Fantasy, starting with a treasure bowl

"Strange, the spiritual energy around Cangmang Mountain has become so thin and barren. Could it be that some natural disaster has struck?"

Emerging from the same treasure basin, Gu Canyang gazed at the vast, yet familiar, mountains in the distance, and at the foot of Luoxing Town, a hint of doubt appearing on his wrinkled, aged face.

Before he became the spirit of the Treasure Basin, he had personally traveled to the Cangmang Mountain. At that time, the Cangmang Mountain was not only rich in spiritual energy, but also a rare treasure land, with various high-grade medicinal herbs and rare spiritual plants almost everywhere inside and outside the mountain range.

However, times have changed, and the Cangmang Mountain is now barren of spiritual energy and lacks medicinal herbs, almost no different from ordinary mountains, which naturally surprised Gu Canyang.

"Ancient? I don't think it's a natural disaster or calamity, but rather a change of things and people. When your physical body was still alive, it was already tens of thousands of years ago. It's normal that the Cangmang Mountain has become depleted of spiritual energy now."

Faced with Gu Canyang's sigh, Lu Feng shrugged, seemingly unconvinced.

After all, in the ancient times tens of thousands of years ago, the entire Misty Continent was not only rich in spiritual energy, but also full of treasures. Among them, there were countless powerful immortals who had ascended to immortality, let alone a mere Cangmang Mountain.

"Yes, yes, things have changed..."

"Tens of thousands of years have passed, and many things are indeed no longer comparable to what they used to be, whether it's objects or people..."

"If I had been more decisive back then, and hadn't been so soft-hearted, perhaps I wouldn't have ended up like this today..."

Upon hearing Lu Feng's words, Gu Canyang's face also turned solemn, his brows furrowed, as if he were recalling some past event, and he was quite indignant.

Seeing this, Lu Feng was a little curious, but he didn't ask any further questions.

Because this wasn't the first time he'd seen Gu Canyang show such a resentful expression; the other party clearly had some secrets hidden within him, but the time wasn't right yet, and Gu Canyang didn't want to say more.

"Old man, it's time for us to go."

"It's been a while since I've relaxed. I wonder if there's anything fun to do in Falling Star Town, hehe."

Lu Feng patted the corner of his clothes and left the dense forest, leaping towards Falling Star Town not far away.

"Hehe, a little kid is a little kid, but the path of cultivation also emphasizes a balance between tension and relaxation. It's true that it's okay to relax a little sometimes."

Seeing this, Gu Canyang shook his head and smiled, then withdrew his thoughts and his remnant soul once again entered the treasure basin.

...

Luoxing Town is located at the foot of Cangmang Mountain. Although the town has a small population of less than 100,000, it is quite famous within a thousand miles around Cangmang Mountain. This is because the town is adjacent to the famous Luoxing Academy, hence the name Luoxing Town.

In addition, Falling Star Academy also hires some residents of Falling Star Town as handymen. The two sides are in a mutually beneficial relationship, so under normal circumstances, no one dares to cause trouble around Falling Star Town.

"My goodness, so many people?"

"Could it be some kind of joyous occasion today?"

Stepping into Falling Star Town, Lu Feng was dumbfounded as he looked at the bustling crowds lining both sides of the street.

As far as he knew, the entire population of Falling Star Town was no more than 100,000, but right now the town was packed with people, and most of them were martial artists, numbering at least a million. The atmosphere was incredibly lively.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait!"

Thinking of this, Lu Feng also composed himself and immediately called out to a middle-aged man who was rushing around.

"Fellow Daoist?"

When Lu Feng called out to him, the middle-aged man was slightly taken aback at first, but then turned around and looked at the man with a smile on his face. "Hahahaha! Young brother, you really know how to joke. I'm not a martial artist or a rogue cultivator. I'm just an ordinary mortal living in Falling Star Town."

"Young brother, I am not worthy of being called a fellow Daoist."

After speaking, the middle-aged man also looked Lu Feng up and down, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Although he was just an ordinary person without any cultivation level, he still had basic eyesight and could naturally see that Lu Feng in front of him was young and promising, and not an ordinary junior.

