Qixuan is the city closest to Panlong.
Although it is not as prosperous and vast as the capital, it is thriving and very prosperous, making it one of the most flourishing cities within the Nine Sha Palace territory.
If the border town near the Ethereal Mountain Range is considered lively, then this place is truly bustling with activity.
Generally speaking, even after passing the inspection, one cannot immediately enter the city.
You must first land and queue up in the long line.
However, Wen Mingyu held a pass personally granted by the palace master.
Even though she was not a member of the clan, her status was exceptionally prestigious, allowing her to bypass the wait and enter the city through a special passage.
The guards at the gate, seeing her dressed in luxurious attire and holding a prestigious token, quickly became respectful, bowing politely: “Please, esteemed guest, come inside.
There is a special guest hall in the city.
If you wish to go there, I can personally guide you.”
Every city near the capital has a guest hall, established by the current palace master to accommodate and settle distinguished guests.
Wen Mingyu’s token was enough to indicate her noble status, and staying in the guest hall was just a matter of asking.
Their group was already attracting attention by not having to queue, and now hearing that they could stay in the guest hall, the citizens lining up to enter the city were all drawn to look over, wanting to see what was happening.
Some people, not knowing what the guest hall was, whispered among themselves.
Tang Muxi didn’t like being watched, so she squeezed closer to Senior Sister.
Jiang Yin raised her hand to comfort her, casting a spell to block others’ gazes.
“No need, we don’t like noise.
Is there a quiet inn or courtyard?” Wen Mingyu asked.
The guard quickly nodded: “Of course, there is.
In the west of the city, there is a place called Tianci Pavilion, quiet and peaceful.
Coincidentally, my sister-in-law manages the accounts there.
If the esteemed guest doesn’t mind, I can lead you there.”
Wen Mingyu naturally had no objections, nodding slightly to signal the guard to lead the way.
Qixuan is one of the few cities with an inner and outer structure.
The outer area is spacious, mostly where ordinary citizens live, with all the commercial districts and markets.
The inner city is where cultivators practice and trade, rich in spiritual energy, with more exquisite and luxurious shops, giving it a heavenly palace feel.
Flying is allowed within the city, but there are significant restrictions on mounts.
Living creatures and beasts are rarely seen, mostly spirit swords and carriages.
Tianci Pavilion is in the inner city, a certain distance from the bustling commercial district at the city center, slightly elevated, suspended in mid-air, making it particularly conspicuous.
There are few buildings suspended in mid-air in the city, making it stand out from afar.
Tang Muxi, accustomed to Floating Immortal Island, felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity seeing the island-like pavilion suspended in the air.
“We’ve arrived at Tianci Pavilion.
I have other duties to attend to, so I won’t accompany you further.
You can go directly up.
Although there are few rooms in the pavilion, they are never easily rented out.
Show your token to the staff, and they won’t refuse,” the guard said, then stepped back, intending to leave.
Wen Mingyu stopped him, casually handing over a jade talisman: “Thank you for your trouble.”
The guard was delighted to receive the reward, smiling: “No trouble at all, thank you for your generosity.” He then put the jade talisman into his storage ring, bowed, and happily took his leave.
After sending off a few people, only their true companions remained.
But even so, the number was not small.
Although Tianci Pavilion was quiet, they were here to gather information, and the daily comings and goings to this aerial pavilion would be too conspicuous.
Wen Mingyu pondered briefly and said to Wu Yuan and a group of disciples from the Treasure Pavilion: “Staying here is too conspicuous and not convenient for gathering information.
You should disperse to the surrounding inns and report the information you collect to me daily.
Any objections?”
Wu Yuan stepped forward: “We will follow the master’s instructions.”
The disciples behind him also nodded, though a few looked regretfully at the aerial pavilion.
Wen Mingyu chuckled, tossing over a bag of spirit stones: “Since I brought you here, I won’t treat you poorly.
Take it, the spirit stones inside are for you to spend freely, but don’t neglect your duties or visit those places of debauchery.”
One of them opened the bag, finding it filled with top-grade spirit stones, glowing brightly.
The bag looked small, but it was actually quite spacious inside, containing at least a thousand top-grade stones.
The disciples were all stunned, their hands trembling as they held the bag, afraid of accidentally dropping it.
Wu Yuan scanned it with his divine sense, knowing the amount inside, and couldn’t help but frown: “Master, this might not be appropriate.”
A thousand top-grade spirit stones might not be much for the master, but it was enough to drive most cultivators crazy with greed.
This amount of wealth was enough to buy earth-grade materials and spiritual plants, and though it might fall short for magical treasures and talismans, adding a bit more could secure them.
Using it as pocket money and expenses for a temporary stay was indeed extravagant.
The disciples from the Treasure Pavilion also felt it was too much, pushing the spirit stone bag back: “Master, these spirit stones are too valuable.
We can’t accept them.”
Wen Mingyu rarely saw her subordinates so obedient.
After thinking for a moment, she took back the bag, removed half, and distributed it among the five: “Let’s do it this way.
This trip to Panlong is fraught with danger, so these spirit stones are necessary.”
The hired helpers only needed a few days on the immortal boat to gain many benefits, so it wouldn’t make sense to treat their own people poorly.
The disciple, seeing that he couldn’t refuse, thanked them and put it away, then bid farewell and left with Wu Yuan.
After Wen Mingyu finished handling things on this side, she turned her head to see a group of people glancing at her, clearly wanting to say something but pretending not to care.
Especially her aunt, whose eyes were full of longing, her gaze almost tangible and hard to ignore.
