With that, the three of them changed the subject. Their duty was to maintain security here. Only if the other party crossed a line would the three of them step in to suppress them. Besides, the other party was a Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivator; if his identity was genuine, he was not to be offended. This market town was, overall, under the jurisdiction of the Malevolent Spirit Sect. It was just that their several sects were the ones managing it, and they only had to pay an annual tribute of Spirit Stones to the Malevolent Spirit Sect.
Li Yan, who had already entered the market town, was unconcerned with this. His purpose was simple: he had matters on his mind and did not want to be disturbed by others. Being near the Malevolent Spirit Sect, why not use the authority he had?
With his thoughts on his own affairs, Li Yan walked without pause through the streets and alleys, soon arriving before an imposing three-story pavilion. In the center of the second story hung a huge golden plaque with four striking, cinnabar-red characters: "Gui Qu Lai Xi."
This was a familiar sight to Li Yan. He walked directly toward the entrance. As he approached, an attendant in his twenties enthusiastically came forward to greet him. The attendant had noticed Li Yan long before and had sensed the mountain-like aura emanating from him. He was both shocked and delighted.
Nascent Soul cultivators on the Desolate Moon Continent were as rare as dragons, seldom seen. The strongest cultivators who walked the world now were Golden Core stage cultivators. And even they did not appear casually. Any such appearance here would bring a handsome profit to the shop and to himself.
"Senior, welcome to our establishment. Our shop not only deals in a wide range of goods but also has a first-class reputation. How may this junior be of service to you, Senior?" the attendant said with an obsequious smile.
"I wish to inquire about a demonic beast. Arrange for the most experienced person in your shop to see me," Li Yan said impassively. He had rushed here with matters weighing on his mind and did not want to waste any more time. This was the closest market town to Yuhai City. After much consideration, he had decided to forgo his plan of heading to the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda for now.
Hearing this, the attendant glanced at Li Yan's expressionless face out of the corner of his eye, his attitude becoming even more respectful. The fact that his customer got straight to the point meant he was very familiar with "Gui Qu Lai Xi." He didn't dare to boast about his shop's merits any further.
"Right away, Senior. Please, follow me!" This time, he didn't call for any other shop hands but personally led Li Yan inside, leaving the other attendants at the door with looks of envy, and some of the other cultivators with looks of awe.
The shop's layout was familiar. Li Yan followed the attendant to the stairs in the corner of the first floor. For a moment, he thought of the charming Su Hong. 'If I hadn't come here, I would have forgotten about her. I should leave a message for her later. "Gui Qu Lai Xi" is still very useful to me. I shouldn't give that girl any reason to complain!'
Now that he was here, Li Yan suddenly thought of Su Hong and felt he should contact her. It seemed he hadn't actively sought any news of her for years. He didn't think himself particularly calculating; it was just that he had been too busy since his return and hadn't had the chance to contact her. It wasn't his fault!
This time, the attendant led Li Yan directly to the third floor. The main hall was empty. Li Yan glanced around; there were about seven or eight private rooms. Inside one of them, the environment was the same as he remembered. Behind a large desk sat a middle-aged man in a black robe, looking at Li Yan with a smile. Li Yan briefly scanned him and found that the black-robed middle-aged man was a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator.
"Fellow Daoist, please have a seat. I am Zhong Wantong. How may I be of service to you?"
'Zhong Wantong!' Li Yan repeated the name silently in his mind, wondering if it was real or fake. He suspected it was an alias.
As the two spoke, the wooden door behind them closed silently, cutting off all outside noise. It was the room's built-in minor soundproofing art.
Without ceremony, Li Yan sat down opposite the desk. With a flip of his hand, a jade slip appeared, which he then handed to Zhong Wantong. "Please see if you have any information on this demonic beast!"
Zhong Wantong was not surprised by Li Yan's directness. He had met all sorts of cultivators, many with eccentric personalities. He took the jade slip and placed it against his forehead. His Divine Sense entered it and found only a single engraved image: a very strange-looking demonic beast with a large head and a thin tail, shaped like a greatly magnified tadpole.
He quickly put down the jade slip, a smile on his face. "The demonic beast you are asking about, Fellow Daoist, can be found on the Desolate Moon Continent, but many people may not know its detailed origins."
"Oh, just tell me how many Spirit Stones it will cost," Li Yan said.
"Three thousand five hundred low-grade Spirit Stones!"
"Done. You may speak."
Hearing this, Li Yan was overjoyed. His guess had been correct; "Gui Qu Lai Xi" actually had information on that strange monster. As for the price, Li Yan didn't want to haggle. As he spoke, he flipped his hand, and a storage pouch appeared on the desk. The black-robed middle-aged man swept it with his Divine Sense and then put it away with a smile.
"You are straightforward, Fellow Daoist. Then I shall provide you with the detailed information on this demonic beast!" Seeing Li Yan agree so readily, the black-robed middle-aged man's favorable impression of him grew. In truth, information about this demonic beast was known to some, but they were generally not interested in it.
"Fellow Daoist may not have been to the Jingtu Sect's Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, or perhaps you have, but did not enter a certain deep pool…" He paused here, glancing at Li Yan. Seeing his impassive face, he thought to himself, 'It seems this person really might not have been to the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.'
