Gou in the world of comprehension

Chapter 1517 Asking the Moon Market
At dawn, as the sky broke through the pale light of dawn, the rising sun slowly climbed from the distant horizon, and in an instant, a myriad of rays of light poured down, dyeing the vast, rolling mountains a golden red.

"Wenyue Market" is located in a narrow canyon. It is a remote place surrounded by barren mountains and fields, and few people set foot there.

There isn't even a decent cultivation sect to be found around the market. The cultivators responsible for guarding this place are only at the Golden Core stage, which is considered low-level in the cultivation world.

But precisely because of this, "Wenyue Market" is the only place for cultivators to trade within a radius of tens of thousands of miles.

The surrounding independent cultivators and small families had no choice but to gather here, which made this remote market town more lively and bustling, with a constant stream of cultivators from the lower classes coming and going.

The moment Su Fan stepped into the market, the peaceful atmosphere was instantly shattered, and a small but significant commotion quietly began.

In such a remote place, Nascent Soul Realm cultivators are legendary beings, and it is rare to even see them in ordinary times.

Now that a Nascent Soul True Monarch has personally arrived, the news has spread like wildfire.

The cultivators in the market gathered around, their eyes filled with curiosity and awe, their dense gazes almost enveloping Su Fan.

Feeling the intense gazes from those around him, Su Fan frowned slightly, thinking to himself that he had been too high-profile.

Just then, a figure came running quickly from the opposite street; it was an elderly man with white hair and beard.

He rushed to Su Fan's side, not daring to be negligent in the slightest, and immediately bowed deeply in worship, his voice trembling with respect.

"Junior He Tong pays respects to the True Lord..."

Su Fan glanced at the other party and sensed that he was at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, and immediately understood.

It must be because he hadn't concealed his nascent soul energy that he caused such a commotion.

He was now somewhat regretful, wishing he had disguised his cultivation level as Foundation Establishment to avoid this trouble.

But it's too late to change anything now.

Su Fan waved his hand at He Tong, who was bowing, and said in a calm tone, "I'm just wandering around. You can go back to what you're doing..."

However, He Tong did not get up and leave. Instead, he bowed deeply again, his tone becoming even more respectful.

"It is an honor for us juniors to have the presence of the True Lord in Wenyue Market. We have prepared a simple feast, and we earnestly request that you do us the honor of joining us so that we may do our best to show our hospitality..."

Anyone would be uneasy if they suddenly bumped into a Nascent Soul Realm expert in this desolate, remote place.

He Tong was also feeling uneasy. Although his ancestor was also at the Nascent Soul stage, he had not made any progress for many years and was now nearing the end of his life, making the family's power precarious.

The sudden arrival of this unfamiliar Nascent Soul True Monarch left everyone wondering about his purpose—whether he was just passing through and taking a break, or if he had other plans.

If we don't treat them well and anger them, our entire family could suffer.

Upon hearing He Tong's words, Su Fan frowned even more deeply, but he quickly understood the other party's concerns.

He was simply afraid that his status as a "Nascent Soul Old Monster" would bring trouble to the Fangshi family.

He shook his head, his tone still calm: "I'll just take a quick look around here and then leave; there's no need for the banquet..."

After speaking, Su Fan ignored He Tong, who was still bowing and standing there, and strode into the depths of the market, leaving He Tong frozen in place, facing the gazes of the passing cultivators, not knowing what to do for a moment.

Su Fan wandered around the market for a while before turning and leaving.

Watching his figure disappear into the canyon entrance, He Tong, who was guarding the market, finally breathed a long sigh of relief, and his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

But no one expected that not far from the market, Su Fan would use his cultivation technique to conceal his aura, disguising his cultivation level as that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and then turn back again.

This time, he mingled among the low-level cultivators coming and going, and no one noticed him anymore, finally finding peace and quiet.

Walking on the bustling streets of the market, Su Fan couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He had been in seclusion in a nearby valley for over twenty years, spending his days with the obscure Thunder Dao techniques, almost forgetting the realities of human life.

I haven't been to such low-level cultivation places, especially not for a long time.

Over the years, Su Fan has been studying thunder-based cultivation techniques in his personal secret realm, facing obscure and difficult ancient books every day.

Even with his profound cultivation and unwavering will, he eventually found it somewhat tedious and oppressive.

That's why he made a special trip today, leaving his personal secret realm and coming to Wenyue Market, the closest market to his secluded cultivation place, hoping to take the opportunity to relax.

