Immortal of the Nine Realms

"Dear guests, please take a seat!"

As soon as the young waiter saw the six people's attire, he quickly led them to a private booth on the second floor and even used a cloth to dust off their seats.

"What kind of tea would you like? We have peach tip from before the rain and snow tea from after autumn," the waiter said with a friendly smile.

The group exchanged glances.

Gu Shuai cleared his throat and casually replied, "Then let's have the peach tips before the rain."

"Great!"

After the waiter left, Fang Chen and the other three introduced themselves to the three seated across from them. The old man called himself Zhi Kui. The other two turned out to be siblings. The brother was named Bu Qingyun and his sister was named Bu Qingyu.

"The Ji surname is quite prominent," Zhi Kui remarked, glancing at Fang Chen with a hint of suspicion. "Is it true that you have an eye ailment, Daoist Ji Liang?"

The Bu siblings looked at Fang Chen with skepticism.

A cultivator with an eye ailment who dared to tread the Ancient Immortal Road showed either great confidence in their abilities or was simply courting death.

Fang Chen felt something was off. Although he was an unknown figure, he had recently killed several cultivators from Dao sects, yet it seemed these individuals had truly never seen his face before.

Could they have been in the Ancient Immortal Road a long time ago?

"My eyes have indeed been injured," Fang Chen replied, nodding slightly.

With this confirmation, Zhi Kui's wariness lessened somewhat. He surveyed their surroundings and frowned. "Everything here is an illusion. If this is the first test set by the Ancient Immortal Road, how do you all think we should break this illusion?"

"I believe we should break it with strength; perhaps the Ancient Immortal Road wants to test our abilities," Gu Shuai suggested.

Bu Qingyun nodded. "I think it should be as you say. The first test must be about strength; without sufficient power, there's naturally no chance of becoming an Immortal Seedling."

Bu Qingyu softly said, "Brother, if it really is an illusion, breaking it with brute force would be quite difficult. It would be better to carefully search for the core of the illusion and break it with strategy. Perhaps this is the true test the Ancient Immortal Road has set for us."

Fang Yunmeng agreed with her.

Now, Gu Shuai and Bu Qingyun supported breaking it with strength, while the two female cultivators supported breaking it with strategy. Zhi Kui did not voice an opinion but turned to Fang Chen. "Daoist Ji Liang, what do you think?"

"First strategy, then brute force," Fang Chen replied. "That's the most prudent approach. Earlier, Daoist Gu Shuai mentioned that this teahouse existed before the illusion appeared, so this place might be the core. My eyesight isn't great, so I'll rely on everyone to look for clues."

Fang Yunmeng nodded gently. "What Daoist Ji says makes some sense. What do you all think?"

Gu Shuai contemplated briefly before slowly nodding. "I think that's feasible."

At that moment, they heard a ruckus from outside.

"Old blind man, if you're blind, don't come out and wander around. Are you trying to extort money? Be careful or I'll beat you to death!"

"Uncle, I'm sorry! Grandpa, let's move a bit closer here. You hold onto the stick and don't let go!"

Through the window, the group saw a young boy clutching a wooden stick, leading an elderly blind man. The elder man was trembling as he walked. The boy was in ragged clothes and barefoot, while the old blind man, though shabby, wore clean garments.

The two figures gradually moved away under the disdainful and contemptuous gazes of passersby.

Gu Shuai and the others retracted their gazes; everything around them felt incredibly real. On the street, some people were fighting over a few copper coins, while others were performing or begging, filling the air with the hustle and bustle of the marketplace.

This made them feel somewhat out of place. After years of cultivation, they had rarely been in such an environment.

"Daoist Ji, you stay here and wait for us. We'll look around to see if we can find any clues. Since your eyesight isn't great, don't wander off," Fang Yunmeng advised.

Bu Qingyun smiled. "Since Daoist Ji Liang was able to enter the Ancient Immortal Road, which means that even if he can't see, it won't hinder him."

Fang Yunmeng didn't retort and instead wandered around the teahouse with the others, attempting to find any clues related to the illusion.

Soon, the waiter arrived with a tray. "The tea is served!"

However, he quickly noticed that some of the guests were messing. "Hmm, where are those guests?"

Fang Chen smiled indifferently and replied, "This is our first time here; they're having a look around."

"A look around? What's there to see?" the waiter muttered under his breath.

"Little Brother, may I ask where this place is?" inquired Fang Chen.

"This? This is Stone River County," the waiter said casually, looking around for the others.

Upon seeing that Gu Shuai and the others were indeed just moving around in the teahouse and hadn't left, he felt a bit relieved.

He couldn't help but worry since this old man before him seemed to lack the means to pay.

Fang Chen wanted to ask him a few more questions, but another table called for the waiter and he left.

Fang Chen picked up the teacup, sniffed it, but didn't take a sip. Instead, he enjoyed the aroma of the tea while listening to the noisy sounds outside.

Various conversations filled his ears, and through these exchanges, Fang Chen continuously filtered out useful information for himself.

This illusion doesn't seem to be fabricated out of thin air; this place should exist somewhere; it's just been brought over intact, Fang Chen pondered thoughtfully.

After about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Fang Yunmeng and the others returned one after another, looking grim.

Bu Qingyun frowned. "I found no clues. When I spoke with the locals, they felt too real. This doesn't feel like an illusion at all."

"We can only break it by force then. Do you think the illusion will be lifted if we kill all the mortals here?" Gu Shuai mused.

"We better not. Doing so could easily trigger unknown dangers," Zhu Kui immediately objected. "We can only observe carefully and should refrain from acting rashly for now."

The group deliberated a bit longer and decided to wait and see how things unfolded.

Once they were done drinking their tea, Gu Shuai suggested going outside for a walk, hoping to find some clues.

"Esteemed guests, you have drank three pots of peach tip tea, totaling three taels of silver," the waiter came over with a cheerful smile, bowing to the group.

Gu Shuai paused for a moment."Do you have silver on you?"

How could a cultivator like him possibly carry silver, mortal money?

Upon hearing Gu Shuai's words, the waiter's expression changed immediately. His posture became upright as he looked at the group with a wary gaze.

"Let me take a look; I think I have some," Fang Yunmeng said, intending to check her storage ring. However, a few moments later, her eyes openned wide. She stared at everyone in shock.

"My storage ring won't open! Not only that, but I can't mobilize my spiritual energy either!"

It felt as though she had become an ordinary person!

A sense of foreboding rose in everyone's hearts. They each tried to mobilize their spiritual energy, only to find that they, like Fang Yunmeng, couldn't do so. It seemed that their spiritual energy had vanished without a trace. Without spiritual energy, how could they open their storage rings?

Fang Chen also attempted it and found himself in the same predicament; he couldn't mobilize his spiritual energy either.

Moreover, he noticed changes in his body. His fourth rank Sword Body made his qi and blood vigorous; even without mobilizing a bit of spiritual energy, he could shatter mountains with a single punch.

However, now... his qi and blood didn't feel any different from an ordinary person's. When he lightly clenched his fist, the power felt... quite ordinary.

The waiter's face turned ashen, glaring coldly at the group. "Are you all here to dine and dash? What a way to court death! Do you want me to send you all to see the officials?"