Chu Heshan and Shen Qinghan exchanged glances and continued eating the food in front of them.
Just then, the crowd suddenly stirred, and exclamations rose one after another.
The three of them followed the sound and saw several young men and women in luxurious robes walking up from the staircase.
“It’s the Saintess of Yao Guang Sect, Immortal Xing Yao!”
“The one next to her seems to be the Second Prince of Saint Martial Dynasty, Saint Yu.”
“And Zhao Liunian, who is eighth on the Golden Core Stage Prodigy Ranking.”
“The one behind the Second Prince should be Immortal Xue Yi, ranked thirteenth, but now she’s thirty-first. It’s said her senior brother is the Saint Son of Piao Miao Sect, Ling Xuche.”
“Is that Ling Xuche, the fourth-ranked on the Golden Core Stage Prodigy Ranking?”
“Yes, this person has been rooted in the Golden Core Stage for many years, and has now cultivated to the Seventh Revolution of Golden Core, with strength comparable to a Demon Child.”
“What day is it today? So many prodigies have come all at once?”
As everyone discussed, this group of prodigies slowly walked towards the fourth floor.
At the corner, Immortal Xing Yao seemed to sense something and turned to look at Li Taibai and the other two.
“Xing Yao, what’s wrong?”
The others curiously followed her gaze but found nothing unusual.
“Nothing, let’s go.” Xing Yao said faintly, leading the group upstairs.
Only after the few people disappeared from sight did Chu Heshan speak, “That woman just now seemed to be looking at Taibai, do you know her?”
Chu Heshan was eliminated relatively early in the Mo Yun Battlefield, so he didn't have much of an impression of Xing Yao.
“No, we just had a fight.”
Shen Qinghan briefly recounted what happened in the Mo Yun Battlefield.
“We all took Disguise Pills at the time, she shouldn’t have recognized us, right?” Chu Heshan said uncertainly.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, he looked at Li Taibai and Shen Qinghan. The temperament of these two was extraordinary; even if their appearances were changed, it was indeed possible for them to be recognized.
“Let’s go.” Li Taibai calmly stood up.
Chu Heshan quickly grabbed the monster meat on the table and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling, “Wait for me.”
Just as the three of them stood up to go downstairs, a drunken middle-aged man staggered over.
The three instinctively moved a step to the side.
And in that instant, a cold light suddenly flashed, aiming directly at Li Taibai’s face.
All of this happened too suddenly; Shen Qinghan and Chu Heshan had no time to react.
Clink—
The short blade stopped an inch from Li Taibai, blocked by a sword qi.
The man’s expression darkened, and he poured all his strength into the short blade.
Killing intent condensed, and the sword qi converged into a point, breaking through the defense in front of it.
Li Taibai retreated rapidly, a wisp of cold light cutting across his facial skin, and trickles of blood splattered out.
The man, failing in one strike, retreated decisively, his body turning into an afterimage as he rushed towards a nearby window.
At this point, Chu Heshan and Shen Qinghan had already reacted, and both simultaneously attacked the man.
A fist print and a palm print struck the man's body from left and right.
Bang—
A muffled sound rang out; the man withstood the attacks of the two, flying backward, and then, under everyone's gaze, disappeared without a trace.
“Chase!”
Chu Heshan and Shen Qinghan were about to unleash their cultivation and charge, but Li Taibai stopped them.
“No need to chase. His aura has disappeared; he must have used a directional teleportation talisman. It seems he came prepared.”
Whoosh—
At this moment, all the cultivators on the third floor finally awoke, turning their heads to look at Li Taibai and the other two.
A kind-hearted cultivator reminded the three, “You should leave here quickly, the farther the better. If I’m not mistaken, that person just now should have been a killer from the Soul Extinguishing Hall.”
“Soul Extinguishing Hall?!”
Hearing this name, all the cultivators present exclaimed.
Seeing everyone’s reaction, Li Taibai and the other two frowned slightly. Just as they were about to ask, a young woman came down from upstairs and said to the three, “Sirs, our Saintess invites you. Please follow me.”
Li Taibai originally wanted to refuse, but a single sentence from the young woman dispelled his idea.
“Sirs, our Saintess said she can provide you with information about the Soul Extinguishing Hall free of charge.”
The three were new here and had not interacted with anyone else, so they were very curious as to who wanted to deal with them.
“Lead the way.”
“Please follow me, sirs.”
