Soaring the Heavens

"Tempest Tavern? What the heck is that?" Miao Yi asked.

Yao Ruoxian casually replied, "Don't you understand human speech anymore? It's a tavern! A place where people go to eat, drink and sleep."

'Damn it, do I freaking look like I don't know what kind of place a tavern is?' Miao Yi put on a resigned expression, and humbly asked, "What I'm asking is, why should I go to that Tempest Tavern if I ever encounter a problem I can't resolve?"

"To hide, of course! What else?" Yao Ruoxian was clearly just messing around with him. But when he noticed Qian'Er and Xue'Er's gazes, he coughed drily and added, "The safest places in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea are the Six Nations' Chamber of Commerce branches found there. Besides those, there is also the Tempest Tavern. Everyone knows the temperament of the people from the Chamber of Commerce. Outsiders won't be able to rely on them at all. Not to mention, there's no guarantee that it would be safe there in the first place. As such, if anyone were to find themselves in a dangerous situation that can't be resolved, they would immediately take shelter in Tempest Tavern. No one would dare stir up any trouble in that place."

'Why is it so exhausting to talk to you?' Miao Yi had the urge to just flip the table and beat someone up. Alas, he couldn't win against the other party in a fight. He simply composed himself and asked, "Why doesn't anyone dare to stir up trouble in that tavern?"

"Naturally, it's because they don't want to get themselves involved in any trouble." Yao Ruoxian stroked his beard and shook his head as he said, "As the saying goes, 'The tavern that sits within the storms of the realm. No grudges are kept, only guests. Bringing in trouble is strictly forbidden!' This is the phrase that's carved on the Tempest Tavern's sign."

Miao Yi clicked his tongue and said, "Even though it sounds a little pacifistic, there's a sense of power within those words. I believe the person who opened this tavern isn't just your average cultivator. Otherwise, how could they keep trouble outside their doors in such a place? What's the story behind the owner?"

Yao Ruoxian narrowed his eyes and asked, "What's it to you where the owner comes from? All you need to know is to carry some money with you and enter the tavern, and all danger will be halted at the door."

Miao Yi nodded, then asked, "Okay, and?"

"And what?"

"And is there any other method to avoid danger?"

"There is!"

"This junior is humbly asking for your guidance."

"Just don't go."

"..." Miao Yi was speechless. How was this helpful to him? Qian'Er and Xue'Er cried, "Father!"

"Didn't I already tell him that it's not as dangerous as he thinks?" Yao Ruoxian raised his finger and said, "Firstly, never reveal your identity as an administration official. You must think of yourself as a loose cultivator. Secondly, don't flaunt your wealth around and cause anyone to think that you're a fat juicy prey. Remember to act poor at all times. As long as you can do these two things, you will be no different than the folks in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. And with that, you'll be able to avert the biggest danger of them all. What makes you think that it's normal for people to go through so much danger? Who would be willing to risk their lives just for fun? That is, of course, unless you have a face that's naturally asking for a beating. That being said, it is true that Flowing Clouds Dune Sea is a lawless place. The ones with the last say are the people with the hardest fists in the room. Even if you're killed, robbed or set up, there's nowhere for you to complain to. And as such, thirdly, head immediately to Tempest Tavern if you ever encounter any danger that you can't resolve. As long as you're behind Tempest Tavern's gates, you will definitely be alright. As for the other stuff, well, as long as you don't go around causing trouble, kid, you should be fine. Even the weakest of loose cultivators can survive in that place. Do you think someone like you, who made it back alive from the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade, won't be able to?"

After some thought, Miao Yi had to admit that Yao Ruoxian did have a point. Even those weak loose cultivators were able to survive in that place, there shouldn't be any reason why he couldn't. It seemed he really had been overthinking things. Having regained some confidence, he stood up, turned around and walked towards the door, "I'll be taking the fatso with me. He's got good legs. I'll be able to escape quickly if I encounter any danger."

Charcoal, who was lying on the ground outside sleeping, was indeed quite stocky once upon a time. However, it seemed that the nickname 'damned fatso' would continue to haunt him for days to come.