After strolling around the bustling streets for a while, listening to the conversations of the cultivators around him and the shouts of the vendors, Su Fan's depression gradually dissipated, and he felt much more cheerful.

As he walked, he saw a restaurant on the side of the street with wisps of smoke rising from its chimneys and the faint aroma of food wafting through the air, so he stepped inside.

Although it was past breakfast time, the restaurant was still very lively, with almost all the tables and chairs in the hall occupied.

Most of the people here are cultivators at the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining stages. They sit together in twos and threes, eating, drinking and chatting, creating a lively atmosphere.

Su Fan found an empty table in a corner, casually ordered a few signature dishes and drinks, and began to eat slowly.

While he ate, he listened to the conversations of the monks around him.

Perhaps because this place is remote and isolated, and news travels slowly, the cultivators mostly talk about trivial matters, such as which family's spiritual herbs are growing well, or which stall's magical artifacts have the best value for money.

The occasional rumors about high-level cultivators are all just baseless speculations.

After listening for only a short while, Su Fan lost interest and took out a communication array plate from his storage ring.

The array plate vibrated slightly as soon as it was in hand. Without even guessing, one could tell that the familiar fluctuations were a message from Martial Aunt Hongling.

More than twenty years have passed since he secretly left the sect. During this time, his Martial Aunt Hongling must have sent him a lot of messages, but he was focused on his secluded cultivation and didn't even open or read a single one.

Looking back now, Aunt Hongling must have been furious.

Su Fan smiled helplessly, gathered spiritual energy at his fingertips, and gently tapped the array plate, sending out a short message.

"Uncle-Master, I've just finished my seclusion..."

He thought that after his aunt Hongling saw the message, she would definitely scold him harshly.

But when he saw the reply, Su Fan's smile vanished instantly, and his brows furrowed again.

The message from Martial Aunt Hongling read: "Su Fan, the Sect Master has contacted me several times in the past few days, each time asking about your whereabouts. It seems he has something important to discuss with you..."

Su Fan's heart sank, and he quickly replied, "What does the Sect Master want with me? Do you know the reason...?"

A moment later, another message came from Martial Aunt Hongling.

"I don't know the specifics, but a few days ago, all the senior brothers in the late stage of the Integration Realm in the sect suddenly left the mountain gate, and they left in a great hurry..."

Upon seeing this sentence, Su Fan's heart tightened, and a bad premonition instantly surged into his mind.

Is it...

"Uncle-Master, do you know where they went...?"

"I don't know about that..." Hongling's reply carried a hint of worry.

“They left so suddenly. My second uncle went with them. He didn’t say anything before he left, only telling me to ‘take care.’ I always feel like something’s not right…”

Upon seeing Martial Aunt Hongling's reply, Su Fan's heart skipped a beat. It seemed his guess was probably correct.

Fortunately, he sensed something was wrong back then and secretly left the sect beforehand; otherwise, he would probably have been conscripted by now.

"Uncle-Master, please tell the Sect Master that I need to continue my seclusion to consolidate my cultivation, and I will return to the sect in a few years when things have stabilized..."

"Su Fan, you must be extra careful..." The message from Martial Aunt Hongling was filled with obvious anxiety.

"I don't know why, but lately I've been feeling anxious and my eyelids keep twitching. I have a feeling that something terrible is going to happen..."

Su Fan sighed inwardly. After all, his Martial Aunt Hongling was a Nascent Soul cultivator, and her sense of danger was far more acute than that of ordinary people. She must have noticed the abnormality.

She probably doesn't know that it won't be long before her memories of these unusual things are forcibly erased.

Su Fan naturally wouldn't tell his Martial Aunt Hong Ling his guess, lest she worry even more.

He could only send a message to comfort her: "Uncle-Master, don't overthink it. Perhaps you've just been too busy with sect affairs lately and are overworked. A few days of rest will make you fine..."

Not long after, another message came from Uncle Hongling, his tone becoming increasingly heavy.

“Su Fan… Xue Mo secretly sent me a message a few days ago, saying that all the sword cultivators above the Integration Realm in their ‘Polar Sword Pavilion’ have left the sect, and she is among them.”

But the sect didn't tell them where they were going at all, and after that, I couldn't contact her anymore..."

What the hell...

Upon seeing the message, Su Fan couldn't help but curse inwardly.

Now everything is completely clear.

