Wait a minute, where is my master?

In the reception room,

the young Taoist furrowed his brow, somewhat caught between laughter and tears as he watched Zhao Dabao meditating with his eyes closed in front of him.

He had never imagined that a single sentence from him could wield such great power.

Indeed, Fatty Zhao, whose heart realm had improved,

had made a breakthrough!

Moreover, he had continuously broken through three minor realms.

Moving step by step towards an explosive demise,

he was unstoppable.

"Hiss, if Senior Chi from the Kunlun Immortal Palace doesn't have a good solution for the Ice and Fire Spirit Roots, my sin will be enormous."

The young Taoist said helplessly to himself.

He then sent a message to the two female Taoists still dining in the dining hall.

"After you finish the dumplings, come directly to the reception room to find me.

"By the way, before the two of you come back, remember to stroll around the rockery behind the dining hall and pretend to casually mention my situation in the reception room over there."

Considering Jin Xu didn't want to disturb Senior Chi—after all, the ancestor of the Kunlun Immortal Palace was secretly keeping watch over him from within a temporarily hidden formation—he chose not to directly send a message exposing this fact.

Instead, he opted for a relatively tactful approach.

After all, he would need to ask for a favor soon, right?

And considering Zhao Dabao was still in meditation, by the time the two women finished eating, his session would likely be complete as well.

After sending the message, Jin Xu returned to his seat and quietly began to wait.

In the middle of this, Manager Zhang came over with some pastries and tea.

...

Half the time it takes for a tea cup to be drunk had passed.

Jin Xu noted the slight quiver of flesh on the face of Fatty Zhao on the ground and thought to himself,

"He's woken up quicker than I expected."

Sure enough, just as this thought crossed his mind,

Zhao Dabao, who had been seated cross-legged, opened his eyes and sprang up from the ground with agility.

"Taoist priest, I've made a breakthrough," he said.

His face was now free from the usual smiling expression, and his features were knotted in distress as he spoke to Jin Xu.

"Mmm... I can see that,"

the young Taoist replied, his brain whirring as he considered how to comfort the other.

But it seemed that due to the breakthrough in his heart realm, Fatty Zhao suddenly appeared much more magnanimous.

"Forget it. I, Elder Zhao, was someone without a Spirit Root to begin with. Encountering a junior priest like you and receiving the Enlightenment Pill, a rare treasure of this world, was already the fortune of a lifetime.

"Moreover, the Taiyin Essence that the master brought back to the sect is enough for me to cultivate up to the Nascent Soul Realm. Maybe, as the Junior Master said, I should really be content."

He then walked over to his seat and plumped down, his features relaxing.

Upon hearing this, Jin Xu seated in the main chair thought to himself how quickly things had changed.

It felt like just a moment ago the man was overflowing with the will to live, and now he was almost too content, bordering on giving up.

Therefore, he quickly spoke up,

"Brother Zhao, Senior Chi from the Kunlun Immortal Palace will be here soon, and there might still be a chance for you; it's not too late to be content later."

Fatty Zhao laughed heartily upon hearing this.

"Junior priest, you still love to joke. Whether I live or die, having made a friend like you in this life means everything is worth it.

"Let's not talk about that for now.

"On my way here from Qing State, I heard that Qingmu City has produced a delicacy that's highly sought after. Knowing that you and Little White often have a discerning palate, I specifically detoured through a Transmission Array and brought three of these treats, so you all could have a taste," he said.

Zhao Dabao said this, pulling out three tightly wrapped oilpaper packages from his storage ring and placing them on a small table beside Jin Xu.

The little Taoist, hearing the other's sincere words and decidedly magnanimous tone, also temporarily stopped fussing over the Ice and Fire Spirit Roots.

Instead, he turned his attention to the oilpaper package.

"Could it be that Brother Jiang, cough, that is, Nine Provinces' foremost culinary genius, Jiang Xiulan, has created some new delicacy in Qingmu City?"

The keywords Qingmu City and delicacy instantly made Jin Xu think of the other person.

Fatty Zhao, however, waved his hand and said,

"For some reason, Chef Jiang has announced that he won't prepare any meat dishes for the next twenty years. What's in this oilpaper package is indeed a meat dish."

As he spoke, he picked up an oilpaper package and handed it to the little Taoist, signaling for him to have a taste.

Jin Xu received this mysterious delicacy, but his mind wandered to Chef Jiang's daughter, who had exchanged the Seven-orifice Exquisite Heart Fruit.

He couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head as he opened the oilpaper package and asked,

"Who then crafted this delectable dish? Could it be that Qingmu City has produced another culinary master?"

Having said that, he looked at the half-unwrapped oilpaper package in his hands with some puzzlement, feeling the aroma within was strangely familiar.

"Hahaha, little Taoist, you'll never guess - this fine food actually comes from Qingmu Academy,"

Zhao Dabao laughed before continuing with interest.

"Not only is it tasty, but according to the seller at Qingmu Academy, there's a story behind it.

"It is said that, some time ago, two ancestors from Qingmu Academy and Pan Shi Valley, along with several top cultivators from the Nine Provinces Realm, entered a small world.

"The group found themselves trapped within a powerful formation, and within the formation, there just happened to be this piece of meat."

"Consequently, one of their companions, God knows why they thought it, considered this item as the key to breaking the formation. They treasured it so much they even studied it for a long time.

"Resultantly, hahahahahaha, it was only after the person had exited the formation that they discovered the item was merely a delicious but ordinary piece of meat."

Fatty Zhao finished speaking and snickered softly.

Then, with a gossipy and regretful expression, he added,

"Too bad, both sects have declared they'll only announce through Tingfeng Building, to the Nine Provinces Immortal World, who the great figure behind this folly is, after they've sold all of the crispy pork belly.

"And they have set a daily limit on sales, seemingly intent on spreading this story.

"I reckon that to find out who this important person that did such a foolish thing is, it'll take at least ten days to half a month."

On hearing this, Jin Xu looked at the large strip of crispy pork belly inside the oilpaper package with wide eyes.

He briefly reminisced about the loud noise he had heard on Sae Island a few days ago, as well as the scolding voices when the Old Dean and himself got beaten.

He thought to himself,

"You two really didn't get beaten unjustly!"

"No wonder I saw a big 'Embarrassed' character on Senior Chi's head at the time!"

As the little Taoist pondered,

At the entrance to the reception hall,

Senior Chi, having heard of Jin Xu's presence here, entered with a light and breezy step.

"Little Taoist, what a coincidence you're in the reception hall too.

"Old man... Jin Xu, where did you get that crispy pork belly in your hands!?"

Upon seeing the item, the Elder of the Kunlun Immortal Palace's demeanor changed instantly.

However, Jin Xu did not immediately respond,

But rather touched his Spiritual Eyes, activated his fortune-telling method, and glanced upwards at his head.

Hmm, that scorched 'Embarrassed' character was still there.

And it was even starting to turn a bit black from the charring.