Before leaving, Xu Yi was pulled aside by the five elders, who secretly stuffed her with many good things, all of which she haphazardly placed into her storage ring.
Now needing to travel, she searched her storage ring for half an hour before finally unearthing a palm-sized boat from beneath a mountain of spirit stones.
She infused it with spiritual energy and tossed it upwards. The boat grew against the wind, quickly transforming into a wooden vessel large enough to accommodate dozens of people.
Xu Yi leaped up and beckoned to Lu Zaiye, who was still standing below, "Hurry up and get on."
Lu Zaiye glanced at the rather familiar-looking boat and, without a word, followed her aboard. Together, he and Xu Yi inspected the boat from the inside out.
At first glance, the wooden boat appeared somewhat plain, but it held immense wonders within. Not only were the rooms in the cabin exquisitely furnished, but intricate and profound array patterns were carved onto the hull. This allowed the boat, in terms of both speed and defense, to rival ordinary cultivators in the Soul Transformation stage, making it a sixth-grade flying magical treasure that combined defense, evasion, and multi-functionality.
Lu Zaiye secretly shook his head, thinking the elder who gifted the boat had been incredibly generous this time.
Back at the Xuanji Sect, Elder Liu, thinking of the Divine Speed Boat he had impulsively given away, trembled with heartache. The other elders, including Elder Qingfeng, mistook his reaction for sentimentality and mocked him mercilessly.
With the Divine Speed Boat in hand, Xu Yi and Lu Zaiye reached Meng City in less than a day.
Upon entering the city, Xu Yi browsed from one stall to another with great enthusiasm, her mood exceptionally pleasant.
Having shed the title of Ancestor Master and regained her freedom, Xu Yi felt her storage ring practically vibrating with anticipation.
A few days prior, she had visited the Hall of Affairs and collected all her allocated provisions from over the years.
The provisions, not collected for two thousand years, were enough to skyrocket Xu Yi's net worth.
Glancing at the reserved Lu Zaiye beside her, she generously offered, "If there's anything you fancy, just tell me. Don't be polite, consider it my welcome gift."
"Disciple..." Lu Zaiye, under Xu Yi's raised eyebrow, corrected himself, "I don't need anything."
Xu Yi was currently in high spirits, and knowing Lu Zaiye to be cautious and reserved, she didn't dwell on his refusal. She bought two of everything she found interesting, forcefully giving him the extra one.
Unable to refuse, Lu Zaiye accepted it with a sigh, holding the gift and looking at Xu Yi's cheerful retreating figure, his lips pursed slightly.
At noon, Xu Yi, having had her fill, led Lu Zaiye into the most luxurious restaurant in Meng City and extravagantly ordered the staff to bring one of every signature dish.
While waiting for the food, she asked Lu Zaiye to take out his communication disk. They imprinted each other's disks with their spiritual marks. Only then did she shift her attention to Mr. Yang Huizi, who was telling stories in the center of the first-floor lobby.
"...Behold, the Astonishing Swan Fairy, like a goddess descending from the heavens, appeared before the King of the Demon Race, stepping on resplendent multicolored clouds. With a clear shout, 'Stop!', the Demon King, awestruck by the Fairy's arrival, truly halted his actions."
Xu Yi listened intently for a moment and realized he was recounting the deeds of the Astonishing Swan Fairy. She immediately straightened her slightly slouched posture and listened to the story with rapt attention.
The storyteller was clearly an experienced hand, weaving his narrative with twists and turns that captivated his audience.
Even when the dishes were served and the storyteller retired for a break, Xu Yi still felt a sense of lingering fascination.
Lu Zaiye, while serving himself food, asked casually, as if it were an afterthought, "You seem very interested in the deeds of the Astonishing Swan Fairy."
Xu Yi did not deny it at all and nodded frankly, "Yes, I heard she's my junior sister. She's truly remarkable."
Xu Yi's praise was entirely genuine, making it all the more sincere.
