Transmigration: A person in a martial arts world, cultivating to ascend to immortality

The interior of Zuixianju is a circular building, with seats or suites with partitions and curtains arranged around a huge tiered circular stage standing in the center.

The first to third floors are connected, allowing guests to enjoy fine wines and delicacies while watching song and dance performances.

The fourth and fifth floors are secluded, quiet private rooms, specially prepared for guests who prefer tranquility.

As for the top floor, it was a resting place for the dancers kept by Zuixianju, and no guests were received there.

Gu Xingzhi's reserved suite was located on the second floor.

The second floor, located between the first and third floors, offers the best view of the song and dance performances and is also the most sought-after and hardest to book.

In order to secure this position, Gu Xingzhi not only pulled strings but also spent twice the amount of money.

If it weren't for wanting to properly thank Jiang Yuchuan and Qi Changqing, he wouldn't have wasted so much energy and money on this.

After all, in his view, nothing was more important than practicing martial arts and upholding justice. Singing, dancing, beautiful women, and delicacies were completely dispensable to him.

After leading Gu Xingzhi and the other two to their seats, the maid withdrew.

At this time, there were already quite a few guests in Zuixianju. In particular, the seats on the first floor were almost all full.

The suite is equipped with pre-prepared tea, fruit, and snacks.

“Our arrival today is truly a stroke of luck.” Gu Xingzhi picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Jiang Yuchuan and Qi Changqing respectively. “I heard from the steward that Miss Qingluan has moved the performance date from ten days from now to tonight.”

"Oh?" Jiang Yuchuan smiled. "In that case, our trip was worthwhile. In just one night, we've witnessed the full spectrum of the 'Drunken Immortals'."

Qi Changqing took the teacup and, while drinking, looked down at the huge circular golden stage through the transparent light blue gauze curtain.

The stage was surrounded by a pool of water about three feet wide and one foot deep, with palm-sized golden lotus flowers floating on the surface.

Qi Changqing counted them; there were sixty-six golden lotuses floating around the pond, and a cluster of candlelight shone in the center of each lotus.

Before they had even finished their cup of tea, the exquisite fresh tea that Jiang Yuchuan and Qi Changqing had been eagerly anticipating was brought in by a maid.

Looking at the thick white soup served in the blue porcelain plate, Qi Changqing took a deep sniff, but couldn't smell anything.

Gu Xingzhi immediately picked up a soup ladle and ladled two bowls of soup, which he then delivered to Jiang Yuchuan and Qi Changqing.

"This Linglongxian soup is different from other soups. All the umami flavor is locked in the broth, and you can't smell it just by smelling it."

Upon hearing Gu Xingzhi's words, Qi Changqing picked up the bowl with both hands, blew on it casually, and then eagerly took a big gulp.

Jiang Yuchuan also picked up a spoon and began to taste it.

At first sip, apart from the warmth, Jiang Yuchuan couldn't taste anything. Only after he swallowed the soup did a unique, mellow aroma slowly unfold in his mouth, becoming increasingly rich and intense.

This unique flavor was unlike any fish Jiang Yuchuan had ever eaten. If he hadn't known beforehand, he wouldn't have even been able to tell that the main ingredient in the soup was a type of river fish.

When he took his second sip, the soup's flavor instantly became richer, with an added touch of the unique freshness of fish.

"This soup is so delicious! It's really tasty!"

Before he knew it, Qi Changqing had finished the entire bowl of soup.

After sighing, Qi Changqing savored the moment again, then looked up at the porcelain plate. "Strange, wasn't this 'Exquisite Freshness' supposed to be made by stewing fish? Why can't I see any fish meat..."

Hearing Qi Changqing mutter to himself, Gu Xingzhi smiled and explained, "Senior Brother Qi, you may not know this, but the Linglong Fairy is different from other fish. Its scales and flesh are almost transparent, especially during the spawning season in August and September, when this characteristic is particularly obvious. Because of this, when cooking, the flesh of the Linglong Fairy gradually melts into the broth as the temperature in the pot rises."

"I see!"

Qi Changqing had never heard of such a magical fish before.

However, it is precisely because this fairy is so magical that the soup she cooks tastes so delicious.

Before they knew it, the three of them had finished the entire plate of Linglongxian. Looking at the other dishes on the table, almost none of them had been touched.

Of course, Gu Xingzhi, as the host, only drank a small bowl as a symbolic gesture; the vast majority of the wine ended up in the stomachs of Jiang Yuchuan and Qi Changqing.

