Chapter 235 | After My Side Profession Hit Max Level, I Transmigrated

Yellow Sand Town was a remote border town in Wanchou Prefecture. Though called a town, it was little more than a collection of dilapidated houses gathered at the edge of the Wangliang Ancient Desert.

Most of the town's residents were wandering cultivators or refugees forced to flee their homelands. Eking out a harsh existence, they scraped by on the town's sole water well and a few scarce spirit herbs.

If there was one place in town worth mentioning, it was the Ancient Desert Tea Shop. This modest tea shop was the only establishment in town capable of receiving travelers.

At the moment, the landlady—wearing a headscarf—was fanning the fire with a cattail fan to boil tea. She constantly stood up to pour tea and add water for the patrons, utterly swamped with work.

Some impatient customers, seeing their ordered tea and snacks delayed while the landlady ran around dizzy and flustered, practically wishing she had four arms and four legs, grumbled in frustration, “Landlady, why don't you hire a few hands? We’ve been waiting forever! My throat is practically smoking!”

“I’m so sorry for neglecting you, dear guests!” Apologizing with a sheepish smile, the landlady hurried over and quickly poured fresh tea for their table. “On ordinary days, I thank heaven if I get three to five customers. Who knew so many would turn up these past few days—”

Glancing up, she noticed four new patrons entering the tea shop and hastily called out, “Young gentlemen, please have a seat! Tea will be right up!”

These four newcomers were backlit as they entered, obscuring their faces. Only when they took two steps inside did the landlady get a clear look at them. She let out a quiet gasp, taking a few extra, curious glances.

The four young men were fair-skinned and delicate, each more handsome than the last.

“Please, sit!” the landlady greeted them warmly. Noticing that the four youths remained standing, she realized there were no empty tables left. Fortunately, a party finished their tea right then, tossed down a few spirit stones, and departed. She promptly saw them out, rushed back to wipe down the table, and invited the newcomers to sit.

“You're too kind, Ma'am.”

The four were, of course, Shi Yu and her companions.

After leaving Hundred Flowers City, they had followed map directions straight toward the Wangliang Ancient Desert on the fringe of Wanchou Prefecture. Taking turns steering the cloud boat non-stop day and night, it had still taken them over a month of continuous travel to arrive.

Shi Yu needed to collect Jade-Blood Cold Gold to craft Flying Star Dragon-Wandering Talismans, and she also required a location of malevolent Yin energy to assist in smoothly converting her Yin and Yang energies. After making numerous inquiries and carefully weighing her options, the Wangliang Ancient Desert proved to be the most suitable destination.

Within Wanchou Prefecture, lands with imbalanced Five Elements were numerous. The Wangliang Ancient Desert was precisely one such place where the earth element was abnormally active. Rumor had it that countless desert demon beasts ran rampant across the desert, and when night fell, vast tides of intangible specters and evil spirits that fed on divine sense roamed about. It was extraordinarily dangerous; even Golden Core Realm powerhouses would choose to avoid its peak fury.

Deep inside the ancient desert lay the Cave of Ten Thousand Ghosts, a place where malevolent Yin energy gathered in abundance—and Shi Yu’s true destination.

It was not that there were no places with denser malevolent Yin energy better suited to her needs, but those were located deeper within Wanchou Prefecture rather than on its borders.

Wanchou Prefecture swarmed with evil cultivators, including many Golden Core Realm powerhouses, and they were intensely hostile toward righteous cultivators. Rashly venturing inside—even in disguise—meant they might struggle to leave unscathed. That was the first reason; the second was that delving further into the prefecture would cause unknown delays. With time being of the essence, she could not afford to dally.

Before arriving, Shi Yu had forged each of her three companions an artifact to alter their appearance and conceal their aura, while disguising herself as a young man using the 《Illusory Resemblance Art》.

All four had toned down their looks to appear more ordinary, while masking their cultivation bases to around the sixth or seventh layer of the Qi Refining Realm.

