Everything Was Ready

The next morning.

Zhou Ning took five jin of spirit rice and headed east on Bamboo Creek Island.

He stopped before a complex of pavilions and towers and showed his identity token to the gatekeeper.

"I am Zhou Ning, a retainer of the Su Household. Please inform Steward Su of my arrival."

As he spoke, he handed over a palm-sized bag of rice he had prepared beforehand.

The gatekeeper was a mortal, a young man in appearance. He took it with considerable delight. "Please wait a moment, Immortal Master!"

The time it took to drink a cup of tea later, the young man came out, looking somewhat apologetic. "Grandfather is in a meeting. Please wait a little longer."

Zhou Ning waited with a smile.

In the end, he waited a full three hours. It was nearly noon, and he still had not seen Steward Su.

At that moment, another woman arrived. She was twenty-four or twenty-five, above average in looks, and at the Third Layer of Qi Refinement.

Zhou Ning remembered her. According to Old Jia, she had come to Cuiwei Lake ten years ago to cultivate spirit lotus roots, earning much the same as she would from fishing and hunting.

She gave no tip, but after the young man announced her, she was quickly granted permission to enter the residence.

Zhou Ning's expression did not change. He was asking someone for a favor, so he kept his place in mind.

The young man beside him, however, was thin-skinned. "There are too many honored guests today. Grandfather can't split himself in two."

"No matter," Zhou Ning said magnanimously.

The young man took the initiative to show goodwill and shared a piece of news.

"Have you heard? The Guo Household's False Core patriarch to the south has died. Heh, back when they wanted to swallow up our Su Household, our patriarch challenged him to a fight. Though he lost an arm, he injured that old dog too!"

"Recently, the Duan and Gu Households, those artifact refiners, have been fighting over the Guo Household's territory so fiercely they've nearly beaten each other's dog brains out!"

Zhou Ning did not look down on him for being a mortal and took the opportunity to strike up a conversation.

As it turned out, Cuiwei Lake, where the Su Household was based, fell under the Azure Mystic Sect's jurisdiction.

The Azure Mystic Sect had once been a Nascent Soul sect. Later, its line of Nascent Soul cultivators had been broken. At present, the highest cultivation in the sect was the Great Perfection of Core Formation, but the sect had a formidable foundation and possessed a Nascent Soul-level puppet.

South of Cuiwei Lake was a Core Formation Aristocratic Clan surnamed Lei that had always coveted the Su Household. Fortunately, Su Yanghao of the Su Household's direct line had joined the Azure Mystic Sect and become a True Disciple. He had later broken through to Foundation Establishment and was now a deputy hall master of Guangying Hall.

Thus, the Lei Household could only pinch its nose and accept it.

"Ah, I can accept currying favor with the Azure Mystic Sect, but I really can't understand why the clan sent Eldest Miss Su to the Duan Household for further training. Are they worthy?"

At this, the young man looked indignant.

Zhou Ning chatted with him for an hour and learned quite a bit more current news. Only after the woman who cultivated Spirit Plants came out was he allowed into the residence.

Watching Zhou Ning's departing figure, the young man thought, This man has waited nearly six hours without haste or agitation. His temperament is truly extraordinary.

Recalling what had happened during this time, he sighed:

"Ah, Patriarch, you're far too arrogant. I hope you don't offend anyone in the future!"

All he could do was share a few pieces of news and offer a negligible gesture of goodwill.

A maid led the way, winding through corridors and gardens.

At last, Zhou Ning met Steward Su in a pavilion by a rockery and running water.

The man was nearly fifty, broad and fat, dressed in fine clothing, and at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining. He narrowed his eyes.

"What do you have to report?"

Zhou Ning placed a bag of spirit rice on the long bench beside him, producing a soft rustling sound.

His tone was sincere. "Lord Su, I have reached the Perfection of the Third Layer of Qi Refinement. I hope to take two months off to focus on breaking through to the next realm."

Steward Su stared at him for a few seconds before speaking.

He spoke slowly, with an air that brooked no defiance. "You've got some nerve. Do you know the rules I set?"

"Of course I do. While I'm in seclusion, I guarantee that I'll turn in fifty jin of Fuluo Eels every month!"

Zhou Ning had long prepared what he would say. He would have Xu Qinghou turn them in for him.

Steward Su was somewhat more satisfied after hearing this. After all, the man had brought a bag of spirit rice.

