Elijah Wells nodded, "Yes, the person I've offended this time is indeed quite formidable. As I said before, if you're worried about trouble here, I'll leave immediately. I won't bring any trouble to you."
After speaking, Elijah Wells calmly looked at Bolt. The reason he said this was because he guessed that anyone capable of running a tavern here wouldn't be simple. If the owner drove guests away out of fear, he certainly wouldn't be able to keep a tavern in this place. That was his reasoning, though he didn't know Joe Di's true purpose for opening the tavern.
Bolt hummed, "Who would our tavern be afraid of?"
Hearing this, Elijah Wells felt a surge of joy, but Bolt immediately continued, "However, our lodging fees aren't cheap. The best room requires one Supreme Ley Line... Oh, and that's for a year of stay."
Elijah Wells drew a sharp breath. Though he was wealthy, he wasn't so rich as to be able to produce a Supreme Ley Line just for a year's lodging.
"If you can't afford the best, you can stay in a slightly inferior room. But let me warn you, the protection in those lesser rooms isn't nearly as good." Bolt said, utterly composed.
Elijah Wells sensed a hint of schadenfreude in Bolt's tone, as if Bolt was certain he wouldn't dare leave. Gritting his teeth, Elijah said, "I have something even better than a Supreme Ley Line. But I need to stay for fifty years."
"Heh..." Bolt chuckled, not even bothering to reply.
Bolt's chuckle was something he'd picked up from Joe Di. Elijah Wells could hear the disdain in it, so he cupped his fists again and said, "I have Five Elements Chaos Essence. If you're willing, I'm prepared to offer it."
Bolt's eyes immediately lit up. He knew better than anyone the value of Five Elements Chaos Essence. The boss had Chaos Essence, but that was the attribute-less kind, and he also possessed Primal Yin Essence. As for Five Elements Chaos Essence, this was truly the first time Bolt had ever heard of it. It seemed his earlier mocking of this pretty boy had been somewhat misplaced.
"Deal. Fifty years it is—hand it over," Bolt said without hesitation.
Elijah Wells didn't hesitate at all. He produced five jade bottles and said, "I've sealed the Five Elements Chaos Essence with restrictive spells and placed it in these five jade bottles. You must be careful—if you're not cautious, this stuff will dissipate and attract unwanted attention."
He was reminding Bolt not to carelessly break his spell, and at the same time, hinting that Bolt should inform its master about this matter.
"Don't worry, I'm more careful than anyone," Bolt replied, missing Elijah Wells' underlying message entirely. He snatched up the five jade bottles, itching to open them right away.
Elijah Wells sighed and didn't say anything more. He'd obtained the Five Elements Chaos Essence back on Pentastar. In fact, he'd only gotten it thanks to someone else's help.
Seeing Bolt put away the Five Elements Chaos Essence, Elijah Wells had no choice but to ask, "Boss, where is my sanctuary located?"
Bolt grinned and waved his claw, "Follow me."
Elijah Wells followed Bolt out to the courtyard, still puzzled. Bolt waved again, and a large sanctuary appeared beside the main sanctuary. Bolt pointed to the newly conjured sanctuary and said, "This one's yours. Not bad, right? Most people only get a room in the inn—I'm giving you a whole sanctuary."
Elijah Wells looked at Bolt, speechless. "Boss, I wanted to stay in the inn, inside the Mountainview Tavern—not outside in a separate sanctuary."
Bolt waved dismissively, "I know what you're worried about. Here at Mountainview Tavern, you don't have to worry about a thing. The entire area is covered by my Guardian Array. If anyone dares to cause trouble, Second Lord will strangle them..."
As they spoke, Bolt tossed out several Array Banners, and a massive Guardian Array unfolded, shielding the sanctuary he'd just set up.
"Look at this—who would dare mess with this Guardian Array? Besides, the sanctuary I gave you is a Superior Artifact Sanctuary. How many people can say they have one of those? You should count yourself lucky. Fine, I'll even throw in some Starlight Tea." With that, Bolt handed Elijah Wells a jade box.
Elijah Wells was genuinely delighted—he loved Starlight Tea. In fact, after seeing Bolt activate the Guardian Array, he'd already accepted living in the Superior Artifact Sanctuary. That array was definitely a seventh-rank divine array or higher, and such arrays were not something ordinary cultivators could set up.
If he moved in and someone attacked the Guardian Array, the owner of the tavern would certainly step in.
"Thank you, Boss. By the way, may I ask how I should address you?" Elijah Wells decided not to dwell on the sanctuary issue any further.
"Just call me Second Lord," Bolt said boisterously. "Go heal up—here at Mountainview Tavern, all your problems are solved. We've been open for years, and it's all thanks to our good reputation and great brand."
"Thank you, Boss." Elijah Wells thought sarcastically to himself—good reputation? They didn't even know how the Mountainview Forbidden Zone came to be. What reputation?
Elijah Wells entered his sanctuary to begin his closed-door healing. Bolt couldn't resist taking out the five jade bottles again. He played with them for a long while, itching to open them.
Fortunately, he managed to restrain himself in the end. If he opened the bottles, he didn't have the skill to keep the Five Elements Chaos Essence from leaking out. If that happened and attracted powerful cultivators, things could get ugly.
It wasn't that he was afraid—he just didn't want to disturb Second Lord's closed-door cultivation. If Second Lord's retreat was interrupted, he might really skin Bolt alive.
Elijah Wells' arrival seemed to bring business to the tavern. In just a few days, more guests arrived—a man and a woman, who came not to stay, but just to drink tea.
Following Bolt's request, the pair explained some origins of the Mountainview Forbidden Zone. Bolt, showing off, brought out the Starlight Tea. The moment the tea appeared, the man and woman were stunned. What kind of tea was this—could it really clear the mind? It even seemed to partially remove pill toxins.
Even though the two hadn't planned to stay, the Starlight Tea convinced them to get rooms. But with Joe Di away, Bolt added another requirement: besides paying Divine Crystals each day, guests had to share interesting stories from the starry skies. In short, they had to keep Bolt company with conversation.
Because the man and woman stayed, word of the Starlight Tea quickly spread. More and more cultivators came to Mountainview Tavern.
Within a year, at least twenty starry sky cultivators had moved into Joe Di's Guardian Array, all drawn by the tavern's fame.
Bolt had learned from experience and added a row of Intermediate Artifact Sanctuaries. These couldn't compare to Elijah Wells' sanctuary, and were even outside Joe Di's Guardian Array. As more people arrived, Bolt added another Guardian Array of his own. Joe Di's was an eighth-rank divine array; Bolt's was only first-rank.
Anyone wanting to stay had to explain the origins of the Mountainview Forbidden Zone, recount the causes and outcomes of the Creation War, or talk about Jialiang Mountain.
No matter who came, no matter how many times the stories were told or how many versions there were, Bolt welcomed everyone and listened with great interest.
Everyone knew that Bolt loved hearing these tales. If you told a good story, he'd charge you less Divine Crystals. One old man, who shared secrets about the Mountainview Forbidden Zone that no one else knew, even got his lodging for free.
Every morning, the first thing these guests did was find Bolt for tea—because Mountainview Tavern offered free Starlight Tea.
At first, Bolt brewed a large pot with just one leaf each day, pouring a cup for everyone. But after half a year, he realized this wouldn't work—Joe Di had only given him a few hundred leaves. So Bolt started brewing ten leaves in a huge vat, fermenting it with some Dao Fruit. He stopped giving it away for free and started charging Divine Crystals. Even calling him Second Lord wouldn't get you a free cup.
Even so, more and more cultivators kept coming to Mountainview Tavern.
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)