"Senior Sister Donggu, don't be so heart-" Li Xiaoya shamelessly tried to say more, but before he could finish saying "heartless," Lin Xuandao hurriedly grabbed him and took off running. As he ran, he looked back and shouted to her, "Thank you, Senior Sister Donggu! We'll be leaving now!"
"Hey, Senior Brother Lin, slow down! I haven't even finished getting dressed!!!" Li Xiaoya shouted in protest as he was dragged along.
"Hmph! Lucky you ran fast enough!" Just as the two of them fled the Robe Workshop, Senior Sister Donggu, who had still been reading with her head lowered, raised it slightly. A vicious gleam flashed through her eyes as she muttered venomously.
"Hey, Senior Brother Lin! Why are you running so fast? I haven't finished changing yet!" Li Xiaoya shook off Lin Xuandao's hand and began straightening his clothes.
"Ah, Junior Brother Li, do you even know who Senior Sister Donggu is?" Lin Xuandao had dragged him a considerable distance. Seeing that they were now far from the Robe Workshop, he stopped running and asked plaintively.
"Who else could she be? Just an ugly woman!" Li Xiaoya adjusted his clothes and curled his lips dismissively.
"Oh, come on! Senior Sister Donggu is the last cultivator in the Heavenly Dao Sect you want to cross. If I hadn't spotted the danger and dragged you away in time, you wouldn't even have known how you died!" Lin Xuandao patted his chest, seemingly still shaken.
"Huh! That ugly woman is that powerful? Her cultivation is higher than Jiang Lingzi's, and she's stronger than him?!" Li Xiaoya asked skeptically.
"It's not that Senior Sister Donggu's cultivation is high. Her cultivation is only at the peak of the true cultivation stage, and she hasn't reached the core condensation stage yet, but she's the youngest Formation Master in the Heavenly Dao Sect." Seeing that Li Xiaoya had finished dressing, Lin Xuandao led him off in another direction as he spoke.
"A Formation Master? What's a formation?" Li Xiaoya asked in confusion.
Lin Xuandao thought for a moment, then said, "Well! Formations are set up using special Formation-Casting Implements and Formation Plates. The resulting formations are incredibly powerful. As for the details, I'm not a formation practitioner myself, so I don't really understand them. But they say Senior Sister Donggu's formations can trap even golden core stage cultivators. She's the young disciple in our sect with the best chance of becoming a Formation Grandmaster. Even core condensation stage cultivators are perfectly polite when they see her. Oh, right!" At this point, Lin Xuandao seemed to remember something and lowered his voice. "They say even Senior Jiang Lingzi was trapped in one of her formations for three days. Senior Sister Donggu only released him after the sect master intervened. That was how she made her name in the Heavenly Dao Sect. You should know that she hates cultivators commenting on her looks more than anything. Those who offend her get trapped in a Maze Formation for several days if she lets them off lightly. If she doesn't, heh heh! They say one cultivator was trapped in an Illusion Formation that forced his Heart Demon to surface, and in the end, his mind broke and he went mad!"
"She's that powerful! Haha, good thing we ran fast!" Li Xiaoya scratched the back of his head, feeling a lingering chill of fear.
"Yes! But..." Lin Xuandao answered, then stopped in his tracks and said in puzzlement, "That's strange. Senior Sister Donggu normally doesn't have to do any chores. Why was she behind the counter at the Robe Workshop today? I remember there used to be a pretty young senior sister there! How strange!"
"Oh! So Senior Sister Donggu isn't normally in charge of that counter?" Seeing him stop, Li Xiaoya asked curiously.
"Yes! To nurture a Formation Master, the sect exempted Senior Sister Donggu from all chores and even gave her a cave abode so she could focus on cultivation and studying the art of formations. She usually stays in her cave abode instead of going out!" Lin Xuandao resumed walking as he explained.
"Hah! Of course she wouldn't dare go out and scare people when she's that ugly!" Li Xiaoya pulled his face long with both hands, making a grotesque face as he spoke spitefully.
"Pfft!" Lin Xuandao couldn't help bursting out laughing at his antics. "Don't go saying things like that. If word reaches Senior Sister Donggu, you'll have plenty to suffer!" As he spoke, he gave Li Xiaoya a shove, and the two grew considerably closer.
Talking and laughing, they arrived at a single-story building. The cultivators coming and going all wore clothes of the same style as Li Xiaoya's, differing only in color.
"All right! We're here, Junior Brother Li!"
"Urp!" Li Xiaoya let out a full-bellied belch and rubbed his round stomach as he walked out of the Dining Hall, with a sour-faced Lin Xuandao following behind him.
The Heavenly Dao Sect's Dining Hall was laid out much like an ordinary restaurant in the mortal world, except all the food was free. Strangely, however, only low-ranking disciples ate there, and there were neither waiters nor a proprietor inside. Anyone who wanted food simply went to the enormous bronze Furnace Cauldron in the middle. The cauldron was circular, with dozens of closed openings around its circumference. Many faintly glowing dish names were engraved on it. All one had to do was touch the name of the desired dish, and the nearest opening would swing open, revealing a food box carrying a steaming plate of food. Once the dish was taken, the food box automatically withdrew into the opening. It was truly magical.
And what sort of person was Li Xiaoya? A little beggar who had wandered the streets since childhood. The sight of this magical Furnace Cauldron and a free lunch filled him with heartfelt delight. Without another word, he ordered a huge pile of delicious food, then wolfed it down like a ravenous beast, leaving everyone in the hall dumbfounded. People kept turning to stare, thinking, When did the Heavenly Dao Sect get a reincarnated hungry ghost? Sitting beside him, Lin Xuandao shared in his embarrassment. Li Xiaoya ate for nearly two hours, until even Lin Xuandao began to wonder whether the boy's stomach was a Heaven-and-Earth Bag, capable of holding so much food.
Only when Li Xiaoya truly couldn't eat another bite did he finally emerge, belching in satisfaction, with a sour-faced Lin Xuandao trailing behind. Lin Xuandao had certainly made a name for himself in the Heavenly Dao Sect today. Though his cultivation was low and few disciples in the sect knew him, the Dining Hall happened to be a gathering place for low-ranking disciples, and someone had recognized him after all.
"Haha! I'm so full!" Li Xiaoya rubbed his round stomach and asked Lin Xuandao, "Huh! Senior Brother Lin, why didn't you eat anything?"
"We Immortal Cultivators don't usually eat mortal food! There are too many impurities in these foods. They aren't suitable for us Immortal Cultivators!" Lin Xuandao said sourly.
(I got up early this morning and saw that A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality had updated, so I rushed over to read it. What a surprise! Wang Yu had recommended our work in his featured authors' slots, but he gave three recommendations at once. That nearly struck me dead with lightning! You can't play with me like that.)
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