The waiter grinned. "Sir, I'm not joking—just tell me what you want. As long as you can pay, we can make it happen."
"Oh? That confident? All right, then—bring me a phoenix egg." Evan Yang replied casually, naming something impossible to get. After all, phoenixes and similar divine beasts only existed in old legends.
The waiter didn't seem fazed by this, just smiled and said, "Sir, do you really have that much money?"
"How much?" Evan Yang asked with a smile.
"An astronomical sum—not something you could afford. So I suggest you pick something else. But if you really can pay, we'll make it happen." The waiter smiled.
Evan Yang couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. This place was pretty amusing—they just used the price as an excuse to dodge anything too rare.
"All right, you win. Just bring me a few of your signature dishes, then." Evan Yang said, smiling.
"No problem." The waiter grinned.
Mason Liu sneered from the side. "Phoenix egg? More like a chicken egg."
Evan Yang wasn’t deaf, and he knew these two—though they pretended not to recognize him. Evan turned and smiled. "Brother, that’s not quite right. Phoenix eggs really do exist in this world—it’s just that you haven’t found one yet."
Mason Lewis was about to retort, but Elder Lewis cut him off. "Little Seven, focus on your meal. We still need to get moving soon."
"Oh, is that so? Then let me debate you on it!" Evan Yang replied, grinning.
Mason Lewis was just about to speak when Elder Lewis interjected, "Little Seven, eat your food. We'll be on the road soon."
Elder Lewis had no interest in talking to someone as shameless as Evan Yang, so he spoke directly to Mason Lewis. Mason Lewis held back and focused on his meal.
With the two of them quiet, Evan Yang took his seat and waited for his food to be served.
Suddenly, sounds of fighting erupted upstairs—loud crashes and chaos.
Everyone watched as a man was beaten down from the second floor, surrounded and attacked by three cultivators.
One of the three shouted, "Sevenmile Peak is handling official business—everyone clear out!"
Elder Lewis muttered to himself, "Sevenmile Peak?"
Evan Yang watched them curiously, wondering what was going on.
"You people from Sevenmile Peak are nothing but thieves, stealing our treasure!" the injured man protested, refusing to back down.
The Sevenmile Peak cultivators looked fierce, determined to silence him and keep attacking.
"Hmph, twisting the truth!" one of them shouted.
They launched another attack, but the man fought back with a burst of strength, forcing the three to retreat step by step.
Just then, Elder Lewis made his move. "Who dares cause trouble on Sevenmile Star!" he shouted, striking the man from behind.
His strike immediately relieved the pressure on the three, who now looked at Elder Lewis with gratitude.
The man hit by Elder Lewis spat blood and glared at him. "You’re all colluding together!"
"Don’t you dare insult Sevenmile Peak," Elder Lewis snorted, making the three even more appreciative of him.
"Bah! Just wait—I’ll make Sevenmile Peak return what’s ours!" the man shouted angrily, then vanished in a flash, moving at incredible speed.
Elder Lewis was startled, trying to intercept him but failing to keep up. He could only snort, "Damn it, he escaped!"
"No worries, leave this to Sevenmile Peak. Thanks for your help, senior," one of the Sevenmile Peak men said.
"People like that deserve a lesson," Elder Lewis replied.
While they were talking, Evan Yang had already slipped away. He knew exactly where the fugitive had gone—and he was still passed out.
Evan Yang reached a pond outside the city, dove in, and when he resurfaced, he was carrying the unconscious, bloodied man on his shoulder.
If he stayed in the water, he would surely die. For some reason, Evan Yang felt compelled to help, so he carried him to a deserted spot and started treating his wounds.
When the man finally woke up, he saw Evan Yang tending to his wounds and gasped, "Thank you."
"Don't talk yet—let me finish treating you," Evan Yang said, working until the man was fully awake and breathing easily. Only then did Evan Yang stop.
The man managed to sit up, checked himself over, and thanked Evan Yang again. "Thank you."
"How did you end up crossing Sevenmile Peak all alone?" Evan Yang asked, genuinely curious.
"Sigh, my younger brother and I got our hands on a map. We wanted to sell it for a high price to Sevenmile Peak—they’re the pros when it comes to buying rare stuff," the man sighed.
"What kind of map?" Evan Yang was intrigued—a reputable buyer risking their name over a map seemed odd.
"An Immortal Gate Map Fragment," the man replied.
"What?" Evan Yang exclaimed, shocked.
"You probably think I'm lying, but the map really shows the entrance to the Immortal Realm. I only had one piece, so it wasn't much use to us brothers—we didn't have the strength. We decided to sell it, but Sevenmile Peak's people killed my brother and stole the fragment," the man sighed.
