Chapter 133 Obtaining the Cultivation Technique

Although the Ninth State and the Fifteenth State are not far apart, the distance between states, even if "not far," is still several million miles.

If Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan were to travel there on their own using a level-three Xuan artifact, it would take them at least a year. But now, with Master Jiang personally piloting a level-seven flying boat, they can arrive in less than an hour.

The difference between level three and level seven can reach this level!

·

On the flying boat.

Jiang Chongguang and Sang Yunchu are playing chess.

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan... were also playing chess.

However, Zhong Cai was straightforward and didn't really like this kind of thing. He just watched his masters being quiet, so he spent his time with Lao Wu like this. But he wasn't really interested, so he would stop from time to time to think about his moves and glance at his masters.

Wu Shaogan found it amusing and knew that A Cai was just putting on an act by setting up the chessboard, so he slowly made his own moves.

Zhong Cai mouthed to her husband, Wu, "I thought Master Jiang wasn't suited to play chess."

Wu Shaogan raised an eyebrow, but instead of mouthing the words, he transmitted them telepathically.

[Whether Master Sang wants to go or not, he has no choice but to go.]

Zhong Cai was curious and continued to mouth the words—Why should Master Jiang listen to his master?

Wu Shaogan smiled slightly.

"If Master is at this level and still wants to ask for elixirs, then we have to give Master Sang face."

Zhong Cai thought about it and agreed, giving a thumbs up.

Wu Shaogan understood his meaning, and his smile deepened.

My master wasn't as lucky as me. When I really needed high-level pills, I could rely on A-Cai.

Zhong rubbed his nose with his thumb and proudly raised his chin.

Isn't that right? His strength is almost catching up, and he can even try refining pills beyond his level. He can buy all of Old Wu's pills!

·

Sang Yunchu slowly placed his chess pieces, which had completely surrounded Jiang Chongguang.

Jiang Chongguang doesn't dislike playing chess, but the pieces are too small and troublesome to pick up, so he doesn't really like it.

However, just as Wu Shaogan said, although Master Sang Dan was a pretty boy at heart, he would always cooperate with Sang Yunchu's requests or hire people to help collect rare herbs, as long as he had the time.

It's just playing chess to pass the time, it's not a big deal.

The result is obvious.

Sang Yunchu always wins his games, while Jiang Chongguang loses extremely quickly.

Each time, before the time it takes to drink a cup of tea is up, Jiang Chongguang has already been utterly defeated.

·

Sang Yunchu sighed softly, "Senior Brother Jiang has lost to me seven times in just half an hour." He then added quietly, "It's clear he wasn't putting in any effort."

Jiang Chongguang decisively gathered up the chess pieces, rearranged the chessboard, and solemnly said, "It is Master Sang Dan's chess skill that is superb."

Sang Yunchu raised her eyes: "Really?"

Jiang Chongguang: "Why would I lie to you?"

Sang Yunchu was finally satisfied: "It doesn't matter if Senior Brother Jiang's chess skills are average; he'll improve after playing a few more games."

Jiang Chongguang had no objections and readily agreed, "Sure!"

The two continued playing chess.

·

Zhong Cai glanced at it, a little puzzled, and said silently, "Old Wu, although I'm not very good at chess, I can still tell that Master Sang's chess skills are terrible, a complete lousy chess player!"

Wu Shaogan's lips twitched slightly; he understood.

Anyway, Chef Jiang is even worse.

Zhong Cai nodded, "That's right."

He couldn't help but blurt out, "Master Sang is both bad and loves to play." Maybe it's because Master Jiang is even worse that Master Sang always takes the time to torture him, the "bad guy."

Wu Shaogan held back his laughter for a long time before managing to suppress it.

·

The disciples were exchanging glances and making fun of their masters, but the masters paid no attention.

Sang Yunchu and Jiang Chongguang pretended not to see the flirting between the young lovers.

Only occasionally, Sang Yunchu's ears would twitch slightly, and she would chuckle softly.

