Yao Mengji was very motivated. “Mr. Li, would you like us to prepare the spiritual boat?”
Li Nianfan waved his hand with a smile. “There’s no need to go to all that trouble.”
He thought back to the times when he still could not fly and had to rely on Yao Mengji and Qin Manyun to ferry him everywhere on Lixian Palace’s spiritual boat. This caused him to let out a long sigh — the Universe truly works in mysterious ways.
Both Yao Mengji and Qin Manyu were grateful for the opportunity to act as guides for the expert again. After all, they would not be where they were now if not for that.
At that time, they swore to themselves that they would be a perfect guide to the expert. Even if he would only use their service from time to time — it was still an utmost honor to them.
Their ultimate dreams came true again today.
“Do you need to prepare anything?” asked Li Nianfan.
Qin Manyun shook her head. “No. We can leave as soon as you want.”
“That’s great! Let’s go now.”
He smiled and raised his hand. Suddenly, beams of golden light appeared from thin air and gathered underneath their feet until it became a golden platform big enough to levitate the group. The Deluxe Merit Cloud shot through the sky like a rocket aiming straight for the Demon City.
At the same time, Li Nianfan conjured up a golden table and golden chairs on the Deluxe Merit Cloud with his thoughts. The golden platform was still expanding until it was as spacious as a plaza.
A flying plaza in the sky would surely seem opulent and majestic to anyone’s eyes. Not to mention quite miraculous.
“Please sit. I apologize in advance if this ride isn’t comfortable enough,” said Li Nianfan with a humble smile.
Yao Mengji and Qin Manyu stared at the golden platform, table and chairs — so shiny that it was enough to blind one. They could not help but be taken in by Li Nianfan’s humble words.
‘Only the expert would use his Deluxe Merit like this. If it was anyone else, they would have hoarded or struggled for quite a while as to what they would use it on. It must feel awesome to have so much Deluxe Merit to be able to use it anyhow one wants. Ah, the lifestyle of the rich and famous.’ wondered the two.
Qin Manyu looked around the empty plaza. Suddenly her expression changed. “How about I play some songs for you, Mr. Li?”
She often socialized with the people in the Heavenly Palace. Generally speaking, entertainment — such as The Goddess Dance, The Battle Between Good and Evil, etc. — would be arranged for those people who were in high positions going on a trip. For this trip, they left in a hurry so were not able to prepare the necessary equipment. If it was not for that, they could have put on a musical party.
Li Nianfan was happy with the idea. “Sure. I haven’t heard you play for so long. Thanks!,” he said with a smile.
Qin Manyu walked over to a corner and sat down cross-legged. Her hair and long dress swayed in the wind making her seem like a moving picture of a goddess with her musical instrument. She moved her slender fingers and graceful music started to come from the zither.
What started out as a boring trip suddenly became livelier. Li Nianfan served up some fruits and snacks — truly enjoying the music and the passing scenery.
This was the first time he was able to take the time to enjoy the world from above and he liked what he saw. The combination of mountains and rivers covered in mist made it seem like the world was upside down. From time to time, they saw demons and monks engaging in battle, each living out their own story.
However, such a big golden plaza would not go unnoticed. It stole their attention, making the demons and monks below stop in the middle of their life and death fight — no matter which party was the one winning or losing — all of them stopped.
They were afraid the residue of their attacks would accidentally harm a Deluxe Merit Saint and be sentenced to death by the Area of Gods. Therefore, the originally chaotic world became peaceful wherever a Deluxe Merit Cloud could be seen. Until the Deluxe Merit Cloud had completely passed over would the fights continue.
At the same time, a master and his disciple floated past them on a Yin Yang Fish compass disk. Both the old man and the young man were wearing robes stamped with the Yin Yang Fish logo. Those are the uniform of the White Cloud sect which makes them the peers of Cultivator Yunqiu.
The young cultivator looked at the Deluxe Merit Cloud who was speeding through the sky and gave out a loud cry. “Wow! Master, what kind of treasure is that? It’s gold all over.”
“There’s no need to make a fuss. That’s not a treasure. That’s a Deluxe Merit Cloud!” lectured the old cultivator calmly. “So the news about the existence of a Deluxe Merit Saint in the Area of Gods was true. We need to make sure we don’t collide with him. Disciple, let’s change course and get out of their way.”
The young cultivator nodded his head, unsure of what was going on. He stared at the Deluxe Merit Cloud, impressed.
Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and stared at the shadow in the sky — something was falling down. He felt all the mana in his body surging involuntarily.
He fixed his eyes on the shadow and realized it was an orange peel — catching the sun’s rays and falling with the wind.
“Ah!” He gave out an involuntary cry and stuttered, “Master, that, that, that is…”
The old cultivator could not help but frown. “I’ve told you there’s no need to make a fuss. You really need to cultivate your heart space!”
The young cultivator covered his mouth with his hand and pointed at the direction of the orange peel. “Master, look over there! It looks like there’s some Spiritual Root over there!”
“That’s impossible…” said the old cultivator with a chuckle while stroking his beard. Nonetheless, he raised his eyes towards where the young cultivator pointed and his eyes nearly popped out.
He gave out a cold gasp and with a quick movement grabbed the orange peel out of thin air. He looked cautiously around his surroundings and only let out a relieved sigh when he was sure he was safe. A smile broke out of his smile.
The young cultivator flew over to where he was. “Master, is that…”
“Yes, it’s a Spiritual Root or to be more exact — the skin of a Chaos Spiritual Root.”
The old cultivator sucked in some air and said with shock in his voice, “This is incredible and unsettling! What kind of a person do you have to be to be able to throw away the skin of a Chaos Spiritual Root without a second thought? The level of extravagance is out of this world!”
“Wait a minute!” His face became animated. “A whole Spiritual Root will have more skin than this. Quick! Look for the rest of them!”
He opened his eyes wider and his face became solemn. As he expected, not long after, they saw another orange peel floating in the sky not far from where they were.
The same movement repeated itself and he managed to grab hold of another. His hunger for more drove him to scan the sky carefully.
He could not believe his luck and thought that he must have done something to please the Gods.
Along the journey, he picked up more orange peel. He grinned ear to ear at his good fortune.
Suddenly, they heard a big commotion near them. They could see the demons jumping around and the monks flying around. The light from mana activation shot out continuously — a messy battle had broken out!
“You bully!” roared a Black Bear Demon, overflowing with demon spirit. His body was getting increasingly larger — truly a scary sight to behold.
“This banana peel landed on my territory. It was given to me by God himself so of course it belongs to me. Don’t blame me for hurting you if you guys come any closer.”
An old man standing on his sword laughed coldly, his aura cutting. “This gift from the sky has fallen randomly. It belongs to the strong. If you say it belongs to you, why don’t you give it a call and see if it replies you?!”
“Shut up! Let’s see which of us will get the banana peel in the end!”
“Stop!” boomed the old cultivator from White Cloud Sect. His Immortal Qi surrounded him, giving him a sacred feel.
“It pains me to see you all fighting to the death for a mere banana peel. I’m willing to sacrifice myself to keep the peace and prevent unnecessary deaths. If you have to hate someone, hate me!”
Right after saying that, he raised his hand, swiped away the banana peel, and disappeared far away from the scene before anyone could react.
