[Big Chapter] The Organization Has an Important Task for You

Stepping out of Liu Xuanye's bedchamber.

Lu Ya turned and walked into the bamboo grove.

Red lanterns hung from the bamboo branches, one after another, arranged by Ning Zhongzi. They looked like ripe tomatoes.

The rosy glow of dawn filtered through the leaves, falling in scattered patches. Mist and morning light intertwined, spilling over the red lanterns soaked with dew.

The double happiness characters on the lanterns were dim and hazy, like a deep-palace maiden hiding her face behind a veil.

Lu Ya's head spun, and his legs had gone numb.

Sitting cross-legged all night would make anyone's legs go numb.

These mortal senses really were something. Still, he had accomplished one of life's great milestones, and Lu Ya felt a little pleased.

Being married felt strange.

How could a mature woman as aloof yet languidly sensual as Liu Xuanye be so naturally innocent?

She didn't even understand dual cultivation?

Or had Ning Zhongzi deliberately deceived her?

Could Ning Zhongzi have meant only cultivating together when she talked about group cultivation?

You two really are something!

Back on Sword Terrace.

Blue clouds stretched over a sea of mist, and rosy clouds filled the sky. The empty Sword Terrace bathed in the warm light of dawn.

Every morning, Ning Zhongzi stood at the cliff's edge to watch the sunrise.

The gentle morning breeze stirred a graceful rhythm and charm in her ample bosom.

She loved this land more than anyone else.

Lu Ya yawned as he passed by and casually greeted her:

"Morning."

"Good morning, Senior Brother."

By the time Ning Zhongzi turned around, Lu Ya had already slipped into the Bamboo Cottage by the bamboo grove.

He wanted to go back to sleep.

When he pushed open the door, he saw—

Muyu Feifei was sprawled across his bed.

She lay flat on her back, limbs akimbo. The lump on her head hadn't gone away, and drool ran from the corner of her mouth as she mumbled in a daze:

"I... just... want to... storm the bridal chamber..."

"It's not... your bridal chamber... why... won't you let me..."

For a moment, Lu Ya really wanted to kick the two little brats under the bed.

But after thinking it over, he let it go.

Suppressing his exhaustion, he went outside.

And ran straight into the sunrise.

Amid the hazy rosy clouds, golden light suddenly burst forth like boiling molten steel, spraying outward as it ushered the sun slowly up over the distant Floating Mountain!

Layer upon layer of clouds turned from dark red to dazzling gold, their colors growing ever more brilliant. In the blink of an eye, the whole sky and earth were dyed red.

Ning Zhongzi didn't turn around. She only said softly:

"The sunrise is beautiful, isn't it?"

"Mm."

Lu Ya nodded, a little dazzled by the sun.

"I hope I can see it every day for the rest of my life."

Ning Zhongzi's voice was calm, but it held boundless affection for her homeland.

Lu Ya suddenly asked:

"What if it rains?"

Ning Zhongzi:

"..."

Looking at her back, Lu Ya saw both a sense of responsibility and a hint of desolation.

"If you're strong enough, you can see the sunrise even on a rainy day."

Ning Zhongzi didn't understand what he meant and turned around.

Seeing Lu Ya's heavy eye bags, darkened brow, hand braced on his waist, and unsteady legs, she understood.

"Senior Brother, how did you sleep last night?"

"What do you think?"

Lu Ya shot back in a bad mood.

If you hadn't gone and taught Liu Xuanye all that nonsense, I would've sacrificed myself for the sect last night.

Ning Zhongzi shook her head and smiled. It was a lovely smile.

She dressed with such stately elegance, but was only eight hundred years older than Liu Xuanye. By the standards of his previous life, she looked like a woman in her early thirties at most.

On closer inspection, her features were exquisite. It was just that she had spent so many years by Liu Xuanye's side and deliberately dressed in a stern, old-fashioned manner, which made her seem less striking.

In that rare, gentle smile of hers, Lu Ya saw a trace of exhaustion.

Since Liu Xuanye couldn't have contact with outsiders, Ning Zhongzi had taken on every major and minor affair within the sect. It was too much for a five-star Immortal Master to bear.

Not just for a day.

Not just for a year.

More than three thousand years had passed since she'd picked Liu Xuanye up from the snow!

The bright red dawn lit her pretty face.

Her weariness far surpassed Lu Ya's.

Lu Ya was deeply moved...

Then he went right back to being a Salted Fish.

Just then, Ning Zhongzi took a green bamboo tube from her robes and said softly:

"I noticed you enjoy drinking, Senior Brother. Last night, I made this bamboo flask and filled it with the Immortal Rice Brew from the wedding feast, along with some medicinal herbs to relieve fatigue and nourish the body."

