Soaring the Heavens

There were pros and cons to everything. Even though those bastards beat him up and made him severely uncomfortable, Miao Yi still got to know them better in the span of a few days.

The Tempest Tavern was almost like his own house at this point; there probably wasn't any other guest who could go around as they pleased like he could. He had even entered the Lady Boss's room. Where else couldn't he go?

Miao Yi asked about the devious four's background from time to time, but they always brushed him off with a laugh. More specifically, they were laughing wryly. They clearly didn't intend to discuss the issue. However, Miao Yi still managed to find out that the scholar and carpenter originally worked under the Boss of Tempest Tavern, while the cook and stonemason belonged to the Lady Boss. But after the Boss was gone, the former naturally followed after the Lady Boss, and ended up spending more time with her than they did with the Boss himself. In actuality, the Lady Boss was the current owner of the Tempest Tavern. The so-called 'Boss' was only there in name.

Not long after the Tempest Tavern was established, the Boss was gone, and the whole place had been managed single-handedly by the Lady Boss ever since.

The one thing that Miao Yi lamented was that there was almost no point to how much closer he got to those four bastards. The Lady Boss and them pretty much stayed in the tavern all the time; they rarely ever stepped out and interfered with the problems outside. Otherwise, Miao Yi would definitely have a better time dealing with his troubles with four Purple Lotus experts by his side.

He pretty much understood why those four would come pestering him so often. Anyone would feel bored and lonely after being stuck in the same place for several thousands of years.

The other benefit to Miao Yi was that he got to know the general state of affairs in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea from them.

Whatever happened in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, whoever got killed or robbed day after day, he was able to find out from the scholar and the others. This made Miao Yi feel as though this place was not as peaceful as its appearance seemed.

Miao Yi was able to find out the Lady Boss's daily routine as well. In the mornings, she would walk around the tavern, then go back to her room to cultivate. Then, in the evenings, right when the sun was setting and the mist was dispersing away, she would bring a wine flask and head up to the roof to watch the sunset alone. It was a boring life indeed.

Right on the tenth day of his stay in Tempest Tavern, Miao Yi was cultivating on top of his bed when a spirit eagle suddenly swooped in from his open window and landed on the head of his bed. The time taken for the reply was just as he had initially predicted.

Miao Yi was instantly overjoyed. He hurriedly retrieved the jade archive from the tube on the spirit eagle's leg. As expected, it had come from Traversing Water Palace; the message was encoded with the cipher they had agreed upon.

As he read through the jade archive, his expression gradually darkened. Traversing Water Palace hinted to him that the Realm Beyond Heaven had sent other groups to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea for the same mission as his, and told him to continue staying there to gather clues on the Netherdragon Ship. If he could achieve a great accomplishment, he would be heavily rewarded once he returned.

They also told him to head to the Chamber of Commerce branch in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea and look for the intermediary, and that he need not worry about Raincloud Manor.

After feeding the spirit eagle, Miao Yi sent it off with his response to the decree. Once again, he politely stressed his desire to return, and that he felt he wouldn't be of much use on his own here.

After sending off the spirit eagle, having made sure that he couldn't return just yet, Miao Yi wrote down another letter. He then took out another spirit eagle from his beast sack and sent it off. The letter was addressed to Qian'Er and Xue'Er, telling them that he was safe so that they wouldn't worry.

At the front hall. Seated behind the counter, the scholar was surprised to see Miao Yi walking out the front door. This was the first time he had stepped out of the tavern ever since his arrival.

"Carpenter, care for a walk outside?"

As he cautiously eyed his surroundings, Miao Yi made his way to the stable. He leaned on the railings, leisurely kicking the sand by his feet as he smiled and posed the question to the carpenter, who was in the middle of repairing the stable.

In the entire tavern, the carpenter and stonemason were the only ones who frequently stepped out of the courtyard. They would often head out to bring back news regarding the current events of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, or to purchase supplies for the tavern.

Even though Tempest Tavern had eighty tables and eighty rooms, according to Miao Yi's observation, almost half the rooms were practically empty. The ones that did come to stay here were mostly trying to hide from their troubles outside and rarely set foot out the door. When they did, they would hurriedly leave. As such, not many people dined there either.

