021: Departure

021: Departure

That night, Zemirah packed her things on her space ring so that the next day, she have no other worries.

Before the showed itself behind the clouds, Zemirah set off. She wore her very first artifact set of robe, the [Heart Bloom Veil and Robe Set].

Her hair was styled in an updo using the artifact reward she got from Sia yesterday.

[Name]: [Setting Sun Fruit Hairpiece] [Item]: Ornament Artifact.

[Quality|Stage|Grade]: Celestial-Quality Peak-Stage Grade 1 

[Function]: The owner will be well hidden by the sun's power. Even cultivators at Mind Cultivation cannot easily find the owner. The effect can be shared with another person.

[Special Effect]: The owner's skin will be nourished, and a natural makeup will appear.

[Limitation]: People who cultivate the power of light are not hindered.

[Introduction]: a hairpiece made with the extinct Setting Sun Fruit, a fruit known for its healing effect that even scars will be erased.

Then there are the other three artifacts.

[Nine-Headed Snake Eye Necklace], a Celestial-Quality Mid-Stage Grade 2 ornament artifact.

Details:

[Nature Soul Jade Pendant], a Celestial-Quality Peak-Stage Grade 1 ornament artifact.

Details: 

[Frost Bone Captive Pearl Bracelet], a Celestial-Quality Late-Stage Grade 2 ornament artifact.

Details: 

The other artifacts were kept away by Zemirah in Sia's inventory space while she hung the [Nature Soul Jade Pendant] on her waist. She especially asked Sia to hide the grandeur of the artifacts, disguising them as normal artifacts.

However Sia warned Zemirah that some people exposed to Celestial-Quality items may easily see the disguise. 

Zemirah wasn't worried, how could she be so unlucky to meet someone like that? 

Her space ring has enough food supplies, medicinal pills, talisman,s and artifacts. Making a final check on herself, Zemirah then finally set off with peace of mind.

She didn't wake up Wendy to see her off. She felt that there was no need for such things.

Walking outside the walls of Teal River Town where she has lived for months, Zemirah felt her inside tremble in excitement and fear. 

The fact that she's going to walk in Azar, a cultivation world, after living peaceful days inside the tall walls of Teal River town. She's thrilled, overcoming the fear of the unknown.

"Zemirah, remember that Azar is dangerous but also full of opportunities." She reminded herself, and then she ignored the looks thrown at her.

She started walking towards the Teal River, she would need to cross the river by a boat specialized in this business and then pass through a town and two villages. Only then she could reach Rudd Village.

Outside the Teal River Town walls, she saw many refugee camps. Many mortals from destroyed villages seek refuge near towns, hoping to get protection from demonic cultivators and ferocious beasts outside.

Zemirah pressed down the urge to help as she knew she didn't have the power to help everyone. She can only try to protect herself and people close to her.

The Teal River wasn't far so she quickly arrived there in an hour. She didn't encounter any people with bad intentions, making Zemirah sigh in relief.

A small market was established on the riverside, making it convenient to trade supplies and exchange news. She can see many cultivators bustling around, most exuding a murderous aura around them.

They probably came here to hunt ferocious beasts, maybe even demonic beasts.

There are also people like Zemirah who have calm and elegant temperament. No one knows if they are soft persimmon or hidden experts. 

Zemirah received many second looks but she paid them no mind as she headed straight to her goal. 

The boat station.

"Greeting, fellow daoists. When will the boat cross the Teal River?" Zemirah went to a female cultivator who was watching the passersby's while leaning on a boat.

She can feel that the boats here are all flying artifacts, the highest is a Peak-Stage Grade 1 boat artifact. Most are common-quality, which made Zemirah feel strange after being used with high-quality items.

The female cultivator raised her eyes and examined the person who spoke. 

The lady wore a pink and purple set of robe with a white veil that only showed her eyes. She doesn't feel any danger at all, letting her guess that this person must be a young lady from some family.

She narrowed her eyes and answered with a bored tone, "When the sun fully sets, we'll set off."

Zemirah was relieved at her answer, the time was not far. 

She nodded and handed a talisman, "Many thanks fellow Daoists, please take this." After that, she left.

The woman raised a brow as she kept the talisman, she determined that this lady was quite good since she was not stingy.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw some cultivator focus on the talisman in her hand, making her snort. These scums must be eyeing that person now, a new fat sheep in their eyes.

The woman didn't care, she continued on her business.

Zemirah didn't know she was labeled as a fat sheep as she found a restaurant to pass the time.

In the restaurant she found, she noticed that the dishes were mostly aquatic animals. She guessed that it must be freshly caught from the nearby teal river.

Curious at the taste of seafood here in Aza, Zemirah ordered quite a lot of dishes. It was quite expensive since most of the dishes were made by a spiritual chef.

A [Milly White Snail Soup], [Pink Splash Fish Fillet], and [Purple Light Eel Spicy Meat Rolls]. Then she added some spiritual fruit drinks called [Teal Blue Grape] and spiritual rice.

Zemirah waited for her order to arrive whilst listening to the gossip of other diners. It was early in the morning yet the whole market was bustling with activity.

Most people inside the restaurant are merchants based on their clothing while a small amount are hunters whom people avoid.

