CH 18

Three days later, at the Tianxuan Sect Mountain Gate.

The Tianxuan Sect disciples who would be participating in this Yunxi Secret Realm experience had all arrived, and were ready to fly away on their swords.

Among all the sword cultivators, Chu Qi, who was dressed in the dark green robes of a medical cultivator, was particularly conspicuous.

Bai Xuan personally sent him to the Mountain Gate, and along the way, her warnings never stopped, “Shidi, this is your first time going out to gain experience. The outside world is dangerous, so be careful. Some cultivators like to bully healers like us. When you go out, don’t casually reveal to others that you’re a medical cultivator. Don’t forget your spiritual sword and remember to prepare your talismans. Oh, that’s right! Don’t stray too far away from our sect’s sword cultivator disciples! Have you been listening?”

Ever since it had been determined that Chu Qi would be going out, over these past three days, Elder Qingyue and Bai Xuan would take every free opportunity they had to tell him to be careful.

Chu Qi nodded his head at each point in turn, “I’ll remember. Shijie, don’t worry.”

Bai Xuan didn’t want to be so long-winded either, but because her shidi had such a good temper and was a bit wet behind the ears, it would be easy for him to suffer when he went out.

Bai Xuan was a little relieved that she was sending her shidi to Yan Jiuge’s side. Over the years, the relationship between the two of them was the best it could be. In terms of taking care of Chu Qi, Bai Xuan thought that even she couldn’t compare to Yan Jiuge.

Bai Xuan stopped in front of the Mountain Gate, “Shijie will stop here. I wish you a safe trip.”

“Let’s go.”

Standing behind Chu Qi, Yan Jiuge saw that they had finished saying their goodbyes and raised his voice, “Everyone, prepare to ride your swords.”

The top twenty sword cultivator disciples from the Tianxuan Sect Grand Competition were all in the Golden Core stage. Flying with their swords was much faster than taking an ordinary flying spiritual tool.

But if that was the case, it would be very difficult for the only medical cultivator to keep up with them on the white Luan unless they deliberately slowed down.

As everyone was thinking this, their new shixiong controlled his sword to make it double in size and turned to say to the medical cultivator in the same tone as always, “Ah-Qi, hurry and get on.”

???

Wasn’t that his natal spiritual sword?!

Even knowing how close the two of them were, flying together on the same sword was beyond the imagination of all the sword cultivator disciples.

One’s natal sword was an extension of the cultivator themselves. It never left their body, and was often carefully warmed and nourished by them. Most of their leftover spiritual stones were fed to their swords.

The sword and the cultivator were one. If the sword was broken, the cultivator would also be destroyed.

It was an unwritten rule among sword cultivators that they wouldn’t carry others on their swords.

Under the tense gazes of the many sword cultivators, the medical cultivator disciple stepped steadily onto the natal spiritual sword of the head disciple.

The sword didn’t respond. It seemed like it wasn’t dissatisfied.

?????

This was even more incredible.

“Liu-shixiong, would you let me touch your natal spiritual sword?” A fellow swordsman who had a good relationship with Liu Weiming asked him in a low voice.

“Luo-shidi, are you insane? The sky is bright and clear, how could you come up with such absurd thoughts? Do you think that if I touch your natal spiritual sword that you would be happy?”

“That’s absolutely impossible!”

Luo Wuci hastily refused out loud, taking three steps back from Liu Weiming with his sword in hand.

Liu Weiming: “…”

His shidi was really weird.

“The only reason I didn’t hit you when you asked me that question just now was for the sake of our friendship.” Liu Weiming spoke in a faint voice.

Luo Weci knew that he had spoken out of turn. He whispered, “But the head disciple is willing to carry the medical cultivator-shidi on his sword.”

“…”

Liu Weiming choked. Although he was also surprised just now, he had witnessed the growth of the two of them over the past few years. The relationship between Yan Jiuge and Chu Qi was not ordinary. Besides, Chu Qi was a medical cultivator who couldn’t fly on his own…

“The relationship between the two of them is very good, so it’s not a problem for them to ride together.” Liu Weiming said vaguely. Anyway, his own natal spiritual sword could not be touched by others, let alone carrying someone else.

And so, this episode between the sword cultivator disciples came to an end.

—

Standing in front of them, Yan Jiuge squinted his eyes. His gaze swept across the many fellow sword cultivators, before finally landing on Chu Qi in the corner of his eyes.

He had heard the words of Liu Weiming and Luo Weci just now. It was true that a sword cultivator could not casually carry someone else on their natal sword, but his Ah-Qi wasn’t just anyone. The two of them had been together for so many years, not to mention the fact that Long Yin had already carried Chu Qi as early as eight years ago.

If it happened once, it would certainly happen again. This was nothing to make a fuss about.

Seeing Chu Qi standing firmly on his spiritual sword, Yan Jiuge announced to the crowd behind him, “Shidi, it’s time we set off.”

Yan Jiuge’s voice fell.

In the next moment, twenty sword lights rose out of the air and flew into the sky from the Tianxuan Sect Mountain Gate.

