Chapter 1037: Attending the Banquet
The young man waved his hand, stopping his subordinate and berating him, "You, shut up. Since the Southern Phoenix Clan has these rules, naturally, they won’t allow people to break them so easily. This city is in total control of the Southern Phoenix Clan."
"Yes." That subordinate bowed, lowering his head, not daring to say anything more. The young man then smiled and glanced back to Qin Wentian. "I’m Rong Xiao of the Rong Clan. I truly admire this vermillion bird from the bottom of my heart. Since she said that you are her master, naturally, you can trade her away. Brother, why not give me some face? It won’t be to your disadvantage and we can even be friends."
Although this young man’s tone was polite, Qin Wentian and Jun Mengchen both felt disgusted at hearing his words. Reporting his own clan name, did he want to flaunt his status?
"Oh, so it’s Rong Xiao from the Rong Clan." Qin Wentian acted like he suddenly had a revelation. The young man smiled as he inclined his head slightly with pride.
"Apologies, I’ve never heard of you before," Qin Wentian continued, his words causing the smile on Rong Xiao’s face to turn unnatural and stiff. Was Qin Wentian making a fool out of him?
"Also, my senior brother is also a guest invited by the Southern Phoenix Clan. Don’t think that you’re so great. Stop overestimating yourself and get lost." Jun Mengchen’s temper was as explosive as before. He truly wasn’t fond of this young man. Qin Wentian silently agreed with his words, smiling coldly at the people before his eyes. He couldn’t even be bothered to reply to Rong Xiao. Treating Purgatory like a commodity? Even if this was nothing but a discussion, it was still a humiliation to Purgatory herself.
The young man frowned. He glanced at Qin Wentian. He must truly have a good temper—despite being cursed at and told to get lost, he still kept his temper.
"So it turns out that Brother Qin is also here because of an invitation. Rong Xiao was too presumptuous. In that case, I will see you again at the banquet," Rong Xiao said indifferently before leading his subordinates away.
"How arrogant," Jun Mengchen stated unhappily.
Qin Wentian stared at Purgatory, only to see that Purgatory’s countenance had turned cold. He walked over and patted Purgatory on her shoulder. "Purgatory, just call me Big Brother Qin from now on. I don’t want you to refer to me as your master. If you refuse to obey me, I won’t allow you to follow me in the future."
Purgatory stared at Qin Wentian with a wronged expression in her eyes. Her charming eyes were extremely mesmerizing, causing Qin Wentian to regret the fact that his tone was too strict. However, this little lass refused to listen, so he had no choice but to talk to her in such an unyielding manner.
"Yes, master," Purgatory pitifully replied.
"Still referring to me as your master?" Qin Wentian pulled a face. Purgatory’s mouth twitched as she called out hesitantly, "Big Brother Qin."
"Nice." Qin Wentian’s expression turned gentle as he ruffled Purgatory’s hair. This made Purgatory stare at him in a daze as she laughed giddily. She naturally understood that Qin Wentian was doing this to treat her as one of his true friends.
"Let’s go. Let’s make good use of our time and tour the streets of this city." Qin Wentian turned. The three of them navigated/explored the streets together, and just like that, three more extraordinary young individuals walked the ancient streets of the Southern Phoenix City. The two young men were extremely handsome, and the young woman had a demonic charm. They attracted plenty of attention wherever they went.
"Senior Brother, this immortal city is truly extremely prosperous. Earlier, I even spotted a few immortal-king-ranked innate techniques for sale," said Jun Mengchen as they mingled with the crowd.
"You must know that those who could open a shop of such scale in Southern Phoenix City must surely have an illustrious status/reputation. I’m sure the major power behind that shop just now must have immortal kings within their ranks. For us at the immortal foundation realm, we already need so many resources to advance to the next level. If immortal kings wished to become stronger, naturally, they couldn’t be lacking in money and valuable treasures. Hence, it isn’t strange that they would put up their innate techniques for sale."
"That’s true. Anyway, Senior Brother, look over there. There are so many customers, and that shop seems to be selling immortal-ranked weapons." Jun Mengchen pointed ahead. They then proceeded into the shop and perused its wares. Purgatory noticed a treasure, and her beautiful eyes shone with a bright light as she mumbled, "How pretty."
Qin Wentian turned his attention over, and he also found himself stunned. The treasure Purgatory was looking at was an immortal-ranked robe that could expand and contract at will, melding together with one’s flesh. Despite the material’s soft and silky texture, it boasted of immense defensive power. The robe’s design also fulfilled a female’s criteria of looking beautiful, without being encumbered by heavy, ugly-looking pieces of armor. Naturally, this treasure caught the attention of several immortals.
"How luxurious." Jun Mengchen sighed in admiration, awed by the majestic delights this immortal city had to offer.
"Do you like it?" Qin Wentian turned to Purgatory as he smiled.
Purgatory stared at Qin Wentian in an embarrassed manner before nodding her head timidly. However, Qin Wentian was extremely happy. Purgatory was becoming more human with every day. This was a good thing. This meant that she had truly evolved from the spirit body she’d been born with.
