Soaring the Heavens

"Uhh… Three hundred a month, then six hundred for the second month, then for the third month… You'd be spending about six hundred thousand Orbs of Will per month after a year…" Miao Yi couldn't count further. He was in utter disbelief.

"Now do you see the problem?" Pi Junzi sighed. "If someone stayed up to two years, they would have to pay over 2.5 billion low-grade Orbs of Will. Not even the Six Sages could afford it, let alone us! We couldn't keep up with the expenditure anymore after a year and a half, and were politely asked to leave the tavern."

"A year and a half…" Miao Yi gasped. "Why were you guys so dumb?! How could you bear to stay there for a whole year and a half when it's so expensive?!"

Tao Yongchun said dejectedly, "They didn't force us to stay either. After a few months, they politely told us about the pricing scheme and advised us to temporarily move out for a month. They said that the tavern only had eighty tables and eighty rooms and that there were simply too many people in the cultivation realm who wished to barricade themselves in the tavern, away from their enemies. If all these people were to stay there, then they wouldn't be able to run their business properly, hence they came up with this strategy. As long as someone stayed there every other month, then the pricing scheme would reset to the initial amount. That way, the guest would be able to save quite a bit of money. However, if they chose to stay there consecutively, then the tavern can only increase the price. Otherwise, they wouldn't have enough rooms to accommodate all the guests. They told us that the Tempest Tavern was a business establishment, not a safe house."

"..." Miao Yi was utterly speechless. If that was the case, then what were those bastards plotting by trying to make him stay longer?

Pi Junzi sighed again. "Still, how could we possibly dare to step outside? As we stayed in the Tempest Tavern, we heard that those who stay for several consecutive months were heavily targeted the moment they set foot outside. If we go out, we were sure to be robbed. And that's not even the worst part. We'd be considered lucky if we didn't lose our lives as well. The people from the tavern kindly advised us to leave on several occasions, but in the end, we were the ones who begged them to let us stay. This is how we ended up in such a miserable state. After staying for a year and a half, we couldn't afford to pay the accommodation fees any longer. We only kept a couple of transcendent artifacts when we left, thinking we could still use them to put up a fight. However, the second we stepped outside the door, we were robbed by the Hive Gang. Fortunately, they didn't kill us and only took our transcendent artifacts. They even helped give us some pointers on how to survive in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. This is why you're seeing us here today."

Miao Yi had no words to describe these two. He sighed in exasperation. "If I had known about this sooner, I wouldn't have given you two such a large share of the bounty during the Subjugation Crusade. How could you just hand over such a vast fortune so easily? Ahh, I'm so annoyed!"

Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun also sighed helplessly.

"This accursed Tempest Tavern really is monopolizing its own niche market here in the cultivation realm. How much must they make in a year?" Miao Yi couldn't help cursing.

Pi Junzi sighed again. "You're telling me. Whether it be thieves on the run, people who embezzled money, or just wealthy folks who got caught in some kind of trouble, basically all those in the entire cultivation realm who offended the wrong people would come and hide in the tavern in order to avoid certain death. And in the end, they would all give away their hard-earned resources to the Tempest Tavern. Even though the tavern might look like it doesn't have a lot of guests, but to be honest, all those staying there long-term are ridiculously wealthy. It is by no means a place for poor folks to stay in. Although it's not a very big place, I hear that it rakes in an astronomical figure in profits every year. The two of us have stayed there for over a year, and we've seen many rich folks who were asked to leave the tavern after spending up all they had there. Naturally, the two of us belong in this category as well. Haa!"

Miao Yi gasped in astonishment. "How is this any different than robbing someone when they're wounded? They're just doing it in a roundabout manner instead of forcing you to hand over your money like everyone else did… What a despicable way of doing things. And the guests are the ones who willingly hand over their belongings to them!"

Tao Yongchun smiled wryly. "There's no helping it. Even if someone else wanted to start a similar business, they don't have the background for it. Not even the Six Sages could make a living out of this. In the entire cultivation realm, only the Lady Boss of Tempest Tavern has the qualifications to do such a thing. No one else can do what she's doing."

