87: The escort ordered by the boss has arrived.

A few days later, Jiangzhou, Zhou Yan's residence.

"Whew—"

Zhou Yan skillfully exhaled a breath of pure Qi as he slowly woke from his meditative state.

Feeling the mana in his body grow a bit thicker, Zhou Yan was quite satisfied with this enhanced new Spiritual Root.

At this rate, even without grinding mobs, reaching the third level of Foundation Establishment Early Stage in the short term would not be difficult.

Plus the upcoming Secret Realm trip, he should be able to level up at least once, right? With the rewards from completing the mission, by the time Zhou Yan returns, he'd be at least at the first level of Foundation Establishment Mid Stage.

At this moment, Huo Zhongshan, who was guarding outside the room, heard movement inside and knocked gently on the door.

"My Lord, has your cultivation session ended?"

"What is it now?" Zhou Yan felt instinctively helpless upon hearing Huo Zhongshan's voice.

"It's still those same old matters," Huo Zhongshan replied. "Daoist Priest Xiao expressed his hope that you would 'start the stove again, as now is the perfect time for cooking.'"

"He also said that as long as he can taste your cooking one more time, he'll do anything."

Zhou Yan couldn't help but facepalm upon hearing this.

Ever since he went into seclusion to try cultivating on his own, Xiao Sheng had been acting like he was going through withdrawal, wailing outside his courtyard every few days.

Fortunately, Huo Zhongshan's official work had ended, and he had come to act as his Protector, saving him from constant disturbance.

"Repeat my exact words to him."

"You are just an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator; can you bear the weight of someone else's life?"

"Saying you're willing to do anything carries that kind of heavy weight."

"Don't speak lightly of things you cannot do."

"Unless he achieves a Breakthrough in either his cultivation or combat techniques by the time I return, I won't be starting the stove again. Otherwise, he can forget about it."

Zhou Yan said helplessly.

Actually, Zhou Yan had later been unable to contain his curiosity and had handmade some food himself.

After tasting it, he felt the flavor was indeed excellent, and there were some special visual effects after eating that left a lasting impression, but that was the extent of it.

Even Huo Zhongshan was fine after eating it, yet only Xiao Sheng had such a violent reaction. Heaven knows what hardships he suffered in his past life; he acts as if he's never seen food before in this one.

So Zhou Yan had no choice but to force Old Xiao to break this "food addiction."

Huo Zhongshan took his orders but did not leave immediately, continuing his report.

"The Misty Rain Painted Barge also sent someone, saying the Secret Realm is about to open and they wish to give you a ride. The person is waiting outside the residence right now."

"Additionally, Assistant Prefect Qiao sent someone again today, wishing to meet with you."

Zhou Yan thought for a moment and gave his answer.

"Reply to Assistant Prefect Qiao that I am heading to the Secret Realm first and will definitely visit upon my return."

"As for the Misty Rain Painted Barge, I'll head over shortly; it's a good chance to hitch a ride."

"Yes, My Lord, I understand."

"You've worked hard these past few days. While I'm away, take a good rest. Take these Spirit Stones."

The door was pushed open by mana, and several Mid-Grade Spirit Stones were carried by the invisible power of Divine Sense to Huo Zhongshan.

"The speed of your progress is truly admirable, My Lord. In just a few days, your mana has become as vast and majestic as converging rivers."

"Your control of Divine Sense is even more harmonious and subtle, reaching a level of meticulous precision. Such talent and diligence far surpass your peers; your future is bound to be limitless."

Huo Zhongshan accepted them joyfully, the fatigue on his Face vanishing as he took his leave with renewed energy.

Hearing Huo Zhongshan's praise, Zhou Yan also felt quite pleased.

People say that honest advice is hard to hear, but in my view, honest words aren't necessarily unpleasant.

However, Zhou Yan's expression soon darkened again.

What is with this Assistant Prefect Qiao?

Since the poetry gathering ended, he has been pestering me incessantly.

I already gave him Face last time by going to see Judge Chen. Although there were some hiccups, it still counted as a meeting.

Now I'm busy, and I've already declined several times, yet he still comes to cause trouble.

"What a repulsive Assistant Prefect. When I get back, I'll have to strike hard and give you a good lesson."

Finally, after arranging everything, Zhou Yan, guided by the messenger from the Misty Rain Painted Barge, set off with peace of mind on his first-ever major Secret Realm dungeon journey.

Experiencing another must-do item in the cultivation world, sense of achievement plus one.

Zhou Yan was currently aboard a massive flying boat, its style completely different from the flower boats of the Misty Rain Painted Barge.

