Originally, Mo Tiange didn't intend to reveal her identity. She just wanted to use the gold, silver, and treasures of the secular world to let the fishermen here help her collect the dragon bones. She didn't expect this woman to be so astute and recognize her identity as a cultivator.
However, the fishermen here revered cultivators so much, which made things easier. While revering them, she could also entice them with benefits so that they would work more diligently.
Seeing this bag of gold beads, the woman's eyes widened.
They lived in such poverty that the most they'd seen was some broken silver, which was already a lot of wealth. As for gold, they could only occasionally see it in the nearby towns.
Mo Tiange coughed softly. "Sister-in-law, if you can give me all the bones, then all these gold beads will be yours."
This bag of gold beads was a gift from Ye Clan when she left. It was more convenient to have treasures when she traveled in the secular world, so Mo Tiange didn't stand on ceremony and accepted it. Right now, it was just right for these mortals to work for her.
The woman regained her composure. For a moment, she didn't know how to answer. She was both happy and nervous. "Fairy, are you telling the truth?" Right after she said that, she slapped her own mouth. "Of course I'm telling the truth. I was being too talkative.
But what kind of bones are you talking about?
Where are they? "
Mo Tiange smiled at Xiaobao. "Xiaobao, you know where they are, right?"
Xiaobao promptly nodded. "En, Fairy Sister was talking about the mountain." As he spoke, his eyes widened with curiosity. "Fairy Sister, are these bones?
Why are they different from the bones Father told me about? "
Mo Tiange smiled but didn't answer Xiaobao's question. She took out a bag from inside her robe, handed it to him, and said softly, "Xiaobao, take your mother to the mountain to collect bones. You can eat these fruits, okay?"
These were the remaining Bubble Fruits. They tasted very sweet and were good for coaxing children.
Xiaobao took a Bubble Fruit and took a bite. Sure enough, he was very happy. "It's delicious!"
Seeing that he was happy, Mo Tiange said to the woman, "Xiaobao knows where they are. You should go with him. The sooner you can collect them, the better. It's best if you call more people. Some bones are very big. You don't have to worry about others collecting them. Your family won't be able to collect them all. I'll reward you later."
"Yes, yes."
How could the madam dare to object? She hastily held her youngest son's hand then shouted, "An 'an, don't cook anymore! Go call your father back!" She then turned towards Mo Tiange with a flattering smile. "Fairy, please wait here. We'll go right away."
Mo Tiange nodded with a smile and watched as the family started to get busy.
Not long after, the man was called back by the girl.
When he heard what his wife said, he hastily came over and kowtowed to Mo Tiange.
Mo Tiange left the girl behind to talk to her and sent the husband and wife to pick up the dragon bones for her.
Knowing that Mo Tiange was a cultivator, the girl's attitude was respectful. She stood by the side and answered every question Mo Tiange asked.
This was a small fishing village by the East Sea. Other than some similar fishing villages nearby, there was only one big city called Waterfront City.
Behind Linhai Town was the cultivation group Bixuan Court.
This place was too remote and didn't even have a country, so Bixuan Court was the biggest force here.
The girl was still young and didn't know much.
Mo Tiange calculated in her mind and roughly understood her current location.
The Kunwu Mountain Range stretched across the southern part of the Celestial Pole all the way to the southeast. Demonic Mountain blocked the Devil Path path in the northeast.
Therefore, the southern part of the East Sea was Tiandao Sect's territory while the northern part was the Devil Path path's territory.
Based on Mo Tiange's speculation, they were probably in a small part of the sea in the north.
In other words, the Devil Path path was most likely to be on their west side.
Once she reached this conclusion, Mo Tiange felt a bit vexed.
This place was very likely to be a part of the sea next to the Devil Path path's Demonic Mountain, which was very dangerous. If they happened to run into the Devil Path path, they'd be in a lot of trouble.
It seemed the best way to leave this place was to find Bixuan Court. Since Bixuan Court was located here, they must have a safe way to communicate with the outside world.
Of course, the most important thing for her now was to pick up the dragon bones.
Although she didn't know what use the dragon bones from several million years ago had, the divine dragon's breath on them couldn't be faked, so they were definitely useful.
However, there were too many dragon bones. When the underground palace collapsed, many of them must've been washed away by the water.
Thinking up to this point, Mo Tiange felt it was quite a pity. If she could collect a whole set of dragon bones, it'd be more convenient for her to study them.
Now, she could only pick up as many as she could.
After asking the little girl, Mo Tiange learned that this family's surname was Shui. Their father was called Shui San, and their mother was called Shui San's Sister-in-law. She herself didn't have a name.
She was the only girl in the family. When she was born, the adults only called her Ah 'nan, and others only called her Shui Family's Nannan.
What kind of name was Ah 'nan?
There were dozens of families here, and most of their daughters were called Ah 'nan when they were born. It wasn't until they got married that they became Whose Family's Sister-in-law. When they got a bit older, they became Whose Family's Mother-in-law.
From birth to death, most girls didn't have a name.
Seeing the girl's secretly envious gaze, Mo Tiange felt it was quite a pity.
This pair of siblings was very smart. Although Ah 'nan was young, her speech was very logical and she knew to be wary of outsiders. Xiaobao was even smarter. It wasn't easy for a four- or five-year-old child to speak so fluently. Moreover, with his family's financial situation, he basically had no one to teach him since he was a child.
Once Mo Tiange praised him, Ah 'nan immediately stuck out her little chest proudly. "Xiaobao can already speak when he's just one year old. Everyone in our village says Xiaobao is like a star that descended from the sky. Father also said that when Xiaobao grows a bit older, he'll send him to the city to study. At that time, he'll find a job in the city and he'll be able to live like a city person."