As such, cultivators of the same tier would struggle to notice their disguises. Even those with unusually sharp divine sense would at most feel something was slightly off about their faces, unable to see through to their true appearances.

Though this place was at the edge of Wanchou Prefecture and populated by quite a few righteous cultivators, it was still best to proceed with caution.

However, Qingzhou and Mo Tong possessed exceptionally striking features. Even with subtle disguises, they could still easily be described as handsome.

The landlady quickly brought their tea. Shi Yu poured herself a cup and, using the chipped porcelain rim to conceal her expression, casually glanced over the other patrons in the shop.

Some patrons harbored eerie auras with surging blood-Qi, most likely cultivating evil techniques. Others were righteous cultivators clad in various spirit robes, alongside foreign races from unknown lands. These individuals either sat alone or traveled in groups—some whispering in hushed chatter, others resting with closed eyes, each displaying their own demeanor.

Shi Yu and her group, with their disguises, did not seem overly eye-catching and didn’t attract much attention. Only a few evil cultivators in the late stage of the Qi Refining Realm cast glances at them, greed and malevolence glinting in their eyes.

Shi Yu sneered inwardly but paid them no mind, lowering her eyes to ponder: The information I gathered said Yellow Sand Town was extremely desolate. So why are there so many patrons in this small tea shop...

Could something have happened in the Wangliang Ancient Desert recently?

Just then, after bustling around for quite a while, the landlady finally got a moment of rest. Wiping away her sweat, she walked over to Shi Yu's table and asked with a smile, “Dear guests, is the tea to your liking?”

Draining her cup, Shi Yu smiled and replied, “It's cool and refreshing, with a subtle hint of spice. It goes down smooth and fragrant, neither dry nor astringent. We've never tasted tea with such a unique flavor profile, but we enjoy it quite a bit.”

Hearing her commentary, the landlady beamed. “You certainly know your stuff, young gentleman!”

Taking the opportunity, Shi Yu asked, “May I ask what kind of tea this is, Ma'am?”

Delighted by the praise, the landlady answered candidly, “This is our local specialty, Ancient Desert Spirit Tea. It's brewed with well water and a spiritual herb from the desert called 'Drowning Sand.' It moistens the lungs, generates body fluids, clears the mind, and brightens vision, while also offering a slight boost to one's cultivation.”

“I see.” Shi Yu nodded, then remarked with apparent casualness, “Your tea is delicious, Ma'am. No wonder you have so many patrons visiting.”

As expected, the landlady waved her hand with a wry smile. “You jest, young gentleman. In a desolate place like this, how could there normally be so many patrons? It's only been busy these past few days.”

“Oh?” Shi Yu showed a look of surprise. “Why is that?”

Beside her, Qingzhou chimed in at just the right moment, “This is our first time here. We heard there are numerous ruins in the ancient desert, so we traveled together hoping to gain some practical experience.”

“Oh my!” Hearing this, the landlady gasped in alarm and hastily urged them, “Young gentlemen, don't act recklessly! The Wangliang Ancient Desert is riddled with dangers. With your level of cultivation, going in is practically suicidal!”

Seeing that they were fair-skinned, delicate, polite, and looked like sheltered young masters from prominent clans, the landlady hesitated before lowering her voice. “In ordinary times, if you formed a group for experience and tagged along with a reliable caravan, it might not be entirely impossible.”

“It's just that recently, something went wrong at the Cave of Ten Thousand Ghosts inside the desert... People from all over have gathered, all heading toward the cave. If you go in now, you'll inevitably be caught in muddy waters. If you accidentally offend someone and draw fire upon yourselves, it would end terribly.”

Though phrased subtly, her actual meaning was clear: with so many cultivators entering the desert recently—including evil cultivators and people with hidden motives—four greenhorns like them would almost certainly die if they crossed paths with such individuals.