29: Chapter 29 The Eastern Xuan Cultivation World

"Jinyang Sect." Jiang Yan repeated the name.

The three words came out of his mouth, neither light nor heavy, devoid of any emotion.

Zhao Xuancheng seemed to have grasped a lifeline, his speaking speed quickening: "Yes... Jinyang Sect is the largest Sect in this region, with several Golden Core Immortal Masters holding the fort... Within a radius of tens of thousands of li, apart from Wanjian Mountain and Biyun Sect, Jinyang Sect is the strongest..."

"How long have you been Cultivating in Jinyang Sect?"

Zhao Xuancheng's voice suddenly became muffled, as if he had something in his mouth: "Fif... fifteen years..."

"Only at Qi Refining Stage 2 after fifteen years?" Jiang Yan's gaze fell upon his face.

Zhao Xuancheng's eyes darted away, not daring to meet his gaze: "I have a Low Grade Spiritual Root... My Aptitude is too poor, my Cultivation speed is as slow as a crawling snail... Other Senior Brothers can achieve Qi Refining in three years, but it took me six... They can reach the Middle Stage of Qi Refining in fifteen years, but I'm barely at Qi Refining Stage 2 after fifteen years..."

He paused, and his voice suddenly carried a hint of grievance, as if recalling some unbearable past events: "Besides, there are too many rules in the Sect. Every day it's either Cultivating or doing tasks, eating Bigu Pills, and living in stone chambers.

Those Bigu Pills have a medicinal taste; eating too many makes your mouth bitter, and even drinking water tastes bitter.

The stone chambers are cold and damp; in winter, the cold makes your bones ache, and in summer, it's as stifling as a steamer. There aren't even any women..."

Speaking up to this point, his tone actually rose a little, as if he truly felt he had suffered a great injustice: "I am, at the very least, a Marquis's heir. I grew up living in luxury, served by over a dozen maids; how could I have ever suffered such hardship..."

Jiang Yan watched him.

There was no fluctuation in his gaze, as if he were watching a rock speak.

"So you came back."

Zhao Xuancheng's voice lowered again, carrying a fawning tone: "Yes... I told the Deacon I wanted to go home to visit my family, and then I never went back.

Anyway, I'm a piece of trash; the Sect wouldn't notice one more or one less of me.

The Senior Brothers in the Imperial Palace have been bribed by my father, so if anyone asks, they can just say I went missing..."

"After I came back, I lived in the Marquis's estate; my father specially built that courtyard for me. I eat whatever I want and play with whatever women I want; it's ten thousand times happier than being in the Sect."

By the end, his voice actually carried a hint of morbid pride.

He pulled the corners of his mouth up, wanting to smile, but the excruciating pain in his broken leg twisted that smile into a bizarre expression—half his face was smiling, while the other half was twitching.

"What is the relationship between Jinyang Sect and the Jin Kingdom?"

Zhao Xuancheng was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting this question.

He blinked a few times, as if digesting the question: "The Jin Kingdom... The Jin Kingdom is just a Mortal kingdom subordinate to Jinyang Sect.

Jinyang Sect governs three Mortal kingdoms—the Jin Kingdom, the Liang Kingdom, and the Chen Kingdom, arranged in a triangular formation."

"The Jin Kingdom is in the far north, the furthest from Jinyang Sect's mountain gate."

"How far?"

"By sword flight... it takes a month," Zhao Xuancheng said. "When I returned from Jinyang Sect back then, I followed the Sect's cloud ship and it took ten days to reach the Jin Kingdom."

Jiang Yan's gaze flickered slightly: "A cloud ship?"

"Yes... Jinyang Sect has a large flying Magical Artifact, a cloud ship; every time they come to the Jin Kingdom to collect resources, they use the cloud ship.

Along the way, it has to pass through the edge of the Manghuang Mountains, where there are many Yao Beasts; if you're unlucky, you might even encounter a Tier 2 Yao Beast."

"For an ordinary Qi Refining Cultivator to travel that road alone, the danger is not low.

