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

Two weeks later, at Night Moon Lake.

Night Moon Lake is hidden deep in the mountains, surrounded by ancient trees with intertwined branches that almost block out the sunlight.

Even during the day, the forest is dimly lit, with a calm and tranquil atmosphere.

The pool water is a deep, dark green, and the surface is unusually calm, like a huge piece of black jade, reflecting the occasional moonlight or sparse stars that leak through the sky.

"This is the breeding ground for the Six Senses Fireflies." Shen Moyan stood on a flying sword, with the Ease of the Demon Gourd tied to his waist.

The originally blood-red surface of the Yi Mo Gourd turned yellowish-brown and was tied with a red rope, which was his disguise to prevent others from recognizing it.

"Where exactly is it...?"

Shen Moyan frowned. He saw an old man standing by the pool, seemingly waiting for someone.

"Deng Jinhua?"

Shen Moyan was somewhat surprised.

What are the people from the Examination and Evaluation Office doing here?

"You've come." A dark shadow flashed across the wide pool in front of Deng Jinhua, with the neat patterns of scales faintly visible.

"This time it's a bit slow, more than a month slow." The voice from the pool seemed somewhat annoyed.

"I was delayed by some trivial matters at the office." Deng Jinhua nodded, looking down at the surface of the pool, seemingly speaking to someone unidentified.

Demon race, dragon!

Shen Moyan raised an eyebrow, concealing his presence.

"The questions for this year's third round of exams are all here." Deng Jinhua said calmly, tossing a jade slip into the pool.

After a long while, a deep, joyful murmur came from the pool:

"good."

"The Holy Ruler will remember your contributions, humankind."

The next moment, the shadow disappeared, and a leather bag emerged from the water, made of the hide of some kind of monster.

Deng Jinhua raised his hand and hooked the leather bag into his hand.

Shen Moyan, who was observing from the shadows, realized that it was a storage bag made from the skin of a Luwu subspecies.

Such a lavish display suggests that what's inside must be very valuable.

"Hehe, it's my honor to be remembered by your Holy Emperor." Deng Jinhua smiled slightly, looked around, put the storage bag in his sleeve, and drove the flying boat away.

Only after Deng Jinhua left and the dark figure in the pool disappeared did Shen Moyan, who had been hiding ten miles away, reveal himself.

"Deng Jinhua, are you trading exam questions with the demon race?"

The deputy director of the Examination and Evaluation Department was actually associating with the demon race.

Shen Moyan thought about many things for a while.

The three trials consist of numerous questions covering legal principles, array patterns, elixirs, talismans, weapon crafting, and more.

Ultimately, talents will be selected based on their abilities in various fields, and there will be absolutely no phenomenon of making things difficult for those who are only good at certain subjects.

"It's still a 'three-stage examination,' including the state examination."

"Deng Jinhua is just a deputy director of the Examination and Evaluation Department, a position of the third level. He has no access to such important matters."

"He has someone behind him, or rather, a group..."

The exam questions have been leaked; is the demon race going to send its members to take exams for various departments of the Holy Court?

"This year... it seems the demon race's infiltration plan has been underway for quite some time."

As Shen Moyan pondered the conversation between Deng Jinhua and the other party, he couldn't hold back for a moment.

No wonder war broke out so quickly in the previous life, spreading rapidly throughout Langya Prefecture.

Over the years, many demon spies who have infiltrated the Holy Court have likely risen to high positions, and their every move can stir up the winds and clouds of Langya Prefecture.

Shen Moyan thought about many things for a moment. His promotion to prefect and his Wu clan bloodline were no coincidence.

No wonder many officials in Kongsang County were absent when the great war broke out.

Their ability to escape suggests they likely received some information. Alternatively, they might be spies within the demon race.

"If I can remember these questions, and after the exam is reopened, I can impersonate Deng Jinhua and get in touch with the demon race. Could I then use this to obtain what originally belonged to the group behind Deng Jinhua?" Shen Moyan was overjoyed.

Having uncovered such a secret, he could easily profit from it.

He's going to the Kongsang County Academy now, spending a few years there, memorizing all the exam questions after they're published, then impersonating Deng Jinhua to contact the demon clan who's been waiting for him for a month.

