Inside the room, Ji Yuan slowly opened his eyes.
At this moment, there was no trace of the immortal cultivator's aura on him; all his magical power had surged into the Xuan Tian Shi Ling Pagoda.
As his mind stirred, divine power surged from his sea of consciousness, instantly flowing through his entire body, exuding an aura belonging to the divine path.
Concurrently, a jade pendant hanging on his chest suddenly emitted a hazy glow.
Over nine days, he had refined two artifacts using numerous spiritual materials. One was the jade bead now stored in his sea of consciousness, which contained the divine power he had refined from spiritual items.
As for the other artifact, it was the jade pendant hanging on his chest, capable of completely concealing his immortal cultivator aura and attaching a disguise, making it impossible for any cultivator below the peak of the third realm to see through his identity as an immortal cultivator.
Now, anyone standing before him would assume he was an unlucky soul who, for some unknown reason, had embarked on the path of divinity.
Ji Yuan stood up and felt around, confirming everything was in order before pushing open the door and leaving the room.
When he arrived before Liu Ruoyan, she was indeed unable to discern any clues. Despite her attempts to use various methods, the result was always the same.
"Your method is very interesting. Although it's quite crude in my eyes, the divine path has long since declined in this world. Without sufficient knowledge, it's indeed difficult to see through your disguise."
Jiang Yunzhou nodded, simultaneously pointing out some shortcomings.
However, as the other party spoke more and more, Ji Yuan's expression became increasingly grim. What he had initially been somewhat proud of now made him unable to look at his own disguise directly.
"You don't need to be so disheartened. My attainment in the divine path is already comparable to ancient beings, so naturally, I can see some flaws."
Jiang Yunzhou comforted him.
Yet, his words only made Ji Yuan's expression look even worse.
"Keep this iron talisman with you. It can compensate for some of the flaws to a certain extent, making it impossible for any cultivator below the Golden Core stage to see through your identity."
Jiang Yunzhou took out an iron token, on which several complex runes were inscribed in gold.
According to him, this was a talisman drawn using divine path techniques. It had no offensive or defensive effects in itself but could excellently conceal one's aura.
With this item, even cultivators at the peak of the third realm would be unable to see through Ji Yuan's disguise, unless they had a particular understanding of the divine path or possessed special divine abilities.
"With this, I can feel a bit more at ease about you two going to the Juexian Valley."
Liu Ruoyan sighed and took out a jade slip: "This is a message that arrived just an hour ago. Elder Tang encountered some trouble on the Juexian Valley side."
The alien races of Juexian Valley, while deeply hostile towards immortal cultivators, to the point of hating them to the bone, were not entirely unreasonable or inflexible.
As long as one did not hail from an immortal sect, even if there were immortal cultivators within their affiliated forces, they would not needlessly create trouble for themselves.
Thus, given Tang Muhuan's identity and his few friends among the alien races, he naturally would not have faced any difficulties or hostility.
However, by sheer unfortunate coincidence, the alien races of Juexian Valley were attacked by a fierce individual, and more than ten tribesmen had already been killed.
Now, anyone within the Juexian Valley, regardless of whether they were Confucian or demonic cultivators, or whether they were human or demonic beasts, was considered a suspect by the alien races.
Until the culprit was apprehended, not only was it impossible to trade with the alien races, but one could not even leave the area within a thousand miles of Juexian Valley.
Tang Muhuan had relied on his friends among the alien races to be able to send out this jade slip and convey the situation he had encountered.
"In my opinion, I actually don't recommend you going to Juexian Valley at this time."
Liu Ruoyan rubbed her slightly aching brow and then said with some helplessness, "However, you certainly won't listen to my advice."
Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan couldn't help but chuckle. Indeed, no matter what happened, he had to go. That spiritual spring was too important to him.
"Actually, it's not as dangerous as you imagine."
Jiang Yunzhou pondered for a moment, then slightly revealed his aura.
Although it was only a fleeting moment, Liu Ruoyan clearly felt it, and a hint of shock appeared in her eyes. Clearly, she had not expected that this young man, who appeared to be around her age, was only half a step away from breaking through to the Golden Core stage.
With such a powerful companion, the safety would undoubtedly be greatly guaranteed. Unless they encountered a Golden Core great cultivator, they could already put their minds at ease.
"Without further delay, let's depart now."
Ji Yuan turned around and asked for her opinion.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yunzhou nodded, "Let's use the flying beasts from our sect. I happen to have the authority to call upon them."
As a direct disciple of the Nine Xuan Sect Master and a cultivator at the half-step Golden Core stage, even though he followed the divine path, his status within the sect was very high. He had the right to command a small flying beast.
After making the decision, the two left Mingxuan Pavilion at their fastest speed, returned to the Nine Xuan Sect's residence, summoned a small flying beast, and set off towards Juexian Valley.
However, along the way, Ji Yuan's expression remained somewhat grim, his brow furrowed.
Given the serious incident that had occurred within Juexian Valley, he didn't think that he and Jiang Yunzhou could play a decisive role.
Firstly, Tang Muhuan was in trouble in Juexian Valley because of him. Although he was safe for now, it was difficult to ascertain what would happen next.
What if the alien races of Juexian Valley, unable to find the perpetrator, simply, in their rage, slaughtered all the cultivators within their territory? Then Tang Muhuan would be in grave danger.
Secondly, some things couldn't be put to rest without seeing them with his own eyes. Ji Yuan had never been accustomed to placing all his hopes on others.
"Once we reach Juexian Valley, we must be extra cautious. I suspect things are far from simple."
Jiang Yunzhou suddenly spoke, a look of gravity appearing on his face.
Although the alien races of Juexian Valley harbored animosity towards immortal cultivators, as long as one did not enter their territory within a thousand miles and was not discovered, they would not actively come out to hunt and kill.
Furthermore, Juexian Valley was rich in various rare spiritual herbs, and the alien races there also raised a large number of exotic beasts, leading various factions to often send people there to conduct transactions with them.
It was rumored that when the Great Yu Dynasty was conquering the world, the alien races of Juexian Valley had also provided considerable assistance to the imperial court, contributing a large number of rare spiritual herbs to help Emperor Tianwu recover from his injuries.
It was because of this that, despite being an alien race, they could occupy a piece of land here, and various factions had never targeted or troubled them.
Of course, this was also inextricably linked to their powerful strength.
Now, an alien race that lived in seclusion and had never had much contact with the outside world was suddenly being targeted. Someone was even willing to risk being killed by a Golden Core realm existence to commit murder stealthily within Juexian Valley.
This, no matter how one thought about it, seemed unreasonable, as if someone was plotting something in secret!