Immortality and Immortality: Liver Experience Begins in the Desert

At this moment, the stone door slowly opened, and a soft light overflowed from it, accompanied by a melodious bell sound, as if calling them.

After entering the stone gate, a long corridor extends forward. The walls on both sides are inlaid with luminous pearls, illuminating the way forward.

At the end of the corridor is a magnificent hall. A huge crystal ball hangs high on the ceiling, emitting soft light, illuminating the entire hall in every detail.

There is a huge altar in the center of the hall, on which are placed various ancient artifacts, including jade slips engraved with runes, jade pendants emitting spiritual light, and a bronze sword with a simple shape.

Beside the altar sat a white-haired old man, wearing a grey robe, with a thin face and deep eyes.

In his hand he held an ancient wooden staff with a lifelike phoenix carved on the top.

When Jiang Qiong and Yun Shu walked into the hall, the old man slowly opened his eyes, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.

“These two little guys are quite capable to be able to get here.”

The old man's voice was low and gentle, as if it contained endless wisdom.

"I am the guardian of this secret place. I have been waiting for my destined lover for who knows how many years."

Jiang Qiong and Yun Shu saluted hastily, feeling both nervous and excited.

They knew that the old man in front of them must be extraordinary, and perhaps this was their greatest opportunity in the secret realm. The old man waved his hand, and a soft light lifted the two of them up and suspended them in the air.

"Your injuries are serious. Let me heal you first."

The old man lightly tapped the wooden stick in his hand, and the light turned into countless tiny spots of light and merged into the bodies of the two people.

Jiang Qiong and Yun Shu only felt a warm force flowing through their bodies. The wounds on their bodies healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and their fatigue was swept away.

"Thank you, senior!" The two men bowed again, their hearts filled with gratitude.

The old man nodded slightly and said, "You can comprehend spiritual arts from the scroll, which means you have a connection with this secret realm.

Now, I will give you another chance."

After he finished speaking, two pills emitting colorful light appeared in the old man's hand, "This is the Nine Revolutions Gathering Spirit Pill, after taking it, it will help you break through the realm."

Jiang Qiong and Yun Shu looked at each other with surprise in their eyes. They took the pills and swallowed them without hesitation.

The pill melted in the mouth and turned into a powerful force running through the body.

The two of them only felt that the meridians in their bodies were expanding, and their spiritual energy was surging like a flood that broke through a dam.

Jiang Qiong's realm began to rise continuously, and Yun Shu was not far behind. Her sword intent became more condensed, and her realm broke through from the early Jindan stage to the middle Jindan stage. The red sword energy faintly contained the power of the stars, making it even more fierce.

During the breakthrough process, scenes of mountains, rivers and land kept emerging in Jiang Qiong's mind, and his understanding of the "Mountain and River Breaking" spiritual technique became deeper.

He could clearly feel the power of the surrounding mountains and rivers, as if he could mobilize the power of the mountains with just a command.

Yun Shu was immersed in the starry sky. She saw more tracks of stars, and her swordsmanship became more mysterious. Every move and every style seemed to contain the mysteries of the universe.

After an unknown amount of time, the two's auras gradually stabilized. They slowly opened their eyes, with a powerful light flashing in their eyes. At this time, their strength had already made a qualitative leap.

"Thank you for this great opportunity, Senior!"

Jiang Qiong and Yun Shu saluted the old man again. The old man smiled and nodded, "This is what you deserve. However, there are still many dangers and opportunities in this secret realm. You must take care of yourself."

After saying this, the old man waved the wooden staff in his hand, and a ray of light enveloped the two of them.

When the light faded, Jiang Qiong and Yun Shu had already left the hall and were standing outside the stone gate.

They looked back at the stone gate, their hearts filled with reluctance.

"Let's go, now that we have the inheritance, it's time to go out."

As Yun Shu finished speaking, Jiang Qiong nodded slightly.

Then, the two of them left quickly and returned along the same route.

The journey back seemed uneventful, without any further incidents.

……

After leaving the secret realm, Jiang Qiong and Yun Shu immediately went to the nearest county town to rest for a while.

It takes about half a day to travel.

The two came to a county town.

As soon as you enter the county town, the evening breeze carrying the aroma of roasted chestnuts and the sweetness of osmanthus honey blows in your face, as if an invisible hand gently lifts the curtain of worldly prosperity.

In the distance, the sky is dyed a flowing rouge color by millions of lights. The sounds of music and orchestras pour down along the winding mountain path, startling the night owls living in the woods. The fluttering sounds of their wings and the laughter coming from afar interweave into a unique rhythm.

Yun Shu looked at the city at the foot of the mountain that looked like an inverted galaxy. The red sword energy condensed into two clusters of dancing flames in his pupils. "It's Qingyan County City. I didn't expect it to coincide with the triennial Flame Festival."

