The clouds carried the group forward, and as darkness fell, a bustling town finally appeared below.
It was Heyang City, and the most conspicuous restaurant in the city Mountain and Sea Garden Restaurant, was the place where the disciples of the Qingyun Sect rested in the original novel.
"Mountain and Sea Garden is just ahead. Let's rest there for today. Their food is the best in Heyang City!"
Just like in the original story Zeng Shushu led everyone here to rest.
Lin Yu manipulated the clouds to descend slowly. As soon as they landed outside the city, a figure materialized beside Lin Yu and his companions, Goku's voice came from within. "Finally made it! I'm not late, am I?"
A figure appeared: a young man in an orange Martial Dao uniform with spiky black hair, who smiled and scratched his head.
Seeing this, the group members joked around, and Su Xiaoxiao suggested with a smile, "Since almost everyone is here, why don't we have an offline meetup at Mountain and Sea Garden? It'll be a great way to liven things up!"
As she spoke, Su Xiaoxiao asked in the group chat whether the rest of the group members would come.
As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Xian replied in the group chat.
[Xu Xian: I'm sorry everyone, my wife is about to give birth, I really can't leave.]
Several other group members who couldn't attend also left messages, explaining that they were either tied up with other things or temporarily unable to participate, so the meetup had to be canceled.
"It's alright, there will be other opportunities in the future." Lin Yu waved his hand with a smile and led the way towards Mountain and Sea Garden.
As the group entered Mountain and Sea Garden, the restaurant was bustling with activity. Upon seeing the arrival of this group of immortals, the waiter hurriedly approached, saying, "Immortals, please come in! We have private rooms upstairs; would you like us to reserve one for you?"
This place is right at the foot of the Qingyun Sect, so it's not hard to see people cultivating immortality here.
Zeng Shushu was about to speak, Son Goku suddenly approached the counter, his eyes lighting up as he looked at the menu.
The mere mention of food made Goku's stomach rumble.
Not to mention, the aroma of the dishes wafted through the entire Mountain and Sea Garden at all times, making Goku's mouth water and unable to suppress his appetite.
"Give us a private room, and bring three portions of everything on your menu."
Lin Yu knew Goku's appetite, so he simply told the waiter to bring more food, and to order more if needed.
The waiter was taken aback by the amount of food Lin Yu ordered, then quickly nodded, "Alright! Please wait a moment, sir, we'll prepare your food right away!"
He quickly ran towards the kitchen, thinking to himself, "These people look so thin, how can they eat so much?"
However, considering that he was an immortal, he couldn't question him; as long as he received the money, that was fine.
Xiao Yan patted Son Goku on the shoulder. "You still have such a big appetite. Don't eat all the food in the kitchen later."
Before long, plates of roasted and stewed meat were served. Goku grabbed a piece of roasted meat and stuffed it into his mouth, his ravenous eating leaving everyone dumbfounded.
Zhang Xiaofan and his companions had never seen anyone eat so much; they stopped touching their chopsticks and just watched Goku eat.
He ate more than everyone else combined, keeping the kitchen staff extremely busy; even the odd jobs were pulled away to cut meat.
The residents waiting downstairs for their meals were complaining to the waiter because their food was taking so long to arrive.
After the waiter explained that it was a meal for immortals, they all voluntarily cancelled their orders and stood downstairs, curiously peering out.
Just as everyone was enjoying their meal, a pretty figure walked up the stairs; it was Biyao, dressed in green.
She spotted Lu Xueqi and the others at a glance.
Just like in the original story, she pretended to mention the Sleeping Fish, asking the waiter to introduce it, and then used this opportunity to mock the Qingyun Sect.
Upon hearing this, Lu Xueqi's grip on her chopsticks tightened slightly, and she immediately stood up. Even though she knew that Biyao was deliberately provoking her, she couldn't stand someone mocking the Qingyun Sect.
Before she could even stand up, a cold voice came from the private room opposite them. "Biyao, do not be rude."
Immediately afterwards, Aunt You walked out slowly, and when her gaze swept over Lin Yu and the others, a hint of vigilance flashed in her eyes.
Seeing this, Lu Xueqi could only suppress her anger. She knew that Aunt You's cultivation was profound, and there were still many people in the hall. Taking action would only harm innocent people.
Seeing that Aunt You had come forward, Biyao said no more and followed her into the Aunt You room.
That evening, in the backyard of Mountain and Sea Garden, Aunt You looked at Biyao with a solemn expression. "We've already found out the backgrounds of those disciples from the Qingyun Sect, but those later ones... I can't even see through their cultivation levels."
Biyao also stopped her playful antics from earlier in the day and nodded, saying, "I think they seem close to Lu Xueqi; they might be here to help the Qingyun Sect. We need to be careful."
The group continued their journey early the next morning.
Not far from Heyang City, the forest ahead suddenly darkened, and bats filled the sky, their flapping wings sounding like a howling wind.
Upon seeing this scene, the group members knew that this was the entrance to the Ancient Cave of Ten Thousand Bats from the original story, and the plot was about to begin.
"My God, there are so many bats!" Su Xiaoxiao couldn't help but exclaim.
Lin Yu stared at the swarm of bats, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes. These bats were exotic species tamed by the Demonic Sect; they were no ordinary creatures.
If used to refine Gu, it might even enhance the potential of his Crimson Flame Centipede.
With this in mind, Lin Yu didn't hesitate. Every bat killed was one less, so he had to act quickly.
Lin Yu raised his hand and waved it, his Spiritual Power surging and transforming into a huge pale golden net that enveloped the swarm of bats.
The giant net unfurled in the air, even larger than the swarm of bats, instantly trapping them all within it.
From the sky, one can see a gigantic net that blots out the sun, covering the entire Ancient Cave of Ten Thousand Bats.
Immediately afterwards, a tremendous suction force emanated from the giant net, sucking all the bats in.
Then Lin Yu activated his fire-attribute Spiritual Power, and golden flames instantly ignited on the giant net, with the screams of bats inside rising and falling.
A moment later, as the flames gradually died down, only a drop of dark red blood remained in the giant net, slowly drifting into Lin Yu's palm.
This is a drop of essence refined from tens of thousands of blood bats.
Zhang Xiaofan, Qi Hao, and Zeng Shushu stared in disbelief, instinctively taking two steps back and swallowing hard.
This method of refining living beings is too terrifying. They don't want to provoke Lin Yu, for fear that they might be thrown in and refined themselves.
Xiao Yan and Su Xiaoxiao couldn't help but exclaim, "Lin Yu, that was amazing!"
Shi Hao stared at the drop of bat essence, biting his finger, seemingly deep in thought.
Just then, a Buddhist chant suddenly rang out. "Amitabha."
Everyone looked up and saw two monks dressed in robes walking through the air.
"Tianyin Temple, Faxiang"
"Fashan"
They were the two monks from the original story.
Following closely behind, Li Xun and Yan Hong from Incense Valley also appeared not far away, their eyes warily scrutinizing Lin Yu and the others.
They had just witnessed Lin Yu's terrifying abilities from the sky, and even more clearly than Zhang Xiaofan and the others.
After all, they were in the sky, much closer to the giant net than Zhang Xiaofan and the others. Their terrifying methods were probably no less than those of their sect leader.