Jiangning City is more than 1,000 kilometers away from Qingcheng Mountain.
Even relying on flying on a sword, Xia Muge flew for four days and three nights.
These four days and three nights nearly exhausted him mentally. He did not use his supernatural abilities.
In this world, his superpowers are his trump card for survival, and there's no need to reveal them to the public now.
He had learned that the people of this world also possessed the great supernatural power of moving space, but currently, his spatial ability held an advantage at the Golden Core stage.
Therefore, he disguised himself as a rogue cultivator at the Golden Core stage and came to Jiangning City.
It happened a full six months earlier than the timeline of the main story.
At this time, news about the treasure-hunting beast had not yet spread, and the Third Princess had not yet arrived here.
Xia Muge rented a house and was surprised to find that there were quite a few independent cultivators in Jiangning City.
That's understandable.
As the wealthiest city in the entire Great Xia Kingdom, Jiangning City boasts a thriving trade, and the fine goods circulating here naturally attract the surrounding independent cultivators.
The Xia Dynasty maintained very strict control over its cities.
Because Canghai City is located in a barren area, the output it controls is less than the input, so the imperial court basically doesn't care about it and simply hands it over to Qingcheng Mountain.
But Jiangning City is different.
This is a major source of tax revenue for the imperial court every year, and also a key location for the court to win over independent cultivators.
In their pursuit of freedom, independent cultivators rarely join any faction.
But the imperial court was different.
The imperial court gave a lot.
In order to ensure that the dynasty would be passed down for generations, the imperial court established a rule that every rogue cultivator who reached a certain level could receive a stipend from the imperial court.
Although the imperial court does not require them to submit, it is enough for them to help each other in times of crisis.
The independent cultivators were happy with this arrangement, because the imperial court did not impose the same restrictions on them as the sects did.
If those people don't help, they won't be able to overcome their inner demons either.
In other words, this is about tapping into the greatest potential at the lowest cost.
Xia Muge didn't care about any of that.
The secular dynasty had little to do with him.
However, his original plan to quietly search for the treasure-hunting beast was about to be shattered.
There are too many independent cultivators here. Although ordinary cultivators may not recognize the treasure-hunting beast, it doesn't mean that Xia Muge can take it out openly.
Putting everything else aside, if anyone were to discover it, someone at the Golden Core stage wouldn't be able to protect such a treasure.
He was, after all, cannon fodder, not the main character.
The protagonist had a chance, but he didn't.
Although he was the senior disciple of Qingcheng Mountain, Qingcheng Mountain didn't really have much of a reputation in Jiangning City.
Thinking of this, Xia Muge couldn't help but feel a sense of annoyance.
Then, he thought for a moment: "The news of the Treasure-Seeking Beast will come from Jiangning City in half a year. Given the Treasure-Seeking Beast's thirst for rare and precious materials, it is estimated that it will still be thousands of kilometers away in the next half year."
Natural treasures don't grow in clusters.
In Jiangning City, where rogue cultivators abound, there is naturally no room for wild rare and precious materials to grow, so the treasure-hunting beast is most likely not here right now.
If he remembered correctly, the treasure-hunting beast was attracted by the divine-grade pills being consigned for sale at the Jiangning Auction House, which caused the turmoil.
The treasure-hunting beast is extremely timid; if it weren't for the immense allure of its elixirs, it would never have shown itself to anyone.
In other words, even if he waits here to wait for his prey to come to him, it will be difficult for him to succeed.
Unless he's going to stay here for six months.
Staying here for half a year, although half a year is a very short time for a cultivator.
But for him, who has to compete with the protagonist, these six months are enough time to accomplish a lot.
However, according to the plot, the protagonist's next major opportunities will not begin until next year.
The Treasure-Seeking Beast Encounter is mainly used to cultivate the relationship between the protagonist and Xia Qingshuang.
Even if he wanted to go out and look for opportunities, it would be difficult to find any now.
Unless, he kills Xia Qingshuang now and then frames the protagonist.
He immediately dismissed the idea after it came to him.
It wasn't that Xia Muge was kind-hearted; it was simply that this was a thankless task.
Taoist cultivators possess numerous methods, no less sophisticated than modern criminal investigation techniques. However, it would be quite difficult for Qingcheng Mountain to withstand the army of an entire dynasty.
Unless Qingcheng Mountain completely breaks away from the Great Xia.
Xia Muge didn't want to go through all that trouble.
After much thought, he realized that the fundamental solution was for him to work harder and surpass Xu Feng in his cultivation.
Therefore, he should focus on cultivating for the next six months.
Thinking of this, he suddenly felt enlightened.
…
…
A month has passed, and Xu Feng still hasn't found the person who took the snow lotus.
Xu Feng is angry every day.
This matter has become a knot in his heart.
He had a smooth journey and didn't actually encounter any setbacks.
Although he was not a holy son in the Holy Land, his status was relatively high because of his master.
Coupled with his talent, he has had a smooth and successful career over the years.
To outsiders, his strength appears to be the result of countless hours of training, fraught with peril.
Only he understood that he had already obtained everything he wanted.
However, this time was an exception.
Although he didn't come for the snow lotus, the ten-thousand-year-old snow lotus was indeed very important to him.
Even with the help of the Tang family, he still didn't receive a single message.
By this time, the Tang family had already been thoroughly ravaged by him.
In order to find out the information Xu Feng wanted, the Tang family used many resources and connections.
Tang Ranran wanted to get something from Xu Feng, but all she got were some spirit stones.
These spirit stones were actually of little use to her; what she needed were things that could enhance her talent and comprehension.
Tang Ranran felt somewhat wronged.
If she were with Xia Muge, she could obtain some good pills almost every month.
Although they are all different, just like opening a blind box, there are only surprises and no shocks.
But now, Tang Ranran felt as if she had been deceived.
However, she had no other choice.
Even though the Tang family resented her because of Xu Feng, she had no choice but to go down a dark path and had to appease the Tang family on behalf of Xu Feng.
Otherwise, she would have no place in the Tang family anymore.
At this moment, while helping Xu Feng, she was also thinking about Xia Muge.
Tang Ranran even harbored some resentment towards Xia Muge.
If Xia Muge shows that he values her and takes her away or comes here to persuade her to stay, then she can also make Xu Feng feel a little threatened.
In that case, wouldn't she be able to do even more things?
She even thought, "So what if we broke off the engagement? You like me so much, why aren't you sending me more pills?"
This means you still don't love me enough.
It has to be said that some women are rather naive in their thinking.
As she grew increasingly resentful, Xu Feng announced that he was leaving.
He came here not to find women, but to seek an opportunity.
Since the opportunity here is gone, leaving is only natural.
However, Xu Feng wasn't entirely a jerk; he suggested taking Tang Ranran to the Cloud Realm Holy Land.
This made the Tang family feel that they had finally made it through.
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