Chapter Sixteen: Two Taoist Priests Open an Inn

From dawn until early morning, Xu Cheng not only restored his stores of true energy but also condensed over a hundred talisman seals for the Supreme Golden Body Technique, including those for the Iron Skin Spell. Even if he had not fully mastered the Supreme Golden Body, he could still employ the Iron Skin Spell.

In the backyard, Liaona had cried himself to sleep, spending the night sprawled on the ground.

Xu Cheng activated the Iron Skin Spell; a layer of silvery-black sheen covered his palm, as if it were coated in iron. He casually struck the stone table beside him, shattering it into pieces. The spell, empowered by five talisman seals, proved quite effective.

If he could fully master the Supreme Golden Body Technique, which required the power of 3,800 talisman seals, what heights could he reach?

Yet, regarding the Unified Realm, Xu Cheng had no clue. Since entering the Celestial Heaven Sect, apart from daily training and cultivation, he had rarely read texts on cultivation and had not asked Elder Lingxu before leaving.

“What… what happened?”

Liaona suddenly sat up with a start, scanning his surroundings anxiously.

“Nothing happened! I was just testing a spell,” Xu Cheng replied, displaying his gleaming black palm before him. “By the way, senior brother, how does one achieve the Unified Realm?”

“The Unified Realm?” Liaona mused. “Master said that once you successfully practice ten talisman seals, you can gather them together to form a small golden pellet, which counts as entering the Unified Realm. Those who are a bit more skilled can unite a hundred seals, and most in the Celestial Heaven Sect can achieve a thousand-seal unification. The truly exceptional can gather ten thousand seals, entering the Unified Realm in what’s known as the ‘Unification of Ten Thousand Techniques.’”

At this, Liaona’s eyes sparkled. For him, achieving the Unification of Ten Thousand Techniques was no longer difficult, thanks to several jade manuscripts obtained from nameless mountain bandits. As he spoke, he rubbed his hands and looked at Xu Cheng, thinking both the Netherwind Mouth and the Rebirth by Severance techniques were extraordinary.

“Junior brother, could you let me study your Netherworld Fragment?”

“Sure, but give me one of your spell jade manuscripts in exchange.”

Xu Cheng took out the Netherworld Fragment, which he had kept close, and handed it to Liaona.

“Junior brother, you truly are generous! Look, here are the remaining three jade manuscripts!” Liaona activated the Sumeru Ring Spell, making the manuscripts available for Xu Cheng to choose. After much deliberation, Xu Cheng selected the Ten Thousand Miles of Ice Seal Technique.

Liaona breathed a sigh of relief, worried that Xu Cheng would take his Boundless Transformation Spell. Fortunately, it was the Ten Thousand Miles of Ice Seal, his least favorite; he much preferred spells that burned relentlessly.

Immediately, Liaona immersed himself in the Netherworld Fragment.

Yet, the fragment was utterly empty inside; not a trace of content could be seen.

“Liaona! Did you give me a fake Netherworld Fragment?” he shouted, feeling deceived.

“Fake?” Xu Cheng frowned, retrieved the jade manuscript from Liaona, and examined it carefully. The Netherwind Mouth Spell, the Rebirth by Severance, and the Netherworld Bone Spell—all were present. How could it be fake?

“Senior brother, did you look closely? How is it fake? There are three spells!” Xu Cheng tossed the fragment back to Liaona, blaming him for not examining it carefully. Liaona looked at Xu Cheng’s face, which seemed natural and genuine, yet when he looked again, he still saw nothing.

“Could it be that the Netherworld Fragment has chosen Liaona as its destined owner, and only thus does it reveal its spells?” Liaona muttered. The miscellaneous records of the Celestial Heaven Sect described such spells: unless the jade manuscript chose its destined owner, others could not practice its contents.

“Forget it, you are the chosen one of the Netherworld Fragment; no others can cultivate its spells.”

Liaona sighed deeply, tossed the fragment back to Xu Cheng, and walked gloomily along the stone path toward the main hall of the tavern.

“Chosen one?”