This time, they were going out to enter the Yunxi Secret Realm, which was located in the east of Yunhua Realm.

It was closest to the Yushou Sect and there were several main cities around it. Among them, Huacheng was the most prosperous.

Flying from Tianxuan Sect, they could reach it in about seven days.

But there was still half a month before the Yunxi Secret Realm opened, so they would have to wait for a few days once they got there. Therefore, Yan Jiuge planned to take everyone to Huacheng to rest first.

—

Seven days passed.

Yunhua Realm, Huacheng.

Recently, because the Yunxi Secret Realm was about to open, the number of cultivators coming to Huacheng was increasing by the day. In order to avoid congestion, the local government simply opened the city gates.

Twelve black iron gates were opened, and cultivators from all over were welcomed into the city to spend their money.

Huacheng operated a little differently than Yicheng, where you needed to register at the city gate before entering. Any cultivator who wanted to go into Huacheng needed to pay a spiritual stone as an entrance fee.

This was the first time Chu Qi had visited Huacheng, but he had also heard about this practice.

In fact, many of the major cities would charge foreign cultivators to enter the city. Because there were often powerful cultivators who took up residence there, it could serve as a temporary shelter for traveling cultivators.

Even if enemies met, they couldn’t start a fight in the streets and disrupt public order. Therefore, the entry fee of a single spiritual stone was worth it for most cultivators.

But the sword cultivators of Tianxuan Sect were a little hesitant/

“Shixiong, isn’t the entrance fee too wasteful?”

They had always been frugal, and were too busy practicing their swordsmanship over the years that they didn’t get the chance to spend money for fun. They would much rather use their free time to practice.

“It’s not. In the past few years, we have saved costs producing our own spiritual pills, so the budget for going outside has been increased. Shidi, don’t worry…” What’s more, the secret realm they were going to this time was a little unusual. It would be good to go into the city to inquire about news and make more preparations.

Yan Jiuge was about halfway through his explanation when he heard an impatient-sounding voice from behind them.

“If you don’t want to enter the city, can you step to the side? We’re still in a hurry. Are you really so poor that you have to worry over a single spiritual stone? You sure have a lot of nerve to be blocking Huacheng’s city gates.”

Yan Jiuge’s words paused and his careless eyes suddenly sank.

Even the other Tianxuan Sect sword cultivator disciples who were standing around were in a bad mood when they were ridiculed like this. But they had always been bad at arguing with others, and the situation wasn’t right for them to directly teach the other party a lesson, so they could only glare at the speaker in anger.

“It is our business whether we can enter the city or not. We aren’t even in line yet, but you guys really must not have anything better to do, coming up to flap your mouth and make the decision for us. I don’t know why you’re in such a hurry. If you want to reincarnate sooner, we don’t mind giving way. After all, such a major event as reincarnation shouldn’t be delayed.”

An unhurried voice sounded from behind. The tone didn’t carry the slightest hint of anger, and even sounded rather relaxed.

All the Tianxuan Sect sword cultivators looked in the direction of the voice with wide eyes. It turned out that the one who said all that just now was actually their good-tempered medical cultivator-shidi!

You should know, in Tianxuan Sect, this medical cultivator-shidi never lost his temper!

“Y-y-you… You are being unreasonable!”

The person who had just opened his mouth to mock these sword cultivators for their lack of money didn’t expect to get slapped in the face like this. His face flushed with anger, and was about to curse him.

But as he opened his mouth, he was shocked to find that he couldn’t make a sound.

In front of him, an intangible aura radiated out from the leader of the group, a sword cultivator dressed in black. He stared in his direction, emanating a dangerous sense of oppression.

It was a late-stage Golden Core sword cultivator.

In his prime, such a cultivator would have no problem beating an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator like himself.

The man swallowed hard, wisely closing his mouth and remaining silent.

His character was a bit arrogant, but he was by no means arrogant enough to walk to his own death.

But why would such a strong cultivator have to worry about a single spiritual stone as an entrance fee? It didn’t match their strength at all.

“Ah-Yan, we’re almost there.”

The voice from earlier sounded again, but this time the tone was completely different, and the words were much softer than before.

Hearing those words, the black-clothed swordsman retracted the aura he released, and the indifference in his expression relaxed as he walked towards the person that called him.

—

After handing in twenty-one spiritual stones, the Tianxuan Sect disciples entered Huacheng.

“Let’s look for an inn first, then make plans later.” Yan Jiuge decided.

As for which inn to choose, Yan Jiuge led everyone to the largest one in Huacheng, Menghua Inn, without hesitation.

The biggest one cost more spiritual stones, but the environment was more comfortable and the spiritual energy was abundant. In addition, there were a lot of spiritual stones that Yan Jiuge had accumulated in his qiankun bag. These expenses wouldn’t put much of a dent in his finances, so naturally he wouldn’t skimp out on the living arrangements for his Ah-Qi or his shidi.

