The other party actually wanted to ask about his age, because in the cultivation world, one's appearance can be very deceptive. Mo Qi smiled and politely said, "I'm already in my twenties." He deliberately put emphasis on the word "tens," making the fat man think he was probably twenty-eight or twenty-nine.
Indeed, the envy on the fat man's face diminished significantly. When he first saw Mo Qi's youthful face, he was startled. This child was already so powerful at fifteen or sixteen; he was definitely a cultivation prodigy.
"May I ask what your name is, fellow cultivator?" Mo Qi asked.
"My name is Sima Qizhi. What about you, brother?"
Mo Qi chuckled. Were all people surnamed Sima this fat? Seeing the other person staring at him intently, he suddenly realized the question was directed at him and quickly replied, "My name is Mo Qi."
"You think us disciples are being sent as cannon fodder?" Sima Qizhi suddenly lowered his voice and said.
Mo Qi was startled and glanced at him, "Why do you say that?"
"Think about it. We're going on a diplomatic mission. If there's a fight, there are elders. If it's about talking, there's Wan Beifeng. What are we going for? Aren't we just cannon fodder?" Sima Qizhi said.
Mo Qi was speechless. After thinking for a moment, he said, "If we go on this trip and achieve merit without doing anything, isn't that a good thing?"
"Heh heh, you certainly know how to think," Sima Qizhi laughed. "I was a thousand percent unwilling to undertake this mission. Hearing you say that, I suddenly find it interesting."
"Then if you were unwilling, why did you come?" Mo Qi asked, puzzled.
"Before, they didn't say what the mission was, did they? Didn't you just find out the mission details?" Sima Qizhi said.
"I just found out the mission details, but I knew from the start it wasn't a good assignment," Mo Qi said, as if to himself, or perhaps answering Sima Qizhi's question. "If it were a good assignment, it wouldn't have fallen to me."
Sima Qizhi smiled, "Weren't you just comforting me? Why do you seem so disappointed yourself?"
Mo Qi sighed, "I'm making a fortune every day. Do you know how many spirit stones I lose if I don't refine pills for a day?"
Sima Qizhi's eyes darted, and his eyes shone brightly, "Could it be that you are the proprietor of the renowned Mo's Pill Shop? I thought it was just a coincidence of names earlier, but it really is you."
Mo Qi was also surprised, "You know me? Am I that famous?"
"You don't know yourself? Now, throughout the Northern Territory, your pills are sold in every corner. Other pills have almost no sales. Even if your pills are tens or even hundreds of times more expensive than others, they are still extremely popular and are snatched up as soon as they are put on the shelves," Sima Qizhi said in surprise.
When others heard his exclamation, they all cast envious glances at Mo Qi.
As for Lei Bo, his eyes held even more contempt, because he had gone through rounds of bloody battles to obtain this mission, while Mo Qi, without doing anything, had directly qualified to execute it. This was truly unfair.
Sima Qizhi said a little sheepishly, "Do you happen to have any Longevity Pills on you? Could I get a discount if I buy it from you directly? The prices at the pill shop are really too expensive, I can't afford it."
Mo Qi took a pill from his storage bag and handed it to Sima Qizhi, saying generously, "Consider it a gift. No need to pay."
Sima Qizhi eagerly took it, his face beaming, "How embarrassing, thank you."
The others also swallowed and turned their gazes to Mo Qi.
Mo Qi chuckled, "Everyone gets one. I have Spirit Power Pills, Healing Pills, Longevity Pills, Stimulant Pills, Sleepy Pills, Healing Pills... Just tell me what you want, and I'll give it to you. One per person."
"Give me a Spirit Power Pill," Elder Qian said. Mo Qi immediately gave him one.
The others responded one after another, "I want a Stimulant Pill."
"I want an Aphrodisiac Pill."
...
Mo Qi distributed them one by one, and even Lei Bo received a Spirit Power Pill.
At this moment, Lei Bo's gaze towards Mo Qi was no longer filled with contempt, but with admiration.
