Chapter 85: Eating Fish

With Tang Ziran joining him, the search for the Dark Spirit Tree roots went extraordinarily smoothly. Her earth-burrowing art was far more practiced than Shen Xin’s. In a single day, they found over a hundred dead roots of the Dark Spirit Tree, and more than a dozen that still retained vitality.

The moment Shen Xin turned in the task, his contribution points shot past twenty thousand, and he and Tang Ziran successfully became first-rank citizens.

After attaining first-rank citizenship, there were no more spending restrictions in the Holy City, and they were even allowed to buy property and start businesses there.

Shen Xin used ten thousand contribution points to exchange for a body-tempering cultivation manual.

At present, he had never been bitten by a vampire, so his physical constitution was only three or four times stronger than that of an ordinary person. The body was the foundation. Only by tempering it could he preserve his life, and only by preserving his life could he avoid being reset again and again.

Others might not understand his anguish. A single reset felt like a wealthy man going from boundless riches to utter poverty overnight, forced to start everything from scratch. Whoever had to endure that several times would be driven past their limit.

He spent the remaining ten thousand contribution points entirely on cultivation resources: Bone-Fortifying Pills and Blood-Vitality Pills for body tempering; Spirit-Nurturing Pellets and Meridian-Expanding Pills for qi refinement; Nourishing Spirit Pills and Clearheart Pills for spiritual cultivation.

After using up all his contribution points, Shen Xin planned to buy a few more things before returning to Ox City. There were too many uncertainties in the Holy City, and experts were everywhere; one careless step, and he could lose his life.

He took Tang Ziran around the commercial district and bought a mountain of things, finally spending every last coin.

“Money disappears far too fast,” he sighed. “Come on, let’s head back.”

Tang Ziran blinked blankly. “Back where?”

“To Ox City.”

The two of them hailed a car and headed for the city gates. The entire Holy City forbade flight; even those capable of flying had no choice but to drive or walk. Flying was simply not permitted.

They had only just reached the gate when they ran into Fan Yuze.

“Well now, Boss Shen! You came to the Holy City without even giving me a call? You really don’t treat me like a brother at all. Come, let’s find a place to eat and talk over a meal.”

Shen Xin waved him off. “Boss Fan, I’m truly sorry, but I’m just about to hurry back to Ox City.”

Fan Yuze hurriedly caught hold of him. “There’s no need to rush off this very moment. Come on, let’s go eat fish from Sea-Sky Lake. At this season, the flavor is just right.”

Shen Xin hesitated. “This…”

He turned awkwardly toward Tang Ziran.

“Brother, I want to try it too.”

She thought to herself that it had not been easy to come at last to the legendary Holy City, yet after two days she had done little more than glance at it in passing, without even tasting its famous food.

“In that case, we won’t refuse such kindness,” Shen Xin said. “It’ll only be at Boss Fan’s expense.”

Fan Yuze laughed. “What are you saying? Come on, I know a restaurant by the lake. Their boiled live fish is absolutely unmatched.”

Fan Yuze drove over in a black luxury sedan and took them to a live-fish restaurant by the lakeside.

Once there, he personally selected the fish, choosing several lively, vigorous ones before at last handing them over to the chef in satisfaction.

After they were seated, Fan Yuze kept introducing the various ways of preparing live fish, speaking with such familiarity that it seemed he knew the subject by heart.

Shen Xin sighed in admiration. “I never expected Boss Fan not only to be a master in business, but also to possess such deep knowledge of cooking.”

Fan Yuze laughed at himself. “A man has to have a hobby or two. Business is for making money, but living isn’t only about making money. Without a few personal pleasures, life becomes terribly dull. Boss Shen, what about you? Do you have any hobbies?”

“Hobbies?”

Shen Xin slowly searched his memory. Though he had studied fine arts, he did not truly love it. As a child, he had only felt that drawing was rather nice, and when he produced a picture, he would receive praise from classmates, friends, and teachers alike. Somehow, in that muddled way, he had ended up entering an art academy. If he had to speak of his own interests, when he was young he had liked catching fish and herding cattle and sheep.

He shook his head. “I don’t think I have any special hobbies.”

Fan Yuze smiled. “Young people need to strive. It’s understandable if there’s no time to cultivate personal interests.”

Then he turned to Tang Ziran. “And what about you, sister-in-law?”

“As for me, I raise pets.”

“Ha! Not bad, not bad.”

Before long, the fish was served. Shen Xin tasted it and found that the flavor truly was excellent.

Tender and fresh, with a faint sweetness; the broth was rich and delicious.

