On the road to Senluo Valley, Yu Wen Cuojin was scrutinizing the instant noodle recipe.
When the celestial elder handed over the recipe, there was only one catch.
That was, no matter how it was sold or gifted, it must be presented in ‘Tianzun brand’ font size.
Yu Wen Cuojin couldn’t help but feel a bit overly excited.
“If we manage to make this, won’t all the power of the countless beings be credited to Tianzun?”
“According to Luo Yexian, that celestial elder is like a dragon—seen at the head and not at the tail—yet incredibly, he just happens to be in South Border, and specifically, in Three Mountain Town, the first place he started preaching…”
“Is he waiting for me? So this recipe was all prepared in advance?! Expanding influence through my hands?!”
At this thought, Yu Wen Cuojin couldn’t help but take another deep breath of the noodle seasoning air.
How deep the schemes ran!
It seemed like nothing had been done, like everything was just flowing smoothly, but in truth, every step was under the control of the other party!
Even scarier was that what he could see was probably only the tip of the iceberg; the Wanxiang Xianzong had quietly begun to preach across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, their ambitions must be vast!
No wonder even the ancestor of Y unmeng was willing to hand him the big green onions!
“Let’s send this recipe to Xueliantang first.”
“See if they can whip up some Tianzun sauce…”
………
Time passed, and the Three Great Suns gradually sank into the Qingyuan mountain range.
The last stubborn streak of yellow dawn illuminated the large banyan tree in the courtyard, letting the final withered leaves flutter down, landing on a pair of delicate and long hands.
But it seemed as if a layer of invisible gauze separated them; the withered leaves slid away.
Ying Bing sat beneath the banyan tree. Her skin, besides being pale, shimmered with a layer of jade-like luster.
She had changed into a white bathrobe, but the veiled figure behind it was outlined in black. The bathrobe didn’t quite reach the length of her moonlit skirt, leaving a small section of her calf exposed, wrapped in dark cloud-like fabric, irresistibly stunning.
Her expressionless face, in the twilight, showcased a blend of light and dark—half cool and serene, half adorned with the hues of the night.
She gazed vaguely at the courtyard gate, not knowing who she was waiting for…
Suddenly, footsteps echoed.
“I’m exhausted.”
But the one who came in was Qin Yuzhi. She glanced at Ying Bing’s attire, and was somewhat surprised:
“Little Ice Girl, have you been practicing body tempering martial arts?”
“Hmm, just tried it a bit.”
“Just a bit?”
Qin Yuzhi thought, “You’ve already made it through the entrance!”
Who can smoothly refine their body on the very first day without injuring themselves?
She looked at Ying Bing’s outfit, curiosity piqued:
“Why are you wearing a bathrobe?”
“After body tempering, soaking in a hot spring helps in recovery.”
“And inside…?”
“It’s my training outfit; I didn’t have time to change.”
Qin Yuzhi paused: “Then why aren’t you… waiting for what?”
“I’ll be going soon.”
The ice chunk casually sipped tea, indicating that her reason for soaking in the hot spring was quite simple.
Qin Yuzhi stretched and said, “I heard soaking in hot springs is quite relaxing, exactly what I need after today; that Li Mo brat doesn’t treat me like an employee, he treats me like a pack animal!”
Even her dream escape couldn’t be used dozens of times in a day!
Who knows what methods that brat is using to travel anywhere he wants, but unfortunately, he can’t bring people along when he teleports.
“I should go soak too; Little Ice Girl, want to join me?”
“I prefer to be alone.”
“??”
At this moment, Qin Yuzhi remembered that Little Li had said that the ice chunk was waiting for him to bathe.
Yet now, the Little Ice Girl herself said she liked to be alone.
Who’s fooling who here?
Qin Yuzhi was sure the liar was Li Mo, because that brat really can pull the wool over your eyes.
“You go ahead and soak; I’m going to our room to rest for a bit.”
Ying Bing adjusted her bathrobe, the black silk and snow-white feet slipping into her shoes, and hurried upstairs.
She opened the window to see warm steam wafting up from the faux mountain in the misty Everlasting Spring.
………
Little Li was still blissfully unaware that he had unintentionally struck gold.
He had already run through the remaining operations in Three Mountain Town, skipping the live cooking segment of braised beef noodles.
He handed over the ingredients to the locals and let them work their magic.
After a day’s hustle and bustle, the sky darkened.
“Gained another layer?”
At the entrance of Qiushui Pavilion, Li Mo took out the Kongming Multicolor Tower, realizing there were unexpected gains.
But then he thought again.
The higher the realm, the more power the beings provided.
So this extra layer in the Kongming Multicolor Tower, it wasn’t hard to say that the Huanmo Sect had made a contribution.
He was now a tiny bit closer to projecting the great divine form!
Unfortunately, the Huanmo Sect was still a shady business; otherwise, he would have wanted to recruit them to be subordinates under the Wanxiang Xianzong.
Shaking his head, the mist before Li Mo cleared, and he saw the grand doors of Qiushui Pavilion once more.
However, in the courtyard, he didn’t spot the ice chunk’s figure.
At the table beneath the banyan tree, only Qin Yuzhi was there, carving bamboo slips, having not yet learned to use a brush.
“Yo, the Great Conman has arrived.”
“??”
Li Mo cleared his throat, adopting a serious tone: “What do you mean, conman? A gentleman’s sincerity is recognized by bamboo; I am indeed an honest man, and every word I say is true.”
“Who says you’re not? You clearly just lied to me today.” Qin Yuzhi huffed in dissatisfaction.
“What did I con you about?”
Qin Yuzhi didn’t hold back: “You said Little Ice Girl is waiting for you to take a bath together; you’re in such a hurry to get to Qiushui Pavilion. Using this excuse to rush me, you’ve even deceived your own people, really overdoing it.”
“??”
Little Li’s head was filled with question marks: “This is true! I had an appointment with her to enjoy the moon at Misty Everlasting Spring.”
“Then Little Ice Girl was the one who lied to me.”
“What did the ice chunk say?”
Qin Yuzhi’s expression seemed to pierce through his façade: “She said soaking in the hot spring was because she practiced martial arts and that she liked to be alone.”
Li Mo pondered: “When you came in, what was the ice chunk like?”
“Wearing a bathrobe, and inside… right, there was that black… thing, oh right, the training outfit.”
Qin Yuzhi detailed.
What do you know, dreamers do have superb descriptive abilities!
Li Mo leaned back slightly.
A training outfit…
What kind of training outfit includes socks?!
“Based on my experience, the one who spoke with you isn’t the ice chunk.”
“Then who is it?”
“It’s Bad Ice Chunk.”
“???”
Qin Yuzhi recalled the scene she saw in Ying Bing’s dream.
So who was truly deceiving her? She couldn’t figure it out; she seriously couldn’t figure it out!
At this moment, Little Li went up the stairs.
As expected, the ice chunk’s room was empty.
But… the window was open.
Having searched for the ice chunk in Qiushui Pavilion, she wasn’t in the courtyard or the room; where else could she be?
“New hobbies, eh?”
Li Mo smirked, pushing nonexistent sunglasses up his nose.
Bad Ice Chunk was up to something, keeping their agreement!
In that case…
He should quietly slip into the spring and sh**t first, asking questions later.
Thus, Little Li stepped onto the windowsill and leapt outside.
His target was the misty faux mountain’s summit!
