Dimensional Hotel
Chapter 342: Welcoming and Cleansing

Chapter 342: Chapter 342: Welcoming and Cleansing

True Man Yuanling set up a sumptuous feast in the Immortal Banquet Hall of Queyun Palace to entertain distinguished guests who came from the Boundary Land (though not that far for Yu Sheng). There weren’t many people at the table, aside from Xuan Che and True Man Yuanling whom Yu Sheng knew, there were only a few inner sect disciples accompanying the banquet, not the kind of awkward scene Yu Sheng dreaded where a big crowd of unfamiliar faces gathered in the hall to watch him eat.

Meanwhile, the array of dishes on the table truly opened Yu Sheng’s eyes.

Strictly speaking, there were few things on that table he recognized, though Xuan Che assured him beforehand that these were all foods made to the taste of people from the Boundary Land.

"I thought once you reach a certain level in cultivating immortality, you’d start living off the wind and dew, sustained by nature’s spiritual energy," Yu Sheng exclaimed at the sight of the dishes before him, "I didn’t expect you all to be this particular about food."

"There are those who live off the wind and dew, and those who absorb nature’s spiritual energy—those who relish the desires of the palate, and can comprehend the great way in each morsel, definitely exist as well," True Man Yuanling chuckled, not assuming any airs at the table, looking more like an ordinary merry old man, "Cultivating immortality, cultivating the heart, is about having a clear and free spirit; rigorous cultivation isn’t the goal, the ’way’ exists in all the world, unrestricted by form."

"I remember Master Uncle once practiced the fasting method?" Xuan Che asked curiously from the side, "But later I heard he said it wasn’t effective and didn’t stick to it..."

"He practiced fasting, my foot!" True Man Yuanling’s eyes widened instantly, losing his composure, "He asked me to refine two hundred fasting pills for a ten-year fasting practice, ended up eating them all in one night, and the next day told me he had comprehended the ’Compressed Fasting Method’, claimed one day had the effect of ten years, and asked me to make another two hundred pills with White Flower Cake flavor! Do not listen to his bragging nonsense—relying solely on a tough constitution to cultivate immortality won’t work."

Yu Sheng stood awkwardly by, not daring to interject, but at least he realized the master and disciple here joking about a certain "Strange Man" seemed to be normal; even those inner sect disciples at the table showed no reaction listening to the Master Uncle’s antics, all head down wolfing down...

Then he looked around himself once more, and immediately noticed Zheng Zhi sitting at the side—honestly, Yu Sheng was initially quite worried about this guy, considering the nephew was brought over in confusion, still bewildered before entering Queyun Palace. That even made Yu Sheng debate opening another door to send this unlucky guy back, but he now realized perhaps he had overthought it.

The nephew too was head down feasting, emphasizing a good mindset of following the leader to have a meal improvement, eating first no matter what issues arise.

Obviously, the constitution of high sensitivity and low stability over the years has somewhat tempered this young man’s mind, at least he’s really good at adapting to the environment.

Of course, the most voracious one present was still Hu Li, her head hardly lifted, regardless of what was in her bowl, shoveling anything she saw into her mouth, while two Erins standing on the table tilted plates into her bowl (mainly for fun), almost unable to keep up with her eating speed...

So, how to put it, Yu Sheng brought three people over, not counting Zheng Zhi, where two were puppets that don’t eat human food and couldn’t enjoy the culinary delights, but Hu Li more than made up for it—perhaps even overcompensated.

At least half of the disciples around, heads down feasting, found their dining motivation due to the huge survival pressure the demon fox girl brought them.

True Man Yuanling noticed the scene as well, he looked around at the situation and, seeing his disciples industriously eating, couldn’t help but shake his head, but soon chuckled helplessly, apologizing to Yu Sheng: "My disciples, normally strictly disciplined, indeed aren’t used to social etiquette, sorry to make you laugh."

"No harm done, no harm done," Yu Sheng quickly shook his hand, "I actually prefer it this way—if you arranged a bunch of formality, like needing to go through eighteen processes to put down chopsticks, or giving toasts with five minutes of speech for each drink, I genuinely wouldn’t be able to enjoy my meal, too busy for their rituals."

"Then it’s all good, all good," True Man Yuanling immediately clapped his hands and laughed heartily, seemingly very pleased, "I’m glad you’re not blaming us for any lack of hospitality, haha."

"Why isn’t Uncle Yuan He here?" Xuan Che then looked up, asking in a low voice.

"He went to pick up your Master Uncle," True Man Yuanling sighed, looked up, explained to Yu Sheng, "Yuan He is my junior brother, responsible for the ’Beast Taming’ sect in Qianfeng Ling Mountain, originally he should have been here to welcome such esteemed guests, but my senior brother... he has endured some ordeals, now fortunate enough to break free, requires assistance, so Yuan He went to fetch him."

Saying this, he paused, adding, "Actually the original schedule was suitable, Xuan Che’s return from the Boundary Land should have taken a good three to five days, who could have guessed he’d arrive today."

"Ah, it’s my spontaneous decision that messed up your plans," Yu Sheng, hearing this, had an awkward smile, "mainly because I hadn’t planned that far ahead."