While the three were eating, drinking, and chatting, a maid led four young men and women through the corridor and into the adjacent suite.

Although there are partitions between the suites, the wall closest to the stage has been opened up, and each suite is covered with a retractable gauze curtain for easy viewing of the performance, so it is not considered soundproof.

Although the four of them deliberately lowered their voices while talking, Jiang Yuchuan still heard every single word.

From the conversation among the four, Jiang Yuchuan learned that the two men and two women all came from a sect called the Sword Inquiry Sect.

One of the men, surnamed Tong, was the eldest of the four, and the other three addressed him as Senior Brother Tong or Eldest Brother Tong. The youngest woman, surnamed Cai, appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen based on her voice. She was called Junior Sister Cai or Little Junior Sister Cai by the other three.

Accompanying the four was an elder surnamed Tang, but Elder Tang did not come to Zuixianju with them; instead, he stayed at an inn in Jinwu City to rest.

Like Jiang Yuchuan and Qi Changqing, the five people in this group were just passing through Jinwu City. They even had similar destinations in mind. Jiang Yuchuan wanted to take Qi Changqing to Baiyun Temple, while these five were going to Xuanjian Pavilion, one of the four major sects along with Baiyun Temple.

As for the reason for going to the Hanging Sword Pavilion, the four of them seemed unaware.

Just then, a middle-aged woman dressed in gold and silver and wearing gorgeous clothes walked gracefully to the center of the stage.

"The distinguished guests present today must all be here for the 'two wonders' of our Zuixianju, right?" The woman covered her mouth and smiled, looking at the crowd.

"Not bad!"

"Exactly!"

"This exquisite delicacy truly lives up to its reputation!"

"Sister Qiao, have you come up here now because you have some good news to tell everyone?"

Hearing everyone chatting enthusiastically, Qiao Jie smiled with satisfaction, then raised her hand and gestured for everyone to quiet down for the time being.

After everyone had finished talking, Qiao Jie took a step forward, her eyes sparkling, and said with a smile, "Seeing everyone's enthusiastic support, I won't keep you in suspense any longer! As one of our distinguished guests just said, I've come up here to announce some incredibly good news!"

Upon hearing this, everyone became interested, and even the VIPs in the second and third-floor suites stopped what they were doing and lifted the gauze curtains to look at the stage.

"I wonder what benefits Sister Qiao wants to announce?"

"Does this mean all guests get a free meal tonight?!"

"Stop dreaming! I think there must be some special performance involved."

"A special performance? Could it be the Azure Phoenix Maiden?!"

……

Qiao Jie watched with a smile as everyone chatted loudly without stopping them.

Perhaps eager to know what the good news that Sister Qiao had mentioned was, the discussion didn't last long and soon stopped.

The guests, whose interest had been piqued, now focused their attention on Sister Qiao, who was standing in the center of the stage.

Qiao Jie thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention. With a hint of smugness, she raised her eyebrows and smiled, her delicate fingers pointing slightly upwards:

"Distinguished guests, you are truly blessed today! Our Miss Qingluan from Zuixianju has decided to change the performance date to tonight, so everyone present tonight can enjoy 'double the wonder'!"

Apart from a few distinguished guests who knew the news in advance, everyone else cheered excitedly upon hearing it.

For them, this was like a windfall!

After announcing the news, Qiao Jie gracefully withdrew from the stage.

A moment later, the crowd saw several musicians carrying various instruments such as flutes, xiao, guqin and so on gracefully walk onto the stage and stand on the steps near the pool.

Before the music even started, the surroundings had already fallen completely silent.

Gu Xingzhi glanced at the stage, stood up, and rolled up the hanging gauze curtains to both sides so that Jiang Yuchuan and Qi Changqing could see the performance on stage more clearly.

Just then, several of the stained glass lanterns hanging on the first-floor roof went out, and the surrounding light suddenly became much dimmer.

The golden lotuses floating on the pool surrounding the stage were particularly eye-catching at this moment, with the orange candlelight burning in their centers illuminating the entire stage and making it look magnificent.

The musicians who had been standing quietly all around slowly began to play their instruments.

Not long after the melodious music began, everyone saw a red ribbon descend from above to the center of the stage.

Everyone unconsciously looked up and saw a woman wearing a veil and a semi-transparent gauze dress, holding a ribbon, appearing on the rooftop at the very top.