Jiang Chongguang didn't understand, but it didn't matter. He had lost again and quickly packed up his pieces.

·

The flying boat was both fast and stable, traversing thousands of mountains and rivers at breakneck speed.

No matter how many deep mountains and forests they pass through on the journey, or how many wild and rare beasts they encounter, driven by instinct and with the overwhelming power of the flying boat, they will not rashly rush out to block the way.

Therefore, the journey was very smooth.

Before long, the airship slowed down.

This time, Sang Yunchu put away the chessboard and pieces and said gently, "We've arrived."

Jiang Chongguang stood up and called to the two younger men, "Let's go, let's go, what are you all standing there for?"

Zhong Cai was already just casually fiddling with the chess pieces, and seeing this, he hurriedly cleaned up the mess.

Wu Shaogan quickly offered his assistance.

The two walked to their masters' side.

Zhong Cai exclaimed, "That was really fast!"

Sang Yunchu laughed and said, "This is not Senior Brother Jiang's fastest flying boat."

Jiang Chongguang didn't refute, saying, "I've lived a long time, so I've got quite a few of these. I do have an eighth-tier ship that's ten times faster than this one."

Zhong Cai's eyes widened: "Doesn't that mean it will only take less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn?"

Sang Yunchu nodded slightly.

Jiang Chongguang frankly stated, "We're not in a rush, otherwise we could have used it directly."

·

The airship has come to a stop.

The master and his disciples walked out while talking.

Zhong Cai stood on the deck, looking down.

Wu Shaogan walked beside him, adopting a protective posture.

Here lies a vast and majestic mountain range, stretching out like giant dragons.

It is the Jiuqu Mountain Range.

At first glance, the mountain range stretches out like a giant dragon, seemingly with nine dragons, displaying a majestic and imposing appearance.

Within the mountains and forests, one can occasionally glimpse some very large figures, clearly high-ranking beasts—the reason they reveal even a few scales or claws is often simply because they are too lazy to move and are hunting casually.

But soon, those enormous figures disappeared again.

Sang Yunchu asked with a smile, "Can you still remember the route?"

Without hesitation, Zhong Cai took out a map.

Sang Yunchu raised her delicate eyebrows slightly.

Jiang Chongguang then took the map, poured a lot of Xuan power into it with a "snap," and spread it out.

Hovering the map reveals the general direction of the route.

Sang Yunchu also looked up.

Both masters remembered it completely after just one glance.

Zhong Cai had already written it down with his master, Lao Wu. Seeing that his masters had also finished reading it, he carefully put away the map—he and Lao Wu had spent a long time comparing and contrasting before they were able to finish drawing it, so he had to keep it as a memento!

Jiang Chongguang said to Sang Yunchu, "Let's go that way."

Sang Yunchu smiled and said, "Senior Brother Jiang, please."

With a thought, Jiang Chongguang maneuvered the flying boat, heading northeast.

·

The flying boat still had a strong deterrent effect, but since there were eighth-tier beasts here, it couldn't be too arrogant.

Therefore, the airship's journey was generally discreet, and following the map's guidance, it smoothly arrived at a relatively low and thick mountain range, where it found a mountain peak shaped like a palm—the kind with only three fingers.

Between two fingers, and several feet below, there are various dense forests.

Many vines hung at the cave entrance, with some array patterns faintly engraved on them, and they even resonated with some power inside the cave... It must have been an array set up here in the early years, and it is still in operation today.

In the blink of an eye, Zhong Cai, Wu Shaogan, and their two masters were all standing in front of the cave.

The array patterns are now clearer.

Zhong Cai examined it for a moment and said, "It's a level five formation."

Wu Shaogan, who also knew a bit about this, nodded in agreement: "Indeed."

Without wasting words, Jiang Chongguang threw a punch!

Sang Yunchu then set up a defense on his disciples and their little Daoist partners.

As it turned out, Sang Yunchu's actions were very thoughtful.