The black-robed middle-aged man then continued. "The creature engraved in this jade slip is a demonic beast that is only born in a place called the 'Flame Palace' on the second level. If you need a detailed map of the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda or the Flame Palace, Fellow Daoist, our shop can also provide it. The cost is not very expensive, only one hundred Spirit Stones!"
The black-robed middle-aged man looked at Li Yan again. Seeing that he was still just listening quietly and not responding, he didn't feel awkward. It cost him nothing to take the opportunity to recommend his shop's wares. He also didn't find it strange that a Golden Core cultivator like Li Yan hadn't been to the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. The Desolate Moon Continent was vast, and just as Li Yan hadn't been to the core trial grounds of the Supreme Mystery Teachings or the Ten-Pace Courtyard, some places couldn't be entered just by having Spirit Stones. This was especially true for the other three great sects, which viewed the Malevolent Spirit Sect as a major rival; cultivators from this region had a higher chance of perishing if they went there.
Under Li Yan's silent gaze, the black-robed middle-aged man continued. "This creature is called the 'Flame Soul Nightmare-Devouring Beast.' It is not truly a demonic beast, but a peculiar kind of soul body. It primarily lives by devouring extremely high-temperature lava. Only when attacked will it swarm its aggressors. Its individual combat power is very ordinary, and it does not actively harm people. Therefore, in many introductions to the demonic creatures of the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, it is often mentioned only in passing, with a warning not to provoke them in groups.
"However, the Flame Soul Nightmare-Devouring Beast has a very unique innate ability: it can borrow fire to enter dreams. Very few people know about this because Qi Condensation stage cultivators don't dare to enter the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, and under normal circumstances, it's very difficult for this soul body to enter the dreams of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator. Only in a place that very few people can enter is it possible for this creature to take the opportunity to enter a dream…"
Hearing this, Li Yan's heart jolted. Although the black-robed middle-aged man didn't specify the place, he had already guessed where it was.
The black-robed middle-aged man paused here. Seeing Li Yan's expression remain unchanged as he listened without asking further questions, he was somewhat disappointed. He had only told Li Yan the origin of this demonic beast. For other information about the Flame Soul Nightmare-Devouring Beast, he hoped Li Yan would be willing to spend more Spirit Stones. Unfortunately, Li Yan showed no signs of asking.
He could only continue. "After the Flame Soul Nightmare-Devouring Beast devours a cultivator's dream, if it has the opportunity to possess someone and finds something interesting in the dream, it will try to realize it. In this process, it becomes deeply engrossed without realizing it. Only when the body it possesses is destroyed will it suddenly awaken and remember its past. Because the soul of the Flame Soul Nightmare-Devouring Beast has been fused with the soul of the possessed body for too long, when the body perishes, it cannot be reborn and will fall into the Way of Reincarnation along with it.
"Overall, this soul body is not very aggressive toward other living beings. In fact, if it fuses well with a physical body, it can even coexist with the original soul. It can cause the original host to have some fantastical ideas, which are derived from the dreams the Flame Soul Nightmare-Devouring Beast has devoured. This can turn the original host into what some people call a natural-born talent. If it were just this, the impact on the possessed person wouldn't be too great; in fact, there might be more benefits. The real impact is on the actions of the Flame Soul Nightmare-Devouring Beast itself. For an ordinary person, these actions might not mean much, but for a cultivator, it is what is known as planting the seeds of karma. This is what cultivators fear most. Therefore, the Flame Soul Nightmare-Devouring Beast is sometimes raised by cultivators to use against their enemies. Although it is a low-handed tactic, it can be very effective at times."
Having said this, the black-robed middle-aged man smiled at Li Yan. He had explained it quite clearly. By now, Li Yan's mind was already in turmoil.
'That demonic creature is called the "Flame Soul Nightmare-Devouring Beast." Demonic beasts that devour dreams have been mentioned in some books of strange tales. But what's special about this one is that it would possess someone just for the sake of a dream, to live out the experiences it gained from that dream. So this is the so-called 'knot in my heart.' It has a karmic connection with me, and I was unaware. But there are still a few major problems here…'
Li Yan still had some unresolved questions, so he asked, "But even if it possesses someone, how can it control the thoughts of other people who appeared in the dream to ultimately complete the process of that dream?"
Hearing this, the black-robed middle-aged man just smiled without speaking, looking at Li Yan amiably.
Li Yan said helplessly, "How many Spirit Stones?"
"Hehehe… one thousand low-grade Spirit Stones will suffice!"
Without wasting any more words, Li Yan flicked his sleeve, and another storage pouch appeared on the desk. The black-robed middle-aged man unhurriedly swept it with his Divine Sense. The moment he collected the Spirit Stones, he began to speak, giving the impression of being very responsible and not keeping his customer waiting at all.
"Oh, that's very simple. The Flame Soul Nightmare-Devouring Beast is a social soul body. Often, several of them will enter a single person's dream at the same time. Afterward, they will possess different people according to their preferences. Once fused with the other party's soul, they will subconsciously act according to the thoughts in the dream. In the end, these Flame Soul Nightmare-Devouring Beasts will cooperate to complete the events of a dream, but they themselves are unaware that everything they are doing was actually 'planned' by them all along. That's why I say that the so-called geniuses in some clans live such brilliant and dazzling lives. In reality, they are just repeating what their predecessors have already 'done.' But given their age, it gives the impression that it's something only a genius could accomplish."