Chapter 282: Play

Jiang Yu didn't know that the old shopkeeper actually hadn't stayed nearby as they had guessed.

The old dragon's injuries are severe and require many high‑grade spiritual herbs for pill‑making, and he happens to be missing two of those herbs, so he must locate the Cultivation Market or find the immortal mountain's blessed land to gather them.

And the reason he sent Jiang Yu to the prefecture city to recuperate was that, shortly after waking, he discovered a cultivator performing a soul search, learning that a small cultivation market existed several thousand li away.

The old shopkeeper altered the cultivator's memory, pretended to be a fellow Daoist companion and left together, and to ensure his own safety he sealed the Communication Talisman early, making it perfectly normal that Jiang Yu couldn't contact him.

"He might be in seclusion healing; keep an eye on big brother's condition for me, and I'll try to recover as quickly as possible."

"Sigh, if you had spiritual power now, we could chase those two cultivators." Jiang Tu was uneasy about his Dragon Pearl, which kept getting restricted while flying, and also feared that if this place were the spirit realm, cultivators at the Great Ascension stage who had merged might discover the Dragon Pearl.

Thinking of something, it added, "Do you know that the fire seed is still in the old shopkeeper's hand? If that idiot had let us use it back then, it wouldn't have been controlled by a Hua Shen."

"Just consider it unrelated, I'll leave early tomorrow morning." Jiang Yu thought of going to the prefecture city to hear the immortals' stories.

But the next day, while riding, she noticed the driver was a talkative old man and couldn't help asking him from the side.

Unexpectedly, the hurried‑car old man actually knew a lot, "Miss, are you also planning to go to the capital's Guoshi Residence to take part in the Immortal Youth Trial?"

Jiang Yu fabricated a wandering‑martial‑world identity, using the pretext of seeking immortals and the Dao to open the conversation, "Immortal Youth Trial? There's such a competition?"

"I've only heard from my master that immortals all cultivate on immortal mountains."

While speaking, she also took a palm‑sized wine gourd from her pack and offered it to the hurried‑car old man for a drink.

The old man, seeing the label marked as the city's most famous liquor, hurriedly declined, but under Jiang Yu's sincere insistence he finally accepted with a cheerful grin.

He added, "Miss, you may not know, but the National Master of the Guoshi Residence is said to be an immortal.

The Immortal Youth Trial, you see, only began after the Guoshi Residence was completed last year.

It is said that any boy or girl aged eight to fifteen who meets the test criteria will be sent by immortals to the immortal clan for cultivation, eventually becoming those eternally living immortals who fly about the heavens."

"Anyone, as long as they meet the age requirement, can go?" Jiang Yu thought to herself, wondering if they were demonic cultivators. But recalling the two Daoist cultivators from yesterday, she felt the possibility was low.

"Of course not. Someone like this old man, whose family can barely support a person, couldn't afford the expenses to travel thousands of li to the capital.

Not to mention the capital, even the famous Daoist temples and monasteries in the prefecture city are off‑limits; a single misstep could offend a noble, ha ha."

However, if a passing immortal takes a liking to you, Miss, you might be taken directly to become an Immortal Youth.

"Ten years ago, our county city had a lucky one," the old man said after savoring a sip of wine for a long while, praising the good liquor.

Jiang Yu asked again, "Outside the prefecture city, are there any Daoist temples where ordinary folk like us can lodge or stay?

Preferably one with a female abbess."

"Well," the old man hesitated a moment, then advised her to find a large inn in the city; it's better not to stay at the small temples and small Daoist temples, since some playboys often frequent them.

Jiang Yu understood at once, thanked him repeatedly; she actually preferred to train outside the city and would decide based on circumstances later.

Jiang Tu, puzzled by the transmission, asked Jiang Yu, "Why? Is it like the temple we saw before?"

"It's different," Jiang Yu explained in detail, prompting Jiang Tu to exclaim "What a good companion!" and then urged Jiang Yu to ask the hurried‑car old man for more street rumors to learn about the travel pace.

Fortunately, the old man was indeed talkative; as long as Jiang Yu asked on his behalf, his stories were vivid and colorful.

Thus, after three days of continuous travel, they finally arrived at the prefecture city.

Jiang Yu quietly used her divine sense to search, and only after confirming there were no cultivators near the city gate did she enter the city with her forged travel permit.

On the old man's recommendation, she checked into an inn.

But just as the rental paperwork was finished and she was about to invite the old man for a meal, the sound of gongs announcing a proclamation rang out on the street.

Many saw a squad of officials marching while speaking, the noisy clamor made it hard to discern what they were saying.

But with Jiang Yu's keen hearing, she understood on the first pass, "Sir, it seems the officials are saying that an immortal is recruiting disciples and will post a notice at the city gate.

In ten days, youths of appropriate age from all towns and counties can come to the City God Temple gate for testing."

"Ah, really?" the hurried‑car old man exclaimed, unable to think of anything else.

Even the shopkeeper ordered his assistants to guard the shop and then chased after them; the street erupted in chaos.

"I just don't know which sect, but I think if it's a Daoist sect, you could learn from Jiang Bai and blend in to cultivate.

"Sigh, this fellow hasn't had a patron for decades; I don't know if he'll ever meet one again," Jiang Tu thought of an old acquaintance, feeling a bit nostalgic.

Then, after Jiang Yu entered the guest room, it stealthily emerged the Dragon Pearl, fiddling with the Communication Talisman previously used with Jiang Bai for play.

While playing, it suddenly wrote, "Jiang Bai, when will you achieve Hua Shen?"

The next moment, the Communication Jade Talisman replied, "Jiang Tu, is that you?"

A ghost!

"Jiang Yu, quick, quick, quick," Jiang Tu, incredulously rubbing his eyes, called Jiang Yu to look again.

"Reply immediately," Jiang Yu thought it was unbelievably strange, but reason told her that even the most fantastical things are normal in the cultivation world.

Jiang Tu replied excitedly, "It was me and Jiang Yu; a few days ago, under a sudden thunderstorm, we were sucked into an unknown place.

Then Jiang Yu was injured and couldn't cultivate for a while."

"Don't panic, this is the spirit realm; quickly check your location so I can come fetch you," Jiang Bai said, surprised that he could meet an old friend in the spirit realm.

Jiang Tu immediately asked Jiang Yu to confirm her coordinates, noting a certain prefecture city in Qi Kingdom, then asked how they arrived in the spirit realm.

"It's hard to explain; I was in the deep sea when a beast tide struck, and teamed up with a Golden Core cultivator from Tianyuan to escape, inadvertently entering the Great Luo Cave Heaven.

At that time I was utterly surprised; I thought it was forbidden to...

It turned out that upon seeing a ghostly senior cultivator, I realized the cave heaven just happened to...

He asked with great concern, "Daoist Jiang, I just heard your exclamation; what happened?"

Jiang Bai held up the Communication Jade Talisman he was staring at, "Daoist Lu, do you know who I'm contacting?"

"Ghost senior? Qian senior?" Daoist Lu knew those two were familiar with his teammate.

Jiang Bai shook his head, "No, no, no, it's a cultivator from the Tianyuan continent, I—"