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Chapter 10: Three Years Reunion
Liang Kingdom had a vast territory, with a total of thirty-two prefectures.
For each prefecture, there were six to eight counties under its jurisdiction, with each county encompassing more than ten districts.
Of course, the above did not include the Immortal Blessed Lands.
The speed of the spirit horses was very fast. In less than a month, the two arrived at Hengshui Prefecture.
Hengshui City was the political centre of the prefecture, surrounded by three rivers and five lakes, with developed water resources. To enter the city, one needed a guide. Li Ergou took out the token from the Young Marquis.
"Brother Lan, Brother Li!" Before long, the Young Marquis Lin Yi took the initiative to welcome them. The three of them rode in a luxurious carriage into Hengshui Prefecture.
"For this appointment, I have reserved the number one private room in the Immortal Gathering Building for two months."
Lin Yi was dressed in splendid attire, with sharp eyebrows and a heroic demeanor, losing some of his sharpness from three years ago but gaining some openness and warmth.
"Brother Lin, we have not arrived late, have we?" Lan Chang'an smiled.
"No! You arrived earlier than I expected. Zhao Siyao said in her letter that she would arrive at Hengshui Prefecture in the next two days."
It was called a three-year appointment, but it had been a while since the three years had passed.
That evening, Lin Yi entertained the two of them in the Marquis' residence.
Two days later. Lin Yi received news that Zhao Siyao had arrived at Hengshui Prefecture.
Finally, the few immortal seedlings that walked out of Hengshui Prefecture reunited at the initial starting point after three long years.
...
Hengshui Prefecture, the Tian Zi private room in the Immortal Gathering Building.
Zhao Siyao, Lin Yi, Lan Chang'an, Li Ergou, and Xia Felen, for the first time, gathered at a table.
Xia Felen was also a young immortal from Hengshui Prefecture. Initially introverted and awkward, he had not integrated into the group of several people.
This person's qualifications were ordinary, barely passing the assessment. After entering the Jin Yun Valley, he was lucky enough to become an alchemist's apprentice.
Originally, Xia Felen was not part of the three-year appointment.
Given his identity as an alchemy apprentice, Lin Yi tentatively invited him, not expecting him to ultimately accept the invitation.
"Miss Zhao, there's no need to decline! In the world of cultivation, strength is respected. You should sit in the main seat."
After some refusal, Zhao Siyao finally sat in the main seat.
Today, three years having passed, Zhao Siyao was eighteen years old, dressed in a goose-yellow dress, graceful and beautiful, with a picturesque appearance.
Between her frowns and smiles, there was a faint air of a peerless beauty.
When they first met, Lin Yi and Li Ergou could not hide their amazement.
When they last met, Zhao Siyao was only fifteen years old, graceful and elegant, still a budding beauty and now she was even more so.
Among the four, Zhao Siyao had changed the most, both in appearance and ability.
Peak of the third layer of Qi-Refining.
Her cultivation at this point was even slightly half a step ahead of Lin Yi.
Although she was only one layer higher than Li Ergou, the difference between them was not just one or two years. Because the third layer was the last stage of the low-stage Qi-Refining and thus the bottleneck at the peak of third layer took a while to grind.
"Although Zhao Siyao's talent is also a medium-grade spiritual root, her spiritual root sensibility is as high as thirty-six, close to a high-grade spiritual root."
Lan Chang'an recalled Zhao Siyao's talent during the Jin Yun Valley sect assessment.
Lan Chang'an's Fire Spirit Root barely exceeded twenty in sensitivity, barely qualifying as a medium-grade spiritual root. He cultivated with a Wood Spirit Root, which had a sensitivity of seventeen.
The difference between the two was like night and day. Moreover, Zhao Siyao became an inner disciple of the Jin Yun Valley, and the gap would only become bigger and bigger in the future.
If Lan Chang'an were just an ordinary cultivator, he might never be able to catch up in his lifetime.
...
Li Ergou's change was second only to Zhao Siyao's.
Upon learning about Li Ergou's treatment in the Mu Family, Zhao Siyao, Lin Yi, and Xia Felen were amazed.
Who would have thought that a peasant boy who had seen neither knowledge nor talent had made a name for himself in the cultivation family in just three years.
Even as a noble son of royal concubine, Lin Yi felt a bit jealous and tasteless.
Three years ago, he was seventeen years old, just entering the peak of the third layer of Qi-Refining, spending a lot of the royal marquis' resources and connections.
Later, he failed in the sect assessment, disappointing his father, Marquis Guang'an. Since then, he lost his support.
In the spiritually poor secular world, Lin Yi's qualifications were ordinary, and his cultivation progress was comparable to that of a snail.
In three years, he had not even reached the peak of the third layer of Qi-Refining and was about to be caught up by Li Ergou.
'However, Lan Chang'an with a medium-grade spiritual root isn't doing too well either.' Looking at Lan Chang'an, Lin Yi felt a bit relieved.
"Brother Lan, your qualifications are far superior to Li Ergou, how did you end up in this situation when you're in the same family?
Xia Felen said with a smile on his face, pretending to be surprised.
At those, Zhao Siyao and Lin Yi frowned slightly.
Xia Felen's tone seemed like friendly banter between friends, but in fact, he wasn't familiar with Lan Chang'an at all and hadn't spoken two words before.
Li Ergou was displeased: "Xia, what do you mean by that? Brother Lan just doesn't want to..."
"Big Brother Lan must have his reasons. No need to say more."