"Oh, it can’t be stated like that," True Man Yuanling quickly waved his hand, his expression somewhat helpless, "it’s still my senior brother’s mishap... and made the guest look at our antics. It’s rather embarrassing, I know you came this time also attracted by my senior brother’s many bizarre past experiences, wanting to understand many things from him, but my senior brother Yuan Hao... being unrestrained and indulgent, though indeed having countless adventures, when telling others usually added embellishments so shouldn’t be entirely taken as truth. You can listen for general understanding, but don’t take it all too seriously."

"Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?" Yu Sheng listened, his expression somewhat subtle, "I heard some of this Master Uncle’s experiences from Xuan Che. Although those stories are quite bizarre, as an ’adventurer’, he’s rather admirable — not everyone has his courage and luck."

"Adventurer? That’s a good title," True Man Yuanling sighed, "It would be better if he could just settle down and be a decent Sect Leader..."

Yu Sheng was taken aback by the words, staring at the white-haired True Man Yuanling, who looked the part of a sect leader with his celestial demeanor: "...Aren’t you the Sect Leader of Qianfeng Ling Mountain?"

"No, I’m the acting Deputy Sect Leader."

True Man Yuanling said this with a look of helplessness, raising his cup and drinking it in one gulp, as if compressing centuries of resentment into that drink.

"I shouldn’t have accepted his seal back then, nor should I have been fooled by him into taking this position... Ah, youth and naivety, always trusting that one’s senior wouldn’t harm them."

Xuan Che saw the situation and quickly spoke up: "Master, you’ve had too much to drink."

"I’ve had too little," True Man Yuanling glared at Xuan Che, "If I had drunk more, I’d be out of the mountain on my sword looking for your Master Uncle right now!"

Xuan Che immediately hung his head: "You can’t ride the sword after drinking..."

True Man Yuanling glared at Xuan Che, holding it in for a long time before letting out a sigh: "Ah, this honest child, just like I was back then."

Yu Sheng was embarrassed to interrupt this topic and could only chuckle dryly a few times, then quickly changed the subject: "Right, regarding the activities of the Venerate Saints Monastery..."

"I’ve already heard from Director Baili," True Man Yuanling’s expression immediately shifted when discussing the Venerate Saints Monastery, and his tone turned serious, "I’ve arranged for dispatched disciples at the border to revisit the lairs where traces of the Monastery were first found to see if there are any missed clues. Additionally, I’ve arranged for records to be reviewed to check for any oversights, and I’m also in contact with the major factions of Taixu Spirit Hub, hoping they’ll pay attention to this matter and be on the lookout for any signs of those Evil Demons in their realms."

At this point, perhaps noticing Yu Sheng’s slight curiosity, True Man Yuanling paused, then continued explaining: "The Feiyu Star Domain is a bit different from your Boundary Land. Its capital, Taixu Spirit Hub, isn’t dominated by a single faction. Although Qianfeng Ling Mountain is revered as the leader among the Immortals, there are other prominent sects on Taixu Star, like Yaolan, Hengxu, Netherworld Valley, and Lying Cloud Ten Halls, each not inferior to Qianfeng Ling Mountain. The five major sects jointly govern Taixu Spirit Hub, each with its influence in the Feiyu Star Domain. Though we are friendly neighbors, I cannot command them."

Yu Sheng listened thoughtfully to this new and intriguing knowledge from beyond the Boundary Land, while Erin, who was feeding Hu Li nearby, suddenly blurted out: "Don’t you all fight?"

"How rude," Yu Sheng shot a glance at the rash little puppet and then turned to True Man Yuanling, "Don’t you all fight?"

"Haha, there had been fights in the past," True Man Yuanling didn’t seem to mind, evidently not considering it a sensitive topic, "But that’s what’s recorded in the ’ancient events’ of the scrolls. In terms used in the Boundary Land, it was ’the history of the old world’."

"The history of the old world?" Yu Sheng raised his eyebrows in surprise, not expecting to hear such a term from the mouth of an ’Immortal’ in a realm ruled by Cultivators.

"Yes, the old world, the second Singularity Explosion was like an invisible chasm in the long river of time, dividing the old and new worlds. Taixu Spirit Hub is populated with Cultivators, many of whom are ancient entities, and numerous strange books and ancient scrolls remain, so we have more records of the ’old world’ and are relatively well-informed about the matters of ’Re-Creation’. But even so, much about the old world is now elusive.

"However, some things can be confirmed, like the Feiyu Star Domain previously experiencing chaotic days of sect wars. It seems that even until the very last moments of the old world, this part of the world wasn’t quite peaceful. Even after heaven and earth were recomposed and reshaped, Taixu Spirit Hub continued to struggle a bit out of ’habit’... But those times have passed."

True Man Yuanling said as he raised his hand to stroke his beard, his tone somewhat sentimental.

"Now, everyone has fought enough. After the tumultuous reconstruction of heaven and earth, even the most combative old ancestors seem to have realized something, retreating into seclusion away from the mundane world, leaving this newly re-opened realm to finally enjoy peaceful days up to now."