"You're too kind, brother."

Seeing this, Lu Feng did not abuse his power. He then asked, "I just want to inquire what joyous occasion has recently occurred in Falling Star Town, and why have so many martial artists from outside suddenly flocked here?"

"There's no good news. These martial artists from outside have been flocking to Falling Star Town recently, all for the purpose of applying to Falling Star Academy. After all, in another half month, it will be the official enrollment day for Falling Star Academy."

Faced with Lu Feng's questions, the middle-aged man didn't keep him in suspense and immediately grinned, "Speaking of which, we ordinary people are able to live a peaceful and prosperous life thanks to the teachers and students of Falling Star Academy."

"Without the protection of the teachers and students of Falling Star Academy, we ordinary people would probably be living in constant fear, our lives in danger, and we would even have to worry about the threat from the Lifeless Demonic Sect at any time..."

The middle-aged man, speaking in a classical Chinese style, was somewhat moved.

"Are there members of the Wusheng Demonic Sect lurking around here as well?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Feng also raised his eyebrows slightly, looking somewhat surprised.

Since the war to destroy demons in the Eastern Xuan Region fifty years ago, not only has the whereabouts of the leader of the Wusheng Sect been unknown, but also the experts in his sect have suffered heavy casualties. The entire Wusheng Sect has fallen to the bottom and is almost wiped out, posing no threat at all!

But now, not only is the Western Qin Kingdom being devoured by the Wusheng Sect, but even the Cangmang Mountain area, hundreds of thousands of miles away, has Wusheng Sect warriors appearing. This is enough to show that the Wusheng Demonic Sect, which once stirred up a lot of storms in the Eastern Xuan Region and made people tremble with fear, is showing signs of resurgence!

"Yes, young man!"

Nodding in agreement, the middle-aged man said with a trembling expression, "When my grandfather was still alive, he mentioned a few things to me. Back when the Wusheng Demonic Sect was wreaking havoc in the Eastern Xuan Region, they captured countless civilians to be enslaved within their ranks. This resulted in almost every village they visited being deserted, with hardly anyone left alive!"

"As for the common people who fell into the hands of the Wusheng Demonic Sect, most of them met extremely tragic ends. They either became victims of the Wusheng Sect's expansion, or were executed on the spot for resisting joining the sect. None of them escaped!"

At this point, the middle-aged man took another deep breath, then looked at Lu Feng beside him, "Young brother, although I am not a martial artist, I can tell that you are quite strong and not an ordinary person."

"However, these members of the Lifeless Demonic Sect mostly act in groups and don't fight alone. So, young brother, if you happen to encounter them, you must be careful and avoid them. Don't act impulsively!"

"Thank you for the reminder, brother. I will be careful."

In response to the middle-aged man's reminder, Lu Feng grinned and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect.

Although what the other party said was slightly different from the group of Wusheng Sect members he had encountered in the Western Qin Kingdom, they were generally the same. These Wusheng Sect warriors did indeed prefer to act in groups and did not fight alone.

In addition, in order to distinguish between friend and foe and to demonstrate the prestige of the Holy Sect, most members of the Wusheng Sect would wear red headscarves and tokens at their waists. However, there were some exceptions among the high-ranking figures, such as Sun Chuanxiong, the leader of the "Chen" branch of the Wusheng Sect who died at the hands of Lu Feng.

"By the way, young man, are you also here to apply for Falling Star Academy?"

As if remembering something, the middle-aged man suddenly turned back before leaving, looking at Lu Feng behind him.

I guess so.

Lu Feng nodded slightly and immediately took out the gleaming silver Falling Star Token from his storage ring. "This Falling Star Token is a rare treasure that I obtained with great difficulty from a friend. I've heard that this token is the admission certificate for applying to Falling Star Academy. I wonder if you recognize it?"

"A rare treasure?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man was slightly taken aback, and then glanced at the Falling Star Token in Lu Feng's hand, a strange expression appearing on his face.