27: Chapter 27 Nine Songs Imprint Network

Clearly I have been running the Turtle Breathing Great Technique and Concealment Art in tandem, hiding my jade mana well, so why was I still discovered?

"We're all on the same side, no need for formalities." Xu Mingxuan waved his hand, his other hand gripping the sword loosening.

It seemed the other party did not recognize He Liang.

Shen Moyan stared at the other's hand, his gaze lingering on the sword for a long time before moving away.

"By the way, Senior Brother Xu, I didn't bring my Sect token for this excursion and I'm acting in secret. How did you perceive my identity?" Shen Moyan looked puzzled.

Xu Mingxuan's expression stiffened for a moment before relaxing: "Junior Brother might not know, but I possess Wu Race Bloodline and have cultivated divination methods."

"That's why the Sect sent me to Sangkong City. Only with my divination methods can I be useful for infiltration and adapt to changes when the city is completely cut off from internal and external contact."

"I divined whether someone in the future would be able to answer the next line of 'The rising Mountain and Sea asks the boundless void'. If so, they must be a fellow Disciple of my sword Sect."

"You know the situation outside. Within the Holy Court's range of influence, saying our Sect's full name will get you caught by that lot, especially here in the nearby Kongsang Prefecture."

"I see. Wu Race Bloodline... Senior Brother Xu, you truly have great Divine Ability..." Shen Moyan narrowed his eyes.

No wonder when he soul-searched a Mortal in Dongshan City before, he couldn't find any memories related to the Biyang Sword Sect, only the term 'Upper Sect' as a conceptual replacement. It turned out to be the Holy Court's doing.

"By the way, I wonder what Junior Brother has come out for this time?"

"If the mission is difficult, as your Senior Brother, I can share your burdens depending on the situation." Xu Mingxuan smiled, a smile that clearly harbored ill intentions.

"No need. My mission can only be completed by me personally after I infiltrate the Academy." Shen Moyan politely declined. The fact that he needed to gather Heavenly Demon Ritual Materials could not be exposed.

Furthermore, he shouldn't have too much contact with Xu Mingxuan. Otherwise, he might be exposed in some details.

However, the corners of Shen Moyan's mouth curled up slightly:

"On the contrary, Senior Brother, you sought me out so urgently the moment I entered the city. Have you encountered some difficulty?"

Hearing this, Xu Mingxuan raised an eyebrow: "As expected of Junior Brother, exceptionally intelligent."

"Indeed, I've run into trouble with my mission this time. It's extremely difficult to solve by myself."

The rain hadn't stopped. The two stood against the pillars in the pavilion.

"Senior Brother, please tell me in detail." The two used sound transmission to communicate.

"This Prefect Gao of Kongsang is a Guizang Realm True Monarch. Under his watch, I'm restricted everywhere."

"So, I plan to draw a True Monarch here to distract him for me."

"Who?"

"Wild Goose Formation True Monarch, Zheng Quan." Xu Mingxuan lowered his voice during the sound transmission, enunciating each word.

Shen Moyan almost coughed up a mouthful of blood but managed to hold it back.

Fine, it was an acquaintance—the one who led Shen Moyan onto the path of cultivation.

"Wild Goose Formation True Monarch once took ten Disciples in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. Every Disciple was a hero among men, and they all used various means to establish cities on the edge of Langya Prefecture."

"As you probably know, those cities are merely nurseries for easy harvesting, convenient for accumulating resources."

"But a year ago, one of his Disciples in Dongshan City died mysteriously. The Karma was complicated, involving the Yao Race, the Holy Court, and even the handiwork of the sword Sect."

"An Inspector was brutally murdered, and his body was hung at the city gate, infuriating Langya Prefecture. This matter even reached the ears of the prefect."

Xu Mingxuan's tone was heavy.

Shen Moyan was deep in thought.

It seemed Ni Gaoyuan's Heavenly Demon Transformation Art was quite something, able to obscure so much Karma.

An Inspector under the Holy Court was murdered and hung directly on the city gate. This was not something a citizen of the Holy Court would do; it was clearly the work of unruly people from a desolate land! It was a slap in the face to the Holy Court!

So, regardless of whether Dongshan City was on the edge of the Yao Race territory, the Holy Court had to investigate thoroughly for the sake of their reputation and due to public pressure.

And Wild Goose Formation True Monarch, as the master of that Dongshan City Lord, naturally couldn't escape involvement.

"Is Wild Goose Formation True Monarch a member of the Holy Court?"

"He used to be, but as his eight-thousand-year Lifespan was nearing its end and the matters in the Formation Strategy Hall of the Holy Court were trivial and tedious, he resigned his post and went into secluded cultivation to seek a Breakthrough."

