The fish that night wasn't particularly tasty.
After all, neither Yun Ze nor Bubu had brought any salt, and as for Yu Xian… aside from the 'xian' in his name, what aspect of him suggested he'd carry seasonings?
However, none of the three were picky eaters, and they finished the three fish without wasting any food.
It had to be said, the flesh was still extremely fresh and delicious.
After Yu Xian finished his fish, he saw Bubu looking dejected and lost in thought. He mistook it for her being upset that trading this news for a spiritual artifact was a bad deal, and that she was still sulking.
So, he picked out a bell tied with a red string from the pile of spiritual artifacts and gave it to her. It was said to be a product of cultivators, capable of holding about ten cubic meters of items, much like the cloth pouch on Yun Ze's waist.
Bubu didn't refuse it. After putting it on her hand, she remained lost in thought, sitting aside dejectedly, neither cultivating nor sleeping.
Yun Ze had also tried to ask her, but in the end, all he saw was her slowly shaking her head, without getting any useful information.
Seeing this, he had no choice but to sit down and cultivate.
But when dawn broke, Yun Ze had just emerged from his cultivation state when he saw Bubu still sitting in the same spot, staring at the string of bells in her hand, silent.
This was definitely a problem!
"Bubu, you…"
"Don't worry, I'm fine."
Bubu put the bell back on her hand, then stood up and faced the direction of the capital: "Let's continue on our way, we're still far from our destination."
Yun Ze felt like he was punching cotton, not knowing what to say. He could only frown, get up, and prepare to call Yu Xian's donkey brother to get moving.
Why not call Yu Xian?
He was sleeping soundly at the moment, and it was likely that nothing short of the sky falling would wake him.
Yun Ze walked to the wild donkey and found it with its eyes closed, as if it were asleep.
"Donkey brother?"
He called out in the same way Yu Xian addressed it: "We can get going now."
But the wild donkey paid him no mind, merely snorted and didn't even lift its head.
"Donkey brother?"
"Stop calling."
Yu Xian's voice suddenly rang out: "It's not working hours yet. Call it again and it might kick you."
Good heavens, this donkey also had working hours?
Yun Ze was speechless but didn't dare to say much. He could only turn to look at Bubu.
"Then let's cultivate for a while longer. It's not like we're in a hurry."
"Mhm."
Yun Ze responded and re-entered his cultivation state.
It was like this all the way.
The three of them and the donkey waited until the sun was high in the sky before setting off. When the sun began to set, they would find a place to rest.
Whenever it was time for dinner along the way, Yu Xian would always ask Yun Ze to roast something.
Although there were no seasonings, Yun Ze's mastery of heat control was superb. Just the fact that whatever he roasted was tender and juicy was enough to compensate for the lack of flavor.
This roasted meat still required waiting.
While waiting, Yu Xian would always tell them about strange tales and common knowledge of the cultivation world.
Like the three stones he had taken from that cultivator last time, which were the currency of the cultivation world – spirit stones.
Spirit stones, like spiritual artifacts, had different grades based on the spiritual energy they contained.
The three he had were the lowest grade, Rank One spirit stones.
However, compared to this common knowledge, Yun Ze preferred listening to the strange tales.
Such as how Patriarch Ming Shi entered the Ming Shan Secret Realm, was buried for a thousand years, and not only was he not infected by the corpse and demonic energies within, but he also obtained the inheritance of Ming Shan and achieved the Nascent Soul stage.
He established a lineage, built a heritage, and by the side of Ming Shan, became an ancestor!
When the Sea Sword Emperor was still a child, he was taken to the bottom of the sea by a sea monster, where he found the ninth-rank spiritual artifact – the Ocean-Overturning Ten Thousand Tides. It recognized him as its master, and he reached Foundation Establishment in one day, Condensation Pill in ten days, and entered the Golden Core stage in a hundred days! Now, at only sixteen, he had already achieved Nascent Soul!
His future achievements were immeasurable, and he might even reach the peak of the Heavenly Human realm!
The Wandering Daoist, by chance, consumed a celestial ginseng and, with a mortal body, directly reached Golden Core. After nurturing the core for nine days, he achieved Nascent Soul, and it was the legendary Earthly Dao Exotic Nascent Soul!
He was only a hair's breadth away from the legendary Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul!
The Nether Ice Emperor was even more legendary. Relying on his five-element yellow spiritual root, he created a secret technique that merged the five spiritual roots into one, comparable to a heavenly spiritual root, and finally achieved greatness!
He established a demon lair to resist the immortal mansion, causing all demons to bow down to him, calling him the Demon Emperor!
Yun Ze was filled with emotion upon hearing this!
This world was too vast!
It was so vast that he could hardly imagine it!
When Yun Ze was young, he thought Wei Shan Prefecture was the center of prosperity, and the capital of the dynasty was the center of the world. But now…
The Tang Shan Dynasty, in relation to the world, was like Han Shan Village to the Tang Shan Dynasty. Calling it a small mountain village was even flattering the Tang Shan Dynasty; it should be called… a small tribe.
There were still too many wonders in this world waiting for him to see!
Besides these, there were also the cultivators they encountered along the way.
He didn't know how many people knew about the Ascension Assembly. Yun Ze had encountered fourteen cultivators along the way!
And that didn't include the one he killed at the inn that day.
But it was strange, all fourteen cultivators greeted Yun Ze and his companions amicably, showing no intention of fighting.
If one said they were wary of Yu Xian's strength, he had been lying on the wooden board the entire time, and was occasionally mistaken by other cultivators for a bedridden patient, receiving their most sincere blessings.
Yun Ze couldn't help but reflect.
Perhaps his previous view of immortals was just a prejudice.
After all, there were all sorts of birds in a large forest. With so many cultivators in the world, who could guarantee that there wouldn't be a few scoundrels among them?
However, for safety's sake, he still refused a few cultivators who intended to travel together, and continued on their way with the team of three and one donkey.
Time always passed quickly. Since they only traveled during the day, even by taking a shortcut, it took them nearly three times the usual time.
A month and a half passed in the blink of an eye, and the three of them and the donkey finally arrived in front of the capital of the Tang Shan Dynasty.
The city gates were already closed when they arrived. If they wanted to avoid exposing their immortal identities, they could only stay at the posthouse outside the city for one night and enter the city the next morning.
As usual, Yun Ze used some silver to exchange for a fat chicken, intending to roast it for Yu Xian. He then asked the posthouse attendant to cut a pound of braised meat and bought two jars of strong liquor, preparing to have a few drinks with Yu Xian.
He still didn't know what "Brother Yu's" job was.
Once they entered the city, they might never see each other again, so it was only right to have a proper farewell.
However, the roasted meat couldn't be cooked in the room, and Yu Xian was too lazy to move, pretending to be asleep. No matter how Yun Ze called him, he wouldn't respond.
If he hadn't been with him for two months, Yun Ze might have actually been fooled by him.
He had no choice but to ask Bubu to help him carry Yu Xian from the room to a lakeside outside the posthouse.
The three of them sat under a willow tree by the lake, lit the dry firewood they bought from the posthouse, and began to pluck and roast the chicken.
When the aroma of meat wafted out, Yu Xian finally propped himself up from the wooden board.
"Brother Yu, have some wine first. The meat will be ready soon," Yun Ze said with a smile.
"You brat, you know I like this. You've completely got me hooked."
Yu Xian sat down cross-legged, picked up a jar of strong liquor, and took a gulp, then shook his head and smacked his lips: "Tsk, this wine doesn't have enough kick.
Ah well, I haven't ascended yet, so I'll make do!"
"When I have good wine in the future, I'll definitely find you, Brother Yu, for a hearty drink!"
Yun Ze also reached out and picked up a jar, clinking it with Yu Xian, and drank a tenth of it in one go.
"Then it's a deal. If you don't come find me, I'll come find you!"
"Deal! It's a promise!"
"Hey! And the roasted meat! I want roasted meat with seasoning!"
"Yes! This time there is! I specifically asked for some from the posthouse kitchen."
"Excellent, excellent!"
The two looked at each other and smiled, then took another drink together.
Yun Ze put down the wine jar and then asked, "Brother Yu, we're entering the capital tomorrow. What are your plans?"
It was still a month and a half until the Ascension Assembly.
Yun Ze planned to stay in the capital for a while to see if he could find any trace of that cultivator. He wasn't sure how Yu Xian planned to proceed.
If they could still act together, it would be best, as he would have someone to back him up. But if Yu Xian had his own matters to attend to, Yun Ze would have to bid farewell.
"Me?"
Yu Xian asked back, as if remembering something, his eyes suddenly lit up as he looked at Yun Ze: "Hey, right!
Do you have any plans for this month and a half? If not, how about I take you somewhere fun?"
"Somewhere fun?"
"Yes!"
Yu Xian, who was usually lazy, showed an excited expression. He raised his hand and put it on Yun Ze's shoulder: "Let's go, let's go!"
"After we go, you'll be a grown-up!"