The Journey of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 242 - 152 Salt-Baked Chicken_2

Chapter 242: Chapter 152 Salt-Baked Chicken_2

In this world, there is no central government with authority over the entire Pan-continent, and neither the Immortal nor Demon paths show much interest in mortal silver, thus allowing the salt trade to flow into the homes of ordinary people. There are no other salt fields within thousands of miles, and this unique business alone is enough to sustain everyone in Shuangyu City.

When Ning Xiaoxian arrived, it was already near October, the sunshine gradually weakening, marking the end of this year’s operations in the salt fields. The salt fields she passed by the saltwater lake were the last batch of the year. The white salt grains were already piled up in the endless rows of boundaries creating small snow mountains. Some children living nearby even came here to play by building snowmen, only using salt instead of snow, making these "salt people" look beautiful and lively.

Living on salt, eating salt. Ning Xiaoxian initially visited Shuangyu City planning to furnish the small cabin in the God Demon Prison to avoid sleeping on the floor daily, but once she arrived in the city, she couldn’t help but inquire where the best and most authentic food was. The place everyone pointed to was Taste Workshop.

Though named "Workshop," it is merely a tiny shop front on the main street of Shuangyu City, and just six or seven people inside would make it crowded, so they don’t offer dine-in, only takeout. They sell only one item—salt-baked chicken. Taste Workshop’s salt-baked flavor has been passed down for over two hundred years, using the most basic ingredients from the saltwater lake and free-range chickens raised outside Shuangyu City.

This shop is very easy to locate on the main street. Not to mention that the streets of Shuangyu City are few, just stand on the street and you’ll know where Taste Workshop is—the one with the longest queue outside.

As she was about to walk over, a slight tremor came from the ground, and a resident behind exclaimed: "Lord Qi is coming!" and then conscientiously moved to the sides of the street.

Lord Qi? She followed suit and stood to the side before turning back to look, indeed there was a giant beast slowly approaching down the street! It was at least ten feet tall, with a dragon-like head, horse-like form, deer-like stature, and a cow-like tail, topped with a singular horn, displaying colorful fur patterns on its back, and its belly in bright yellow. All in all, it was a multicolored demon, an odd mix that makes it indescribable. Interestingly, the people around her, upon seeing this creature, showed no panic but instead faces filled with joy and reverence.

She quietly tugged on the sleeve of a nearby uncle asking, "Uncle, what kind of demon is this?"

To her surprise, he glared at her, angrily saying: "Humph, demon? Comparing Lord Qi to a demon, aren’t you afraid of shortening your lifespan?"

She stuck out her tongue, realizing her mistake, then quickly apologized profusely and flattered him until the middle-aged man cheered up, then emphatically explained: "Do you know of the Ren Beast Qilin? Lord Qi is one of the Qishou! It is a creature of auspicious omen."

Suddenly it all made sense. No wonder this creature looked so familiar—it was the Holy Beast from the legends. According to Mr. Yan’s book, although this type of Ren Beast could breathe fire and its voice thundered, it was gentle, harmed neither humans nor animals, and even avoided trampling on plants; its males called Qi and females called Lin. It’s easy to tell them apart; the males have a single horn, hence this giant creature arriving alone must be a Qishou.

She watched for a while but then felt it peculiar because the Qishou was heading straight for the Taste Workshop. The long line at the shop front naturally dispersed, clearing a space for it. The Qishou indeed seemed very gentle, passing by several street stalls without even raising dust, and even as children played under its feet, it didn’t trample anyone.

Ning Xiaoxian couldn’t help but ask, "Why doesn’t it transform into human form?" But she was asking Qiongqi in the God Demon Prison. Changtian was busy performing surgery on Wen Liangyu, too distracted to pay her any heed.

Qiongqi replied, "That Qishou is at least 1,300 years old, well past the Great Success Stage, certainly capable of taking human form. However, each demon has its temperament, and many Divine Beasts prefer not to journey through the world in human guise. Hmm, I’m just a few droplets of essence blood taken from Qiongqi, and even its original owner never deigned to transform into a human."

"What about... Changtian?" she whispered cautiously while he was too occupied to notice her—a perfect moment to secretly inquire of Qiongqi, "Did he like to take human form in ancient times?"

Qiongqi laughed heartily, "Of course. Lord Changtian’s True Body is immensely huge, it would be incredibly strenuous if he didn’t use a human form to traverse the world! The External Body he manifests now was also for convenience."

She couldn’t resist asking, "What does Changtian’s True Body look like, and how big is it?"

However, Qiongqi refused to elaborate further, "Miss, don’t make it difficult for me. If you travel to the western side of Nan Zhanbu Continent, you will see for yourself. Even if I described it as brilliantly as a lotus, it won’t match witnessing its majesty firsthand."

Meanwhile, the Qishou had indeed stopped outside the Taste Workshop and raised its giant paw. This paw, thicker than the pillars of an ordinary household, was lifted high only to gently touch down. By the time it retracted its front paw, there were twenty taels of silver and a bag on the ground.

The salt-baked chicken at Taste Workshop was five times more expensive than elsewhere, priced at two taels of silver each. The Qishou seemed well aware of the prices, clearly meaning it wanted ten salt-baked chickens. Indeed, the shopkeeper promptly picked up the large bag from the ground and prioritized selecting the ten fattest chickens, wrapping them neatly in oil paper and stuffing them inside. (To be continued. If you like this work, we invite you to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)