His lips moved slightly. In memories from his previous life, those sentient magical treasures in novels would choose their masters.

“Junior brother, since you’ve reaped so many benefits, how about I become the tavern manager, and you work as the waiter and part-time cook?”

At the entrance to the main hall, Liaona suddenly turned and shouted this, not waiting for Xu Cheng to protest. He grabbed a jar of wine from the counter and drank on his own.

“You…”

Xu Cheng pointed after Liaona, speechless. Being a waiter was hardly challenging for him; if he hadn’t seen pigs running, he’d at least seen pork. Back then, for survival, he’d even resorted to theft. This was hardly difficult by comparison.

Cooking, however, was a real headache. He took over fifty taels of silver from the counter and went out to buy ingredients.

In his previous life, he was a gourmand but not a chef, traveling far and wide for the sake of his appetite. Eating, for him, was the highest pursuit.

All morning, he had a cartload of ingredients delivered to Tianfeng Tavern.

He tried his hand at cooking.

When the first dish emerged, Xu Cheng couldn’t bring himself to eat it. The blackened lump before him was more charcoal than food.

He kept trying all afternoon. Liaona, watching, frowned repeatedly. After tasting a bite, he nearly vomited his guts out.

“Junior brother, perhaps we’re not suited for running a tavern?”

The evening sky was painted red with sunset. Liaona gazed upward at a forty-five degree angle, his expression tinged with sorrow.

“How is this my fault? I’ve never cooked before! A cook? You’ve got some nerve. Why don’t we hire someone to do it?”

Seeing Liaona’s world-weary look, Xu Cheng couldn’t help but suggest.

“Where would we find one?”

Liaona was pondering this when the tavern’s doors were kicked open. They hadn’t dared to open for business all day, thanks to Xu Cheng’s dark culinary creations.

“Tianfeng Tavern isn’t open? Where’s the waiter?”

The man in front wore embroidered robes, clearly the scion of some wealthy family. Liaona glared at Xu Cheng, as if to say, “Aren’t you going to serve him?”

Resigned, Xu Cheng imitated the manner of the waiters he’d seen before, approaching the young noble and asking, “Sir, will you be dining or lodging?”

“Dining, dining! Quickly! Bring out your best food and wine!”

The noble patted his belly impatiently.

“Sir, there are no dishes today,” Xu Cheng forced a smile, hoping the man would take the hint and leave.

“What? No dishes? In such a grand tavern, and you say there’s nothing? What are you all doing here? Believe it or not, I’ll have you driven out of Fulai Town!”

The noble’s finger jabbed menacingly at Xu Cheng.

“Sir, truly, there are only a few jars of wine left,” Xu Cheng replied amiably. Had it been Liaona, the whole place would likely have gone up in flames.

“I repeat, if there are no dishes, you might as well close the tavern!” The noble grabbed Xu Cheng’s collar, nearly shouting.

“I’ll do my best for you, sir,” Xu Cheng replied, seeing no way out; the man was indeed fierce.

Xu Cheng busied himself, selecting what he thought was the finest wine and placing his blackened creation on the table. Liaona had vanished long before, perhaps anticipating what would happen.

“Waiter, do you think this dish is edible?” The noble asked coldly, his displeasure palpable.

“Probably not,” Xu Cheng replied, gazing at the sky. After all, the man had insisted; it wasn’t his fault.

“Guards, seize him!”

The noble erupted in anger, seeming ready to tear Xu Cheng apart.

“Yes, young master!” Several muscular men surrounded Xu Cheng, their mocking eyes saying, “You’ve offended our young master, little brother; your skin must be tough!”

Six blades swung at Xu Cheng. A metallic clang rang out as they struck the Iron Skin Spell.

Indeed, his whole body was like iron. Even with their earthly martial skills, they could only leave faint white marks on Xu Cheng.

“Monster… monster!” Some of the more timid men stammered, terrified by Xu Cheng’s dark, armored appearance.

With three punches and two kicks, Xu Cheng sent them flying. The noble, witnessing the change in the waiter before him, was dumbfounded.