Chapter 183: News from Fairy City

His mood suddenly relaxed, and he instantly felt a wave of fatigue; it was already almost noon. From last night until now, he had not only taken no rest, but had been constantly using his mind, exhausted in body and spirit.

After collapsing onto the bed, he quickly fell into deep sleep.

In the haze, a sound of birds flapping their wings rang out; Wei Yuning frowned but ignored it.

When he woke, it was already dark. He looked at the solar corona sphere hanging on the wall; the green vines inside had stopped at the hour of You. He sat up and saw a strange paper bird by the bedside.

The paper bird was neither yellow nor silver, nor gold, but a strange pale gray, and it shimmered with specks of starlight. Wei Yuning picked it up and examined it closely, exclaiming, "Why does it look like a star map?"

He used his divine sense to open the talisman bird, and a voice he never expected came from within: "Young Master Yuning, hope you are well! I have joined the Exploration Division of the Fairy City Outer Guard; I unexpectedly learned that the publisher of the Spirit Beast World spatial anomaly investigation mission comes from the abandoned world of the Void. The twenty‑year pact remains unchanged. Ye Ying lives in the Green Forest Guard City of Fairy City, very safe; her water‑based illusion art has advanced, currently at the late stage of illumination. No other matters. The flying bird message immortal talisman will return after ten breaths; if you have anything for me, be quick!"

Then the gray talisman bird began to flash alternately bright and dim.

It turned out to be Qiu Hu! He hadn't forgotten me! Wait, ten breaths, what? Wei Yuning panicked.

"Do I like you? Do I love you? Do I miss you? No, they already know, why embarrass myself? Then just a greeting. How are you? Does anyone like you? Pfft, forget it, this sounds so cheesy! I've already joined the Fairy City civil service, life is naturally wonderful! As for whether anyone likes her, what does it have to do with him!"

"Doo doo doo…" the talisman bird emitted a huge warning sound.

Time was running out!

"Anyone who dares to marry you, I'll kill them!" Wei Yuning's mind suddenly flashed, and the words sprang out.

"Wait, I was just being casual!" He immediately retracted the words; not only did they sound even more cheesy, they were also low‑brow!

"Whoosh," before his explanation could finish, the flying bird vanished.

"Ah, how embarrassing!" Wei Yuning covered his face and crouched down.

After a while, Wei Yuning finally calmed his mood.

"As long as I'm not embarrassed, the embarrassment falls on her!" He rebuilt his mental defense array.

His stomach growled; Wei Yuning gathered his composure, prepared to eat something, only to discover that his stored food was all gone.

He checked the defense formation again; it remained as solid as a mountain. After several days of self‑reinforcement, the Thick Earth Realm's defensive power had reached an astonishing level.

The strength of the Thick Earth Realm lies not only in its resilient defense, but also in its endless vitality; as long as its four core components exist, the defense formation will never disappear.

Leaving Wind Lotus Garden, he went to the market at Ke Lai Peak to purchase some meat. Although he could get a better price at the Spirit Beast Ranch, there were fewer choices there, it would incur a bit of favor owed, and more importantly, he wasn't short of money now.

High‑grade Spirit Beast meat from cattle, sheep, deer, and boar were the top picks, two thousand jin of each; low‑grade Spirit Bird meat also totaled over a thousand jin. The taste of high‑grade Spirit Bird creatures was also excellent, but they are cultivators' good helpers, usable as mounts or companions, and few cultivators include them in their recipes.

Various fruits were also bought by the hundreds of jin, and finally his storage ring was basically full.

After the purchase, he headed to the Secret Medicine Pavilion.

From a distance he saw a crowd of people coming and going at the pavilion's entrance, bustling, and he couldn't help but wonder when the shop had become so lively!

Approaching, Wei Yuning saw everyone leaving the shop carrying a wooden box; the material was familiar—Qianyang Wood, a common wood found throughout mountains and fields, but its use is not simple: cultivators often use it to block yin‑type substances.

Three female cultivators were busy spinning around; when they saw Wei Yuning approach, they merely nodded at him.

From the interaction, the three seemed much more harmonious; Fengci's hidden arrogance had lessened, her work with the shop staff was no longer stiff, and Hai Yan and Xue Ying were also less uneasy around Fengci.

All the buyers were cultivators, mostly from sects, with a few outsiders and merchant‑type people.

After about half an hour, Xue Ying shouted inside the shop: "The demon pearls are out of stock; if new goods arrive, they will be announced on the Cloud‑Coming Inn's bulletin board. Please stay alert, fellow Daoists!"

The customers complained a bit and left one after another.

Only two young female cultivators remained in the shop, ordinary‑looking passersby, picking between ordinary Ten‑Mile Fragrance and Hundred Flavors Mix, unable to decide.

"Choose Hundred Flavors Mix!" Wei Yuning stepped to the side and suggested.

"Why?" a slightly mischievous purple‑clad girl raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Hundred Flavors Mix contains over a hundred spices from the Spirit Beast World, and it also adds the unique plant essence of the Cold Land. Paired with it, even very fatty meat retains only the delicious flavor without any greasy mouthfeel!" Wei Yuning explained.

"Alright, I'll take this!" the purple‑clad girl laughed.

When the two giggling cultivators turned the corner, Fengci curiously asked, "Junior Brother Yuning, was that purple‑clad girl good‑looking?"

"No!" Wei Yuning, standing at the shop entrance, said unconvincingly.

"Then why did you stare at her for so long? You have a Dao companion, and more than one!" Fengci retorted.

Fengci's status was different; besides helping in the shop, she was also Yun Yan's follower, so she knew a lot.

Wei Yuning snorted, too lazy to reply. One, two, three fake Dao companions—others don't know, do you still not know? Those days of phoenixes and dances, Fengci liked him, he once believed it, but now after close contact, he felt no emotion at all.

Obviously, the three phoenixes of Qingluan are no pushover! All are drama queens!

He walked around the shop; everything was orderly. The premium Ten‑Mile Fragrance was stored in his storage ring, the ordinary Ten‑Mile Fragrance outside was plentiful, the Shu‑flavor hotpot base had sold out, but Hundred Flavors Mix and the other earlier spices were still fully stocked.

Several commonly used pills were also on sale, but their prices had clearly risen; it seems the alchemy workshop's supply cut has affected the Secret Medicine Pavilion.

Hong Le supplied a few more varieties of Spirit Tea.

Qing Chou provided additional low‑grade artifacts; among them, two clever artifacts were displayed prominently and were also the best‑selling: "Frozen Spider" and "Flaming Spider".