Chapter 30: Drunken Immortal & Thousand Treasure City

The speeding flying ark shot through the sky, quickly passing above the Heavenly Sword Sect’s ark before swerving left and right uncontrollably, then crashing into the ground.

Boom!

“What the hell!?” Wei Chen exclaimed, rushing to the deck railing to see what had happened.

Below, flames crackled from the crash site. It seemed the ark had fallen hard into the forest, leaving smoke rising into the air.

Wei Chen turned to Jian Xiaoyao. “We should go and check the crash site, in case there are any survivors!”

Jian Xiaoyao nodded and ordered the disciples controlling the flying ark to descend near the crash site.

At the crash site, the group descended from the flying ark using their flying swords. Wei Chen was among them, recording everything out of habit. His broadcasting orb hovered toward the wreckage, capturing the damage and searching for any survivors.

“Hey! Anyone alive?” Jian Xiaoyao shouted as he led the disciples to search the area.

Wei Chen joined in the search, but after several minutes, they found no bodies or survivors. The only things more noticeable were the raging fire and the strong smell of alcohol.

“Damn… the ark controller must’ve had too much to drink,” Wei Chen muttered, judging from the heavy scent of alcohol and the shattered jars scattered everywhere.

“No, this should be a delivery ark from a large restaurant, used for emergency alcohol supply. The crash was likely caused by a malfunction in its flight-controlling spiritual array,” Jian Xiaoyao corrected him. Those capable of piloting a flying ark were cultivators, and normal alcohol wouldn’t be enough to make them intoxicated unless they wanted to be.

“Senior Brother! I found a survivor!” one of the disciples shouted.

Wei Chen and Jian Xiaoyao quickly rushed over.

“What the hell!?” Wei Chen exclaimed at the sight before him.

A drunkard lay sleeping naked amidst the flames, his clothes burnt away, leaving only a few charred scraps clinging to his body.

“Damn… even here I still meet drunk drivers,” Wei Chen said with a chuckle.

“Huh? Even here?” Jian Xiaoyao asked.

“Ah, it’s nothing. Anyway, who is this guy? He’s sleeping soundly while being roasted like this. How many bottles did he drink!?” Wei Chen pointed at the man.

Jian Xiaoyao noticed Wei Chen’s attempt to change the subject but didn’t press further. It wasn’t his place to pry. He turned toward the drunkard and ordered the disciples to pull him out of the fire, tossing a cloth to cover his body.

“Wait… I think I know him,” Jian Xiaoyao muttered, frowning as he took a closer look.

“Huh?” Wei Chen’s curiosity was piqued. The broadcasting orb continued recording the scene.

“Isn’t this Hua Zuixian, the Drunken Immortal?” Jian Xiaoyao blurted out the man’s name.

“Hua Zuixian?” Wei Chen repeated with curiosity.

“Senior Wei may have just come out of secluded cultivation, but about ten years ago, this man committed an earth-shaking deed, he assaulted the Vermilion Bird Dynasty’s palace, killed half of their experts, and retreated with only minor injuries,” Jian Xiaoyao explained.

“Do you know why he attacked that place?” Wei Chen asked. He could sense a hot topic behind this incident, something worth investigating. Moreover, many people had died in that attack. Could it have been one of those classic ’courting death’ situations?

If so, he might be able to earn some points by educating those who were unknowingly walking down that same path.

“So, what are you going to do?” Wei Chen asked Jian Xiaoyao. Since the flying ark belonged to the Heavenly Sword Sect, this decision should be his.

Jian Xiaoyao replied without hesitation, “It can’t be helped. We should bring him with us. Leaving him here isn’t an option. If he wakes up and learns that we didn’t help him when we could, it might cause complications later.”

Wei Chen agreed with his reasoning.

Jian Xiaoyao then ordered his disciples to salvage what appeared to be the Drunken Immortal’s belongings and bring him aboard.

Even after being carried onto the ark, the Drunken Immortal continued to sleep soundly. The disciples placed him in an empty guest room and went about their duties.

Half a day later, the Heavenly Sword Sect’s flying ark arrived at Thousand Treasure City.

The place was bustling with life. Numerous flying arks soared through the sky, passing in and out of massive sky gates built specifically to accommodate aerial traffic.