Lu Ya shamelessly took the bamboo flask.

It was only as thick as his forearm and about a foot long. Its bamboo skin had been glazed by fire, giving it a delicate appearance.

A relief carving of bamboo adorned the side. It depicted the five members of the Bamboo Spring Sect together—

Lu Ya held Liu Xuanye in his arms and gazed quietly up at the night sky; Ning Zhongzi stood nearby, also looking up; and Muyu Feifei sat astride a slanting pine, pointing at the sky.

A river of stars flowed through the night, as clear as water.

The scene was beautiful.

Ning Zhongzi had clearly taken a moment from the wedding feast last night and recreated it on Sword Terrace.

Muyu Feifei, who had ridden Wine Fox Immortal's giant gourd, had been changed to riding the slanting pine.

And instead of a black arm and billions of white eyes, the night sky held a starry river as clear as water.

It was incredibly romantic.

Lu Ya was touched. He said quietly:

"You've put a lot of thought into this, Senior Sister."

Ning Zhongzi pointed at the bamboo flask.

"Give it a try."

"Mm."

In real life, Lu Ya was a shut-in who didn't like drinking. It hurt the liver and stomach and wasted time.

But in the game, he was a wine god, highly skilled at brewing, mixing, and tasting wine.

That skill had carried over into the True Immortal Realm, making him feel that having a drink in the Immortal Realm wasn't so bad.

He pulled out the bamboo stopper.

A rich grain aroma greeted him, mingled with a faint medicinal fragrance and a touch of sweetness.

A few red, date-shaped dried fruits floated on the clear liquor.

Goji berries?

Lu Ya was stunned.

I just got married, and you're giving me goji berries?

Don't I have any pride?

Fortunately, the goji berries tasted great.

Lu Ya held a goji berry in his mouth and swallowed a mouthful. A sweet warmth flowed through his belly and quickly spread to every limb and bone.

The fragrance of the wine, the medicinal herbs, and the sweetness of the goji berries entered his dantian together, blending and mingling until they began to warm him from within.

Although it tasted a little inferior to Lu Ya's Immortal Beer, the spirit grains, spirit herbs, and goji berries were all Immortal Spirits of a higher grade. They weren't in the same league as the Mortal Wheat grown at the foot of the mountain.

As soon as it went down, Lu Ya felt refreshed and invigorated.

His waist no longer ached, his legs no longer tingled, and even his dark circles gradually faded.

Lu Ya savored the aftertaste, thinking that this woman really had some skill!

Bring on more goji berries like these.

I do have pride.

"Are you still tired, Senior Brother?"

"Mm, I feel much better."

Seeing that Lu Ya's fatigue had vanished, Ning Zhongzi's stern expression softened. She asked gently:

"Can we discuss the next plan for Azure Phoenix City now, Senior Brother?"

"Uh..."

So this woman had been waiting for this!

Lu Ya immediately sensed trouble. His eyelids drooped, and he pressed a hand to his forehead.

"I'm still a little sleepy. Can I take a nap first?"

Ning Zhongzi remained composed and nodded slightly.

"Then I'll go wake Muyu Feifei. They did help out at the wedding feast last night, and didn't come back to rest until almost dawn..."

Lu Ya remained equally composed.

What a load of nonsense!

Those two kept clamoring to storm the bridal chamber. Did you think I didn't know?

Did you think I'd spent the whole night exercising?

He didn't call her out. Yawning, Lu Ya said:

"No need to wake them. I'll go sleep in your room."

"Sleep in my room?"

Ning Zhongzi's face suddenly flushed red, then her brows knitted together.

"That wouldn't be appropriate."

"What's inappropriate about it? Do you think it's a boudoir?"

"Do Immortals even need to sleep when they're not injured or sick?"

"You have no idea what I went through last night. Your goji berries can relieve my physical exhaustion, but not the fatigue of my soul. I need to be a Salted Fi—cough, cough. I need to rest."

For the sake of enjoying life as a Salted Fish, Lu Ya brazenly fired off a barrage of arguments.

Fatigue of the soul?

Ning Zhongzi wondered whether men really did become lazier after getting married.

She could only say helplessly:

"I'll take you to rest, Senior Brother."

Lu Ya nodded.

He followed Ning Zhongzi to the medicinal garden on the eastern side.

Outside the bedchamber lay more than ten mu of medicinal garden, planted with all kinds of Immortal flowers and spirit herbs. Butterflies fluttered, spring insects chirped, Immortal energy swirled, and a fragrant scent filled the air.