When Jiang Chongguang threw that punch, the impact spread outwards, and the array patterns revealed at the cave entrance quickly collapsed... Even the entire cave shook violently, and many fragments of rock flew everywhere... all heading towards the group.

The impact of these turbulent currents and the attacks of the shattered rocks are all extraordinary, capable of easily killing cultivators at the third or fourth level.

Although Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan have many defensive measures and are unlikely to be seriously injured by the falling rocks, they will still be somewhat disheveled.

But with this, Sang Yunchu no longer even had to worry about being embarrassed.

Zhong Cai immediately smiled gratefully at her master.

Sang Yunchu smiled and glanced at his junior disciple holding hands with Wu Shaogan with a hint of teasing.

Zhong Cai wasn't embarrassed at all; instead, she happily grabbed her master's hand and shook it.

Sang Yunchu burst out laughing.

After Jiang Chongguang threw a punch, he turned around and saw the other three laughing.

Jiang Chongguang looked suspiciously at his fist, then at the half-collapsed cave.

Was his punch just now funny? Doesn't he always do that?

Sang Yunchu noticed Jiang Chongguang's confusion but didn't explain. She simply nudged his shoulder and said, "Senior Brother Jiang, please go first?"

Jiang Chongguang didn't care about trivial matters to begin with, and after hearing what he said, he immediately forgot about his previous question.

He agreed and took the lead in walking into the cave.

·

The cave was quite large, with various caverns nested within each other and winding stone passages, making it resemble the fairy cave that Zhong Cai had seen in cartoons when he was a child in his previous life.

It was pitch black everywhere.

It's so old that there's hardly any light inside; you can't see your hand in front of your face.

With a flick of his sleeve, Sang Yunchu conjured a bright bead that was now hanging in the air.

Jiang Chongguang blurted out: "Barbarian Shark Lamp Beads?"

Zhong Cai asked curiously, "What are the Manjiao Lantern Beads?"

Sang Yunchu said, "The eyes of the deep-sea shark, once taken out and polished, can shine brightly no matter where it goes."

Zhong Cai thought hard for a moment, then hesitated and said, "What kind of savage beast is a 'Manjiao'? I don't think I've ever heard of it..."

Sang Yunchu replied, “They live in the deep sea, and their height and appearance are very similar to humans, but they all have fish tails several feet long.” He paused, “and their appearance is very ugly.”

Zhong Cai was taken aback. Why did this sound so much like a mermaid?

However, in his memory, there are many kinds of legends about mermaids.

Some legends only feature women; some say the females are beautiful while the males are ugly; some say the opposite, with the males being beautiful and the females ugly; and some, when the descriptions of beauty and ugliness differ, also say the males are gentle and the females are fierce—or vice versa.

But that's all from a past life.

Why are the barbarian sharks of this world considered "barbarian"?

No matter what kind of legend the merfolk are, they can't be completely devoid of intelligence... right?

They shouldn't be the same kind of creature.

·

Zhong Cai asked curiously, "Master, since you say it looks like a human, why not classify it as a separate race instead of calling it a savage beast?"

Sang Yunchu raised an eyebrow: "Naturally, it's because they have no intelligence and are as savage as wild beasts, enjoying attacking other kinds of living beings. Unlike the indiscriminate hunting of other wild beasts, they may also be particularly fond of devouring human flesh and blood because of their own appearance. Whenever they encounter humans, they will inevitably attack and kill them frantically, immediately abandoning other prey."

Zhong Cai: "Wow."

Sang Yunchu smiled and returned to the story of the Barbarian Shark Lantern Bead.

"The Barbarian Shark lives in the deep sea. Its eyes are different from those of other savage beasts, and can directly reflect the surrounding scenery. However, because the Barbarian Shark lives in the deep sea, it is difficult to hunt it. Moreover, only by taking out its eyes at the moment of killing the Barbarian Shark and refining them can the Barbarian Shark Lamp Bead be formed."