Back then, he had come here in the dead of night, so he thought that was the reason why the place was so empty. However, he now knew that there were barely more than three tables being occupied in the front hall at any given time. Moreover, most of these people had only come here to take a peek at the beautiful Lady Boss. Even though they couldn't have such a fine woman for themselves, they still wanted the eye-candy. As for the rest, they mostly had the employees bring their meals up to their rooms; there was barely any human interaction at all. Then again, most of them didn't want to talk to another person in the first place. It was no wonder why the scholar and the others had latched themselves onto Miao Yi so tightly.

"You're not afraid to walk outside?" The carpenter was astonished. He asked curiously, "What are you heading out for?"

Miao Yi sighed. "I'm going to the Chamber of Commerce to sell some things and exchange some crystals. The tavern's expenses are too high. And you guys won't make it free of charge for me either. I'm running out of money to pay for my stay."

The carpenter continued to cast a scrutinizing gaze at Miao Yi, before returning to his own chores. He didn't give any other response besides that.

Miao Yi was lost for words. He asked, "Are you going or not? I'm not familiar with these parts, so I don't know which direction I should go. Won't you lead the way for me?" He had already plotted out the path beforehand with the stonemason. The problem was that it wasn't safe for him to go out on his own. It was much safer to have an expert by his side.

The carpenter put down his tools, turned around and slapped the dust off his hands as he said, "I'll do it only this once. There won't be a next time!"

"Fine fine fine! You only need to take me there once. I won't trouble you next time." Miao Yi hurriedly nodded.

As soon as the they stepped outside the front gate, Miao Yi released the dragon steed. However, it immediately bolted off the second it left his grasp. Miao Yi couldn't help but smile wryly as he watched it go.

The carpenter asked curiously, "Why aren't you chasing after it?"

"It belongs to Cheng Yingwu. Forget it. It's too much trouble to tame it since the owner is still alive. Just let it go look for its owner." Despite knowing the answer already, Miao Yi proceeded to ask, "Which way to the Celestial Nation's Chamber of Commerce?"

The carpenter raised his hand and gestured for him to head towards the right. The two of them then walked side by side, kicking up sand as they went.

Within one of the nearby mud houses, behind a tiny gap on the window, a set of eyes quickly narrowed as they watched Miao Yi exit the Tempest Tavern. The person then turned and said to the black-robed individual cultivating in the corner of the room, "The target has exited the premises."

The black-robed person immediately opened their eyes and walked to the window.

These people were both donned in full black attire. The taller one was called Liu Yun, while the shorter one was called Liu Sha, and these two were brothers. Evidently, these were not their real names, but that fact was unimportant. The important thing was that these two belonged to the Flowing Clouds Dune Sea's assassin organization—'Peony', and that they both possessed a Red Lotus First Grade cultivation.

As he walked beside Miao Yi, the carpenter abruptly turned his head towards their direction. The two of them quickly hid themselves to the side, then quietly left the house.

The Celestial Nation's Chamber of Commerce branch was not far from Tempest Tavern; it was only about five miles away. The building itself was much grander than Tempest Tavern, though, and was actually three stories high. It was also surrounded by a dense growth of palm trees all around.

Miao Yi raised his head to look at the sign on top of the gate. He then proceeded to walk inside while the carpenter sat outside the door and waited.

As he made his way past the giant mud-walled courtyard and into the main hall, one of the tellers quickly approached him with a business smile. "Good day, sir. Are you looking to make a purchase, or perhaps you wish to sell something?"

The main hall had a very elaborate design, and there very few people inside. Miao Yi scanned his surroundings, then secretly took out a jade archive and handed it to the teller.

The teller couldn't help his surprise as he read through the jade archive. He gave Miao Yi a scrutinizing gaze, then extended his arm in gesture. "Come with me."

Miao Yi followed him back to the rear hall.

The architecture of the Chamber of Commerce building was different from the Tempest Tavern. The tavern's design was that of three individual sectors separated by multiple entrances at the various levels of entry, whereas the Chamber of Commerce was essentially just one giant building.

