Chapter 337: Spiritual Consciousness Contest

Random Recommendation: Ning Zhuo raised his head, gazing at the Mist Concealment Mountain towering between heaven and earth, then looked at Sun Lingtong, seeing the latter's indifferent attitude. He nodded to the village patrol: "Then we shall trouble you."

Although he possessed the battle prowess of a Golden Core level cultivator, the matter of the Lava Immortal Palace had not passed too long, and the various lessons it had taught him were vivid in his memory. Ning Zhuo was inherently cautious. Since others said the mountain was dangerous at night, he would simply follow their advice. What harm was there in spending a night in the mountain village?

"Esteemed guests, this way please." The patrol man smiled and led the way. Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong followed him into the village.

Not long after, they met the village elder. The village elder arranged two guest rooms in the center of the mountain village for the two. Ning Zhuo took out twenty spirit stones as lodging fees and invited the village elder for a night tea and talk about the Mist Concealment Mountain. The village elder naturally accepted. This was only proper. The patrol man earlier had changed his mind and invited Sun and Ning to stay in the village after seeing Ning Zhuo voluntarily give him a spirit stone as payment for directions.

"Two esteemed guests, this is the Mist Concealment Tea, unique to Mist Concealment Mountain. Although it cannot compare with famous teas, it has its own characteristics," the village elder offered. Ning Zhuo picked up the teacup and saw that the tea leaves were dark green, but the surface had a layer of grayish-white fuzz. A wisp of mist rose from the surface of the tea water, coiling gracefully.

Upon entering the mouth, the tea first tasted bitter, like the dense mountain mist缠绕 (chánrào - twining) on the tip of the tongue. But this bitterness was fleeting, leaving behind a long-lasting sweetness, as if the tranquility and freshness of the mountain peaks after the mist had dissipated. "It has its own style, not bad," Ning Zhuo praised lightly.

On the other hand, Sun Lingtong did not touch the tea. Firstly, he had never had any elegant interest in drinking tea; for him, tea only served to quench thirst. Secondly, since Ning Zhuo drank it, he would not. After all, they were traveling outside. This was one of the small tacit understandings between him and Ning Zhuo.

The three talked while drinking tea. Sun and Ning gradually gained a rough understanding of the Mist Concealment Mountain Village. This village had about three hundred households, totaling about fifteen hundred people. The highest cultivation in the village was at the Foundation Establishment stage, held by the current village chief, who was in the late Foundation Establishment stage. There were six village elders, all of whom had Foundation Establishment cultivation at their peak. A few individuals had suffered serious injuries, and in their later years, their cultivation had fallen to the Qi Refinement stage. But with their seniority and contributions, the villagers respected them.

When the village chief was mentioned, Sun Lingtong asked where he was. By rights, Sun and Ning were Foundation Establishment cultivators, and such a cultivation level was sufficient for the village chief to personally welcome them. But until now, the village chief had not appeared. The village elder then told them that the village chief had organized a group of people to deliver grain.

It turned out that eight hundred *li* (an ancient Chinese unit of distance, roughly 0.5 km) away from Mist Concealment Mountain, there was a Jade Steel Mountain. This mountain was rich in jade-like profound steel, and the Southern Dou Kingdom had set up a mine here, heavily guarded. Over time, a mountain town developed. In recent years, the population in the mountain town had increased, but Jade Steel Mountain itself was barren and unable to sustain itself. The Southern Dou Kingdom officials then issued an order for the surrounding mountain villages to provide people and supplies, allocating surplus resources to be constantly sent to the town on Jade Steel Mountain. The mountain villages were willing to do so. This was because the supplies sent to Jade Steel Town could be exchanged for a large amount of money and goods there. It wasn't a huge profit, but a small profit, and it also met the needs of the mountain village's own development, making it a win-win situation.

As night deepened, Ning Zhuo voluntarily ended the tea talk. After the village elder bid farewell, he and Sun Lingtong both became invisible and climbed over walls to explore the village at night. There were also patrol personnel near his residence. But how could these mountain villagers detect Sun and Ning? Sun Lingtong was from the Boundless Sect, most skilled in stealth. Ning Zhuo possessed the Cloud Concealment Bud, a rare and exotic plant that could even deceive Golden Core cultivators, so it was naturally effortless to deceive these patrol villagers.

Sun Lingtong and Ning Zhuo leaped lightly across the rooftops of the village houses, shoulder to shoulder. A cool night breeze blew against their faces. Sun Lingtong transmitted a message: "Hehehe, refreshing! Xiao Zhuo, this is the taste of freedom!" He had long been tired of staying in the Lava Immortal Palace. If it weren't for his concern for his master in the early stages and his concern for Ning Zhuo later, he would have left long ago according to his personality and wandered the jianghu.

Ning Zhuo also had a smile on his face. He had been born in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, and for fourteen years, he had been racking his brains, plotting to obtain the Lava Immortal Palace. At this moment, the matter of the Immortal Palace had temporarily concluded, and he had also temporarily put down the huge stone in his heart and the heavy burden on his shoulders. In the light breeze of the night, he moved freely, feeling quite happy.

The two found a high vantage point and stopped instantly. Sun Lingtong transmitted a message: "Xiao Zhuo, let's have a little competition. How about probing with our divine sense? I won't take advantage of you; I'll suppress my cultivation to the early Foundation Establishment stage."

Ning Zhuo: "Boss, since you have such a refined interest, I, your younger brother, naturally won't dampen your spirits."

"Hehehe," Sun Lingtong chuckled a few times and immediately sent out his divine sense. Ten *zhang*, thirty *zhang*, sixty *zhang*... His divine sense expanded to two hundred sixty *zhang* before stopping. His divine sense covered more than half of the village. After quietly侦查 (zhēnchá - investigating) for a moment, he immediately retracted his divine sense.

