It turned out not to be a date, not because he didn't want to go on a date but because of certain realities of his current situation. He was a Spirit King now but he didn't want anyone besides his disciples to know this fact so he couldn't move around carelessly. And especially, he couldn't visit the Eastern Sanmu Metropolis on a whim. There were other Spirit Kings there and he would not be able to maintain his cover.
Thus, when the teleportation array flashed with power and revealed two new arrivals, one of them was Zhou Ziyun while the other one looked like Chen Wentian but was not the real one. Instead, he was using Chen Mo's shadow body.
"Huh, this place looks different." Chen Wentian said, his head swiveling left and right.
They had expected to arrive in the city of Ember Cliffs in the Canyonland District. Instead, the distinctive red rocks of the city were some distance away. Instead of a busy city square, they were in the middle of a somewhat shabby village.
Above, amidst the clouds, a variety of flying boats zoomed in all directions, signifying that they had indeed come to the right place. Only in the capital of the subcontinent could one see such extravagance as a regular occurrence. On the ground, there was a steady flow of traffic along a busy road that led to the city from the village.
As the two of them descended the stairs of the teleportation array, Chen Wentian sensed them passing through a powerful protective array. Something like this definitely cost a lot of money and wasn't there before the last time they visited. As he focused his spiritual sense, he found several groups of strong cultivators that were studying them from afar. It didn't seem like they were interested in him or Zhou Ziyun because they quickly moved on to the next group of people that had arrived through the teleportation array.
"Security sure has increased after the demon attack." Zhou Ziyun said.
"It seems so. Though, I doubt these measures will be able to stop those two demons." He said.
"Probably not. But it's better than nothing. All these measures will at least let the residents sleep better at night."
The two of them chatted about random things as they strode toward the city. The new protections around the city meant that this outer teleportation array they arrived at was not connected to the teleportation arrays within the city. Visitors all had to travel some distance before they could actually reach the inner parts of the metropolis. And during that time, they would be under the scrutiny of many forces comprised of high-level cultivators from the four king sects.
Even so, Chen Wentian couldn't help but sense that Zhou Ziyun was attracting a lot of attention. He glanced sideways to get a better look at her. She really was quite beautiful today. He wondered if it was her outfit, or her makeup and jewelry.
She had chosen to wear a conservative yet exquisite outfit. It was embroidered with gold and silver. The silk fabric was a pale pink color like a fresh cherry blossom. Her long brown hair flowed down her back but there was also an elegant knot at the top of her head that was adorned with a variety of pearls and precious gems. This arrangement only served to accentuate her slender neck and other delicate features.
She was normally so lowkey but this time, she exuded intelligence and sophistication like a proper noble lady. He wondered if she had lost weight. She was approaching twenty-two years old so perhaps she had matured to become even more beautiful.
He couldn't quite figure it out and it annoyed him greatly. He wished he could cover her face with a handkerchief so that the random people around them would stop ogling her. They didn't deserve to look at her. It wasn't right!
"Master," She said with a small laugh, "What's wrong?"
She was teasing him. She probably guessed his thoughts already but he didn't want to admit defeat. He pulled her to him and held her close so that they were walking arm in arm.
"So you did want to go on a date with me." He said in a low voice.
"It's not a date." She protested again.
"Then why did you have to look so pretty today?"
She laughed a delighted laugh that proved that he was right. She had also wanted it to be a date. He had twelve disciples now so it was a rare chance for her to solely occupy his time. Although it wasn't a true date because this wasn't his real body, it was better than nothing.
"Since you said it's not a date, then it's not a date." Chen Wentian said, "But I will make it up to you next time. We can go anywhere you want."
Zhou Ziyun understood what he meant and gave his arm an appreciative squeeze.
"So where do you want to go first? The library?" He asked.
"Of course, the library. Where else?"
He sighed playfully which earned him another laugh.
They continued walking towards the city. He could have flown but both took the time to enjoy each other's company. But when they reached the start of the red cliffs, they encountered a lively crowd that surrounded a small stage. Several cultivators wearing distinctive robes of cultivation sects stood up there, shouting over the noise of the crowd.
"Come all, come all, the Great Dao Preaching Convention is being held three days from now!"
"All disciples of mortal sects can buy a ticket! Get yours before they sell out!"
"Get your chance to listen to experts from immortal sects preaching the Dao!"
"Get your chance to submit questions and have these experts give your pointers!"
They took turns shouting the slogans, getting more and more people to spend their money on tickets to this event.
Zhou Ziyun tugged on Chen Wentian's arm and they paused to watch the barely contained chaos. "The Great Dao Preaching Convention? Sounds interesting, can we go?"
"Us?" He replied in surprise, "This thing is just for the various immortal sects of the metropolis to perform some community service. Whatever Dao they preach to the mortal cultivators won't be any secret arts or true immortal Dao. And even if they can actually help a mortal cultivator with one thing or another, the best they can do is help them reach the upper levels of the Spirit Initiate Realm. There's no chance those doing the preaching will pass down anything of great value."
She pursed her lips, unconvinced, "Which sects will be there to do the preaching?"
He shrugged, "Usually it's just a few random immortal sects within the metropolis and perhaps a small number from the outside provinces. But…"
He trailed off as he noticed the uniforms the people on the stage were wearing. They were very distinctive. They belonged to each of the four Spirit King Realm factions within the city. He realized that with so many Spirit Lords dead from the demon attack, the Spirit Kings were finally forced into action. Their participation in this convention was a small bit of goodwill towards the subcontinent for their failures.
"Actually…" He said and started walking towards the stage, "This does seem interesting."
---
A/N I wrote three special stories to celebrate IOAFD reaching one million words. They are a retelling of the side stories after the very first arc, with three brand-new smut scenes. They are free to read for a limited time!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/1-million-lin-95241918
https://www.patreon.com/posts/1-million-zhou-95242080
https://www.patreon.com/posts/1-million-wu-95242102
And as always, a tremendous thank you to all patrons that support this novel!