Miao Yi had always been curious about the Lady Boss's background. Now that Tao Yongchun was talking about it, he couldn't help asking, "Why is that so?"

Tao Yongchun replied, "Don't you know? The Lady Boss's name is Yun Zhiqiu. Yun is her surname!"

Miao Yi answered, "I know this of course. But so what if her surname is Yun? You said that not even the Six Sages could make a living out of this. Even if she's somehow related to Devil Sage Yun Aotian, what makes her so special?"

Pi Junzi laughed. "You've really hit the nail on the head. This Yun Zhiqiu is really related to Devil Sage Yun Aotian; she's the daughter of his eldest son, which also means she's Yun Aotian's granddaughter. Moreover, she's his eldest grandchild. Out of all of the Devil Sage's grandchildren, she's the most senior, and also the one most favored by Yun Aotian himself!"

"This…" Miao Yi was taken aback. This was indeed quite the powerful background. However, he couldn't help asking suspiciously, "You guys almost had me fooled there. If not even the Six Sages could do this kind of business, how is it possible that Yun Aotian's granddaughter can? Hold on, don't tell me it's somehow related to the Boss?"

Pi Junzi acknowledged. "You got it right again. Do you know who the Boss is? His name is Feng Xuan, and he's the eldest grandchild of Dao Sage Feng Beichen. Those who didn't know probably would've never guessed that the grandchildren of the two nemeses—the Devil Sage and Dao Sage, would actually get married to each other."

Miao Yi asked curiously, "Yeah, exactly. How did those two get married?"

Pi Junzi chuckled. "We only heard about this after coming here as well, but apparently, Feng Xuan was a tall, handsome young man back in the day. Not only was he blessed with good looks, but he was also a very approachable person, and had plenty of friends. Not only was he on good terms with the two Ancients of the North and South Poles, he made friends with a great number of mysterious experts and Demonic Behemoths. Moreover, the Five Emperors that ruled over Flowing Clouds Dune Sea were also his sworn brothers…"

"Now wait just a minute!" Miao Yi cut him off. "Isn't Flowing Clouds Dune Sea under the control of the Two Braves? Since when were there 'Five Emperors'?"

Tao Yongchun replied on Pi Junzi's behalf, "There were Five Emperors originally, but three were killed by Devil Sage Yun Aotian in a fit of rage. Even the Two Braves of today had almost lost their lives to Yun Aotian back then!"

Pi Junzi continued, "This Feng Xuan really was quite the character back then. Not only did he possess a great aptitude for cultivation, he had friends all across the realm. You could say that he brought great pride to the Dao Sage Feng Beichen. Everyone would say that Feng Beichen had nothing more he could ask for with such a grandson. However, the problem arose fifty thousand years ago, when the Netherdragon Ship had suddenly resurfaced in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. The Six Sages all stormed towards it when they heard the news, but ended up with nothing after a vicious battle. And of all things, Feng Xuan and Yun Zhiqiu fell in love with each other right around that time as well. The two of them were nothing if not a match made in heaven, but their backgrounds only spelled terror for their love. It's because Yun Zhiqiu's parents, Yun Aotian's eldest son and daughter-in-law had been killed by Feng Beichen way back when the Six Sages were still vying for control of the realm. And Yun Aotian himself had killed Feng Beichen's eldest son and daughter-in-law out of revenge. Call it an eye for an eye. Because of this, not only would Yun Aotian never agree to Yun Zhiqiu marrying Feng Xuan, Feng Beichen himself was against the idea as well. That said, Feng Beichen loved this grandson of his very dearly, and in the end, he gave in to Feng Xuan's pleas and acknowledged Yun Zhiqiu as his granddaughter-in-law. He even sent gifts over to the Great Devil Realm. However, this ended up sparking Yun Aotian's fury. He saw this as a disgrace, blaming Yun Zhiqiu for even daring to fall in love with the grandchild of her parents' murderer. It was utterly blasphemous to him. Unless he died, there was no way he would agree to her marrying the grandchild of the person who killed his son."