"That savage shark clan is very powerful and has high potential; they can reach the eighth rank at most."

"Moreover, only the eyes of savage sharks of the fifth rank or above can be used as materials for refining this type of lamp bead."

Zhong Cai was shocked: "Then this LED bead must be at least a level six lighting lamp?"

Sang Yunchu smiled but remained silent.

Jiang Chongguang also quite liked Zhong Cai, so he took the initiative to answer: "She is level seven."

Zhong Cai was even more surprised. Suddenly remembering something, she asked, "Besides lighting, are there any other uses?"

Sang Yunchu laughed, "It can also avoid water. However..."

Zhong Cai pressed further, "But what?"

Sang Yunchu finished speaking.

"However, even after being refined, the Shark Eyeball still exudes the aura of the Shark clan itself, which can be sensed by all the Sharks within a certain range. The living eyeball is transformed into an inanimate object like a lamp bead, and the aura of an inanimate object is more obscure. It is almost a blatant notification to the clan that a member of the clan has been killed outside! Naturally, the Sharks will come over to surround and kill the owner of the lamp bead."

Zhong Cai suddenly realized: "So unless you're highly skilled and daring, it's best not to use these lamp beads to repel water."

Doesn't this mean it serves no other purpose besides providing illumination?!

To say it's useless... well, not really. At least this thing glows without being affected by any external force.

Therefore, this thing should fall into the category of "luxury goods".

The main purpose is to collect rare items and show them off when appropriate.

Thinking of this, Zhong Cai quietly asked again, "Master, who else would buy this?"

Sang Yunchu also whispered, "Every sixth-level alchemist with a bit of potential should have one."

Zhong Cai: "..."

Wow! This is completely unexpected!

So, if he were to find a way to get a Shark Lamp Bead right now, wouldn't his fashion sense instantly skyrocket?

Is this really a luxury item that alchemists really like?!

Sang Yunchu glanced at Zhong Cai's expression, realized what he was thinking, and smiled as she gently patted his head.

Beside them, Wu Shaogan held Zhong Cai's hand the whole time.

At this moment, his fingers tightened and then rubbed together.

Zhong Cai was already used to it, and instinctively gripped it tightly in return.

Wu Shaogan smiled slightly.

·

With LED lights providing illumination, it's much easier to navigate to the locations indicated on the map.

Sang Yunchu spoke as he thought, and then told some more about the barbarian sharks.

"The sharks lack intelligence, but they may have subconsciously evolved into this form because of their fondness for eating humans. Therefore, they can also subconsciously disguise themselves as humans at certain times to lure humans into their traps and hunt them..."

·

The reason why Zhong Cai did not know about the Man Jiao was because his inheritance did not contain any information about the Man Jiao, and although there were many miscellaneous travelogues in the Wandian Tower, he could not finish reading them all in a short time.

Moreover, the shark itself has no medicinal value.

This savage beast really looks like a human, but if you look at it a few more times, you'll realize that no matter how similar it is, it's not a branch of the human race.

The savage shark's features are ugly and strangely distributed, completely unlike those of humans. So when you look at it on one face, it just looks ugly at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it feels very incongruous—it feels like it grew randomly because it lived in the deep sea and was never exposed to humans.

As for the fact that they can see each other clearly...

It doesn't matter, we're all going to be ugly together anyway. If someone actually looks good, that would be really incongruous.

The savage shark's body is covered in scales, which at first glance look like a human wearing armor. In reality, these scales are directly grown on its body, with many sharp spikes densely covering the scales, giving it a dangerous feel.

Their long tails are anything but fragile. Besides their extremely hard scales, the edges are covered with numerous sharp, hard spines, making one feel that the sound of the tail breaking the water and its terrifying power would be truly frightening!

so……

It's quite obvious.

The barbarian shark, which has no medicinal value, possesses great value in weapon crafting.

·

Jiang Chongguang and Wu Shaogan, master and apprentice, remained silent, listening to another pair of master and apprentices chatting.

