Chapter 37 Part 1

Shanyue City, Three Tastes Tavern.

Yue Shenlin had no intention of participating in the Prodigy List contest, but she wanted to watch the excitement. At first, she had listened to Li Ruoshui’s advice and endured a life of meager meals and sleeping in the open, staying far away from the temptations of the immortal city. But as soon as she arrived in Shanyue City, she was immediately drawn to the tavern—this wasn’t just any place that satisfied basic hunger; it housed cultivators who practiced the Dao of Spiritual Cuisine.

She had endured for nearly half a year, but the deep-seated craving in her heart could no longer be suppressed, and she completely broke at the Three Tastes Tavern.

After eating her fill and drinking her fill, she suddenly woke up to the realization that she had no Spirit Jade Pills.

The cultivator hadn’t made things too difficult for her; he simply asked her to stay at the tavern and work off her debt. But where had Yue Shenlin ever done such a thing? Not only did she fail to leave the Three Tastes Tavern, but she ended up owing more and more debt because she kept breaking plates. A few days ago, there had even been a noisy sword cultivator nagging in her ear, but later, somehow, she managed to get out of the tavern.

Weren’t the friends of Fellow Daoist Shangshan also her friends? So, should she drag her into this? Yue Shenlin was agonizing over it when a familiar figure appeared in the back kitchen. Upon closer inspection, it was Feng Qing. A flash of delight crossed her eyes, and Yue Shenlin looked up at Feng Qing, raising her voice. “Did Fellow Daoist Shangshan ask you to come and get me out?”

Feng Qing had originally been in a calm state, as if she had returned home. But upon hearing Yue Shenlin’s voice, she immediately lifted her gaze and looked at her with keen interest. “You know Fellow Daoist Shangshan?”

While washing dishes earlier, she had chatted a lot with the little merfolk, but since she couldn’t get a Merfolk Pearl from her or borrow a piece of Merfolk Gauze, Feng Qing hadn’t been particularly interested. That is, until she mentioned Li Shangshan’s name, which genuinely piqued Feng Qing’s interest. Ignoring the tavern manager’s instructions, she dragged over a chair, sat down with her chin propped on her hand, and stared intently at Yue Shenlin.

“I know her.” Yue Shenlin’s brows furrowed slightly. She hesitated for a moment, then mustered her courage. “I’m a very important friend of Fellow Daoist Shangshan.”

“I see.” Feng Qing drew out her tone. “Then Fellow Daoist Shangshan’s friends are my friends.”

Yue Shenlin looked at Feng Qing expectantly. Did that mean she didn’t have to stay at the Three Tastes Tavern anymore? For one thing, she wasn’t good at this kind of work; for another, she was afraid of running into cultivators from the Origin Sea here. If word got out, she would lose all face.

Feng Qing glanced at a basin of white jade plates nearby, drew her sword, and pushed it toward Yue Shenlin with sincerity. “So, my work is now your work. Thank you in advance, Fellow Daoist Yue.”

Yue Shenlin froze. She stared dumbfounded at the lazy Feng Qing, at a loss for words for the moment. “…”

Pretending not to notice Yue Shenlin’s gaze, Feng Qing had messaged her fellow Daoists on the Tianyan Mirror—including Yao Changliu—and they had all ghosted her. She had begged and pleaded just to leave the Three Tastes Tavern temporarily, planning to have a heart-to-heart with Yao Changliu and borrow some Spirit Jade Pills to redeem herself. But Yao Changliu had exchanged all her Spirit Jade Pills for herbs, preparing to use them in the Shanyue True Form Chart.

Other than coming back to wash dishes, what else could she do?

Fortunately, the little merfolk was still there.

She was Li Shangshan’s friend, so getting back what Li Shangshan had scammed her out of from the little merfolk was perfectly fair.

Looking at the pitiful Yue Shenlin, Feng Qing added, “Aren’t you a merfolk? How do you have no Spirit Jade Pills? If all else fails, can’t you just cry and produce a Merfolk Pearl?”

“I’ve heard that most of the merfolk race cultivate the Heavenly Blessing Dao, excelling in blessings with their own fortune as abundant as purple qi over their heads. How did you end up in this state? Are you not from the Origin Sea but some unfortunate river fish? Did you fail to inherit your bloodline talents?”

Yue Shenlin turned her face away, pursing her lips and refusing to speak to Feng Qing.

As the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth of the eighth month approached, Shanyue City was filled with Golden Core Cultivators everywhere, making the Three Tastes Tavern exceptionally lively.

Even those uninterested in food came to join in the fun, knowing there was a spiritual cuisine master in the building, hoping to nourish themselves with spiritual cuisine and push their condition to perfection for the contest.

In the back kitchen, Yue Shenlin no longer fumbled; her washing movements had become much more proficient. Her aura also continuously retracted inward, as if hiding something—even Feng Qing could barely sense the faint demonic qi on her.

Feng Qing ignored Yue Shenlin’s affairs. She held her Tianyan Mirror, either sparring with others on the Martial Practice platform or posting in the Dharma Realm to rant about how Empire cultivators scammed people, causing chaos. Occasionally, she sent a message to Li Ruoshui complaining about her speed.

Suddenly, an unusual aura appeared at the back kitchen door.

Feng Qing looked up and saw two cultivators blocking the door like door gods—one with a honest face and a smile, the other with a sinister expression and arrogance in his eyes.