This flying boat continued the usual characteristics of the Joyous Union Sect, but its style was more flamboyant and overbearing, with an aggressive orange-red exterior that highlighted its extraordinary nature.

Zhou Yan stood at the edge of the ship, looking out at the scenery.

Well, actually, because the flying boat was moving too fast, he couldn't see any scenery even with his Divine Sense active.

He only came out to take refuge because he purely couldn't stand the atmosphere inside the cabin.

Having been invited into the cabin to watch a performance to pass the time, Zhou Yan was quite interested and went along with it half-heartedly.

He had intended to appreciate the "local customs" of the Joyous Union Sect with a critical eye and judge their unhealthy atmosphere.

As it turned out... could someone tell him why the Joyous Union Sect's performance was exactly like a formal gala?

It was so formal and artistic that Zhou Yan, a commoner at heart, felt for a moment as if he were at the Spring Festival Gala, and at another as if he were in the Golden Hall of Vienna.

It's one thing to sell breakfast cereal, but the "cereal" wasn't even "yellow"; it was a pure industrial synthetic product. Isn't that consumer fraud?

Of course, he meant edible breakfast cereal; food safety is still very important.

What was even more torturous for him was that after every performance, he had to listen to a passionate speech and was forced to clap awkwardly.

Heaven knows how he endured that time.

Having finally found a chance to come out for some air, Zhou Yan absolutely did not want to go back.

Truly detestable Joyous Union Sect, is making me suffer also one of your ways of having fun?

Was even this step part of your calculations!

"You have quite the refined interest, Fellow Daoist."

Before seeing the person, he saw their status panel.

On Zhou Yan's mini-map, a striking green marker had appeared behind him.

This was a new change to the mini-map after his Divine Sense Awakening; he could update others' information just by scanning with his Divine Sense without needing direct contact.

【Mu Qianqiu】

【Rank: Foundation Establishment Perfection】

Although the panel information was incomplete, the words "Foundation Establishment Perfection" alone were enough to speak volumes.

Zhou Yan turned to look; the newcomer was indeed the blue-clad youth from the scroll.

"Holy crap, Foundation Establishment Perfection?"

"Matching with a max-level teammate at the start, this run is in the bag!"

Seeing that Zhou Yan didn't respond immediately, Mu Qianqiu continued.

"I have always felt out of place in the Joyous Union Sect. Their so-called laughter and art are not things I can understand."

"So I wanted to come out for some peace and quiet, but I didn't expect to meet a kindred spirit like you, Fellow Daoist."

"It seems the upcoming Secret Realm trip won't be boring."

Hearing this, Zhou Yan snapped out of it and began to converse with this "duo teammate."

Originally, Zhou Yan only intended to chat casually to facilitate later communication, but who knew the other party would be so "normal"?

He could be said to be the only normal Prodigy Zhou Yan had met in quite some time.

With this, the two opened up completely, finding each other's company more and more agreeable as they talked, until they were almost ready to become sworn brothers on the spot.

All of this was witnessed by Meng Ke and Boss Mei.

They had also come along this time; the performance schedule just now had been meticulously arranged by the two of them.

"No way?"

"This doesn't seem like what we planned?"

Boss Mei voiced her confusion.

"Shouldn't they have been chatting happily during the performance, immersing themselves in the ocean of art and becoming spiritual best friends?"

She believed the performances she arranged were absolutely top-tier, recognized by the entire Joyous Union Sect as high art that ordinary people could only dream of seeing.

Two contemporary Prodigies would surely get along better amidst such high art.

As it turned out, those two were completely distracted while watching, having no interaction at all, only nodding, smiling, and clapping mechanically.

Boss Mei had thought the two were naturally indifferent by nature.

Yet as soon as they left the venue, they started chatting like a house on fire.

"So it turns out I was just in your way?"

Boss Mei felt completely depressed.

"Well... at least the outcome is good," Meng Ke rubbed her nose, not knowing how to explain.

The flying boat soon arrived at its destination. This place was located on the border between Great Qian and Great Yu, just a short flight from Great Qian's territory.

At this time, Zhou Yan and Mu Qianqiu were walking toward the flying boat's exit with their arms around each other's shoulders, laughing and talking.

Friendships between men are established simply and quickly like that.

Just as the two stepped off the flying boat, they heard a loud shout from the side.

"Eldest Senior Brother!"

Zhou Yan heard someone calling out, and it seemed to be directed toward his direction.

But when he turned to see who was calling, the sight before him made him freeze instantly.

"Holy crap, a Health bar has come to life!"