The young woman had a cultivation base at the second-floor of the Heavenly Genesis Realm and nothing else too notable. This limited cultivation path was understandable. The resources and equipment needed for a single path were expensive and vast, so cultivating in multiple paths were only for the wealthy. Even Yan Zaizen only cultivated in two paths diligently, the Heavenly and Herculean Path.
The latter didn't even need resources, but the former needed far too much. Not everyone could cultivate in four or more paths like Ezekiel.
The green man from earlier is an example of this. Instead of cultivating in the Soul Source Path, he had opted for a Heavenly Soul Law Method and cultivated in that. The Phantasm Method he obtained in the Asura Phantom Realm was an example of this.
It was fully within the Heavenly Laws, and merely another branch of the Heavenly Path. However, with it, one could enter Hell as a spiritual entity. Yan Zaizen had his suspicions about why this was the case, and learning of the spirituality and theory of a collapsed universe, he felt his suspicions were adequately warranted.
The young woman's features proved she wasn't human. She had a thin frame, willowy, but her bust was abundant and left one feeling fiery emotions. Her eyes were without pupils, and her ears were that of a feline. She had incredibly long hair that reached her buttocks, and her creamy skin was smooth and soft like water.
When she approached, she had a confident walk that left one feeling admiration. Her eyes contained intelligence and a hint of cunning. This was a natural glimmer and didn't seem to be particularly focused. It made her more attractive than most.
Beside her was the little girl he bribed to give him information. She had pouted lips and looked a little annoyed, as if her lunch money had just been stolen.
"Fellow Daoist, I have an offer." The young woman went straight to the point. Yan Zaizen suspicion arose immediately, but he only turned towards her and waited. He felt curious about her form of address. The title Daoist made him ponder.
Seeing Yan Zaizen's reaction, her eyes lit up. She switched to communicating through her heavenly sense, sending a message, "I understand you're new and have yet to learn about the ways of this place. I have a soul jade with all my knowledge and insight, including an incomplete map of the Dusk Zone, about ten percent mapped."
Yan Zaizen didn't show any outward reaction, but his heart felt a burning desire. Information was exceedingly difficult to obtain in the cultivation world without having a force or senior behind you. Yan Zaizen had learned nearly everything he had from either self-exploring, the Anima Syndicate, Grandpa Xiu, Ezekiel, or Pinaka…
Without them, he would still be wildly ignorant about many critical things. In fact, he was still incredibly ignorant of things within the 27th, 17th, and 7th Heavens.
An example was the green-man from earlier, Yan Zaizen would've been confused about the sealed Gate of Heaven without someone explaining it to him. The little girl had told him about Yaoguai, and he deduced a little about heaven hearts himself.
Therefore, a soul jade with information, no matter how little, was insanely valuable. Especially since he couldn't soul search others with his current soul cultivation base.
The woman continued when she saw Yan Zaizen not reject her offer, "My daoist name is Eshe, this is Esi." She pointed to the young girl who was like a younger version of herself. "Shall we discuss the specifics in a more private setting?"
"Mhm." Nodding, Yan Zaizen decided to follow her. His eyes and expression were neutral; no one could tell what he was thinking.
Eshe and Esi departed swiftly. They seemed to have a destination in mind as they arrived at a yellowish cubical building. It was small, but it seemed to have seen some use. Yan Zaizen could tell it was about a few hundred years old.
Entering, Yan Zaizen realized the entire building was like a hollow cube. The inside had next to nothing inside. The only notable things were the people. There were four other people within. Two were together, and they dressed in black armor that covered their features like knights.
The armor had a white marking of a crescent moon on its chest and nothing else. Yan Zaizen glanced at them, but he could only tell they were both male. They had the same height and build, almost like mirror images of each other. The only difference was the helmets. One of their helmets had a flame flickering above it, and the other had crackling lightning. It was incredibly odd.
There was an elderly human woman dressed in a grey cloak. She seemed as if she was quite fat, but her face wasn't hidden. Besides wrinkles, nothing else indicated her age. Her eyes were lively and vibrant, filled with intrigue and youthful curiosity. That was also odd.