The speed at which he retracted his divine sense was astonishingly fast, taking only three breaths to fully withdraw it. More importantly, the entire process of sending out and retracting his divine sense was completely free of any outward aura, perfectly concealed. Even though Ning Zhuo was right next to Sun Lingtong, he could not feel any fluctuations at all.

It was Ning Zhuo's turn. He slowly sent out his divine sense. Ten *zhang*, twenty *zhang*, forty *zhang*... His divine sense expanded to one hundred eighty *zhang* and could go no further, so he had to stop. His divine sense covered a little over half of the mountain village.

Many villagers were not guarded and completely unaware, allowing Ning Zhuo to see the various furnishings in their houses and the villagers' activities at night. He discovered that many villagers' homes worshipped the mountain god. Eighty percent of the mountain god's tablets, portraits, or small shrines were of the Fox God. Only twenty percent had the Tiger God. And among these twenty percent, most also had the Fox God. In other words, the Tiger God, as a rightful god, was merely an addition.

Ning Zhuo carefully and cautiously retracted his divine sense. He sent out his divine sense several times slower than Sun Lingtong, and when retracting it, he was even slower, dozens of times slower than Sun Lingtong. Sun Lingtong had been observing Ning Zhuo's performance and at this moment, he frowned slightly.

"Xiao Zhuo, although our cultivation levels are different, how is it that after cultivating the Sea of Divinity Dantian with the Upper Three Sects' method, your divine sense range is only one hundred eighty *zhang*?"

"You're not holding back in front of me, are you?"

Ning Zhuo immediately shook his head: "Boss, this is my full power."

Sun Lingtong was puzzled: "That shouldn't be. One hundred fifty *zhang* is the average level for Foundation Establishment cultivators. The Mirror Platform Spirit Tonguing Art only has one hundred eighty *zhang*? That doesn't make sense."

Ning Zhuo smiled slightly and offered an explanation: "Boss, you don't know about this. The advantage of the Mirror Platform Spirit Tonguing Art needs to be paired with external objects to be apparent."

"According to the content of the bell sound transmission of dharma, I need to refine sub-mirrors. Each sub-mirror can project my divine sense further. The material and grade of the sub-mirror are different, and the projection effect is also different."

"If I really have enough sub-mirrors, I can cover the entire Mist Concealment Mountain. However, the divine sense after multiple projections from the sub-mirrors is very weak, and the perception will also become very blurry."

Sun Lingtong's brows relaxed: "So that's how it is." Only then did he feel at ease. During the previous competition, he had only intended to use it as an excuse to help Ning Zhuo better grasp divine sense. After all, Ning Zhuo had only recently advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage, while he, Sun Lingtong, was already at the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Qi Refinement cultivators possess spiritual sense, but relying solely on themselves, they cannot project their spiritual sense outside their bodies for reconnaissance. Even when reading jade slips, they have to place the jade slip against their forehead. However, at the Foundation Establishment stage, spiritual sense can condense and sublimate to form divine sense. Divine sense can leave the body for reconnaissance, generally within a range of one hundred fifty *zhang* in the early Foundation Establishment stage.

Cultivators who specialize in cultivating the Upper Dantian of the Sea of Divinity will have a divine sense distance exceeding one hundred fifty *zhang* by the time they reach the Foundation Establishment stage. The more excellent the cultivation method, the further the distance will exceed. Sun Lingtong suppressed his cultivation to the early Foundation Establishment stage, and his divine sense distance reached two hundred sixty *zhang*. The Mirror Platform Spirit Tonguing Art originated from the Upper Three Sects' Masters, and yet it only had one hundred eighty *zhang*, a number far lower than Sun Lingtong's expectation.

After Ning Zhuo's explanation, he felt relieved. The Mirror Platform Spirit Tonguing Art is different from other cultivation methods and requires pairing with external objects to truly unleash its advantages. The cultivation world has developed to this day, producing countless wondrous cultivation methods. Some cultivation methods can make divine sense ethereal and illusory, some can make divine sense extremely keen, and some even develop divine sense to be used as an offensive means.

The Mirror Platform Spirit Tonguing Art requiring divine sense to be paired with external objects is a bit peculiar, but it also aligns with the purpose of the Upper Three Sects' Masters – after all, it is an inheritance of mechanisms. Utilizing external objects is the characteristic of the Upper Three Sects' methods.

After reconnaissance, the two quietly returned to their guest rooms. None of the villagers noticed. Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong lay on their respective beds, using spiritual sense to penetrate the walls and transmit messages to each other, secretly exchanging information about their findings.

When they discussed the number of Tiger God and Fox God tablets, Sun Lingtong speculated: "Both the Tiger God and the Fox God have been canonized as rightful gods by the Southern Dou Kingdom, enjoying the incense offerings, which can greatly increase their own strength."

"However, the Tiger God seems to be too weak. Letting the Fox God extensively collect incense offerings while He remains indifferent is unreasonable."

"Could it be that He has been marginalized by the Fox God?"

The current cultivation world is governed by both humans and gods. The human race is the main body, and gods are scattered throughout the world. After a cultivation kingdom is established, it often fells mountains and destroys temples within its borders to suppress various gods. Some gods are unyielding and are often killed and disintegrated, while others surrender and are canonized as rightful gods, receiving stipends and being directed by the cultivation court.

A cultivation kingdom itself needs these gods very much to enhance its ruling power. Compared to the human race, various gods often have simple minds, can endure extreme environments, and can use divine power to move clouds and rain, and divert water to open mountains. And after gods join the cultivation kingdom, they can widely absorb incense, exchange with the outside world, and even use the kingdom's luck for cultivation. This is a relationship of mutual need, cooperation, and win-win.

(End of Chapter)