After Zhao Rong and Liu Sanbian got off the boat, they went to Qingfengju’s business in Cangzhoupu.

When he walked out, Zhao Rong had a silk bag embroidered with a pattern of a tall building in his hand. It contained fifteen low-grade spirit stones returned by Qingfengju, which was almost half of the boat fare.

As far as Zhao Rong knew, spirit stones were the most circulated currency in the mountains. One high-grade spirit stone was equivalent to one hundred mid-grade spirit stones, and one mid-grade spirit stone was equivalent to one hundred low-grade spirit stones. As for whether there were higher-grade spirit stones, Zhao Rong had no idea.

However, Zhao Rong actually doesn't have much desire for spirit stones now.

Firstly, he has not yet officially embarked on the path of cultivation and does not need any resources for cultivation.

Secondly, he was a person who was indifferent to money. He felt that as long as it was enough, it would be enough. Of course, he had not been beaten by society in his previous life, otherwise he would know how difficult it was to achieve "enough".

Thirdly, he found that the poems that were accepted seemed to be very valuable in the mountains, and they were the kind that were in short supply. Thanks to his previous interest in ancient Chinese, he still had a lot of such poems in his mind...

Zhao Rong shook the purse in his hand, which made a jingling sound. He turned his head and looked inside the shop. The shopkeeper and the manager were very busy. He tried to appease the customers with a forced smile and refunded the boat fare.

Zhao Rong sighed and said, "I really don't want to take this spirit stone. How about I give it to you, or add some more, and then you take me to Duyou City?"

"Where are you going, Brother Sanbian? I was going to Duyou City, but now it seems that I can only hurry down the mountain. I don't know when I can get there."

"Da Wei."

Liu Sanbian spoke briefly and to the point, with a calm expression. He did not have the sadness that Zhao Rong had, and did not seem to be in a hurry to go to the place called Da Wei.

Liu Sanbian glanced at Zhao Rong's expression, thought about it, and took Zhao Rong to a trading company to buy a map of the mountains and rivers in the northern part of Wangquezhou.

Zhao Rong looked at the densely packed place names on the map and was quite amazed. There were no less than a hundred secular dynasties alone, not to mention the famous mountains and rivers, which were recorded in extreme detail.

"Who drew this map? It's so detailed. How much effort did it take?"

Liu Sanbian stared at a certain place on the map without moving his eyes away.

"This was copied from the Xuan Ding."

Zhao Rong raised his eyebrows, Xuan Ding?

Suddenly, he remembered something.

There was a line of words like this on the copy of "Xuanhuang Chronicle" that he had read to pieces.

"Xuan collected the weapons of all races and the gold of the nine herdsmen, and cast nine tripods, representing the nine continents, to suppress the mountains and rivers."

At that time, Emperor Xuan led the Xuanhuang human race to the summit, collected the magic weapons of all races and the metals tributed by the Nine Continents, and melted them into nine large tripods, one for each continent, to suppress the destiny of the mountains and rivers.

So there is a map of the Nine Continents drawn on the Nine Cauldrons?

"Wouldn't a map of mountains and rivers drawn tens of thousands of years ago be outdated now?"

After such a long time, I guess a lot has changed.

"Um?"

Liu Sanbian looked up at Zhao Rong. He didn't expect him to ask this.

The corners of Liu Sanbian's mouth pulled up and his face became ferocious. Zhao Rong knew that he was smiling, but because of his appearance, he looked very creepy. However, Zhao Rong got used to it after getting to know him for a long time, and even thought that Brother Sanbian was quite cute.

Who says that appearance reflects the heart? My brother Sanbian is just the opposite.

"Sir, this question..."

"Hey, I've told you so many times not to call me Master, just call me Brother, or Tzuyu."

Liu Sanbian called out "brother" in a somewhat awkward manner.

"I have never seen the Xuan Ding in this continent, because apart from the Tianya Sword Pavilion in Wangque Continent, almost no one knows where this important human weapon is."

"But I heard that the map of the Nine Continents recorded on the Xuan Ding is not immutable, but will evolve with the changes in the mountains and rivers and the passage of time. I heard that on this Ding, the grass, trees, sand, rocks, mountains, rivers, and all living things in a state are all clearly visible."

"The maps of Wangquezhou currently circulating in the mountains are all shortened versions, which are regularly updated and published by Tianya Sword Pavilion."

Zhao Rong nodded as if he understood something.

