The lush green mountains and forests are like a cluster of blue waves, embracing a small courtyard on the side of a mountain. Suddenly, Li Xiu's figure appeared on the smooth stone floor of the courtyard, and he disappeared the black umbrella in his hand without changing his clothes, and lay down on a lounge chair wearing a black robe.
It has been a long time since he obtained the Dragon Orb and collapsed the Wind and Cloud world. During this time, he has been accumulating virtual world origin for a long time, preparing for the next time he traverses the virtual world. Today, he had accumulated it to a terrifying level.
He felt that he was almost ready, no matter what, he should be able to handle the next virtual world he entered. Li Xiu closed his eyes and began to explore the countless virtual worlds.
With his current strength, travelling through lower level virtual worlds would be pointless and would not bring enough benefits. Therefore, he set his sights on virtual worlds where cultivation methods were available.
After a while, Li Xiu slowly opened his eyes and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes. He had successfully found a world of cultivation, but it turned out to be a world from a novel. He had never traversed a world from a novel before, but it didn't matter. He figured that it probably wasn't much different from a movie virtual world.
After thinking for a moment, there seemed to be nothing to prepare for, so Li Xiu activated his ''power'' and entered this world.
Heyang City was the busiest and most prosperous city for hundreds of miles. The blue-grey city walls were high and thick, having withstood countless storms and years. The mottled gates of the city were open, with people and horses constantly coming and going.
A figure in a black robe stood at the city gate for a moment, taking in the sight of the ''Heyang City'' inscription on the city walls, before turning his gaze away. His expression became determined as he followed the flow of people into the city.
The streets were wide, lined with street vendors on both sides, and the shouts and calls never stopped. Li Xiu had no interest in these mortals, so after a quick glance, he walked towards an inn that stood out in the distance.
It wasn't particularly grand, but it had a simple and elegant, ancient and charming appearance that caught his eye. The inscription "Shanhai Yuan" on the gilded signboard of the inn was written in bold strokes that seemed to have been done by a calligraphy master, giving off a sense of carefree elegance that matched the inn's interior and exterior.
As soon as he entered, an innkeeper greeted him with a smile. Li Xiu had no shortage of gold and silver, so he checked into the finest room, which had its own secluded courtyard.
The Shanhai Yuan had its own restaurant, and Li Xiu chose a quiet table by the window on the third floor for the VIPs, and ordered a meal.
After a while, the shop assistant brought out several dishes and a pot of good wine and placed them on the table. Among the dishes, there was a particularly peculiar stewed fish that Li Xiu had never seen before.
The fish had an elongated body and was dark brown in colour, with two pairs of thick fish whiskers. Its appearance was extraordinary, and it emitted a strange smell.
The shop assistant saw Li Xiu staring at the fish and began to introduce it: "Sir, this is our restaurant's signature dish, 'Qing Dun Mei Yu' (Clear Stewed Sleepy Fish). This 'Sleepy Fish' is originally from a mountain range thousands of miles away in the south, but thanks to the efforts of Daoist Masters from the 'Qing Yun Sect', it was brought here and placed in the Hong Chuan River (a river in the mountain) of the Qing Yun Mountain (Green Cloud Mountain) where it not only survived but also thrived. That's how we can serve it to you."
At this point, the shop assistant seemed to remember something, smiled and boasted.
"Of course, within a hundred miles of here, our restaurant's 'Qing Dun Mei Yu' is the most fragrant, tender and delicious. Sir, you can try it and see if it suits your taste."
Li Xiu nodded and tossed two pieces of silver, and the shop assistant took them and left.
A moment later, a handsome young man in a dark green robe came up the stairs from the second floor. He held a broken gold paper fan in his hand and sat down. After ordering some dishes, he took an orange-yellow furry spirit rat from his sleeve and played with it.
But for some reason, his normally lively and active spirit rat did not move or make a sound. It was lying on the table, trembling and shrinking into a ball, as if it had been frightened and was very scared.
Zeng Shushu felt very strange, just a moment ago, he had put the little spirit rat on his shoulder and flew into the sky with a sword, he hadn't seen this kind of expression, what had happened now?
Zeng Shushu looked closely at the spirit rat on the table, and suddenly found a clue, the spirit rat was lying on the table trembling and seemed to be expressing submission, and the direction it was looking at was a black-robed young man sitting by the window.
Zeng Shushu noticed that Li Xiu's behaviour was out of the ordinary, and he did not seem like an ordinary person. Combined with the strange behaviour of his pet (Qianyin Rat), he seemed to be thinking of something and his eyes brightened. He picked up his rodent and walked over to the table by the window.
"Fellow Daoist brother, I am a disciple of the Qing Yun Sect. May I ask what kind of rare and precious beast the Daoist brother is carrying?"
Li Xiu turned to see a handsome and elegant young man holding a fan and bowing to himself.
Li Xiu furrowed his brow and said: "What do you mean?"
Zeng Shushu took out his spirit rat and showed it to Li Xiu.
"Daoist brother, my spirit rat is usually very active and noisy, but it's unusually trembling in front of you, as if it's facing its natural enemy. I believe that Daoist Brother must have some kind of extraordinary and precious little beast with you."
"Daoist brother, I have a deep love for rare and exotic beasts and it's almost an obsession. Can you show me that beast and let me see it? It will broaden my horizons."
Zeng Shushu lowered his posture, his eyes clearly showing his eagerness.
Li Xiu looked closely at the person in front of him. He thought that the disciple of the Qing Yun Sect had such an excessive fondness for rare beasts, it must be Zeng Shushu.
Li Xiu was slightly surprised, he had only recently entered this world and already had two interactions with the Qing Yun Sect. This time, he had even met Zeng Shushu directly.
The virtual world he entered this time is called "Zhu Xian", which tells the story of an ordinary young man named Zhang Xiaofan and all the events, strange things and sorrows he experiences.
As a story has a protagonist, it will also have supporting characters, and Zeng Shushu is an important supporting character in this virtual world. He is an outstanding disciple of the Qing Yun Sect and a close friend of Zhang Xiaofan, but it is not clear at this point in the story whether Zeng Shushu has met Zhang Xiaofan yet.
Li Xiu's thoughts turned back and he looked at the Qianyin Rat in Zeng Shushu's hand. The small beast felt that Li Xiu was looking at it, and its body trembled even more, lowering its head even more.
He has no spirit beasts with him. This is mainly because he has Qilin and Dragon-Phoenix bloodline. These three types of divine beasts are the leaders of the flying beasts and armoured beasts, and as long as the living creatures aren't from these three types, they will naturally fear and worship him, it's normal.
This kind of secret cannot be discussed in detail with people. Li Xiu only said that he was born that way. All animals/beasts will either tremble and bow down or flee in fear when they see him. Even horses cannot be ridden every day, and there is often a hint of bitterness and confusion in his words.
When Zeng Shushu heard this strange condition, he immediately became enthusiastic, sat down on a chair and began to ask.
"Daoist Brother, is there something on your body that you have worn since you were a child and never got rid of? Maybe it's a special object on your body."
...
Zeng Shushu has always been naturally outgoing and friendly, while Li Xiu is a bit more reserved. Once the two of them start talking, they can't stop, and they discuss a wide range of topics, from Li Xiu's unusual condition, to stories of strange things they've seen or heard in their lives, to general discussions about the world. There is a sense of regret that they haven't met before.