Chapter 77: Chapter 12: Wuzhi Cave, Four Seas Restaurant
To the east of the Divine Land Continent lies the “East Sea,” vast and boundless, stretching over ten thousand miles.

Above the East Sea, many cultivation sects revere Penglai Jade Pure as the most esteemed.

There are also seventy-two caves in the East Sea, each belonging to a large cultivation sect that governs the surrounding seas.

Wuzhi Cave is one such sect in the East Sea.

The sect is named “Wuzhi Cave” and is situated across five neighboring islands.

These islands are so named because they each produce Danzhi, Jinzhi, Yuzhi, Xuanzhi, and Muzhi, respectively.

In reality, there are more than one hundred and forty other islands, but as the spiritual energy is thin, no cultivators reside there permanently.

“Speaking of Wuzhi Island, one simply cannot fail to mention their Wuzhi Seafood Soup.”

As she swiftly controlled her sword above the sea’s surface, Miss Shi introduced it with excitement to Luo Yan:

“Danzhi paired with green abalone makes a soup that is fresh, smooth, and refreshing. Consuming it can make one’s vision clear and pupils bright.”

“Jinzhi paired with silver-shell lobster makes a soup that is sweet and delicious. Drinking it can make one’s ears sharp and hearing acute.”

“Yuzhi paired with bloodline ginseng makes a soup that is spicy and fragrant. Consuming it can help clear the nose, enhancing the sense of smell.”

“Xuanzhi paired with ink-sand iron crab makes a soup that is slightly bitter yet rich. Drinking it can clear the throat, making the voice as melodious as a guzheng.”

“Muzhi paired with yellow-claw rock fish makes a soup that is sour and salty, stimulating the appetite. Consuming it can invigorate the spirit and clear the mind.”

Luo Yan: ………

Has this advertisement turned into a parallel structure? And can those last two “bitter soups” and “sour soups” really be palatable?

“Now that sister mentions it, I’m getting a bit of a craving myself,” he said with a smile twinkling in his eyes.

[Falsehood persona, Synchronization Value +1.]

“Of course,” Shi Liuli said with anticipation shining in her eyes, “the Wuzhi Seafood Soup is a must-try when visiting Wuzhi Cave. Besides, there are many other delicacies there, like the largest seafood hotpot at Four Seas Tower on Danzhi Island—it’s said to be second to none…”

Luo Yan verbally agreed, despite feeling helpless inside.

The reason for this trip wasn’t complicated: the island-protecting formation of Wuzhi Cave, previously set up by Elder Shi Ding, had recently started malfunctioning.

Since there were no formation experts in the sect, they had sought help from Heavenly Craft Workshop.

Elder Shi Ding had calculated the time since the formation was set up and determined that it shouldn’t have degraded so quickly, surmising there must be an issue with the formation flags… So he dispatched Luo Yan, his disciple, to go and attempt a repair, resolving to step in himself if the problem persisted.

Under normal circumstances, it was merely a routine business trip financed by public funds.

However, Shi Liuli had whimsically insisted on accompanying Luo Yan, justifying it by claiming, “It’s my junior brother’s first time out on an adventure, and I, as his senior sister, really can’t rest easy.”

In reality, everyone knew that Miss Shi was just there to have fun.

Considering that the pair had the Heaven-flipping Seal and Divine Striking Whip, as well as the Divine Fire Mantle and the Jade Emperor’s Bell, and that Wuzhi Cave had good relations with Yuqing View, Elder Shi Ding finally relented to his daughter’s coaxing and tantrums, agreeing to let them go.

The two of them controlled their swords and flew southeast at full speed, and in about a quarter of an hour, they arrived at the Wuzhi Islands.

They were soon greeted by someone who came by sword control, smiling and saying:

“The two distinguished guests have traveled far from Penglai, please follow me down to rest.”

The greeter was a female cultivator, appearing to be around seventeen or eighteen years old, with a melon-seed face, a slender figure, bright eyes, and a smile that bloomed like a flower.

With hair dark as ink, simply secured by a Gold Step Shake, she wore a light red lipstick-colored phoenix-patterned long dress. A faint fragrance emanated from her, lingering at the nose like a gentle breeze caressing the face.

Shi Liuli, after all, was a senior member of the Beauty Association. Seeing how pretty the girl was, she instantly took a great liking to her and curiously asked:

“How did you know we’re from Penglai?”