"This is the natural advantage I have from having 'as I write'."

Shen Moyan was overwhelmed with emotion.

Over the years, he has been focused on cultivation, his eyes fixed on the mountaintop, forgetting the scenery halfway up the mountain.

Occasionally pausing to pause can be of great benefit to climbing the solitary peak of immortality.

Suddenly, Shen Moyan remembered that Jiang Zhiqi had not yet become an inspector, but he would pass the state examination next year.

Jiang Zhi Qiu is probably still in Kongsang County preparing for the county examination.

In this life, I must maintain a good relationship with the Jiang family.

After all, the Jiang family possesses the Holy Court's Golden Token, a powerful weapon capable of unleashing the Immortal Lord's Dharma Image.

"By cutting paper into human figures, I can do these things for you, so I don't have to do everything myself."

Having to do everything personally is undoubtedly too much of a predicament for someone like Shen Moyan, who has long held a high position.

In the martial arts world of Daqi, with a wave of his hand, all families and heroes had to follow his will.

Those elegant ladies and beautiful courtesans that the world could only admire from afar were all at his mercy.

But in this world, he basically trusts no one.

He still vividly remembers how Chu Sheng was killed by his subordinates Ni Gaoyuan and others in his previous life, and he has no intention of becoming the next Chu Sheng.

"To successfully control paper-cutting into human form, the prerequisites are suitable materials and fireflies with six senses."

Shen Moyan gathered his thoughts and brought his erratic plan back on track.

So he explored the vicinity of Night Moon Lake, using his divine sense to search for the fireflies of the Six Senses.

Three days passed, and they still hadn't found anything.

"Could it not be near the pool?"

As sunset approached, Shen Moyan gazed at the distant Night Moon Lake, his thoughts wavering.

The dragon did not leave the pool; venturing deeper into the water to investigate might have resulted in its discovery.

After much deliberation, Shen Moyan decided to make use of her advantages.

He still looks like he's 10 years old.

As long as he conceals his aura, no one below his Purple Mansion can discern his true strength.

So he pretended to be a playful child, skipping and hopping towards Night Moon Lake, and 'accidentally' fell into the water.

In his divine sense, there were still quite a few mortals nearby, so the dragon probably wouldn't make any big moves.

In the water, he tried to peer into the bottom of the pool, but what he saw gave him quite a shock.

The pool was bottomless and incredibly deep, with complete darkness in sight.

His consciousness sank three thousand meters into the sea, like a mud ox sinking into the ocean, yet he still couldn't reach the bottom. Instead, he felt a chill originating from antiquity spreading up his consciousness.

"Moonlight Lake, a bottomless abyss leading to who-knows-where..."

Shen Moyan emerged from the water, panting heavily, filled with fear and uncertainty.

He suddenly recalled his experience of searching for caves to build shelters in the wild northern border of Daqi.

Above the wilderness lies a glacier, where many puddles of water can be seen everywhere.

At first glance, it is unremarkable.

Because the small pits are often only about the size of a bowl and are covered with a thin layer of fresh snow or transparent ice crystals, they appear harmless.

But once you slip, you will be instantly swallowed by absolute darkness and cold, and not even your echo will reach the ground, and your remains will be hard to find.

Because beneath the puddle lies a bottomless abyss.

These are wounds on the ice sheet, extending to the bottom of the glacier, hundreds or even thousands of meters deep.

The Moonlit Lake before my eyes is so similar to those deadly glacial pools in my memory!

They all disguise their inner dangers with a humble, even ugly, facade.

The traps on the glacier devour the flesh, but this dark pool before us...

Shen Moyan could clearly sense that the depth of Night Moon Pool was no longer just a matter of physical depth, but also contained a pure yet sinister spiritual energy fluctuation, as if it were nurturing some ancient and powerful existence.

"That dragon came from another sea area. There is probably an underground ocean here, with pools of water leading to different bodies of water."

Shen Moyan emerged from the water, completely soaked, his long, dark hair clinging to his forehead and cheeks, water droplets continuously dripping down his jawline.

The stark contrast between the apparent insignificance and the unfathomable depth of reality instilled a sense of awe in him.

His thoughts drifted across the entire realm of mountains and seas, and he abandoned all his disdain, his gaze becoming even more profound.