“Consider yourself lucky that you met me. Otherwise, you might not even find the mountain gate after spending months searching for it,” the lady smiled and replied.
Shen Lian was shocked by what happened next. The lady in purple walked down from the cliff, step by step, it was as though there was an invisible staircase.
There was nothing both in front and behind. At some distance away, there was a cliff that stood at a thousand feet.
The lady did not wear emotions on her face. She let her sleeves danced in the wind. She was not a celestial, but she was more than a celestial.
The next moment, Shen Lian picked up a fresh scent. It was bright and pure. He was reminded of a cloudless starry sky.
The lady was close to Shen Lian, and she snapped her porcelain-white finger at him. Out of a sudden, a cloud appeared beneath Shen Lian. The cloud carried him higher and higher.
It was not until later that he found out about the name of the skill – The Forbidden Technique of Xiaozhu Clouds.
Within seconds, Shen Lian was elevated into the sky. The illusory Mount Qing Xuan right ahead of him became more and more real.
The illusory veil of cloud and smoke in the evening highlighted the height of the sky and the vastness of the sea.
The ability to ride on a cloud was a celestial technique that only existed in the myths and legends. That was the first time Shen Lian experienced anything like that. He was becoming more and more attracted to the celestial techniques.
Before he could think of anything, Shen Lian found himself planted firmly on the ground. The cloud that carried him had dispersed.
Right up ahead was a small town bustling with activities.
When Shen Lian turned to look for the lady, she was long gone.
He knew that the lady had to be one of the celestials in Qing Xuan, which would explain her techniques. He admired her supernatural power to come and go as and as she wished. This would be the best part about attaining immortality and learning Daoism.
He saw ‘Nanke Town’ written on the eye-catching signboard at the entrance to the town.
Each and every stroke reflected the history of the town.
Even though it was called a town, there was only one main street in town and the number of residents was less than that of a village.
Outsiders should be a rarity here. However, the residents of the town did not seem particularly excited by the sight of outsiders like Shen Lian himself.
Shen Lian reminded himself to stay alert. In this world that was similar to ancient times on earth, a lot of people would grow up and die at their place of birth. They would not have been to any other places.
This might be what they meant by ‘it is difficult to leave one’s hometown’.
By this vein of reasoning, they should be curious about the strangers that they saw.
Curiosity was part of human nature. He refused to believe that everyone in town kept to themselves.
The street was not crowded, and there were about thirty to forty people. Out of these people, half of them were children and teenagers.
Both adults and children did not bother to strike up a conversation with Shen Lian. They were looking at him as though they were looking at someone who was about to die. Shen Lian too did not reach out to them.
He could tell that everyone here had some sort of martial arts training. There was even one or two of them who had practiced Shenzu Scripture.
Shenzu Scripture was a martial art that combined both the element of ‘static’ and ‘dynamic’. Having practiced the skill himself, Shen Lian found it easy to identify.
That would explain why the mysterious lady in purple asked whose child he was.
Shen Lian was highly skilled at Shenzu Scripture, to the extent that he had unblocked all of his Eight Extraordinary Meridians. If he were to hide it intentionally, a normal person would not be able to tell.
In fact, even though everyone in town knew some form of martial arts, none of them were at that stage where they unblocked all of their Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
The unblocking of Governor Vessel and Conception Vessel was known as foundation construction in Daoist scriptures.
It meant that upon which, said person would be equipped with the foundation of cultivation.
Even with the best mantra, it was not easy to reach this stage. Moreover, if one did not unblock one’s Governor Vessel and Conception Vessel before hitting middle age, it would only get increasingly difficult. The man in green, Yang Xuan, only managed to unblock his two special vessels as he was in a life or death situation.
Besides the few houses, there was only one tavern in the entire town. It was also the only available lodging in town.
That was Shen Lian’s observation.
The name of the tavern was ‘Yan Bugui’, which meant ‘swallows who did not return’, but there was no couplet next to it.
The moment Shen Lian walked into the tavern, he was served by the bartender.
“Dear guest, what would you like to have?” The bartender offered in a friendly manner.
“Can I pay with this here?” Shen Lian took out a golden leaf, as gold would always be a precious metal no matter where.
“Everything would be free-of-charge for outsiders who visit during this period of time.” The bartender smiled. He was around thirty of age. He had a towel on his shoulder, and his purlicue was calloused. This was someone who could make a name for himself in Jianghu, yet he was here as a mere bartender.
“Why is that so?” Shen Lian asked patiently.
“I’m afraid that if I tell you now, you would lose your appetite.” The bartender laughed casually.
“I have always had a great appetite, carry on.”
“I guess I will tell you then. The owner said that since all of you will be dead soon, it would be really mean of us to not let you die on a full stomach,” the bartender replied cheerily.
“I see. Since I’m about to be dead soon, would you please bring over the best wine and dishes that you have?” Shen Lian smiled.
The bartender did not reply immediately. He extended his arm to pat on Shen Lian’s shoulder. All of his fingers were slightly curved, it was one of the most powerful grappling techniques. The way he channeled his strength was not something that could be achieved without at least ten or twenty years of experience.
Shen Lian took a step to the side and dodged away from the bartender’s grasp.
The bartender was shocked. “I saw specks of dust on your shoulder and wanted to sweep them away for you. I did not mean any harm,” the bartender replied.
Shen Lian patted the dust off his shoulder. “It’s alright, could you please bring me some wine and dishes please?” Shen Lian replied with a smile.
Before the bartender went away to fetch him some wine, he gestured for Shen Lian to look for a table.
The tavern was not small, everyone had their own table to sit at without needing to share tables.
Most of them were well-dressed and looked different from the common folks.
These people were separated into different batches and sat at their respective tables.
Those who were sitting by themselves, like Shen Lian, were clearly alone and unaccompanied.
The groups glanced at Shen Lian occasionally and other solo travelers to size them up.
Shen Lian counted in his mind and concluded that besides himself, there were four other people who came alone. As for those who came in a group, there were five tables of them.
They were all around the same age, with three middle-aged men amidst them. The men either had protruding temples or sharp gaze. Clearly, they were all highly skilled Jianghu drifters.
According to Ye Liuyun, those who were under twenty would not have a chance at joining Qing Xuan, unless special circumstance presented itself.
Those who were around his age were probably sent by well-known families in Jianghu who knew that Qing Xuan had started their admission process or sects hidden from the world such as the Flying Celestials Island.
Those who came alone probably shared his predicament. They either stumbled upon the island, or had caught wind of news somehow.
It was still a month away from the date where Qing Xuan was scheduled to open the mountain gate. There was an unspoken competition amongst these people here.