The group walked quickly and soon found the cave together.

Zhong Cai looked at the situation in the cave, and it was exactly the same as what he and Lao Wu had seen in the mirror!

The skeleton sitting on the stone bed was pure white, as if it were carved from jade, and was quite beautiful.

There was no flesh or blood left on the skeleton, and there was nothing of value in the skeleton except for a mustard seed ring, which was fastened to the index finger of his right hand.

Sang Yunchu spread her five fingers and gently grasped.

In an instant, the mustard seed ring was attracted and landed in Sang Yunchu's hand.

Sang Yunchu swept his soul across the ring, casually tossing it to Zhong Cai and saying with a smile, "The cultivation technique isn't here; you can keep the rest."

Zhong Cai focused his mind on the mustard seed ring to examine its contents.

...So poor!

The corpse should have been a powerful cultivator at the Palace Construction Realm in life, but there are almost no resources left in the mustard seed ring.

Even the low-grade Xuan Stones, which are most commonly used as currency by cultivators who build palaces, only amount to forty or fifty thousand.

Zhong Cai paused.

In fact, forty or fifty thousand was not a small amount for him and Lao Wu, but when placed among the cultivators who built palaces, it really made him seem very poor.

After "looking" at it herself, Zhong Cai also let Wu Shaogan take a look.

After reading it in his mind, Wu Shaogan handed it over to Zhong Cai to keep.

Both of them knew that there was no "Five Elements and Five Stars Scripture" in it, but they discovered other cultivation methods within it.

After taking out the cultivation manual and flipping through it once or twice...

That's strange.

As far as they knew, the upper limit of the Five Elements and Five Stars Scripture should at least be Nirvana, while this cultivation method could only reach the sixth level at most.

The two of them couldn't detect it in the mirror at first, but after looking at the skeleton up close, they could tell that the aura of the skeleton was very different—what he cultivated was not the "Five Elements and Five Stars Scripture" at all!

So, could it be that the technique this senior is practicing is just the one contained in the mustard seed bag?

The Five Elements and Five Stars Scripture became a bit difficult to cultivate, but with such great potential, it shouldn't be given up on so easily...

·

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan were both a little puzzled.

Sang Yunchu's spiritual senses had already swiftly swept across the entire cave.

The same applies to Jiang Chongguang.

Occasionally, their souls would collide, and they would quickly exchange some discoveries before moving away just as quickly.

·

Zhong Cai already knew where it was, but even if she got the information from outside, it wouldn't be right for her to know the exact hiding place.

Although it's already quite obvious... it's still best to cover it up a bit.

Wu Shaogan also released his spiritual senses, beginning a thorough search, inch by inch.

Zhong Cai couldn't help but glance at her husband, Lao Wu.

Wu Shaogan smiled back at him.

·

The cave wasn't very big, and the two masters swept it up easily.

Sang Yunchu walked to the front of the remains.

Jiang Chongguang did the same, raising his hand to smash... open that piece of land.

At Sang Yunchu's signal, Jiang Chongguang restrained his strength this time.

After all, what if we don't restrain ourselves and accidentally destroy that technique?

That would affect Zhong Cai's future!

It was precisely because of this control that everything went smoothly.

As the force of the punch spread, a small pit appeared in the ground, inside which was a mustard seed bag.

The mustard seed bag was empty, containing only a single cultivation manual.

This made him seem even poorer.

For some reason, Zhong Cai also sensed a feeling that... perhaps this senior was somewhat unwilling, somewhat relieved, and somewhat expectant.

I don't quite understand.

Sang Yunchu took out the cultivation manual and handed it to Zhong Cai, smiling, "Cai'er, take a look, is it right or not?"

Zhong Cai took a deep breath and accepted it with a touch of excitement.

The technique is engraved on a jade tablet; one must concentrate deeply to view it.

But to Zhong Cai's surprise, she was stopped. She felt that the jade tablet was shrouded in mist and she could not see the contents at all.

