Frost Moon City was extraordinarily prosperous, and its scale was considerable.
The location Liu Zhen had arranged was also quite secluded. Jiang Chen and the Peerless Great Emperor had to search for quite some time before they finally tracked it down.
It was a small tavern that looked rather low-end. It was situated in the most chaotic district of all of Frost Moon City.
Jiang Chen, the Peerless Great Emperor, and their group had gone through tremendous effort before they finally found this little tavern. Seeing how shabby the place looked, even the Peerless Great Emperor couldn't help but feel some doubt: "Brother, did we come to the wrong place?"
Jiang Chen was also a bit skeptical, but after taking a careful look, he smiled bitterly: "It shouldn't be wrong. Based on the address he gave us, this is definitely the place."
"Never mind — let's go in and have a look." The Peerless Great Emperor waved his hand with a carefree air. He was in an extremely good mood right now, better than it had ever been.
Ever since A-Yun had been struck by that palm years ago, the Peerless Great Emperor had been taking her everywhere seeking medical treatment. From that point on, virtually all of his thoughts had been devoted to healing his dao companion, and he couldn't exactly be said to have been in good spirits.
But now, with Jiang Chen's appearance and the arrival of the Pine Crane Pill, Lady Yun's injuries had been suppressed and her vitality had improved.
Most importantly, Jiang Chen had told him that he had a ninety percent chance of completely curing Lady Yun's injuries.
For the Peerless Great Emperor, this was nothing short of a miracle.
After all, back in the day he had practically traveled across the entire human domain, visiting countless Pill Kings and even seeking out many reclusive Pill Emperors.
But the answers he received had always been disappointment, disappointment, and more disappointment...
When he had nearly fallen into despair, Jiang Chen's appearance had lit a beacon of hope. How could that not fill him with overwhelming excitement?
So it was only natural that his mood was good.
Now, forget about a small tavern like this — even the dirtiest, most wretched place, he wouldn't care at all.
If it were merely Liu Zhen's business, the Peerless Great Emperor definitely wouldn't have come to a place like this. Even if there were Heaven-grade spiritual medicines on offer, he probably wouldn't have been particularly interested.
But he knew that Jiang Chen needed that Heavenly Luminous Grass, and had even been willing to spend four hundred million to bid on it at auction. That showed just how much Jiang Chen valued the herb.
Since Jiang Chen cared so much about the Heavenly Luminous Grass, the Peerless Great Emperor was naturally willing to lend a hand.
The exterior of this small tavern looked rather unremarkable, but once inside it actually had a certain charm. The people drinking here, however, were a motley crowd — clearly all individuals of complicated backgrounds.
There were rogue cultivators, local strongmen from Frost Moon City, and passing merchants traveling through.
Seeing someone as imposing as the Peerless Great Emperor walk in, the tavern attendant had enough sense to quickly come over and greet them: "Honored guests, please come in, please come in!"
Whether it was the Peerless Great Emperor and Lady Yun, or Jiang Chen and Long Xiaoxuan, not a single one of them looked like an ordinary person. The attendant secretly marveled — their tavern had been open for many years, yet people of this caliber had never once appeared here.
What kind of day was this? What wind had blown these obviously extraordinary figures to their doorstep?
They found a table in a somewhat inconspicuous corner and sat down. After ordering some drinks and snacks, the group settled in for a quiet wait.
Time passed tick by tick. The appointed hour came and went, but Liu Zhen still hadn't shown up.
Long Xiaoxuan furrowed his brow: "We're not being played, are we?"
The Peerless Great Emperor chuckled: "That fellow may be a bit scheming, but he doesn't seem like the sneaky, underhanded type. Let's wait a little longer."
Lady Yun, having learned the purpose of this trip from the Peerless Great Emperor, also chimed in: "Right, let's wait a bit more."
Long Xiaoxuan curled his lips: "Who knows how long we'll have to sit here."
About half a shichen passed, and that short, stocky man Liu Zhen still hadn't appeared.
Never mind Long Xiaoxuan — even Jiang Chen was starting to feel restless. He looked toward the Peerless Great Emperor: "Brother Mo, it seems that fellow isn't coming."
The Peerless Great Emperor sighed: "I never imagined we'd be played by an Origin Realm martial artist."
"He might not be playing us — perhaps he ran into some trouble?" Lady Yun was the kind-hearted sort who always preferred to look on the bright side.
"Forget it. Let's stop waiting." It was Jiang Chen who made the call.
Just as they were about to stand up and leave, a figure suddenly appeared at the doorway and darted inside like a wisp of smoke. Spotting Jiang Chen and the others, his face lit up with joy and he scrambled over.
"Young Master Shao, save me, save me!"
The man was gasping for breath, his face still pale with terror — it was none other than Liu Zhen.
The very next instant after he burst through the tavern door, several fierce-looking men surged in right behind him. They were all dressed in black, with distinctive emblems embroidered on their shoulders — clearly the insignia of some gang or faction.
"Damn it — let's see you run this time!" The one at the front was a big man with a flattened nose, his face twisted into a vicious grin as he stared down Liu Zhen like a cat toying with a mouse, his eyes brimming with mockery.