Chapter 1423: The Grand Master's Countermove

Given Elder Hunmo's deep understanding of the Pure Sea Sect, Fairy Yuayi wouldn't have believed him for a second if he claimed not to know what treasures it held.

Elder Hunmo's eyes shifted. As his gaze met hers, Fairy Yuayi's heart tightened, though she maintained her smile.

Elder Hunmo chuckled softly, saying with a half-smile, "Nothing escapes the Fairy's discerning eyes. I've come for just one item: a sea chart. If the Fairy finds it, I hope you won't hesitate to share it."

"A sea chart?" Fairy Yuayi was quite surprised, misunderstanding Elder Hunmo's objective. "With your strength, Daoist friend, surely you don't need a sea chart to cross the Windstorm Belt to the Northern Reaches? I heard you once encountered a mysterious master from the Northern Reaches and exchanged blows with him. Is that true?"

"Indeed, that person possessed several avatars, truly extraordinary, and I didn't gain much of an advantage. I made a deal with him, promising not to set foot in the Northern Reaches for three hundred years." Elder Hunmo admitted openly, then his tone shifted. "I have no intention of breaking my promise. That sea chart points to another place."

"Another place?" Fairy Yuayi was first puzzled, then her beautiful eyes widened dramatically. "The Central Plains! The legendary Central Plains actually exists, and the Pure Sea Sect has a sea chart leading to it?!"

Elder Hunmo neither confirmed nor denied it, instead asking, "The Fairy also knows about the Central Plains?"

"I thought it was just a legend, but I never imagined it was true. There really is a path from the Northern Sea to the Central Plains..." Fairy Yuayi let out a soft breath, calming her thoughts. "This path exists only in legend; no one is certain if it's real. Why are you so convinced, Daoist friend, that the Pure Sea Sect possesses such a sea chart?"

Elder Hunmo raised his black bamboo staff and pointed it towards the Pure Sea Sect below. "Don't you find it strange? In the Northern Sea, Daoist and Demonic sects flourish, while Buddhist cultivation schools are all insignificant, their lineages broken, with very few cultivators reaching the Core Formation stage. Why would such a powerful Buddhist sect suddenly appear out of nowhere, and remain unknown?"

Fairy Yuayi understood his unspoken meaning, her face a mask of disbelief. "Are you saying the Pure Sea Sect originated from the Central Plains? How is that possible?"

"It's just my speculation," Elder Hunmo chuckled, unwilling to elaborate on the subject, and changed his tone. "If the Fairy is interested, once I obtain the sea chart, I can share it with you. When you break through to the late Nascent Soul stage, perhaps we can travel together to the Central Plains and look out for each other."

"Late Nascent Soul, huh!" Fairy Yuayi shook her head with a bitter smile, offered thanks, and then cautiously asked, "Can one safely cross the Windstorm Belt and reach the Central Plains simply by reaching the late Nascent Soul stage?"

"We'll have to wait until we get the sea chart and try it out to know for sure. However, if I'm fortunate enough to break through to the Deity Transformation stage, I probably won't need the sea chart at all," Elder Hunmo said, rubbing his bamboo staff uncertainly.

In front of the pagoda, the three landed one after another. The thirteen-story pagoda stood tall, each level twice the height of a person.

The pagoda was made of stone, its doors and windows tightly shut. Unknown Arhats and Buddhas were carved upon it, lifelike, as if staring at the intruders. The entire pagoda was enveloped in a golden glow, a unique Buddhist restriction.

This area appeared rather dim; the restriction's power was not as strong as that of the Golden Summit.

The pagoda had already been visited by Ghost Mother. However, to ensure the seal would last longer, Ghost Mother had acted very carefully, not completely destroying the pagoda's restrictions, so there were no visible signs of human interference on the surface.

They looked up for a while. The Buddhist restrictions were unfamiliar to them, so they could only resort to a forceful assault. Unable to see inside the pagoda, they didn't know that it had already been ransacked. In their view, the restrictions here were damaged because the seal had been impacted by Red Flame.

No one noticed that Master Chijie's gaze was somewhat off at that moment. He wasn't as excited as before, staring at the base of the Sutra Repository next to the thirteen-story pagoda, almost in tears.

"Let's begin!" Master Chijie sighed, summoning his needle-shaped magical artifact specifically designed for breaking restrictions. The other two were not to be outdone.

Just as Master Chijie activated his magical artifact and was about to make a move, a strange unease welled up in his heart. Then, he felt a sudden chill appear on his left shoulder, startling him.

"Don't move!" A chilling warning sounded in his ear. It was Elder Hunmo!

Master Chijie's entire body stiffened, and a storm raged in his heart. He immediately recalled what was clinging to his shoulder. He had seen it firsthand when they ambushed Valley Master Mu; it was a ghostly, eerie entity. Had Valley Master Mu not unleashed a peculiar protective treasure, he too would not have escaped, and all three of them would have died by Elder Hunmo's hand. Elder Hunmo had been notoriously ruthless even before becoming a Grand Cultivator; his enemies frequently died sudden, unexplained deaths, likely due to this ghostly entity's abilities. Master Chijie didn't even know when it had been planted on him.

Fairy Yuayi and the others were right beside him, yet none of them noticed anything amiss!

"No! That's not it! Not in front of so many people! It must have been during the attack on Valley Master Mu that this old devil secretly planted the ghostly entity on me. He never trusted me..." Master Chijie's mind raced, recalling a possibility.

"I know what you're looking for," Elder Hunmo's voice remained cold and calm, regardless of Master Chijie's thoughts. "You shouldn't have hidden it from me... I owe your master a favor. If you get the Soul-Suppressing Incense, all can be forgiven."

Upon hearing the words 'Soul-Suppressing Incense,' Master Chijie felt any last shred of hope vanish. He felt half his body freezing, yet he struggled to maintain a neutral expression, hastily saying, "This junior was momentarily confused, led astray by obsession. I beg for your forgiveness, senior. But... the Sutra Repository has been destroyed. My master said that the Soul-Suppressing Incense wasn't in the pagoda, but rather kept with its refining method, both treasured in the Sutra Repository. I'm afraid it too..."

He dared not hide anything further, revealing everything he knew.

Elder Hunmo seemed unsurprised, sighing softly. "Indeed, it was in the Sutra Repository... No wonder your mood was so low earlier. Go, open the pagoda and see what's inside."

Nascent Soul cultivators can control their emotions. However, some may not wish to, as there's no need. Moreover, during moments of joy or sorrow, emotional fluctuations are inevitable; after all, they are human, not inanimate objects. Even emotional fluctuations could be detected by the parasitic ghostly entity. Master Chijie's mind was taut, and his fear of Elder Hunmo's methods intensified.

A moment later, Master Chijie nervously approached the pagoda, summoned his needle-shaped magical artifact, and mechanically attacked the Buddhist restrictions. The two people beside him didn't notice his unusual behavior.

Meanwhile, inside the medicine garden, Qin Sang and Tan Hao were busy harvesting the most valuable spirit herbs. Tan Hao had received guidance from Ghost Mother and had spent a considerable amount of time in the Pure Sea Sect, giving him a thorough understanding of its restrictions. Under Tan Hao's guidance, Qin Sang personally broke the restrictions, ensuring that the resulting phenomena were very subtle and wouldn't be discovered by those outside.