Chapter 695: Golden Cicada Sheds

The old horse carried the two to their third destination: Yanshan City in Quanzhou, named for its proximity to Mount Yan.

"The third person is Tao Tingfeng, fifteen years old, from Yanshan City, Quanzhou. Uh, Barbarian Bone discovered him when he came down from Mount Yan after slaying demons."

"What was Junior Brother Barbarian's assessment of him?" Lu Yang asked curiously.

Meng Jingzhou looked at the words in the booklet, his expression strange: "He said Tao Tingfeng is timid and afraid of trouble, unwilling to stir up disputes. His character is far inferior to that of Brother Lu and Brother Meng."

"...Is Junior Brother Barbarian praising us?"

Meng Jingzhou was also unsure: "Judging from the overall context, he's probably complimenting us."

Tao Tingfeng came from a Nascent Soul family, a renowned local clan. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou easily located the Tao family residence.

The Tao family had hired a private tutor, meaning their disciples no longer needed to attend the city's private schools. Unlike most private schools, the Tao family not only taught their disciples the sayings of the sages but also imparted cultivation knowledge.

As Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou stealthily infiltrated the Tao family, Tao Tingfeng and other Tao disciples were listening to their clan uncle lecture. All the Tao family disciples regarded this clan uncle as an idol. He was highly talented in cultivation, having reached the Mid Foundation Establishment stage at just thirty years old. The Tao family members believed he might even reach the Nascent Soul stage, becoming the clan's second Nascent Soul ancestor.

"On the path of cultivation, impatience is the greatest fear. Before cultivating, one must cultivate the mind. Those who are often impetuous and restless in their cultivation can easily suffer a qi deviation..."

"Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul... each realm is a major step. Successfully advancing to a new realm will bring about earth-shattering changes in your identity and status."

"Don't just look at our Tao family as a Nascent Soul family, having some influence in this small corner of Yanshan City. But if you leave Yanshan City and witness a Soul Transformation family, you'll realize that our proudly acclaimed Nascent Soul family is nothing special."

"When I was young and traveled through Quanzhou, I once witnessed a peak Nascent Soul mighty cultivator take action. It was truly earth-shattering and irresistible, filling one with awe and longing."

The Tao family's Old Ancestor was only at the early Nascent Soul stage.

"Another example is the great battle that took place in Yanshan City half a month ago. The demon clan secretly infiltrated Great Xia and hid in Mount Yan. Fortunately, a righteous senior expert took action and slew the demons; otherwise, who knows what kind of disaster would have ensued."

"If my calculations are correct, that should have been a legendary Soul Transformation grandmaster."

The Tao family disciples gasped in astonishment upon hearing the words "Soul Transformation stage."

"This Tao family's Nascent Soul stage..." Lu Yang, bored with the lecture, diverted a wisp of his spiritual sense to investigate the Tao family's Old Ancestor. Although both the Tao family's Old Ancestor and Lu Yang were at the early Nascent Soul stage, ordinarily, cultivators of the same level couldn't use spiritual sense to probe each other. However, Lu Yang was clearly an exception.

"What about the Tao family's Old Ancestor?" Unlike Lu Yang, Meng Jingzhou was listening intently to the lecture.

"Rather than being a full Nascent Soul cultivator, he's more like a half-step Nascent Soul. It's likely a side effect of a forced breakthrough. He possesses Nascent Soul power, but there's a limit to how many times he can use it, preventing him from acting repeatedly."

"Is the Nascent Soul of your so-called Nascent Soul family a bit too forced?"

"That's nothing," Meng Jingzhou waved his hand. As a young master of the world's foremost family, he had seen all sorts of clans. "I've even seen a Golden Core cultivator consult a fortune teller who predicted he would definitely reach the Nascent Soul stage in the future. He then had his family declare themselves a Nascent Soul family to the outside world."

After all, noble families weren't government-certified organizations subject to annual evaluations. Whether a family was powerful or not depended entirely on local word-of-mouth, which could be highly exaggerated. Of course, the Meng family certainly had no such exaggeration. If they had even a hint of it, they wouldn't still be thriving in the Imperial City.

"Class dismissed!"

"Let's go, let's go, let's go play outside." Children of this age were very playful, and Tao Tingfeng was no exception.

Tao Tingfeng's heart itched after hearing his clan uncle recount the battle on Mount Yan, and he wanted to go investigate the situation himself. He decided to go take a look. After a brief hesitation, Tao Tingfeng quickly decided to head to Mount Yan. Although Mount Yan was currently sealed off by the imperial court, prohibiting entry, he had played there since childhood and knew a small path.

True to his knowledge, the small path wasn't blocked. Tao Tingfeng, familiar with the route, arrived at the site of the battle on Mount Yan. The depths of Mount Yan were filled with deep pits, clearly made by Barbarian Bone's fists, as Lu Yang instantly recognized. Tao Tingfeng was stunned speechless by the sight of these deep pits. Was this what a Soul Transformation stage battle looked like?

Suddenly, something flashed across the sky, whizzing down towards Mount Yan and landing not far from Tao Tingfeng, startling him greatly. Tao Tingfeng initially dared not approach, but his curiosity was overwhelming, so he decided to go take a quick look.

"It's a person!" Tao Tingfeng finally saw what had fallen. It was a cultivator, severely injured, barely clinging to life.

The gravely injured cultivator tensed when he saw someone approaching, but relaxed upon realizing it was a harmless mortal. Then he remembered: what did it matter if it was a cultivator or a mortal? Even if the person harbored ill will, what could they do? His injuries were irreversible; he was going to die regardless of anyone else's actions.

"Are you okay?" Tao Tingfeng cautiously approached the heavily wounded cultivator, who was clearly far from okay.

The severely injured cultivator gave a bitter laugh: "To think that I, True Monarch Guanqi, who lived a brilliant life, would see a mere boy like you at my end."

"I calculated and schemed, but in the end, I could not outwit fate."

"True Monarch Guanqi?" Lu Yang muttered softly. He recalled there being such an Integration stage cultivator during the Great Gan period.

"No matter, it seems I am destined not to possess this item."

It was then that Tao Tingfeng noticed a wooden box clutched tightly to True Monarch Guanqi's chest.

"This item is called the Golden Cicada Slough. I snatched it from a formidable opponent, paying a heavy price. To think it would ultimately benefit a young lad like you."

"It seems this item is fated for you."

"Boy, this item is incredibly rare. After acquiring it, you must be extremely cautious and never let a second person know you possess it!"

With that, True Monarch Guanqi peacefully closed his eyes. His body gradually turned to dust and dispersed, leaving only the wooden box behind. Tao Tingfeng was bewildered by these changes. He clasped his hands and bowed twice towards where True Monarch Guanqi had vanished. Then, with trembling hands, he opened the wooden box to find a shimmering golden cicada shell inside.

"Immortal, what is a Golden Cicada Slough?" Lu Yang asked.

"In ancient times, there was a cicada demon who cultivated to the Tribulation Transcending stage, a realm no cicada had ever reached. Its entire body turned golden. It comprehended an innate divine ability called 'Golden Cicada Shedding its Shell,' which could be used to improve one's innate talent. It was precisely through this innate ability that it managed to cultivate to the Tribulation Transcending stage."

"The shell it left behind after its transformation was known as the Golden Cicada Slough, an exceptional treasure for improving innate talent."

"What happened to that cicada demon afterward?"

"I crushed it to death."