Rebirth of a Quasi-Immortal Spirit

“I came here once before with my master.” As he spoke, Ah Zhong lowered his eyes and sighed softly, “Yunzhou is no longer as prosperous as it was a hundred years ago, but there are several times more human cultivators than before.”

"Heh...is that so?" Gao Zhun's eyes darkened. Among the human cultivators, how many outsiders besides her were completely unaware of the strangeness of Yongcheng before they came? It's all just driven by profit.

Ultimately, if she had known everything beforehand, she probably wouldn't have been able to resist the temptation either.

Shaking her head, she dismissed all the unrealistic thoughts in her mind. She noticed the key point in Ah Zhong's words. He had come here once before with his master. Based on her speculation about that person, his arrival in Yunzhou was definitely not accidental, but rather had a clear purpose. This also confirmed that she was right to come to Yunzhou. But now, where should she start?

Gao Zhun pondered for a while, but unfortunately, there were too few clues at the moment, and it seemed the time was not right. Since that was the case…

"Ah Zhong, I think we should find a place to practice our skills. My cultivation is stuck at the peak of Foundation Establishment, which is really troubling me."

Ah Zhong nodded upon hearing this, clearly agreeing with Gao Zhun's opinion.

“By the way.” Gao Zhun suddenly turned around, staring intently at Ah Zhong: “Ah Zhong, you said you’ve been to Yunzhou before. So, did your previous owner leave any property here, just like in Luoshui Kingdom?”

Ah Zhong shook his head: "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Master. Every inch of land in Yunzhou is precious. Back then, you were exceptionally talented and broke through to the Nascent Soul stage shortly after arriving in Yunzhou. You didn't have the time or money to build a residence here. I'm afraid you'll have to make do with staying in an inn for the foreseeable future."

Ah Zhong's words astonished Gao Zhun. What did it mean to break through to the Nascent Soul stage so soon after arriving in Yunzhou? According to her previous deductions, the other party must have come out to train at the Foundation Establishment stage, just like her. After all, the Gao family had never mentioned the special nature of Yongcheng, so even those at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage or above wouldn't look down on this small place. Therefore, there was no doubt that the person had just reached the Foundation Establishment stage before coming here. In addition, the person's intelligence was far superior to hers, and he probably found the clue to Yunzhou even faster than she did. In no more than three months, he actually broke through and left? What kind of talent was that... He would definitely not be an ordinary person in the Gao family now; a core direct descendant was the minimum estimate.

“Well, I’ve never stayed in an inn before either. But before that, we need to take care of some of the tails.” With that, Gao Zhun smiled brightly at the few people who were still trying to hide: “Ever since my servant and I arrived in Yunzhou, you’ve been monitoring and following us. I’m sure you’ve had a hard time. Why don’t you come out and have a drink?”

As soon as he finished speaking, seeing that they could no longer follow him, the group of men decisively jumped out from the corner and glared fiercely at Gao Zhun and his companion.

"Hey, gentlemen, why are you looking at us like that? Do you think I owe you millions of spirit stones?" Gao Zhun winked at them, looking completely harmless.

"Heh, kid, you were right. You stole our spirit stone pouches earlier, now hand them over obediently!" A burly man who seemed to be the leader grinned, his gaze on Gao Zhun somewhat obscure, with a hint of lust in his eyes.

Upon seeing the look in the other person's eyes, Gao Zhun inwardly cursed, "Damn it!" Could it be that she had encountered a pervert with a special fetish for handsome young men? If so, she was really unlucky... However, what she hated most was an old cow eating young grass and a beautiful flower sticking to cow dung. Unfortunately, the person in front of her was both an old cow and cow dung.

"Look, it's the same group of people again. I don't know where they came from, but they're quite skilled. They just don't do anything worthwhile. They just rob anyone they can bully. If they're even a little good-looking, tsk tsk, I think this handsome young man is in for some trouble..."

A crowd gradually gathered around, hurling insults at the group. The men, unconcerned, watched Gao Zhun with amusement, seemingly confident of victory. Just as they were about to launch their attack, the young man opposite them coldly said, "I advise you lackeys to call your men out. That way, you might have a better chance of robbing us. Otherwise, hmph~"

Upon hearing Gao Zhun's words, the leading burly man was startled. He wondered how the other party knew he was merely someone else's henchman. However, the two men in front of him appeared to be only at the initial stage of Foundation Establishment, and since they were new to Yunzhou, they must have a considerable amount of spirit stones. He figured the other party couldn't cause any trouble, as they were all experts at the initial stage of Golden Core. Therefore, he coldly sneered, "Playing tricks? You don't need anyone behind you. I can strip you naked all by myself."

As soon as he said this, the others who had appeared with the big man smiled meaningfully. Gao Zhun twitched her lips when she saw this. She really didn't expect the other party to be so stupid, to really think that their cultivation level was as good as it appeared on the surface.

