Chapter 290: Their Sect Master Must Have Gone to Work

"Young Master, if we can’t find the indicated place, should we go to the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect and ask around?"

After the food arrived, none of the Cultivators intended to touch their chopsticks.

It was merely mortal food, and they had no interest in it whatsoever.

But as the aroma reached them...

...they suddenly found it smelled wonderful.

The young man picked up a morsel with his chopsticks and suddenly smiled. "The food here is surprisingly good. Better than any I’ve had before."

It was rare for him to offer such high praise, leaving the others somewhat surprised.

The Cultivator named Yin San remarked, "Young Master, it’s only mortal food."

But the young man simply said, "But this is what I have to eat now."

Yin Da shot Yin San a fierce glare. He had to go and bring up a sore subject!

They were four brothers, named Yin Da, Yin Er, Yin San, and Yin Si.

Their primary duty was to protect the Young Master in front of them.

The Young Master’s name was Gong Xingsi.

They had already traveled to so many places, all for a single, ethereal instruction.

And yet, it was the Young Master’s only hope.

Gong Xingsi took two sips of the Spiritual Wine that was served.

A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

’The Cultivators here are rather interesting, thinking up recipes that combine mortal food with Spirit Grass. It can certainly satisfy some Cultivators’ appetites.’

’It’s said that Cultivators do not concern themselves with desire.’

’In truth, that is a lie.’

’Compared to mortals, a Cultivator’s desires are only stronger, and they are far more prone to self-indulgence.’

Perhaps the last comment made the atmosphere a bit awkward, for Yin Da quickly interjected, "The instructions told us to head east, and now we are in the east. This is the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect’s territory. If we really can’t find any clues, our only option is to go and inquire with the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect."

"It’s alright," Gong Xingsi said. "Forcing things won’t necessarily lead to success. I’m afraid the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect would be of no help, either."

Yin Er spoke up next. "I heard that the Xue Cang Sect placed a splinter of the All Things Mirror inside their replica of the Star-picking Tower. While it only holds a fraction of the original’s power, if we could borrow it for a divination, we might just be able to find the place the instructions point to."

Gong Xingsi became thoughtful.

Yin San, knowing he had just said the wrong thing, tried to make amends. "Our relationship with the Xue Cang Sect is quite good. If we ask to borrow the All Things Mirror—and it’s just a splinter—I imagine the Xue Cang Sect would agree."

"But why would the Xue Cang Sect help us?" Gong Xingsi just smiled faintly. "Besides, we’ve already made it this far. Relying on external tools to search now might just create more problems."

Yin Si couldn’t help but protest, "Young Master, we have been on the road, searching, for five years."

They only had twenty years in total.

The more time they wasted, the closer the deadline of his death approached.

Gong Xingsi just shook his head gently. "If it can’t be found, then that is my fate."

"Young Master!"

The four Cultivators’ eyes instantly reddened.

He had clearly touched upon a tragic subject.

Meanwhile, Zhai Xiaotian, who was sitting at a table in front of them, shifted his eyes almost imperceptibly.

But he made no other move, simply drinking the wine in his hand.

A short while later, another person came up from downstairs: a gray-robed old man with a full head of white hair and an extremely long beard.

Clutching a book, he muttered to himself, "I have no idea what these ’Arabic numerals’ are, but they are exceedingly convenient for counting. Marvelous."

Zhai Xiaotian, who had been quiet up ahead, suddenly turned his head. He looked at the old man and smiled. "The tavern has a new vintage today, brewed from Second-Rank Hook Jade Fruit. The taste is exceptional."

"Is that so?" The old man, as if he didn’t know the meaning of the word ’polite’, leaned in without any ceremony. "Let me have a taste."

Zhai Xiaotian poured him a cup, to which the old man remarked, "How stingy."

Zhai Xiaotian just smiled without saying a word.

At the table behind them, the four members of the Yin Family grew increasingly silent.

