Golden Mountain City

Three days passed just like that.

Presumably, the others had figured out that the occupants of this room were not to be trifled with, so no one came to bother Lin Xiao and the others after that.

The cabin Lin Xiao had chosen had a small window. They could see the scenery along the journey without leaving the room. Although it only offered a view of one side, staying inside saved them a lot of trouble, so they were quite satisfied.

Over the past few days, Liao Pantu felt his eyes had truly been opened.

Every day at dawn, he would watch Jiang Youfu rummage through his two storage bags and start tinkering around in the cabin that was less than ten square meters.

From the very first day they moved in, Jiang Youfu had placed a small, portable stove made by his father right in the middle of their room.

Every morning, he would set up a pot on it to make breakfast, followed by lunch at noon, afternoon snacks, dinner in the evening, and even late-night suppers.

Furthermore, because Jiang Youfu's mind was always brimming with countless new recipes he wanted to try, they never ate the same meal twice.

This couldn't help but remind Liao Pantu of an old saying he had abandoned for hundreds of years.

Food is the paramount necessity of the people.

Yet, he could never resist the temptation of good food, always ending up eating the most every single time.

But he couldn't be blamed. After all, who could resist being constantly fed super delicious spiritual food?

Eating like this over the past few days gave Liao Pantu the illusion that he was about to gain weight.

Fortunately, they had set up an isolation array. Otherwise, with the constant mouth-watering aromas filling the air day after day, they really feared someone might come knocking on their door with a knife.

As for Lin Xiao, he spent these few days keeping an eye on the route outside the window while cultivating, occasionally accepting food from Jiang Youfu.

Next door, Yuan Qing was not living nearly as comfortably.

His room didn't have a normal window, only a small circular opening near the ceiling, presumably to let in a bit of light.

Because he had eaten the spiritual food Lin Xiao and the others had brought him earlier, he hadn't felt the slightest bit hungry these past few days, even without taking a fasting pill.

Every day, Yuan Qing simply took a Minor Rejuvenation Pill from his storage bag, swallowed it, and lay in bed focusing on healing his injuries.

As for anyone who came knocking, he rejected them without even opening the door.

Occasionally, when he got too bored staying in the room, he would stack up some chairs, step on them, and look at the scenery outside through that small circular opening.

Compared to Lin Xiao and the others next door, Yuan Qing's daily life was worlds apart.

Of course, such things only existed in comparison. Yuan Qing had no idea what kind of life the two people next door were living, so he didn't feel particularly uncomfortable himself.

To avoid blowing their cover, Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu naturally couldn't bring him any more unexplainable spiritual food at a time like this.

"I wonder if Elder Liu has already headed over,"

Jiang Youfu said to Lin Xiao and Liao Pantu while eating a lotus pastry he had made himself.

Liao Pantu sat comfortably by the window, leaning back in a relaxed manner. With a teacup in one hand and a lotus pastry—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and perfectly fragrant—in the other, he narrowed his eyes, enjoying the food along with the scenery outside, too lazy to even speak.

Lin Xiao gently brushed the crumbs off his hands and replied,

"I took a stroll around the Treasure Pavilion earlier, and they had already put the goods we sent over this time on the shelves. This means Elder Liu has finished his transaction with the Treasure Pavilion. If nothing else came up, he should have set off long ago."

After all, unlike them, who were completely clueless about the Talisman Master Convention, Liu Chun was determined to participate and must have thoroughly understood all the details.

The only thing they didn't know was whether he had taken the Talisman Master Convention's spirit ship like they did, or if he had taken a different route.

Hearing this, Jiang Youfu picked up another lotus pastry, popped it into his mouth with a chomp, and then mumbled indistinctly as a thought struck him,

"It's really interesting how people from all over are rushing to attend the Talisman Master Convention together. It would be great if there was a culinary convention; I'd really love to experience that."

Beside him, Liao Pantu glanced at him and said,

"There is one, but it's not called a culinary convention. It's called the Spirit Chef Banquet."

Hearing this, Jiang Youfu's eyes lit up.

"Eh? Really, Senior Liao? Where is it? When is it?"

Liao Pantu took a sip of hot tea and replied,

"It exists, but the scale isn't as grand as the Talisman Master Convention. Getting started as a Spirit Chef isn't easy; compared to other paths, it's quite difficult, and advancing is even harder. Because of this, there aren't many Spirit Chefs, so the Spirit Chef Banquet doesn't draw as massive a crowd as the Talisman Master Convention."

"Moreover, the Spirit Chef Banquet isn't held in the Northern or Southern Spirit Realms."

While the three were talking, the spirit ship gradually descended and came to a halt.

The spirit ships of the Talisman Master Convention didn't just pick up passengers in one place. Instead, each ship had a fixed quota for every city it stopped at, and it would depart once it was full or the scheduled time arrived.

Because the isolation array was active, people outside couldn't see Lin Xiao and the others, even though they were sitting right by the window.

Their window faced the boarding direction, and the view from their spot was quite good, allowing them to see the long queue forming outside for boarding.

The city they were currently stopped at was called Jinshan City. Looking from afar, they could see the towering city walls ahead. Yuanling City, which had previously seemed quite grand to Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu, paled in comparison to this place like a lesser wizard before a great one.

Even the cultivators waiting in line seemed to have an indescribable difference from the cultivators in Yuanling City at a glance.

Lin Xiao asked Liao Pantu,

"Senior, the cultivators in this Jinshan City look quite..."

Liao Pantu swept a glance over the long line and subtly curled his lip.

"Quite what?"

Lin Xiao thought for a moment, then shifted his gaze to him and said,

"Quite familiar..."

Hearing this, Jiang Youfu also craned his neck to carefully examine the cultivators in line. Then, as if realizing something, he turned to Liao Pantu with a pleasant surprise and said,

"Senior, they look a bit like you!"

Liao Pantu gave a soft snort and said,

"I look nothing like them."

Observing his expression, Lin Xiao nodded thoughtfully.

"Sure enough, it's that aura of confident pride mixed with a wealthy tycoon vibe. It's incredibly similar."

Stared at by two pairs of eyes, Liao Pantu said helplessly,

"Alright, alright, you guys have sharp eyes. I used to be from Jinshan City, okay?"

Jiang Youfu blinked his eyes.

"So this is your hometown?"

Hearing this, Liao Pantu quickly denied it.

"Don't talk nonsense! This is not my hometown. I merely grew up and cultivated here when I was a child."

Saying that, he cast a glance at the distant Jinshan City, a faint look of mockery in his eyes, and said,

"I wouldn't be worthy of claiming such an impressive hometown."

Seeing his somewhat gloomy expression, Lin Xiao barely managed to swallow the words "tell us more about it" that had reached the tip of his tongue, and then turned to look at the line outside.

Unlike in Yuanling City earlier, it seemed a huge number of cultivators from Jinshan City were boarding the ship.