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It would be hard to imagine that he came from another top-tier sect.
To travel from other continents to the Guangping Continent, one must use a teleportation array.
The traces left by teleportation arrays are far more numerous than ordinary traces, making them very easy to trace.
If something happens, using a teleportation array is definitely the worst option.
What if we don't use the official teleportation array, but find a way to teleport privately?
That would require extremely high levels of cultivation, financial resources, and knowledge of formations; it's probably not something an ordinary force could accomplish.
If that's the case, how come my meridians are blocked, and I'm lying dead in Jingzhishan Town without facing any pursuit afterwards?
Shan Heyuan thought about it all night, and when he got up the next day, he had two big dark circles under his eyes.
With his current cultivation level, even if he didn't sleep all night, there wouldn't be any marks on his face. The dark circles under his eyes were simply because he was overthinking.
When Shen Duheng woke up and saw him like this, he gave him a pill. "We've already investigated this far, it won't be too difficult for us to trace the clues further back. There's no need to rush."
Shan Heyuan swallowed the pill dry, rubbing his forehead in pain. "Your enemies are troublesome enough, but I'm afraid mine will be even more troublesome. We need to find a way to quickly improve our cultivation."
Shen Duheng: "I will strive to return to the Spirit Transformation Realm within five years."
Shan Heyuan lacked the confidence to reach the Nascent Soul Realm within five years and dared not make such a boast.
He rubbed his forehead and sighed again.
The joint competition starts today. Even if I haven't slept well, I still have to get the work done.
Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng arrived at the competition on time, exchanged greetings with He Wei and other sect leaders and elders, and served as referees for two matches.
They had nothing to do in the afternoon, so Shan Heyuan greeted the sect leader of the Sword Reverence Sect He Wei, and then took Shen Duheng to visit the cultivator who had first discovered him.
Jingzhishan Town is relatively remote and isolated, with little population movement.
Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng successfully found the person and reviewed the cultivator's memories.
The cultivator's memory was very ordinary; he simply reported to the Supreme Harmony Sect upon discovering someone lying in the grass, and out of fear, he didn't even go forward to check.
Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng looked at it three times, but found no further information.
The two also went to check on the bushes where Shan Heyuan had been lying.
Nothing particularly special was found.
There were no traces of any formation, nor was it any special location; it was as if Shan Heyuan had simply appeared out of thin air.
The past is difficult to trace.
They can't draw any conclusions right now and can only wait for Shen Duheng's men to secretly investigate.
Shan Heyuan and his group didn't find out any more information for the time being, but they were generally quite happy staying at the Supreme Harmony Sect.
The people at the Supreme Harmony Sect liked him quite a bit and welcomed him warmly.
Qi Yuanbai was almost jealous. "Before, only a few of us were familiar with you, but now every senior brother, junior brother, senior sister, and junior sister's eyes light up when they see you, and they always want to come over and chat with you."
Shan Heyuan comforted him, "This is only human nature, but our relationship is built on past connections, so how can it be the same as with ordinary people?"
Qi Yuanbai immediately lit up with a smile, and he whispered to Shan Heyuan, "You don't know, ever since you became successful, even the status of our peak has risen a bit. Our senior uncles and senior masters all say that Master had good judgment, taking you as his disciple so early on."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, indeed. Not only has our status risen, but even the Spirit Plant garden you left behind has gained status and is receiving much more meticulous care. 'When one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven,' that's probably what it means."
Shan Heyuan amused and exasperated after hearing this.
Qi Yuanbai said, "Your cultivation speed is truly fast. Everyone says your achievements will not stop here. I have already informed my master that after this competition, I also want to go out and travel around to see if I can find an opportunity to break through."
Shan Heyuan advised, "Then we need to be careful and prepare more magical Law Artifact for self-defense."
"I know, my master and the others told me the same thing."
After finishing his conversation with Qi Yuanbai, Shan Heyuan, having some free time, went to find Zhong Shuran.
