131: Chapter 131 An Interlude on the Road

Night gradually deepened, and the candle flames in the post station flickered out one by one, leaving only the bright, lonely moon casting its glow.

Just then, the door to the shared dormitory was pushed open softly. Three dark shadows crept in, hunched low, their footsteps incredibly light, clutching rusty wood-chopping knives in their hands.

Leading them was the Post-station attendant attendant. With a smirk on his face, he opened the door, preparing to lead the two behind him inside.

But before they could even step through the doorway, the two behind the attendant suddenly felt a chill on their necks. In an instant, their heads fell to the floor, and blood sprayed out.

It all happened too fast. Before the attendant could react, he felt warm blood splash onto his face. A foul, metallic stench hit his nose as he watched in utter horror while the two men he had brought with him were decapitated.

Inside the room, the young man was holding a blade that shimmered with faint white light.

At this moment, the attendant was immediately scared to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering; he immediately fell to his knees and cried out hoarsely, "I... Immortal!"

The black blade in the youth's hand trembled slightly, its white light receding a little. The cold edge reflected the attendant's deathly pale face.

The attendant trembled violently, kowtowing repeatedly. His forehead struck the bluestone floor with a series of thuds, and before long, blood began to seep out, mixing with the filth on his face in a pathetic display.

"Immortal, spare my life! Immortal, spare my life!"

The attendant begged for mercy incoherently. Having been at this post station for many years, he had always believed his judgment to be excellent. Usually, Immortals wore extravagant robes, or at the very least, fine silk, and possessed spiritual power—those were the ones most to be avoided.

But these two were dressed in coarse clothes, were quite young, and carried no weapons on them, leading the attendant to believe they were refugees.

He only killed coarse-clothed refugees to scavenge for valuables, never expecting to run into an Immortal.

By now, the attendant had bashed his head open, yet he continued to beg for mercy, his entire body shivering with terror.

Ye Tianhao gave a cold laugh, then turned and asked, "Tianyao, how do you plan to handle this?"

From the shadows, Ye Tianyao slowly appeared. Her beautiful little face was filled with disgust as she said, "Brother! I want to kill him!"

The girl’s crisp voice rang out, sounding like a demon's.

The attendant shook all over, having already wet himself. He hurriedly begged, "Exalted Immortal, spare my life! Exalted Immortal, spare my life! I... I was forced into this. I did it to support my child and mother! You can't kill me! You can't!"

"Chirp, chirp..."

Chirping sounds echoed as several Spirit Sparrows flew out from Ye Tianyao’s Storage Pouch, scrambling to peck at the attendant’s body.

They tore at his flesh and skin. His screams were so horrific that none of the other travelers staying at the post station dared to come out.

Downstairs, an eight-year-old boy, his eyes bloodshot, covered his mouth and stumbled back toward his home.

The attendant upstairs was his father. Those two terrifying Immortals had killed his father just like that, leaving not even a whole corpse!

He had to find his grandmother!

He had etched their appearances firmly into his heart; he wouldn't forget them even if he died.

Just as he was about to run into the house, a figure suddenly blocked his path.

The boy looked up and saw it was the male Cultivator who had killed his father. He immediately began to tremble violently, trying to pretend he hadn't seen anything, and forced a smile. "I... Ah!"

Before he could speak, a sword pierced through his chest, and he fell to the ground like a tattered rag, twitching.

The boy tried to say something, but the Immortal stepped forward and slit his throat with another strike, leaving only eyes filled with resentment staring fixedly at the Immortal who had killed him.

Ye Tianhao wiped the blood from his face and saw Ye Tianyao running over. He simply asked, "Is everyone dealt with?"

Ye Tianyao nodded. "All dealt with! Except for the guests staying at the inn, not a single one left alive!"

"Let's go," Ye Tianhao said calmly.

The two quickly boarded their carriage and sped away. Since this was a remote and desolate part of the Yan State, it was a dangerous, lawless land, and many refugees were currently gathered there.

Consequently, Ye Tianhao and Ye Tianyao’s journey to the Tiangong Market was not very smooth. Along the way, they had to deal with several waves of bandits and vagrants who tried to rob them.

This left both Ye Tianyao and Ye Tianhao feeling quite frustrated. It seemed they would have to acquire some Flying Magical Artifacts; otherwise, traveling like this was a waste of time.