There was a pavilion in the garden, with a stone table and stone chairs inside.

A chessboard was carved into the tabletop, with black and white pieces set out on it. Ning Zhongzi said she'd used it back then to awaken Muyu Feifei's intelligence and train her thinking.

The scenery.

The atmosphere.

This was probably the most comfortable place to live in the entire Bamboo Spring Sect!

Too distracted to admire the view, Lu Ya pushed open the bamboo door of the bedchamber and went straight into Ning Zhongzi's bedroom.

It was much like Liu Xuanye's bedchamber: antique and quiet.

He sprawled onto the bamboo bed.

Lu Ya propped his head on one arm and crossed his legs. A gentle breeze brought the faint fragrance of medicinal herbs.

"You really know how to enjoy yourself, Senior Sister."

Ning Zhongzi lowered her head slightly, her pretty face faintly flushed. For a moment, she didn't know what to do with her hands.

Most of the time, Muyu Feifei slept in this bed. Ning Zhongzi hadn't lain in it for decades.

This was the first time a man had ever slept in her bed.

But there was none of the suggestive atmosphere she'd imagined. He was simply lounging lazily on her bed...

Senior Brother, you really do know how to take care of yourself.

Ning Zhongzi knew she couldn't talk Lu Ya out of it, so she stood silently by the bed, her face cool and unreadable. She didn't say a word, as if to say, "I'll just stand here and watch you sleep."

Lu Ya crossed his legs and said:

"Senior Sister, you can go now."

Ning Zhongzi remained silent, her expression dark.

"You can really go now, Senior Sister. If those two troublemakers see us like this, they'll gossip."

Ning Zhongzi's cheeks flushed faintly, but she said nothing.

"Senior Sister, I'll tell you a secret—I'm good at killing people in my sleep!"

Ning Zhongzi's chest trembled slightly, but she still said nothing.

She was actually kind of cute. Fine, you win!

At last, Lu Ya's face, thick as a city wall, softened.

Then he thought it over. He'd accepted her gifts, drunk her wine to ward off fatigue, and even slept in her bed. It would be hard to justify not helping her a little.

Besides, building a city was an interesting undertaking.

In this life, he never wanted to spend every day venturing out in search of fun like a hero in a game. Better for interesting things to come looking for him and give him a good time. Then, on that foundation, he could develop all sorts of novel industries—food, entertainment, games—and enjoy a happy life without ever leaving home.

With that in mind, Lu Ya straightened up and sat cross-legged, wearing an air of solemn righteousness.

"How's the city-building coming along?"

Ning Zhongzi's bright eyes opened slightly, and she spoke respectfully at last.

"Reporting to Senior Brother, quite a few local Immortal Commoners have written to ask their families to return. Most of the displaced people from other places have also registered their households and left bloody fingerprints. Azure Phoenix City now has more than fifteen hundred registered residents."

Lu Ya gave a slight nod.

"That's pretty good, isn't it?"

"Following Senior Brother's plans, I've hired ten craftsmen to build rows of bamboo shops east of the wedding banquet site, ten zhang from the cliff's edge. We plan to build thirty units, each three stories tall, with entrances on both sides. They should be finished within three days."

"Thanks for all your hard work, Senior Sister."

"Does Senior Brother have any specific plans for what comes next?"

Since he wouldn't have to do any of the work himself, he could just think up whatever plans he liked.

After running through things in his head, Lu Ya put on a serious face.

"To build the Immortal City well, we need to focus on three things."

"I'm listening."

"First, the Bamboo Spring Sect will fund a large bar... Ahem, a large inn, offering food, wine, and lodging—a complete package."

Ning Zhongzi furrowed her brow slightly.

"Who'll be in charge of cooking and brewing? Ordinary people don't have your superb skills, Senior Brother."

Seeing the eager hope in Ning Zhongzi's eyes, Lu Ya suddenly felt a mountain of pressure.

You wicked woman. You're laying traps for me at every turn—you're my greatest enemy on the Salted Fish road!

Would Lu Ya fall for such a petty trick?

"You can go to East Floating City and hire several Immortal Monarch-level chefs at high wages. Have them sign contracts and bring them back. I'll find a way to bring them up to eighty percent of my level."

Ning Zhongzi nodded slightly.

"Good."

"Second, the Bamboo Spring Sect will fund farming and livestock raising."

"Since we're just getting started, we can't make the Immortal Commoners take risks. The Bamboo Spring Sect will be the landlord and hire them at high wages to farm and raise livestock. Later on, we can lease them land so they can run their own operations."

