: Divine Sense Contest

Ning Zhuo looked up at Misty Mountain towering between heaven and earth, then glanced at Sun Lingtong. Seeing the latter's indifferent attitude, he nodded to the village patrolman: "Then we'll trouble you."

Although he possessed combat power at the Golden Core level, the incident at the Molten Immortal Palace hadn't passed too long ago, and the various lessons it taught him remained vivid in his mind.

Ning Zhuo was inherently cautious.

Since others mentioned the dangers of the mountain at night, he would follow the good advice. What harm was there in spending one night in the mountain village?

"Esteemed guests, this way please." The patrolling man smiled and proactively led the way.

Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong followed him into the village.

Soon, they met the village elder.

The elder arranged for them to stay in two guest rooms in the center of the village. Ning Zhuo took out twenty spirit stones as payment and invited the elder to have tea that evening to discuss matters related to Misty Mountain.

The elder accepted them quite naturally.

This was to be expected.

Previously, the patrolling man had only changed his mind and invited Ning and Sun to stay in the village after Ning Zhuo proactively gave him a spirit stone as thanks for directions.

"Esteemed guests, this is Misty Tea, unique to Misty Mountain. Though it can't compare to famous teas, it has its own distinct characteristics." The elder proactively served them.

Ning Zhuo lifted the teacup and saw the dark green tea leaves covered with a layer of gray-white fuzz.

A mist rose from the surface of the tea, curling gracefully.

Upon tasting, the tea was first bitter and astringent, clinging to the tip of the tongue like the thick mountain fog, but this bitterness vanished in an instant, leaving behind a long-lasting sweet aftertaste, reminiscent of the tranquility and freshness of the mountains after the fog disperses.

"Unique and quite good," Ning Zhuo praised lightly.

On the other hand, Sun Lingtong didn't touch his tea.

For one, he never had much refined interest in tea drinking; for him, tea only served to quench thirst.

Secondly, since Ning Zhuo drank, he wouldn't. After all, they were traveling outside. This was one of the small understandings between him and Ning Zhuo.

The three chatted while drinking tea.

The two gradually gained a rough understanding of Misty Mountain Village.

The village had about three hundred households, roughly fifteen hundred people. The highest cultivation level in the village was the Foundation Establishment stage, held by the current village chief, who was at late Foundation Establishment. There were six village elders, all at their peak had Foundation Establishment cultivation. Some had been severely injured, and in their later years, their cultivation fell to the Qi Refining stage. But based on seniority and merit, the villagers still respected them.

When the village chief was mentioned, Sun Lingtong asked where he was.

Logically, as Foundation Establishment cultivators, the chief should have welcomed them personally.

But so far, the chief hadn't appeared.

The elder told them: The chief had organized a group to deliver supplies.

It turned out that eight hundred miles from Misty Mountain stood a Jade Steel Mountain.

This mountain was rich in Jade Moist Mystical Steel. The Southern Bean Kingdom had established a mine there, heavily guarded. Over time, a mountain town developed.

In recent years, the town's population had grown, but Jade Steel Mountain itself was barren and couldn't be self-sufficient.

The Southern Bean Kingdom officials issued orders for surrounding mountain villages to provide manpower and resources, allocating surplus supplies to be continuously sent to the town at Jade Steel Mountain.

The mountain villages were willing to do this.

That's because delivering supplies to Jade Steel Town allowed them to exchange for large amounts of money and goods there. It wasn't a huge profit, but besides a small gain, it also met the village's own development needs—a win-win situation.

As night deepened, Ning Zhuo proactively ended the tea session.

After the elder bid farewell, he and Sun Lingtong stealthily concealed their presence, vaulted over the wall, and explored the village at night.

Near his residence, there were also patrolling personnel.

But how could mountain villagers detect Sun and Ning? Sun Lingtong hailed from the Unempty Gate and was most skilled in theft. Ning Zhuo possessed Misty Hidden Bud, a rare flower that could even deceive Golden Core level experts, so deceiving these patrolling villagers was naturally effortless.

Sun Lingtong and Ning Zhuo moved shoulder to shoulder, leaping lightly across the village rooftops.

The cool night breeze brushed against their faces. Sun Lingtong transmitted his voice: "Hehehe, feels great! Little Zhuo, this is the taste of freedom!"

He had long grown tired of staying at the Molten Immortal Palace. If not for initially worrying about his master and later caring about Ning Zhuo, given his nature, he would have left long ago to roam the world.

Ning Zhuo also smiled.

He had been born in Fire Persimmon Immortal City and for fourteen years had been striving tirelessly to seize the Molten Immortal Palace.

Now, with the Immortal Palace matter temporarily concluded, he had temporarily set down the heavy burden on his mind and shoulders. Freely moving through the night breeze brought him considerable delight.

The two found a high spot and instantly halted.

Sun Lingtong transmitted: "Little Zhuo, let's have a contest, a divine sense exploration, how about it? I won't take advantage of you; I'll also suppress my cultivation to early Foundation Establishment."

Ning Zhuo: "Boss, since you have such refined interest, I naturally won't spoil the fun."