After a moment's thought, Wu Shaogan suggested, "A-Cai, why don't you try circulating the previous chapter of the technique?"

Zhong Cai's eyes lit up, and she immediately did as instructed!

In an instant, the energy of the Five Elements and Five Stars Scripture flowed, attempting to approach the jade tablet.

A layer of luster swept across the jade plate.

Then, Zhong Cai saw the records inside and her expression became somewhat subtle.

The others were all looking at Zhong Cai.

Wu Shaogan asked with concern, "A-Cai, what's wrong?"

Zhong Cai frankly admitted, "This only contains the latter part." He added, "It continues from the former part that I am currently cultivating."

Wu Shaogan: "..."

Sang Yunchu and Jiang Chongguang also understood.

So it's quite clear.

Why didn't the skeleton choose to cultivate a higher-level technique in its possession before it died?

Because he simply couldn't unlock this technique.

So even though he desperately wanted to know what was recorded inside and whether it would help his cultivation, he got nothing.

So even when he was dying, he was still very unwilling to accept it.

He desperately wanted to know the contents of the jade tablet, yet he felt resentful because his years of research had yielded no results. At the same time, he hoped that someone would one day discover his remains, take the jade tablet, and analyze it…

·

Zhong Cai didn't dare to look closely at this technique.

After all, this was the cultivation technique he was already practicing, and he couldn't study the more advanced parts, otherwise it would easily cause him to lose his mind.

However, its potential is still worth considering.

A joyful smile graced Zhong Cai's face: "Straight to the Heavenly Realm! It truly is straight to the Heavenly Realm!"

Wu Shaogan immediately smiled and said, "Congratulations, A-Cai."

Sang Yunchu and Jiang Chongguang were also quite pleased to see that everything was going so smoothly.

Zhong Cai was overjoyed and quickly put away the technique, thanking her two masters gratefully.

Sang Yunchu laughed and said, "We are master and disciple, why are you being so polite?"

Jiang Chongguang casually waved his hand and said, "Thank you for your Daoist partner."

Zhong Cai was immediately delighted.

·

Now that we have the goods, there's no need to linger here.

Zhong Cai thought for a moment and looked at Wu Shaogan.

Wu Shaogan nodded slightly.

So Zhong took out a formation plate and set it up inside the cave.

There's no need for cultivators to be buried. This senior has been in the cave for so long; he must be used to it by now.

This array plate is a level six sealing array plate.

Placing it here is a small token of his and Lao Wu's appreciation.

Let's try to give this senior a quiet environment and try to block out other external interference.

Sang Yunchu smiled when she saw this.

Jiang Chongguang waved slightly.

Several huge rocks flew in from outside the cave and surrounded the area.

·

The master and his disciples left the cave.

Sang Yunchu pondered for a moment, then took out a pill and tossed it into the air.

The elixir instantly turned into dust, spreading in all directions.

In an instant, vegetation grew wildly, spreading towards the cave.

After a few breaths, the lush greenery enveloped the cave, concealing its entrance.

At first glance, there is absolutely no clue whatsoever.

·

Then, Jiang Chongguang took out the flying boat again.

The group boarded the flying boat and flew out of the mountains.

Zhong Cai had already put away her cultivation technique, and then asked, "Master, shall we go back now?"

Sang Yunchu smiled and said, "Since you're here, I'll take you on a trip to Nine-Bend City."

Zhong Cai turned her head and asked with a smile, "Going to broaden my horizons?"

Sang Yunchu smiled and said, "That's right."

Neither Jiang Chongguang nor Wu Shaogan had any objections.

In any case, this journey was decided by the master and apprentice.

·

Just after leaving the mountain range, Jiang Chongguang frowned and stopped the flying boat.

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan both looked at Jiang Chongguang.

Sang Yunchu extended his spiritual senses and then smiled, "It's an old friend."

Jiang Chongguang's brows finally relaxed.

