Starting My Immortal Life by Upgrading Buildings

Chapter 126: Golden Core Elder

Under normal circumstances, the Thousand Mechanisms Hall was manned by three Foundation Establishment cultivators on duty together.

If one of them had an urgent matter and needed to leave, it was sufficient to inform the other two.

Now, the Island Lord of Qinghe was doing just that. After retrieving the spiritual wine from Ji Yuan, he gave a few words of explanation to his two fellow disciples before boarding a flying boat and leaving Thousand Mechanisms Island.

After departing, he flew eastward for more than half a day, nearly reaching the boundary of the Water Dragon Sect.

He finally stopped before an island overflowing with blooming flowers.

“Qinghe of Thousand Mechanisms Island, requesting an audience with Martial Aunt Wangyou.”

After waiting a moment, a drunken female voice came from within the island.

“Just deliver it.”

The Island Lord of Qinghe hurriedly took out the spiritual wine he had been collecting over these past days.

The wine was spread out in the air, amounting to dozens of jars.

Faintly, a shadow swept past, and all the wine disappeared in unison.

The Island Lord of Qinghe did not leave. Soon, the same female voice sounded again from within the island. “That person I told you to keep an eye on, he finally came? And he only gave three jars? Hah.”

“Exactly.”

The Island Lord of Qinghe hastily cupped his hands and explained, “That disciple said he had spent a long time collecting and only managed to brew three jars. Perhaps it’s just too difficult to brew this kind of spiritual wine.”

“Difficult?”

The woman chuckled. A message talisman carrying a faint floral scent flew out and landed in the Island Lord's hand.

“The next time he comes, inform me directly. I’ll ask him myself then.”

“This... yes.”

The Island Lord of Qinghe cupped his hands in acknowledgment.

According to regulations, Thousand Mechanisms Island was not permitted to reveal information between two parties, let alone arrange a meeting between them, without mutual consent.

Unfortunately, the one making this request was someone who was the law on Water Dragon Island.

The Real Person Wangyou of the Water Dragon Sect—Hua Yaoyue—relied on her life-bound treasure, the seventy-two “Amber Nightlight Cups,” and was fierce enough to have slain a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator head-on.

As a Golden Core elder of the Water Dragon Sect, if she wanted to meet a mere Qi Refining disciple, it was a trivial matter.

Having received the order, the Island Lord of Qinghe then took his leave.

Drunken Flower Island.

Amid the blooming flowers lay a tall woman, drunk and reclining among them. Her skin was paler than snow, and her long, slender legs extended from beneath the hem of a goose-yellow brocade skirt.

A pomegranate-red bustier hugged her rising curves, embroidered with a golden-threaded double lotus that gently quivered with her breath, appearing more vivid than the real flowers nearby.

She gazed lazily at the rows of wine jars before her and flicked her finger, flipping open every jar lid.

Instantly, a rich aroma of wine filled the floral air.

She gently sniffed with her delicate nose.

“Nothing special.”

She sighed, but still collected the wine.

Only three jars were left behind. She removed the sealing wax from one jar, and a jade cup appeared in her hand from thin air.

The wine inside the jar flowed out like a ribbon, filling the jade cup to the brim.

Lifting it, she gazed at the slightly yellowish wine and downed it in one go.

Golden bells tied around her milky-white ankles jingled chaotically as she tilted her head back to drink. The wine trickled down her swan-like neck and streamed across her snowy chest like glistening rivulets.

After savoring it for a while, Hua Yaoyue seemed to think of something and couldn’t help but smile.

With the vast array of wines she had tasted, how could she not recognize what this was?

It was merely the cheapest “Moon Yellow Wine,” worth no more than a few low-grade spirit stones per jar.

And yet, for some reason, the Moon Yellow Wine offered by this disciple tasted remarkably good. He must have added something to it, making a clever improvement.

Hua Yaoyue carefully savored the entire jar, yet still couldn’t figure out what he had added.

But that didn’t matter. As long as the wine tasted good, she didn’t care.

As for winemaking—well, that was other people’s business.

But this disciple only gave such a small amount at a time—was he trying to bait her?

It wasn’t as if she wouldn’t pay him. Yet he insisted on only offering this much each time—was he trying to hook her in?

Afraid that giving too much at once would satisfy her and she wouldn’t pay a high price for his trashy Moon Yellow Wine next time?

Using wine to bait an old drunk like her—well, it actually worked.

Hua Yaoyue was already planning that the next time the disciple came, she would show up in person.

She would scare him a bit—he’d probably be frightened to death.

And after scaring him?

Hua Yaoyue mused carefully. Perhaps she could keep him around to brew wine exclusively for her?

That was not a bad idea. But if she made him work without giving him an official position, it would make her, as a senior, look petty.

Just as she was thinking this, she seemed to sense something. She reached into her storage pouch and retrieved a message talisman.

Injecting a strand of spiritual energy into it, a cheerful girl’s voice came from within.

“Master, Master! I just killed another late-stage Tier-2 demonic beast. I’ll bring it back in a few days to pair with your wine!”

Hua Yaoyue paused for a moment and suddenly had another idea.

Why not take that disciple in as her own, have him specialize in brewing wine for her?

But then again, that might be a bit excessive. He only knew how to brew that one kind of wine—taking him in as a disciple might be too generous...

Moreover, he wasn’t even at the Foundation Establishment stage. It would be an embarrassment for her to have such a disciple.

Forget it, she decided. Better to wait and see next time.

“Please wait a moment, Senior Brother.”