Evan Yang realized this man was already at late Shadow-God Realm. Elder Lewis's earlier strike had been brutal—if he hadn't used that strange escape technique, he'd have died at Sevenmile Peak's hands.
That convinced Evan Yang the man was telling the truth. Otherwise, Sevenmile Peak wouldn't have sent three experts of equal strength to kill him.
"Immortal Realm entrance?" Evan Yang couldn't get the idea out of his head—it felt like he had to get that map, no matter what.
"Can you copy it?" Evan Yang asked.
"It's strange—can't be copied, and I couldn't even make a backup," the man shook his head.
"So who has the map now?" Evan Yang asked, curiosity burning in his eyes.
"The Third Peak Lord of Sevenmile Peak has it, and those three guys from before are his subordinates," the man replied.
"I see. So, what are you going to do now?" Evan Yang asked.
"Sevenmile Peak wants me dead. If I go, it's suicide. Looks like I'll never avenge my brother or get the map back," the man sighed.
"Normally, Sevenmile Peak would just buy your map. Why did they have to kill you guys?" Evan Yang wondered aloud. A map to the Immortal Realm entrance should just be traded—no need to kill over the price.
The man gave a bitter smile. "The map is priceless. Sevenmile Peak was afraid my brother and I would spread the news, so they wanted to silence us for good."
"I see. They're really ruthless," Evan Yang sighed.
"I never realized they were like that until the moment my brother died. Sevenmile Peak acts righteous, but they've got plenty of dirty tricks," the man said with a sigh.
"Don't go to Sevenmile Peak anymore. Just tell me what the map looks like—if I ever go there, I'll try to get it back for you," Evan Yang said.
"You? No way, it's too dangerous." The man didn't want Evan Yang, a total stranger, to get dragged into trouble.
Evan Yang had two goals at Sevenmile Peak: first, to find a way to deal with Elder Lewis and Mason Lewis; second, to see what the map actually looked like.
"I have business there anyway, so don't worry," Evan Yang said.
Hearing this, the man described the map to Evan Yang and said, "I don't care about the map—I just wish my brother were still alive. Too bad."
After all, his original plan was just to sell the map—not chase after treasure. Now that his brother was gone, the map meant nothing to him.
Evan Yang thought for a moment. "How much were you planning to sell the map to Sevenmile Peak for?"
"Ten million top-grade Spirit Crystal Ore," the man replied, not sure why Evan Yang was asking.
Evan Yang took out a pouch filled with Spirit Crystal Ore. "Here’s ten million top-grade Spirit Crystal Ore. Consider it bought in advance. If your brother’s corpse is still around, I’ll bring it back for you. If not, there’s nothing I can do."
The man looked at the Spirit Crystal Ore and gave a bitter smile. "If only I'd met you sooner. Sigh."
"Take it. Consider the map sold. And leave me your contact info—what's your name?" Evan Yang asked.
The man gave Evan Yang his contact info and name: David Li. His brother was Eric Li, now dead.
After sending David Li off, Evan Yang set out for Sevenmile Peak’s Third Mountain.
"Immortal Gate Map?" Evan Yang hadn't heard anything about it in the city. The news was tightly kept, but Evan Yang memorized it—no matter what, he had to get that map.
Meanwhile, Elder Lewis and Mason Lewis were chatting happily with three people. Elder Lewis explained he was a wandering cultivator with nowhere to go, taking his grandson around to train and hoping to settle down someday.
The three realized Elder Lewis was no ordinary man, so they invited him and Mason Lewis to the Third Mountain.
So the two followed the three to the Third Mountain. Evan Yang needed a way in, so he decided to use his best skill.
Brewing spirit wine was Evan Yang’s specialty. At the foot of the Third Mountain, he opened a small tavern for travelers to enjoy wine and tea.
The Third Mountain was lively—people often went to the city for fun. Today, seeing a tavern here, they saved time and curiously went in.
After tasting the tavern’s fine spirit wine, word spread. From a handful of customers on day one, it soon became packed, and Evan Yang often had to serve wine outside the door.
"Works every time," Evan Yang thought, grinning to himself.
One day, Mason Lewis arrived with some Third Peak disciples. But Evan Yang had changed his appearance—Mason Lewis saw him as a stranger.
"Already blended in?" Seeing Mason Lewis so familiar with the Third Mountain crowd, Evan Yang muttered to himself.
Evan Yang thought the high-level Third Peak leaders would come down to talk after a few days, but none showed up—only the low-level disciples came for wine.
This puzzled Evan Yang—maybe the leaders just didn’t like drinking.
His original plan was broken. One night, Evan Yang sighed, "Looks like I'll have to find another way."
Just as he was closing up, a scruffy man rushed in from the rain outside. Judging by his appearance, he wasn’t from the Third Mountain—why would he come here in the middle of the night?