The atmosphere among the group also improved considerably. They chatted and laughed, no longer as listless as before.
Wan Beifeng's mood also seemed to have improved, and he was no longer as stern. During their casual conversation, he revealed the identities of the three undercover agents: Ling Feiyan of the Taihe Sect, Shen Lianyun of the Zhonghe Sect, and Kan Qinglei of the Zhenghe Sect. In any case, it was no longer a secret, and it was necessary to know the targets of the mission.
Upon reaching the teleportation point, Wan Beifeng briefly explained the precautions during the teleportation process, then formed hand seals to activate the teleportation array, and everyone stepped in one by one.
In an instant, a white light shot upwards, enveloping the bodies of the group and disappearing.
A moment later, the group landed dizzily on a piece of land. Behind them was a vast ocean, with surging waves constantly crashing against the shore. Ahead lay an endless grassland, with lush green grass exuding a fresh scent.
"This is Pengqu Island. The exit of this teleportation array was deliberately set in this desolate place, for fear of being discovered and sabotaged," Wan Beifeng said.
"This teleportation array can travel so far and break through so many restrictions and barriers. It's no ordinary teleportation array," Elder Lin of the Baohe Sect said.
Wan Beifeng glanced at him but said nothing.
"We still have to fly for a while longer, and then walk for a while, before we reach the Divine Dragon Gate," Wan Beifeng said after a moment. He then took the lead, guiding the group at high speed through the air.
"Won't we be discovered by the cultivators on Pengqu Island if we openly use the flying technique like this?" Elder Jiang asked doubtfully.
"Therefore, after we pass this grassland area, we will descend and walk. However, we will still use our spiritual power to accelerate our walking, as there is still a long way to go," Wan Beifeng said.
A moment later, after passing the grassland area and entering the rolling mountains, the group descended from the clouds with Wan Beifeng and entered a mountain hollow. Wan Beifeng said, "Wait for me here. I'll go up and take a look." With that, his figure flickered, and he darted towards a mountain peak.
What was he going to look at? Everyone was bewildered. They all looked up. They saw that the four surrounding mountain peaks suddenly teemed with people, emerging like bamboo shoots after rain. Before the group could react, thousands of divine abilities and spells rained down, and countless rays of light instantly filled the entire space, like a river bursting its banks, or stars pouring down to earth.
At that moment, those below had no time to resist, or were simply powerless to resist. There were only wide, fearful eyes, unyielding souls, and a hatred for betrayers that would last for generations!
The sounds of rumbling continued unabated in the mountain hollow. Divine lights exploded continuously. In the midst of the billowing smoke and dust, it was like the eyes of a demon suddenly opening and emitting a fiery red, then closing, and opening again to emit fiery red. The scorching heat instantly turned the wild trees to ashes. The rocks were scorched to a glowing heat. The immense tremors caused the valley to shake incessantly.
After a long, long time, the assault of spells and divine abilities ceased, and a calm descended. The smoke and dust took a long time to dissipate, and the mountain hollow had become a flat expanse. Everything had turned to ash, including the people within.
Wan Beifeng emerged from the crowd and peered down, revealing a sinister smile, "Wu Cunxin, you are quite ruthless. Under this indiscriminate attack, even a Great Luo Golden Immortal would find it hard to survive."
A bald, burly man beside him laughed heartily, "Wan Beifeng, you are the truly ruthless one. You actually led your fellow disciples into a trap for us to annihilate them. You are truly ruthless!"
Wan Beifeng snorted coldly, "They are not my fellow disciples. They are just a few pigs. Unfortunately, it's their fate. Their mission was to go and contact the Divine Dragon Gate. Once the Divine Dragon Gate formed good relations with the Southern Continent, and set a precedent, other sects would follow suit. There would be no large-scale wars between the Hongmeng South Sea and the Southern Continent cultivation world, and a peaceful situation is not what I wish to see."
