Chapter Twenty-Two: No One Dares to Take

I joined Snowy Peak, which was ranked third. Dao Sansheng, you should just find another sect, it doesn’t have to be the Violet Immortal Palace. Look, there are still plenty of good sects out there. The chubby one tried to comfort Dao Sansheng, and Dao Sansheng found his words reasonable—he had no choice but to seek out a sect for now. Dao Sansheng and the chubby one arrived at Snowy Peak’s recruitment site; the table was deserted, and the chubby one helped Dao Sansheng right up to it.

"Elder Zhang, I’m Dao Dadan, a new disciple, and this is my friend Dao Sansheng—" The chubby one hadn’t finished speaking before the elder interrupted.

"I say, Dao Dadan, you really are bold. Right now, among all the sects, who doesn’t know that Dao Sansheng is a double-spirit root with conflicting elements? Even if you throw all the resources in the world at him, he’ll never succeed in building his foundation, let alone forming a golden core. Tell me, who would want to take in a resource-wasting burden?"

Hearing this, the chubby one could only support Dao Sansheng as they left. Day after day, they lingered in the plaza, only to face rejection after rejection. At first, they tried the top sects, but soon had to turn to those lower in the rankings. More than ten sects, and not a single one would accept Dao Sansheng.

In the recent days, Xue’er and Tiantian had come over as well. Today, the four of them planned to have a farewell meal together—they would keep in touch after joining their respective sects. Xue’er and Tiantian were in the same sect, while the chubby one would be alone, looking rather forlorn.

"I’ve decided to treat you all to a grand meal. Let’s go to the best restaurant in Donglin County," Xue’er announced as the four of them walked down the street, regaling the chubby one and Dao Sansheng with stories.

The chubby one was overjoyed at the thought of delicious food, but Dao Sansheng couldn’t muster any enthusiasm at all.

They soon spotted a four-story tavern in the distance—Heaven and Earth Tavern. Xue’er introduced it to everyone.

"I heard from a junior sister who joined the Violet Immortal Palace with me that although this Heaven and Earth Tavern isn’t the finest in Donglin County, it’s said to have the very best flavors. The ingredients aren’t especially fancy, but they’re perfect for us at the Qi Refining stage. I asked around especially before bringing you here."

Hearing this, the chubby one started drooling, much to the amusement of Xue’er and Tiantian.

The four entered the bustling tavern, where the waiters darted back and forth among the tables. Yet even as four lively souls stepped inside, not a single person came to greet them, so they were forced to stand in the hall.

After quite some time, a sweating waiter finally ran over. "Welcome, honored guests. Please follow me." Soon he led them up to the third floor, which was relatively quiet, and seated them by a window before taking his leave.

On the table was a menu labeled "Qi Refining Nourishment Menu," listing the names and prices of first- and second-tier spirit beasts. The group perused it.

Dao Sansheng was in no mood—his mind was still preoccupied with joining a sect. It was the final day of recruitment; if he failed to find a sect, he would be left as a wandering cultivator. That wasn’t even the worst of it—the real issue was that only by joining a sect could he hope to meet Qian’er again at the Violet Immortal Palace.

"Sansheng, you order," Xue’er said, pushing the menu to him.

Dao Sansheng didn’t want to dampen everyone’s spirits, so he ordered a few dishes at random and handed the menu to the waiter.

Xue’er could see through Dao Sansheng’s thoughts and said to him directly, "I met Qian’er. She’s truly a beauty, but I didn’t tell her I know you. Still, I could deliver a letter from you to her if you like."

At this, Dao Sansheng prepared to write a letter for Xue’er to take to Qian’er, but as soon as he pulled out the paper, he put it away again.

"She must have already heard I’m in Donglin County—the news is everywhere. Surely she knows you know me, too. She just doesn’t want to see me yet—maybe she isn’t ready, or perhaps she simply doesn’t wish to. When she wants to meet, she’ll reach out to you. Just let me know when that time comes."

"Here’s your fish, honored guests," the waiter said, delivering the freshly prepared dish.

The group exchanged glances, deciding not to pursue the previous topic, and picked up their chopsticks to eat.

"Delicious, delicious!" the chubby one exclaimed, not even waiting before scooping half the fish into his bowl, devouring it like a starving man.

At another table on the third floor sat four peculiarly dressed individuals, each with one arm exposed, their visible arms thick with muscle—laborers by the look of them. Three were young men, but even the elderly man, well past fifty, was dressed the same, making for a ridiculous and comical sight.

They hadn’t ordered much, just a plate of dried fruits to go with their wine, and sat in silence, eating a fruit, sipping wine, saying nothing, and ordering nothing else.

After a few rounds of wine, someone finally spoke. "Uncle Guo, we’ve come to Donglin County to recruit disciples, but the sect master only gave us a handful of spirit stones. There’s not enough to buy any enticements for recruits, let alone the gifts we’re supposed to give the local clans. After all that, we barely had enough for this wine, which we had to scrape together ourselves."

"Don’t say that," said another, "All the clans scramble to send gifts to the Violet Immortal Palace, hoping to get their youths accepted. When we tried to give gifts, we were ignored. After all this time recruiting, our sect has found the worst candidates and the fewest numbers."

"I completely agree with both of you," another young man chimed in.

"Once, our sect was the most powerful on the continent. Three hundred years ago, when our elder ascended, disaster struck us and our cultivator lineage was broken. That’s why we’ve fallen to this state." The old man sighed deeply as he finished.

"What’s the use of talking about it now?" lamented the one called Big Mouth Wang.

"Enough talk, let’s finish our wine and go look at the sect shops in Donglin County."

"I’ve already been. The place is deserted. Young people these days rely on pills to cultivate, but we forge weapons. And it’s been years since any legendary weapon was made. After our sect’s decline, the weapons and armor we forge are too low-level to be profitable—shops can’t even get rid of the surplus."

"Li Xiaobai is right. We’ve spent so much time studying forging that we’ve neglected our own cultivation, and now we can’t even make money. Without money, we can’t buy resources to cultivate, nor materials for forging, and we can’t improve our strength."

Just then, Old Guo happened to notice Dao Sansheng’s group eating at the next table. He strode over and helped himself to several dishes.

"Young men, I am Guo Zifeng of Forging Heaven Valley. May I borrow a few bites of your food to go with my wine? Here, this is our sect’s secret Forging Heaven Technique—I can let you have a look."

Old Guo often used this trick to scam young people out of their money and food; this so-called technique was just the novice version and practically useless—even with it, you couldn’t forge the lowest-grade magic artifact.

The chubby one panicked and reached out to snatch back the food, but when he grabbed the plate and pulled with all his might, it didn’t budge, as if it were fused to the old man’s hand.

"Young man, you should eat less and yield more to your elders. You’re already so chubby, yet you’re still so possessive over food. Youngsters should learn some restraint."