Someone curled their lip in displeasure and said to Ah Zhong, "Ah Zhong, beat these inhuman bastards to a pulp!"

"Yes, sir." Ah Zhong responded, and his aura instantly surged, rising from the initial stage of Foundation Establishment to the middle stage, then to the peak of Foundation Establishment, and then smoothly ascending to the initial stage of Golden Core, with a slight improvement to the peak of the initial stage of Golden Core. Just as Gao Zhun said, these small fry were no match for the two of them, and there was no need for him to reveal his full strength; the peak of the initial stage of Golden Core was enough.

"Damn it, this servant isn't just a Foundation Establishment Stage 1, but a Golden Core Stage 1 Peak. I definitely can't handle him alone. Brothers, let's attack together!" The leading burly man said with a ferocious expression, seemingly wanting to make up for his lack of cultivation with a group attack. This idea was quite wise, as they did indeed outnumber the others, numbering at least a dozen, which was more than enough to deal with an ordinary Golden Core Stage 1 Peak.

However, was Ah Zhong just an ordinary peak-stage early-stage Golden Core cultivator? Obviously not. So when he saw the other party forming an attack formation, he merely snorted coldly, not even taking out his weapon. He charged forward with a punch and a kick, his speed so fast that people didn't even have time to react before being punched or kicked in the face. Several "pfft" sounds rang out in succession. The onlookers saw Ah Zhong, just as Gao Zhun had instructed, beat the dozen or so people to a pulp, leaving them covered in blood. They flew several meters away, their faces bruised and swollen, completely unlike their previous arrogance. Unexpectedly, yet predictably, these dozen or so people ran away, and the people behind them did not appear.

"Looks like they're someone of importance." Gao Zhun chuckled softly. For someone of such stature to go so far as to send their henchmen to rob people in the street, Yunzhou must be more than just a place where every inch of land is incredibly valuable...

After this little incident, Gao Zhun put on a warm smile and casually asked a local cultivator in Yunzhou if there were any inns suitable for cultivators to stay in. Under the cultivator's guidance, Gao Zhun and A Zhong arrived at an inn called Juyi Ri. They had expected the inn to be bustling with customers, but it turned out to be deserted. Gao Zhun shook his head and guessed the reason pretty well. It seemed that the price of each room in this inn was comparable to that of a presidential suite.

"Innkeeper, how much does it cost to stay at your inn for one night?" Before Gao Zhun could even give any instructions, Ah Zhong stepped forward to inquire about the price of accommodation.

"Money?" The shopkeeper didn't even look up when he heard this. He continued to fiddle with the abacus in the thin ledger and said sarcastically, "We never accept money from mortals at Juyitian. If they want, we will definitely provide them with Juyitian for free. As for you, one high-grade spirit stone each can stay here for one night."

"Here are two spirit crystals. Is that enough for us to stay here for three years?" Gao Zhun glanced at Ah Zhong and then told Ah Zhong to step aside. He then stepped forward himself to deal with the shopkeeper.

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper finally raised his head, but his expression changed completely from sarcasm to contempt, and his words were tinged with sarcasm: "Oh ho, another generous young master has arrived. He looks to be only a teenager, right? What makes you think of coming to this godforsaken place like Yongcheng?"

This time, Gao Zhun truly understood. The innkeeper was probably a shrewd person who knew just as much as she did. This was clearly a way of pointing out that she was a treacherous outsider. It seemed that the exorbitant accommodation fee was not out of thin air, but rather meant to make them pay some price.

Thinking of this, Gao Zhun could not possibly argue with the innkeeper. He could only awkwardly say, "I was hoping to get a discount and stay for three years for two spirit crystals, but it seems that I have failed. Innkeeper, when my servant and I run out of room money, please send someone to remind us. We, master and servant, do not want to be kicked out of your esteemed inn without any explanation."

"Heh... Er Gou, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and take these two distinguished guests to their rooms!" The shopkeeper, who had accepted the spirit crystals, just snorted coldly and then lowered his head to do his own thing.

Just as Gao Zhun was wondering who this guy called Er Gou, who was being driven by the shopkeeper, was and why he had such a name, he noticed the newcomer's clothes...

Why did Gao Zhun notice the person's clothing first, rather than their appearance? The answer was obvious—this person wasn't dressed in coarse linen like any other waiter she knew, but rather in a very respectable outfit that wasn't unfamiliar to her. Good heavens, this waiter named Er Gou was actually a core disciple of the first-grade sect, Luo Yun Sect! His distinctive purple-gold robe was practically blinding Gao Zhun's titanium alloy eyes. Then, looking at the other person's cultivation level, he was at the peak of the middle-grade Golden Core realm, and was about to break through to the upper-grade Golden Core realm. This core disciple of the first-grade sect, Luo Yun Sect, was actually playing the role of a waiter named Er Gou in this place all day… Gao Zhun wiped the non-existent cold sweat from her forehead and firmly felt that this was not funny at all.