Zemirah can feel that the highest cultivator in the restaurant has the cultivation of the Peak-Stage Energy Refinement realm.

While most of them are in the low and mid-stage. There is no Foundation Building realm cultivator which made Zemirah sigh in relief as she didn't want near anyone with a realm higher than her.

It was like being near a lion that had the strength to end her life. Though Zemirah has enough time on her to protect herself. The talismans she gave away especially the ones to Wendy gave her enough reward to fight back.

Maybe even kill one.

This is one of the reasons why Zemirah decided to go out of her comfort zone and explore a bit.

"There are quite a lot of fights on the other side of the Teal River, especially on the side of Teal Jade Town." A merchant sighed.

"Fights between the Foundation Building realm are also frequent, fortunately, we already finished our business on that side."

"Many caravans are also traveling away on this side, it's quite turbulent here. Damn Demonic Cultivators." 

Zemirah frowned slightly when she heard that. It seems that the mess with the Demonic Cultivators and Demonic Beasts will not be ending soon.

She was wondering what is the real purpose of these people. It has been so long yet they are still going on. It can't be they are going to declare war on the Bright Light Dynasty.

It is not possible since the last war was just a hundred years ago, it was too early.

Zemirah stopped her train of thought when the restaurant's waiter delivered her food.

A soup filled with thick white soup and dozens of coin size snail that has a black shell and white flesh. 

A plate of pink-colored fish fillet with an array of dipping sauce she doesn't recognize and adored with some vegetables that are shaped exquisitely.

A plate of tongue-numbing red fish rolls from the spices and the fish itself. It was stacked in three layers with different fillings per layer.

A cup of half blue and half teal colored drink. 

Then her plate of spiritual rice.

The sight of the dishes made Zemirah's worry disappear and her appetite ignite. She was not very hungry but now she feels so.

She set aside her thoughts and focused on the food in front of her. It would be disrespectful to ignore these salivating dishes.

She first took a spoonful sip of her soup. The mellow taste of milk and something unique to snails touches her tongue. Zemirah didn't taste anything unpleasant and only focused on the magnified tasty snail soup. 

After that, she ate the snail flesh and hummed in satisfaction. The snail flesh seems to have melted upon a touch of her tongue. It was so soft and pleasant to chew on.

Next is the fish fillet made from Pink Splash Fish known for being sweet and beautiful. She pierced one with her spoon and chose to dip it in a blood-colored sauce.

The crispy outside and soft inside fillet paired with the heavy sweet taste exploded in her mouth. She almost thought she was eating a dessert but the flavor of the fish made her know it wasn't.

Zemirah was amazed at how the spiritual chef made something so weird yet flavorsome food.

She started to taste the other dipping sauce and each one made her very satisfied.

The purple-colored sauce is salty in a way that is not unpleasant. And the orange-colored sauce is sour, reminding her of the sweet and sour flavor in Modern Earth that she loved.

And the last fish, the fish roll. Taking one in her mouth, she froze at the tongue-numbing taste and sensation. 

The spicy taste came from the spices used by the spiritual chef, which were many times spicier than the ones on modern earth. While the numbing sensation came from the ingredient since the eel has a slight amount of lightning energy on it, the reason for its fast movement.

Zemirah almost teared up at the first bite. Fortunately, she held it back except for the fact that her eyes were quite watery.

She quickly found her drink, which was luckily cold, the Blue Teal Grape Juice.

Sipping on the drink, a cool and gentle sensation spread on her body. It was the effect of the Blue Teal Fruit that was processed by someone.

The spiciness that burned her tongue was soothe by the drink, making Zemirah narrow her eyes in enjoyment.

After tasting each of the dishes, Zemirah finally started eating. 

In a corner she didn't see, someone was watching her with an amused gaze.

**

"Young master, do you know that lady?" Someone whispered to the young man.

The young man took back his gaze as he lazily took a bite of his own food. He answered unhurriedly, "Someone familiar."

The subordinate didn't speak another word and stayed silent.

There are three people inside the private room. The young man who is still wearing a white robe paired with his eye-catching scholarly temperament is now replaced by a silent and sharp one. Something a swordsman who has been holding a sword for years would have.

The other people are his personal servant and the town lord of Jade Teal Town from the other side of the Teal River.

The young man didn't glance at his people but instead thought of the lady he saw outside. It was the veiled lady from the Teal River Town. She was quite well-known for her beauty that could barely be hidden by her veil and her ability to make high-quality talismans.

He was the one who hinted to the Teal River Town Lord to contact the lady and let her provide talismans to the town. He had a hunch that she's not an easy character and her talent in talisman-making told him that this is a talent that can't be missed.

He didn't have other thoughts other than a love for talents.

The last thing he heard about her is that she used an array formation to kill a Peak-Stage Energy Refinement realm cultivator. If it was just that, this news wouldn't reach his ears. The array formation actually released a Foundation Building realm attack.

Something that a Grade 1 array formation wouldn't be able to accomplish in a normal case.

Either the array formation was made using extraordinary materials or…

The quality has reached Celestial-Quality.

Thinking of the woman's fox eyes narrowing in satisfaction to her food and being watery from the sudden attack of spiciness that made her aloof eyes become adorable.

The young man smiled.