The city itself was constructed atop a towering mountain. Its design resembled a colossal Tower of Babel rather than a conventional city. Elevators could be seen everywhere, carrying mortals between the lower and upper levels.

The reason for this vertical design was simple, the higher levels, built along the cliffs, housed hundreds of sky ports where flying arks could dock for trade. Goods were constantly being loaded and unloaded at these elevated ports.

Wei Chen gazed at the city in awe. He never thought he would find something like this in this world. Built into a cliff, the city looked like a grander version of Santorini, only this one had sky ports for flying arks and ancient China architecture style.

The entire city looked like a dreamscape, filled with lush greenery, serene gardens, and shimmering lakes on every level. Despite its elegance, the city felt lively and vibrant, with trade and transactions happening everywhere.

“We’ve arrived at the Thousand Treasure City, Senior Wei,” Jian Xiaoyao said with a smile, then continued, “This city is very impressive, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I never thought I’d see a city like this,” Wei Chen agreed.

The flying ark slowly docked at the port under the guidance of cultivators working there. They rode flying swords to personally lead the ark toward the section reserved for the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Wei Chen looked around with wide eyes, filled with excitement and wonder. He wanted to explore this city and see everything it had to offer. As a Xianxia novel lover, this was an experience straight out of his dreams.

Just then, his private Spirit Net Jade began to ring. This one wasn’t stored in his broadcasting orb’s storage, it was kept in his inner pocket.

When he took it out, a projection screen appeared before him, displaying the caller’s identity. Seeing that it was Mo Xingyao, he immediately accepted the call.

Mo Xingyao’s face appeared on the screen.

“Miss Mo, you’re very well-informed. I just arrived at Thousand Treasure City,” Wei Chen greeted her.

“No, it’s just a coincidence. I don’t always keep tabs on you,” Mo Xingyao replied with a flat expression.

“Oh? You must be lying. I’m so handsome, how could you not keep tabs on me?” Wei Chen said, touching his face with a smug grin.

Mo Xingyao’s mouth twitched as she rolled her eyes.

“Stop being so shameless. Anyway, I’m calling because that idiot Ximen Hao has already arrived and has paid fifteen million as agreed.”

Hearing that, Wei Chen looked as if he’d just discovered intelligent life on Mars.

“Huh? He actually paid? I thought he’d try to weasel out of it or find some excuse not to.”

Mo Xingyao chuckled. “No. That guy, Ximen Hao, even though he’s an idiot who only has money, but he never shirks his debts. He said it would be an insult to his wealth.”

At that moment, Wei Chen was reminded of a certain guy from a hero comic book from his previous world, a hero who once said his superpower was being rich.

Could Ximen Hao’s wealth have reached the point where it had become a superpower?

From the usual arrogant young master template, people like him were supposed to refuse payment and use their family background to suppress others instead. Wasn’t that how it was supposed to go!?

“Also,” Mo Xingyao said, pulling Wei Chen back from his usual nonsensical thoughts.

“I’ll hire you as my temporary bodyguard. Think of it as repaying my favor for helping you establish that so-called production line back at the Sword Manor.”

Wei Chen looked puzzled. “Huh? What about your usual bodyguard, the silent one with the large sword on her back? Where is she?”

“I told her to do something for me. You don’t need to worry about her. I just need a Soul Transformation Realm bodyguard as my trump card, and you’ll do,” Mo Xingyao explained.

Wei Chen frowned. His real cultivation was only at the half-step Core Formation Realm, but his combat strength allowed him to bitch-slap opponents two realms higher and even fight toe-to-toe with those three realms above him.

He was worried that if he served as her bodyguard, his true cultivation might be exposed when facing stronger opponents, which would only make his life more troublesome.

Then he considered his current stagnation. His cultivation had stopped progressing for a while, and he needed a vast amount of spiritual qi. The qi contained in those 15 million spirit stones should be enough to push him through to the Core Formation Realm.

“Fine, I’ll work as your temporary bodyguard, on the condition that you don’t take a cut from what Ximen Hao paid me,” Wei Chen countered. He needed those spirit stones for his breakthrough.

“But we had a deal!…” Mo Xingyao started to protest, but after a moment of thought, she sighed and spoke through gritted teeth.

“Fine! I won’t take a cut. Happy now?” she said, her tone filled with irritation.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep