Cultivating To Immortality

Chapter 728: Legends

Zhou Chen quickly supported his companion, his face extremely pale.

The three left in a hurry, their figures fleeing in panic.

Outside the courtyard, Zhao Huaizhen finally dared to step forward, a layer of cold sweat still on his forehead.

He bowed respectfully: "Immortal Master, this matter..."

"No matter."

Song Yan waved his hand: "This is an old grudge between our two sects, City Lord need not worry."

"City Lord Zhao, we have bothered you a lot these past few days."

Zhao Huaizhen quickly said: "Immortal Master, you are too kind! It is my good fortune to be able to serve the Immortal Master."

Song Yan nodded slightly and said to Xiao Ju: "The matters in Yunxi City are almost handled. Pack your things, we will set off tomorrow."

Xiao Ju responded: "Yes."

The next morning, Song Yan politely declined Zhao Huaizhen’s farewell banquet and left the City Lord’s Mansion with Xiao Ju.

"Senior Song, I saw that City Lord wanted you to guide his daughter in Cultivation..."

Song Yan raised an eyebrow: "He came to find you these past few days while I was in seclusion?"

Ju Luyi nodded.

Zhao Huaizhen’s daughter also seemed to be an immortal seedling with a Spiritual Root, but her talent was unknown.

She had always wanted Song Yan to give her some guidance on the path of Cultivation.

But she hadn’t even officially entered an immortal sect or Cultivated immortal techniques yet, so any guidance now would be meaningless.

However, Song Yan could completely understand Zhao Huaizhen’s feelings, just like many parents in his previous life, always wanting their children to win at the starting line.

Leaving aside whether this starting line or finish line even existed, shouldn’t the child first get on the track before discussing such things?

The two chatted as they walked towards the ferry.

The morning mist had not yet fully dispersed, but Yunling Ferry was already bustling with people.

This was the largest ferry in Yunxi City, with cargo ships lined up on the river, masts like a forest, and sails like clouds.

Porters, bare-chested, ran back and forth on the gangplanks, carrying sacks.

"Wow..."

Xiao He’s eyes widened, her snake eyes filled with surprise: "What a big boat!"

To the east of Yunling Ferry, the morning market was steaming with hot food.

Those who made a living at the dock, whether boatmen, trackers, brokers, or merchants, usually bought their meals here.

After all, they didn’t have time to enjoy delicacies in the city.

The porters and laborers who made a living by carrying goods and luggage for passing merchants also needed food to replenish their strength.

There were vendors selling steamed buns, fried dough sticks, and small fish skewered on bamboo strips, sizzling on charcoal fire, whose names she didn’t know.

Without realizing it, she saw Xiao He, who had transformed into human form at some point, standing in front of the grilled fish stall.

Pointing at the grilled fish in the vendor’s hand, she looked back at Song Yan: "I want to eat this!"

A broker in short clothes came over, his eyes scanning the trio’s attire. He presumed this was a Jianghu Martial Artist who wanted to take a boat, and his two sisters or maids.

"Are you gentlemen looking to take a boat?"

Before leaving the City Lord’s Mansion, Song Yan had changed into coarse linen clothes and wore a bamboo hat, indeed looking very much like a Jianghu Martial Artist.

Song Yan asked: "Young man, is your boat a passenger or cargo ship?"

"Please rest assured, esteemed guest, our boat is an official passenger ship, departing at three quarters past the hour of Chen, heading to Lin Prefecture."

Here at the ferry, the official passenger ships only went to two places: Chen Prefecture’s Danyang Prefecture, and Lin Prefecture’s Xiapi Prefecture.

This trip north to Longquan Prefecture, Song Yan just happened to want to go to Lin Prefecture to find his grandfather’s ancestral land, so taking this boat was certainly no problem.

Song Yan fumbled in a corner of his qiankun bag for a few scattered silver coins, held them in his hand, pretended to take them from his lapel, and handed them to the young man.

"I’d like two quiet cabins, please."

"Alright, please wait here, I will go arrange it now."

Xiao He, led by Ju Luyi, bought a little here and a little there, her small hands full of food.

She ate until her mouth was greasy.

Immortal food was good, but the food here was truly delicious.

"Don’t smack your lips while eating."

Song Yan wiped the grease from her face.

Just then, he suddenly heard many people shouting and yelling near the dock, seemingly urging other boats to make way.

Looking as far as he could, he saw a three-story ship sailing on the river, its hull painted with vermilion cloud patterns, and oars extending from the side portholes, breaking the water in unison with the drumbeats.

"Oh, my, that’s amazing, isn’t that the Chu King’s grain transport ship?"

The discussions around him reached Song Yan’s ears, and Song Yan narrowed his eyes: "The royal family of Ning Country?"

A young man in a python robe stood at the bow, his background unknown.

He must be a royal noble.

"Esteemed guest! The Chu Capital’s grain transport ship is docking, the official ship needs to depart early!" The broker, sweating profusely, squeezed through, repeatedly apologizing: "Gentlemen, please follow me!"

"Okay."

The Immortal Guiding passenger ship only stopped at Yunling Ferry for half a day before departing early from the dock due to the arrival of the grain transport ship from Chu Capital, sailing against the waves towards Lin Prefecture.

Many travelers were on the deck enjoying the view, and Song Yan was among them.

Since refining the Sword Spirit, although there was no obvious change in his Dao of the Sword seed, he could still feel that his Cultivation speed had increased significantly.

At this moment, his thoughts were clear and his mind was pure.

He chatted with Xiao Ju beside him, occasionally mentioning her confusions in Cultivation, and offered explanations. He also reviewed and learned new things from some minor details.

Xiao He gazed at the vast river, lost in thought. This was her first time on a boat, after all.

"Yan Yan, is this the sea?"

Song Yan was startled, about to explain, but did not expect an old man beside them to suddenly burst into laughter.

He seemed amused by Xiao He’s innocence and cuteness.

The old man, with white hair and beard, wearing a brown short shirt and a brass tobacco pouch at his waist, clapped his hands and laughed upon hearing this: "Little child, though this Wujiang River is wide, it’s still far from the great sea!"

He pointed to the east: "The true great sea, you have to go towards Yue Country, or the East Sea coast of Middle Earth’s Great Tang."

"The great sea isn’t as calm as this; a single wave can be taller than a mountain, and you can’t see its end."

Accompanying the old man was a young scholar wearing a square scarf.

With a smile in his eyes, he interjected: "Speaking of the sea, which part of the Four Directions sea Sea doesn’t have big waves? But the Northern sea Sea is truly extraordinary."

"Legend has it that in the northernmost reaches of this world, in the vast sea, there is an ancient giant demon, whose body is thousands of miles long, with huge mountains and islands growing on its back. It only opens its eyes once every hundred years."

"It can also fly into the sky..."

Seeing Xiao He’s eyes wide with wonder, he became excited and spoke endlessly.

Song Yan quietly listened to these Mortals chatting with Xiao He about the world.

He naturally knew that, let alone some ancient demon of the Northern Sea, these two had probably never even been to the true sea Sea coast.

However, he did not expose them.

Meeting by chance, speaking grandly.

What they sought was precisely this feeling of freedom, of bragging to the point of forgetting oneself.

What East Sea mermaids, what overseas immortal mountains, some of these Song Yan had even truly seen similar things in records of immortal landscapes.

"Nonsense." Old Zhou knocked his tobacco pipe on the ground, scolding with a smile: "I think you’ve gone mad from reading those strange tales!"

The two argued back and forth, their faces red.

Amidst the laughter on the ship, the passenger boat drew closer to Lin Prefecture.

There were no incidents along the way, and they arrived smoothly at Xiapi Prefecture in Lin Prefecture.

Only Xiao He was a little reluctant, still wanting to ride the boat.

"There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

Song Yan coaxed Snake Babe and led Xiao Ju into the city.

When he was little, he had followed his grandfather to Lin Prefecture.

That was the only time he had traveled far before entering the immortal mountain Dao sect.

His grandfather told him that his old home was in a place called Wuzhiping, in Xiapi Prefecture, Lin Prefecture.

It would be best to first find a place to stay in the city and ask which county Wuzhiping belonged to... Feng An City.

Part of Xiapi Prefecture, Lin Prefecture, it was a land and water transportation hub, adjacent to a branch of the Grand Canal, with frequent commercial exchanges.

The local bamboo ware, rattan weaving, and specialty snacks were very famous, and the Feng An Grand Market in the city also attracted various traveling merchant caravans.

Precisely because of this, there were many carriage companies and boatmen in the city, and countless low-level laborers who made a living from freight-related occupations.

Wu Dou was one of them.

He was not tall, dark-skinned, and quite muscular.

He took on jobs unloading and moving goods, and also guiding and leading the way.

In short, he was willing to do any work to earn a little money steadily in such a "big city."

After all, for ordinary people who had lived in this city for generations, this was even the entirety of their world.

He heard that several large ships had docked at the pier again, and perhaps he would soon earn some silver.

It wasn’t that Wu Dou didn’t want to work at the pier, but those jobs were all occupied by local Jianghu Gangs. Being alone and unwilling to join any Gang, he naturally could only take on odd jobs in the city.

Sure enough, a moment later many merchants and travelers entered the city, but their goods and luggage were already being moved by others.

Wu Dou showed a hint of disappointment.

Almost at the very end of this wave of people, he saw two figures.

One of them looked eighteen or nineteen years old, wearing a bamboo hat and a coarse black cloth robe.

He adjusted his bamboo hat, looked up slightly, revealing a Young Master’s handsome face.

The other was a young girl, small in stature, with scattered freckles on her face, embracing a long handle wrapped in coarse cloth across her chest.

It seemed to be a Sword.

Soon, Wu Dou had already formed a guess about the identities of these two.

This Young Master was probably a Disciple from some Martial Forest aristocratic family, out for experience, and the young girl was his accompanying sword-carrying maid.

Wu Dou couldn’t help but feel happy again.

Such a pairing implied a lot of information, the most important point being that such a Young Master from an aristocratic family would certainly not be short of money.

Whether it was serving as a guide for the two, or running errands and buying local specialties, there was a lot of profit to be made.

Wu Dou hastily tidied his faded short jacket, trotted forward, stopped three steps away from the two, and bowed respectfully.

"Young Master, have you just arrived in Feng An City? I’m Wu Dou, I’ve worked in the city for a few years. If you want to eat anything, buy anything, or go anywhere to sightsee, just ask me."

Song Yan lightly lifted his bamboo hat with his fingertip and exchanged a glance with Xiao Ju beside him.

"That’s quite a coincidence," the Young Master’s voice was clear: "I was just looking for someone familiar with the local area to guide us."

A piece of broken silver rolled out of his sleeve and was directly placed into Wu Dou’s hand.

"Young man, do you know where Wuzhiping is?"

"Wuzhiping?"

Wu Dou took the silver with a look of pleasant surprise, but then showed a strange expression: "Young Master, are you perhaps going to visit Old General Xiao’s former residence?"

"Old General Xiao?"

This, Song Yan was not aware of.

Seeing the man’s puzzled expression, he quickly explained: "Oh, Young Master, don’t misunderstand. Wuzhiping belongs to Changfeng Village. That place is already on the border between Chu Country and Ning Country."

"It’s a mountain village, quite remote, and few people go there normally."

"The only reason it’s worth going, I suppose, is because our Chu Country’s Great General who secured the nation, Old Master Xiao Ming, when he was young, led troops to guard the border and once killed a tiger demon near Changfeng Village."

Ho, so his grandfather’s hometown had been visited by such a figure.

According to Wu Dou, Changfeng Village was very far from here.

It was already late today, so it would be best to find a place to stay for the night and set off tomorrow.

Wu Dou led the two towards an ancient-looking inn.

"Just in time, Guiyun Inn has a new storyteller who has been telling the story of General Xiao Ming subduing the tiger in Wuzhiping when he was young these past two days..."

It must be said, this Wu Dou was very good at handling things.

As the three passed through the bustling crowd, Wu Dou’s mouth never stopped: "That storyteller, they say, came from General Xiao’s mansion in the capital."

Guiyun Inn was quite large, with antique furnishings and clean, tidy rooms.

Business was indeed booming, and the two arrived too late. All other rooms were already booked, and only one superior room could be reserved.

So, Song Yan requested the largest superior room.

It didn’t matter; he and Xiao Ju were both Cultivators, only staying for one night, they didn’t even need to sleep, Cultivating through the night would pass the time.

No one cared about these formalities.

Xiao Ju, however, was a little worried. She was concerned that she might make some noise and disturb Song Yan’s Cultivation.

With no luggage to put away, Song Yan leaned leisurely against the railing on the second floor, listening to the storyteller downstairs.

Xiao Ju also stood by, listening quietly.

The inn’s lobby was packed with people, and a three-foot-high pine wood stage was set up at the innermost side.

"What kind of person was Old General Xiao? He spent his life in military campaigns, fighting everywhere, with illustrious military achievements."

"He even trained young generals like ’Marquis Yan’ Li Yi..."

The storyteller on stage, with a goatee, spoke eloquently.

"...All you esteemed listeners must know, when General Xiao encountered that fierce, white-browed tiger, he had no personal attendants with him, nor did he carry a spear, halberd, or any weapon, only a simple machete."

The storyteller first slowly finished the first half of the sentence, then suddenly sped up: "That day on the mountain, the great tiger lunged at him! He swung his machete and thrust it into the tiger’s mouth! Only to hear a crack —"

When he got to the last few words, he slowed down again.

The audience below couldn’t help but be drawn into the tension by his words, all holding their breath and waiting for the next part.

"Clap!"

With a bang of the gavel, the storyteller leisurely said: "To know what happens next, please listen to the next installment."

"Eh?"

The hall immediately erupted in an uproar, and the tea drinkers protested loudly.

A burly, bearded escort slammed copper coins on the table: "Old man, don’t keep us in suspense! The machete went into the tiger’s mouth, what happened next?"

The storyteller stroked his goatee and smiled without answering.

The hall became a commotion.

Song Yan chuckled a few times: "This storyteller really isn’t afraid of offending people."

He turned and returned to his room.

Midnight.

Song Yan completed his daily Cultivation, summoned the Crow Xianxian, and slowly nourished it with Sword Qi.

In fact, he could already begin Cultivating Dao of the Sword secret techniques related to Sword Spirits, but Xianxian had just condensed, and he always felt a sense of instability.

With a casual glance, he found Xiao Ju huddled in a corner, diligently sewing a long, narrow pouch.

"Xiao Ju, what are you doing?"

"Uh, I’m sewing a Sword bag."

Xiao Ju pointed to the Crying Moon Flying Sword beside Song Yan: "Senior Song’s Flying Sword is precious, it’s not appropriate to just wrap it in coarse cloth like this."

Song Yan had long since discovered that the warming effect of the liangyi pearl only worked on his Lifebound Flying Sword.

And the nameless sword box could only hold two Flying Swords, so he simply held it in his hand, which conveniently allowed him to pose as a Jianghu Martial Artist.

On the way, Xiao Ju felt that this was inconvenient and offered to carry it herself.

Her figure was small, and holding the Flying Sword in her arms, she looked like a sword-carrying boy.