Therefore, Jinyang Sect's management method for the Jin Kingdom is to collect periodically, sending a team every two years to travel back and forth by cloud ship."

Jiang Yan pressed for details about the cloud ship.

Zhao Xuancheng dared not hide anything and told him everything—it was about thirty zhang long, could carry dozens of people, its speed was about three times that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator's sword flight, and the hull was inscribed with Tier 3 defensive Restrictions.

As he said these things, his eyes would occasionally glance at Jiang Yan's face, wanting to see something, but Jiang Yan's expression never changed.

"How many Cultivators are stationed in the Jin Kingdom's Imperial Palace year-round?"

"Three... all are Outer Sect Disciples of Jinyang Sect. One is at the Late Stage of Qi Refining, and two are at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining."

"How long is the typical rotation period?"

"Four years. They change personnel every two collection cycles."

Jiang Yan was silent for a moment.

Moonlight shifted a few inches through the broken roof, the patch of light moving from his shoulder to Zhao Xuancheng's face, making that pale face look even paler.

"What is the name of this Immortal Realm?"

Zhao Xuancheng blinked, seeming to find this question very strange: "The... the Dongxuan Immortal Realm."

Jiang Yan's pupils contracted sharply.

Dongxuan.

He knew the name Dongxuan in his past life, although he had never been there.

In his past life, he was a person from the Nanhuang Immortal Realm; between Nanhuang and Dongxuan lay the Nanling Mountains.

The Nanling Mountains were vast and boundless, stretching millions of li north to south, filled with miasma and countless Yao Beasts and poisonous insects; only a Nascent Soul Cultivator could cross them.

In his past life, he was at the Perfection of Golden Core, only one step away from Nascent Soul, but he had never attempted to cross the Nanling Mountains—that wasn't an adventure, it was suicide.

He never expected that after his Rebirth, he would be reborn in Dongxuan.

His expression changed for only an instant—his pupils contracted, his brows lifted slightly, and then he returned to calm.

But the fingers resting on his knees tightened unconsciously, his fingertips pressing against the fabric, creating a few wrinkles.

What did this mean?

It meant that all his connections, resources, and Immortal Caves from his past life were in Nanhuang, separated by the impassable Nanling Mountains.

It meant that the Dongxuan Immortal Realm was a completely foreign land to him—he knew nothing of the Sects, powers, Secret Realms, or rules here.

But it also meant that the enemies, Karma, and Karmic Obstruction of his past life were all severed by the Nanling Mountains.

This was a blank slate.

His fingers unconsciously reached for the animal skin wrapped around the scabbard at his waist, his fingertips stroking the rough texture, once, then again.

"Do you have a Storage Pouch on you?"

Zhao Xuancheng's eyes flickered. His eyeballs drifted to the bottom left corner, his lips moved, but he didn't speak.

Jiang Yan didn't waste words and started searching him directly.

He pulled a dusty little pouch from his chest, palm-sized, with rough fabric, looking just like an ordinary money bag.

But when his Divine Sense probed inside, it was blocked by a layer of Restriction—this was the ownership Restriction of a Storage Pouch.

The Restriction was more complex than the one on the independent courtyard. The flow of the patterns was denser, and the connections of the spiritual power nodes were tighter.

But for him, it was still just a matter of time.

Jiang Yan spent less than half an hour finding the core node of the Restriction, tapped it lightly with spiritual power, and severed the connection between the nodes.

The Restriction shattered.

His Divine Sense probed inside.

The space inside the Storage Pouch was about half a zhang square.

It was packed full, mostly with women's clothing—silk, thin gauze, embroidered, all colorful and crumpled into a ball, emitting the scent of rouge and powder.

There were also a few pieces of jewelry, gold and silver mixed together, necklaces and earrings tangled into a knot.

Jiang Yan emptied all these miscellaneous items out and threw them on the ground.

The silk piled up on the blue bricks, and the scent of rouge and powder permeated the dilapidated temple, mixing with the damp, earthy smell.

There wasn't much left.