When the sunlight from Mengyuan Mountain’s peak reached the Sect gate, Yu Yixiang arrived.
She wore no hairpins, no bracelets, and just a simple cloth belt around her waist.
She had no jewelry on her, yet there was an indescribable nobility and coolness about her.
Only when she saw Qian Duoduo on the silver sword did a trace of a smile appear on her beautiful face.
“How long have you been here?” Yu Yixiang asked, putting away her silver sword.
“Just arrived.” Qian Duoduo had waited for almost half an hour, but the moment he saw Yu Yixiang, it felt like only a short while.
Yu Yixiang smiled again, and with a wave of her hand, a Winged Vehicle appeared on Lingwu Avenue.
“Get in.” She first sat down in the driver’s seat.
“Where are we going? You haven’t even said what the mission is.” Qian Duoduo grumbled as he settled into the Winged Vehicle.
“First, to Kongfang City, to buy some things.” Yu Yixiang activated the Winged Vehicle, flying south.
“Now that I’m on this ‘thieves’ carriage,’ can you at least tell me about the mission?” For some reason, Qian Duoduo felt very relaxed talking to Yu Yixiang, and she seemed to be the same.
“We’re going to the Jinlun Mountains to collect golden honey from Devouring Gold Ants.”
The Jinlun Mountains are northwest of the Chifeng Mountain Range, a vast, rarely visited wilderness.
“What? Devouring Gold Ants!” Qian Duoduo nearly stood up in the back seat.
Devouring Gold Ants are a type of Spirit Beast that live in colonies, possessing two strong and powerful mandibles capable of biting through gold and chewing silver, hence their name.
Each nest of Devouring Gold Ants has a single queen, commanding over a hundred thousand Devouring Gold Ants.
The queen’s Cultivation is usually at the Foundation Establishment Initial Stage or above, while a mature Devouring Gold Ant is at the Third or Fourth Level of Qi Condensation.
Devouring Gold Ant golden honey is a solid, block-like substance that is insoluble in water but melts in fire, exclusively for the Devouring Gold Ant queen.
Using golden honey for Alchemy has miraculous effects such as beauty enhancement, skin rejuvenation, and longevity.
“Senior Sister, how old are you?” After learning of the mission for this trip, Qian Duoduo cautiously asked Yu Yixiang.
The Winged Vehicle swayed in the air.
Yu Yixiang turned around and glared fiercely at Qian Duoduo, “One hundred million years old—why do you ask that?” Qian Duoduo was only 14, so Yu Yixiang was naturally older than him.
But a woman’s age is a top secret, not to be easily told to others.
“You dare to steal the Devouring Gold Ant queen’s food? This is definitely asking for trouble.
And you want to drag me into it.” Qian Duoduo sighed with a smile.
“The whereabouts of Devouring Gold Ants are not easy to find.
I’ve researched for a long time before confirming there are some in the Jinlun Mountains.
I’m taking you so you can taste this world’s delicacy.” Yu Yixiang replied with a smile.
She furiously added Spiritual Qi, and the Winged Vehicle “whooshed,” flying even faster.
“Senior Sister, just the two of us going? This is like you and I going to wipe out a Sect.” Qian Duoduo’s meaning in asking Yu Yixiang’s age was to say, ‘Isn’t it good to be alive, why provoke Devouring Gold Ants?’
Tens of thousands of Devouring Gold Ants, never mind biting, even just stepping on them would be enough to kill the two of them.
“What’s there to be afraid of? Don’t we have the First Xiong Jun? Besides, we’ll use strategy, not brute force.” Yu Yixiang saw the fear in Qian Duoduo’s heart.
While chatting with Yu Yixiang, Qian Duoduo flipped through the Spiritual Beast Scroll, beginning to research the habits of Devouring Gold Ants.
The Spiritual Beast Scroll stated that Devouring Gold Ants prefer to eat insects, followed by sweet things and meat.
To outsmart them, they would have to start with the Devouring Gold Ants’ favorite food, finding a way to lure them out of their caves.
More than an hour later, the tall Kongfang City was reached.
From the Winged Vehicle, the high mountain where the City Lord’s Mansion was located looked like a sharp sword piercing the sky.
After putting away the Winged Vehicle outside the North Gate, Yu Yixiang led the way, with Qian Duoduo following behind, as they entered the city.
In the City Lord’s Mansion plaza, the Refining Spirit Sect’s copper coins ranked second, while the Shengling Sect’s long saber surprisingly took first place.
In recent months, the Refining Spirit Sect’s store was managed by an Elder from the Artificer Hall, a high-grade second-rank Artifact Refiner, who was evenly matched with the Ba Ling Sect and Shengling Sect.
“I think I’m a little hungry.” Yu Yixiang glanced at Qian Duoduo.
“I brought roasted Spirit Chicken legs.
