My Name Is Li Feiyu

[The monk listened to you without concern, swiftly took a Jade Slip from his Storage Ring, and tossed it to you.]

["This secret realm is in the Azure Yang Central Region. It opens once every twelve years, and the entrance stays open for only seven days."]

["As far as I know, this secret realm opened just last year. The next opening will be eleven years from now."]

["When the time comes, we'll go in together."]

[After hearing the monk out, you weren't in a hurry. For an ant at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage like you, eleven years was still too short.]

[Since you were going to team up, you naturally had to get to know each other better.]

["It would be inconvenient for this humble monk to speak of his origins."]

["Call me Wuming."]

[After speaking, Wuming looked somewhat abashed, seemingly apologetic for not being more forthcoming.]

[Wuming? Nameless?]

[Seeing Wuming's expression, you had an idea and gave him a sufficiently ordinary name.]

["I am Li Feiyu."]

[The monk stared at you for a moment, then suddenly smiled and asked no further questions.]

[You caught the unspoken meaning in Wuming's laugh, but didn't mind.]

[Little monk, you were the one who tried to fool me with a fake name first!]

[The two of you divided the contents of the middle-aged man's Storage Ring.]

[This cultivator had trapped so many cultivators, yet his Storage Ring was pitifully bare.]

[There were only a little over seven hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones in total.]

[One incomplete Pill Formula, for the Blood-Congealing Five-Elements Pill.]

[Several Cultivation Method Jade Slips, all low-grade Cultivation Methods.]

[The Breath-Concealing Technique among them saved you nine Spirit Stones.]

[The two of you split the Spirit Stones evenly.]

[The monk didn't so much as glance at the Blood-Congealing Five-Elements Pill.]

["Buddha have mercy! That wicked thing must be destroyed."]

[You, however, carefully put the Pill Formula away.]

[Watching you, Wuming instinctively took half a step back.]

[You curled your lip.]

["I'm an Alchemist. A Pill Formula like this isn't something you see every day, so of course I have to keep it and study it properly!"]

[The two of you searched the cave for another half hour.]

[There was a lava pool at the bottom of the cave.]

[All the fire-element Spiritual Qi on Red Refining Mountain came from here.]

[Wuming crouched beside the pool and took out a jade box.]

["This humble monk came here for Earth Core Fire. At most, ten strands can be drawn from this pool."]

[He glanced at you.]

["Fellow Daoist Li, everything that happened today was thanks to your great righteousness. You and I shall split this Earth Core Fire evenly."]

[You naturally didn't stand on ceremony.]

[After the two of you joined forces to draw out ten strands of Earth Core Fire, the lava pool grew noticeably dimmer.]

[Wuming put away his five strands of Earth Core Fire and the jade box, but didn't leave immediately.]

[He thought for a moment, then suddenly asked,]

["Fellow Daoist Li, what do you make of what that man said about the Myriad Demon Domain to the south?"]

[You fell silent for a moment, then spoke.]

["Demon-Severing Cliff stands between us and the Myriad Demon Domain, and the Azure Dragon Upper Domain isn't made of paper."]

["Even if things really do descend into chaos, it won't be up to two Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators like us to worry about it."]

[You looked toward the cave entrance and said mildly,]

["If the sky falls, the tall ones will naturally hold it up."]

[Wuming chuckled.]

["What if those tall ones run away first?"]

["Then we'll run with them."]

[Wuming thought about it, then nodded seriously.]

["That makes sense."]

[As Wuming walked out of the cave, he paused and looked back at you.]

["Fellow Daoist Li, see you in Qingyang Domain eleven years from now."]

[You nodded.]

["See you then, if we're still alive."]

[You watched Wuming leave, then sat down cross-legged.]

[The Fire Crow Seed had just formed and needed its first source of fire to take shape.]

[After weighing your options again and again, you decided to feed it all five strands of the Earth Core Fire you had just acquired.]

[Inside your Dantian, the Fire Crow Seed began to heat up, and a Black-Feather Fire Crow slowly took shape.]

[It flew out of your Dantian and landed on your shoulder.]

[Its presence was no different from that of a real Black-Feather Fire Crow.]

[Because its soul had been extracted and its spiritual consciousness erased, this Black-Feather Fire Crow was effectively an avatar of your Divine Sense.]

[For now, you couldn't count on it in a head-on fight, but it could help you scout ahead and watch your blind spots.]

[Your opinion of the Fire Crow Technique rose a notch.]

[It was expensive, a rip-off, and much like a bottomless pit, but it really could grow.]

[As long as you could afford to feed it.]

