High above, the treasure boat cruised steadily through the sky, piloted in shifts by Shayne Snow and Yara Snow.
By now, the treasure boat had been flying for six whole hours, so Shayne Snow—the current pilot—was starting to show signs of fatigue.
"Aunt-Master Shayne, have something to eat."
Ian Song carried a plate of pastries out onto the deck.
"You’re quite thoughtful, aren’t you?"
Shayne Snow smiled, picked up an osmanthus cake, and popped it into her mouth. Instantly, her face was filled with bliss—girls naturally loved sweets, and with Ian Song’s legendary cooking skills, his pastries were even more popular among Jade Maiden Sect disciples than his regular dishes.
But ever since Ian became a formal disciple, he rarely cooked anymore, leaving the sect’s girls feeling a bit regretful.
As Ian walked back toward the cabin with his empty plate, he happened to bump into Lacey Ling, who was carrying a plate of spirit fruit up to the deck.
"Hello, Junior Brother Skyler."
Lacey Ling gave a slight bow, her expression a little awkward.
Back when she tried to sabotage Ian’s promotion to seed disciple, she’d ended up shooting herself in the foot—almost losing her cultivation and facing expulsion. Luckily, Ian hadn’t held a grudge and spared her once.
So, deep down, she was quite grateful to Ian. She was also amazed at how quickly he’d advanced in cultivation—from an ordinary person to a Qi-Refining level ten expert in just a few months.
"Hello, Senior Sister." Ian smiled and returned the greeting.
"I’m bringing some food up for Aunt-Master Shayne."
"Go ahead!" Ian nodded.
When Ian returned to his room, he found Lena Ling already there—she’d helped herself to most of the pastries he’d left on the table.
"Got any wine?"
Lena Ling winked at Ian.
"Here you go."
Ian fished out a bottle of baijiu from his Storage Ring and tossed it to Lena. Instantly, Lena broke into a wide grin, popped the cork, and started sipping happily.
Knock, knock, knock!
The sound of knocking came from the door.
"Come in."
Lacey Ling pushed open the door and walked in, still carrying a plate of spirit fruit.
"Junior Brother Skyler, I brought you some spirit fruit..." Suddenly, Lacey noticed Lena Ling was also in Ian’s room, and paused awkwardly. "Oh, Senior Sister Lena is here too."
"Yep, I just came to mooch some wine off Second Fool."
Lena Ling replied coolly—she didn’t care much for Lacey Ling’s scheming nature.
Ian took the plate of spirit fruit from Lacey and set it on the table, then pulled out another plate of pastries from his Storage Ring and placed it beside her. He smiled, "Senior Sister Lacey, have a seat and try some of my pastries."
Lacey instinctively glanced at Lena, then nodded. "Alright, thanks."
She’d heard all about Ian’s cooking, but had never actually visited the canteen, so she’d never tasted his food before.
"Don’t be shy, Junior Sister! This kid’s pastries are delicious. If you don’t eat them, I’ll finish them all myself!" Lena Ling grabbed a pastry and started munching, completely unabashed.
"Really?"
Lacey picked up a pastry and took a bite. Instantly, her brows relaxed and she looked utterly content. She shot Ian a surprised glance. "Junior Brother Skyler, your cooking really is amazing—these pastries are delicious!"
"If you like them, eat as much as you want," Ian laughed. "If it’s not enough, I’ve got more."
"Second Fool, are you playing favorites? You never brought out your secret stash of pastries for me until Lacey showed up!" Lena Ling pouted, clearly annoyed.
"I was just worried you’d eat them all in one go and leave us nothing for the next two days," Ian retorted.
"Hmph, you make me sound like a bottomless pit!" Grabbing her wine bottle, Lena Ling stood up to leave. "I’ll stop bothering you two—take your time and chat."
Soon, only Ian and Lacey were left in the room.
Ian remained perfectly at ease, but Lacey looked a little nervous.
Suddenly, Lacey stood up and said, "Junior Brother Skyler, I was wrong before, I..."
Ian waved his hand. "Senior Sister Lacey, let the past stay in the past."
"But..."
Ian interrupted her again. "No need for buts. Besides, I wasn’t hurt at all—it was you who suffered most!"
Hearing this, Lacey’s face lit up with gratitude. "Thank you, Junior Brother Skyler."
"We’re all fellow disciples, Senior Sister. No need to be so formal," Ian replied with a bright smile.
Seeing Ian’s smile, Lacey felt the gloom in her heart begin to dissipate.
...
After three days of flight, the treasure boat finally landed at a town on the shore of Spirit Abyss Lake.
Although the town was home to ordinary people, every three years immortals would gather here in droves. So when the treasure boat descended from the sky, no one seemed surprised.
There were still a few days before Myriad Spirits Island opened, so they needed to find an inn to stay in.
When Myriad Spirits Island opens, young cultivators from the Tang, Song, and Ming Dynasties will all come here.
In the cultivation world, anyone under five hundred years old is considered part of the younger generation.
Unlike in fantasy worlds, here five hundred years old is already ancient.
With cultivators from all three dynasties gathering, even before Myriad Spirits Island opens, the town’s population has already multiplied several times over—and finding an inn is getting tough.
Fortunately, the Jade Maiden Sect arrived a few days early and managed to secure a pretty decent inn.
Once everyone was settled in, Abbess Yvonne gathered the group to give them some instructions.
Her main point was that everyone should avoid wandering around unless necessary, and if they did go out, they should steer clear of trouble. After all, this town was full of cultivators from three dynasties, and the Jade Maiden Sect was just a small sect—if they provoked a province-level or national-level sect, even if someone was killed, Jade Maiden Sect wouldn’t dare seek revenge.
Everyone took Abbess Yvonne’s words to heart—even Ian paid attention, since he’d noticed there were already over a hundred Nascent Soul experts in town, plus more than a dozen Out-of-Body cultivators.
And this was before the opening day—when the time finally came, even more experts would arrive.
The day passed quickly. Following Abbess Yvonne’s instructions, the Jade Maiden Sect’s members stayed inside the inn and cultivated—so nothing unexpected happened.
But on the second day...
"What? You still haven't found an available inn?"
A richly dressed young man glared impatiently at the attendant he'd sent to find an inn.
"Young Master, all the inns in town are full. Honestly, their conditions are far inferior to our own treasure boat. Why not..."
Slap!
The young master slapped his attendant across the face, coldly saying, "My affairs are not for you to decide!"
The attendant’s face flushed with panic. "Young Master, I know I was wrong!"
"Hmph! If you know you’re wrong, then hurry up and lead the way to the most luxurious inn!"
The young master urged him on impatiently.
At this, everyone around him wore a look of mild distress.
But a quarter of an hour later, the young master left the best inn in town in utter embarrassment. The guests there all had powerful backgrounds—although he came from a famous cultivation clan in Youzhou, this place was filled with sects from all three dynasties, many far stronger than his own. Trying to snatch a room from the best inn naturally got him put in his place.