326: Commercial Street

"My goodness, it hasn't been that long since we last met, yet the changes are so immense."

Bai Ling looked at the Qingxu Grotto-Heaven, which was already vastly different from his last visit, and couldn't help but feel a bit curious.

One had to know that Sects like theirs generally rarely saw significant changes, especially so many within a single year; something must have happened.

Now, not only was there a Gourmet Street before his eyes, but there were also screens nearby playing some entertainment videos.

Looking at the clothing styles, some even came from the Eastern Region.

"Fellow Daoist Bai, I've finally found you."

A hand suddenly rested on Bai Ling's shoulder, giving him a start.

Although he hadn't fully deployed his Divine Sense in the territory of a friendly Sect, he was still a Late Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator; it wasn't that easy to approach him silently while his guard was down.

When he turned his head, he suddenly understood.

"So it's Brother Zhou."

"It's only been a year, and I didn't expect your cultivation to have progressed again; you've actually reached the Middle Nascent Soul Stage. Such Aptitude is truly enviable."

Seeing that the newcomer was Zhou Yan, Bai Ling no longer found it strange. Most prodigies at their level were extraordinary.

He could feel that the other party's Divine Sense strength was close to the Late Nascent Soul Stage level. While not outstanding among those in the Late Nascent Soul Stage, it was still possible to briefly hide and deceive him like just now.

Zhou Yan, however, did not seem particularly happy because of Bai Ling's praise.

"Sigh, Fellow Daoist Bai."

"If you wanted to come out and look around, I could have taken you for a tour after I received you. Why did you have to leave the Butian Pavilion's team midway and run out alone?"

"Fortunately, your behavior was conspicuous, and a Disciple saw you and informed me; otherwise, it would have been quite hard to find you."

"I'm responsible for hosting you and Xuanyuan Qingyao this time; you've really caused me some trouble."

Looking at Zhou Yan's slightly complaining gaze, Bai Ling also felt a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry, Brother Zhou. It's just that when the flying boat passed by, I saw a new street here. One look told me it wasn't your Sect's usual style, and I couldn't resist my curiosity, so I wanted to come see it first."

"I didn't expect to cause you trouble; I'm truly sorry."

Seeing Bai Ling apologize, Zhou Yan sighed and waved for him to follow.

"Forget it, I'm hosting you either way."

"Since I've found you and you're interested in this place, let's go together."

Bai Ling quickly realized that this street was not simple.

It focused on gourmet food, supplemented by entertainment, and to some extent, it was quite similar to the Eastern Region.

Although Qingxu Grotto-Heaven did not restrict the development of the Northern Border itself, it was quite strict about the inflow of items from the Eastern Region. While not as strict as the Southern Desert, it was still considered rigorous compared to the West River.

Yet the scene before him, with its blending and mixing of cultural atmospheres, was not even inferior to some of the campuses in Butian Pavilion that studied new learning. Seeing the style of his homeland in a foreign land indeed made Bai Ling feel a sense of novelty.

What made him even more curious was that almost everything sold here was spiritual food of various grades. There were common snacks as well as food that looked to be of high quality, at least reaching the Nascent Soul level.

Not only did they look good, but the energy contained within was no less than that of an ordinary Medicinal Pill.

"Brother Zhou, what on earth is going on?"

"There was none of this when I came last time."

"Now there's gourmet food and entertainment, and it's operated so maturely; it doesn't look like it was just built."

Seeing Bai Ling's reaction, Zhou Yan finally showed a hint of a smile.

Many people praised his talent, and he had heard it many times, but he knew best whether he had cheated or not, so hearing it too much became meaningless.

But if someone praised this Commercial Street of his, that was different.

Recalling a year ago, Zhou Yan had both established a school and developed Taiyi City, which naturally couldn't be hidden from the Sect's Elders. However, they didn't say much, only instructing him to act with caution.

Since Qingxu Grotto-Heaven had not yet openly clashed with the Demonic Sect, if Zhou Yan acted in the Eastern Region under the Sect's banner, he would likely be expelled in the end.

Thus, the Elders allowed Zhou Yan to set up this Commercial Street as a pilot project, mainly cooperating with the four regions to sell spiritual food.

Although it was said to be the four regions, the main interaction was actually still with Taiyi City and Kurong Temple.

Taiyi City was chosen because it was one of the few places where the demonic aura was thin and where the path of spiritual food was studied.