Walking down the bluestone official road paved with moonlight, countless glazed lanterns hang between the branches of the locust trees beside the road. The warm yellow light shines through the exquisite hollow carvings, casting star-like spots of light on the ground.

The closer you get to the city gate, the thicker the smell of fireworks becomes in the air. The constant shouting of vendors is occasionally mixed with the silvery laughter of children chasing and playing.

At the city gate, two guards in gilded armor stood tall as pine trees, with the jade bottles in their hands gently tilted, and cinnabar fell on the foreheads of the people entering the city like drizzle. The bright red color looked like a blooming red plum in the night, or like a flame that would never go out.

When Jiang Qiong stepped over the mottled threshold of the city gate, it was as if she had stepped into another world of glittering lights. The flying eaves and brackets on both sides of the main street looked like phoenixes flapping their wings under the light, and red silk ribbons were wrapped around the carved beams and painted buildings, fluttering in the wind as if telling an ancient legend.

Thousands of lanterns hung under the eaves competed with each other in splendor. The most eye-catching ones were the pair of phoenix lanterns that were two people tall. Their tail feathers were made of gold foil as thin as a cicada's wing. They slowly spread out in the night breeze, and their dazzling light echoed with the stars in the distance.
The revolving lantern on the side was even more amazing. As the lights moved, various mythological stories were vividly presented before everyone's eyes, causing the onlookers to exclaim in amazement from time to time.

The air is filled with the caramelized aroma of roasted meat, the sweetness of sugar painting and the mellowness of osmanthus wine, interweaving into a unique and mouth-watering flavor.

“Look!” Yun Shu suddenly grabbed Jiang Qiong’s sleeve, and where his finger pointed, a team of a hundred dancers were marching slowly forward to the beat of drums.

The bright red gauze skirts they wore were embroidered with golden phoenixes, and the silver ornaments on the hem of their skirts jingled as they danced, as if playing a cheerful piece of music.

The leading dancer has a graceful figure, and the three-meter-high flame dragon lantern on her head is majestic. The dragon's body is made of flexible bamboo bones, and the scales on the outer gauze are painted with phosphorus powder, which glows with a faint blue light in the night.

The luminous pearls inlaid in the dragon's eyes shone brightly, and brilliant sparks would be emitted from the dragon's mouth every once in a while, causing the onlookers to exclaim in surprise. The children jumped excitedly, raising their hands high, trying to catch those fleeting sparks.

Jiang Qiong and Yun Shu followed the surging crowd to the Lantern Street. The whole street looked like a Milky Way that had fallen into the human world.

The lanterns of various shapes are dazzling: there are lanterns of cranes spreading their wings, with luminous stones inlaid between their wings flashing in the dark, like stars;

The cute zodiac lanterns were crowded with children, who opened their big curious eyes and carefully looked at these lifelike animal shapes;

There are also kite lanterns swaying gently in the wind, their long tails fluttering in the night wind, as if trying to break free from their restraints and fly into the vast night sky.

Under each lantern hangs an exquisite riddle paper with poems or puzzles, attracting talented men and beautiful women to stop and ponder. From time to time, cheerful laughter can be heard from people who have solved the puzzles.

"Sir, would you like to try your luck?"

A scholar in a moon-white robe came over, waving a folding fan painted with ink bamboo, smiling, "The one who guesses correctly will receive a pair of specially made glass candlesticks from our workshop."

Jiang Qiong took down the riddle paper from a lotus lantern with great interest, and saw the riddle neatly written on the plain white paper:
"This creature was born very strangely, with a big bag under its belly. Its baby eats and sleeps in the bag. It doesn't run fast but jumps fast."

When Yun Shu came closer, the red sword energy was faintly visible at his fingertips, and a sly smile flashed in his eyes: "How difficult is this? The answer is marsupial beast."

As soon as she finished speaking, a slight gasp was heard around her - you know, this kind of monster that grows in the dense forests of southern Xinjiang is extremely rare, and it is difficult for ordinary people to immediately associate it with the answer.

There was a flash of surprise in the scholar's eyes, and then he took out a pair of crystal clear glass candlesticks from the bamboo basket behind him. The bases of the candlesticks were carved into the shape of lotus flowers, and the petals were still covered with undried gold powder, flowing with dreamy colors under the light.

The two of them continued walking forward, carrying the glass candlesticks, and the hustle and bustle of the Lantern Street gradually became blurred behind them.

Suddenly, there was a sharp sound of porcelain breaking coming from the front, mixed with the suppressed sobbing of a woman and the crying of a child.

