Chapter 178: Dan Tai Immortal City

Time and space shuttle, light and shadow flow.

When Zhang Xingyu opened his eyes again, he had already returned to the Southern Zhan Continent.

His head swayed, his brain swelled, and his whole body ached.

These are the aftereffects of ultra‑long‑distance teleportation.

After staying in Dongsheng Immortal City for over three months, the portal finally opened to the outside again.

On the day of departure, the Dongsheng Immortal Martial Academy was filled with the scent of laurel everywhere.

He arrived in midsummer, and left during the Mid‑Autumn Festival.

At the parting, Zhu Dafu clamored to return to the Nanhua Immortal Academy together with Zhang Xingyu.

His reason was to go home and visit his parents.

"You've only been here a few months and you already want to go home! Are you complaining that your father gave you too many spirit stones? Isn't the right to use the teleportation array supposed to cost spirit stones?"

Zhang Xingyu gave him a light tap on the head, then urged him to stay at the Dongsheng Immortal Martial Academy.

After this return, he plans to first take Meng Ruyan and Zhang Kaixin to travel through the Southern Yue Kingdom, fulfilling his promise to be her guide.

When the tour ends, he will go to Xihe Niu Continent to see the anti‑demon frontline.

If that kid goes back, he'll probably clamour to go with me.

The anti‑demon frontline is extremely perilous.

Given his plump body and clumsy skills, staying in Dongsheng Shenzhou is better.

Amid Zhu Dafu's tear‑filled eyes and his soft whispers, Zhang Xingyu set out for home again.

On the sixteenth day of the eighth month in the year 100,006 of the Immortal Era, Zhang Xingyu set foot on the land of the Southern Zhan Continent.

Dan Tai Immortal City, central plaza.

In the center of the plaza stood a towering statue of the Dan Tai Immortal Maiden.

The Dan Tai Immortal Maiden, the founding patriarch of the Dan Tai Immortal Sect, is said to have ascended to the Immortal Realm millennia ago.

North Dan Tai, South Sea Pavilion.

The Dan Tai Immortal Sect is one of the ten great immortal sects of the Southern Zhan Continent, and also one of the two major immortal sects there that recruit female disciples.

The Dan Tai Immortal Maiden was originally the city lord's daughter, and later founded the Dan Tai Immortal Sect on Dan Tai Mountain not far from the city.

Zhang Xingyu gazed at the statue's face and sighed: "The Dan Tai Immortal Maiden is truly a nation‑wrecker, stunning beyond compare! No wonder Senior Liu Changsheng, the Nanhua Daxian, once delayed his ascension to the Immortal Realm for centuries because of her."

Since he has already returned to the Southern Zhan Continent, Zhang Xingyu is not in a hurry to go back to Nanhua Cheng.

As a competent guide, he naturally intends to fulfill his duties seriously.

Although it is his first time in Dan Tai Immortal City, his knowledge of it is considerable.

According to the 'Southern Zhan Continent Immortal Travel Record', one of Dan Tai Immortal City's greatest features is a cloud of beauties.

Walking the streets, beautiful women eye‑catching from every direction.

These women are mostly slender, graceful, and strikingly gorgeous.

The author of the Southern Zhan Continent Immortal Travel Record sighed in the book: "Dan Tai Immortal City is a place you never want to leave once you arrive."

Besides the beauties, there is also delicious food.

Dan Tai Immortal City offers a variety of specialty dishes, all cooked with spirit beasts and spirit plants.

Compared with mortal cuisine, food prepared with spirit beasts and spirit plants is far tastier.

Beyond beauties and food, Dan Tai Immortal City is a shopper's paradise for cultivators.

Here, a myriad of rare treasures are gathered.

Although Zhang Xingyu has little interest in shopping, he has a female companion and a curious youngster by his side.

Thus, pulling out his wallet and carrying things became his main task these days.

Sure enough, Meng Ruyan and Zhang Kaixin walked ahead.

Each held a string of crystal spirit fruits, munching while strolling.

Zhang Xingyu lugged bags of goods behind them.

Clothes, jewelry, toys, and some odd curios.

Zhang Xingyu stopped at the entrance of a shop called 'Dream Immortal Beauty'.

The shop sells ritual Dao robes.

A red wooden sign stood at the doorway, its gold‑dust lettering reading "All items half price."

A speaker beside the sign blared repeatedly: "Store lease expired, loss‑sale, everything half price!"

Zhang Xingyu set down his parcels and wiped his forehead of nonexistent sweat.

After a short rest, he lifted a stack of parcels and stepped into the clothing store.

Inside the clothing store, Meng Ruyan was holding a women's Dao robe while speaking with the clerk.

Zhang Kaixin poked around here and there, darting about.

Besides Meng Ruyan and Zhang Kaixin, another woman was selecting garments in the store.

The woman faced away from Zhang Xingyu.

She was tall, fair‑skinned, and her back gave a familiar feeling.

She tried on several men's Dao robes before choosing a white Dao robe.

After selecting the robe, she turned to the clerk to ask.

The moment she turned, Zhang Xingyu was stunned.

Senior Sister Ouyang!

