The big doors of the hot pot restaurant were tightly shut.
“Is the martial arts of your esteemed self from the Tianshan Sword Manor?” Qian Bufan asked, his eyes gleaming with knowledge as he grabbed a slice of beef.
Honestly, how did Li Zhenchuang come up with this hot pot recipe? It smells pretty nice!
“Yes,” Mei Yun admitted without denying it.
Though she didn’t spell it out, everyone got the message—she had arrived.
The Mei Sword, among the Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum, once ranked 41st on the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Wind and Cloud List before she voluntarily parted ways with the Tianshan Sword Manor.
“I am Qian Bufan, Elder of External Affairs from the Qingyuan Sect,” Qian Bufan introduced himself, one by one, even mentioning Shang Wu.
Upon hearing Shang Wu’s name, Mei Yun’s gaze shifted towards the lady in palace attire who was busy boiling mutton, her eyes gave a flicker.
After a brief silence, she spoke:
“You are all important figures in the Eastern Wilderness Region.”
“I know enough to let you in on things worth knowing.”
Qian Bufan picked up a piece of tofu skin, scanned the expressions of the others, and nodded. “I’ll listen carefully.”
“Why the Misty Rain Tower set up here, I do not know, but it should have nothing to do with the Huanmo Sect.”
“The owner surnamed Cui is secretly collaborating with the Huanmo Sect.”
Huanmo Sect.
At the mention of these three words, everyone became serious.
“What does the Huanmo Sect want?” asked a middle-aged man in Confucian robes from Fen Yu Lin.
“They’ve discovered a bl**d Phoenix Secret Realm.”
As soon as that was said, it felt like a giant rock had been thrown into a serene pond.
Qian Bufan drew in a sharp breath, immediately choking on a piece of rice tofu.
bl**d Phoenix Secret Realm.
It is said the bl**d Phoenix is a transformation of one of the Nine Colors Original Phoenix’s souls, immortal and indestructible; every time it dies, it can be reborn in a wondrous manner.
Whenever it becomes reborn, its old body crashes down, forming a bl**d Phoenix Secret Realm at the place of fall.
So, there could be more than one such realm.
There might be some exaggeration in that tale, but countless powerful beings still flock to it.
Immortal and indestructible.
What a mouthwatering term that pulls at the soul.
Has the barren Eastern Wilderness ever had a place where the bl**d Phoenix fell?
“The location is in Qinghe County; that’s all I know.”
“Unfortunately, the Unending Trials ended early, and I don’t know more,” Mei Yun said, shaking her head slightly.
Qinghe County?
The middle-aged man in Confucian robes from Fen Yu Lin’s eyes lit up.
Qinghe County is quite close to them.
But then…
Well, “close” really doesn’t matter, judging by everyone’s expressions, none of them seemed to care much about a bit of travel.
“Unfortunately, all the members of the Misty Rain Tower with ties to the Huanmo Sect are dead…”
“Not quite.”
Mei Yun shook her head.
“The top three from the Unending Trials are still alive.”
“Who are the three? I’ll go catch them!”
“I’ll go! Fen Yu Lin excels at reasoning; I can persuade them to talk!”
“Li Mo, Ying Bing, Xiao Qian.”
“……”
Everyone in the scene turned skeptical eyes towards Elder Qian.
No, no, you guys from the Qingyuan Sect can’t tell me there’s some strategic cooperation with the Misty Rain Tower, can you? Otherwise, why are all the top three your disciples?!
“What on earth were they doing?”
Elder Qian looked puzzled, thinking he had assigned them to the capital city to maintain public order and prevent the Misty Rain Tower from causing trouble, not to have them join in!
He didn’t even know what was happening in the capital city, so he turned to Shang Wu:
“Aren’t they running a hot pot restaurant?”
“Yeah, you see how lively it is downstairs? They are gathering intel in this manner,” Shang Wu said nonchalantly.
Everyone present: “…..”
So now we know why the Unending Trials ended early.
“Now that you mention it, if they hadn’t notified Elder Shang Wu in time, by the time we got there, it would’ve been too late.”
Qian Bufan solemnly chewed on a piece of duck intestine, ensuring everyone knew the Qingyuan Sect stood firmly on the right side of things.