As they appeared, there was a soft plop. Yue Shenlin, who had been struggling with the plates, suddenly transformed into a beautiful fish and fell into the bucket.

“Oh dear, who do we have here? Isn’t that the little princess of the Merfolk Kingdom?”

“I thought my senses were wrong, but it’s real.”

“Yue Shenlin, what are you doing in Shanyue City? Don’t tell me you want to join the Tianjiao Pursuit Contest?”

“I think you should go back early, or it’ll spread and shame the Origin Sea.”

The two Demon Country cultivators traded barbs, their mockery overflowing.

Seeing that hiding was useless, Yue Shenlin transformed back into human form, her face pale. She bit her lip. “Whether I join the Tianjiao Pursuit Contest or not is none of your business.”

The Demon Country cultivators exchanged a glance, sighed, and burst into laughter. The sinister one twitched his eyelid and sneered, “You’re the most useless in the Merfolk Kingdom. Your Golden Core must have been piled up with resources, right? Heavenly Blessing Dao? More like Heavenly Curse!”

“The Shanyue True Form Chart is no-holds-barred life-or-death. I advise you to return to the Origin Sea early and stop shaming the Ori—”

Before “shaming us” could finish, Feng Qing, annoyed by the noise, snapped “Noisy!” and swung her sword at the chattering cultivator. Thunder rumbled from the nine heavens, and leaping electric light crashed down instantly—not just on the two cultivators, but splitting half the back kitchen with sword qi.

Yue Shenlin’s expression changed; the dejection from being belittled vanished as she shrieked at Feng Qing, “We’re going to have to pay for this!”

Feng Qing shrugged indifferently. As long as the debt was high enough, it meant she didn’t owe a single Spirit Jade Pill.

The Demon Country cultivators, slashed by Feng Qing’s sword, weren’t about to let it go. Anger surfaced on their faces as they channeled a spell, firing a beam of white light at Feng Qing. Feng Qing sneered coldly; her sword light split in midair, shattering the white beam and heading straight for the Demon Country cultivators. But before it struck, a Nascent Soul Realm pressure descended.

A hand reached out from nowhere, caught Feng Qing’s sword light, and then patted lightly, sweeping Feng Qing, Yue Shenlin, and the two demon cultivators out of the Three Tastes Tavern.

“No fighting in the Three Tastes Tavern.”

The battle-hardened Feng Qing wasn’t about to be flung out disgracefully. She stabilized in midair, grabbed Yue Shenlin, spun, and landed on her oncoming flying sword.

The two Demon Country cultivators were Golden Cores too, with some skill. But before they could steady themselves, another change occurred. A True Dragon phantom flashed in the sky, its powerful tail sweeping horizontally, shattering their protective treasures like high-speed spinning tops flung across the horizon.

Twilight had fallen, and evening mists began to rise.

Li Ruoshui hovered in the air on a gust of qi, looking down at the vast mountains like a green sea. From high above, Shanyue City encircled by peaks looked like a tiny dot. As she drew closer, still sighing “Almost there,” two auras filled with fury suddenly collided toward her. Caught off guard, she was nearly struck—were those petty Empire sneaks ambushing her?

Ever since clashing with the Empire, Li Ruoshui always assumed the worst. Her expression turned cold; light flared behind her as the Universe One Qi Palm crashed down like collapsing mountains toward the two “hidden weapons.” With a boom, the two Demon Country cultivators smashed a huge pit in the mountain, passing out without even a wail.

Li Ruoshui cautiously scanned the surroundings. The night breeze was refreshing, rustling the grasses and trees. Confirming no hidden killers, she flicked her sleeve and shot toward the Three Tastes Tavern in Shanyue City.

When it came to exasperating her, Feng Qing never disappointed.

But for redeeming Feng Qing and Yue Shenlin, she had zero Spirit Jade Pills. She could only hope the tavern’s fellow Daoists would buy her painted pie: once she became the champion of the Tianjiao Pursuit Contest, she’d be their free image ambassador.

At the Three Tastes Tavern, the startled cultivators poked their heads out. When their gazes landed on Feng Qing, they immediately showed knowing expressions of “As expected.” Gossips recorded it and uploaded to the Tianyan Mirror; the scene was silent, but the Dharma Realm erupted first.

Leaping pale purple thunderbolts swirled around Feng Qing. Sensing countless gazes on her, she felt no embarrassment—instead, she raised her sword and pointed forward.

She remembered everyone recording her.

Yue Shenlin, inexperienced with such spectacles, wished she could burrow into the ground.

A few steps away, a cultivator with an ashen face snapped his abacus. Yue Shenlin tried to speak several times, but the staggering compensation figures made her swallow her words, staring at her shoe tips and trying to play dead.

When Li Ruoshui arrived, she heard the cultivator tally: “Two fellow Daoists, total of 940,362 Spirit Jade Pills. Sign an IOU? Or stay and work it off at the Three Tastes Tavern?”

Yue Shenlin hung her head, wishing she were eight hundred zhang away from Feng Qing, but since Feng Qing had stood up for her, she couldn’t. Her eyes flickered, suddenly spotting Li Ruoshui shrinking back in the crowd. She immediately beamed. “Fellow Daoist Shangshan, we’re here!”

Hearing Yue Shenlin’s shout, Feng Qing noticed Li Ruoshui too. She jabbed her sword tip into the ground, snorted, and said, “A mere 950,000 Spirit Jade Pills—my Fellow Daoist Shangshan will pay it off for me.”