.

The Demon Race here are probably much more ferocious than those over at Heavenly Gate.

Hu Mang had no intention of provoking anyone; his biggest concern right now was to find the Spirit Path in this area.

According to Old Chen's description in the letter, this Central Continent is not just any ordinary continent; this landmass alone may be dozens of times larger than all the other parts of Earth Star combined.

In this situation, not to mention ordinary cultivators, even highly skilled Nascent Primordial Spirit cultivators would be exhausted to death if they didn't prepare in advance.

In this context, the "Spirit Path" came into being.

According to the regional division of the Great Mystic Imperial Dynasty, there are Grotto Heavens, Immortal Mansions, Spirit Paths, and Divine Counties. Among them, the Spirit Path should belong to the "city-level unit". It should correspond to the blessed land in the Heavenly Gate. However, in Hu Mang's view, it is more like a combination of highways, sea routes, and shipping routes. As long as you enter the Spirit Path, you can enjoy the effect of instant teleportation.

At least you can teleport freely within that area.

As for the so-called Great Mystic Imperial Dynasty, it was the mortal enemy of the Jade Firmament Divine Dynasty in the past, and also the human force supported by the Orthodox Mystic Gate sect. However, as the divine dynasty disintegrated, the righteous, Buddhist, and demonic factions also began to go their separate ways because they no longer had a great enemy. The Great Mystic Imperial Dynasty gradually declined, but many of its things were still preserved. For example, the division of the four levels of administrative regions is the consensus of the cultivators in the Central Continent.

As for the Spirit Path itself, according to Hu Mang's understanding, it is a special phenomenon that spontaneously arises when high-level Spiritual Qi is concentrated to a certain degree.

In ancient Heavenly Gate, the ascension of immortals was imagined to be "Rainbow Transformation."

However, in this realm, Rainbow Transformation is a common phenomenon.

Wangsong County

A restaurant

Hu Mang took out three low-grade Spirit Stones and handed them over. Soon, three dishes and a wine were served. The dishes were ordinary, but the wine was a local spirit wine called Wangshan Wine.

As for the taste, it's just so-so.

Hu Mang, carrying his handheld spiritual energy detector, raced all the way, and finally, with his Spiritual Qi and spiritual pressure both approaching 90, he headed straight for Wangsong County.

He initially thought this was a "Spirit Path node," but as soon as he entered the county town, he discovered that the Spiritual Qi had plummeted, dropping from a high-level Spiritual Qi area all the way to a low-level Spiritual Qi area.

However, while Hu Mang was puzzled, he wasn't too disappointed, because he could clearly sense that there were an unusually large number of cultivators here, and quite a few of them had reached the Three Flowers stage. Not to mention anything else, Hu Mang saw at least five cultivators of the same level in this restaurant alone.

In other words, among the cultivators present, at least some had cultivated one Three Flowers, and some had cultivated two. Hu Mang even saw a fellow who appeared to have reached the Perfect Three Flowers stage.

It was a middle-aged man sitting in the corner, his demeanor restrained and composed, exuding a sense of completeness.

According to Old Chen's classification standards, among ordinary Rogue Cultivators, those who cultivate one flower are considered outstanding talents, those who cultivate two flowers can generally be considered promising rising stars, and those who cultivate three flowers are considered powerful figures in unorthodox sects.

By this standard, this restaurant truly hides many hidden talents.

So I didn't actually come to the wrong place?

"Xiaoer, you've circled me three times already. Is there something you want to sell me?"

Hu Mang glanced around, clearly catching the Xiaoer's thoughts, and asked.

"Hehe, I just wanted to ask the esteemed cultivator if there's anything you'd like to know, such as the history of Wangsong County, or perhaps the Three Treasures of Wangsong County."

"I understand, then please introduce it to me."

The Hu Mang readily tossed over a low-grade Spirit Stone.

The Xiaoer was delighted; all his fuss over taking so many detours hadn't been in vain.

The reason Hu Mang noticed the other party was because he clearly found that the other party was not afraid of these cultivators, and his eyes were even somewhat similar to those of ordinary people in Heavenly Gate. The reason why Heavenly Gate was in this state was because the security was particularly good, which fostered a group of silly deer who liked to watch the drama unfold. He did not believe that the security here was also so good, so the most likely reason was that the other party had seen more than one group of cultivators like him.

"My lord, you may Grand Pure One, but our Wangsong County used to be called Divine Song County. It was a divine county of the Great Mystic Imperial Dynasty, but it was later affected by the legendary war between immortals and demons and became ruins. It was on these ruins that Wangsong County came into being."

"Our Wangsong County has three treasures. The first treasure is the Rainbow Path, which appears once every seventeen days. Every time the Rainbow Path appears, important figures like yourself come to our county, bringing glory to our humble abode. The next Rainbow Path is about four or five days away."

"Secondly, there is this local Lord of the Land. Our temple dates back to the Great Mystic Imperial Dynasty. It is said to possess divine power, just like the old Thunder God's Shrine. If you have the time, you might as well go and pay your respects."

Really? The same divine power as me?

Hu Mang thought in surprise.

"Thirdly, there is the Divine Pine Mountain corresponding to our third floor. This mountain was split in two by a great Divine Ability being. It is said that someone once comprehended the sword intent left behind by that great Divine Ability being in our Mountain-Gazing Pavilion, and was then accepted into the righteous sects."

Upon hearing this, many people couldn't help but look up and gaze out the window.

The sky outside the window was clear and bright. In the distance, the Divine Pine Mountain Range were bathed in the afternoon sun with a faint bluish-gray hue. The ridgeline was clear and expansive, and a straight crack, as if cleaved by a sharp blade, could indeed be seen, stretching from the mountaintop to the foot of the mountain, dividing the entire mountain range in two and casting a long, narrow shadow in the sunlight.