Philosophical Thinking

The stronger someone was, the more cautious they became.

Hovering before the gigantic Kun's gaping maw, the white-robed man narrowed his eyes at its bottomless throat. He stood there for a long time, as if at the edge of an abyss, not daring to take a single step forward.

The two little girls behind him urged him on.

"Stop dawdling! Hurry up and go inside!"

"One step and you'll be right in the stomach. Then you'll know everything!"

The white-robed man's face stiffened. These two Tiger Immortals might be young, but they sure knew a lot.

Too bad they were girls. He didn't find them cute.

Besides, he couldn't get to the stomach in one step...

Just as he hesitated, the air gave a faint shudder.

Two knuckle raps landed on the girls' tiger heads!

Below, at the edge of Floating Mountain,

a fearsome woman with a stern face stood at the cliff's edge, hands behind her back, and shouted sharply,

"Get back here right now!"

The two girls glared fiercely down below before reluctantly returning to the Martial Arts Arena.

The white-robed man let out a breath of relief.

His strong, athletic body shifted slightly, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared in the Martial Arts Arena.

Narrowing his eyes, he swept his divine sense across the Beast Immortals gathered there.

He found no shortage of fit, handsome male Beast Immortals among them.

This Bamboo Spring Sect was rather interesting.

But for now, he had more important business.

The white-robed man's expression remained composed as he clasped his fists toward Little Bamboo Spring Mountain in the distance and Ning Zhongzi before him.

"I am Fan Ni, Beast Taming Elder of the White Lotus Sect. I greet Sect Master Liu and Elder Ning."

Ning Zhongzi's expression was solemn, but inwardly she was a little surprised.

Though she sensed no spiritual pressure at all, she could tell—

This man was strong!

Fan Ni's name was famous throughout the East Floating Immortal District.

Back when the Kunpeng Brothers defected from the White Lotus Sect, the sect created a new position of Beast Taming Elder to manage its mounts and deal with ferocious beasts.

That man was Fan Ni.

Fan Ni was from Caiyun City. He had once been a beast-taming hunter and had long coveted the Kunpeng Brothers in Beast Nest Forest.

After becoming the White Lotus Sect's Beast Taming Elder, he immediately organized a force and went to Beast Nest Forest to search for the Kunpeng Brothers.

But the terrain had been against him, and the Kunpeng Brothers had defeated him with their combined technique. He had fled back to the White Lotus Sect in disgrace.

Of course, that had happened over a thousand years ago.

No matter how badly he had embarrassed himself, Fan Ni was still an unquestionable half-step Immortal Venerable. He had never taken the Bamboo Spring Sect seriously.

His respectful attitude toward the sect master and Ning Zhongzi now was probably because he had seen the inexplicable death of Void Kun.

"Greetings, Elder Fan."

Ning Zhongzi returned the salute politely, though she sensed that her visitor had come with hostile intentions.

"What brings you here, Elder Fan?"

Fan Ni did not answer. Instead, he pointed toward Little Bamboo Spring Mountain.

"That Black Boat looks familiar. Thank you for helping the White Lotus Sect clean house some time ago."

"It was nothing."

"I've heard some things about the Bamboo Spring Sect lately. I didn't expect you really intended to build a city. East Floating City already draws in immortal merchants, and the Beast Tide from Beast Nest Forest is a constant menace. Even the White Lotus Sect failed to build a city back in the day."

Fan Ni's voice was rather magnetic, but his tone was hesitant, with a faint pressure behind it.

Ning Zhongzi found it unpleasant.

In the past, she would have had no choice but to be deferential. But now that the Bamboo Spring Sect had Lu Ya, she naturally had grounds to stand firm.

"If Elder Fan has something to say, say it plainly. There's no need to beat around the bush."

Fan Ni's eyes narrowed slightly.

"I tracked the Kunpeng Brothers all the way here from Beast Nest Forest. This Kun was once the mount of the White Lotus Sect's former sect master, Yun Zhonghe. I have a duty to bring this beast back to the White Lotus Sect."

How shameless!

Ning Zhongzi said coldly,

"This is such an important matter that I can't make the decision. You should discuss it with the sect master in person, Elder Fan. She's meditating in her palace. Please, follow me."

The full muscles along Fan Ni's cheekbones twitched slightly. His expression turned cold as he spoke in a low voice.