"Hehehe." Sun Lingtong chuckled a few times and immediately released his divine sense.

Ten zhang, thirty zhang, sixty zhang...

His divine sense expanded until it reached two hundred sixty zhang before stopping.

His divine sense covered more than half the village. After quietly scouting for a moment, he immediately retracted it.

The speed of retraction was astonishingly fast; it took only three breaths to fully收回.

More importantly, the entire process of releasing and retracting his divine sense was completely concealed, without any aura leakage. Even though Ning Zhuo was right beside Sun Lingtong, he couldn't detect any fluctuation.

It was Ning Zhuo's turn.

He slowly released his divine sense.

Ten zhang, twenty zhang, forty zhang...

The divine sense expanded to one hundred eighty zhang before he could go no further and had to stop.

It covered just over half of the mountain village.

Many villagers were undefended, completely unaware, allowing Ning Zhuo to see the various furnishings inside the houses and the villagers' nighttime activities.

He discovered that many villagers' homes enshrined mountain gods. About eighty percent of the spirit tablets, portraits, or small shrines were dedicated to the Fox God. Only twenty percent included the Tiger God. And among that twenty percent, most also had the Fox God. In other words, the Tiger God, as the orthodox god, was merely supplementary.

Ning Zhuo carefully收回 his divine sense.

Releasing it was several times slower than Sun Lingtong, and retracting it was even slower, dozens of times slower than Sun Lingtong.

Sun Lingtong had been observing Ning Zhuo's performance and now frowned slightly.

"Little Zhuo, although our cultivation levels differ, after cultivating the Sea of Consciousness Dantian with the Three Sects Supreme Method, your divine sense range is only one hundred eighty zhang?"

"You aren't hiding your true ability even in front of me, are you?"

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

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

Ning Zhuo smiled slightly and proactively explained: "Boss, you don't know this. The advantage of the Mirror Platform Spirit Communication Art requires external objects to manifest."

"According to the teachings transmitted by the Bell Sound, I need to refine mirror fragments. Each fragment can project my divine sense further away. The effect of the projection varies depending on the material and grade of the fragment."

"If I really had enough mirror fragments, I could cover the entire Misty Mountain. However, the divine sense after multiple projections becomes very weak, and the perception becomes quite blurry."

Sun Lingtong's brow relaxed: "So that's how it is."

He finally felt relieved.

The earlier contest was just an excuse to help Ning Zhuo better master his divine sense. After all, Ning Zhuo had only recently advanced to Foundation Establishment, while Sun Lingtong had long been at late Foundation Establishment.

Qi Refining cultivators control spiritual sense, but relying solely on themselves, they cannot project it outward for reconnaissance. Even reading a jade slip requires pressing it against the brow.

Upon reaching Foundation Establishment, spiritual sense can condense and升华, forming divine sense. Divine sense can leave the body for reconnaissance. In early Foundation Establishment, the range is generally within one hundred fifty zhang.

Cultivators specializing in the Sea of Consciousness Upper Dantian, upon reaching Foundation Establishment, should have a divine sense range exceeding one hundred fifty zhang. The more excellent the technique, the greater the excess.

Sun Lingtong suppressed his cultivation to early Foundation Establishment, yet his divine sense range reached a high two hundred sixty zhang. The Mirror Platform Spirit Communication Art originated from the Three Sects Sage, yet it only reached one hundred eighty zhang. This number was far below Sun Lingtong's expectation.

After Ning Zhuo's explanation, he understood.

The Mirror Platform Spirit Communication Art was different from other techniques; it required external objects to truly display its advantages.

The cultivation world had developed countless marvelous techniques. Some could make divine sense ethereal and elusive, some could make it extremely sharp, and some even developed divine sense as an offensive method.

The divine sense of the Mirror Platform Spirit Communication Art needed to be paired with external objects. Although peculiar, it aligned with the Three Sects Sage's principle—after all, it's a mechanism inheritance. Relying on external objects is the characteristic of the Three Sects Supreme Methods.

After finishing their reconnaissance, the two quietly returned to their guest rooms.

None of the villagers noticed.

Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong each lay on their beds, using their spiritual sense to penetrate the walls, transmitting messages to each other, secretly exchanging their findings.

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

"But the Tiger God is far too weak. Allowing the Fox God to extensively gather incense while He remains indifferent goes against reason."

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

The current cultivation world is co-governed by humans and gods.

Humans are the main body, while gods are scattered across the world.

After a cultivation nation is established, it often subjugates mountains and destroys temples within its borders, suppressing various gods. Some gods who refuse to submit are often killed or shattered. Some gods who submit are canonized as orthodox gods, receiving salaries and orders from the cultivation court.

A cultivation nation itself greatly needs these gods to enhance its ruling power.

Compared to humans, various gods often have simpler mindsets, can endure extreme environments, and can utilize their divine power to control clouds and rain, guide water, and split mountains.

After gods join a cultivation nation, they can widely absorb incense, engage in exchange with the outside world, and even cultivate using the nation's fortune.

This is a relationship of mutual need and win-win cooperation.

(End of )