After receiving Xu Yi's answer, Lu Zaiye remained silent. However, after hearing the storyteller's tale, Xu Yi suddenly remembered the storybooks she had read while trapped in the secret realm. Thinking about the unfinished endings, she felt a pang of impatience.
But mindful of Lu Zaiye's presence and wanting to maintain her Ancestor Master's dignity, Xu Yi suppressed her thoughts, planning to find an opportunity to visit a bookstore alone later.
However, she hadn't expected the opportunity to arrive so soon.
After their lunch, as they were heading to the teleportation array leading to Li City, they were informed that a minor incident had occurred in Li City, and the teleportation array would only reopen in three days.
With no other choice, the two had to stay in Meng City for a few more days. They found an inn and booked two rooms. Xu Yi claimed she was returning to her room to rest, but in reality, she slipped out of the inn at the first opportunity.
Xu Yi believed Lu Zaiye hadn't noticed, unaware that a wisp of his divine sense was clinging to the hem of her clothes.
Lu Zaiye, sitting in his room, could clearly see through his divine sense as Xu Yi stealthily crept along the walls.
In a short while, various conjectures arose in his mind.
Was Xu Yi's identity genuine? Did she have ulterior motives for coming to the Xuanji Sect? Was there someone else behind her?
However, when he saw Xu Yi enter a bookstore and quietly inquire with the shopkeeper about storybooks published two thousand years ago, he was stunned.
So, Xu Yi had gone behind his back to buy storybooks?
Lu Zaiye: ...
Meanwhile, Xu Yi in the bookstore, oblivious to the fact that her most guarded little secret had been exposed, was pestering the shopkeeper to find her storybooks, still eager to know the endings.
Fortunately, this bookstore had extensive connections. Although they didn't have the exact storybooks Xu Yi wanted, they did have jade slips imprinted with the content of the storybooks, and they were even cheaper than the books themselves.
Xu Yi immediately paid for the jade slips and also stocked up on some new goods from the shopkeeper before sneakily returning.
Lu Zaiye's divine sense followed Xu Yi back to her room. He witnessed Xu Yi holding the jade slip, sometimes breaking into a strange smile, and other times nervously clenching her fists, her heart following the story's twists and turns.
Lu Zaiye withdrew his divine sense, let out a soft sigh, and slowly closed his eyes.
Three days later, as dawn broke, they arrived punctually at the teleportation array but were informed that the teleportation array to Li City was still not open.
As they were puzzling over this, a person suddenly darted out from the roadside and mysteriously approached them.
"Two esteemed immortals." The one who stopped them was a young man, his cultivation only at the few layers of Qi Refining. He had a youthful, nervous expression. "It's not very peaceful in Li City, so all teleportation arrays leading there have been closed. However, I have a way to send you over, though the price will be a bit higher. Are you interested?" m..oΓg
Lu Zaiye's eyes flashed as he asked, "Do you know what exactly happened in Li City?"
The young cultivator appeared troubled and couldn't help but glance behind him. Just then, he met the urging gaze of a burly male cultivator. He flinched and immediately turned his attention back.
"I'm not at liberty to disclose that. However, if you wish to go, I have a method. Twenty mid-grade spirit stones. Also, there might be unexpected events during the teleportation, and you might be sent to other locations. The consequences will be your own responsibility. If you both agree, then payment is required."
Hearing his words, Xu Yi frowned and looked at Lu Zaiye, seeking his opinion.
She had never used a teleportation array before and thus didn't know how outrageous the young man's terms were, but Lu Zaiye did.
Normally, using a teleportation array wouldn't cost more than ten low-grade spirit stones each time, but now the price of ten mid-grade spirit stones per person was a hundredfold increase.
What unsettled him further was the latter half of the young man's statement. Teleportation relied on stable spatial laws. If something went wrong during the transmission, one might fall into spatial turbulence, unable to escape even their soul.
A fine "consequences be your own responsibility."