"I've heard that Elder Ning is Sect Master Liu's senior sister, and that you make all the major decisions in the Bamboo Spring Sect... Void Kun was a mount of the White Lotus Sect when it lived, and a relic of the White Lotus Sect when it died. Surely you don't intend to keep the White Lotus Sect's property for yourself?"

A faint, Immortal Venerable-level spiritual pressure drifted over the Bamboo Spring Sect.

He did not exert it forcefully, merely allowing a trace of it to show.

In the Immortal Realm, an Immortal Venerable's power was proof of their strength.

In any immortal region, Immortal Venerables were exceedingly rare big shots. In the East Floating District, there were only a handful, even counting half-step Immortal Venerables.

Though Fan Ni's faint spiritual pressure did not forcibly suppress anyone, it was still a warning. It meant that if he wished, he could destroy the entire Bamboo Spring Sect with a single move.

The Beast Immortals trembled.

Ning Zhongzi remained unfazed.

"Elder Lu Ya, the Sword-Wielding Elder, now handles all the sect's affairs. Brother Lu is in Kun's belly, cooking Kun meat. If you want the Kun, go inside and ask him."

Fan Ni froze.

Cooking Kun meat inside Kun's belly?

There was such a way to cook?

Wasn't it said that Liu Xuanye had married a mortal?

Could he be an Immortal Venerable?

Fan Ni felt more and more that something was very wrong.

"Where's Golden Peng?"

Ning Zhongzi turned slightly, revealing a profile as imposing as a mountain. She stood with her hands behind her back and said coldly,

"You should go ask Brother Lu, Elder Fan."

Fan Ni:

"..."

Ning Zhongzi:

"What's wrong, Elder Fan? Are you afraid?"

"..."

Fan Ni had traveled the world for many years, but this was the first time he'd been threatened by a five-star Immortal Master.

But he really didn't want to go inside Kun's belly. Caution aside, he had psychological scars.

Back then...

Forget it. Better not bring it up.

Fan Ni stood awkwardly, hesitating for a long while before suddenly saying,

"Since Azure Phoenix City has opened its gates to welcome guests, why don't we go to the inn and try Elder Lu's cooking?"

Ning Zhongzi nodded.

"Very well."

Ning Zhongzi had only just led Fan Ni through the inn's entrance when they came face-to-face with Lu Ya, sitting at a table. His eyelids drooped slightly, as if he had been waiting for them a long time, and he seemed a little impatient.

Fan Ni was slightly taken aback.

It was an ordinary table in the main hall of Yuelai Inn.

A few scattered Immortal Commoners sat eating at the surrounding tables.

There was no private room.

No one to pour drinks.

There wasn't even any wine... Only a mortal sat at the table, waiting for him.

Fan Ni was displeased.

Did a half-step Immortal Venerable really deserve so little respect?

Before the mortal sat a plate of roasted Kun meat.

Only one plate.

The Kun meat had been cut into little cubes, each piece pierced with a toothpick. Nearly a hundred pieces filled the plate.

The meat looked unremarkable, and the spiritual energy within it was so restrained that it was difficult to detect.

But the aroma...

It was outrageous!

Fan Ni had always thought the Immortal Court deliberately hyped up the Giant Kun's deliciousness to lure people into hunting it. He had never expected the great fish to taste this incredible!

No wonder Yun Zhonghe had once served it at a banquet for high-ranking Immortal Court officials.

Ning Zhongzi glanced at Lu Ya and stepped forward to introduce them.

"This is Fan Ni, Beast Taming Elder of the White Lotus Sect. He's the Elder Fan I mentioned to you last time—the one who went hunting the Kunpeng Brothers in Beast Nest Forest, got attacked by the two of them together, and made a valiant retreat."

Oh, so he was that Elder Fan...

Lu Ya nodded. He had no recollection of Ning Zhongzi mentioning it.

But if a half-step Immortal Venerable had been defeated by two nine-star Immortal Masters, then he could only serve as a tool.

Thinking that, Lu Ya amiably gestured to the seat.

"Sit."

Fan Ni hadn't expected the mortal before him to be Lu Ya!

But when he and Ning Zhongzi had arrived at the inn, he hadn't seen anyone come out of Kun's belly, nor had he detected any fluctuations of spiritual power nearby.

How had this person suddenly appeared in the inn?

The more Fan Ni thought about it, the more terrified he became. He didn't dare sit, and only said,

"I've had a flare-up of Spirit Hemorrhoids recently, so I can't sit down."

Spirit Hemorrhoids, really?