Wu Cunxin smiled, "You are right. That situation is also not what we, the Divine Crow Sect, wish to see. Thus, it is fate that we can join forces despite being thousands of miles apart!"
Wan Beifeng glanced at the valley below again, his expression grave, and said to Wu Cunxin, "Are you sure no one survived down there? Some of them were already at the Soul Transformation stage."
Wu Cunxin smiled, "Don't worry. Under the attack of my Myriad Gods Annihilation Array, let alone the Soul Transformation stage, even cultivators at the Mahayana stage would find it difficult to escape death. Those disciples with lower cultivation levels have probably already had their souls scattered. What you should be concerned about is how you will report back to your sect."
Wan Beifeng chuckled, "You don't need to worry about that. Our mission team encountered an ambush, and it's normal for me to break through alone." His tone suddenly shifted, "However, after I leave, you must destroy the barrier to show that you pursued me but failed. That way, I can have a plausible explanation."
"Of course. If that barrier remains, we won't be safe here either. The Southern Continent might come through the teleportation array at any time to sneak attack us. I would want to destroy it even if you didn't say so," Wu Cunxin said.
"Since that's the case, let's go there now," Wan Beifeng said, and with that, he transformed into a streak of green light and departed.
Wu Cunxin instructed over a dozen of his disciples to follow him to the barrier, while the remaining disciples returned to the sect.
Everything returned to calm, and the smoke and dust in the valley subsided, as if nothing had happened.
In the Lingxiao Sect, Wu Fan was drinking tea alone in his room, his brows furrowed, his gaze deep, as if lost in thought.
At this moment, Ren Kui walked in without any announcement and went directly to Wu Fan. He glanced at Wu Fan and said hesitantly, "I've inquired thoroughly, and it is indeed true. He was assigned by the Zhenghe Sect to the Hongmeng South Sea for a mission in the Qionglu Realm. In the end, only the leader of the Qionglu Realm returned, and the rest..."
With a crash, the teacup in Wu Fan's hand fell, and the tea spilled all over the floor.
Xiao Gu Mountain was the habitat of many rogue cultivators on Pengqu Island. This mountain was adjacent to the sea, and the sound of tides could be heard from any location within the mountain. There were many caves in the mountain. Rogue cultivators gathered from various places, each occupying a cave for cultivation. Over time, they formed a force. Occasionally engaging in robbery and petty theft, they were called bandit cultivators by orthodox cultivators. Their leader was named Ma Wei, a Nascent Soul cultivator who was over fifty years old, but looked like a young man.
One day, Ma Wei was drinking and eating meat with his second-in-command, third-in-command, and fourth-in-command in a cave, chatting about life and enjoying themselves.
Just then, a small minion rushed in in a panic, scrambling and rolling. As soon as he entered, he fell to the ground, blood flowing everywhere. The second-in-command hurried forward to check his breathing and said calmly, "It's Chen Er. He's dead."
Ma Wei slammed his bowl down and said angrily, "What bad luck! I can't even enjoy my drink. Drag him out, beat him... and throw him away."
Immediately, two small minions responded and came forward to carry Chen Er's body out. The second-in-command called out softly, "Wait a moment." He stopped the two men and then turned to Ma Wei, "Boss, Chen Er must have wanted to report something to us, but he died before he could speak. This matter must be investigated thoroughly."
Ma Wei nodded, "What do you suggest?"
The second-in-command, Xiao Zhen, turned to the two minions, "Do you know where Chen Er went? Who did he contact?"
One of them shook his head. The other minion said, "I don't know who he contacted, but I only know that he went to the Northern Mountain and returned from the direction of the Northern Mountain."
Xiao Zhen looked at Ma Wei again. Ma Wei waved his hand, "Let's go and see what's on the Northern Mountain."
The group sped off towards the Northern Mountain. Turning a mountain corner, they saw several bodies lying haphazardly on the ground, with a body every so often. The impression was that they were all like Chen Er, injured and trying to escape or go for reinforcements, only to die on the way.