Cohabitation with Sword Spirit

Chapter 499 - 84: Before Departure

Evening of May 8, 2018

While the new City Lord of Golden Jade City and Cyan Cloud representative Elder were awkwardly enjoying a candlelight dinner, Wang Jiu finally received the good news he had been waiting for from an old friend.

"Alright, all preparations are complete, we can set off for Heaven-Reaching City."

Zhao Chenlu, looking relaxed, casually tossed over a platinum-colored invitation.

"Yours."

Wang Jiu opened the invitation, and an ancient aura immediately flowed out, surprising Wang Jiu.

"Feels familiar, doesn’t it?" Zhao Chenlu asked with a smile.

Wang Jiu said, "Central Province, Golden Cloud Peak."

"Haha, you do remember. But it’s no surprise; it was the turning point in the Immortal Demon War." Zhao Chenlu continued, "The scene where ten of us forced the Myriad Immortals Alliance at Golden Cloud Peak is still vivid in my memory... In fact, since you shattered the Myriad Immortals Alliance’s Daluo Golden Immortal with one strike at Golden Cloud Peak, I hopelessly fell in love with you. Back then, I planned to host a personal concert at Golden Cloud Peak after our victory, announcing our wedding date on the spot. Unfortunately, none of us made it to the end, and even the Golden Cloud Peak was shattered by you."

Wang Jiu nodded.

The cataclysmic memories of the final battle with the Demon Emperor were mostly blurred, but fragments of the scene where the Celestial Divine Sword split Central Province’s Golden Cloud Peak in two still lingered. As he opened the invitation, it even seemed these memory fragments had a tendency to reshape.

The ancient aura within the invitation carried a faint familiar scent, a hint of his own Sword Qi.

Zhao Chenlu said, "But now it’s called the Saint Sect Mark because legends say more than two thousand years ago, the Saint Sect’s First Generation Sect Leaders obtained the Primordial Inheritance from the Golden Cloud Peak Ruins, laying the foundation for Xiangzhou’s civilization today. Before they died, those two sect leaders suddenly passed their positions to disciples and ventured into the Golden Cloud Peak Ruins, never to be found. For two thousand years, Golden Cloud Peak has been the focus of Saint Sect’s development of the Primordial Ruins, but progress has been minimal."

Wang Jiu contemplated the slowly fading Primordial aura in the invitation and said, "That’s normal, considering Golden Cloud Peak’s current complex state. Even with Jiuzhou Era technologies, it’s hard to explore deeply. But if there’s a chance, I’d want to take a look."

"That’s simple, just greet the Saint Sect." Zhao Chenlu explained, "Since there’s been no substantial progress, the Saint Sect has long given up monopolizing the Golden Cloud Peak Ruins, instead inviting cultivators worldwide to explore. However, after the exploration team formed by the Three Academies and Seven Families was wiped out 400 years ago, few have dared to delve into Golden Cloud Peak."

While chatting with Zhao Chenlu, Wang Jiu finished reading the Saint Sect’s invitation, which was standard, inviting Zhao Chenlu’s husband, the former City Lord of Golden Jade, to Heaven-Reaching City for a talk on behalf of the Sect Leader.

"What’s with Zhao Chenlu being referred to as your husband?"

Zhao Chenlu responded freely, "I’m taking advantage of you, don’t mind."

"Oh." Wang Jiu nodded, continued reading, then gradually furrowed his brows.

The Saint Sect’s invitation wasn’t just for tea and chat; there was a difficult Sword Dao theoretical problem requiring Wang Jiu’s assistance to solve.

Wang Jiu furrowed his brows not because the problem was challenging but because it seemed too familiar...

"This problem seems like..."

"Indeed, the mental training problem for your Broken Sword ability training." Zhao Chenlu said, "I spent three whole days to solve it."

Wang Jiu said, "It was Shang Lanfei who solved it in three days, while you provided the answer on the fifth day."

"...You didn’t need to remember that clearly, right? Besides, three or five days makes no big difference; obviously, I don’t have Shang Girl’s sharp mind."

"Time isn’t the key issue; three or five days doesn’t define intelligence disparity. The issue is your answer was wrong."

"What!?"

Zhao Chenlu finally lost composure: "How could it be wrong!? I clearly checked many times!"

Wang Jiu said, "You tried in vain for four days and copied Shang Lanfei’s correct solution on the fifth day."

"Why was her answer correct and mine wrong?"

"Because she left a hidden encrypted lock in the answer; copying verbatim results in a calculation error at the end."

Zhao Chenlu was stunned for a long time before angrily complaining: "Such shameless little brat. We’ve been through life and death together; couldn’t she show a bit of team spirit?"

Wang Jiu said, "Shang Lanfei told you if you called her ’big sister,’ she’d give you the correct answer and her optimized algorithm process, but you refused, saying such minor issues didn’t require..."

"Why do you remember such details so clearly!"

"Because it’s about friends."

This made Zhao Chenlu speechless in complaints, only shaking her head: "Anyway, I presented this problem to the Saint Sect upon my inauguration as City Lord twenty years ago, and they haven’t found the right answer, so they owe me. They’ve been asking everywhere now, seeking solutions from anyone. Solving this problem is just an excuse, enabling Saint Sect to utilize other budget items. We’re actually going to them, not them inviting us."

Wang Jiu was curious, "If we’re initiating, why wait for their invitation?"

Zhao Chenlu explained, "Because their invitation allows for full reimbursement of expenses. I asked them to send it early, though the contact person objected, claiming their reception budget was depleted and couldn’t entertain me. I retorted they should allocate funds from other projects like Immortal Dao research."

Wang Jiu asked, "Is your reception costly?"

Zhao Chenlu replied, "It’s alright, not like I’m purposefully draining their funds to travel to Heaven-Reaching City. Last visit cost ten thousand Spirit Stones overall."

"...Their annual budget?"

Zhao Chenlu shrugged: "How should I know, no need to worry about their trivialities. If they don’t send an invitation, I won’t go, publicly declaring they’re intentionally neglecting an old leader’s visit. Unwilling to take blame, they reluctantly issued the invitation. Since there’s an invitation, just wait for my exclusive Immortal Platform to arrive, and it’ll be seventy percent set for departure!"

"Exclusive Immortal Platform?"

"Yes, every time I visit Heaven-Reaching City, Saint Sect must provide a brand new Immortal Platform. Am I supposed to use a secondhand one?"

"They can allocate a platform just for you."

"Used by me once still counts as secondhand." Zhao Chenlu looked incredulous, expressing in disbelief that someone would ask such a basic question. "Given my status, I couldn’t possibly ride a secondhand Immortal Platform."

"But you’ve stepped down."

Zhao Chenlu said, "I’ve only resigned as Golden Jade’s City Lord, not Xiangzhou’s Number One Beauty. That’s my essence. Until my beauty fades, my due treatment shouldn’t lessen."

While discussing, Zhao Chenlu began to list in detail the necessary supplies and personnel for their visit to Heaven-Reaching City. Wang Jiu, watching beside, roughly estimated the visiting budget amid current Xiangzhou prices: over twenty thousand Spirit Stones.