In a flash of thought, Shen Moyan considered many things.

I see. No wonder there was a grand formation in Dongshan City that absorbed life and Lifespan; it must have been the handiwork of that Wild Goose Formation True Monarch. If he couldn't achieve a Breakthrough, he would absorb the Lifespan of all living beings to extend his own life.

Luring Wild Goose Formation True Monarch to Langya Prefecture, and then that prefect of Kongsang Prefecture... wait, there's a problem.

"Dongshan City is so remote. How did the news of the Inspector's gruesome death spread throughout the entire Langya Prefecture?" Shen Moyan was puzzled.

It took him a year just to fly to Kongsang Prefecture on his sword. Langya Prefecture was vast and sparsely populated; logically, the transmission of information should be limited.

Seeing Shen Moyan's puzzled face, Xu Mingxuan explained:

"It's normal for Junior Brother, who has just left the Sect, not to know the current situation of the Mountain and Sea."

"The death of a corrupt official of the Holy Court became known throughout the prefecture because of the Nine Songs Net."

"Nine Songs Net? That Nine Songs Wenchang Immortal Lord?" Shen Moyan realized.

In this world, the underlying logic was established by those big shots in the heavens.

"Exactly. Every Cultivator who joins the Holy Court has a soul lamp left in the local prefectures. And besides the soul lamp, a nine songs seal is branded on the back of the Cultivator's hand."

"This nine songs seal connects all Holy Court Cultivators across the Three Thousand Prefectures of the Mountain and Sea. If you rise to the height of the sun and look down upon the world with your Divine Sense, you will see the Nine Songs network composed of hundreds of millions of Cultivators."

Saying this, Xu Mingxuan held out the back of his hand. On it was a totem of nine Xuan Birds spiraling around each other, three of which were glowing with a faint golden light.

"This is the nine songs seal. As long as you join the Holy Court and then probe your Divine Sense into it, you can communicate with others across the ends of the earth and even open forums for exchange."

"If a Cultivator dies, the residual energy in the nine songs seal can project images from fifteen minutes before death and three days after death to the soul lamp."

"I don't know which Cultivator in the Holy Court posted the image of that dead corrupt Inspector on a forum on the Nine Songs Net and embellished the story, causing a massive uproar. The Holy Court authorities tried to ban the discussion, but they couldn't control it even if they wanted to."

A Holy Court Cultivator died while on a mission, was hung on the city gate, and was even ridiculed and cursed by a crowd of Mortals. How could the other Holy Court Cultivators watching this stand it?

As Xu Mingxuan spoke, Shen Moyan's gaze grew colder and colder.

It seemed that if he offended people from the Holy Court in the future, he would have to be prepared and weigh the consequences before killing them.

No wonder individual Sects couldn't develop. With the nine songs seal, this Holy Court had monopolized the path of all demonic Cultivators in the world who killed for treasure.

Anyone who crossed the Holy Court would be hunted to the ends of the earth unless they had an Immortal Lineage backing them.

"Senior Brother Xu, how did you enter the Holy Court? You didn't test into it, did you?" Shen Moyan recalled what Jiang Zhiqiu had said.

"Sigh, when I first left the Sect, because my mission was hindered by my identity, I didn't dare to show off too much, so I took the route of the City Examination and Prefecture Examination."

"But once I got into the system, I realized that as long as one has a Mortal Transformation cultivation, they can enter the Holy Court. Those three examination processes in the past weren't important at all; they were all just for show," Xu Mingxuan said earnestly, looking like someone who had taken a long detour.

"Junior Brother He, your disguise methods are truly not bad. If I didn't use divination, I wouldn't have been able to tell that this face of yours is a disguise. Perhaps even some crude illusions wouldn't be as good as your methods."

"You're still quite young. In my forty years as an undercover agent, you're the most talented Cultivator I've seen. Having you is truly the fortune of our sword Sect." Xu Mingxuan sized up Shen Moyan and nodded with great satisfaction.

"For my mission, I only need you to help me with one thing: take a post in the city for a month on my behalf. Afterwards, I will reward you handsomely."

With a young Genius like Shen Moyan, who was skilled in disguise, to help him, Xu Mingxuan's plan would be foolproof.

Shen Moyan simply agreed, and then confirmed again:

"One can enter the Holy Court with just the Mortal Transformation Realm? The exams are really just a formality?"

"Of course. Would I lie to you? Besides, I'll be your guarantor. What's wrong?"

Xu Mingxuan saw Shen Moyan's determined look, his eyes filled with a thirst for progress:

"Senior Brother, I want to take my talent to the Holy Court."

"In order for our 'missions' to proceed smoothly, please instruct me, Senior Brother."