·

Several people walked out of the cabin and stood on the deck.

Sure enough, not far ahead of the flying boat's path, a young man in purple robes was standing in the void.

The young man was of above-average appearance, with a hint of arrogance in his eyes and a unique air about him.

However, when he saw Sang Yunchu, his expression softened and he even smiled: "Brother Yunchu, since you've come to Nine Turns City, why don't you come and sit at my place?"

Sang Yunchu laughed and said, "Isn't that what we were just about to do? I was worried that since you weren't here, we wouldn't have anywhere to stay."

The young man in purple seemed to be in a good mood, and his voice softened as he said, "I guess you're still a friend."

Sang Yunchu was still smiling as she introduced him to everyone: "I didn't come alone this time. These are my disciple, his Daoist partner, and Senior Brother Jiang." She then said to the people around her, "This is my old friend, Alchemist Yuan Yifei. Cai'er, Shaogan, you can just call him Uncle Yuan."

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan obediently called for help.

Yuan Yifei asked in surprise, "Brother Yun Chu is actually willing to take on a disciple?"

Sang Yunchu said, "Of course Cai'er deserves it."

Yuan Yifei became interested and wanted to ask more questions.

Sang Yunchu interrupted him, saying, "Brother Yifei, are you perhaps entertaining guests here?"

Yuan Yifei seemed to realize something and apologized twice, but then readily boarded the flying boat and said, "Then please take me with you, let's go in together."

At this moment, Jiang Chongguang did not immediately take control of the flying boat.

His gaze fell on a spot to the side.

Jiang Chongguang said loudly, "Friends over there, aren't you coming out yet?"

Sang Yunchu and Yuan Yifei both looked in that direction.

Sure enough, a young man in gray clothes came out from there.

Yuan Yifei's lips twitched: "You should come over here too."

The young man in gray lifted a foot and walked over, standing on the deck as well.

Yuan Yifei immediately said, "This is my Daoist partner, Yuan Bing, who is also the current city lord of Jiuqu City. Today, we both sensed an unusually powerful aura nearby, and to ensure the safety of the city, we came out to investigate."

·

The two were originally going to come out together, but Yuan Yifei quickly identified one of the people as his friend Sang Yunchu through the remaining aura, so there was no need to go through all that trouble.

After informing his Daoist partner, Yuan Yifei went to greet the group himself, leaving his partner in the city.

Yuan Bing seemed to tacitly agree, but he was probably still worried, so he followed along.

He was originally hiding, but Jiang Chongguang discovered him directly.

·

The misunderstanding was cleared up, and the atmosphere among them eased.

Jiang Chongguang continued to steer the flying boat, carrying a group of people straight into the Nine-Bend City.

During this time, Sang Yunchu and Yuan Yifei reminisced about the past.

Jiang Chongguang and the city lord of Jiuqu City didn't have much to say to each other, so they just stood there quietly, each minding their own business.

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan, the two younger ones, simply stayed in the corner and quietly huddled together.

·

Yuan Yifei, like Sang Yunchu, is a seventh-level alchemist.

The reason they became friends was that during their past exchanges as alchemists, they found that their insights into alchemy were quite similar.

After some communication, the other party's insights can also improve one's alchemy skills.

So the two of them exchanged ideas and often discussed things with each other.

If you do the math, we've known each other for several decades.

Their alchemy skills also improved from level six to level seven—with the help of their opponents to some extent.

However, after they both became seventh-level alchemists, Sang Yunchu always won in their sparring matches.

Although Yuan Yifei always lost to Sang Yunchu, he became more courageous with each setback, and his alchemy skills never stopped improving.

·

Yuan Bing became the lord of Jiuqu City in just over twenty years.

A year after he took office, Yuan Yifei and he became Daoist partners.

At that time, Sang Yunchu came over to offer his congratulations and also brought a very generous gift.

Yuan Yifei was not originally from Jiuqu City. The reason he has stayed here is to accompany his Daoist partner.

