Chapter Thirty-Three: The Disciples of Longyuan

  The person who came was Du Qingxi, a black gauze outlining her slender curves, standing at the door with a pure and cold beauty.

  "Nanman Mingyu Trial?"

  Looking at Du Qingxi outside the door, Chen Tang was puzzled. Since he grew up in Songyan City, he naturally knew everything about the trial of Nanman Mingyu.

  In the Nanman Mountains of ten thousand miles, a strange space with extremely harsh environment appears every three years.

  There, the evil energy rushes to the sky, and all plants are gone. Every year, a grayish-white hurricane blows, and it's hard to distinguish between day and night. Most importantly, in the southern barbarian dark domain, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is exhausted, as if it were a piece of dead air that has been abandoned. For cultivators who absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, this place is simply hellish!

  However, after a thousand years of exploration and groping, people have also gained new insights into Nánmán Míng Xū.

  This space indeed has no living beings, but there exists a ferocious and bloodthirsty beast of prey, with strength roughly around the Later Heaven Realm. Moreover, within the beast's body, it contains a precious treasure called the Slaughter Pearl, although its purpose is unknown, its value is truly astonishing.

  There was once a monk who took a Sha Pearl to the Great Chu Imperial City, Jinyu City, which is tens of millions of miles away. A single Sha Pearl was sold for a sky-high price of 100 Spiritual Crystals!

  When the news spread back to Songyancheng, it caused a sensation. When the Nanman Mingyu reappeared, almost all the cultivators in Songyancheng rushed to it. However, strangely, only Post-Heaven and Pre-Heaven cultivators could enter safely, while other cultivators were stopped by an invisible force as soon as they stepped into the edge of the Nanman Mingyu.

  It is for this reason that the various university factions and family forces of Songyan City, together with the General's Manor, jointly launched the activity of Nanman Mingyu trial. Encouraging young people in Songyan City who have Xiantian realm cultivation to participate in the trial.

  Firstly, one can obtain the Xuanzhu, and secondly, in that harsh environment of Nanman Mingyu, it can also temper a cultivator's survival ability and actual combat skills.

  What's more, many families and schools use the number of Bi Zhū obtained as a standard to evaluate their disciples. Those who obtain a large number not only become core disciples, enjoying resources that ordinary disciples can't even think about, but also receive a substantial amount of wealth and financial support.

  And for the top three players who obtained the most evil beads in the trial, the General's Mansion will send an invitation letter to invite them to join the Chu Soul Guard branch of Longyuan City in Nanjiang!

  Chu Xun Wei, a cultivation institution under the Great Chu Dynasty, is one of the most powerful forces in the entire realm. Of course, receiving an invitation letter is just the first step; to join the Longyuan City branch of Chu Xun Wei, one must pass several extremely rigorous tests, which are even more difficult than those for joining a top-tier sect.

  "The Southern Barbarian's dark domain is filled with evil energy that clashes with the heavens, and spiritual power is exhausted. Moreover, there are many ferocious beasts within, which will accompany you in battle at all times. To survive in this place, cultivators have no choice but to carry a large amount of spirit stones and elixirs."

  Du Qingxi's voice was crisp and cold, much like her icy demeanor, carrying a hint of an unmistakable flavor as she slowly said "I've brought you here to enter the Nán Màn Ming Yuán with me, where I'll have you cook for me. The ingredients and cooking utensils are already prepared by me, now let's go meet two people."

  "Hold on, when did I agree to go to Nanyuan Mingyu?" Chen Tai frowned and said, he didn't like the feeling of being ordered around.

  Du Qingxi said matter-of-factly: "You are a spiritual kitchen apprentice hired by the Clear Brook Wine House, this is one of your responsibilities."

  "But why me?" Chen Quan continued to ask.

  "You are Ma Lao's apprentice and your cultivation is already sufficient to enter the Nanman Ming Domain. Besides you, who else meets this condition?"

  Du Qingxi seemed somewhat displeased at the question, her slender eyebrows furrowing. "No more nonsense," she said. "After we leave the Nanyuan Underworld, I won't mistreat you."

  As she spoke, she turned and left, as if too lazy to explain another sentence to Chen Yu.

  "Never mind, let's just take a trip then. I've long wanted to see what the Nanyang Underworld looks like anyway."

  Chen Xiao thought for a moment and followed him up.

  Du Qingxi is right. Before he leaves Songyan City, he is still a member of the Clear Brook Wine House. Since he takes someone else's salary, he should naturally take on the corresponding responsibilities.

  What's more, he has been shutting himself in a small black room for several months, and the cost of ingredients spent on practicing cooking skills is enough to be described with astronomical figures. However, Du Qingxiu never asked him for reimbursement, which made Chen Yu feel a bit embarrassed, as if eating someone's food and taking their money would make his hands soft.

  ……

  The backyard of Qingxi Wine House has always been the place where Du Qingxi retreats to cultivate himself, with a elegant and secluded environment. Usually, except for some considerate servants, few people can set foot in it.

  When Du Qingxi led Chen Yao into the courtyard, there were two young men waiting.

  "He is Duanmu Ze, from the Duanmu family of Longyuan City." Du Qingxi pointed to the white-clothed man and introduced him briefly.