Inside the house, Yao Ruoxian chuckled, "Don't count on it. The fatso just swallowed five hundred Yao Cores yesterday. He's probably not going to wake up for at least half a year. Come on, is this necessary? Just the fact that you'll be taking a trip to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea has already got you this restless."

Miao Yi quickly turned around, "He swallowed five hundred Yao Cores in one go? Are you sure he's going to be alright?"

"The amount is only equivalent to five Second Grade Yao Cores. What could possibly happen?" Yao Ruoxian suddenly tossed something over as he said this.

Miao Yi reached out to grab the item, then realized it was nothing but a normal storage ring. He didn't know what was inside it, so he quickly injected his transcendence energy to examine its contents. After discovering that the storage space inside was equivalent to that of a storage bangle's, he asked in surprise, "And this is?"

"The high-grade storage ring you asked for. What? You don't want it?"

High-grade storage ring? Miao Yi's eyes instantly brightened and he quickly took out a normal storage ring to test it out. And as expected, he was able to successfully place the storage ring inside. He then took off the storage bangle on his wrist, and indeed, he was able to place it safely inside as well. This was great! He could stack the storage effects of his storage rings now. No longer would he have to worry about not having enough storage space for his items.

However, this high-grade storage ring didn't look any different from a normal one. Yao Ruoxian knew what Miao Yi was confused about, and explained, "It's not good for someone with your cultivation to be too showy, so I helped you mask it a little. It's perfect for your expedition to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea."

Miao Yi was overjoyed. So the old man had already finished refining this storage ring a long time ago. He just didn't give it to him until now. If it wasn't for the fact that Miao Yi had to go to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, then the old man was probably going to wait until he came crying to him.

All the storage rings Miao Yi wore, as well as the ones he had tucked inside his clothes, he continued stuffing them into the high-grade storage ring one after another, until eventually, he had just the one storage ring on his finger. He said contentedly, "This high-grade storage ring is quite mysterious indeed. I wonder who invented the method of refining it?"

"It was a Yao cultivator!" Yao Ruoxian casually replied.

"A Yao cultivator?" Miao Yi was taken aback. He asked, "What do you mean?"

"The reason why transcendent artifacts can change their sizes and how entire dimensions can be hidden inside storage rings is because the refining process utilizes the laws of space to a certain extent, thereby allowing their powers to be contained and extracted freely. And the first person who grasped the profound mysteries of space was none other than a Yao cultivator. The reason why Yao cultivators can freely change the size of their massive bodies is because they comprehended this concept of space as they cultivated. After which, they applied this knowledge to artifact refining, and gradually, the human race seized the technique as their own. That's why, you can say that the progenitors for all artifact-refining techniques are the Yao cultivators!"

"So that's why!" Miao Yi understood Yao Ruoxian's words. It seemed he'd managed to learn something new.

As he looked at Charcoal sleeping by his feet, with no telling when he would be able to wake up, Miao Yi felt a little conflicted. Traversing Water Palace had already assigned him a specific time and place to set out. He couldn't just wait until Charcoal woke up to take his leave. All he could do was put Charcoal in the beast sack and bring him along that way.

Suddenly, Yao Ruoxian said, "Flowing Clouds Dune Sea is nothing but a giant desert. There won't be much use in bringing a dragon steed with you there. In some cases, you might even run faster on your own. Why put the fatso through the risk by bringing him along?"

"I see!" Miao Yi walked back inside the house, then lifted his head to look at the unmoving mantids perched upon the beams of the ceiling. He then opened his palm and sucked in fifteen of them. Even though he wasn't bringing as plenty as he did for the Subjugation Crusade, he still took some of the tiny mantids with him as a precautionary measure.

This time, however, Yao Ruoxian didn't say anything, and simply raised the brush and continued with his painting...

In the end, Miao Yi spent the next few days making his preparations. He also instructed Qian'Er and Xue'Er not to reveal his whereabouts. The two young ladies asked what they should do if Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were to ask about him. Miao Yi then told them that Traversing Water Palace would give those two a reasonable explanation on his behalf. After all, they each had one Manor Head going on this expedition as well.