"Oh?" Mo Tiange asked with a smile, "Why didn't he take the county-level exam?
Wouldn't he be able to become an official? "
Ah 'nan shook her head. "Father said we can't go out for the rest of our lives. There are monsters living in the west. If we go there, we'll be eaten."
Mo Tiange frowned inwardly when she heard what Ah 'nan said. Sure enough, the monsters she mentioned must be people from the Devil Path.
Ah 'nan continued to say, "Unfortunately, I wasn't chosen by Bixuan Court. It'd be great if I could enter Bixuan Court …"
Mo Tiange was rather astonished. She asked, "How does Bixuan Court choose its disciples?"
Ah 'nan answered, "Girls living near Linhai Town will go to Bixuan Court to have … have their spiritual roots checked when they're eight years old. If they pass, they can enter Bixuan Court. At that time, their whole family can enter the city and live like a city person."
As she spoke, Ah 'nan once again said proudly, "However, I also have spiritual roots. The aunt who receives me at Bixuan Court said my spiritual roots are a bit lacking, so I can't enter Bixuan Court. Nevertheless, she's already recorded my name, so if they're short on maids, they'll call me over."
"You also have spiritual roots?"
Mo Tiange was rather surprised. Among mortals, there weren't many people with spiritual roots, yet she happened to run into one.
"En." Ah 'nan nodded. Her face was slightly red. "The aunt who receives me said I have … five spiritual roots."
"Oh, I see." Mo Tiange nodded.
Five spiritual roots weren't considered rare. In her memory, Bixuan Court was a small cultivation group about the same size as Yunwu Sect. Now that she knew it was located on the Coast of the Eastern Sea, a small place sandwiched between the Devil Path and the Eastern Sea, it probably wouldn't be a problem for them to accept someone with five spiritual roots as a maid.
Unfortunately, although An 'nan's spiritual roots weren't obvious, she had a good temperament and was also smart.
In addition, since Bixuan Court's influence in this area was so big, it'd be better for her to collect all the dragon bones and leave as soon as possible to avoid news of this being leaked.
Divine dragon bones from a million years ago — not to mention a small cultivation group like Bixuan Court, even the seven great cultivation groups would be tempted by them.
After some thought, Mo Tiange changed the topic. "Right! You girls with spiritual roots can enter Bixuan Court, but what about boys?
Bixuan Court only accepts female disciples, right? "
Ah 'nan nodded. "En, so boys can only be accepted as outer disciples by Bixuan Court unless their spiritual roots are very good.
I heard from the aunt who receives them that male disciples can only be considered real Bixuan Court disciples after performing Dual Cultivation with a female disciple. "
Mo Tiange raised her eyebrows in astonishment. This Bixuan Court was really an anomaly. Not only was it built in such a strange place, but it also had such strange rules.
This place faced the Devil Path in the west, so mortals here couldn't leave this place their entire lives, so they could only enter Bixuan Court. Unfortunately, Bixuan Court was a cultivation group that only accepted women. Because of that, in Bixuan Court, the status of men was far inferior to that of women — this was an anomaly in the entire Celestial Pole.
Mo Tiange roughly understood the situation in the Eastern Sea from An 'nan. In the afternoon, the people who picked up the dragon bones came back one after another.
The Shui couple was indeed obedient. They mobilized the whole village to either carry or carry the dragon bones, and all the dragon bones were picked up.
The biggest one was a leg bone that required four or five people to carry.
Mo Tiange gave the golden bead to An 'nan. Whenever someone came with a dragon bone, she would give it to them. For a large leg bone like this one, she would give them a bit more.
After the villagers obtained the golden bead, they were still unsatisfied, so they once again agreed to go to the beach to search.
This search lasted until nightfall.
Mo Tiange wasn't in a hurry. She asked the fisherman's family for an empty house and waited for two more days until they couldn't find any more dragon bones.
Most of these dragon bones must've been washed away when the underground palace collapsed. She tried to piece them together, but she only managed to piece together a leg bone and some scattered bones.
However, it would be fine as long as she collected all the dragon bones here. If the people of Bixuan Court hadn't seen these dragon bones before, they wouldn't be suspicious even if they heard a strange cultivator was looking for some bones here.
The fishermen here were also very happy to obtain her golden bead, especially the Shui couple. Mo Tiange gave them some more golden leaves, so they worked even harder.
After collecting the dragon bones, Mo Tiange asked the Shui couple about some things about Bixuan Court then planned to leave.
Sure enough, the Shui couple said that aside from the sea, they had no other way to communicate with the outside world. However, they only had a small boat, so going to the sea was very dangerous.
Moreover, since ancient times, they'd never known where the sea led.
Mo Tiange then asked how the people of Bixuan Court left. The Shui couple didn't dare to talk nonsense, so they said that if she wanted to leave, she could go to Linhai Town and ask around; Bixuan Court had a shop there.
Mo Tiange was quite flabbergasted. Bixuan Court was the only cultivation group here, so why would they open a shop?
After the Shui couple's explanation, she learned that although there was only one cultivation group here, there were many individual cultivators, especially male cultivators with low aptitudes. Since Bixuan Court didn't accept them as disciples, they could only ponder the cultivation path on their own. After a long time, many small cultivation clans and individual cultivators appeared here.
After staying in this fishing village for several days and dealing with the dragon bones, Mo Tiange decided to take a trip to Linhai Town.
If she wanted to return to Kunwu, asking Bixuan Court for help was the most convenient way.