26: Chapter 26 The Evening Breeze of Biyang

One year later, East Langya Prefecture, Kongsang Prefecture.

"How is this Langya Prefecture so large? I've been flying for so long and haven't even left the eastern region of Langya Prefecture?"

Shen Moyan's internal Dharmic power was currently at less than thirty percent. He quickly retracted his Flying Sword and descended from the sky, disguising himself as a scholar and walking while resting along the forest paths.

The size of this single prefecture truly exceeded Shen Moyan's imagination. Just the distance he had traveled over the past year, if placed in his previous plane, would be enough to circle the entire Da Qi Kingdom and the Barren Lands thousands of times.

Langya Prefecture, on the outskirts of the Three Thousand Prefectures, was truly vast and sparsely populated; it was common to see no signs of human habitation for hundreds of miles.

Over the past year, Shen Moyan had passed through thousands of cities, large and small.

Likely because they were within the jurisdiction of the Holy Court, there wasn't a single cultivation School in the cities, though there were plenty of Jianghu swindlers.

However, the Spiritual Qi was very dense. In those cities, Shen Moyan did a rough scan with his Divine Sense and found they were indeed places of hidden talents; Qi Gathering Cultivators were a dime a dozen, and there were dozens of Mortal Transformation Cultivators.

Furthermore, those Mortal Transformation Cultivators all carried tokens with Holy Court inscriptions, clearly having joined the Holy Court.

But they weren't Inspectors; their rank was lower than Jiang Zhiqiu's. They were likely just registered with the Holy Court, equivalent to temporary personnel.

"The existence of this Holy Court has truly severed the roots of cultivation Schools."

Shen Moyan sighed with emotion.

For the people of this world, as long as they achieved some success in their cultivation, the first thing they thought of was not a School, but joining the Holy Court to seek an official position.

Of course, there were those who wanted to join the Twenty-One Immortal Orthodoxies, but they had no way in.

For instance, the Biyang Sword Sect had been hidden from the world for ten thousand years. Usually, only Outer Sect Disciples walked the world of Mortals, and even when they did emerge, they didn't dare stray too far from the Sect.

He really didn't know how their School continued its lineage; they couldn't possibly have a subordinate plane as a source for new Disciples, could they? Shen Moyan thought wildly.

"Later Schools, that is, lineages, must be established with the permission of the Holy Court."

During this year, Shen Moyan had once secretly seen a Cultivator who had achieved Mortal Transformation with Sixth-Grade Qi. When he was preparing to establish a Sect in the city, an Inspector immediately received word and came from thousands of miles away to stop him.

Using his Earth Hearing Ear, Shen Moyan listened to the entire series of rules required to establish a Sect.

Without the permission of the Holy Court, it was absolutely forbidden to establish a Sect. In other words, except for the Twenty-One Immortal Orthodoxies, all lineages and Sects in the world were subordinates of the Holy Court.

In this world, the Holy Court was the ultimate ruler and the greatest monopolist.

"This Langya Prefecture is just too big. How did Jiang Zhiqiu ever get to that godforsaken place like Dongshan City?" Shen Moyan fell into thought.

Traveling solely by sword was definitely impossible; there must have been other means, such as a flying boat or something like a teleportation array.

"The flying boat Jiang Zhiqiu left behind must be an extraordinary treasure. Perhaps it can shatter space and go directly to the central city of Langya Prefecture."

Perhaps Jiang Zhiqiu had intended for Shen Moyan to board the flying boat with those Mortals and then leave Dongshan City safely.

It was just that there were people monitoring the city, and before he could finish dealing with them and give instructions to Shen Moyan, he died a sudden death.

"What a pity, Fellow Daoist Jiang. If I achieve success in my cultivation in the next life, I will come to deliver you."

Shen Moyan strolled along the small forest path. He looked up, peering through the dense foliage, and a city wall as tall as a mountain range entered his vision.

"The main city of Kongsang Prefecture, finally arrived."

The sky and the water were a single shade of vast green, eagles and birds cried out, and thousands of Yao Beasts of various sizes streaked past the city gates like flowing light.

Academies were often established in prefecture cities or the center of a prefecture. After all, education was also extremely resource-intensive.

Shen Moyan released his Six Senses Fireflies from ten miles away to investigate the situation in Kongsang Prefecture.