The woman was Ouyang Lanlan, daughter of Xu Yun Lao Dao.

Strange! Why has Senior Sister Ouyang come to Dan Tai Immortal City?

Without thinking further, Zhang Xingyu shouted loudly to Ouyang Lanlan, "Sister Ouyang!"

Ouyang Lanlan turned her head in response.

When she saw Zhang Xingyu, she was petrified.

"Zhang Xingyu? Junior Brother Zhang?"

Zhang Xingyu nodded, "Sister, it's me, Zhang Xingyu."

"You didn't die?" Ouyang Lanlan asked weakly.

"Of course not. Look, I'm alive and well!" Zhang Xingyu patted his own chest in reply.

Old friends meeting naturally have a lot to talk about.

Zhang Xingyu briefly recounted to Ouyang Lanlan what had happened after he left Money Island.

After finishing, he asked Ouyang Lanlan, "Sister, I heard Zhu Dafu say you stayed at the academy to teach?"

Ouyang Lanlan nodded.

"Great. Our Nanhua Immortal Academy now has another beautiful female teacher!" Zhang Xingyu teased.

"By the way, Sister, how did you end up in Dantai City?" Zhang Xingyu asked.

Ouyang Lanlan's face flushed slightly, "I'm here waiting for Fifth Senior Brother. Since Fifth Senior Brother entered the Lijiang Sword Sect for cultivation, I haven't seen him at all. In a few days, the once‑in‑ten‑years Immortal Seed Conference of Southern Zhanzhou will be held at Pearl Sea outside Dantai City. I thought Fifth Senior Brother might come, so I took leave to wait here."

"Sister Ouyang, since you want to see Fifth Senior Brother, just go straight to the Lijiang Sword Sect to find him!" Zhang Xingyu said.

"I've gone several times, but never seen him," Ouyang Lanlan's expression grew somewhat gloomy.

"The rules of the great sects are numerous. Sister, actually you could send a flying‑sword message to your senior brother!" Zhang Xingyu said.

Ouyang Lanlan shook her head, looking even more downcast.

"I sent him a thousand paper‑crane messages, and he hasn't replied."

What is Fifth Senior Brother up to?

Seeing Ouyang Lanlan's dejected expression, Zhang Xingyu gently comforted, "Sister, don't be sad. As the saying goes, once you enter a sect, it's as deep as the sea. The great sects have countless rules, and internal competition is fierce. Surely Fifth Senior Brother, aiming to stand out, has been busy cultivating day after day. Moreover, Fifth Senior Brother is exceptionally talented, so he should soon achieve success in cultivation. When he descends for trials, he'll be able to visit you often."

Ouyang Lanlan heard this, and her slightly furrowed brows relaxed a bit.

She handed the Dao robe in her hand to Zhang Xingyu, "Junior Brother, this is the Dao robe I selected for Fifth Senior Brother. Could you check for me whether Fifth Senior Brother will like it?"

Zhang Xingyu took the robe and examined it carefully.

It is an Azure Pine Immortal Crane robe, made of celestial silkworm silk, embroidered with a blue‑pine white‑crane pattern in premium golden thread.

"Junior Brother, what do you think?" Ouyang Lanlan asked.

"Not bad, very beautiful, Fifth Senior Brother will definitely like it," Zhang Xingyu praised.

Ouyang Lanlan heard this, and a smile appeared at the corner of her eyes.

"Junior Brother, could you try it for me? Your build is similar to Fifth Senior Brother's. Please try it on and see whether it fits him," Ouyang Lanlan requested.

Zhang Xingyu nodded, turned and walked into the fitting room.

A moment later, he walked out again.

Ouyang Lanlan walked to his side, circled around him, and only then nodded with satisfaction.

She entered the fitting room again and changed out of the Azure Pine Immortal Crane robe.

Ouyang Lanlan took the robe, folded it carefully, and then asked the shopkeeper again.

"Excuse me. May I ask how many spirit stones this Dao robe costs?"

The shopkeeper replied softly, "Ten thousand low‑grade spirit stones."

Hearing the price, Ouyang Lanlan hesitated, "That expensive?"

The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "This Azure Pine Immortal Crane robe is made from second‑grade spirit‑insect celestial silkworm silk. It doesn't wrinkle on the body and is impervious to water and fire. Moreover, the Azure Pine Immortal Crane pattern on the robe is embroidered with premium golden spirit silk and contains the eighth‑grade Dao technique 'Azure Pine Immortal Crane'. Paying ten thousand low‑grade spirit stones for this robe is priceless."

Ouyang Lanlan felt a bit tempted.

She touched her storage bag, and her gaze became hesitant again.

"Miss, buying clothes for the one you love is worth any amount of money," the shopkeeper advised.

Ouyang Lanlan nodded, poured out a pile of spirit stones and a formation from her storage bag.

"I don't have enough spirit stones on me; may I exchange these spirit stones and this formation?" Ouyang Lanlan asked.

The shopkeeper shook his head.

Ouyang Lanlan's expression turned bleak.

Seeing this, Zhang Xingyu took out a hundred high‑grade spirit stones from his storage bag.

"Sister, I really like this formation of yours. I'll trade ten thousand spirit stones for it!"