Immortal Dao is dead, I am the mastermind behind it all.

One year later, in Kongsang County, east of Langya Prefecture.

"How come Langya Prefecture is so big? I've been flying for so long and I still haven't left the eastern part of Langya Prefecture?"

Shen Moyan's internal magical power was less than 30% at the moment, so he quickly put away his flying sword, descended from the sky, disguised himself as a scholar, and walked and rested along the forest path.

The size of this state was far beyond Shen Moyan's imagination. The distance he had traveled in the past year alone, if placed in a previous world, would have circled the entire Great Qi Kingdom and the Wilderness thousands of times.

Langya Prefecture, located on the outskirts of Sanqian Prefecture, is truly sparsely populated; it is common to travel hundreds of miles without seeing a single person.

Over the past year, Shen Moyan has traveled through thousands of cities, large and small.

It seems that because it is within the jurisdiction of the Holy Court, there is not a single cultivation sect in the city, but there are quite a few swindlers and con artists.

However, the spiritual energy was very rich. Shen Moyan roughly explored those cities with his divine sense and found that they were full of hidden talents. There were many cultivators in the Qi Gathering Realm and dozens of cultivators in the Mortal Transformation Realm.

Furthermore, those cultivators who had reached the Transcendent Realm all carried tokens bearing the Holy Court's inscription, clearly indicating that they had joined the Holy Court.

However, they were not inspectors, and their official rank was lower than Jiang Zhiqi's. They were probably just nominally affiliated with the Holy Court, essentially temporary staff.

"The existence of this Holy Court has eradicated the very roots of cultivation sects."

Shen Moyan sighed.

In this world, people who have achieved success in their cultivation do not immediately think of joining a sect, but rather of joining the Holy Court and seeking official membership.

Of course, there are also those who want to join those twenty-one immortal lineages, but there's no way to do so.

Like the Biyang Sword Sect, which has been in seclusion for ten thousand years, only its outer disciples usually walk in the world, and even when they do leave the world, they dare not go too far from the sect.

"I really don't know how their sect has continued. They can't possibly have a subsidiary plane as a source of new disciples, can they?" Shen Moyan wondered to himself.

"Later sects, or lineages, must be established with the permission of the Holy Court."

During that year, Shen Moyan secretly met a cultivator who had transcended the mortal realm with the Qi of the sixth rank. When the cultivator was preparing to establish a sect in the city, an inspector immediately learned of the news and traveled a long distance to stop him.

Shen Moyan listened to the entire series of rules for establishing a sect using his Earthly Listening Skill.

Without the permission of the Holy Court, no sect or school may be established. In other words, apart from the twenty-one immortal lineages, all other lineages and sects in the world are subordinate to the Holy Court.

In this world, the Holy Court is the greatest ruler and the largest monopolist.

"This Langya Prefecture is too big. How did Jiang Zhiqi end up in Dongshan City, that godforsaken place?" Shen Moyan pondered.

It's impossible to travel by sword alone; there must be other means, such as flying boats or teleportation arrays.

"The flying boat left behind by Jiang Zhi Qiu must have been an extraordinary treasure, perhaps capable of shattering space and reaching the central city of Langya Prefecture."

Perhaps Jiang Zhi Qiu wanted Shen Mo Yan to board the flying boat with those mortals and then leave Ping An and Dongshan City.

However, he was being watched by people in the city, and before he could finish dealing with them and explain things to Shen Moyan, he died suddenly.

"What a pity, Fellow Daoist Jiang. If I achieve success in my cultivation in the next life, I will come to guide you."

As Shen Moyan strolled along the forest path, he looked up and, beyond the dense foliage, a towering city wall, as tall as a mountain, came into view.

"We've finally arrived at the main city of Kongsang County."

The sky and water were a vast expanse of blue, eagles cried out, and hundreds of flying beasts of varying sizes swept past the city gate like streaks of light.

Imperial academies were often built in the city of a prefecture or the center of a state. After all, education is extremely resource-intensive.

Shen Moyan released six fireflies to investigate the situation in Kongsang County from a distance of ten miles.

Then he frowned. Beside the city gate, cultivators and mortals lined up in long queues, and after their identities and purposes were verified by the guards, they entered the city in an orderly manner.

