At dawn the next day, Yang Kai, who was meditating, sensed movement from the neighboring room. He subtly extended his Divine Sense to investigate and found that Cang Yan, Li Wan, and Fei Jian had already departed swiftly—presumably heading to Watching Heaven Cliff to scout the situation.
Fei Yu was still passed out from her drunken binge the night before, sprawled across the bed in an undignified manner. Her skirt had ridden up to her thigh, exposing a expanse of fair skin that made Yang Kai's head spin.
He shook his head in resignation, got up, grabbed the blanket, and draped it over her to cover the exposed scenery.
It wasn't until noon that Fei Yu finally rose languidly, stretched her arms, walked to the window, and stood there quietly for a while.
"Hey, little martial nephew, let's go out and have a look," Fei Yu suddenly suggested.
"But Uncle-Master Cang Yan told us to wait for them at the inn." Yang Kai frowned.
"Don't worry. In Floating Cloud City, there's usually no danger. Even if there are occasional fights, the City Lord's people will put a stop to it." Fei Yu sidled up to him, settling her shapely hips beside Yang Kai with a graceful sway. Her breath was fragrant as orchids as she whispered, "Come on, let's go look around. We rarely get a chance to come here—what's the point of cooping ourselves up in a room? Cang Yan and the others might be gone for quite a while. Are we just supposed to sit here and wait the whole time?"
As she spoke, she brazenly hooked her arm through his, pressing her full, perky chest against his elbow.
Yang Kai's face darkened. "Fine, let's go. Just don't take advantage of me."
"You little brat!" Fei Yu gritted her teeth and scolded him with a嗔.
The two tidied themselves up and quickly left the inn, strolling along the bustling main street.
Even without Fei Yu's suggestion, Yang Kai had already been planning to come out for a look.
Elder Du had told him that because the Millennium Demon Flower was about to bloom, many outstanding alchemists would gather here, and martial artists from all over the world would converge as well. Where there were people, there were resources.
All manner of rare medicinal herbs and spiritual plants that were normally impossible to find would appear here one after another.
Yang Kai needed to collect some medicinal ingredients!
Although his current pill refining was supplied entirely by the Heavenly Firmament Sect, he still had his own needs—partly for his own cultivation, partly for the Ancient Demon Clan of the Demon Fortress.
When he had left the Demon Fortress, Li Rong had given him a list of materials needed to refine saint-grade pills. Over all this time, Yang Kai had managed to collect most of them, but there were still quite a few missing.
This was a rare opportunity.
Inside Floating Cloud City, shops stood in rows, and martial artists packed the streets shoulder to shoulder, their numbers as countless as fish crossing a river.
Fei Yu affectionately held Yang Kai's arm as they strolled down the main street. The handsome young man and the beautiful woman drew frequent glances from passersby.
"Uncle-Master, this isn't really appropriate, is it?" Yang Kai felt somewhat self-conscious. During their walk, the occasional accidental contact of their bodies set his heart racing.
"What's not appropriate? I'm responsible for protecting you." Fei Yu gazed at him with a enchanting smile. "You little brat—are you getting a reaction toward your uncle-master?"
Yang Kai shrugged. "I'm a young man. That's a normal response."
"Just don't think too much about it," Fei Yu chuckled lightly, seeming to thoroughly enjoy the situation. As they walked, she quietly whispered to Yang Kai.
Along the way, under her guidance, Yang Kai learned to accurately distinguish demon folk from beastfolk.
On the Tongxuan Continent, humans, demon folk, and beastfolk stood as three great powers. Humans were the most numerous, followed by demon folk, while beastfolk were the fewest in number.
The fundamental reason for this was the scarcity of the Transformation Pools.
Transformation Pools were the foundation and lifeblood of the beastfolk. Demon beasts that had reached a certain level of strength could use a Transformation Pool to take on a human body and awaken intelligence comparable to that of humans.
In essence, every beastfolk member with a human form was a powerhouse—something quite different from the other two races.
But that wasn't the whole picture. Some powerful beastfolk were born with the ability to take human form, and a few with extraordinary innate talent could achieve this without the aid of a Transformation Pool at all.
These were the elite among the beastfolk—the strongest of the strong.
Yang Kai found his knowledge greatly expanded.
When they arrived at a shop run by the Floating Cloud City Alchemist Association, Yang Kai browsed through several rounds, his expression growing helplessly disappointed.
He hadn't found the herbs he was looking for.
"Young sir, you've looked through my shop several times now and haven't bought anything. Could it be that nothing here suits your fancy?" The shopkeeper couldn't help but ask curiously.
Yang Kai shook his head. "Everything here is of excellent quality, but none of it is what I need."
"Young sir, you're an alchemist, aren't you?"
Yang Kai gave a slight nod and produced his Alchemist Badge. The shopkeeper took it and examined it, and his expression immediately changed, becoming far more amiable and warm. "I wonder what herbs you're looking for, young sir. If it's convenient, could you tell me? I can keep an eye out for you."
Yang Kai casually rattled off the names of several medicinal ingredients.
The shopkeeper's face twisted in difficulty, and he nodded. "These herbs grow in extremely harsh environments and are quite rare and precious. My shop truly doesn't carry them, and obtaining them won't be easy. Here's an idea—why don't you head over to the Trading District? If you're lucky, you might find something there."
"The Trading District?" Yang Kai's expression shifted.
"Yes. For this grand event, the City Lord and the two Vice City Lords designated a special area for alchemists from all over the world to trade with one another. There are many outstanding alchemists there who exchange herbs they don't need for things they want. You could try your luck."
"Where is the Trading District?"
The shopkeeper kindly pointed out the directions. Yang Kai nodded in thanks, said his farewells, and headed with Fei Yu toward the designated area.