"What are you looking at?" Qin Xi came in and saw Mo Tiange buried in the table, so he asked.
Mo Tiange didn't even raise her head. Her eyes were fixed on a piece of animal skin on the table. She answered, "Looking at a map."
She bought this map when she was in Yunzhong. The territories of the three big countries in Yunzhong were delineated on it, and there were detailed marks of the distribution of spirit veins and the stations of each major force. Even some islands in the inland sea, such as North Pole Island and One Leaf Island, were clearly drawn.
In addition, there were simple outlines of Yuanzhou, Xiaoyang, and other continents outside Yunzhong. Even the Celestial Pole in the north had a rough position. However, Yunzhong didn't understand the Celestial Pole at all, so the positions were quite different and the outlines were completely wrong.
But it didn't matter. What she was looking at wasn't the Celestial Pole.
She pointed at the map with her fingertips. Spiritual aura streaked across, and the same picture and text appeared in midair.
Looking at the map formed by spiritual aura, she pointed at the original Yuanzhou continent and moved it gently to the position of Sea of Returning Ruins.
"This is the current position of Yuanzhou."
She then erased Yunzhong, which was closely connected to Yuanzhou. "Yunzhong disappeared from its original position. The Celestial Pole and Xiaoyang might've also moved." Her finger fell on the Celestial Pole and didn't move for a long time.
She looked up with tired eyes. "Senior Martial Brother, can we really go back?"
"Of course."
Qin Xi answered without hesitation, "The Celestial Pole is far enough from here. Even if it changed its position, so what?
It might be farther away, but it might also be closer.
With the means of Nascent Soul cultivators, distance alone can't stop us. We've always considered the dangers of the South Sea.
Besides, we haven't tried the Transporting Formation Jing Xingzhi mentioned, so how do we know it's useless?
Maybe the Celestial Pole is closer to Yuanzhou, and that Transporting Formation can still be used. "
"… I hope so." Mo Tiange sighed and waved her hand, erasing the map formed by spiritual aura.
At that moment, a Summoning Talisman flew in from outside the door.
Qin Xi took it and flicked his finger. The Summoning Talisman burned by itself, and Elder Yan's voice came out. "Fellow Daoists, the trade fair has begun. Please come to the outer court."
He let go of the ashes and smiled. "Let's go. The Yuan State Commerce Alliance is well-informed and has a wide influence. We still need to borrow their strength."
"En." Mo Tiange put away her melancholy and put the map into her Qiankun Ring. The two of them went out together.
After inquiring about the news that day, Yan Feng very warmly invited the three of them to stay at the City Lord's Mansion. He also told them that even though they were not Yuan State cultivators, they could still become Immortal City's worshippers. Even if they were not willing to become Immortal City's worshippers, they could still receive missions from the merchant alliance in exchange for rewards.
Towards Nascent Soul cultivators, the Merchant Union was very courteous. Even if they didn't do anything, they could stay in the Mayor's Mansion's guest house without having to pay spirit stones.
This made the three of them truly feel that the Yuan State Merchant Alliance's unique style of doing things was just like what Yan Feng had said — making friends and making money amicably.
For the Merchant Union, it didn't cost too much to give the cultivators a little convenience, but if they roped in these high-level cultivators, they might be able to obtain a harvest that far exceeded their expectations.
When they left the small courtyard where they were temporarily staying, Yan Feng was already waiting for them, followed by Jing Xingzhi. Under Yan Feng's lead, the three of them went to the center of the City Lord's Mansion.
In Mo Tiange's eyes, the security of the City Lord's Mansion was very loose. Aside from a very powerful defensive formation outside, there were almost no other restrictions. Even the patrolling guards were very few.
However, when they arrived at the center of the City Lord's Mansion, in front of a simple small building, the three of them immediately felt a powerful spiritual aura pressure. This spiritual aura pressure was far beyond the level of a Nascent Soul cultivator. In front of it, the three of them couldn't smoothly mobilize the spiritual aura inside their bodies, and their primordial spirits were also suppressed.
