Dual Cultivation

"Sect Master! Wake up, Sect Master!"

Many Sect Elders tried to wake Liu Lanzhi from her slumber, but alas, no matter how much they shook her body, she remained deep asleep.

This caused the Sect Elders to be fearful. What happened to her? Will she ever wake up?

And since they didn’t want her to continue sleeping in the opening, they brought her back to her own room and began searching for doctors in hopes to figure out the situation.

Meanwhile, after traveling for a few minutes, Su Yang returned to the city where he obtained his first storage ring.

Indeed, this old friend he wanted to meet was Wang Shuren, an Alchemist apprentice of the Burning Lotus Sect.

However, once he reached the Burning Lotus Auction House, he realized that the entire place was closed.

"Young man, the Burning Lotus Auction House opens only once a year, and this year’s auction had already taken place."

A kind pedestrian reminded him when he saw him standing before the auction house with a puzzled expression.

"Do you know where I can find the people that run this place?" Su Yang asked the pedestrian.

"If you mean the disciples of the Burning Lotus Sect, then you can find them at the Lotus City near the southern borders." The pedestrian said while pointing to the south.

Su Yang nodded, "Thank you for the information."

He then retrieved five spirit stones from his storage ring and tossed it to the pedestrian before leaving the city.

"Good heavens!" When the pedestrian realized what Su Yang had tossed at him, he nearly died from shock.

After all, one spirit stone could be sold for many gold coins, which is more than enough to support a normal family for many years, much less five spirit stones!

Fearful that someone might see the spirit stones and rob him, the pedestrian immediately hid the spirit stones in his pocket and began running back home to share the news with his family.

A few minutes after he left the Burning Lotus Auction House, Su Yang flew directly to the Lotus City.

"Do you know where I can find the Burning Lotus Sect?" Su Yang asked one of the guards standing duty outside the Lotus City.

"The Burning Lotus Sect? Who are you? And why are you seeking them?" The guard immediately questioned him.

"I am a disciple of the Profound Blossom Sect, and I am here to see an old friend," said Su Yang with a friendly smile.

"The Profound Blossom Sect?" The guard now realized why Su Yang’s clothing seemed so familiar. "Do you have your identity slip?"

The guard confirmed his identity and said, "This Lotus City is the Burning Lotus Sect, and unless you are with a disciple of the Burning Lotus Sect, you are required to pay 10 copper coins before I can allow you entrance — even if you are visiting a disciple."

"This entire city is the Burning Lotus Sect?" Su Yang was slightly surprised. These types of Sects are rare even within the Four Divine Heavens.

"Well, to be precise, a city was built around the Burning Lotus Sect. It operates just like any other city but with much more focus on business than any other things, and it’s controlled by the Burning Lotus Sect."

"Is that so..."

Because Su Yang didn’t have any change on him, he handed the guard an entire spirit stone.

"Uh..." The guard looked at him with wide eyes and a dumbfounded expression. "T-The entrance fee is 10 coppers..."

"I don’t have any change."

"P-Please wait for a moment while I get you some change—"

"There’s no need." Su Yang couldn’t be bothered by a mere spirit stone.

The guard’s eyes widened even more upon hearing such words.

"To pay an entrance fee of 10 coppers with a freaking spirit stone, just how rich is this guy?" he couldn’t help but envy his wealth and aloof behavior.

"T-Then here’s a special entry pass for you... As long as you have this, you can freely enter the Lotus City without paying in the future," said the guard as he handed Su Yang a golden medallion.

Su Yang casually accepted the medallion and entered the Lotus City for the first time.

"You can find the Burning Lotus Sect if you continue to walk down this path..." The guard said to him once he entered the city.

Su Yang nodded and began walking the path.

And after mere minutes of walking, Su Yang understood what the guard meant when he said the Lotus City heavily focuses on business, as the only thing in his sight were either shops or restaurants, and one can easily understand why the Burning Lotus Sect is so rich upon entering this city that is decorated with expensive objects and shops.

-

-

-

Somewhere in the Lotus City, a group of young ladies and young men could be seen chatting happily in a restaurant. These individuals were all wearing the exact same clothes, red robes with a yellow lotus pattern perfectly sewed on their chest, signifying their identity as disciples of the Burning Lotus Sect.

"Junior apprentice-disciple Zhang, don’t be stingy and tell us, did you have a fortunate encounter with some type of treasure?" One of the disciples there asked the beautiful young lady at the end of the table. "You were only at the seventh level of the Elementary Spirit Realm not long ago, yet you somehow managed to reach the Profound Spirit Realm in just a few weeks, becoming an Inner Court disciple! I don’t believe that you could’ve achieved such a feat without a fortunate encounter!"

Once one of them started the topic, the other disciples also began giving their own opinions, slightly pressuring the disciple with the surname Zhang to tell them.

"Well... although I didn’t find any treasures, I did have a fortunate encounter with a certain individual..." The young disciple surnamed Zhang vaguely explained.

"This individual — is it a male or female?!" The females became even more intrigued.

"It’s a young man..." The young lady blushed.

"Ooooh! Tell us more about him! How did he affect your cultivation?"

While the female disciples found the topic to be extremely entertaining, it was the opposite for the males there that fancied this young lady.

"Well..."

However, just as the young lady was prepared to talk about a certain guest she had met at the Burning Lotus Auction House, her eyes noticed a certain handsome young man walking in the streets.

"S-S-S-Su Yang?!" The young lady immediately stood from her seat and ran out of the restaurant to chase after him, dumbfounding everybody there.