Lu Ya raised an eyebrow and finally took a proper look at the half-step Immortal Venerable.

He was fit and handsome, but something about his handsomeness felt a little off.

Still, as a half-step Immortal Venerable, he had a powerful presence—far stronger than Golden Peng's!

How could a half-step Immortal Venerable lose to two nine-star Immortal Masters?

Lu Ya didn't want to waste time, so he asked directly,

"Did Elder Fan want this Kun just now?"

Fan Ni suddenly tensed and hurriedly denied it.

"Elder Lu is joking. The White Lotus Sect and the Bamboo Spring Sect have always been friendly for thousands of years. I thought this Kun was harming your sect, so I intended to deal with the beast. Since Elder Lu has already killed it, it naturally belongs to your sect."

Were everyone from the White Lotus Sect so cautious?

Lu Ya thought.

Since that was the case, and this fellow had behaved himself without crossing the line, Lu Ya decided to give him a chance to turn over a new leaf and become a tool again.

With a casual thought, Lu Ya came up with a plan to set off a public-opinion explosion in East Floating City.

But he wasn't going to do it himself.

A tool.

"Actually, this Void Kun did once belong to the White Lotus Sect. You deserve a share."

Fan Ni was slightly taken aback.

"Hm?"

"But there's one condition."

"What condition?"

"Take a few dozen plates of Kun meat to East Floating City and give them out for free to the rogue immortals. Each immortal may claim only one free serving. It'll help promote Azure Phoenix City. If they want to try more, they can come to Yuelai Inn in the Bamboo Spring Sect."

I'm a dignified half-step Immortal Venerable, and you want me to promote a third-rate minor sect and drum up customers?

Fan Ni looked embarrassed.

"This..."

Lu Ya then tossed Fan Ni a bamboo slip.

Fan Ni looked down. Carved into it was a square black maze.

"This bamboo slip has a QR code with an audiovisual recording of the Giant Kun being cooked. Scan it with WeChat... No, just sweep it with your divine sense, and you'll see the Giant Kun being cooked in all its glory."

"This..."

Lu Ya continued,

"With Elder Fan's prestige in the East Floating District, no one will mistake you for a swindler, and no one will question the safety of the Bamboo Spring Sect again."

"This..."

"Also, for every immortal who spends money at Yuelai Inn, I'll give you a portion of Kun meat as commission. How about it?"

A commission paid in Kun meat?

Did he think he was feeding a dog?

Fan Ni had never suffered such humiliation.

But it was true that the Kun meat smelled delicious! The spiritual energy in it felt purer than even top-grade pills!

"But I'm the White Lotus Sect's Beast Taming Elder. It wouldn't be very appropriate, would it?"

"Pre-sale Elder? That's perfect."

Lu Ya's words carried a double meaning. Then he added:

"Besides, didn't you just say the White Lotus Sect and the Bamboo Spring Sect have always been friendly sects? You wouldn't refuse to help with such a small favor, would you?"

"This..."

Under Lu Ya's mix of kindness and pressure, Fan Ni's thoughts raced. He soon came up with a plan to use this opportunity to wash away his bad reputation!

As he saw it, men didn't have to settle things between them through fighting.

Men could also be drawn to one another, work together, and improve side by side.

He'd do this kid a favor first, then take the chance to discreetly investigate his background and strength.

If he was strong, they'd be friends.

If he was weak, hehehehe...

Lu Ya gave Fan Ni a sidelong look. He had a feeling the guy was thinking about something disgusting, so he pushed the Kun meat toward him.

"Try some."

Only then did Fan Ni sit down. Pinching a greasy cube of Kun meat between two fingers, he slipped it seductively between his plump lips.

His expression suddenly froze.

He felt as if he were ascending to immortality.

A long while later,

the delicious flush faded from his face, leaving only shock in his stomach.

What kind of divine cooking was this?

Perhaps the delicious food had moved him, or perhaps he wanted to quietly do Lu Ya a favor.

He suddenly reminded Lu Ya:

"I know Elder Lu is very powerful, but you can't be invincible. So before I go to East Floating City, I should warn you about three things."

Lu Ya really was invincible, but he still asked curiously:

"What three things?"

Fan Ni's gaze sharpened. In an instant, he regained the icy composure of an Immortal Venerable.

"First, never underestimate the power of this Beast Tide."

"Second, never underestimate Wine Fox Immortal."

"Third—and the most dangerous—never underestimate my sect's former sect master, Yun Zhonghe!"