Zhong Shuran remained in the small town; they hadn't had a chance to leave.
Zhong Shuran helplessly, "This is the normal speed for us. Who would go on a long trip without preparing for ten or eight years? Your cultivation speed is too fast. We thought you wouldn't be back for a long time after you went to Sword Reverence City."
Shan Heyuan laughed, "Sword Reverence City isn't far from here, so I can come back whenever I want."
Zhong Shuran: "If your cultivation hadn't broken through and you were still just an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, you probably wouldn't have been in the mood to come back, even if you could. The main reason you're back now is because you've advanced again."
"That's not wrong," Shan Heyuan coughed twice, "A special fortuitous opportunity."
Zhong Shuran rolled her eyes. "Come on, ever since you started cultivating, you've encountered special fortuitous opportunity all the way. Now, who would dare say you're just a cultivator with a Chaos Spirit Root?"
Shan Heyuan scratched his head and changed the subject, saying, "You guys go hunting quite often, do you know where there are spiritual springs?"
"A spiritual spring?" Zhong Shuran asked, "What grade of spiritual spring are you looking for?"
"The higher the grade, the better," Shan Heyuan explained. "I often need spiritual springs when planting, but the spiritual springs I have right now aren't very high quality. If I could get some higher quality spiritual springs, I could grow some better Spirit Plant."
Zhong Shuran pondered for a moment, "Jingzhishan Town has a lot of mineral resources and spiritual springs. As long as you wander around the mountains, you can basically find a spiritual spring. However, as for high-quality spiritual springs, we don't have any here. After all, it's just a small town. If there were any famous spiritual springs, they would have been taken long ago."
Shan Heyuan was aware of this situation; otherwise, he wouldn't have asked Zhong Shuran.
Seeing him sigh, Zhong Shuran and said, "Actually, it's not entirely impossible. If you're willing to take the risk, there are a few good quality spiritual springs in Black She Temple."
Shan Heyuan asked in surprise, "Black She Temple?"
He hadn't thought about Black She Temple for a long time.
Zhong Shuran: "Yes, didn't you deal with the Illusionless Tree of Black She Temple before? Black She Temple used to be so large, with so many people living there, the sect must have had a spiritual spring. It's just that now it's firmly controlled by the Illusionless Tree, and not many people dare to go in. If you're interested, you can give it a try."
Zhong Shuran added, "Shouldn't your current behavior allow you to go straight in? You're already at the Core Formation Middle Stage, and Senior Shen is already at the Nascent Soul. The Illusionless Tree shouldn't be able to stop you."
Shan Heyuan had never really thought of going to Black She Temple to look for the spiritual spring.
Looking back now, visiting Black She Temple was indeed a good choice.
As a settlement, Black She Temple must have had a water source.
Although a considerable amount of time has passed, the spiritual spring might not have dried up if the water were still flowing.
Perhaps because no one has used it for a long time, the spiritual spring water has accumulated more and more.
Of course, with the Illusionless Tree guarding that spot, it's not impossible that it would run out of spiritual spring water.
Shan Heyuan decided it was worth a try.
There aren't many places worth exploring in Jingzhishan Town, especially for high-level cultivators like them. If they want to go hunting, they usually go to Xinglan Mountain or even further afield.
Black She Temple is relatively dangerous, not cost-effective, and few people go there, so you might actually be able to leave something behind.
Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng were talking.
After listening to the story, Shen Duheng felt it was worth a try.
Shen Duheng: "Black She Temple is a rather unique place. They are quite different from mainstream cultivators. Going there to take a look might give us some inspiration for cultivation."
Shan Heyuan: "Yes, I remember now, you told me they cultivate 'witchcraft,' not the Spiritual Power that cultivators usually practice."
Shen Duheng nodded seriously. "Their existence is rather peculiar. Their overall strength is not great, but they possess some rather strange characteristics."
Shan Heyuan immediately said, "In that case, let's go take a look while we're at it. We've already taken the day off anyway."