Because of Yuan Yifei, Yuan Bing also greatly supported the alchemists in Jiuqu City.

·

Upon hearing the name "Nine-Bend City" from Zhong Cai, Sang Yunchu immediately thought of Yuan Yifei.

His original plan was indeed to let Yuan Yifei meet Zhong Cai.

After all, over the years, Yuan Yifei had already taken in three disciples, each of whom was very outstanding, but he had not taken in any of them.

So when the two occasionally got together, Yuan Yifei would always tease him about this. Sang Yunchu didn't really care, but after hearing it so often, he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

Now that he finally has a disciple, Sang Yunchu can finally show off in front of Yuan Yifei.

·

Yuan Yifei's jokes were always intentional.

Now, however, he somewhat regrets his past "deliberate" actions.

Although Sang Yunchu appeared to be chatting casually with him, her spiritual senses were actually constantly sweeping towards him.

"Brother Yifei, although my current disciple has ordinary aptitude, his talent in alchemy surpasses mine."

[Cai'er has only been in the academy a short time, yet she has already become the top alchemist on the ranking list, completely suppressing all other alchemists!]

When Cai'er was still an amateur, she only slightly surpassed the original leader, but within a few months, she had become the undisputed number one!

[He has only been a beginner for about a year, yet he has already refined seven kinds of level-three pills, which is considered leapfrog alchemy!]

[If it were just a simple case of leaping over a higher level, I wouldn't have bothered to mention it. But every time he produces pills, they are of the highest grade. He has already become a Level 3 Grand Alchemist at Seven Stars Alchemy Studio, and each batch of pills he produces yields several of the highest grade!]

【Cherrie, he…】

Sang Yunchu boasted incessantly about his apprentice, a stark contrast to his usual calm and collected demeanor.

The more Yuan Yifei listened, the more wooden his expression became.

If he had known earlier that Sang Yunchu would flaunt his discipleship all at once, he definitely wouldn't have teased him like that.

Now, every word Sang Yunchu says is something he used to tease in a similar way...

However, as he listened, Yuan Yifei gradually became numb.

He went from not being able to listen to Sang Yunchu because she was talking too much, to being able to listen now, and his feelings were complicated.

If everything is as Sang Yunchu said, then Sang Yunchu's disciple, Zhong Cai, is indeed exceptionally talented.

While his three disciples were indeed very talented, they seemed to be somewhat inferior...

·

The interactions between the two masters and the Lord of Nine Turns City were simple, casual, and quite elegant.

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan stood in the corner, occasionally glancing at each other.

Zhong Cai quietly mouthed, "Old Wu, something feels a little off."

Wu Shaogan's spirit was transmitted.

I think so too.

Zhong Cai asked, puzzled, "Why?"

Wu Shaogan blinked.

I have a feeling they might have been talking about you.

Zhong Cai was stunned.

Wu Shaogan smiled.

Master Sang had finally found a satisfactory disciple and was quite fond of A-Cai. Now that he had met an old friend, he naturally wanted to mention her more.

Zhong Cai: "..."

So, does Lao Wu mean that his master, like any ordinary elder, would boast about his favorite juniors to his friends?

It seems...it seems quite normal.

However, this matter seems a bit too down-to-earth when applied to one's master.

Wu Shaogan saw through Zhong Cai's thoughts, raised his hand, and ruffled his hair.

Zhong Cai laughed.

·

Nine-Bend City is very close; we arrived in no time.

With the city lord accompanying them, the flying boat entered the city directly without encountering any obstacles.

Zhong Cai looked down from the window and saw the entire Nine-Bend City.

The first thing you see is a very high city wall that soars straight into the clouds.

As expected of a level-two city, it is more magnificent than any city they have ever seen before.

The city was very crowded, and the energy of heaven and earth was extremely rich.

The airship traveled smoothly for quite some time before arriving at the city's center.

There stands a city lord's mansion.

It is very gorgeous, and it also gives people a sense of majesty.