Right at this moment, the crowd saw Yuan Zhiyun, who had already reached the center of the Seven Star Street Square, lightly leap from the white peacock and land steadily, walking gracefully toward the crowd.
Dressed in an exquisite pale yellow dress, she arrived before the dense crowd. Her every movement was captivating. With no attendants following behind her, she stood alone among the dense crowd of cultivators like a fluttering breeze, aloof from the world.
"Because of a bet I made today with my clan brother Yuan Shangpu, I, Yuan Zhiyun, wish to form a five-person squad to head to the Icefield Mystic Realm that will open in five days to capture an Icefield Spirit Essence. Of course, after the matter is accomplished, I will offer a heavy reward."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire square was in an uproar.
The surrounding cultivators were all somewhat in disbelief.
What was she talking about?
That was the Icefield Spirit Essence! For a hundred years, no one had ever heard of anyone being able to catch one from the Icefield Mystic Realm again! To think that Yuan Zhiyun would come out and announce such an outrageous piece of news right off the bat.
Many people shook their heads and began to discuss in low voices with those around them.
"Are you going to join?"
"Not me. I heard that the Icefield Spirit Essence appears and disappears unpredictably in the mystic realm. Let alone catching it, just seeing it once is considered lucky! If I actually agreed to help her find this thing, wouldn't that be a total waste of time? If I went in to collect Ice Stone Grass, I could get quite a lot."
"Exactly. The opening time of the Icefield Mystic Realm is very short, only fifteen days in total. It would be better to use this time to fish for some Silver-tail Fish; they go for fifty spirit stones each!"
"But don't you guys want Yuan Zhiyun's heavy reward?"
"Heavy reward? Didn't you hear her say 'after the matter is accomplished'? Doesn't that mean if we fail, there won't be any reward?"
...
For a time, discussions buzzed all around, yet not a single person stepped forward to join Yuan Zhiyun's squad.
Yuan Zhiyun wasn't the least bit anxious. She stood calmly in place with her hands behind her back, her eyes leisurely scanning the bustling crowd. The white peacock standing straight beside her was currently craning its long neck, holding its head high with its eyes half-closed as if dozing off.
Lin Xiao figured he had gathered about as much information as he could here, and there was nothing new going on for the moment, so he followed the flow of the crowd and left the area.
No one paid any attention to this twelve-year-old boy with absolutely no cultivation base.
After leaving Seven Star Street, he headed straight for the Jiang Family Livestock Market.
Spirit pig, spirit pig, roast suckling pig, roast suckling pig!
Under Liao Pantu's guidance, Lin Xiao quickly arrived at the Jiang Family Livestock Market. Among the various spiritual fowls and beasts, he spotted the spirit pig stall at a glance. There were a few people buying in front of it, so he hurriedly walked over.
"Greetings, guest. Our market's spirit pigs are two hundred and fifty spirit stones each, no bargaining. Are you looking to buy?"
A shop assistant came over to greet him.
Lin Xiao turned his head and glanced at a customer nearby who had just paid spirit stones for a spirit pig. He saw a shop assistant carry out a spirit pig, which the customer then skillfully took, slinging the pale and tender piglet over his own shoulder before turning to leave.
So he said to the shop assistant greeting him,
"I'll give you five extra spirit stones. Could your shop please deliver one to the Xianxiang Restaurant for me?"
Obviously, it wasn't uncommon for customers to make such requests, as the assistant nodded familiarly and said,
"Alrighty, guest. That will be two hundred and fifty-five spirit stones in total!"
Lin Xiao felt a bit of a pinch as he paid the spirit stones, but thinking of the deliciousness Senior Liao had described, and realizing he hadn't eaten roast suckling pig in years, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He instantly forgot about the over two hundred spirit stones he had just spent, his heart filled only with anticipation for the delicacy he was about to eat.
After leaving the Jiang Family Livestock Market, he hurriedly headed to the Xianxiang Restaurant.
At this time, the Xianxiang Restaurant was bustling with people coming and going, as the Wu family was hosting a banquet there to recruit talents for their clan.
The Xianxiang Restaurant was an antique-style establishment with a total of six floors.
Today, the Wu family had booked the top two floors, leaving only a few attendants on the first floor to receive arriving cultivators.
Seeing this boy with no spiritual energy fluctuations around him walk over, those attendants didn't spare him a second glance.
Lin Xiao bypassed them and entered the Xianxiang Restaurant.
As soon as he entered the lobby, a shop assistant at the first level of Qi Condensation came up to greet him. Following what Liao Pantu had just taught him on the way, Lin Xiao kept a plain expression as he instructed the assistant about the spirit pig he had ordered to be delivered shortly, and then asked for a private room to be arranged for him.
The shop assistant quickly guided him upstairs,
"Guest, please come this way."
Lin Xiao gave a slight nod and followed him upstairs. He seemingly casually glanced at the bustling lobby on the first floor and asked,
"Where is Chef Luo?"
The shop assistant was taken aback by his words, but after pausing for just a second or two, he immediately replied,
"Chef Luo passed away the year before last. Now, the head chef in charge of our Xianxiang Restaurant's kitchen is Chef Luo's eldest disciple, Chef Qian. Chef Qian has perfectly inherited Chef Luo's culinary skills. Back when Chef Luo was still alive, he used to say that Chef Qian had long since surpassed his master. Please rest assured, guest, the taste of our Xianxiang Restaurant is absolutely top-notch!"
As he spoke, he walked sideways in front to lead the way, freeing a hand to give Lin Xiao a thumbs-up.
Hearing this, Lin Xiao softly replied with an "Oh" and said no more.
Arriving at a private room on the second floor, the shop assistant poured him some tea.
"Guest, aside from the roast suckling pig, do you need any side dishes or drinks? Our Xianxiang Restaurant's Pinhui Spirit Wine is renowned throughout the entire Southern Spirit Realm, and as for our side dishes,"
He pulled out a menu from the storage bag at his waist, flipped it open, and handed it to Lin Xiao.
"Look here, guest. This Eight-Crisp Silver-tail Fish is the number one signature side dish of our Xianxiang Restaurant. These Silver-tail Fish are hard to come by; they can only be found in the Icefield Mystic Realm, which opens for only fifteen days a year. It's a rare delicacy. Right now, our Xianxiang Restaurant's stock is also extremely scarce. At most, we'll sell out in a few days and they'll be completely gone. We'll have to wait for the Icefield Mystic Realm to open in five days."
Lin Xiao recalled seemingly hearing someone mention the name of this Silver-tail Fish just now, so feeling a bit curious, he ordered a serving.
As for the Pinhui Spirit Wine that the assistant highly recommended, Lin Xiao originally didn't want it, but Liao Pantu, who was inside the Soul-Nourishing Pendant, sent him a sound transmission telling him to order a jug. Thus, he asked the shop assistant to bring a jug of this Pinhui Spirit Wine.
These two items, plus the processing fee for the roast suckling pig, came to a total of fifty-five spirit stones. Although Lin Xiao's heart was bleeding a little, he took out the spirit stones with a very indifferent expression.
Taking the spirit stones handed to him, the shop assistant received them very excitedly and said to him,
"Alrighty! Please wait a moment, guest. Your food and wine will be served right up!"
After the shop assistant left, Lin Xiao finally sent a sound transmission to ask Liao Pantu,
"I'm only twelve years old, what kind of wine should I be drinking?"
Liao Pantu didn't answer him, but instead told him to hurry up and take out the isolation array he had inscribed back in the sect and set it up.
Lin Xiao did as he was told, taking out the isolation array and setting it up properly.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