After over ten days of travel, they finally arrived at the Tiangong Market.

Seeing Cultivators flying on swords along the way, Ye Tianyao was incredibly envious. She clung to the carriage window, her gaze fixed on those Cultivators gliding through the air on their swords, her fingertips unconsciously scratching the edge of the window as her envy almost overflowed from her eyes.

Although they also had spiritual swords, they didn't know how to fly on them. Seeing this, Ye Tianhao smiled and said, "Tianyao, I heard Grandpa say that the market sells Cultivation Techniques. There should be simple techniques that teach Sword-kinesis flight. We'll buy one to practice later; there's no need to envy them!"

Ye Tianyao scratched her head sheepishly and then followed Ye Tianhao into the market.

This Tiangong Market was different from the markets of the Mortal world. The streets were several dozen feet wider than those in the capital of the Yan State, and the shops on both sides were lined up in neat rows, with banners fluttering.

Most of them were shops for Artifact Refining, selling medicine, or collecting spiritual materials.

In front of the doors, cold, gleaming weapons were displayed, or piles of colorful spiritual Ores were stacked. Some Cultivators were even demonstrating Magical Artifacts in the street—a small flying dagger spun and danced in a palm, drawing cheers from onlookers.

The people on the road were all Cultivators, either carrying sword cases or baskets of spiritual materials. Occasionally, a Mortal would be among them, but they were all extremely cautious, not daring to bump into anyone.

Ye Tianyao was dazzled by the sight and couldn't help but sigh, "Grandpa is truly amazing. I'd be afraid of getting lost coming here alone!"

Ye Tianhao said helplessly, "Tianyao, you underestimate Grandpa too much. If it weren't for him, how could our family be where we are today? We probably wouldn't have even heard of this Tiangong Market!"

At those words, Ye Tianyao stuck out her tongue. "That's true, Grandpa is the best! It would have been even better if he'd remembered to get us some Sword-kinesis methods!"

"You little brat! Watch out, or Grandpa will give you a thrashing!" Ye Tianhao said, helplessly tapping Ye Tianyao on the head.

Since they had just arrived at the Tiangong Market and weren't familiar with the situation yet, Ye Tianhao first went to stay at an inn called the Spirit Inn, located at the junction of the marketplace.

Opposite this inn was the Artifact Refining Pavilion, making it convenient for their future activities.

This Cultivator's inn was also extraordinary. As soon as they stepped through the door, a faint, crisp wave of Spiritual Qi washed over them, dispelling the exhaustion from their ten days of travel.

Unlike the mundane atmosphere of a Mortal inn, there was no smell of firewood or cooking oil here. Instead, four half-man-high Green Jade Stone Furnaces stood in the four corners of the lobby.

Unknown Spiritual Plants burned within the furnaces, their smoke rising in curls that didn't disperse but instead lingered beneath the ceiling in faint cloud patterns. The scent was refreshing, making even the weak spiritual power in their Dantians stir slightly.

The lobby of the inn was spacious and bright, with the floor covered in solid white jade tiles that were polished to a mirror-like shine.

Diners in the hall sat in small groups, most of them talking in low voices, their conversation peppered with terms like "Artifact Core," "Spiritual Rune," and "Pill Formula."

No one shouted or made a scene, making it much more refined than a Mortal inn, yet it also held a sense of hidden undercurrents.

"Honored guests, are you here for a meal or a room?"

A Waiter hurried over to greet them. Although he was a Mortal, he was neatly dressed and had a steady demeanor.

Seeing that the siblings Ye Tianhao and Ye Tianyao were simply dressed but had clear, bright eyes, he showed neither flattery nor disdain.

In this Tiangong Market, all sorts of Cultivators came and went, so the Mortals had long since become accustomed to it and simply focused on their duties.

Ye Tianhao nodded and said, "Two superior rooms. We're staying."

The Waiter replied, "Right away!"

He then led the two of them upstairs.

During this time, Ye Tianhao ordered some Spiritual Food, and this single meal cost ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

When they left home, Ye Jing had only given them fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones each. After buying a Sword-kinesis method, they had spent twenty Spirit Stones.

With this, they were now quite poor.

Ye Tianhao thought to himself that he had to find a way to earn more Spirit Stones to last until the day the Qingyun Sect began its disciple recruitment.