Wang Gu followed the old man. When he had touched him earlier, Wang Gu felt a faint trace of imaginary power being released.

That power appeared when a cultivator studied certain techniques. There were many techniques capable of creating an illusion of strength, but only one was popular.

Shadow Cultivation Technique.

Not only could it create an illusion of power, but it could also mask one’s aura to keep their cultivation hidden.

Even so, the technique had its limits. For instance, it wouldn’t be effective against someone with a higher cultivation base.

The old man stopped in front of a two story restaurant. Wang Gu was surprised to realize how close the location was to Qingyin’s inn.

"Let us talk inside," the old man said, without a hint of guilt for bringing Wang Gu to one of the most expensive restaurants in the city.

He followed the old man inside and took in the surroundings. The first floor was spacious, filled with many tables and customers.

A servant approached, but she didn’t head for the old man; she went straight to Wang Gu.

"I am sorry. If you want to eat, it looks like you will have to wait quite a while."

Wang Gu saw the crowd, but he didn’t know what the situation was on the second floor.

"What about the second floor?" Wang Gu asked.

"There are still empty tables... but you will likely have to pay much more."

The man patted his bag of holding and handed 100 spirit stones to the woman. The server accepted the pouch and looked shocked; the amount was far more than she had imagined.

"V-Very well. Please follow me."

Wang Gu remained cold and silent, following the woman up to the second floor. Unlike the crowded first floor, the second floor offered a sense of privacy.

Each table was partitioned by wood. There were 20 tables in total, and 12 were already occupied.

He and the old man took table number 13. The old man took advantage of the situation by ordering the best food and drinks the restaurant had to offer, enough to leave the server in a state of shock.

"Just do it," Wang Gu said. The woman cleared her throat and nodded.

"Ahh, now this is a comfortable place for an important talk."

"Why are you hiding your cultivation base, Old Man?" Wang Gu asked, picking up the kettle and pouring wine into two glasses.

"Don’t you understand? The most effective way to protect yourself is to disguise yourself as a mortal."

"Cultivators are bound by cultivation norms; they don’t involve mortals in their business."

"True," Wang Gu replied, "But you told them about the Ancient Dragon Golden Marrow. From what I saw, you were trying to interfere in their business."

"Haha! I needed a free meal from them, and that includes you."

Wang Gu was silent for a moment, lifting his glass and sipping slowly. He and the old man moved with the same rhythm.

"So? Are you interested in my story?" the old man asked.

"You may begin."

"Wait until the food arrives. We will talk once our stomachs are full," the old man replied.

The man across from the old man narrowed his eyes, staring straight ahead.

Without moving a muscle, Wang Gu took the risk of sending his primordial soul essence into the old man’s body.

The old man went into shock and remained motionless for several seconds. Wang Gu closed his eyes, trying to peer into the man’s soul.

A thud of qi occurred once Wang Gu felt he had seen enough of his true cultivation base. A wide smile appeared on the young man’s face, while the old man began to grow angry.

"What the hell are you doing?!" the man asked.

"I was just curious about who I was talking to. Turns out you are a Soul Formation cultivator."

"Let me teach you a lesson about the Primordial Soul, brat!"

The old man released his soul essence, sending it into Wang Gu’s sea of consciousness.

Wang Gu didn’t mind; his primordial soul strength was higher. Handling a sliver of a Soul Formation soul was not difficult.

The old man looked beyond shocked as his soul witnessed what was inside Wang Gu’s body.

The primordial soul was perfectly formed, possessed consciousness, and held far stronger energy.

With a small strike from Wang Gu’s primordial soul, the sliver of the old man’s soul consciousness was destroyed, wounding the man and causing him to vomit blood.

"A Primordial Soul in a Core Formation body? How is this possible?!" he barked in shock.

"Same as you," Wang Gu said with a smirk. "I am... hiding my cultivation base."

"Impossible."

"L-Let me pay for this food, Senior," the old man said, panicked.

"No need."

"I need the information about the Ancient Dragon Golden Marrow from you. Consider the food a gift I prepared for you," Wang Gu replied, pouring wine and drinking slowly.

"This junior is lucky to have met a Senior."

"So, what do you know about the Ancient Dragon Golden Marrow?"

The old man began to tell everything without waiting for the food to be finished. He explained that he had visited the Seven Peaks of the Northern Mountains five times.

"There is a hidden cave on the third peak, unknown to many."

"I found that cave and saw a dragon guarding the treasure," the old man answered.

"Hmm... and the dragon’s strength?"

"I fought it once. I think its power is equivalent to Soul Formation. At the time, I fought that dragon when I was still at the Nascent Soul stage."

"A monster equivalent to Soul Formation, huh?"

There is no way I can defeat that dragon; my cultivation isn’t high enough yet.

Wang Gu sighed, pouring wine from the kettle into the two glasses again, one for himself and one for the old man. Before long, the server arrived carrying a large tray filled with food.

The old man became polite, inviting Wang Gu to eat first. However, Wang Gu was not interested.

"Do you have a map of that cave?" Wang Gu asked.

"I do."

The old man patted his bag of holding and handed the map scroll to Wang Gu. The young man accepted it and opened it; the contents matched what the old man had said.

Wang Gu smiled. He was a bit hesitant about getting the Ancient Dragon Golden Marrow right now, considering his cultivation was still low.

However, he would keep the map so he could get it later when his cultivation was strong enough.

"Fine," Wang Gu said. "I have what I wanted."

The young man stood up, letting the old man finish all the food. The old man thanked him and ate everything greedily.

Wang Gu walked away from the table with his eyes focused ahead. He stepped out of the restaurant and looked toward the northern mountains.

The mountain gates will open in three days. I should use my spirit stones to break through to Mid Core Formation.

He looked for an inn furthest from the city, rented a room, and began to cultivate. He brought out 100 high grade spirit stones.

In his opinion, that amount of spirit stones was more than enough to break through the realm in a short time.

***

Three days later.

A thud of qi energy was felt in the inn, growing stronger until it sent a pillar of golden light into the sky.

Several cultivators noticed the pillar of light; they could tell a cultivator had successfully broken through.

All 100 high grade spirit stones fell to the floor after floating for three days straight. Every single stone dropped, drained of energy, having been fully absorbed by Wang Gu.

Wang Gu opened his eyes and felt a burst of qi once more, incredibly strong and stable in his body. The young man took a long breath, beginning to calm himself.

He had successfully broken through to Mid Core Formation. The golden pillar of light faded, and the gates to the northern mountains were about to open. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Time to go.

Wang Gu walked out of the inn and headed toward the starting gate of the northern mountains.

He wasn’t walking alone; there were many cultivators to his left and right walking with him.

They all had different goals. However, many of them were targeting the eighth peak of those northern mountains.

He arrived at the location and saw the Tianzun Sect group at the very front.

Gu Qingyin was there, and it seemed she would be participating in the search for the eighth peak within the Seven Peaks of the Northern Mountains.

Not only was Qingyin there, but a Young Master of the Tianzun Sect was also by her side to accompany her. The two of them looked close and intimate, just like a pair of lovers.

Both were still stuck at the Golden Core stage, with no signs of breaking through to Nascent Soul.

Is it possible Qingyin came looking for the eighth peak just to help her break through to Nascent Soul?

This was a valuable opportunity for Wang Gu. He hadn’t seen Gu Qingyin for a long time; with her present at this event, Wang Gu could gauge what her abilities were like.

Qingyin... let’s see just how capable you are that you’ve grown too arrogant to visit Mother!