Only after pleading every argument he could muster—insisting that mortals were unworthy of partaking in an immortal's culinary arts—did Lu Yang finally dissuade the Immortal Fairy from showing off her cooking.
"Lu Yang, that sort of thinking is flawed. All are equal before fine food. But I'll let it slide this time."
"You are truly magnanimous and wise, Fairy," Lu Yang praised without holding back.
He felt he had performed a deed of boundless merit, saving countless human lives. Were it not for the fact that the cultivation world had no doctrine of attaining immortality through accumulated merit, he was certain he could have ascended to immortalhood on this feat alone.
The seven of them arrived at the Falling Coin Chamber of Commerce. When they retrieved various demon beast corpses from their identity jade pendants as spoils of war, waves of gasps rippled through the hall.
"Th-these are all Golden Core stage demon beasts?!" It was the same attendant who had assisted Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou before. At a glance, he recognized that every beast was at the Golden Core stage, and their corpses were remarkably intact, virtually undamaged.
This was largely because Lu Yang fought with a sword, prioritizing instant kills with a single strike, while Meng Jingzhou relied on his fists, shattering the beasts' brains with concealed force.
Recalling Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou's identities, the attendant immediately understood.
One was a disciple of the Dao Seeking Sect—needless to say, blessed with peerless combat prowess, practically synonymous with being invincible within his tier.
In fact, disciples of the Five Great Immortal Sects were all synonymous with being invincible within their tier; if one couldn't fight above their realm, they would be too ashamed to even mention belonging to the Five Great Immortal Sects.
What the attendant didn't know was that Lu Yang was an exceptionally fierce fighter even among the Five Great Immortal Sects, having defeated the strongest Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Five Elements Sect in battle.
The other was a direct descendant of the Meng Family. In the Imperial Capital, the Meng Family was infamous for stirring up trouble; those seeking vengeance against them could queue all the way to the Imperial Palace. If a direct descendant of the Meng Family lacked real skill, they would have been beaten to death long ago.
The attendant had even heard that headquarters was considering establishing a "Meng Family Personal Accident Insurance" policy.
"Gentlemen, do you not want the inner cores either?" The attendant singled out the inner cores. These were the most valuable parts of Golden Core demon beasts, capable of refining pills that increased the success rate of Core Formation, making them extraordinarily popular among late Foundation Establishment cultivators.
For some half-step Golden Core cultivators, the only thing keeping them from the true Golden Core stage was a single pill concocted from such a core.
"They're of no use to us. Sell them all together," Meng Jingzhou said, waving a hand dismissively.
The attendant quickly appraised the corpses. Roughly three intact mid Golden Core demon beast corpses could buy one Directional Teleportation Talisman, and that was factoring in the Meng Family discount.
"Give me five more Directional Teleportation Talismans." Having tasted the benefits, Meng Jingzhou bought five more.
He now had nine Directional Teleportation Talismans in hand, enough to deal with nine Nascent Soul demon beasts—more than enough firepower to walk sideways through the dense forest without fear.
"Here, take four," Meng Jingzhou said, handing four to Lu Yang.
"Do you have higher-grade teleportation talismans?" Meng Jingzhou asked.
"Higher-grade?"
"Meaning ones where the teleportation won't be disrupted even under an attack from a Soul Formation demon beast."
"One moment, let me check." Because Directional Teleportation Talismans were so expensive that few ever bought them, the attendant knew relatively little about them.
"My apologies. We only keep Nascent Soul-grade Directional Teleportation Talismans in stock here. Soul Formation-grade talismans are only kept at headquarters. Would you like us to transfer some over?"
"Have your headquarters send three over," Meng Jingzhou said, always prioritizing safety.
"Understood."
"Has there been any news of natural treasures appearing in the dense forest recently?" Lu Yang inquired. The chamber of commerce offered this service, boasting that as long as one paid enough spirit stones, they could dig up any piece of intelligence.
That was false advertising, of course—at the very least, the chamber had no idea how old Eldest Senior Sister was.