Jiang Qiong pushed through the crowd of onlookers and saw a fat, big-eared man in a gold brocade robe standing on the steps in front of Zuixian Tower, looking down at him. The hem of his robe embroidered with golden python patterns swept across the mess on the ground.

The thugs surrounding him were all ferocious-looking, with the swords on their waists shining coldly under the lights.

"This private room has been reserved by me, so get out of here if you know what's best for you!"

The man kicked over the round table, causing fragments of white porcelain bowls and plates to fly everywhere, scaring the young couple who were being driven away so much that they stepped back repeatedly.

The baby in the woman's arms burst into tears because of fright. The man's face flushed and he clenched his fists, but he slowly loosened them under the unfriendly gazes of the thugs, his eyes full of helplessness and humiliation.

Jiang Qiong's eyes suddenly turned cold, and the Seven Star True Fire on the surface of the battle axe instantly ignited, and the dark blue flames made his face look gloomy.

Yun Shu reached out and held down his slightly trembling arm. Red sword energy snaked out from his sleeves, creating a dangerous red light in the night: "Let me do it."

She walked lightly in front of the man like a rose with thorns, and said in a cold voice: "It's too much to seize the position in broad daylight."

The man's lustful eyes wandered over Yun Shu, and his thick lips pulled out a contemptuous smile:
"Where did you come from, little girl, to dare to meddle in my business? If you know what's best for you, get out of the way and don't ask for trouble!"

Before he could finish his words, the thug beside him had already swung his fist as big as a casserole towards Yun Shu's face.

Yun Shu curled up his lips in a sneer, and the red sword energy streaked across the night sky like a meteor, creating a streak of blood on the thug's fist.

The thugs staggered back screaming. The man became angry and waved his fat hand: "Go ahead, beat these two fools down!"

In an instant, seven or eight thugs pounced on them like wolves and tigers. Amidst the flash of swords and sabers, Jiang Qiong's battle axe swept out with the Seven Star True Fire. Wherever the dark blue sword light passed, the thugs in the front row flew backwards like kites with broken strings.

The battle became more and more intense. Yun Shu's red sword energy formed an impenetrable net in the air, forcing back all the thugs who tried to launch a sneak attack.

Jiang Qiong used his newly realized "Mountain and River Breaking" skill, attracting the spiritual energy within a ten-foot radius, forming a gust of air that swept across the heavens and the earth.

The streets were covered in dust, tables, chairs and benches were overturned, and the thugs were staggering in the air, screaming in pain.

The man saw that the situation was not good, so he turned around and tried to escape into the crowd, but Jiang Qiong caught up with him. His large hands like iron clamps grabbed the back of his collar and lifted him up like a chicken.

"Do you know you are wrong?" Jiang Qiong's voice was as low as thunder, and the strength in her hands continued to increase. The man's face turned purple and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his cheeks.

"Please spare my life, hero! I am blind and will never do that again!"

The man burst into tears and begged for mercy.

Jiang Qiong snorted coldly and threw him to the ground fiercely: "I will spare your life today, but if I see you doing evil again, I will never let you go easily!"

The people around burst into thunderous applause, and looked at Jiang Qiong and Yun Shu with gratitude and admiration. The young couple burst into tears and pulled their child to kneel down and kowtow, but Jiang Qiong and Yun Shu quickly stopped them.

“It’s just a piece of cake.” Yun Shu gently helped the woman up. The red sword energy gradually dissipated, and his eyes were full of concern.

Jiang Qiong patted the dust off his body, and the Seven Stars True Fire on the battle axe slowly extinguished: "Let's go, we've been busy for so long and we're hungry, let's go to Zuixianlou to taste something new."

The two walked hand in hand into Zuixian Tower, where the atmosphere was warm and filled with laughter.

The first floor hall was packed with people, and the shouts of drinkers playing finger-guessing games and the crisp voices of waiters announcing dishes could be heard one after another;
Behind the carved window lattices of the elegant rooms on the second floor, one can vaguely see scholars drinking and writing poetry.

The enthusiastic waiter came over and, seeing that the two men looked very impressive, quickly led them to a great seat by the window on the second floor.

Outside the window, the grand scene of the Fire Festival is in full view - the lanterns are twinkling like stars and the crowds are surging like the tide.

That's when.

The waiter of the restaurant bent over, handed over the gold-plated menu with a smile on his face, and gently tapped a few signature dishes with his fingertips, and slowly said: "My two distinguished guests, our Zuixianlou's 'Flame Dragon Playing with Pearls' and 'Galaxy Jade Dew Soup' are limited to the festival. You can still catch the last round now!"

Jiang Qiong took the menu. The dishes outlined in gold powder on the parchment looked vivid. Yun Shu leaned in to take a closer look. The red sword energy under the candlelight made the edge of the menu slightly hot. (End of this chapter)