Still, judging by the boy's age, he had probably only just finished cultivating the third layer, yet he already wanted to break through to the fourth. It was a fool talking in his sleep!

He spoke at a leisurely pace. "You're putting quite a lot into your cultivation. What, are you trying to seize that slim chance at Foundation Establishment?"

Zhou Ning replied, "Foundation Establishment is like the bright moon in the sky to me. I only want to break through to the middle stage sooner and devote myself wholeheartedly to repaying the Su Household's kindness."

Steward Su sneered and nodded. "Granted. You may leave."

Only then did Zhou Ning take his leave.

On the way back, Zhou Ning walked along the lakeshore, watching little boats drift with the waves across the vast expanse of water.

He paused, falling silent for a few breaths.

Then he continued without stopping, quickly returning to his little courtyard and hanging a seclusion sign on the door.

The sky was murky yellow, and dead trees covered the surroundings.

It was even drier and more parched than Hedong Commandery in Chen State had been during the great drought of his childhood.

Zhou Ning breathed in the scorching wind and exclaimed, "Sweet! It's been three years, and it's still just as delicious!"

"If I cultivated here, even with only a first-tier Spirit Vein, my cultivation speed would definitely be ten percent faster."

Zhou Ning felt the circulation of Qi and Blood and spiritual power throughout his body. The jade had brought over all his cultivation from that world.

"It really is miraculous. I'm afraid even the legendary One Qi Transforms into the Three Pure Ones is probably no more impressive than this!"

Zhou Ning did not linger. He picked a direction and used his lightness skill to dart away.

The sight of the woman in the black dress killing him in the woods last time was still fresh in his memory.

Fortunately, he had died completely, so no one had lain in wait for him.

According to Chai Dingchun's account, a thousand li away stood a marketplace city called Gazing Immortal Port. Built by the Wu Household, a Purple Mansion immortal clan, it could supply the cultivation needs of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

This time, Zhou Ning had stored over a hundred jin of Fuluo Eel blood in the jade space.

It was so dry here that it ought to fetch a good price!

Two days later.

In the distance, a stretch of imposing ancient city wall appeared on the yellow earth. Its bricks and stones fit tightly together, bearing the marks of time.

Closer up, spiritual light seemed to flicker around the fortifications atop the wall, reflecting the last rays of the setting sun. It looked as though a great formation enveloped the city.

Streaks of brilliant color flashed overhead from time to time as cultivators of all kinds flew toward the city gate.

Dressed entirely in black and wearing a conical hat, Zhou Ning traveled on foot, keeping a very low profile.

Earlier on the road, he had come across two separate fights. Zhou Ning had not dared join the excitement and had kept well away. Perhaps because his strength was so low, no one had paid him any attention.

After paying half a jin of spirit rice, Zhou Ning received an identity token and successfully entered Gazing Immortal Port as a Rogue Cultivator.

As soon as he entered the city, Zhou Ning sensed a suppressive force coming from every direction, making the spiritual power in his meridians circulate much more sluggishly.

He looked up again and saw no cultivators riding Qi in the sky. Everyone was walking obediently.

Zhou Ning understood. Some formidable formation had likely been set up. "The Wu Household really is worthy of being a great Purple Mansion clan."

Nearby, the crowd was in an uproar, with people soliciting customers and holding up signs. What a lively scene of mortal life!

That was only natural. Cultivators were not true immortals, after all; wherever there was profit, there was business.

A young woman with a wildflower pinned in her hair approached him with a faint smile. "Senior, is this your first time in the city? For just half a jin of spirit rice, I can tell you about the different districts."

"Three liang," Zhou Ning countered.

"Deal!" The young woman agreed at once, as though afraid he might change his mind.

Zhou Ning's expression changed. She had agreed so decisively-he'd lost out, lost out!

Then again, as a Qi Refining cultivator, he earned only a few jin of spirit rice from a month of fishing and hunting, while the wildflower girl, a mere mortal, made three liang in half a day.

Still, having agreed, Zhou Ning could hardly go back on his word.

So he asked, "Do you know why the Spiritual Qi in the city is so thin? Could it be that there's no Spirit Vein?"

The wildflower girl's expression turned strange. She felt this senior was rather ignorant.

She replied, "There is a Spirit Vein in the city, but the higher cultivators have monopolized it with great Law Power. If you want Spiritual Qi, you can only rent a cave abode."

Zhou Ning complained inwardly, Aren't these higher cultivators a little too damn stingy?