Feeling a bit uneasy under their stares, Wen Mingyu approached her aunt and asked, “Aunt, did I miss any instructions?” Wen Fei was too embarrassed to speak, turning her gaze away without a word.
Jiang Yin, seeing Wen Mingyu’s confusion, thought for a moment before gently reminding her, “Master Wen, remember the principle of not flaunting wealth.
Next time you reward the disciples, do it privately.
Otherwise, it might cause resentment.”
She didn’t elaborate, but everyone understood the implication.
Wen Fei’s eyebrows twitched as she finally caught on.
“Miss Jiang, don’t say that.
My mother and I didn’t mean to.” Xia Qing, hearing her use them as a shield, immediately got anxious and quickly spoke up.
But he was still young and not good at lying, his guilty eyes betraying him completely.
Xu Qingwan watched from the side, shaking her head helplessly but not interjecting.
Wen Fei also wanted it.
Ever since escaping, she had been pitifully poor, even relying on her disciple for spiritual fruits to restore her Dao bones.
If she hadn’t been living in the mountains with little expense, she might have been unable to make ends meet long ago.
Earlier, hearing about her niece giving away Heavenly Talisman Pavilion, cold jade silk, and immortal boats, her heart had long been bubbling with envy.
But as an elder, she was too embarrassed to ask a junior for money, so she had been silently hoping Mingyu would take the initiative to help.
Unexpectedly, so much time had passed without a word, making her doubt her own presence.
Wen Mingyu scanned the room, observing everyone’s expressions, and quickly understood their thoughts.
Especially when she caught the expectation in her aunt’s heart, she almost laughed.
“You all have followed me through thick and thin, so naturally, there will be rewards.
However, I don’t have much wealth with me now.
Once this is over, I will personally reward you.”
She then looked specifically at Wen Fei, quietly transmitting, “Aunt, don’t worry, Mingyu won’t neglect you either.
I’ll give you a bag of spirit stones later.”
Wen Fei, caught red-handed, blushed and turned her gaze away, wishing she could find a hole to hide in.
She couldn’t take it anymore and secretly vowed to retrieve all the small savings she couldn’t bring out once she returned to the demon realm.
After much back and forth, the group finally flew into the Heavenly Gift Pavilion.
The Heavenly Gift Pavilion floated in mid-air, appearing delicate from the outside but quite small.
However, once inside, it was surprisingly spacious, with the guest hall alone the size of a palace.
There weren’t many tables and chairs inside, but they were exquisitely made, with carved beams and painted rafters, every inch a masterpiece.
Luxurious yet understated, it exuded a sense of nobility.
Upon entering, a staff member approached to inquire.
In ordinary inns, the staff were usually men in coarse clothes with a cloth for wiping sweat at their waists.
But here, the staff were ethereal women in clean, elegant jackets and skirts, moving gracefully.
“Are you here to stay? Rooms here are not easily rented out.” Facing the elegantly dressed Wen Mingyu, the woman was not intimidated, speaking confidently and politely.
Wen Mingyu was a bit surprised by her directness but didn’t feel offended, handing over the token in her hand.
The woman took it, glanced at it briefly, then returned it with both hands, smiling, “How many rooms would you like? The inn has good lighting, with no distinction in grade, so you can choose freely.”
Tang Muxi watched from the side, unable to help but marvel at how quickly the woman changed her tune, adapting without any psychological burden, clearly accustomed to doing the same thing.
This time, Wen Mingyu didn’t make arrangements on her own but turned to ask everyone’s opinion.
Xu Qingwan and Xia Qing, though mother and son, were still male and female, making it inconvenient to stay together.
Tang Muxi and Jiang Yin didn’t mind, having been used to sleeping together before, and now, after forming a bond, they were naturally even closer.
Besides them… it was just her and Bai Ling left.
“I want my own room too!” Bai Ling raised her hand, eager to express her stance.
Wen Mingyu frowned.
Although she didn’t speak immediately, it was clear from her eyes that she disagreed.
“Really? We’re running low on spirit stones.
If you get your own room, we won’t have money to go to Exquisite Delicacies House later.”
She lied without batting an eye.
Bai Ling froze and quickly protested, “You’re lying to me. How could we be short? I just saw them return five hundred top-grade spirit stones to you. How could we be missing the money for just one room?”
“Forget it.
When we left the demon realm, both the Grand Elder and the Demon King gave me plenty of pocket money.
I don’t need to beg you.” With that, she took out a storage ring from her bosom and glanced at Wen Mingyu with a proud tilt of her head.
Wen Mingyu raised an eyebrow, surprised that the little snow fox had become even more astute after not seeing her for so long.
But having been in business for many years, if she really wanted to use her tricks, how could a snow fox new to the mortal world handle it?
Since coaxing wouldn’t work, she had to find another way.
“I heard that Exquisite Delicacies House has a new service where they can customize unique dishes according to the guest’s expectations.
But this is still in the experimental stage, and only ten guests can enjoy it each day, and it’s particularly expensive.
If you’re willing to share a room with me, the money saved could be enough for you to customize a meal.
Maybe even your favorite Cold Spirit Fruit could be turned into a brand new delicacy.
How about it?”
Bai Ling, being a glutton, was immediately captivated at the mention of Cold Spirit Fruit being used in a dish.
She weighed the storage ring in her hand for a long time, but ultimately succumbed to the allure of food and reluctantly agreed to share a room with Wen Mingyu.
Author’s Note: I made some changes to Chapter 99.
If you’re interested, you can take a look.