  Chen Xiao raised her eyes and looked over, unable to help but pause for a moment.

  Du Mu Ze is absolutely a slender figure, with elegance, handsomeness and nobility all in one, white clothes like snow, elegant demeanor, thin lips lightly pursed, with a hint of a smile that can drive thousands of girls crazy.

  However, Chen Tang didn't mind these things, what he cared about was the family behind Duanmu Ze.

  Although Du Qingxi introduced it very briefly, how could Chen Tang not have heard of the eight major sects of Longyuan City, the three universities, and the six major families that were spreading wildly in the streets?

  These forces have a deep foundation, and their ancientness can be traced back to tens of thousands of years ago, far beyond the Li family of Songyancheng, which is only a newly emerging family of thousands of years.

  The Duanmu family was one of the six families, so when facing Duanmu Ze, a young man from the Duanmu family, Chen Tang naturally felt a little surprised. The person looked handsome and had a good background, this guy must be famous in Longyuan City too?

  "Qingxi, you seem to be looking for this person in a rather unreliable way?"

  Duanmu Ze raised an eyebrow and glanced at Chen Yu, his brow furrowing slightly. His tone was calm, but there was a hint of superiority in his voice. He really couldn't understand why Du Qingxi had brought a spiritual cooking apprentice to join their ranks.

  Born into a wealthy family from a young age, in Du Mu Ze's eyes, although the chef was skilled in cooking, he was still just a cook, and at his core, he was still a lowly servant, how could he possibly mix with people of their status?

  It's just that, although Du Qingxi had already instructed him on this matter and promised not to mind, when he really saw Chen Tang, Duanmu Ze still felt extremely uncomfortable in his heart, as if Chen Tang's appearance humiliated his identity.

  A few words made Chen Tai's impression of Duanmu Ze very bad, and he didn't even bother to greet him. On the contrary, he hoped that Du Qingxi would also say that he was not reliable, so that he could leave with a clear conscience and not have to stay with this proud and arrogant peacock man anymore.

  However, to Chen's dismay, Du Qingxi did not do so. She didn't even acknowledge Duanmu Ze, but instead shifted her gaze and pointed at another young man, continuing the introduction: "Song Lin, from the Song family of Longyuan City."

  Song Lin actually looked quite handsome, but he was obviously an extremely lazy guy. His hair was messy, his clothes were disheveled, his eyes were slightly narrowed, and his whole body seemed to be slumped like a broken frame. He was leaning lazily against a large tree in the courtyard, with a sleepy look on his face.

  When Du Qingxi introduced herself, Song Lin weakly waved his hand in her direction and mumbled: "Uh, I've heard Qingxi mention you before, but let's talk properly after I've slept well..." As he spoke, his head nodded off again, and he fell back asleep.

  As expected, Song Lin's family behind him also comes from one of the six major families.

  At this thought, Chen Xiao's heart moved and he suddenly realized something - among the six major families, there was also a Du family; could it be that Du Qingxi was a member of the Du family?

  This possibility is very great.

  Things of a kind come together, and people of the same class gather. Looking at Du Qingxi's attitude towards Duanmu Zhe and Song Lin, it is clear that the three belong to the same category, they just have different personalities.

  "It's just an ordinary Southern Barbarian trial, yet it has attracted the participation of three young masters from the prestigious families of Longyuan City. Could there be some hidden secret behind this?"

  Chen Xuan's heart was filled with doubts, and suddenly he felt that this trip to the Nanyue underworld was not as simple as he had imagined.

  "Qingxi, you really want to bring him along?"

  Seeing Du Qingxi ignoring him, Duanmu Ze couldn't help but feel secretly angry in his heart, but on the surface he still maintained a calm and composed expression. Frowning, he said: "I've heard that the Southern Barbarian Mountains are full of ferocious beasts and fraught with danger. If you bring him along, what if something unforeseen happens and it costs him his life?"

  Chen Xiao remained silent, but a faint sigh escaped her heart. She thought to herself, "Why do I need to find so many forced and ridiculous reasons to drive myself away? These aristocratic family heirs are truly hypocritical."

  "Is that all?" Du Qingxi asked with a poker face.

  Du Mu Ze's expression hesitated for a moment, then immediately turned serious and said: "Qing Xi, I'm also thinking of him."

  "That's all, let's set off." Du Qingxi remained unmoved and turned to leave.

  Chen Ting saw this and also left. He didn't want to stay with Duanmu Ze, who knows what unpleasant words he would say when he was angry.

  Watching the two of them walk out of the courtyard one after the other, the smile that usually hung on Tuanmu Ze's lips suddenly disappeared without a trace, and his face turned extremely ugly.

  "Let's go too." Song Lin rubbed his sleepy eyes and yawned listlessly.

  "I won't let that kid off so easily." Endo Takeru's face darkened, squeezing out a sentence from between his teeth, "I'd like to see if Qingxi dares to turn against me for the sake of a lowly servant!"

  ——

  PS: These two days, the new book list has been making me restless. Every day I have to check the rankings dozens of times, watching my score drop bit by bit. It's really frustrating and I couldn't even focus on writing... From today on, I won't do this anymore. I'll calm down and write with a clear mind, and present you all with excellent articles.