"Let’s buy it then." Qin Wentian smiled. Without waiting for her response, he instantly took the robe to the counter and paid for it.
Not long after, the three of them exited the shop. Purgatory was clad in the new robe, which was fiery red in color. The threads of the robes seemed to be made from the feathers of a phoenix. They were fine and exquisite, fully accentuating Purgatory’s figure, emanating grace and elegance as well as a sense of nobility.
"Big Brother Qin, this robe is so expensive. It roughly costs the same price of ten immortal-ranked treasures." Although Purgatory liked it a lot, she still felt pain in her heart at the cost.
"It’s a simple matter if I want to have immortal-ranked weapons. I can just use the Driftsnow City to forge some in the future. Purgatory, it’s rare to find something you like. I haven’t gifted you any presents yet after you broke through to immortality. Consider this my gift." Qin Wentian laughed.
"You bought two other similar robes as well.. One of them must be for Princess Qing`er, while the other one is for Sister-in-Law Qingcheng right?" Jun Mengchen who was beside Qin Wentian started laughing. His senior brother was truly awesome. No wonder there were so many beauties beside him.
"Haha, you can be considered intelligent." Qin Wentian smiled. "Okay, we have been touring the streets for quite some time. Tomorrow is the day of the banquet, so let’s return back to our inn to rest first."
"Ai, every inch of this city seems to be paved with gold. The rates for the inn are outrageous as well. It’s basically impossible for ordinary people to afford the rates, so they can only choose to sleep outdoors on the streets."
"The rules of the immortal realms are as such. Only experts are qualified to have preferential treatment and cultivation resources. If you settled down in here, the Southern Phoenix Clan would be responsible for the city’s protection."
"That’s true." Jun Mengchen nodded. After returning to the inn, they sat there and enjoyed their drinks, staring at the crowd below. These few days, more and more people could be seen around this area in the city. Evidently, there were many people who loved the liveliness and wanted to find out more news about the immortal banquet. Naturally, there were also those who’d been invited.
At this moment, at the Lutian Inn, a group of people appeared. Upon seeing these people, the eyes of many in the inn gleamed with sharpness.
"They are from the Shen Clan. Shen Yi of the Shen Clan is a heaven’s chosen. I heard that he was invited by the Southern Phoenix Clan. Could he be that young man in the lead?" The gazes of the crowd turned to a young man in white. This young man had a feathered fan in his hand, with a handsome appearance that exuded elegance. The moment he entered the inn, his subordinates immediately found a table and started ordering their dishes. Shen Yi began to look around, admiring the scenery. His eyes paused when his gaze landed on Purgatory, then gleamed with light as he smiled at her before he shifted his eyes away.
"Beauties will naturally attract attention. This beauty here has a refined and noble aura. She must be from an extraordinary background. The young man beside her also exudes an extraordinary air." The crowd noticed Shen Yi’s gaze as they commented in low voices.
"But no matter how extraordinary that young man is, how can he compare to Shen Yi? He’s the young master of the Shen Clan, and he’s monstrously talented. In the past, I heard that he once obtained the position of the #3 ranker of the Immortal Ascension Rankings in the City of Ancient Emperors."
"Yeah. Most probably, Shen Yi could easily pursue that young woman if he wished to do so." Many people started discussing the two. Qin Wentian didn’t mind. He smiled when he saw Purgatory’s irritation as he added, "Beautiful women become the focal point no matter where they go. Purgatory, you should be happy instead. This proves that you have great charm and charisma."
"Not interested," Purgatory said coldly. The people who came to Southern Phoenix City could be extremely audacious with their words because of the rules of the city and its enforced safety.
"Brother Shen, why are you drinking wine alone?" At this moment, a voice drifted over as several figures descended from the air. The person who spoke was clad in robes of brilliant gold, looking incomparably eye-catching.
"People from the Gold Race." Everyone stared at the experts who’d just appeared. They were all clothed in gold robes and armor, shining with a golden light that was extremely resplendent and stunning to look at. No matter where they went, their existence would be the most dazzling. These symbolized the people from the Gold Race.
"The Gold Race established their own immortal empire and it’s extremely powerful. Apparently, some prince from their empire was invited here to the immortal banquet of the Southern Phoenix Clan. There are so many geniuses here, it’s going to be extremely lively."
"Seems like many immortal emperor-ranked powers in the southern region also had their disciples invited. This time around, I wonder which of the holy maidens will end up victorious in the end."
Everyone was deep in a heated discussion. Jun Mengchen glanced at Qin Wentian as he said quietly, "Is it truly like the rumors says?"
"Maybe, we will know for sure tomorrow. Let’s return," Qin Wentian stated. Purgatory instantly stood up and followed after him. Jun Mengchen initially wanted to stay for awhile. But when he saw Qin Wentian had no interest, he also turned and left together with him.
The next morning, the three of them departed the inn and headed straight for the Southern Phoenix Clan. Along the way, they encountered many fearsome groups of experts. Just like the rumors, people from a majority of the major powers in the southern region had all gathered here.