On the surface, it sounded a bit abrupt, but upon closer thought, it was reasonable; however, in reality, it was just a custom-tailored post.

Additionally, Zhou Yan's Commercial Street didn't only cooperate with Taiyi City; it also had dealings with the Southern Desert's Kurong Temple, so it wasn't easy to arouse suspicion.

This way, it could provide a suitable reliance for Taiyi City without affecting his layout in the Eastern Region, while also allowing the Disciples to both practice and earn money, truly killing multiple birds with one stone.

Truth be told, those old foxes were indeed professional.

Under Zhou Yan's full management, the lively scene before them had come to be. In this year, his gourmet network had connected the areas around Taiyi City and Kurong Temple.

Naturally, Zhou Yan's comprehension of the Law of Consumption also grew accordingly.

While in seclusion to digest the Power of Law, he continued to expand; now, his comprehension of the Law of Consumption had reached seventy percent, which was also the reason he could break through to the Middle Nascent Soul Stage.

After hearing Zhou Yan's explanation, Bai Ling's eyes lit up.

"Impressive, Brother Zhou!"

"I really didn't expect you to be able to manage such a large industry alongside your cultivation."

"I wonder if one could be set up in the West River in the future? I find this gourmet food very much to my liking; it's much better than swallowing dry Medicinal Pills."

"No problem. You might as well look around more these few days. If you find it suitable, we can also cooperate to open one in the West River."

"Cooperation is naturally the more the better, not to mention that you and I are both prodigies of this age; we should interact more."

Originally, the two were chatting happily, but when he heard "prodigies of the same generation," Bai Ling's expression stiffened slightly.

Wait, there was still a difference in seniority between them!

If it weren't for the fact that he interacted with Zhou Yan as an equal due to his status as a Saint, he would have almost forgotten that the position of Saint in Qingxu Grotto-Heaven was inherently casual, and seniority had always been quite blurred.

But the person before him was more than a dozen years younger than him; in terms of actual age and years of cultivation, he belonged to the next generation.

What was with this sudden sense of urgency? Why did he inexplicably feel the pressure rising?

Fortunately, Bai Ling was not a competitive person and quickly calmed his mind, but he also remembered something.

"By the way, Xuanyuan Qingyao probably won't be able to come."

Zhou Yan paused, turning to look at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Bai Ling then told Zhou Yan what he knew.

It turned out that Xuanyuan Qingyao had teamed up with others to explore a Secret Realm but was plotted against and accidentally entered a Small World.

That Small World was controlled by the Spirit Race. She had caused an absolute upheaval inside, and although she eventually escaped, she was being hunted by the Spirit Race there and could not get away in the short term.

Zhou Yan's focus, however, was somewhat different.

He was instead more interested in the Spirit Race.

In this world, there existed many Small Worlds; the large ones were boundless, while the small ones were only the size of a box. The Spirit Race mainly lived in Yulin and various Small Worlds.

Although they were called a "race," they were actually closer to a classification, similar to the Yao Race.

Most of the creatures among them were similar to the races in the Western fantasy novels Zhou Yan had read in his previous life, such as Sirens, elves, dwarves, and Centaurs, with various and quite peculiar forms.

Zhou Yan had never seen them because it was currently inconvenient for him to leave the Northern Border and he could not go to Yulin.

And the Spirit Race that could live in a Small World likely had a poor relationship with the Human Race.

Furthermore, the Spirit Race had another unique trait: although they could not Cultivate to become immortals, they could still increase their strength.

They were born with longer lifespans and greater strength than ordinary humans, but their upper limit was lower, at most comparable to the combat power of the Soul Transformation Stage, and they were even a few points weaker when facing the Power of Law.

Therefore, if a Nascent Soul Cultivator broke into their territory, they were very likely to be besieged and perish.

So, for the sake of safety, even if Zhou Yan were to go in the future, he would at least wait until he had Soul Transformation combat power.

Seeing Zhou Yan fall into deep thought, Bai Ling also felt a bit of regret. He had thought he could have a hearty match with Xuanyuan Qingyao and Zhou Yan, but now it seemed he could only spar with Zhou Yan.

"Big Brother Zhou, over here, over here!"

Bai Ling looked toward the sound and saw a female Cultivator gorging herself on the roadside.

He subconsciously raised his hand to greet her.

"Yo, Nickname, eating already?"

"Wait, why is it you?"

"Aren't you being hunted?"