Persona.

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"What is peculiar is that, even though the spirit treasure that arrived here with the cultivators had already mutated to the point where it could only be wielded by those in the fourth realm of Golden Core, he was able to use it with only a minuscule amount of Qi. Not only that, after being fed just a small amount of Qi, the spirit treasure could automatically operate to fight for him, thanks to the formations and mechanisms Divine Raccoon Sage had embedded within it."

"Although he could have kept these abilities to himself, given that he was the only powerful person in the known world due to the spirit treasure formation he created, he chose not to. He understood that the suffering he had experienced was only part of a larger plight, as cultivators also faced similar enslavement on the next continent, where magic is most prominent."

"According to him, since he is the only person able to cross the Boundless Abyss Sea, these mages view cultivators as ideal test subjects for their spells because of their durability. Because of this, Divine Raccoon Sage chose not to hold anything against cultivators and decided to repay the young lady's kindness."

"He did not hoard this knowledge for himself, recognizing that not all cultivators were bad. As a result, the Wang Family became the foremost force in military might and wealth, thanks to his many new inventions that combined the arts of formation and mechanical engineering."

"From a simple animal slave to a pet, to the Guardian Beast of the Wang Family, and finally to Divine Raccoon Sage, he freed modern people from the Black Calamity Dynasty's clutches. He became an idol and savior, demonstrating that the notion of innate talent being the sole determinant of cultivation was false."

"His actions led to my freedom from slavery. Simply put, I did not meet him before his ascension with the Wang Family's main branch because, by the time he freed me, he was already in the process of moving to the next world. This left me clueless about my savior, as the one who physically freed me from my slave owner was one of his automatic spirit treasure inventions."

Nodding his head at the short story Yelena had told about Rocket Raccoon's life, Tian Xing recalled many stories from different variants of life in modern society. Knowing that each of these individuals was a real person living in this infinite Dao world, he became intrigued and wanted to learn each of their stories. He also found it peculiar that it was usually only in the modern age that people could fully enlighten themselves in the Predetermination Dao, allowing them to know stories from distant worlds that were not their own.

Shaking his head, Tian Xing then asked, "So, Divine Raccoon Sage and the Wang Family's main branch ascended 170,000 years ago, right, my Yelena? And does this also mean that the current leadership is from a side branch of the Wang Family? Master need to know this because it is crucial if we want to do any transactions with them later; their attitude might change drastically."

Pausing to think for a moment, Yelena shook her head, "No, master, you don't need to worry about that. Even though there may be a bad apple among them, overall, they are relatively good people compared to many evil sects or even hypocritical righteous sects. So, if you want to do business with them, I think it's okay, as long as what you want to sell isn't too precious. And even if it is so valuable that it might make everyone greedy, some branches of the Wang family that still follow their ancestors' teachings would, in the worst case, try to buy it out of your hands."

Nodding his head, Tian Xing turned to Ying Yue, "Yue, show her our harvest." Turning back to Yelena, he then said, "And my Yelena, see if there are any herbs in this basket that you don't know about or think are very precious, because I don't want to accidentally pick up something that will incite greed. Master want to avoid the limelight as much as possible since my Butterfly Echoes martial arts are best performed when hidden."

Seeing the two baskets Ying Yue had brought from the cave earlier into the boat—one for alchemical herbs and the other for natural treasures best eaten raw—Yelena then proceeded to inspect them more carefully this time. Although she had glanced at them while in the cave with her master and thought they were only common goods with nothing particularly valuable, Yelena still did as her master instructed, inspecting each item more carefully to see if there was anything valuable among the common items.

After finishing the last one, Yelena shook her head, "There is nothing, master. Although I realize that five of them could be considered a good harvest, I also know you're doing this to create the persona of someone who knows a little about spirit herbs and natural treasures. So, if what you mean by 'precious' is this, then yes, they are valuable to first- and second-stage body cultivators because they can slightly increase muscle and skin strength. As for the others, they are just auxiliary ingredients for making pills or something similar."

Seeing that he and Ying Yue had picked up exactly what they needed, Tian Xing explained, "Yes, we want to create the persona of a herb collector and alchemy practitioner from a distant land. And if the value of the ingredients here is as Yelena said, then it seems Ying Yue's Wan Shin Tong Dao and my simulation are correct."

Pausing, he then continued, "Speaking of distant lands, my Yelena, could you tell me about the known geography of this land? Also, could you recommend where we should first arrive as the starting point of our cultivation journey? Could you help us create a backstory and suggest what would be best for us? Preferably, a story that aligns with the persona of a relatively skilled pill maker who does not want to be affiliated with anyone, as this person is a loose cultivator seeking refuge from ongoing conflict in their previous land."

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