Entering the Tianlu Sacred Land proved far easier than Mo Fan had imagined.
Along the way, following Liu Zhengde, he witnessed a version of the man utterly different from the one who had slain his own disciple earlier.
If Liu Zhengde’s first impression on Mo Fan had been that of a cold-blooded extremist, now he appeared as a genial old fellow who befriended cultivators from all over.
Before even entering the Tianlu Sacred Land, whenever they encountered cultivators, almost all recognised Liu Zhengde. They would instinctively stop to greet him.
After entering the sacred land, disciples who saw Liu Zhengde would respectfully call out, “Greetings, Elder Liu!”
As the “genial old fellow”, Liu Zhengde would naturally respond in kind. He would even inquire about their recent cultivation progress and whether they had any questions. If they did, he would sometimes explain on the spot.
The disciples who received his guidance would remain excited for quite a while.
“No wonder this fellow has managed to hide in the Tianlu Sacred Land for hundreds of years. In the eyes of many cultivators here, he probably embodies justice and kindness.”
Mo Fan followed along, watching Liu Zhengde’s smiling face, and could not help sighing inwardly.
It was no surprise that no one had questioned them on the way.
In truth, even if someone did question them, it would not matter. His current identity was precisely that of Liu Zhengde’s disciple, Zheng Dao!
Not only did he have Zheng Dao’s appearance, but he also possessed the identity token and everything else. Unless he encountered a Nascent Soul old monster who carefully scanned him with divine sense, Mo Fan’s identity would not be exposed.
“Senior Brother Zheng, you are back?”
At that moment, a young girl in a green dress flew over from afar, looking excitedly at Zheng Dao.
Mo Fan saw the girl and frowned slightly.
It was not that the girl was particularly ugly. In fact, the opposite was true. Her looks were above average.
She was tall, and even her green dress could not hide her long, straight legs. She also had bright, dark eyes that seemed to shine when she looked at Mo Fan. When she smiled, two shallow dimples appeared on her face.
Yet it was precisely this girl, brimming with youthful vitality, that made Mo Fan think inwardly, “Trouble.”
After all, he was wearing Zheng Dao’s skin, not truly being Zheng Dao. He lacked the other’s memories, so what he feared most were these so-called “acquaintances”.
Although he did not recognise her, seeing her beaming smile, she was undoubtedly familiar with Zheng Dao. Mo Fan could not act cold and distant, so he nodded and smiled at her.
Seeing Mo Fan nod, the girl’s smile grew even wider. She bowed respectfully to Liu Zhengde beside him and said, “Qianqian pays respects to Uncle-Master Liu!”
“You little girl, instead of cultivating properly, you wander around all day. Are you not afraid your grandfather will spank you?”
Liu Zhengde frowned slightly, pretending to be stern.
“Uncle-Master Liu, do not speak nonsense. I just broke through to the Core Formation stage a few days ago!”
The girl spoke proudly, then smiled at the two and said, “I heard you were back, so I came specially to share the good news with Senior Brother Zheng!”
“Is that so?”
“What a coincidence. Your Senior Brother Zheng has also just broken through to the Core Formation stage. However, he has no time to chat right now. He needs to return and consolidate his foundation properly.”
Liu Zhengde said with a beaming smile.
“Ah?”
“Senior Brother also broke through?”
The girl was surprised, then looked at Mo Fan with delight and congratulated him, “Congratulations, Senior Brother Zheng, on breaking through to the Core Formation stage. From now on, you are truly a great cultivator!”
“I congratulate you as well!”
Mo Fan smiled at the girl, then said apologetically, “Junior Sister, I have only just broken through to Core Formation and have not yet properly consolidated it, so I cannot talk more with you.”
“It does not matter. Cultivation comes first!”
The girl shook her head with a smile, then encouraged Mo Fan, “Senior Brother Zheng, you must work hard! There is only half a year until the sect’s grand competition. By then, perhaps Senior Brother can rank among the core disciples!”
Sect grand competition?
A glint flashed in Mo Fan’s eyes upon hearing this. He then nodded.
Soon, he bid farewell to the girl and, under Liu Zhengde’s guidance, passed through continuous mountain ranges, finally arriving at a serene location.
Only upon reaching the Tianlu Sacred Land did Mo Fan understand just how vast a so-called sacred land truly was.
The entire Tianlu Sacred Land was no longer measured by mountains as its sect, but by regions!
The whole sect encompassed several mountain ranges!
Although each individual range was not as large as the Demon Spirit Mountain Range, together they were many times larger. Rivers crisscrossed, and perilous peaks abounded.
However, when entering the heart of the Tianlu Sacred Land, he still sensed a vast divine sense sweep over him, making him extremely cautious.
From that divine sense alone, he could tell that the person using it likely had cultivation no lower than mid-Nascent Soul, perhaps even higher!
Fortunately, the divine sense came quickly and left just as fast, detecting no anomalies. This allowed Mo Fan to breathe a sigh of relief.
Liu Zhengde resided in a place lush with bamboo forests, a pavilion courtyard built from bamboo.
The courtyard was filled with green plants and flower clusters, while a small stream flowed not far outside.
Upon arriving here, Mo Fan could not help taking a deep breath, feeling as if the air itself had become fresher.
“I have to admit, this fellow knows how to enjoy life!”
Mo Fan muttered inwardly. Just as he prepared to ask Liu Zhengde some questions, the latter spoke first, “That girl earlier is named Lu Qianqian, granddaughter of core elder Lu Feng. In the past, she was quite fond of Zheng Dao. So if you do not want your identity exposed, keep your distance from her.
Additionally, within my courtyard, you need not have any reservations. Everything within ten li belongs to my territory. As long as you do not cause fatalities, those old monsters above will not interfere.
I do not know why you have come, but I must warn you: do not engage in suicidal actions, or even I cannot save you!”
After speaking, Liu Zhengde tossed a jade slip to Mo Fan and said indifferently, “This records some of the sect’s rules. Study them well!”
Mo Fan caught the jade slip and uttered a “Thank you”.
In fact, even without this jade slip from Liu Zhengde, he knew some of the Tianlu Sacred Land’s rules and would naturally avoid breaking them lightly.
“By the way, regarding the sect grand competition that girl mentioned, you can participate when the time comes. If you have the chance to enter the ranks of core disciples, it should help with your objectives!”
Liu Zhengde mentioned casually, then turned and entered the bamboo pavilion, leaving one last sentence, “You may reside in any of the bamboo buildings in this courtyard!
However, I dislike being disturbed during cultivation!”
“I understand.”
Mo Fan nodded, then began to ponder.
Without doubt, this sect grand competition was an important path for his rapid advancement!
To obtain the complete “Tianlu Derived Spirit Technique”, he needed to become a personal disciple. Although his current identity was Liu Zhengde’s disciple, he was merely an inner sect disciple.
After determining his next steps, Mo Fan began cultivating seriously.
However, achieving a breakthrough in a short time was unrealistic, so he planned to cultivate another technique: the “Heavenly Demon Thousand Illusion Seeds” that Jiang Wu had once practised!
The Heavenly Demon Thousand Illusion Seeds had low requirements for spiritual roots, needing no specific type. Its cultivation method was not particularly complex, but it possessed an extremely terrifying practice approach: using people as seeds.
As long as enough “seeds” were planted, and they were outstanding enough, when the time came to harvest them, greater power could be gained!
Back then, Jiang Wu’s rapid rise had been closely tied to this technique.
Half a year was far too short for Mo Fan’s Water Moon avatar. Naturally, he could not cultivate step by step in the ordinary way, so the Heavenly Demon Thousand Illusion Seeds became an excellent choice.