Miao Yi clicked his tongue. "I never would've guessed that that Lady Boss had such a backstory. So how did those two get together in the end?"

Tao Yongchun smiled wryly. "Ultimately, those two decided to leave the rest of the world behind and cut themselves off from their respective families. They were going to abandon everything behind just so they could be together; they wanted to rely on themselves to live and not depend on the two Sages. And it just so happened that the Five Emperors of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea at the time were Feng Xuan's sworn brothers. Moreover, this is a lawless place, making it the ideal location to start their new lives, away from the control of the Six Sages. Back then, Feng Xuan had secretly informed his five sworn brothers of the news ahead of time, and the Five Brothers immediately helped him set up a tavern right here and *named it after the couple, implying that the two of them had joined together in matrimony. This was also how the Tempest Tavern came to be. After which, Feng Xuan and Yun Zhiqiu sneaked themselves out and were about to marry each other and start their new lives here. The Five Emperors also planned out a major celebration for the two of them, decorating the entire Tempest Tavern in red. All that was left was for the two newly-weds to seal the deal. When the couple in question arrived, the entire group swarmed around them and immediately dressed them up in wedding robes. Apparently, right as the two of them were swearing their vows to heaven, a furious roar of thunder cracked across the skies and dark clouds quickly loomed over the place. The Devil Sage Yun Aotian had personally chased them all the way here. Things started getting messy then!"

'So something like that actually happened!' Miao Yi asked excitedly, "How messy was it?"

Pi Junzi smiled and continued, "Devil Sage Yun Aotian is said to be the most powerful person in the entire cultivation realm. Besides the other Five Sages, who could possibly get in the way of such a man? Moreover, Yun Aotian had arrived in a blinding rage, causing the auspicious occasion to turn into an unfortunate one. It is said that many people died at the time. While he was in his wedding robes, Feng Xuan was heavily injured by Yun Aotian, and even the Five Emperors who tried to stop him got hurt. Had Yun Zhiqiu not threatened to end her life if he didn't put a stop to it, then Yun Aotian probably would've already turned Feng Xuan into mincemeat. At the time, Yun Aotian couldn't do anything against Yun Zhiqiu. She was adamant about killing herself if he didn't comply. In the end, Yun Aotian decided to spare Feng Xuan. However, his stance remained the same; there was no way he would ever agree to Yun Zhiqiu marrying the grandson of the man who killed his child. He told Yun Zhiqiu that he was sorely disappointed in her, and even said that he would no longer acknowledge her as his granddaughter. He then took Feng Xuan away and imprisoned him within the Great Devil Realm. And even now, Feng Xuan is still trapped in there."

Miao Yi asked curiously, "How could Feng Beichen possibly sit still knowing Yun Aotian had captured his grandson?"

"Of course he couldn't. Not only did Feng Beichen go all the way to the Great Devil Realm to personally demand that his son be released, even the Five Emperors had gathered many of Feng Xuan's friends and rushed over to try and pressure Yun Aotian to release him. Yet, in the end, not only were they unable to force Yun Aotian to concede with their numbers, they even made him go into a burst of rage. It was nothing short of a massacre. Dao Sage Feng Beichen was heavily wounded; three of the Five Emperors were killed, resulting in the Two Braves you see today; and countless others perished under Yun Aotian's hands. Had the other Four Sages not tried to seize the opportunity to attack, forcing Yun Aotian to stay his hand, there might not even be the Two Braves in the current Flowing Clouds Dune Sea; they all would've been killed by him." Pi Junzi chuckled.

Miao Yi sighed in sorrow.

Tao Yongchun then added, "Even though Yun Aotian said that he would never acknowledge Yun Zhiqiu as his granddaughter ever again, she was still his grandchild. Not to mention, Feng Beichen has personally acknowledged her as his granddaughter-in-law, the Two Braves of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea call her their sister, and Feng Xuan's friends still support her for old times' sake. With the Devil Sage and the Dao Sage as her background, as well as the support from the local powerhouses of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea and several of those old geezers giving her face, even the other Four Sages would have to think twice before messing with Tempest Tavern. This was also the reason why it could monopolize this kind of business."