Then he frowned. Beside the city gate, Cultivators and Mortals entering the city formed a long queue. After having their identities and purposes verified by guards, they entered the city in an orderly manner.

"This is troublesome. What if they suspect my identity as a Loose Cultivator is a spy for the Biyang Sword Sect?"

After thinking for a while, Shen Moyan couldn't help but smile slightly.

He fumbled through his storage ring and took out a token.

The Cen Family Token.

This was something he had looted from Ni Gaoyuan's corpse. Presumably, that Cen father and son had already met a tragic end.

But now it benefited Shen Moyan.

Shen Moyan carefully manipulated his facial muscles, adjusting the spacing and size of his features, eventually turning into the appearance of a thin young man.

"From today on, I am Cen Zhiyuan." Shen Moyan changed into a set of white clothes and strode toward the city gate with his head held high.

He was an old hand in the Jianghu, after all; disguise was second nature to him... "As expected, I successfully sneaked in using the Cen Family Token."

This Cen Family wasn't some great Family, only that someone in the Family worked in the Langya Trading House. Under that person's protection, the entire Cen Family was involved in business. Thus, being slick when dealing with city defenses was a stereotype, and he wasn't suspected in the slightest.

"Where is the Academy?"

Shen Moyan cautiously released his Divine Sense as he walked on the smooth bluestone road. The surrounding buildings were arranged like fish scales, and people moved in a constant stream. Countless Black Birds flew across the sky, and passing merchants had Yao Beasts carrying goods.

Smoke curled from wine shops and tea houses, the river passing through the city shimmered, stone-carved bridges spanned both banks, and countless merchant ships passed through the bridge tunnels, with the occasional sound of sailors' chants.

The multi-storied buildings on both banks were like a forest, with stilted buildings and the scent of sandalwood wafting through the air. Countless private rooms were uniquely arranged, and occasionally the sound of a courtesan playing the zither drifted out.

These familiar yet strange sights of a prefecture city dazzled Shen Moyan. His refined Treasure Sniffing Nose was exceptionally itchy; there were treasures everywhere in the entire city.

Halfway there, a crack of thunder sounded in the sky, and rain began to fall.

The rain wasn't particularly heavy, but to fit his disguised identity, Shen Moyan didn't use his Dharmic power to shield himself. Instead, like those low-Realm Qi Gathering Cultivators, he stepped over the pitted stone tiles and went to a small pavilion to take shelter.

"This Fellow Daoist's aura is a bit unfamiliar. Is it your first time in Kongsang City?" A magnetic male voice came from beside his ear, nearly making Shen Moyan jump.

He saw a man in black clothes leaning against a pavilion pillar, standing tall with a sword in his arms and wearing a bamboo hat. He was sizing up Shen Moyan with interest.

The other party was also in the Mortal Transformation Realm.

Having his Realm pointed out, Shen Moyan quickly calmed down, his expression returning to normal with a smile on his lips.

"Indeed. I am a member of a branch of the Cen Family, Cen Zhiyuan. Having returned from traveling the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, I am about to visit the Kongsang Academy." Shen Moyan stated his purpose.

Whether the other party was an official or someone who had just happened upon him, there was no reason to interrogate him without cause.

The man's expression turned strange as he stared at Shen Moyan, looking him over repeatedly for a long time.

Unable to bear the gaze that seemed to want to peel him apart layer by layer, Shen Moyan spoke up:

"May I ask for your name, Fellow Daoist?"

"Sword Sect, Xu Mingxuan."

The rain grew heavier, and the voices between the two were gradually blurred by the torrential downpour outside the pavilion.

Now it was Shen Moyan's turn to look strange.

Sword Sect, which Sword Sect?

Judging by his tone, the name of this Sword Sect should be quite significant, but in this Langya Prefecture, which famous sword-practicing School was among the Holy Court's subordinates?

Xu Mingxuan stared at Shen Moyan, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, as he continued:

"The first rising of the Mountain and Sea asks the boundless..."

Hearing this, Shen Moyan first felt incredulous, then immediately composed himself:

"...And unsheathe the green blade to speak of jade."

Fragments of the original text from the Biyang First Rising Art escaped his lips.

The two looked at each other and smiled; everything was understood without words.

"Sword Sect, He Liang, greets Senior Brother Xu." Shen Moyan cupped his hands with his sword, a look of joy on his face.

Damn it, how could someone from the Biyang Sword Sect appear right under the Holy Court's nose?