“Our Qingyuan Sect will definitely reward those who’ve done well.”
He considered the details carefully.
If the Misty Rain Tower had any designs on the Ziyang Mansion in the future, having Li Mo and the others around could help them grasp the situation immediately.
A warm reminder: To help everyone choose books, the “Ranking” page has been optimized, so give it a try!
Setting
“Ying Bing slayed a killer from the Observation Realm; that’s no easy feat,” the middle-aged man in Confucian robes from Fen Yu Lin spoke up.
Internal Breathing cutting Observation?
The gap between Internal Breathing and Observation is bigger than the gap between bl**d Qi and Internal Breathing.
Many talented individuals in the bl**d Qi realm struggle to maintain an undefeated stance against opponents one realm above them in Internal Breathing.
The group discussed a few more details, agreed to keep in touch, and then cheerfully picked up their chopsticks.
“We’ve been chatting for so long, I’m starving.”
“Let’s eat.”
“After eating, we have to report to the sect… huh?”
“Where’s the food?”
…….
“Golden Crow Transforming Sun Visualization Chart.”
“Was the sun of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths transformed by a Golden Crow?”
Li Mo pondered, looking up at the sky.
Even though he was still in the Internal Breathing Realm, he felt those three suns blazing down were blinding.
To an ordinary person, it might just be overly bright.
But since Li Mo had trained with Shang Wu, he had begun to grasp the “intention,” and he felt a deep scorching sensation from within his soul.
Mustn’t look for long.
Li Mo hurriedly retracted his gaze.
He wasn’t sure which among the visualization charts was particularly rare.
But there was no doubt this Golden Crow Transforming Sun Visualization Chart he had was extraordinary.
After all, it was dropped by the Little Princess Jiang.
Far superior to that Night Ghost Visualization Chart.
It’s a pity he couldn’t use it right now.
“I’ll have to wait until I reach the Observation Realm.”
Li Mo felt it wouldn’t take long.
Inside a spatial void, he pulled out a stone jar filled with a pool of azure liquid.
Aqua Wood Spirit Liquid.
The vitality contained within can significantly ease his process of condensing energy into liquid.
…….
Time passed like a horse galloping through a gap.
During these ten days, Li Mo spent his days teaching Jiang Chulong and Mei Yun the secrets of running a hot pot restaurant.
To his surprise, he found that among the land deeds he previously obtained under Qingyuan, there was one for this very restaurant.
Which means Little Li had long been the owner of this establishment.
Oh fate, what a twist…
So the shop was just sitting here.
Li Mo simply handed over the hot pot recipe to Jiang Chulong, letting Mei Yun settle in with the little munchkins.
He practiced during the afternoons and their tandem training continued at night.
With the help of the Ice Chunk, his progress in the Internal Breathing Realm was impressive.
Finally, on the evening of the tenth day, he successfully refined thirty lotus seeds down to just one, and it began to root and sprout.
Little Li became a martial artist in the Internal Breathing Realm.
Their tandem training had to pause for now.
The process of condensing energy into pills could get disrupted by the interference of foreign internal breathing, potentially resulting in an impure spiritual pill.
……
As the days flowed into early July, summer quietly crept in.
On one particular morning, Ying Bing woke up with an instinct to remove the arm draped over her neck but found nothing there.
It dawned on her.
Since yesterday, they hadn’t slept together.
It had been a month.
【Congratulations, host, for successfully completing the first defeat’s penalty.】
【Third tier reward issued: True Phoenix Feather.】
【Assessing the host’s completion level…】
【Completion level: 100%.】
【Rating: D, only eligible for D-tier bonus reward.】
Ying Bing already knew that completing the penalty for the defeat guaranteed an additional reward.
But what does D-tier mean?
She knew the True Phoenix Feather was something valuable since she had it in her previous life.
Thus, Ying Bing was a bit curious about the additional reward.
“I did exactly what the system asked. I completed the penalty, why is my rating so low?”
“D-tier, better than nothing, but I wonder if I can actually use it…”
Ying Bing began checking the reward section.
【D-tier reward being randomly drawn.】
【Congratulations, host, for receiving one piece of intimate lingerie.】
Ying Bing: “?”
Intimate lingerie? What on earth is that?
Such a strange term.