The attendant gestured politely, leading the two into a soundproof chamber and activating the warding formation to prevent outside eavesdropping.
When it came to vital intelligence, it could not be discussed in public.
"Someone has discovered a Twin Conjoined Lotus," the attendant stated bluntly.
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou both froze. They had only mentioned this natural treasure last night, and already a trace of it had surfaced?
"Where?"
The attendant unrolled a map and pointed to a lake. "It was discovered in a lake one hundred and ten li south of Demon Quelling Pass. Originally, that lake was ruled by a late Golden Core Fish King, a pufferfish spirit containing potent venom that few at the same level could withstand. It was an undisputed tyrant in the area.
"Rumor has it that it was on good terms with four other Golden Core demon beasts and formed an alliance with them, harming countless lives.
"Just three days ago, someone strayed into the Fish King's territory, thinking they were certainly dead. Unexpectedly, they were not attacked. By the lakeshore lay the corpses of the four Golden Core demon beasts, all dead from poison, as confirmed by a subsequent examination of the bodies.
"At the same time, that person also found the Fish King's corpse in the lake, torn into pieces.
"We suspect that a dispute arose between the Fish King and the four beasts over an unequal division of spoils, leading to internal strife. The four beasts were poisoned to death by the Fish King, while the Fish King was beaten to pieces and perished as well.
"Afterward, people discovered the Twin Conjoined Lotus in that lake. It had previously been guarded by the Fish King and hidden very well.
"That Twin Conjoined Lotus will bloom in five days. Many have already caught wind of the news and are preparing to fight for it."
"The Twin Conjoined Lotus, huh..." Both Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou wore intrigued smiles.
Neither had decided what kind of Golden Core to form. Lu Yang had no desire to form a Sword Core, and Meng Jingzhou didn't want a Bachelor Golden Core; both needed external stimuli to find inspiration.
Observing a Twin Conjoined Lotus could potentially yield insights into Core Formation, a precedent that existed even within the Dao Seeking Sect.
When one senior brother was forming his core, a Twin Conjoined Lotus in his room happened to blossom. Observing the lotus under the night glow, inspiration struck, and he formed an exceptionally aggressive Yin-Yang Golden Core.
When channeling the Yin-Yang Golden Core, cutting, passive-aggressive remarks would slip effortlessly from his tongue, drawing aggro with unparalleled effectiveness.
Lu Yang was familiar with that man—it was none other than Second Senior Brother, who was currently out training in the Golden Buddhist Kingdom.
Then there was the abbot of the Hanging Temple, the sole Tribulation Transcendence cultivator among the leaders of the Five Great Immortal Sects. Back in his Golden Core stage, he too had drawn inspiration from a Twin Conjoined Lotus.
The abbot had etched a lotus pattern onto his Golden Core. As a result, whenever he debated scriptures or expounded the Dharma later in life, special effects would naturally manifest—words spitting lotuses, every step birthing a lotus—terribly convincing and imposing.
This was different from an ordinary spell. Spells, after all, relied on external effort, whereas his was an automatic, purely natural effect.
It was lauded by countless mighty figures, which went to show just how potent the effects of the Twin Conjoined Lotus were.
"The lotus seeds are delicious too," the Immortal Fairy reminded Lu Yang, highlighting another facet of the Twin Conjoined Lotus.
She had noticed the lotus's presence when she killed the Fish King, but it hadn't blossomed yet, and picking it prematurely would cause the flower to lose its spiritual essence.
As an immortal chef—or rather, the sole immortal chef in the world—she naturally couldn't let such a natural treasure go to waste.
"The seeds can be made into lotus seed soup, symbolizing abundant offspring and prosperity. When you want children in the future, you can cook it for your wife."
"...Fairy, you're thinking way too far ahead. I don't even have a fiancée."
"You'll have one sooner or later. This is an immortal's blessing!"
The Immortal Fairy was brimming with confidence; her blessings had never failed.
Lu Yang felt that his future was fraught with misfortune.
Chapter 249