The three followed the young woman upstairs.
Those cultivators watched them leave with wide eyes.
“Who are these three? They actually attracted a killer from the Soul Extinguishing Hall.”
“Now they’ve been invited upstairs by Immortal Xing Yao, they must be prodigies from some major sect. Does anyone know them?”
“No idea, never seen them.”
“But the aura they released when they acted just now seemed very strong.”
“Nonsense, the Soul Extinguishing Hall’s killer couldn’t kill them, how could they not be strong?!”
“I don’t know who these three are. If only Immortal Xing Yao could invite me up, sigh…”
“Don’t just drink, eat more dishes.”
...
Inside a private room on the fifth floor, as the three followed the woman into the room, all eyes simultaneously focused on them.
Saintess Xing Yao, seated in the center, stood up, her agile eyes behind the veil flickering slightly. She pointed to the empty seats directly opposite and said, “Sirs, please be seated.”
Facing the gazes cast upon them, Li Taibai and the other two remained composed, calmly taking their seats.
“Immortal Xing Yao, who are these three?” Someone asked in confusion.
Xing Yao did not answer, but instead looked at Li Taibai and said, “Sirs, could you please introduce yourselves?”
“Li Chungang.” Li Taibai replied faintly.
Chu Heshan was just about to pour the spiritual tea on the table into his mouth. Hearing Li Taibai's answer so suddenly, he almost spat it out.
“Cough…” Chu Heshan lightly coughed, muttering, “This tea is a bit choking.”
As soon as these words came out, the Second Prince Saint Yu’s face sank.
This pot of spiritual tea was something he had gone to great lengths to acquire, normally he wouldn’t even bear to drink it. Now that it was being disliked, he naturally felt very displeased.
“This tea comes from Wuyi Grotto-Heaven, named Da Hong Pao. The tea tree was enlightened by True Person Wuyi, transforming from a mortal plant into a spiritual one. It only produces one tea leaf every ten years.”
“One brew of Da Hong Pao, half a scripture of enlightenment; drink from the glazed cup, sit and watch the clouds rise. This is how the cultivation world evaluates it.”
“Not to mention the tea water, which is formed from spiritual energy liquid. Such a precious item, yet in your hands, it has become just ordinary tea.”
“This Prince would like to see if there is any better spiritual tea in this world?”
Chu Heshan felt utterly exasperated; he just casually said something, who knew the other party would react so strongly and rattle off a bunch of things.
“Alright, I misspoke. I’ll punish myself with three cups.”
Chu Heshan knew he was in the wrong and didn't waste words. He continuously poured three cups and drank them all.
“You…” Saint Yu slapped the table and stood up, his eyes filled with rage.
The others showed strange expressions on their faces, momentarily unable to tell if this big, foolish-looking person in front of them was truly foolish or deliberately trying to take advantage.
“Your Royal Highness, please calm your anger. I apologize on behalf of this friend.”
Xing Yao stepped forward to smooth things over, and took out five tea leaves from her storage ring, handing them to Saint Yu.
“Saintess Xing Yao, please don’t joke. This Prince is not so petty. It’s just that this person’s attitude was too arrogant, and I momentarily lost my composure, making everyone laugh.”
Saint Yu cupped his hands to the crowd, put away the emotions on his face, and sat down on his own.
Just as everyone thought the matter was over, they saw Shen Qinghan take out two top-grade mo crystals from her storage ring, place them on the table, and coldly say:
“Although we haven’t seen much of the world, we also don’t have the habit of taking advantage of others. This is the tea fee.”
With that, Shen Qinghan stood up and walked out.
Seeing this, Li Taibai and Chu Heshan also stood up and walked out together.
“Wait! Are you trying to humiliate this Prince?!”
Being openly slapped in the face, Saint Yu’s expression was extremely ugly, and he felt both annoyed and furious.
Shen Qinghan completely ignored him and continued walking forward.
“This Prince told you to stop, didn’t you hear?!”
Whoosh—
A sharp sword qi came from behind, emitting a piercing whistle.
Clink—
The sword qi was blocked in mid-air. Immediately after, Xing Yao’s figure appeared in front of Li Taibai and the other two, and she said apologetically, “Sirs, could you please, for my sake, let this matter go and sit down to talk?”
“Make him apologize.” Shen Qinghan’s gaze swept over Saint Yu.
If Xing Yao hadn’t stopped them just now, the three of them would probably have already made a move.