Liu Sanbian lowered his head and searched for a while, then pointed with his finger.

"We are in Zhishui Country, which is separated from Duyou City by more than a dozen dynasties. And because Anling Country is blocked by the Sikou Mansion, we probably can't pass through. We have to take a detour, which is the distance of several more countries. If we rely solely on foot or horse, even if we take the shortest route, it will take no less than five years for me to arrive."

Zhao Rong's eyelids jumped when he heard this. Oh my god, the opportunity is already gone. It would be better to wait here for the blockade to be lifted, and traffic on the mountain to be restored before taking a boat to Duyou City. However, people from Qingfengju said that it would take more than half a year for the blockade to be lifted.

It turns out that people in ancient times seldom traveled far. If they were to travel far away, they would probably spend half their lives on the road. If they encountered war, they would probably not even be able to go home.

"But..." Liu Sanbian pointed his finger at a blue spot on the map.

"But what?"

"But you are lucky, brother. Look here, there is a large river that runs from south to north across Wangque. You just need to walk here, board a large ship, and go downstream. The speed is dozens of times faster than that of an ordinary horse. You can reach Duyou City at the mouth of the large river in less than a month."

"We are still several countries away from this great ditch, but it will be soon, as we can mostly pass by the border."

"Am I the only one boarding the ship? Brother Sanbian won't come with me?" Zhao Rong was curious.

"Between Zhishui Kingdom and Dadu, I can travel with you for a while, but we will reach Dawei halfway."

Liu Sanbian helped Zhao Rong mark some points that needed attention on the map of mountains and rivers, then folded the map and handed it to Zhao Rong.

Zhao Rong nodded, took it, put it in the bookcase, and calculated several times in his mind that this trip would take about two or three months. Although it was not as fast as the ferry on the mountain, it was already the most convenient way under the current circumstances.

After planning the next itinerary, the two agreed to set off immediately after having lunch in Cangzhoupu, not to stay there, and try to reach the city at the foot of the mountain closest to Cangzhoupu before dark.

Zhao Rong took Liu Sanbian to buy some paper, ink and books to replenish the bookcase. Before, on the boat, Zhao Rong practiced calligraphy and read every day, and had already used up all the paper and books.

At this time, the two of them were walking on the streets of Zangzhoupu, preparing to find a place to eat.

Because a large number of ferries stayed there, there were a lot of monks from the mountains gathered in Zangzhoupu. The streets were bustling with people coming and going. Many people even set up stalls to sell some elixirs, classics, or small gadgets of unknown origin. Many monks stopped to pick and choose, trying to find a bargain, fantasizing about coming across an opportunity that the protagonists in vernacular novels always encounter.

Suddenly, Liu Sanbian turned his head and looked back.

Not far behind, a sneaky figure shrank back in fright, and hurriedly squatted beside a street stall, looking left and right, and "carefully" picking up items on the stall.

Seeing this, Zhao Rong turned around and looked at the street behind him, but didn't see anything unusual, so he looked at his companion beside him in confusion.

Liu Sanbian turned around and looked at Zhao Rong with a strange expression, but after thinking about it, he still didn't say anything.

Afterwards, the two of them found a restaurant that looked upscale and ordered a table of food and wine. This time, Zhao Rong rushed to pay the bill. He glanced at the menu and it would cost about two low-grade spirit stones, and that was only for the first two pages of the menu.

Zhao Rong was a little surprised. Is eating so expensive in the mountains?

In fact, the cultivators have already practiced fasting after reaching the Fuyao realm, but there are still many people in the mountains who maintain the habit of eating. The ferry that Zhao Rong was on before also provided three meals a day.

In addition to the fact that some of the ingredients of the immortals on the mountains are quite mysterious and the delicacies made from them can benefit the monks' practice; it is also because the road is long, and when the monks' many mortal desires begin to fade, the desire for food and drink is one of the few senses that can be maintained for a long time.

This also adds a touch of worldly flavor to the long journey of cultivation.

What? You said that those who practice in the mountains should abandon worldly affairs and pursue immortality? This statement is too one-sided. It belongs to those who advocate Taoism. Even the more extreme way of practicing Tai Shang Wang Qing is only the way of a small number of people in the mountains.

There are countless great ways, and the disputes among hundreds of schools sweeping across the Xuanhuang cultivation world have given more choices to the mountain monks who have just started practicing.

Although there is a boundary between the mountain and the foot of the mountain, the two are closely related.