The rear hall was most likely only accessible by Chamber of Commerce employees. There, a white-bearded old man could be seen cultivating upon a wide chair. The teller bade Miao Yi to wait for a moment, then stepped forward and handed the jade archive over to the old man.

After the old man read through the jade archive, he instructed the teller to wait there, while calling out to Miao Yi, "Come with me."

Miao Yi followed the old man from the rear hall, up a flight of stairs, all the way to the third floor, then entered an isolated room.

Inside the room, a tall, slender man was seen cultivating. He was a handsome man; fair of skin, with a set of beautiful sharp eyes.

After reading though the jade archive the old man had brought, the handsome man had him step down. He then stared down Miao Yi and conveyed his thoughts through voice transmission. "So you're Miao Yi, the tenth place holder of the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade?"

'My cultivation may not be high, but my fame sure is well-known!' Miao Yi thought in a self-deprecating manner. However, in front of the person before him now, he didn't even have the guts to breathe slightly louder than normal. The other party naturally emitted a sense of dominance that was present in those who stood in command of the masses. Even though Miao Yi had seen several bigwigs himself, none of them seemed to compare with the aura surrounding the man before him right now. His beautiful sharp eyes, especially, just seemed to naturally exude a sense of pride that caused those who beheld it to instinctively humble themselves; and his every word, coupled with that deep, commanding voice, seemed to carry an immense weight that pressed down on a person's heart and forced them to be helplessly anxious.

Miao Yi hurriedly replied with voice transmission, "Yes, sir!"

The other person then said, "I hear that you even managed to keep the Ghost Sage's disciple on his toes with your long sword back in the Subjugation Crusade. Your actions undoubtedly caused our Celestial Nation cultivators to feel great pride."

"Those are all just rumors!" Miao Yi politely replied. Deep down, he thought, 'That's Yan Beihong, okay? Not me!' He then cupped his fists and asked, "May I have the pleasure of knowing your name, sir?"

"Guo Shaohai! I'm your liaison." The person continued, "I already know about the situation with your group. Now isn't the time to fight with the Hive Gang; we must prioritize the mission above all else. Your confrontation with the Hive Gang has undoubtedly proven your capabilities in killing your way through to the tenth place in the Subjugation Crusade. Even after all your comrades have perished, you were still able to hold the Hive Gang's Sixth Young Lady hostage and save yourself. Your ability is remarkable indeed!"

Miao Yi cupped his fists. "Senior Guo is exaggerating."

"No need to be so humble!" Guo Shaohai straightened his legs and walked over. He handed the jade archive back to Miao Yi and said, "It just so happens that another group has arrived. I will shortly transfer you over to that team so that you may continue on with your mission. You shall lead them as Captain!"

"Me? Captain?" Miao Yi pointed to himself in shock. 'Appointing me Captain again? Are you kidding me? All the people under me have died, and you still want to hand me more troops?' He hurriedly waved his hand and said, "I am afraid my abilities are limited. Please appoint another more suitable candidate, Senior Guo."

"Now is not the time for humility. If you have what it takes to handle the task at hand, then by right, you should showcase your skills. The mission should be your top priority. Once you've succeeded, you will naturally be heavily rewarded." Guo Shaohai waved his hand, indicating that the matter was decided, and continued, "You are currently staying in Tempest Tavern, correct?"

"Yes, sir!"

"The Chamber of Commerce has recruited fifty loose cultivators to harvest the 'Moondawn' spiritual herb, and thirty of them consist of our people in disguise. Tomorrow morning, they will pass by the entrance of Tempest Tavern. During then, you can simply blend in with them."

"Understood, sir!"

"There's one other thing you should remember. After you've managed to find traces of the Netherdragon Ship, send word back immediately. At the same time… to avoid the information from being leaked, leave no survivors among the other twenty unrelated loose cultivators. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"..." Miao Yi hesitated for a moment, then cupped his fists and answered, "Your subordinate shall fulfill the task assigned to him!"

"If you manage to do your task well, then a Hall Master's seat will surely be yours to take." Guo Shaohai waved his hand and continued, "Now, go!"