Following the flow of the crowd, Li Yu stopped in front of a tower-shaped tavern.
Cultivators in the Qi Refining Stage had not yet reached the point of complete inedia, and the aromas drifting from the tavern stirred the appetite within him.
Stepping into the tavern named "Bright Moon Tower", he followed the stairs all the way up to the top-floor windowsill, looking down at the rows of closely packed houses in the ancient city.
"My esteemed guest, enjoying the bright moon from here at night is one of our tavern's greatest highlights," the waiter said with a smile as he approached Li Yu.
"Oh, is that so? Then why are there so few patrons on this floor as dinner time approaches?" Li Yu turned to look at the waiter, asking with a puzzled expression.
"I wouldn't dare deceive you, sir. Our food and drinks are divided according to floor tiers; the higher the floor, the more precious the fare and the higher the price," the waiter replied.
In truth, the waiter saw that Li Yu had not yet reached adulthood and was dressed plainly, which was why he offered a kindly explanation.
"No matter, bring up whatever specialty dishes you have," Li Yu waved his hand, walked over to a table, and sat down.
"Please wait a moment, sir; I will arrange it right away," the waiter said and bowed out.
Two quarter-hours later, the waiter began serving the dishes one after another: sweet and sour lotus root, top-grade bird's nest, casserole-braised deer tendon, white fungus with shredded chicken, osmanthus fish strips, and eight-treasure diced rabbit.
Once all the dishes were served, a graceful beauty in a dark green dress—holding a white jade wine pot in one hand and a white jade wine cup in the other—walked up to Li Yu's table, set the wine down, and smiled as she spoke.
"You look unfamiliar, young master. This must be your first time at Bright Moon Tower, right?"
"Indeed, it's my first time," Li Yu sized up the beauty and replied calmly.
"This humble concubine serves as the manager of this floor. I present this wine to you as a gift, hoping you will grace us with your patronage often in the future," the beauty said while pouring a cup of wine for Li Yu.
"You are too kind, madam. If I have the leisure, I will certainly come back again," Li Yu offered a polite formality.
"Then I thank you, young master. This concubine's surname is Liang, with the single given name Jie. May I ask your esteemed surname?" the beauty asked with a gentle smile.
"My name is Li Yu. I heard that sitting atop this tall building allows one not only to see the bright moon but also to catch sight of immortals. I wonder if that is true?" Having business on his mind, Li Yu casually brought it up.
"Immortals? This concubine has never seen one, but..." The beauty trailed off, leaving her words unfinished.
"Why is madam hesitating to speak?" Li Yu put on a serious expression and asked hurriedly.
"I have occasionally heard patrons mention that if you leave this city, ride a horse northwest for over a month, and cross a dozen or so high mountains, you will reach a valley shrouded in ethereal immortal mists. Strangely enough, though, no one has ever been heard of entering it," the beauty rested her chin on her delicate hand and said with a hint of wonder.
"Could such a place exist?" Li Yu fell into deep thought.
Seeing Li Yu frown with a contemplative look in his eyes, the beauty hurriedly added, "This concubine spoke out of turn; young master, please don't take it too seriously. There are venomous snakes and insects in the mountains, and dangers lurk everywhere—an ordinary person must never go there!"
"Haha, I know my limits; I won't go."
Despite saying this, hearing the beauty describe it like that, he figured that place must be the Cultivator Market Guo Yanlin had mentioned. Since he now had a lead, he was certainly going to go and investigate.
After chatting a bit more and taking her leave, Li Yu began to enjoy the fine food.
He had to admit that the dishes at Bright Moon Tower were truly delicious and mouth-watering.
In his early years, Li Yu had experienced dramatic family misfortune, lived a life of displacement, lacked proper clothes to wear, and suffered from hunger. During his apprenticeship, his master had been strict and their meals simple, demanding that he resume his martial arts training the moment he finished eating. Because of this, he held a special affection for good food!
Once he finished eating, he raised his wine cup and took his very first sip of alcohol in life. How pungent and fiery! How he loved it!
After finishing the fine wine, admiring the bright moon, and paying the bill for the food and drinks, Li Yu left Bright Moon Tower under the respectful farewell of the dark green-dressed beauty.
Once outside Bright Moon Tower, he used his spiritual power to dispel the effects of the alcohol. Fine food and wine were wonderful, but Li Yu dared not let down his guard.
At present, he only had superficial spells to rely on, the Little Armadillo in the Spirit Beast Pouch was howling for food, and he had no Qi Gathering Pills to aid his cultivation. Although he possessed a large amount of gold, silver, and banknotes on his person, these were clearly worthless in the world of cultivation.
Finding an inn near Bright Moon Tower, Li Yu lay down sideways with his clothes on to sleep, his left hand resting in its familiar spot.
At the Mao hour the next day, before the bustle of Ningan City had fully awakened, only sparse pedestrians and carriages were on the streets.
Li Yu ate breakfast at a roadside eatery, bought a large supply of steamed buns and flatbreads, and headed toward the northwest city gate.
After crossing the huge suspension bridge and passing through some small towns outside the city, he reached a secluded spot where no one else was around and cast the Wind-Escaping Technique to dash toward the northwestern mountains.
Li Yu traveled every day starting before dawn and only stopped to rest when pitch darkness fell.
Finally, after ten days, he caught sight of the "great mountains" in the distance.
These could hardly be described merely as "great mountains"!
Countless peaks towered into the clouds, overlapping like a meandering giant dragon, majestic and breathtaking. The mountain range cut across the earth from left to right, its two ends disappearing into the distant horizon.
Li Yu blinked his tired eyes, tossed away the half-eaten steamed bun in his hand, and cast the Wind-Escaping Technique to soar toward the mountain range.
By the time he crossed several mountains, it was already late.