Zhao Siyao's bright eyes fell on Lan Chang'an's face, showing a hint of concern.
In fact, Zhao Siyao and the others could guess the general situation with Lan Chang'an.
"It's a slip of the tongue. Let's drink in place of tea, as a sign of respect."
Xia Felen snorted, afraid of causing Zhao Siyao's displeasure, and said no more.
At this gathering, Xia Felen didn't pay much attention to Lan Chang'an and the other two. He was only polite to Zhao Siyao and offering courtesy from time to time.
"Just because of a 'Big Brother Lan'."
Lan Chang'an was speechless.
He had sensitive senses, and noticed that Xia Felen didn't care much about himself when he first arrived. Only after hearing Zhao Siyao calling him "Big Brother Lan" did he put his eyes on Lan Chang'an. This was human nature.
Three years ago, Zhao Siyao could attract the attention of Young Marquis Lin Yi. Not to mention today's proud daughter of the heavens, the peerless beauty was beyond ordinary.
Lin Yi felt bitter in his heart. Now, he didn't dare to have any expectations for Zhao Siyao.
However, as an alchemy apprentice, Xia Felen had the potential to become an alchemist, and being in the same Jin Yun Valley, there was hope. Alchemy, among the hundred crafts of immortals, were second to none.
...
Next, Xia Felen rarely spoke, and the atmosphere gradually became harmonious during this three-year reunion.
They exchanged cultivation experiences, discussed the wonders of the sects and the cultivation world...
When evening fell, the banquet entered its finale.
"Miss Zhao, now that you and I are both cultivators, there's no need to maintain secular titles. In the future, why don't we address each other as fellow cultivators?" Lan Chang'an took the initiative to propose. This suggestion was in line with the customs of the cultivation world.
Regardless of her cultivation level or status, Zhao Siyao far surpassed him. Without any blood ties, addressing him as "Big Brother Lan" again would be inappropriate.
With Zhao Siyao becoming increasingly outstanding, those words "Big Brother Lan" might attract hatred. A careless word could invite disaster.
'I have plenty of life span in this life, and it's right to run a steady business and make connections, but don't let this little ninny's appellation create trouble for you.' It wasn't that Lan Chang'an was afraid of Xia Felen, but this matter made him vigilant.
"Alright, fellow daoist Lan." Zhao Siyao was silent for a moment, understanding Lan Chang'an's thoughts, and looked at him deeply.
This "fellow daoist Lan" When it fell into Lan Chang'an's ears, it felt a little less intimate than before.
Seeing this, Xia Felen showed a reserved smile, satisfied with Lan Chang'an's "enlightenment."
"Brother Lan, if you need cheap pills in the future, you can come to me. I'll give you a ten percent discount!" Xia Felen offered goodwill proactively.
Zhao Siyao hesitated but didn't stop him.
Cheap elixirs? Lan Chang'an laughed coldly in his heart, guessing the other party's intention.
As an alchemy apprentice, Xia Ferren would get some substandard and poor quality pills or even waste pills from time to time.
It could be a reward that the dan master didn't want, or it could be a failed product from his own practice
In addition to the poor potency of this kind of pills, they contained high levels of poison, and the sect cultivators usually didn't look at them.
However, these cheap pills had a market among the wandering cultivators outside the sect or the financially weak families.
"Thank you for your kindness, Brother Xia, but I'm short of spiritual stones and can't afford elixirs."
Lan Chang'an smiled bitterly. 𝘧𝓻ℯ𝑒𝑤𝓮𝒷𝓷𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝓬𝓸𝓂
He spoke the truth; he didn't even have a single spiritual stone.
"If you don't have any spirit stones, you can borrow them from Li Ergou! You guys have such an iron...relationship," Xia Felen laughed, unimpressed.
He had a batch of poor pills in his hand, and he was just missing someone to take them off his hands. If sold in bulk, the profits would be lower when facing knowledgeable immortal shops. Selling directly to cultivators could earn a bit more. If he tricked some rich fools, it would be a huge profit.
"I don't know what the quality of the pills Brother Xia is selling is, and whether they can be traded with worldly goods such as gold and silver." Xia Felen glanced at Lin Yi, his tone somewhat disdainful.
Lin Yi was heartened to learn that there were cheap pills.
The wind and water rotated, years ago, on the way to the assessment, Lin Yi had treated him with contempt based on his background and cultivation level.
Now, three years later, Lin Yi was no longer in his sight.
Lin Yi smiled awkwardly, not daring to offend an alchemy apprentice of the sect. Xia Felen would become an alchemist in the future, a big shot that they needed to look up to.
Fortunately, Lan Chang'an spoke up at the right time, relieving Lin Yi:
"By the way, Brother Lin, you're considered a local snake in Hengshui Prefecture. Is it possilbe to know where there are places for cultivators to trade?"
Lan Chang'an had some talismans to sell on hand and was ready to find a place to make a small fortune in spirit stones.
He could also trade in the Mu Family, but he couldn't reveal his identity as a talisman maker too quickly. A year ago, he bought talisman materials from Mu Xiuyun's hands. From a newcomer in the talisman path to a formal talisman master, it had to be a gradual process.
"There's a trade fair organised by wandering cultivators in this area of Hengshui Prefecture, and it just so happens that there's one this month. If Brother Lan needs it, I can help introduce him."
Lin Yi warmly responded, casting grateful glances at Lan Chang'an.
"Then I'll trouble Brother Lin."
Lan Chang'an nodded, appreciative.