Chapter 131 | I Was Just Gathering Herbs, So Why Did I Find a Sword Fairy?

After all, in this vast world, eating was the most important thing. No matter the circumstances, one always had to fill their stomach.

Huamanlou was quiet in the morning. Since they wouldn't welcome guests until at least noon, the kitchen fire wasn't lit, meaning they had to buy breakfast from outside.

The task of buying breakfast fell to Third Master. Every day, before dawn, he would begin his daily routine of tempering his body. He had done this for decades without fail, rain or shine, which was how he forged his body of copper skin and iron bones. After finishing his exercises, it was the perfect time to go buy breakfast. By the time he returned, everyone would have just finished washing up.

As Lu Yan walked to the entrance, he happened to see Third Master carrying a massive bag of steaming hot buns toward Huamanlou.

His hands were massive; the web between his thumb and index finger on just one hand could clamp around the bag's opening. A small section of the paper bag was soaked with grease, its corners slightly soft. When he saw Lu Yan, he offered him a smile.

Third Master had been picked up from the mountains by the Hall Master—it was said that at the time, he had just beaten a wild boar to death and was crouching over it, tearing at the raw flesh. He had been covered in blood, his eyes filled with nothing but a primal instinct to survive.

The Hall Master brought him back, taught him how to speak, and taught him cultivation techniques. In the Hall Master's words, this man was born with an innate vital energy, making him perfect for body tempering.

Third Master had no name; he had chosen his surname himself from the Book of Family Names. He said the character “Chen” looked nice, so the Hall Master let him have his way—if he thought it looked nice, so be it. From then on, Chen San was both his code name and his name.

Later, as the Hall Master took in more and more people wanted by the Central Continent, the Abandoned Guest Hall was formed. The Abandoned Guest Hall became an organization dedicated to opposing the Central Continent Alliance.

Eventually, the original headquarters of the Abandoned Guest Hall was wiped out by the Central Continent Alliance. Eighth Brother had died during that raid—he was caught by the Sword Sect while holding the line during their retreat, leaving not even a complete corpse behind.

The Abandoned Guest Hall was scattered into small groups of twos and threes. With only a handful of people gathering here and there, they had never been able to assemble as fully as they were now.

Watching Chen San approach with the buns, an indescribable feeling welled up in Lu Yan's chest again. He smiled. The Abandoned Guest Hall would never end.

They were all here. They hadn't died in the Central Continent's raids, nor would they die from the Ice Spirit invasion. They would all live on.

“Lao Jiu, don't steal from me! Aren't there plenty of buns over there?!” Yao Wu's grief-stricken voice echoed from behind.

Lu Yan turned around and saw that the bun he had just grabbed had been swiped by Hong Jiu. Unable to beat her in a fight, he could only grab another, only for it to be snatched away by Hua Er.

“You guys have had enough! Why is everyone always picking on me?!” Yao Wu's voice echoed down the corridor, his final words dragged out as if he had suffered a monumental injustice.

Lu Yan rolled eyes, swallowed the bun in his mouth, and said, “You can eat... chew, chew, chew... jack squat.”

Stuffing the last piece of bun skin into his mouth, he added indistinctly, “Just go outside... chew, chew, chew... and get some sun.”

Yao Wu was filled with a mix of grief and indignation. “This is unjust! I've worked for Huamanlou, I've bled for Huamanlou, and yet you won't even let me have a single bite of a bun! Are you guys even human?!”

Hua Er curled her lip. “We only asked you to help plant some vegetables, yet you make it sound like we're sending you to the front lines.” She counted the remaining buns. “There are three buns left. We'll save two for Jiang Ci, and you can have one.”

“That's more like it...” Yao Wu muttered, reaching out for the last bun, only to meet Nannan's upturned face.

“Daddy, I'm still hungry...”

In the end, Yao Wu still didn't get to eat his bun. He stormed outside to bask in the sun while nursing his grievances.

Throughout breakfast, Jiang Ci didn't show her face. Hua Er assumed she was simply hungover and planned to bring her breakfast up to her room later.

Only Lu Yan knew that Jiang Ci had woken up long ago, and her failure to appear now was most likely because she was too embarrassed to face anyone.

He wiped his mouth and walked out, ready to begin his day's work.

To be honest, he was exhausted. He hadn't slept well last night, and first thing in the morning, he had to engage in a high-level battle of wits with Jiang Ci. Was it easy for a formation cultivator who was only at the Foundation Establishment stage?

Granted, the person he was battling with hadn't even reached Qi Condensation yet, but that was no excuse. He yawned. Since there were no classes this morning anyway, no one would mind if he caught a quick nap.

With that thought in mind, he made his way to the Molten Heart Tower—only to be told upon arrival that the tower was going to be expanded. His resentment at that moment was almost enough to rival a special grade cursed spirit.

Fu Feng excitedly dragged the half-dead Lu Yan down to the lowest level.

The air at the bottom of the Molten Heart Tower was much stuffier than above, as if steam was slowly seeping out, raising the temperature of the entire space by several degrees.

Standing beside the glass pipe, Lu Yan watched the disciples of the Artifact Sect construct a crude scaffold along its outer wall.

He frowned, catching a faint scent resembling a mixture of metal and sulfur wafting from deep within the pipe.

His gaze fell upon the red-gold slurry inside the pipe. He couldn't help but feel that its pulsing speed had slowed down, at least a beat slower than when he had last seen it. He rubbed his eyes. Was it just his imagination?

Standing a few paces ahead, Fu Feng had his back to Lu Yan, pointing at the stone wall beneath the pipe as he spoke to a nearby disciple. His voice carried an undisguised excitement.

“Chisel this part open and expand the aperture. That way, we can increase the flow rate even further.”

“How much more can we extract like this?” Lu Yan asked, his tone tinged with hesitation. For some reason, he felt a creeping sense of unease.

Fu Feng didn't answer. Lu Yan only saw the layer of golden-red slurry slowly rising.

It rose by one level, then another.

The workers continued their task. The sounds of chiseling went on without pause—clink, clank, clink. They hammered the walls of the heart thinner and thinner, expanding the hole larger and larger.

Fu Feng's back remained turned as he explained the next step of the expansion plan to the disciple. Meanwhile, Lu Yan felt his spine slowly tensing, a persistent chill creeping up his back.

His voice tightened. “Are you sure there's no issue with expanding this thing?”

Fu Feng waved his hand dismissively. “What could possibly go wrong? Why are you acting like an old man?”

Fu Feng and the construction crew spent the entire morning hammering away, chipping off the outer layers around the hole until they hit a crimson barrier they couldn't break through.

A disciple working above came down to report, requesting the use of a Heaven Rank magic artifact. Fu Feng nodded, then turned to Lu Yan with a grin.

“Want to see one of our Artifact Sect's ultimate treasures?” Lu Yan focused his gaze. It was a bright red spear wrapped in white, thread-like fibers.

“This was crafted from the bones of a Tribulation Transcendence stage demon beast. You probably won't find anything of that rank anymore these days,” Fu Feng said with a smile, his pride completely unconcealed. This was a creation of their Artifact Sect, so of course he was proud.