The garden reserved by the trio from the Lotus Secret Realm was located on a mountain peak floating in mid-air.
This floating mountain looked more like a floating island.
The island boasted many exquisite manors and villas, along with captivating scenery and intoxicating floral scents.
It was said that staying in one of the island's manors or villas for a single day cost one to two thousand Immortal Stones—truly not cheap.
Of course,
it was still considered worth the price.
The spiritual energy on the island was Primordial Solar Essence Spirit Energy. This energy wasn't merely more abundant and pure than that outside; it was the radiance of the Primordial Great Sun itself. Whether cultivating Immortal Spirit, tempering Immortal Weapons, or refining creations, it could achieve twice the result with half the effort, producing far superior effects compared to the pure spiritual energy found elsewhere.
The mere fact of being enveloped in Primordial Solar Essence Spirit Energy around the clock was worth one to two thousand Immortal Stones. After all, a single Primordial Solar Essence Crystal on the market was worth several hundred Immortal Stones, and the Primordial Solar Essence Spirit Energy contained within such a crystal would, at most, allow a Golden Immortal to absorb it for a few hours before it was exhausted.
This meant that staying on the island for a day and doing nothing but absorbing this Primordial Solar Essence Spirit Energy would not only not be a loss, but would actually be quite profitable.
However,
those who could afford to spend one to two thousand Immortal Stones to stay on the island for a day were typically individuals for whom money was no object. Naturally, they wouldn't stoop to such a lowly act. When people reserved these manors, it wasn't for the so-called Primordial Solar Essence Spirit Energy; it was for the peace and quiet.
On the way, perhaps Gu Qingfeng's unique mortal identity had piqued the trio's curiosity. Liuli asked, "Qiānniǎo, who is this Fellow Daoist?
Is he also from your Xiaoluo Secret Realm?"
"Him? He's Little Drunkard. You could say he's from our Xiaoluo Secret Realm."
"Little Drunkard?
A nickname?"
"He doesn't have a name, so we just call him Little Drunkard."
"How can he not have a name?"
"Sister Liuli, you don't know. We found this guy in the Liusha Small Secret Realm. He slept for over ten years at our place before waking up. After he woke, he couldn't remember anything from before, not even his own name. I saw he liked to drink, so I gave him the nickname Little Drunkard."
"So that's how it is."
Beside them, Xuan Yun stared at Gu Qingfeng, seeming somewhat puzzled. "The environment inside the Liusha Small Secret Realm is quite harsh. I see he's not an Immortal. How did he survive there?"
"Before Little Drunkard fell unconscious, he must have experienced something strange. It caused his Physical Body to become utterly chaotic and decayed, as if rotten. He can't even cultivate now. It's quite pitiful, but in a way, misfortune turned into fortune. His Physical Body has become exceptionally tough. Even if I exerted all my strength, I couldn't budge him in the slightest."
"Oh?"
Xuan Yun walked over, surprised. "There's such a peculiar thing?"
"It's true,"
Qiānlíng also said. "His condition remains a mystery to this day. No one knows what exactly he experienced before falling unconscious."
Xuan Yun looked at Gu Qingfeng and asked, "Fellow Daoist, would you permit me to examine you briefly?"
Gu Qingfeng shrugged, indicating he could proceed.
Xuan Yun took Gu Qingfeng's wrist and began to probe.
In truth, with his abilities, he could have simply released his divine sense to examine from a distance. However, using divine sense to probe someone without their consent was considered an offensive and extremely impolite act in the Great Desolate. Moreover, such behavior was very dangerous. If the other party's mental fortitude was weak, it could cause harm—light cases might result in mental setbacks, while severe ones could lead to mental derangement or even soul dispersion, as the mind protects the soul.
Conversely, if the other party's mental fortitude was strong, forcibly probing with divine sense could result in backlash, affecting one's own divine sense. Similarly, light cases might cause mental setbacks, while severe ones could lead to mental derangement or soul dispersion.
