Chapter 5

In front of Xiaohetun Village, a row of graves stood up.

These were the graves of all the villagers of Xiaohetun, inscribed with the words, "All 138 people of Xiaohetun are buried here."

There were no names, because Tang Jie was not from Xiaohetun, so he should not and could not know the names!

Standing in front of the graves, Tang Jie stood facing them, his face expressionless.

No, there was a hint of sympathy and anger. This was the emotion any normal person would have when facing such a tragedy, but it was not what the people of Xiaohetun should have.

Tang Jie did a good job of masking his pain with anger.

This made Xu Muyang unable to find the sorrow he expected on Tang Jie's face no matter how he looked.

Thinking of a 12-year-old boy, who would not have the composure to hide his inner feelings, Xu Muyang could only give up on his fantasy.

After one last look at Yaya's grave, Tang Jie turned around and said, "Let's go."

As he spoke, he took the lead, and while Xu Muyang was still behind and couldn't see him, tears had already quietly streamed down Tang Jie's eyes...

--------------------------------

The distance from Xiaohetun Village to Anyang Prefecture was about a hundred miles.

At Xu Muyang's speed, it would have been an easy journey, but with his injuries not yet healed and Tang Jie as a "burden," they could only walk.

Fortunately, Tang Jie found a few horses in the countryside that originally belonged to the bandits and a flat cart from the village. He hitched the horses to the cart, making a flat horse cart, allowing both of them to travel by cart.

Tang Jie also led a few more horses and tied them to the back of the cart, carrying some relatively fine weapons, saying they could be sold in Anyang Prefecture for money.

Although immortals don't worry about supplies, Tang Jie clearly didn't plan to rely on Xu Muyang for food and drink, but to be self-reliant.

Since they were traveling together, they couldn't help but chat a bit to get to know each other better.

Tang Jie fabricated a background, saying he was from Xiangyang Village on the other side of Cuimai Mountain. Due to his family's poverty, he went to Anyang Prefecture to find work. Although he was only 12, in this world, a 12-year-old boy could be considered half a laborer, and it wasn't uncommon for them to work alone. As for Xiangyang Village, Tang Jie had been there before, so if Xu Muyang were to question him, he could answer smoothly. However, Xu Muyang didn't ask further, clearly having completely believed him.

However, Xu Muyang was very secretive about his own background, only saying he was a cultivator and had long forgotten the mundane world, unwilling to talk about it. As for the title of Immortal Master, he said it shouldn't be used anymore, and he should be called "True Person" instead.

He didn't want to talk about it, but Tang Jie asked all sorts of questions.

"Why can I only call you True Person, not Immortal Master?"

"Because I am not yet an immortal. Only by reaching the Immortal Platform can one be considered half an immortal."

"What is the Immortal Platform?"

"The Immortal Platform is the fifth realm of cultivation."

"What is the fifth realm?"

"The five realms of cultivation are: Spirit Platform, Transcending the Mundane, Heavenly Heart, Purple Mansion, and Immortal Platform. The Immortal Platform is the last realm. Reaching this realm, one's spirit energy transforms into immortal energy, becoming a terrestrial immortal."

"Then what are the Spirit Platform, Transcending the Mundane, Heavenly Heart, and Purple Mansion? What is a terrestrial immortal?"

"..."

The more Xu Muyang answered, the more questions Tang Jie pulled out.

When he first met Tang Jie, he thought the boy was naturally intelligent, though young, he acted with composure. Now, he just felt that the child was still a child, naive and ignorant.

Naivety was real, but innocence was fake.

This was the first time Tang Jie had pretended to be innocent and naive, thinking, "I'm a minor, who's afraid of whom?" He asked all sorts of unrestricted questions.

Xu Muyang was helpless, initially responding, but later simply pretending to be deaf and mute.

Even so, Tang Jie still learned many things.

It turned out that cultivation was divided into five realms, with the first four collectively called cultivators or cultivators of immortality, and only the last realm considered to have entered the path of immortality, called immortals.

The first realm, the Spirit Platform realm, was also called a cultivation apprentice, not even qualified to be called a Spirit Master, as that would be overstepping.

The cultivation world seemed chaotic, but the rules were strict. The Spirit Platform realm was called a Spirit Apprentice, the Transcending the Mundane realm was called a Spirit Master, the Heavenly Heart realm could be called a True Person, the Purple Mansion realm could be called a True Lord or Heavenly Sovereign, and only the Immortal Platform realm could be called an immortal.

The world was ignorant, calling all cultivators immortals, but the cultivators themselves were clear about the distinctions.

If someone who hadn't reached the Heavenly Heart realm dared to call themselves a True Person, they would have trouble without even needing to provoke anyone.

As for Xu Muyang, he was a Heavenly Heart True Person.

Learning that this Heavenly Heart True Person, who could level mountains, was only of "mid-level" strength, Tang Jie was greatly surprised. If this was mid-level, what kind of earth-shattering abilities would the Purple Mansion and Immortal Platform realms have?

Fortunately, he didn't say this out loud, or Xu Muyang might have given him a few hard slaps.

Mid-level?

Do you know how difficult cultivation is?

In the Qixia Realm, even those at the top of the Heavenly Heart realm are considered top-notch figures.

As for the Purple Mansion realm, they are grandmasters who establish sects, and the Immortal Platform realm is legendary. At this stage, cultivators have mostly broken through the protective boundary winds and wandered beyond the heavens.

Therefore, the Heavenly Heart realm can be considered the backbone of the Qixia cultivation world.

It was precisely because he was a Heavenly Heart True Person that he could use divine consciousness to kill without a trace. However, due to his severe injuries, even his divine consciousness was damaged, greatly reducing his attack range.