After they had eaten for a while, Fan Yuze grew serious. “Boss Shen, I wonder whether you’d be interested in joining our Heavenly Origin Sect?”

Shen Xin was startled. “Boss Fan, are you with the Heavenly Origin Sect too?”

Fan Yuze smiled and explained, “The Heavenly Origin Sect is actually jointly run by the Eight Great Families. Our Fan family is responsible for refining and selling medicinal pills. Since I’m a member of the Fan family, I’m naturally also a disciple of the Heavenly Origin Sect.”

“I see. And what benefits are there to joining the Heavenly Origin Sect?”

“There are many. For instance, you can buy the sect’s goods at internal prices, with discounts of at least twenty percent. You can also use contribution points to exchange for the sect’s cultivation methods, and those methods are no cheap trash like the things sold outside.”

Shen Xin felt somewhat inclined and asked further, “And what would I need to do for the sect?”

“That’s even simpler. Just uphold the sect’s standing. As for whether you take on sect missions, that part is entirely up to you.”

After thinking for a moment, Shen Xin asked, “Are the Xu family and the Qin family among the Eight Great Families of the Heavenly Origin Sect?”

Fan Yuze nodded. “They are. The Xu family excels in spell arts, the Qin family in martial body techniques, and the most formidable of all is the Jiang family, which specializes in god-invoking arts.”

Shen Xin paused, then asked, “What exactly does a god-invoking art mean? Could you tell me about it, Boss Fan?”

Fan Yuze chuckled. “There’s not much to tell, really. Simply put, they invoke gods. I haven’t seen much of it myself.”

Shen Xin recalled that the Zhang family was the foremost great clan in the Holy City, so he asked, “Then what about the Zhang family? What are they best at?”

“The Zhang family? They cultivate immortality. We can’t compare to them.”

Shen Xin fell silent for a moment, then said, “One last question. Is the Heavenly Origin Sect opposed to the Zhang family?”

Fan Yuze laughed aloud. “How could that be? At most, there’s a bit of competition. Who would dare offend the Zhang family? That would be courting death, plain and simple.”

“I understand now, more or less. My apologies, but the Zhang family contacted me yesterday. Though I haven’t agreed to anything for the moment, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to join the Heavenly Origin Sect either.”

Fan Yuze was visibly taken aback. He looked Shen Xin up and down for a while before speaking. “Boss Shen truly keeps his light hidden. The Zhang family rarely invites outsiders in. For you to receive an invitation from them is no small thing. From now on, I’ll have to cling tightly to your powerful support. I hope Boss Shen will take good care of me.”

Shen Xin smiled. “Not at all. Boss Fan and I are friends who regret only that we did not meet sooner. If there’s ever anything I can help with in the future, just say the word. I won’t hesitate in the slightest.”

Unexpectedly, Fan Yuze gave a sly grin. “Boss Shen, as it happens, there really is one thing I need your help with. You just said you wouldn’t hesitate, so I’ll shamelessly bring it up.”

Shen Xin had just been drinking fish soup and nearly choked, coughing violently. At this point, he could only resign himself to it, forcing a smile. “Please, go ahead, Boss Fan.”

Fan Yuze grinned smugly. “It’s actually a very good opportunity. As you know, our Fan family is a family of pill refiners. What we love most is seeking out rare flowers, exotic herbs, and precious spiritual ingredients.”

Shen Xin asked, “You want me to go search for spiritual herbs?”

“No, no. Our Fan family has its own spiritual herb gardens. We’re not lacking in medicinal materials.”

“Then what do you mean?”

“Boss Shen, you know burrowing arts, don’t you?”

“You investigated me?”

A trace of displeasure appeared on Shen Xin’s face.

Fan Yuze laughed. “Boss Shen, in one day you dug up so many Dark Spirit Tree roots. By now, anyone in the Holy City with a few ears and eyes knows of your existence, so I guessed you must know earth-burrowing.”

“Are people who know earth-burrowing rare?”

Fan Yuze shook his head. “Not especially, but those truly proficient in it are rare. I want Boss Shen to help me search for underground spirit veins. If spiritual ore is successfully mined, our Heavenly Origin Sect can give you ten percent.”

Shen Xin was tempted. “Do you at least have approximate locations?”

“We do have a few. You can go and try. If you find anything, just come to me. I’ll take you to meet an elder of the Heavenly Origin Sect. There’s absolutely nothing underhanded about it.”

“Good.”

Shen Xin agreed at once.

He needed spirit stones for cultivation now as well, yet even in the Holy City he had never seen one with his own eyes. Perhaps spirit stones were simply too scarce for anyone to put them up for sale.