Therefore,
under normal circumstances, no one would lightly release their divine sense to forcibly probe others, especially when the other party's depth was unknown—they wouldn't dare.
Even now, after obtaining Gu Qingfeng's consent, Xuan Yun only released a wisp of divine sense, carefully probing.
But the more he probed, the deeper his frown became.
Gu Qingfeng's utterly chaotic Physical Body gave him a scalp-numbing feeling. Whether it was his meridians, acupoints, or internal organs, everything seemed decayed, like steel rusted over countless years—utterly unbelievable.
He couldn't imagine what a person must have gone through for their Physical Body to decay to such an extent.
However, he finally understood why Qiānniǎo said even exerting all her strength couldn't affect him. A Physical Body decayed like this, resembling millennia-old stubborn stone, would likely be difficult to shake with ordinary force.
Qiānniǎo asked, "Brother Xuan Yun, everyone in our Xiaoluo Secret Realm has been unable to heal Little Drunkard's Physical Body. Can you?"
"Fellow Daoist Drunkard's Physical Body has decayed to this state. That he's still alive is already a stroke of fortune amidst misfortune. As for healing it...
I'm afraid it would be very, very difficult."
Changing the subject, Xuan Yun seemed thoughtful and added, "However, Fellow Daoist Drunkard need not worry. Nothing in this world is absolute. After I return, I'll consult a few seniors proficient in medical arts to see if they can heal you."
"That's wonderful! Thank you, Brother Xuan Yun."
Gu Qingfeng also expressed his thanks, smiling. "It's fine. I'm an open-minded person. As long as I'm alive, with food and drink, that's enough. Whether I can cultivate or not doesn't matter."
"Ha!
Fellow Daoist Drunkard truly has a good attitude."
Xuan Yun laughed heartily. "Since Fellow Daoist Drunkard enjoys wine, and I happen to enjoy drinking as well, today we must definitely share a few cups."
"I'd be delighted."
One had to say, this young master named Xuan Yun was truly extravagant. As soon as they arrived at the manor, he immediately arranged a table full of delicious delicacies—rare spirit fruits, exquisite jade nectar, treasured fine wine, and more, everything one could want. When they learned this table of delicacies had cost over ten thousand Immortal Stones, not only did Qiānniǎo and the others from the Xiaoluo Secret Realm gasp in shock, at a loss for words, but even Gu Qingfeng, who usually had no concept of Immortal Stones, couldn't help but frown.
Over ten thousand Immortal Stones was definitely not a small sum.
As Qiānniǎo put it, over ten thousand Immortal Stones would be enough for her to spend extravagantly for over half a year without restraint.
And this was merely the cost of a single meal for these people.
Perhaps because this table of delicacies was too expensive, the people from the Xiaoluo Secret Realm didn't dare to indulge freely. Even a straightforward girl like Qiānniǎo only took a single spirit fruit, eating it in small bites.
Young Master Xuan Yun urged them several times, telling Qiānlíng, Qiānniǎo, and the others not to stand on ceremony, but the people from the Xiaoluo Secret Realm still couldn't relax.
In contrast, once Gu Qingfeng sat down, he completely acted like he belonged, eating with great gusto. The wine cup in his hand never stopped, one cup after another, drinking with immense pleasure.
This made the people from the Xiaoluo Secret Realm feel somewhat embarrassed.
Qiānniǎo kept shooting glances at Gu Qingfeng, but it was as if he didn't see them, continuing to wolf down the food.
"I say, Little Drunkard, can't you have a bit of shame!"
Qiānniǎo transmitted a secret message, scolding angrily. "After all, these things are so expensive. Even though they're treating us, you should at least have some manners, shouldn't you? How can you act so much like you belong? You're considered one of our Xiaoluo Secret Realm people now. Can't we pay a bit of attention?
Don't embarrass our Xiaoluo Secret Realm, alright!"