The female cultivator smiled gently and said:

“I had the pleasure of meeting Sister Liuli last time when I went to the Fanghu Market to look for Sister Yulang.”

“Right, I also joined your ‘Zhang Tian Society’ then!”

“Really?” Shi Liuli’s eyes lit up.

Those who liked Qiu Zhangtian, couldn’t be bad people!

The two girls chatted for a bit and quickly became close.

From their conversation, Luo Yan learned that the female cultivator’s name was “Li Qinniang,” a Marrow Cleansing Rank cultivator from Wuzhi Cave, and she was almost done with her vein cutting, ready to advance to the Refining Mansion rank.

“By the way, Daoist Li.” Once the three of them landed on a forest path of Danzhi Island, with their sword light touching down, Luo Yan finally found an opportunity to interject, “Regarding the formation problem of your sect, what exactly has gone wrong?”

“Oh, it’s like this.” Li Qinniang twirled her hair with her fingers and sighed, “Our sect’s island-protection grand formation is a Land Sha and Celestial Gang Formation, personally arranged by your master back in the day. It has one hundred and eight formation flags, each distributed on one of the one hundred and eight surrounding islands of the cave.”

“There’s also a main flag, which is situated in the central altar within the cave, incorporating functions like scouting, warning, defense, and trapping the enemy.”

“As long as the main flag changes position, the formation accordingly rotates and transforms. Therefore, even if someone has been spying on the formation for a long time, it is very difficult to find a way to break it.”

“However, since last month, the information returning from the central altar has been somewhat odd.”

“First, the circulation of spiritual power within the formation was unsmooth, often getting blocked; then, the scouting function sometimes worked and sometimes failed… Alas, we’re not well-versed in formations, so we don’t know if it’s an issue with a flag being out of place, which is why we came for help.”

Luo Yan thought for a moment and said:

“Formation flags are placed at the key points, so they can’t be easily shifted by external forces. Unless there’s a change in the mountains and spirit veins that obstructs the operation of the formation, or the formation flags have been tainted by evil and polluted spirits, clouding their spiritual nature… Of course, we’ll only know for sure after we investigate.”

“Mm-hm.” Li Qinniang nodded and laughed, “It’s just that these one hundred and eight formation flags are scattered and quite far from each other, so it will certainly take a lot of time and effort to inspect. Therefore, there’s no rush for the moment.”

“Why don’t you two rest at our cave for a while? I’ll treat you to a taste of our local ‘Wuzhi Five Delicacies Soup’.”

This invitation was perfectly reasonable, as cultivators live much longer than ordinary people and are thus not very urgent about efficiency and time management.

For example, it’s quite normal to spend a month or two exploring relics and caves with good friends during travels — keeping one’s mind open and receptive is very important, for who knows when sudden enlightenment could strike?

Therefore, Shi Liuli and Luo Yan also gladly accepted.

Li Qinniang led the two on a leisurely walk through the woods. The trees around were not too dense, and the sea could be seen in the distance where the water met the sky in a frothy line.

There was also a moist sea breeze blowing through, slightly salty and rich in water vapor, which made it feel refreshing and uplifted one’s spirits.

Upon arriving at the largest local establishment, the Four Seas Tower, Li Qinniang ordered food for them. A variety of immortal vegetables and fruits, fish, shrimp, crab, shellfish, and other exquisite delicacies were present in abundance.

Of course, there was also the Wuzhi Five Delicacies Soup that Miss Shi couldn’t stop thinking about, served separately in five large bowls in red, green, yellow, white, and black colors, with spiritual energy swirling above, extremely tempting.

Oh, the colors of these five soups happened to exactly correspond to the Five Elements True Veins, which was quite interesting.

Shi Liuli first chose the green abalone soup and took a sip from her bowl. Her eyes instantly widened.

“Wow, this broth is utterly delicious!” she exclaimed, unable to restrain her praise, then scooped another bowl for Luo Yan, “Junior Brother, you have to try this soup. I simply can’t describe it with words, it’s too good!”

Luo Yan, seeing Miss Shi remember him even while enjoying her soup, felt slightly moved and comforted. Just as he was about to bite into the abalone, he noticed Li Qinniang across the table, smiling at him and Shi Liuli with an amused expression.

That kind, hidden playfulness in her smile… It was just like when he looked at himself in the mirror.