Chapter 893: Ragtag bunch

"I know what you're wondering, and yes! These are mortals from the Spirit Realm, mortals who have never cultivated!"

"Even mere mortals possess the strength of the Foundation Establishment Stage in the Mortal Realm. Indeed, this place is a treasure trove of spiritual energy."

Hei Huang sneered to himself.

"As for the three people sitting inside that carriage, they appear to be Core Formation cultivators, but in reality, they're the lowest level of cultivators in the Spirit Realm, having just stepped into the path of cultivation and already formed their Golden Cores."

"The Spirit Realm is vast and boundless, and such people are the most common and numerous. It's only natural that we encounter cultivators of this level upon entering the Spirit Realm."

Hei Huang began to explain.

This left Xu Hei utterly shocked.

Mortals equivalent to Foundation Establishment? With a bit of cultivation, they can form a Golden Core, equivalent to the Core Formation Stage? In the Mortal Realm, they would just be starting Qi Refining.

This Spirit Realm is truly outrageous!

However, judging by the concentration of spiritual energy here, it's not surprising. In such a naturally blessed environment, even in a barren desert, the spiritual energy is abundant. Under such favorable conditions, everything seems reasonable.

These mortals are bathed in spiritual liquid and herbs from birth, and even without deliberate cultivation, their physical bodies become as strong as steel.

"Xu Hei, you should be able to speak, right? Tell that woman to give me some pills, I need to heal too!"

"Xu Hei, stop playing dead, I know you have the power to protect yourself!"

"Damn it! Speak!"

"Woof!"

"..."

The carriage wheels rolled on, leaving two long tracks in the desert. The horses were the common black-maned variety, and there was only one camel, but the beasts in the Spirit Realm generally had better constitutions.

The grass and water they consumed were all born in the Spirit Realm's environment, but the people here were used to it. Without comparison, they would never realize how privileged their conditions were.

Along the way, Xu Hei listened to the conversations and figured things out.

This was a small sect called the Green Mountain Sect.

The sect was very poor, only able to earn spirit stones by doing hard labor like escorting goods and mining in the desert.

Occasionally, they would be hired by large families to act as guards or thugs.

This was hardly a sect; it was more like a street gang.

The sect master was named Nie Qingshan, who juggled multiple roles daily, running around to support the people in the sect.

In the carriage were the Pill Refining Grand Elder Gu Qianqian, the Grand Elder Xu Yanran, and the strategist Yun Ling. This was the core strength of the Green Mountain Sect.

They were just a ragtag bunch.

That night, everyone planned to cook dog meat, but Gu Qianqian stopped them, citing potential poison, leaving everyone disappointed.

They could only wait until Xu Hei could speak to ask him.

"Fellow Daoist, it's time for your medicine."

Gu Qianqian approached Xu Hei, took out a pill, and placed it in his mouth. It was a blood-replenishing pill she had personally refined.

Rather than refined, it was more like hand-rolled.

Xu Hei sniffed it and swallowed it, feeling somewhat better.

He had to admit, high-quality pills often required the simplest refining methods.

As the pill entered his body, it felt like a flame ignited in his abdomen, a warm current flowing through him, making his body heat up and recover slightly, at least indicating the ingredients were good.

"Thank you," Xu Hei said.

"Oh? It seems you can speak now," Gu Qianqian remained expressionless.

Xu Hei hesitated for a moment and said, "It's all thanks to your pill."

Gu Qianqian was noncommittal and said, "You've been eavesdropping along the way, so you should know who we are by now."

Xu Hei smiled wryly, "The famous Green Mountain Sect, who doesn't know?"

"Hah, you're quite the flatterer," Gu Qianqian rolled her eyes. The Green Mountain Sect might have been famous back in the day, but now, even dogs wouldn't recognize them.

Xu Hei secretly tried to use his divine sense but found it still unusable, leaving him helpless. The treasures inside the Demon God Cauldron were temporarily out of reach.

"It's time you tell us about yourself."

A young man holding a folding fan stood to the side, the so-called strategist Yun Ling.

The others gathered around, looking at Xu Hei.

Xu Hei said, "If I told you I came from a faraway place, would you believe me?"

The group exchanged glances, neither affirming nor denying.

Yun Ling shook his fan and said, "Continue."

"My hometown is in the Divine State, and I was inadvertently swept into the sea, losing consciousness..."

Xu Hei fabricated a story on the spot.

During this time, Hei Huang kept sending him divine sense messages, telling him what to say, but Xu Hei ignored him and spun his own tale.

It took a full cup of tea's time to finish.

The group looked at each other, all showing expressions of surprise. Yun Ling remained calm, tapping his fan with his hand, and said, "Interesting."

Regardless of whether there was a place called the Divine State in the Spirit Realm, the mere fact that Xu Hei was swept into the sea and ended up in the desert was absurd.

However, this group was evidently not knowledgeable enough to discern the truth of Xu Hei's words.

"What's your name?" Gu Qianqian asked.

"Xu Hei," Xu Hei replied.

This name, this appearance, was as plain as could be... Gu Qianqian thought to herself. She continued, "I can't save you for free. The cost of the pills, treatment, carriage, and food totals thirteen spirit stones."

"However, I see you're penniless, without even a storage bag, so you probably can't pay. How about this: you work as a servant disciple for our Green Mountain Sect for two years to pay off the debt, how about it?"

Gu Qianqian crossed her arms, waiting for Xu Hei's response.

In their view, Xu Hei had no choice but to accept; otherwise, staying in the Golden Sand Desert would mean certain death.

Xu Hei hesitated for a moment and said, "That dog is mine; can I use it to pay off the debt?"

"No way!"

"Even for one spirit stone!"

"Woof!"

This time, before anyone could speak, Hei Huang roared in anger, glaring at Xu Hei.

Gu Qianqian glanced at Hei Huang and burst into laughter, "This dog is quite interesting. Since it's yours, the dog's food expenses will also be on you, making it eighteen spirit stones. You'll need to work as a servant for three years."

"What?!"

Xu Hei's eyes nearly popped out.

Trying to be clever only backfired!

Hei Huang's mouth curled into a smirk, eyes full of schadenfreude.

"I misspoke earlier; the dog isn't mine, and it's not poisonous!" Xu Hei waved his hands repeatedly.

"Great, then we'll have black dog meat tonight!" Everyone immediately became excited.

This time, it was Hei Huang's turn to panic, barking wildly and bristling with fur, taking a defensive stance.

"Xu Hei, you bastard, you're setting me up!" Hei Huang cursed.

Now it was Xu Hei's turn to enjoy the misfortune.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

At this moment, a fierce wind suddenly blew from all directions, cutting like knives against their faces, even causing cracks in the wooden boards of the carriage.

Everyone immediately fell silent, looking around.

In the distance, a gray whirlwind appeared on the horizon, drawing closer and closer, turning day into night, with the sun disappearing and sharp howling sounds coming from all directions.

"Sandstorm?" Xu Yanran frowned.

"No! It's not a sandstorm!"

Yun Ling's eyes were sharp, staring at the endless sandstorm in the distance and the countless rustling figures beneath it, and said in a deep voice, "It's sandworms!"