You can be a Mohist knight and do justice; you can be a proud Confucian scholar and actively participate in the world; you can join the school of diplomacy, form alliances, and play around with the countries in the mortal world; you can retire to the sacred mountains and become a pure and inaction Taoist, practicing Taoism; or you can be like many people in the mountains, watching the various schools of thought with a cold eye, just following your own heart to practice Taoism, and making choices as you please.

The road shouldn't be so small.

Zhao Rong rinsed his mouth with tea and tasted the fairy food brought by the beautiful maid. He felt that it was not much better than the dishes made by the chef of the Duke of Jingnan's Mansion, and there was even less oil and water.

He glanced at the dishes on the table. Very good. Two spirit stones were gone. This was a meal.

However, it was worth the trip to have dinner here. At least I found out what happened in Anling State that made the Sikou Mansion so serious and blockade the territories of several surrounding countries.

Inside the restaurant, after dinner, many guests were discussing animatedly.

"The Zhao family of Kuixiang County in Anling State not only had descendants serving as ministers in many countries, but also owned half of the real estate in the Xianjiadukou Yiguan City in Anling State. But such a prominent family was massacred by a monster overnight, and the entire family was wiped out, with blood flowing like a river."

"Hiss, so cruel! I heard that the demon who committed the crime seemed to have the cultivation level of the Star-Picking Realm. Is this true? Where did it come from?"

"Oh, I think there are more than that. The Zhao family is not without Jindan realm cultivators, but they still have no power to fight back. They were exterminated by that beast. I guess there should be some gods."

"Transformation into a god!"

"By the way, I remember that a few years ago there was also a family massacre in the southwest of Wangque. It seemed that the surname was also Zhao. But I heard that it seemed to be revenge by enemies. Why didn't the Sikou Mansion intervene that time, but mobilized so many troops this time?"

"A few years ago, a boy from the Zhao family of Anling State was sent to the Sword Pavilion for training. Have you forgotten? I heard that he was doing well in there, and I heard that he just happened to come back this time..."

"Oh, I remember now, you mean that..."

Zhao Rong pricked up his ears and listened to the "whispered" discussion of the people at the next table. He roughly figured out the whole story in his mind, sighed, and observed a moment of silence for his distant relative's family.

Not long after, the people at the next table changed the subject and talked about how not long ago, on a ferry, there was a weak and stupid scholar who was full of vigor and vitality and staged a hero saving a beauty. He rescued a charming little fox demon from the hands of the King of Hell in the Sikou Mansion. Later, the little fox demon saw that her benefactor was ordinary in appearance, so she just left a sentence "I will work like a cow and a horse to repay you in my next life" and ran away, leaving the scholar alone and sad.

Zhao Rong almost spit out the food in his mouth when he heard this. What kind of thing was this rumor? Let's not talk about that fool and the hot-blooded one for now. What the hell is "the benefactor has an ordinary appearance"? How can this young master have an ordinary appearance!

Well, a little bit, but I have a good temperament...right?

Zhao Rong listened to the laughter of the people at the next table with a twitching mouth, shook his head, and glanced at Liu Sanbian awkwardly but without leaving a trace. Seeing that he was eating the food as usual, as if he didn't hear anything, he felt relieved and didn't take it seriously.

But at this moment.

Suddenly, a charming maid came over, holding a bottle of fine wine that looked very expensive. She placed it next to Zhao Rong's hand, bowed slowly, and said softly:

"A distinguished guest there has presented you with a bottle of Drunken Sword Fairy and asked me to deliver it to you. I hope you will not refuse it."

Zhao Rong and the other man looked in the direction the maid pointed. They saw a bearded man drinking alone in a corner not far away.

Zhao Rong looked carefully and had some impression. When he rescued "Su Dahuang" on the ferry in the morning, he seemed to be among the crowd around him. He seemed to be drinking from a wine gourd in his hand, so he had a slightly deeper impression of him.

When the bearded man saw Zhao Rong and Liu Sanbian coming over, he grinned and raised the wine jug.

Zhao Rong couldn't help but smile and glanced at the pot of Drunken Swordsman that he had seen on the menu before and was priced very high.

At this time, Liu Sanbian had already picked it up with a smile and filled it up for himself and Zhao Rong.

The three of them raised their glasses.

Drinking in silence.

The joy of life lies in knowing each other’s heart.

When we meet, we have wine and teach each other to pour it.