Would you like some?” Qian Duoduo was well-prepared.
He had brought a lot of ingredients for this trip, both raw and cooked Spirit Chicken legs.
Yu Yixiang shook her head, “We’re already in the city, and you still want to eat that?”
“I know, there’s a restaurant by that lake that specializes in food.” Qian Duoduo, during his months in Kongfang City, was always engrossed in Artifact Refining and had never been to a restaurant.
“Senior Sister, it’s my treat.”
“You’re too generous.” Yu Yixiang didn’t stand on ceremony either.
She knew that Qian Duoduo was well-off now and no longer the poor wretch who could be easily bullied by servants.
During his time in the city, Chu Tianqi, Zhu Junliang, Shang Jiajin, and others had repeatedly invited Qian Duoduo to restaurants, but Qian Duoduo had always declined.
Now he regretted it a bit; he had never entered a restaurant, didn’t know the rules inside, and didn’t know what was good or bad to eat.
He could only improvise and adapt as needed.
Following the bluestone path, Qian Duoduo looked at the luxurious establishments by the lake.
Wanghu Tower, Tianxiang Pavilion, Tianwaitian… these names sounded quite interesting.
Qian Duoduo’s eyes fell on the tallest building, and he turned to ask Yu Yixiang, “How about Fubo Restaurant?”
“I haven’t been to any of these places, I’ll follow your lead.” Yu Yixiang smiled slightly.
Since she hadn’t been there, Qian Duoduo felt a bit more at ease and stepped inside.
Fubo Restaurant was very lively.
The aroma of dishes and wine wafted over, and both upstairs and downstairs were almost full.
A waiter came up, glanced at Qian Duoduo’s and Yu Yixiang’s robes, “Welcome, two Xiong Juns of the Refining Spirit Sect, please come in.
Do you have a reservation?”
“No.” Qian Duoduo thought, this waiter has a sweet tongue, probably calling them Xiong Jun just because he saw their orange robes.
“Then there’s a lakeside table here, would that be good for the two of you?” the waiter recommended.
Qian Duoduo looked at Yu Yixiang.
Yu Yixiang nodded.
After they sat down, the waiter presented the menu, “Please order, both of you.”
Qian Duoduo handed the menu to Yu Yixiang.
She waved her hand, “You order, as long as it’s delicious.”
Flipping through the menu from beginning to end, Qian Duoduo couldn’t understand what any of the dish names meant.
After some thought, he asked the waiter, “What’s your most expensive dish?”
The waiter thought for a moment, “Steamed Spirit Whale Shark.”
Qian Duoduo was startled, “Such a big fellow, can it be eaten?” The Spirit Whale Shark in the Burial Instrument was dozens of feet long.
That was a Xuan Beast, could it also be eaten?
“It’s specially for consumption, Spirit Whale Shark pups, very delicious.” The waiter gestured, indicating it was about the size of a pot lid.
“How many gold coins?” Qian Duoduo looked at the waiter.
“One hundred thousand per piece.”
Yu Yixiang smiled softly, “Too expensive, no.”
“Yes! I have money—” Qian Duoduo also wanted to see a Spirit Whale Shark, maybe he could find out where they were sold.
Just then, a voice sounded beside them: “Eating a Spirit Whale Shark will cost you a year’s Cultivation fees, right?
It’s fine, I’m in a good mood today, it’s my treat.”
Qian Duoduo turned his head and saw a young man in his twenties, with a fair face and frivolous eyes, standing beside them, staring intently at Yu Yixiang.
Judging by his aura, his Cultivation was at the Ninth Level of Qi Condensation.
Yu Yixiang lowered her head, her expression cold and aloof, as if she hadn’t heard what the frivolous young man said at all.
“You don’t need to treat us, I have money.” Qian Duoduo said to the young man, then turned back to the waiter, “What else is good to eat here, can you recommend something?”
The waiter looked at the young man.
The young man pursed his lips at the waiter, and the waiter immediately left.
The young man casually pulled over a chair, sat down backward at their table, and stared unblinkingly at Yu Yixiang: “You’re truly beautiful.
Come with this Young Master, and you’ll have whatever you want, a hundred times better than staying in that small, broken Refining Spirit Sect.”
“Thump!” A fire immediately ignited in Qian Duoduo’s heart, “Who are you? Why do you talk so rudely?”
The young man froze, then extended his hand, covered his mouth, blew a breath, and sniffed, “This Young Master smells very good, it’s you, country bumpkin, who smells bad.”
He leaned his face close to Yu Yixiang, and whispered, “You don’t have to be afraid of your Sect’s Palace Lord or Sect Leader, they are nothing to me.
I can also take you to bigger cities, Wuzhu City on the Middle Road, Facai City on the Upper Road.
That life is wonderful.
Consider it?”