Additionally, Tang Jie learned that Xu Muyang was not from Wenxin Country.

He was from Moqiu Country.

In Qixia, there is a beast that resembles a tapir, born with three eyes, runs like lightning, is ferocious, and has a cry like a baby, with a nature for killing.

In the 733rd year of Tianjing, Guangfa Heavenly Sovereign battled the three-eyed ferocious tapir on a remote island in the far west. After three days of battle, he killed the tapir, transformed it into a spirit mound, and connected the island to the mainland, historically known as Tapir Mound, later renamed Moqiu.

This is the origin of Moqiu Country.

Wenxin is in the far east, and Moqiu is in the far west. Xu Muyang traveled a thousand miles from the west to the east. If he said he was sightseeing, Tang Jie wouldn't believe it. Considering his previous situation, the answer was clear.

He was fleeing for his life.

In simple terms, he was a fallen immortal.

A fallen immortal is still an immortal, Tang Jie thought, I won't be picky about you.

With the cart, the journey of a hundred miles took only a day. During this time, Tang Jie drove the cart, and Xu Muyang didn't need to do anything, just practicing his skills to heal on the flat cart. Tang Jie even changed Xu Muyang's medicine once, making things much easier for him.

In the evening, the two arrived at Anyang Prefecture.

Xu Muyang, eager to quickly resolve his karmic ties and leave, took Tang Jie to the best Phoenix Tower in the area.

Although resolving karmic ties with a meal seemed cheap, it was better than being a burden.

Resolving karmic ties, in simple terms, means not doing things that will make you regret or feel sorry. Life is full of regrets and sorrows, but at least they can be reduced and mitigated, so this small matter was not a big deal.

With this in mind, Xu Muyang ordered the most expensive dishes, not the best, and the two enjoyed a fine meal.

However, when it came time to pay, Xu Muyang, after searching his body, realized he had no money!

Xu Muyang's wealth had been destroyed in the previous battle, even his storage bag was gone. At the time, he only managed to save some of the most important pills and magical treasures, leaving behind all the money and valuables.

To ordinary people, money is the most important thing and would never be forgotten, but to cultivators like Xu Muyang, mundane valuables were worthless, not even worth thinking about. He usually carried spiritual food and had no need for expenses, so he had forgotten about this.

This wouldn't have been a problem for him. In the past, wherever he went, rich merchants, officials, and sects would vie to welcome him, even offering lavish gifts.

Even the ruler of Wenxin Country would treat him politely, and as long as he wasn't there to cause trouble, the Wenxin Country and the Xiyue Sect would treat him with respect!

Money? Offering money to me would be an insult!

But this time was different. He was being pursued, and he needed to keep a low profile. Exposing his identity in Cuimai Mountain was one thing, but after leaving Cuimai Mountain, he couldn't show his presence anymore.

Without revealing his identity, he suddenly found himself with no way to obtain wealth.

Was he going to become a thief and steal from a thousand households?

Or eat without paying?

That would be too embarrassing.

Tang Jie, seeing his troubled expression, said, "Eat, don't worry. When I went out earlier, I already talked to the shop owner. We'll exchange one of the horses for this meal."

Xu Muyang blushed, "How did you know I didn't have money?"

"Did you forget I searched your body?" Tang Jie replied.

"..."

After the meal, Tang Jie indeed exchanged one of the horses for the meal.

The horses the bandits rode were of varying quality, not all good, but the few Tang Jie chose were the best, each worth about forty taels of silver.

One tael of silver was equivalent to about a thousand yuan in modern terms.

Xu Muyang spent forty thousand yuan on a meal, truly luxurious.

Afterward, Tang Jie said, "At this rate, we'll run out of money in a few meals. We should be more frugal in the future."

Xu Muyang blushed and could only nod in agreement.

He, a great cultivator and Heavenly Heart True Person, a prominent figure wherever he went, was now being lectured by a young boy, a strange occurrence indeed.

Tang Jie brought six horses, and after using one, he sold the remaining five to local merchants for 180 taels of silver.

Additionally, the money on the bandits' bodies had been thoroughly searched by Tang Jie, but unfortunately, bandits were generally poor, and their horses and weapons were their greatest wealth. Surprisingly, over a hundred bandits only had about ten taels of silver. However, with the money from the sold weapons, they managed to gather 200 taels of silver, a substantial sum.

Since Xu Muyang didn't have money, the cost of accommodation naturally fell to Tang Jie.

Staying in the guest room Tang Jie rented for him, Xu Muyang became increasingly troubled.

He thought that once they reached Anyang Prefecture, Tang Jie would have to fend for himself, but things had taken a different turn.

The thought that he was now eating, staying, and using Tang Jie's things, while Tang Jie had no use for him, made Xu Muyang feel very uncomfortable.

How did he end up owing more instead of repaying his debt?

Thinking about this, Xu Muyang became restless.

He usually meditated and regulated his breathing every night to heal his injuries.

Tonight, alone in the room, he felt restless and knew it wasn't suitable to practice, so he walked out of the room and went to the courtyard to practice the Zangxiang Scripture.

The Zangxiang Scripture was a cultivation technique he obtained during a great opportunity, which also led to his current plight.

While practicing, he suddenly saw Tang Jie come out of the room, standing not far away, watching him.

Cultivators most taboo someone watching them practice.

Xu Muyang wanted to scold him but thought he was young and didn't know the rules. Considering that Tang Jie had taken care of him on the journey, if he chased him away, it would be too inhumane. He couldn't bring himself to say it and let him watch, thinking the boy had no foundation or corresponding cultivation technique, so he wouldn't understand much even if he watched.

At this moment, he used self-comfort.

--------------------------------

--------------------------------