Yan Feng saw their surprised expressions and said with a smile, "This building was left behind by a Deification senior in our Changling City before he passed away. It's also the most important place in our City Lord's Mansion."
"A Deification senior?" Jing Xingzhi was moved. "Changling City actually had a Deification senior?"
Yan Feng was still smiling, but there was a hint of pride on his face. "Yes, in the past tens of thousands of years, the only senior who clearly advanced to the Deification realm in our Yuan State came from Changling City."
"I see. I'm really sorry for not recognizing you."
This small building should be a spatial magic weapon, similar to a portable Immortal's Cave.
A portable Immortal's Cave like this was quite expensive, but it wasn't too rare. With the Yuan State's Merchant Union's financial resources, it could be built in any big immortal city.
The most precious thing about this small building was the spiritual aura pressure given by a Deification cultivator. With the existence of this spiritual aura pressure, the small building was absolutely safe.
Yan Feng made an inviting gesture and led the three of them into the small building.
The furnishings inside the building were simple, but it was far more spacious than it looked from the outside. A long table was placed in the center, and there were already more than ten Nascent Soul cultivators on both sides of the table.
Mo Tiange was a bit surprised. She didn't expect there to be so many Nascent Soul cultivators in Changling City. It was completely comparable to the number one cultivation group in Yunzhong, Jiuyan Sect.
Moreover, many Nascent Soul cultivators were in Closed Door Meditation all year round or traveling outside. It was absolutely impossible for all the Nascent Soul cultivators in Changling City to gather in one trade fair.
Based on this calculation, there were at least seventy or eighty Nascent Soul cultivators in Yuan State, which was not inferior to the Celestial Pole.
Although the Celestial Pole couldn't compare to Yunzhong, its spirit veins, land, and resources were much richer than Yuan State.
No wonder the cultivators of the Yuan Province were so protective of the cultivation system of the Yuan Province. If it weren't for their unique system, the Yuan Province wouldn't have such rich cultivation resources, and naturally, there wouldn't be so many Nascent Soul cultivators.
"Fellow Daoists." Yan Feng cupped his hands towards everyone. "These three are new Fellow Daoists in our Changling City. It's their first time participating in our trade fair."
Upon hearing Yan Feng's voice, all the Nascent Soul cultivators stood up to greet him.
Once again, the three of them felt the difference in Yuan State. Almost everyone was as amiable and smiling as Yan Feng, unlike other places where Nascent Soul cultivators were very arrogant even when they saw cultivators in the same realm as them.
After reporting their names, Yan Feng led the three of them to randomly find a place to sit.
After a while, a few more cultivators arrived one after another. In the end, a smiling female cultivator slowly walked into the building. When everyone saw her, they all stood up to greet her.
"This is the Lord of Changling City," Yan Feng said to the three of them.
Mo Tiange and the other two were a bit surprised.
This female cultivator was in the middle stage of the Nascent Soul realm. She only had a delicate and pretty face. Judging from her appearance, she looked amiable and kind. She wasn't as kind and friendly as Yuanjun Miaoying from Jingxu School, nor was she as skillful as Bixuan Court's Wei Haolan. She wasn't even as sophisticated as Madam Chisu from Tianyan Sect on North Pole Island. However, she had a calm and steady temperament, as steady as a mountain. Standing among the many male cultivators, she naturally had the temperament of a leader.
In the cultivation world, the higher one's cultivation level was, the more there was no distinction between men and women.
In the Aura Refining and Foundation Building realms, female cultivators usually had a slightly lower status. Things like being fancied by high level cultivators and having no choice but to give themselves to them happened from time to time, but this kind of thing basically wouldn't happen in the Core Formation realm.
Nevertheless, it was rare to see a female cultivator leading so many cultivators in the same realm as the Changling City's Lord.