[You put the fire crow away, letting it turn into a wisp of fiery Qi and slip back into your Dantian.]

[You changed back into your Greenwood Sect Outer Sect Disciple robes.]

[Workwear Thug, in effect.]

[You left Red Refining Mountain and returned to the Greenwood Sect.]

[You had already reached Foundation Establishment and could fly on a sword.]

[But you didn't have a sword, and your talent for swordsmanship was even less worth mentioning.]

[You could only use the Gale Technique to travel.]

[Three days later, you reached the market at the foot of the Greenwood Sect's mountain.]

[You used the Breath-Concealing Technique and Spirit-Eroding Powder to mask your spiritual power fluctuations, suppressing your presence to the ninth layer of Qi Refining.]

[You went to the Green Grain Shop first.]

[Shopkeeper Zhou was sitting behind the counter, working an abacus.]

[Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw you, then immediately pushed the abacus aside.]

["Junior Brother Lu, you're back?"]

[You placed a Storage Bag on the counter.]

[Inside were several sets of fire crow materials, along with some low-grade Jade Slips you had no use for.]

[Shopkeeper Zhou opened the Storage Bag and looked inside for only a breath before the flesh on his back immediately tensed.]

[He closed the Storage Bag and moved his lips, but didn't ask anything aloud.]

[Shopkeeper Zhou tucked the Storage Bag behind the counter.]

["Junior Brother Lu, you made quite a haul this trip."]

[You didn't respond.]

[This trip had confirmed one thing for you.]

[If Foundation Establishment cultivators wanted to live long, they needed something they could use to escape with their lives.]

[And there was even less chance of traveling to the secret realm in Qingyang Domain eleven years from now on your own two legs.]

[You spoke.]

["Shopkeeper Zhou, keep an eye out for a small flying boat for me."]

[A smile immediately spread across Shopkeeper Zhou's plump face.]

["A flying boat? The Green Grain Shop doesn't have any in stock. Those are expensive goods."]

["But as long as you're willing to wait, Junior Brother Lu, I'll certainly ask around."]

[He paused, then pulled out a sheet of yellow paper.]

["Of course, flying boats are expensive."]

["If you're short on Spirit Stones, Junior Brother Lu, you can pay in installments. Thirty percent down, and two percent monthly interest on the rest."]

[Options popped up.]

[A: Pay a deposit and have Shopkeeper Zhou find a flying boat as soon as possible.]

[B: Have Shopkeeper Zhou inquire about a supplier first, and discuss Spirit Stones after seeing the actual boat.]

[C: Ask Shopkeeper Zhou to offer flying boat test drives, with a refund if dissatisfied after a crash.]

Lu Ping's temple gave a slight throb when he saw the words "pay in installments."

Shopkeeper Zhou truly lived up to his place in the Greenwood Sect's ecosystem.

He had already started charging for information back when he sold bird nests.

Now there wasn't even a shadow of a flying boat, and he was already arranging a loan in advance.

That was a seasoned salesman for you.

The customer had only said he wanted to take a look, and Shopkeeper Zhou had already mapped out how the customer's debts would be inherited after his death.

Lu Ping chose B.

[You chose B.]

[You pushed the yellow paper back.]

["Let's talk when the goods arrive. I'm not in much of a hurry."]

[Shopkeeper Zhou wasn't annoyed in the slightest.]

[The more reluctant you were to pay Spirit Stones upfront, the more certain he became that you had genuinely built up a nest egg on this trip.]

["I'll certainly do everything I can to carry out what you've asked, Junior Brother Lu."]

[You returned to the Greenwood Sect's mountain gate.]

[The disciples guarding the mountain were startled when they saw you.]

["Senior Brother Lu, you're back?"]

[You nodded and went inside.]

[The two gatekeeping disciples began to chat.]

["This year's disciple recruitment ceremony was really lively."]

["Wasn't it? In previous years, a hundred recruits would have been good, but this time they took in more than three hundred."]

["This batch of Probationary Disciples has all been sent into the Ascension Hall."]

["Ah, I wonder how many will make it out this time."]

[You continued walking through the mountain gate. You knew you couldn't stop the Probationary Disciples from entering the Ascension Hall.]

[You returned to the Ding Character No. 13 Cave Abode.]

[The cave abode's restrictions were intact, and a thin layer of dust had settled on the table.]

[You had just finished cleaning the Pill Furnace when a knock came from outside the cave abode.]

[The visitor was a disciple from the Alchemy Hall's Internal Affairs Office.]

[He stood outside the door, bowing lower than before.]

["Junior Brother Lu, Elder Qi summons you to the side hall."]