The last one was a man. He was human for sure, even a Lycah like Yan Zaizen. He had a muscular body and proudly displayed it as he wore no shirt. His bronze skin and contours of his muscles were beautiful and felt perfect. It caused Yan Zaizen to truly take a second look at his muscles and body, a subtle light flickering within his eyes as he did.
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The truly noticeable point was a weapon that looked like a giant ruler with a sword handle was attached to his back. Its color couldn't be determined or even if it was a ruler as it was wrapped up in stripes of dirty-white cloth. Despite that, it easily was three meters in height.
"Fellow Daoist, I wish to invite you to our expedition to investigate a location within the Dusk Zone. This location is suspected to be a standard, minor tier inheritance trove. I and Daoist Bronzelion recently discovered it. If it is indeed a trove, we'll split the profits evenly. In exchange, I can give you the soul jade also." Eshe finally got to the point, speaking verbally.
The others all turned their gazes towards him, but then looked away. Their gazes were neutral and unreadable.
"..." Yan Zaizen pondered for a brief moment before nodding. He didn't know what a 'minor tier' inheritance trove meant in terms of wealth, but he had no real reason to refuse. He could be cautious, refusing due to their possible ill-intentions, but that didn't stop the fact that he needed information and wealth. Useable wealth.
This agreement could also allow him to understand the Fortune Cemetery and Dusk Zone more thoroughly, so it wasn't something he could casually reject. If the situation was truly too dangerous, he could try to excavate himself using his heavenly comprehensions. He did master multiple World and Imperial Laws to a high level.
Not to mention, all of these cultivators were around the second-floor in terms of aura. He didn't take it entirely at face value, but right now, he didn't take them seriously.
Eshe smiled, tossing the soul jade to him. "Good. Fellow Daoist, how may I call you?"
Catching the jade, Yan Zaizen slightly furrowed his brows, but then his eyes lit up with a soft light. He turned towards her and indifferently spoke, "Ascension."
"Daoist Ascension, a grand name." She turned towards the others, but all of them ignored her, but she didn't seem to put it in her heart. "I believe this is enough, no?" Eshe spoke, but she was looking at the twin armored fellows. When those words were said, the flame knight grunted a beastly sound approvingly. The other stayed silent, but didn't reject.
Eshe smiled slightly, looking at the other two who only slightly nodded. "Great. Shall we go?" Eshe seemed to be quite enthusiastic. Yan Zaizen was a little confused why they considered adding a stranger to the group so suddenly, but he didn't object.
They left the cubical house. Eshe looked towards Esi, and Esi shrugged. The little girl waved her hand to produce a skyship. It was medium size and could only fit a few dozen people. The others didn't hesitate. They jumped onto the ship.
Yan Zaizen looked at Esi. This little girl had a second-floor cultivation as well, and her body was slightly odd. Yan Zaizen couldn't pinpoint it, his senses being severely weakened due to his recent setbacks. However, he only took note and jumped onto the ship.
Eshe and Esi jumped on as well. Esi was at the helm, and she piloted the ship. The others only stood around and waited patiently. Interestingly enough, they all seemed as if they were meditating or simply sightseeing the area, but all of their senses were honed onto Esi's body.
"..." Noting this, Yan Zaizen looked at the outside as they traveled. They exited the city in a short period. He turned his head back to see the city and couldn't help but frown. The city felt like a mirage. As they grew more distant, it was as if it was slowly vanishing from his senses.
"Illusionary laws? Is it a defensive mechanism against the Yaoguai?" While thinking this, the city truly vanished from his visual and sensory perception. It reminded him slightly of the giant eye outside of the Paradise Sword Realm, but it was far less intricate than the eye.
Briefly looking around, he couldn't help but remark that he was going on an adventure with an unknown group like a hero in those stories. Braving the dangers and mysteries of the world with only his instincts, his cultivation, intelligence, and luck!
It felt exciting!
"...I wish you were here...Pinaka…" A flash of sadness flickered in his gaze. It caused his mood to drop, but he didn't show any of it on his expression. "I'll save you, kill all those who hinder my way, and make you a true existence. I promise." Solemnly swearing, he looked at the vast unknown that was dark clouds and strange grounds.
"I will."