While they couldn’t gauge Zhai Xiaotian’s depth, this old man was different—he clearly didn’t have a single trace of Spiritual Energy!

Yet he couldn’t possibly be a mortal.

He was drinking Spiritual Wine, and mortals couldn’t consume too much of anything tinged with Spiritual Energy.

Otherwise, their bodies would be overwhelmed by the influx of Spiritual Energy, and the excessive nourishment would cause them to explode.

And this was wine brewed from a Second-Order Spiritual Material, no less.

’Not a single trace of Spiritual Energy?’

They were carrying various Magic Treasures themselves, yet they were completely unable to discern the old man’s aura.

They immediately fell quiet.

Gong Xingsi seemed to sense something. "I’m full," he said impassively. "Let’s go. We can check other places. Ahem..."

The four men scrambled to their feet and left with Gong Xingsi.

After they had left, the old man suddenly turned and glanced at their retreating figures.

Zhai Xiaotian then asked, "Senior, do you know them?"

"People from the Yinxiao Sect." The old man finished the Spiritual Wine, wrinkled his nose dismissively, then narrowed his eyes after a moment. "Hmm, not bad."

"The Yinxiao Sect." Zhai Xiaotian fell into thought, as if remembering something. After a moment, he said with some surprise, "So it was them? The Four Fiends of the Yin Family? What are they doing over here?"

The old man opened his mouth and casually dropped a bombshell. "Fifty years ago, the son of Yinxiao Sect’s Master, Gong Dailan, was wounded by a Demon Cultivator. His cultivation was completely destroyed. Logically, he shouldn’t have lived this long."

Zhai Xiaotian was surprised as well; this was a piece of news he truly hadn’t heard.

He did, however, know a little about Gong Dailan.

"So that man just now was the Yinxiao Sect’s Young Master, Gong Xingsi?"

The old man was still savoring the taste of the Spiritual Wine. Hearing the question, he answered nonchalantly, "That I wouldn’t know. It’s been ages since I last saw that girl from the Gong family, and I’ve never met her son."

’That girl from the Gong family.’

Those words all but proved the old man’s origins were anything but simple.

Zhai Xiaotian fell silent for a moment. The old man chuckled at him. "Scared?"

Zhai Xiaotian considered how to respond.

The old man continued, "If you’re scared, then you’d better hurry up and buy me two more bottles of Spiritual Wine! Are you trying to feed a mouse with just this one cup?"

Zhai Xiaotian was speechless.

He gave a wry smile. "Senior, if you were willing, the disciples of the Longevity Sect could provide you with an endless supply of Spiritual Wine."

"Bah! I’m not the type to throw my weight around. I just ate a few meals there without paying, and you see what they say about me behind my back."

Zhai Xiaotian was speechless again.

’But no one was talking about you,’ he thought.

The old man thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "When does their Sect Master usually return?"

"That I really don’t know," Zhai Xiaotian said. "She’s always been elusive. I reckon it’s even less likely she’ll be back anytime soon. It seems she’s gone to the Dragon Frost Swamp."

After all, she had taken her Flying Magical Treasure, so Zhai Xiaotian still had a vague sense of its whereabouts.

"Gone to the Dragon Frost Swamp?" The old man was stunned for a moment, then his face darkened. "A whole Sect Master, she didn’t go off to work as a hired hand for someone, did she?"

Because small sects generally couldn’t get to the Dragon Frost Swamp on their own. If they wanted to use the Sea View Sect’s Teleportation Array, they most likely had to work as hired hands.

She was a Sect Master, for crying out loud! How could she be so undignified!

"She has money, so maybe she’s not working for someone," Zhai Xiaotian said, as he had some understanding of the Longevity Sect’s financial power.

You could also pay Spirit Stones to be teleported.

But then he thought about the extent of Song Jiulai’s legendary shamelessness.

"Then again, she probably wouldn’t agree to spending Spirit Stones. So she most likely did go there to work."

The old man was speechless.