"This is troublesome. What if they suspect I'm a spy for the Biyang Sword Sect because of my identity as a rogue cultivator?"

After pondering for a while, Shen Moyan couldn't help but smile slightly.

He rummaged through his storage ring and took out a token.

Cen Jialing.

He pulled this out from Ni Gaoyuan's corpse. Presumably, the Cen family father and son had already met a tragic end.

But now it's Shen Moyan who benefits.

Shen Moyan carefully manipulated his facial muscles, adjusting the spacing and size between his features, ultimately transforming himself into a thin young man.

"From this day forward, I am Cen Zhiyuan." Shen Moyan changed into a white robe and strode confidently toward the city gate.

After all, he's a seasoned veteran; disguise is second nature to him.

…………

"Sure enough, they managed to sneak in using the Cen family's token."

The Cen family wasn't a particularly prominent clan; it was just that one member worked for the Langya Trading Company. Thanks to that person's influence, the entire Cen family were involved in commerce. Therefore, their slickness in dealing with city defenses was a stereotype and went unnoticed.

"Where is the academy?"

Shen Moyan cautiously released his divine sense and walked on the smooth bluestone road. The surrounding buildings were lined up one after another, and there were many pedestrians. Countless black birds flew over in the sky, and the passing merchants had monsters carrying their goods.

Smoke curled from the taverns and teahouses, the river shimmered, stone bridges spanned the two banks, countless merchant ships passed through the arches, and the shouts of boatmen could be heard from time to time.

The two banks of the river are lined with tall buildings, stilted buildings, and the air is filled with the fragrance of sandalwood. Countless private rooms are scattered in a unique way, and occasionally the sound of courtesans playing the zither can be heard.

The familiar yet unfamiliar scenes of the county town dazzled Shen Moyan. His refined Nose-Smelling Treasure was unusually itchy, as the entire city was filled with treasures.

Halfway there, a thunderclap sounded in the sky, and rain began to fall.

The rain wasn't heavy, but to maintain his disguised identity, Shen Moyan didn't use his magic to avoid it. Instead, he followed the other low-level Qi-gathering cultivators, stepping over the uneven stone bricks to take shelter in a small pavilion.

"This fellow Daoist's aura is somewhat unfamiliar. Is this your first time in Kongsang City?" A magnetic male voice came from beside him, almost startling Shen Moyan.

A man in black robes leaned against a pavilion pillar, his posture upright, a sword in his arms, and a bamboo hat on his head. He was observing Shen Moyan with great interest.

The other party was also at the Transcendent Realm.

Having his cultivation level revealed, Shen Moyan quickly calmed down, his expression remaining unchanged, a smile playing on his lips.

"Indeed, I am Cen Zhiyuan, a member of a branch of the Cen family. I have just returned from my travels through the Ten Thousand Mountains and am here to visit the Kongsang Academy." Shen Moyan stated his purpose.

Whether the other party is an official or someone who came to you by chance, there is no reason for them to interrogate you without distinguishing right from wrong.

The man looked at Shen Moyan with a strange expression, staring at him for a long time.

Unable to bear the gaze that seemed to want to peel away his layers, Shen Moyan spoke up:

"May I ask your name, fellow traveler?"

"Sword Sect, Xu Mingxuan."

The rain intensified, and the sounds between the two were gradually blurred by the torrential rain outside the pavilion.

Now it was Shen Moyan's turn to look strange.

Sword Sect, which Sword Sect?

Judging from his tone, this Sword Sect must be quite famous, but in Langya Prefecture, which of the Holy Court's affiliated forces is a well-known sword-practicing sect?

Xu Mingxuan stared at Shen Moyan, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, and continued:

"As I ascend the mountains and seas, I ask about the vastness of the ocean."

Upon hearing this, Shen Moyan was initially incredulous, but then quickly composed himself:

"Let's unleash our sharp swords and talk about the blue sky."

He recited excerpts from the original text of "The Secret of the Rising Sun".

The two exchanged a smile, everything understood without a word.

"Sword Sect, He Liang greets Senior Brother Xu." Shen Moyan cupped his hands, sword in hand, his face beaming with joy.

Damn it, how come people from the Biyang Sword Sect are right under the Holy Court's nose?