According to Martial Aunt Hongling, it wasn't just the late-stage Integration Realm cultivators from their "New Guangtian" plane who were subject to this conscription; cultivators from other planes were also caught up in it.

The sword sects were particularly hard hit, with even sword cultivators above the Integration Realm being wiped out.

Su Fan took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart.

"Uncle-Master, don't worry about Xue Mo. Her cultivation is not weak; she'll definitely be alright. I'll come to talk to you in detail once I return to the sect..."

Su Fan chatted with his Martial Aunt Hong Ling for a few more minutes, mostly offering words of comfort, before putting away the communication array plate and tossing it into his storage ring.

He had long lost his appetite, so he got up, paid the bill, and quickly left the restaurant.

After leaving the Moonlit Market, Su Fan didn't dare to delay. He immediately summoned the Ghost Crow and rode it at breakneck speed back to the secluded valley where he had previously gone into seclusion.

After entering the cave in the valley, he first set up three overlapping concealment formations at the entrance to ensure that no one could detect the movement here.

Then, with a flicker, he vanished into the void and entered his personal secret realm.

Within this secret realm, the vegetation is lush and the spiritual energy is abundant.

Su Fan arrived at the pond next to the thatched hut, sat down cross-legged, his brows furrowed, and began to sort out his thoughts.

A moment later, he took out his identity jade talisman from his storage ring.

This is a standard jade talisman issued by the sect. It can not only prove identity, but also connect to the public information screen of the Spirit Profound Realm to view news from various places.

Su Fan infused spiritual energy into the jade talisman, and a transparent light screen instantly unfolded in front of him.

At this moment, the public screen on the light screen was densely filled with various messages, including transaction information posted by cultivators, announcements from sects recruiting disciples, and rumors about the opening of secret realms in various places.

Su Fan carefully read through the documents for a long time, but still couldn't find any information about "recruiting cultivators at the Integration Realm," as if the matter had never happened.

His mind was filled with doubts, so he tried to compose a message asking "Where are the cultivators in the Integration Realm?" and sent it to the public screen.

He refreshed the screen several times, but the message he sent never appeared on the public screen, as if it had sunk without a trace.

What the hell...

Su Fan's expression instantly turned serious.

Does this mean that all Nascent Soul cultivators in the Spirit Profound Realm have been restricted from posting messages on the public light screen?

Are even mentioning related topics prohibited?

Thinking of this, Su Fan felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, a cold sensation spreading through the back of his head and a feeling of dread throughout his body.

He took a deep breath, a pang of regret rising in his heart.

He shouldn't have come out of seclusion today, nor should he have gone to "Wenyue Market" to wander around, and he certainly shouldn't have contacted his Uncle Hongling.

Su Fan's actions today might make people aware of his aura.

He wouldn't care if it were just the top figures in this realm, but he was afraid of the avatars of the human race's Daoist sects in the lower realm.

These spies hidden in various sects in the lower realm cannot be viewed through the eyes of cultivators in the lower realm.

They have plenty of ways to find me, and they might even use the methods of powerful figures from the upper realms to deal with me.

Su Fan even considered fleeing the place immediately, but quickly dismissed the idea.

Once he leaves the void, his presence will definitely be exposed.

Today, Su Fan should never have left the void and headed to "Wen Yue Fang Shi".

Fine, whatever.

I refuse to believe that you can find him even if he's hiding in the void. He can only accept his fate.

Su Fan pondered for a moment, then patted the Yin Gathering Secret Realm at his waist, summoning the Yaksha.

"Yaksha greets my lord..."

Su Fan nodded to him and then handed him a jade talisman.

"Go to 'Wenyue Market' immediately and find an inn to settle down. If you detect any high-level auras approaching, crush this jade talisman..."

The Yaksha took the jade talisman, then transformed into a wisp of black smoke and vanished.

"Kid, what on earth happened...?"

At this moment, Su Fan received a thought from the old dragon Li Gao in his mind.

At this point, he was at a loss, so he explained his guesses to it in detail.

After a while, he received Lao Long Li Gao's thoughts again in his mind.

"If I'm not mistaken, the secret recruitment of cultivators by the human race in the upper realm this time is not for the upper realm itself, but for other realms..."

Perhaps realizing that Su Fan probably didn't understand, Lao Long Li Gao sent another thought.

"The human Dao sect in the upper realm where you are now resides controls many realms within its sphere of influence. It's possible that one of these realms is on the verge of collapse, which is why they've mobilized cultivators from other realms to come to its aid..."

(End of this chapter)