At that moment, Li Yu lay half-reclined on the thick branch of a towering ancient tree to rest.
The nighttime forest was tranquil and deep, broken only by the incessant chirping of tireless little insects.
With a few "swish" sounds, several streaks of sword light flashed across the night sky. Li Yu leaped up excitedly, a look of yearning in his eyes. These were undoubtedly high-level cultivators heading toward the Cultivator Market; such speed was truly astonishing!
Unable to suppress his surging excitement, he let out a long whistle!
"I wonder if I, Li Yu, will ever have a day in this lifetime when I can ride a sword and fly through the heavens?" Seeing sword-riding cultivators for the very first time, his heart was filled with longing.
Half a quarter-hour later, Li Yu collected his emotions and lay back down to rest. The path ahead remained uncertain, and excessive sentimentality was meaningless. Once he reached the Cultivator Market and gained a better understanding of the realm of cultivation, he could properly plan his future cultivation path.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Li Yu foraged for some wild berries and washed them down with water from his waterskin, making do with a half-full stomach before setting off on the road.
The journey was uneventful. Another day passed, and finally, on a hot afternoon, he arrived before a valley.
The valley was wedged between several massive peaks, with swirling mists as thick as rice gruel, making it impossible to see even the slightest trace of what lay inside with the naked eye.
Li Yu stepped into the thick fog, perceiving his surroundings with his Spiritual Sense. After walking for about a quarter-hour, the fog gradually grew thinner, and an archway loomed vaguely ahead, indistinct and blurry. As he drew closer, a rich surge of spiritual energy rushed toward his face!
Li Yu immediately spread his arms, every pore on his body opening up as he greedily breathed it in.
He had never stayed in an environment with such dense spiritual energy before; he felt like a fish swimming into the ocean or a fledgling bird taking flight into the sky.
The meridians all over his body were crying out, the spiritual energy in his Dantian was rotating automatically, and the fatigue of the journey was swept away in an instant. What an indescribably refreshing sensation!
"Hey! Little fellow daoist!"
Li Yu was taken aback, then cast his gaze forward. Beneath the archway stood a table, and seated behind it was an old man in white robes. The old man rested one arm on the table, cupping his cheek with a clenched fist, smiling as he called out to him.
Li Yu gave an awkward smile, stepped forward, and probed the old man with his Spiritual Sense, instantly sensing that the other's aura was unfathomable, which naturally filled him with respect.
"Greetings, senior. I am a newcomer here—may I ask if this is the Cultivator Market?" Li Yu asked cautiously.
"Well, look up," the old man in white robes said, pointing his finger at the archway.
Li Yu raised his head and saw the three characters "Wanan Workshop" inscribed on the archway.
"This place is a cultivator market governed by the Wanyu Sect. I am responsible for registering cultivators entering and leaving this place. Since you are here for the first time, if you wish to enter, you need to register your information with me," the old man in white robes said with a smile as he sized up Li Yu.
"Very well, senior, please go ahead and register," Li Yu said hurriedly.
Thereupon, the old man in white robes took out a square token and asked, "Name?"
"Li Yu."
"Age?"
"Seventeen."
"Place of origin?"
"Anyuan Commandery, Huai'an City."
"Cultivation family?"
"A lone individual."
"Sect or faction?"
"Not yet joined."
...
As the old man asked, he traced his finger through the void above the square token.
"Alright, little fellow daoist. From now on, you only need to carry this sect token to freely enter and leave the market governed by the Wanyu Sect."
Li Yu took the square token and swept it with his Spiritual Sense; his information had already appeared inside the token. He hadn't expected it to be so easy to enter the market, and a wave of joy rose in his heart. He immediately cupped his fists toward the old man and said, "Thank you, senior. This junior has just arrived at this precious place and is unfamiliar with everything. I wonder if there are any matters in this market that require special attention?" Li Yu asked humbly.
"Heh, I observe that you must have cultivated to the Qi Refining Stage on your own, daoist friend?" The old man glanced at Li Yu once more and asked in return.
"To tell you the truth, many years ago my master met a cultivator who gave him an introductory dao manual, and I only managed to break through the heavenly gates after studying it for many years," Li Yu replied honestly.
"That explains it then. Remember for the future: Spiritual Sense can only be used to perceive your surroundings; you must never casually focus it to probe another person's cultivation level. That is a major taboo in the world of cultivation." The old man suddenly understood, thinking to himself that no wonder Li Yu had been so presumptuous.
Li Yu's heart skipped a beat. He truly had been unaware of this, and he was fortunate that the old man did not hold it against him.
"This junior was unaware of this taboo and hopes senior will forgive me."
"It's no matter; just pay attention in the future."
Seeing that Li Yu's attitude was sincere, the old man naturally wouldn't hold it against him, and went on to say, "In addition, there are three ironclad rules in the market: first, no coercion, extortion, or forced buying and selling; second, alchemy, artifact forging, talisman making, and array formation must be carried out in designated areas; third, fighting is strictly prohibited within the market and a hundred-mile radius around it.
If any of these three rules are violated, the Wanyu Sect will hold the offender accountable. There is a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Wanyu Sect presiding over this market, so little fellow daoist, do nothing to ruin yourself."
"Thank you for informing me, senior. This junior will head inside now," Li Yu said, cupping his fists and bowing once more.
"Go on. You had best go take a look at the 'Wanjuan Bookstore' in the market first," the old man said, waving his hand to signal Li Yu to enter.
"Thank you for the reminder, senior," Li Yu said, then walked into the Cultivator Market.
The old man in white robes looked back at Li Yu's disappearing figure and could not help feeling a pang of emotion. Back then, he too had blundered cluelessly into the world of cultivation like this, and in the blink of an eye, a hundred years had passed.