"But we need to plant Immortal Wheat and Immortal Grain of the rank-bearing variety, and raise rank-bearing immortal beasts—chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep, all at least at the Immortal Monarch level. That's the only way to make a profit and attract people from other places."

Ning Zhongzi was stunned by the sheer scale of Lu Ya's plans.

"Everything will be immortal plants and beasts?"

"Everything."

"But can Floating Mountain's spiritual energy, soil, and water support the growth of so many Immortal Spirits?"

Lu Ya had naturally considered that.

"We'll probably be just a little short. Dig eight irrigation canals in all directions around Floating Mountain, each one zhang wide and one zhang deep, extending all the way to the mountain's edge."

"Then prepare plenty of fertilizer. I'll give you a chemical fertilizer formula later. Mix it up and pour it into the mountain spring so it flows down the mountain. That'll help the spiritual plants grow."

"But preparing the fertilizer will require a lot of raw materials. The Bamboo Spring Sect's resources won't last until the harvest."

Lu Ya had been ready for that. He took out all the spoils he'd seized from the Black Lotus Sect and stored in his spatial ring.

"There are plenty of valuable treasures in Yunzhongzi's spatial ring that I have no use for right now. Sell them and use the proceeds to buy the medicinal ingredients we need."

Ning Zhongzi was taken aback.

"These are the personal spoils Senior Brother won at the risk of his life. How can you just hand them over?"

What the hell did she mean, "at the risk of his life"?!

Lu Ya was playing the long game, angling for a big catch.

"Consider them my private shares."

Ning Zhongzi suddenly pressed her red lips together and said softly:

"There are no private shares. The whole of Floating Mountain now belongs to you and the sect leader."

Lu Ya froze.

You make so much sense, I have nothing to say.

This woman kept pushing him again and again, giving him one thing after another—even handing him the sect itself. She just wanted him to take responsibility and work hard for the Bamboo Spring Sect's development.

She really was a formidable enemy on his Salted Fish road!

What should he do?

Kill her?

Ahem.

Since she'd devoted three thousand years to Liu Xuanye, he'd spare her life.

Lu Ya continued laying out his thoughts.

"Third, we need to establish an effective security system for the Immortal Commoners."

"Protective Bamboo Slips offer only basic protection. They can't protect farmland, livestock, or shops. We also need to raise an army to resist Beast Tide invasions and harassment from unruly rogue immortals, safeguarding the Immortal Commoners' property."

"With Senior Brother here, would any rogue immortals dare cause trouble?"

"What kind of thing is that to say? Don't I need to sleep?"

Ning Zhongzi:

"..."

Lu Ya thought, I'm counting on a Beast Tide or some rogue immortals invading so I can make a fortune. Don't exaggerate my strength and scare all the enemies away.

"I mean, as the lord of Azure Phoenix City, how could I personally get into a fight?"

Ning Zhongzi's willow brows twitched.

You actually remember you're the lord of Azure Phoenix City!

"Senior Brother doesn't need to fight personally. You can lead the effort to form a city guard, teach the Immortal Commoners to fight, improve their cultivation, and pass on your skills. That way, you can solve the problem once and for all and enjoy a leisurely life."

Once and for all?

Sorry, I only want the 'for all' part. I don't want the 'once'.

I've already spent five years grinding away in the game. My hair's nearly fallen out.

You still want to trick me into taking disciples and training troops?

Not a chance.

Lu Ya's expression darkened.

"Someone else will lead the troops and train them, but it won't be me."

Ning Zhongzi asked in confusion:

"Who besides you, Senior Brother, could take on such an important role?"

"A tool."

Lu Ya gazed meaningfully toward the sky outside the window.

Just then—

A tipsy woman's voice enveloped the Bamboo Spring Sect.

It was like a tsunami sweeping across a sea of wine, its waves crashing against the mountaintop.

"How dare you do that kind of thing to my little sister Xuan Ye!"

"I haven't even... Unforgivable! Unpardonable!"

"Where's Lu Ya? Get your ass out here!"

Ning Zhongzi's willow brows twitched. She was just about to go out and send the visitor away when Lu Ya raised a hand and beckoned.

"You can roll in here instead."

In an instant—

On the Giant Gourd hovering above the Bamboo Spring Sect, a woman in a coarse robe, her ample chest spilling out, was suddenly seized by an irresistible, terrifying force. Her feet slipped, and she went tumbling out of the sky.

Her petite figure spun and flipped through the air, passing over the medicinal garden before rolling into Ning Zhongzi's room.

The next moment, she was sprawled across a bamboo bed.

Before she could react, a refined, easygoing man sat cross-legged beside her, smiling.

"Hello, I'm Lu Ya. The organization has an important mission for you."