The disciple on duty took the token from Ji Yuan and began browsing the information in a jade slip.

After a while—

The disciple finally looked up and said, “Senior Brother is collecting Illusion Heart Flowers, correct?”

“Yes.”

Ji Yuan quickly nodded.

“For Illusion Heart Flowers, there hasn’t been any disciple who submitted any.”

Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan’s heart sank.

But then the disciple continued, “However, one disciple did submit a lead. He claims to know where Illusion Heart Flowers can be found and wishes to discuss it with you in person. Would Senior Brother be willing?”

“If you are willing, then this task will be considered partially complete. Our Water Dragon Sect will deduct a portion of the merit points to pay the other party. If you are not willing, the task will be marked as failed, and your merit points will be fully refunded.”

Ji Yuan’s first reaction was:

Damn, could this be some sort of sect sting operation?

Claiming to have a lead on the Illusion Heart Flower just to lure him in, and then arrest him and torture him into confessing he’s a spy from Medicine King Valley... His imagination immediately staged a whole drama.

Of course, it was possible—but extremely unlikely.

More likely, the other party genuinely wanted to talk in person. Perhaps they actually had the flower but just wanted to sell it at a high price.

“If we’re to talk in person, how does that work?”

Ji Yuan asked.

“The other party left an address. If Senior Brother is willing to proceed, we’ll give you his address on Hatchling Dragon Island, and you two can contact each other directly.”

“But this action will expose your information, so please consider carefully.”

Ji Yuan couldn’t help but be impressed. This on-duty cultivator was very considerate.

Since the other party had left an address, he must be prepared to reveal his identity.

After thinking it over, Ji Yuan decided to go. After all, they were all members of the same sect—some trust could be afforded.

“Let’s trade.”

“Very well. Here is the address the other party left. Senior Brother may go find him yourself.”

The cultivator handed him a slip of paper and some spirit stones. “These are the remaining spirit stones from your prepayment. You initially paid 15 mid-grade spirit stones. After the sect’s cut, 10 remain, which I now return to you.”

Charging me 500 low-grade spirit stones just for an address—why not just rob me instead?

Ji Yuan’s heart ached, but he still had to thank him out loud.

He then went to another area to submit some high-grade tier-one talismans, completing a pay-to-win mission and scraping together the 100 merit points needed for the year. He also checked the trading area again, but there were still no Illusion Heart Flowers available.

Helpless, he finally left the Thousand Mechanisms Hall.

Outside the door, he took out the slip of paper the cultivator had just handed him.

“Hatchling Dragon Island, Unit B-36.”

After reading it, Ji Yuan casually burned the note, summoned the Red Dawn Boat, and first made a stop at the Hundred Treasure Pavilion on Everything Island. Still no Illusion Heart Flowers for sale.

He then returned to his residence on Hatchling Dragon Island, disguised himself as a middle-aged man, and set out for the B district.

On the way, Ji Yuan couldn’t help but summon the panel to check again.

With a level-2 [Talisman Room], he would automatically learn the “Shapeshifting Talisman.”

With something like that, disguising would be much easier.

But to upgrade the [Talisman Room] to level 2, he needed support from the [Comprehension Room]. In the end, he still had to get that Illusion Heart Flower first.

After a while, Ji Yuan arrived in front of Unit 36 in the B district.

He looked around and, confirming there was nothing unusual, knocked on the door.

Moments later, footsteps sounded inside the courtyard. Then, with a creak, the door opened.

A figure appeared behind the door.

No matter how well-prepared Ji Yuan was, the moment he saw the person behind the door, he still froze—or rather, was stunned.

For a moment, he said nothing, just stared in surprise at the person at the door.

“Who are you looking for?”

Dong Qian felt uncomfortable under his gaze, instinctively furrowing her brow and even stepping back a bit.

“You—”

Ji Yuan began to speak.

Dong Qian’s face turned cold. “I don’t know you.”

She slammed the door shut.

Ji Yuan: “.....”

Who would have thought that the person who held the whereabouts of the Illusion Heart Flower would turn out to be Dong Qian?

Had he known it was her, he would never have let the Water Dragon Sect take those 5 mid-grade spirit stones from him.

Now that he knew it was her, Ji Yuan felt there was no need to hide behind a false identity. If he just approached her with his real identity... they were, after all, somewhat on the same side.

If she really had the Illusion Heart Flower, the price might be more affordable.

If all she had was the flower’s location, then she might at least be more truthful about it.

But since he had just revealed his face, it wasn’t appropriate to go back to her right away. He couldn’t treat her like a fool.

So Ji Yuan returned to his residence for now. He planned to visit her again early the next morning, but just after arriving home—

He suddenly sensed something unusual from within his storage pouch.

Taking a look, he saw that it was the talisman given earlier by the Disciplinary Hall, glowing faintly with white light. He infused it with a bit of spiritual energy.

A deep, muffled voice rang out.

“Report to the Disciplinary Hall immediately.”

After the message finished, the talisman turned to ash and scattered.

Ji Yuan had no choice but to remove his disguise. When he stepped outside, he found Old Man Pi Fangzhi already waiting at his door.

“Brother Ji, did you receive a summons from the Disciplinary Hall?”

Pi Fangzhi’s face was noticeably pale.

He’s probably done for, Ji Yuan guessed inwardly.

“Yes.”

“In that case, let’s go together.”

Pi Fangzhi sighed and then summoned the Phantom-Tracing Boat, stepping onto it in one leap.

Ji Yuan, as usual, rode his Red Dawn Boat. The two of them, one behind the other, headed northwest.