Ever since Yan Jiuge joined Tianxuan Sect, the Yan family would send him spiritual stones for his living expenses every year, but he was already self-sufficient in the sect. Now, there were so many spiritual stones that even a qiankun bag wasn’t enough to hold them all.

The rest of the sword cultivator disciples didn’t object this time. They were already ridiculed at the city gates for wanting to save some money.

Now, they just let go of their worries. Tianxuan Sect was so big, they surely had some savings.

Besides, as sword cultivators, they could live wherever, but their medical cultivator-shidi could not. There were only three healers in Tianxuan Sect! Any one of them was a rare thing not seen in a hundred years!

It was rare for them to be able to go out and gain experience with a medical cultivator, so they needed to take good care of their shidi first.

Thinking about it this way, everyone felt much happier.

However, while they were no longer worried about the spiritual stones, Chu Qi was still a little concerned.

His expenses were all managed by the sect. Whether it was planting herbs, refining medicine, or even cultivating, he had never spent a single spiritual stone.

In this beautiful environment, Chu Qi never worried about his livelihood, so he never thought about saving spiritual stones. Therefore, the spiritual stones in his qiankun bag didn’t add up to much.

Now that he was going outside however, he found that there were expenses wherever they went. He wondered if there was a way he could make money.

Although there were financial constraints, Chu Qi had no objection to Yan Jiuge’s decision.

Yan Jiuge was originally some rich family’s young master. Since he was a child, he had always worn high-quality clothes, so it was only natural that he would choose a nicer place.

But after entering Tianxuan Sect with him, Yan Jiuge acted like the other sword cultivator disciples, neither picky or disgusted, and was easy to feed.

Just as Chu Qi was thinking about how he could use his skills as a medical practitioner to earn spiritual stones, they arrived at Menghua Inn.

“Did you want to stay with us? Please come inside.” The innkeeper at the door greeted them with a warm and respectful attitude and welcomed them inside.

Menghua Inn was very large, both inside and out, with an elegant and refined architectural style. There were even some cute Grade One spiritual pets sitting in the corner of the hall for people to watch and tease. It drew in many young cultivators and female cultivators who loved spiritual pets to stop in.

Looking at this scene, Chu Qi couldn’t help but think of that little white tiger that Yushou Sect offered up as a gift when they were at the top of the immortal mountain. It also looked very cute when it was young.

“How many rooms will the guests be needing? The rooms here at our Menghua Inn are all top-notch, none are better or worse than the others. They will definitely be to your satisfaction.”

The innkeeper had a friendly face and a very friendly smile.

“How many rooms are left?” Yan Jiuge asked.

“There are thirty rooms that are still available. There are a lot of cultivators coming to Huacheng recently, so availability is a little tight.” The innkeeper answered him.

There were a total of twenty-one disciples in their group, so each person could have one room.

“Then, we’ll take twenty-one rooms.”

“Okay, how many nights will the guests be staying?” The innkeeper held up his abacus with bright eyes. Booking twenty-one big customers in one go, he would surely take good care of these gods of wealth.

“We’ll be staying until the opening of the Yunxi Secret Realm.” The exact date was still unknown at the moment.

The clacking of the abacus sounded, and the innkeeper announced with a smile on his face, “The daily price for one room is five hundred spiritual stones, so twenty-one rooms will cost ten-thousand and five hundred spiritual stones in total.”

!!!

Ten-thousand and five hundred spiritual stones!!! For one day’s expenses?!

Just hearing the number, Chu Qi felt his teeth begin to ache. This was too expensive! The spiritual stones he had saved before would only be enough for two days!

“Ah-Yan…” Maybe they should change to another inn? This felt too excessive.

Chu Qi tried to persuade Yan Jiuge.

But outside Menghua Inn, a familiar voice called out, “Boss, I heard that you still have thirty rooms left? We’ll take them all!”

“…” Enemies always met on a narrow road. This person just happened to be the cultivator that clashed with them at the city gates.

Chu Qi’s words of persuasion stopped, and he frowned. They could just stay here. He still had some spiritual pills in his qiankun bag that he could take to the apothecary to see how much they could sell for. In the time before the opening of the Yunxi Secret Realm, he could continue to refine medicine!

Perhaps he’d be able to subsidize today’s expenses a little?

Chu Qi thought with some uncertainty.

“I’m really sorry, twenty-one rooms were reserved just now. We only have nine vacant rooms at the moment.”

Everything was first-come, first-served.

“We can pay double!” Another voice sounded from the door.

Hearing these words, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became quiet. If one side didn’t back down, there would definitely be a dispute.

“Ah, this…” The innkeeper’s smiling expression disappeared, and showed a little bit of hesitation and embarrassment. After all, he was a businessman. If someone was willing to pay a higher price, he would naturally be happy to accept.

However, if he did, the guests in front of him would surely be offended… The innkeeper really wasn’t willing. Based on his years of experience, he could judge that the cultivators who wanted the twenty-one rooms should all be sword cultivators with extraordinary strength.

—

The translator has something to say:

I’ve been procrastinating my actual work today, so have a double update.