When it was time for him to leave, Miao Yi didn't have the two girls send him off. He didn't alert anyone either and simply rode off slowly on his dragon steed, as though he was just going on a vacation. Once he was out of eyeshot, he swiftly galloped away on his dragon steed and charged straight towards the rendezvous point.

He continued to ride alone out of Traversing Water Palace's borders without stopping and eventually came to a halt upon the rendezvous point which was at the summit of a mountain. As he scanned his surroundings, he noticed that no one else was here aside from him. Miao Yi couldn't help being confused. 'Don't tell me I'm the earliest one?'

He took out the map he was given during his meeting with the Palace Lord and compared it to the surrounding area. After making sure that he was in the right place, he finally settled down and waited. However, after waiting for an entire day, he still didn't see anyone else. It was already time for everyone to meet up, but why wasn't anyone here? Miao Yi quickly began to worry.

Suddenly, a black-clothed person descended from the sky. The cultivator with the mark of a Red Lotus Second Grade cultivation on his forehead looked at Miao Yi and said two words: "Morning sun!"

Miao Yi was slightly taken aback. As it turned out, this person was their intermediary. He quickly replied, "Evening star!"

The intermediary glanced at the mount beside him and said, "You can put it away now."

Miao Yi acknowledged and quickly tucked the dragon steed away into the beast sack. However, before he could even react, the other party had already lifted him up into the sky, and swiftly shot out into the clouds.

"May I know your name, Senior?" Up in the sky, Miao Yi stared at the intermediary and asked.

The other party didn't reply. Miao Yi then asked, "Am I the only one?"

Finally, the intermediary gave an answer. "I'm only responsible for sending you off. I don't know about anything besides that."

"..." Miao Yi fell silent. The path ahead was too uncertain!

The day after Miao Yi had left, Qin Weiwei arrived at Raincloud Manor with several other riders. Garbed in her usual snow-white dress, she had journeyed long and far to visit her friend...

Meanwhile, Xu Jinsong of Suppressing Tenth Manor had also arrived in the silent chambers at the rear courtyard of Suppressing Tenth City's Chamber of Commerce branch. He was meeting up with Su Yanran. "Why were you looking for me?"

Su Yanran gestured for him to sit down, then pushed up a tiny jade box to him. She smiled and said, "This belongs to you now."

Xu Jinsong was confused. He opened up the jade box and found two spiritual pills quietly placed inside. Like the color of fresh blood, the pills were a bright red and were exuding a soft crimson glow. He asked, "And these are?"

"Spiritual Recovery Pills!" Su Yanran pointed to his severed arm and smiled, "Advisor Xu is impressive indeed to be able to send Miao Yi away so easily. This is what was promised to you. However, I hope that Advisor Xu will remember one thing, and that is to take this secret with you to the grave. If any word of it leaks out, you won't be able to bear the consequences."

Advisor Xu asked in shock, "What do you mean by sending Miao Yi away?"

Su Yanran was taken aback. She then covered her mouth and chuckled, "Yes, yes, you're right! I must have misspoke. Nothing has happened at all. It's best for us to meet up less frequently in the future. Now then, I won't have you stay here any longer." She then got up and extended her arm, gesturing for Xu Jinsong to be on his way.

After receiving two spiritual pills out of the blue from the Chamber of Commerce, Xu Jinsong's head was full of questions. He couldn't make heads or tails of the situation at all. He knew that this was the reward that the Chamber of Commerce had promised him from before. However, he hadn't heard anything from the higher-ups at all. And he himself hadn't even taken any action whatsoever. How was it that the reward was already handed to him?

In the end, during the handover of the annual tribute at the end of the year, Xu Jinsong noticed that Miao Yi wasn't around. And when he asked Shen Huaixin about it, the latter told him that Miao Yi was out on a mission. Xu Jinsong finally had a vague idea of what happened, but he couldn't be sure...

The days continued to pass as Miao Yi spent almost every second of it up in the sky. They only stopped to rest once during the entire journey, possibly because the other party was too tired from carrying another person along. And after a half day's break, Miao Yi and the intermediary continued on their journey westward. All Miao Yi could do was watch as the rivers and mountains quickly shrunk behind him. He had no idea where he was at all.