That was because female cultivators who cultivated to a high level were mostly people with firm Dao Hearts, so they were rarely interested in matters of power.
The Lord of Changling City returned everyone's greetings. In the end, she smiled at Mo Tiange and the other two. "Fellow Daoists, you must be new Fellow Daoists in my Changling City, right?
I'm Fang Qingyu, the Lord of Changling City. Greetings. "
The three of them returned the greeting together. Jing Xingzhi said, "So it's Lord Fang. Nice to meet you."
Under this Lord Fang's bearing, even Jing Xingzhi, whose eyes were filled with peach blossoms whenever he saw female cultivators, restrained himself.
Fang Qingyu showed a faint smile. "Presumably, Elder Yan has already explained the customs of my Yuan Province. Fellow Daoists, please feel free to do as you please. There's no need to be restrained."
Once she finished speaking, she no longer looked at them. She walked to the host's seat and stood still. She said, "Fellow Daoists, before the trade fair starts, I have something to say."
She paused for a moment. Seeing that the hall was quiet and everyone was looking at her, she continued to speak: "Several months ago, a major event happened. This event was related to the survival of my Yuan Province — because of this, all the Nascent Empress elders of the Merchant Union have come out of their Closed Door Meditation."
Upon hearing what she said, a few gasps rang out in the hall.
The Nascent Empress elders of the Merchant Union hadn't appeared in front of people for a long time.
"Fellow Daoists, regardless of whether you're an elder of Changling City or not, whether you belong to the Merchant Union or not, as long as you've reached the Nascent Soul realm, you're the pillars of my Yuan Province. All of you are qualified to know about this." Fang Qingyu's gaze swept through the crowd and stopped on Mo Tiange's group of three, revealing a smile on her face.
Fang Qingyu withdrew her gaze and waved her hand. A map appeared out of thin air in front of everyone. Yuan Province, Yunzhong, Xiaoyang, and the Celestial Pole were all marked. It was much more detailed than the map Mo Tiange gave them.
"Everyone, please take a look. This is the original map. Our Yuan Province was originally in this position."
She pointed at the position of Yuan Province then moved her finger, dragging Yuan Province below Yunzhong to the position of the Sea of Returning Ruins. "This is our current position."
She then erased Yunzhong and looked at everyone. "Where did Yunzhong go? There's still no news from the Merchant Union. However, we found Xiaoyang."
Upon hearing this, everyone's spirit was shaken and they all stared at her.
Fang Qingyu, however, didn't look happy. She sighed, pointed at Xiaoyang's position, moved it slightly, and dragged it to the right. "Xiaoyang appeared in Yunzhong's position …"
Mo Tiange looked at the map. Xiaoyang was much smaller than Yunzhong, and it wasn't like Yuan Province, which had a wide continent. Instead, it was composed of three islands of different sizes.
These three islands were naturally much bigger than North Pole Island, but it was too far-fetched to call them continents. The original position of Yunzhong was empty, and it was surrounded by the sea.
Before the three of them realized anything, someone shouted, "Castellan, Xiaoyang is a devil cultivator who runs amuck. His methods are ruthless and overbearing. Now that he's our neighbor, we …"
"This is exactly what the Merchant Union is worried about."
Fang Qingyu looked worried, but her tone was still calm. "Without Yunzhong, how could our Yuan Province be called a trading continent?
Now that we've become neighbors with Xiaoyang, it's even more troublesome.
Besides … "She looked at Qin Xi." The Sea of Returning Ruins overlaps with the Sea of Returning Ruins. The Merchant Union already has accurate information that the sea beasts in the Sea of Returning Ruins haven't disappeared. They're now in the vicinity of Yuan Province. "
Upon hearing this news, the expressions of Mo Tiange and the other two slightly changed.
Yunzhong disappeared, so Yuan Province couldn't trade. Xiaoyang appeared as a great enemy, and there were also high-level sea beasts nearby. This was indeed a crisis related to the survival of Yuan Province.