My Wife Is A Sword Immortal

Zhao Rong nodded, took it, and placed it into his book box. After mentally calculating a few times, he estimated the journey would roughly take two to three months. Although not as fast as the boats on the mountain, it was currently the most expedient method available.

Having determined their upcoming itinerary, the two discussed having a quick lunch in Cangzhoupu before immediately departing, not lingering there and striving to reach the nearest town beneath the mountain before dark.

Zhao Rong, accompanied by Liu Sanbian, went to buy some paper, ink, and books to replenish his book box, having used up and read everything during the days spent on the boat.

At this moment, the two of them were strolling along the streets of Cangzhoupu, looking for a place to dine.

Because of the large number of boats docking there, Cangzhoupu was bustling with cultivators from the mountain, and the streets were lively. There were even many street vendors setting up stalls, selling elixir pills, texts, or curious trinkets of uncertain origins. Many cultivators stopped to browse, hoping to find a bargain, fantasizing about stumbling upon a fortuitous opportunity oft found by the protagonists in storybooks.

Suddenly, Liu Sanbian turned his head to look back.

Not far behind, a stealthy figure shrank back in fear and hurriedly crouched next to a stall, pretending to intensely scrutinize the items for sale.

Seeing this, Zhao Rong turned his head to look back at the street behind him but couldn't spot anything unusual, so he looked at his companion, puzzled.

Liu Sanbian turned his head back around, giving Zhao Rong a strange look. After a moment's thought, he decided not to say anything.

Afterward, the two found a rather upscale inn and ordered a table full of dishes and drinks. This time, Zhao Rong insisted on treating, and after glancing at the menu, it would cost about two lower-grade spirit stones—and that was just for the first two pages of the menu.

Zhao Rong was somewhat surprised. Was dining on the mountain this expensive?

In fact, cultivators in the Fu Yao Realm no longer needed to eat food, yet many people from the mountain still maintained the habit. The boat that Zhao Rong was on also provided three meals a day.

Aside from some mountain immortals' ingredients being quite mystical and the resulting delicacies benefiting cultivators' practice, the pursuit of such culinary pleasures persisted because, as many other mortal desires began to wane for cultivators, the enjoyment of taste was one of the few senses that could be maintained for a long time.

This added a touch of worldly life to the long path of cultivation.

What? You say that those who cultivate on the mountain should dispense with worldly concerns and pursue a more celestial atmosphere? Such a view is overly simplistic. It pertains to those cultivators who admire the Daoist school of thought, and even the more extreme path of the "Supreme Forget Love" is but a small portion of many on the mountain.

The Great Dao is vast, and the struggles between the many schools that sweep through the Xuanhuang Cultivation World offer more choices to cultivators who have just begun their journey.

Although there is a boundary between that which is above and below the mountain, the two are intricately linked.

You could be a Mo Family ranger upholding justice; a spirited Confucian scholar actively partaking in worldly affairs; join the strategists, forming alliances and playing games within the mortal countries; retreat to a Spiritual Mountain Blessed Land, becoming a pure and inactive Daoist cultivating away from the world; or, like many others on the mountain, observe the hundred schools of thought from afar, following only your own heart's path in cultivation, making choices as you desire.

The Great Dao should not be so narrowly defined.

Zhao Rong rinsed his mouth with tea and tasted the beautifully presented dish brought by the maid, feeling it was not much better than the meals prepared by the chef at the Duke Mansion, and even lacking in richness.

He looked at the dishes on the table. Well, there go two spirit stones, all on one meal.

However, dining here was not in vain, as they at least learned what kind of upheaval had occurred in Anling Country, which led the Punishment Mansion to take such serious action, sealing off the areas of several surrounding countries.

Inside the inn, the conversation among the guests was fervent after their meal.

"The Zhao family of Kui Xiang County in Anling Country not only had descendants serving as high officials in temples across multiple countries for generations but also owned half the properties in Yiguan City, the cultivators' ferryport town in Anling Country. Yet such an esteemed family was obliterated overnight by a Great Demon's bloody massacre, leaving not a single person alive, blood flowing like rivers."

"Hisss, that's brutal. I heard the Great Demon responsible for the attack is at the Star-picking Realm level. Is that true, and where did it come from?"

"Heh, I think it's not just that, Zhao Mansion has Cultivators at the Golden Core Realm, but they still had no power to fight back and were exterminated by that beast. In my opinion, it must have reached Divinity Transformation."

"Divinity Transformation!"

"Speaking of which, I remember a few years back in the southwestern part of Wangque there was also a clan extermination. It was the Zhao family too, but it seemed like it was a revenge killing. Why didn't the Punishment Mansion intervene then, yet now they are making such a fuss?"

"A few years back, a young man from the Zhao family of Anling Country was sent to the Sword Pavilion for cultivation, remember? I heard he did quite well there, and coincidentally, he was said to be back just now..."

"Oh, now I remember, that's the one..."

Zhao Rong pricked up his ears to listen to the "quiet" discussion at the next table and roughly sketched out the backstory in his mind, sighing deeply as he took a moment to mourn for his distant relatives.

Soon, the topic of conversation at the next table took a turn, and they started talking about a recent incident on a ferry, where a weak scholar full of youthful vigor had played the hero to save a beauty, rescuing a charming little Fox Demon from the clutches of the King of Hell's subordinate at Punishment Mansion. Later, the Fox Demon, upon seeing her benefactor's plain appearance, hastily left behind the words, "In my next life, I shall surely become a cow or horse to repay the young master," before she ran away, leaving the scholar standing alone, deeply saddened.

Zhao Rong nearly spat out his food when he heard this. What kind of story had it turned into? Putting aside that the scholar was called a young blood, "Benefactor with a plain appearance" what the heck? Where on earth did anyone get the impression that this young master had a plain appearance?

Okay, maybe a little, but this young master has an extraordinary aura... right?

Zhao Rong's lips twitched as he listened to the laughter from the adjacent table. He shook his head, feeling awkward but without showing any trace of it, he glanced at Liu Sanbian, who seemed to be eating his food unaffected, as if he hadn't heard anything, and Zhao Rong felt relieved and started to take it less seriously.

But just at that moment.

Suddenly, a seductive Maid walked over, holding a bottle of wine that looked pricey just by the bottle, and set it down beside Zhao Rong. She curtsied smoothly and said softly:

"Over there, a distinguished guest has offered the young master a bottle of Drunk Sword Immortal and asked me to deliver it, hoping the young master will not decline."

Zhao Rong and his companion looked in the direction the Maid indicated, to a corner not far away where a bearded man was sitting alone, drinking heavily.

Zhao Rong looked closely and remembered him. That morning on the ferry, when he was saving "Su Dahuang," the man seemed to be in the crowd around them, apparently holding a wine gourd and drinking from it, so Zhao Rong had a somewhat deep impression of him.

The bearded man saw Zhao Rong and Liu Sanbian look over, flashed a grin, and lifted his wine jug.

Zhao Rong couldn't help but smile as he looked at the jug of Drunk Sword Immortal, which he had seen on the menu earlier and noted had a very high price.

At that moment, Liu Sanbian had already started pouring the wine with a smile, filling cups for himself and Zhao Rong.

The three of them raised their cups.

They drank deeply without saying a word.

The joy of life is in knowing kindred spirits,

When we meet with wine, let's pour without restraint.