One demon treasure crystal spent — no progress on the technique, but some useful knowledge gained.

Plus twenty years of lifespan added on the side. Not a terrible deal.

Shen Yi leafed through the miscellaneous books Perfected Master Changqing had been carrying.

Most of them were things that read like travel journals.

"This person had quite the leisurely life."

Eyes drifting across the names of various factions that surfaced here and there through the pages.

Shen Yi fell into thought.

If only he could find some power that specialized in Mixed Origin cultivation and was as generous about sharing as the War Temple.

Of the two immortal sects he currently had any knowledge of, neither offered a clear path for making contact.

The one time he'd actually run into someone from Xuanguang Cave, they'd tried to have him killed.

Was it time to venture beyond Great Qian's borders?

With that thought, Shen Yi called out Lady Qinghua, and waited quietly for her to emerge from her cloud of grievances.

A full half-hour passed.

Only then did the daze in Qinghua's eyes begin to recede. "Qinghua greets her Master."

"I'd like to know how Great Qian and the immortal sects hold their territory. Where exactly do they operate?" Shen Yi intended to get a clearer picture of things outside the borders before blundering into something that made him cannon fodder.

"Hold their territory?"

Qinghua shook her head, puzzled. "It's always been the Thousand Demon Den holding territory — stopping the immortal sects and Great Qian from pushing in."

At that, Shen Yi was faintly taken aback.

This didn't quite match what he thought he knew about the War Temple.

"Within the Thousand Demon Den's domain, cultivator cave estates tend to emerge from time to time. The immortal sect disciples are like flies spotting a cracked egg — always looking for an opening to move in closer."

Lady Qinghua organized her thoughts carefully before continuing. "The War Temple's cultivators are the most brazen of all — their three-zhang golden dharma forms make no effort to conceal their presence, striding through the territory…