Soaring the Heavens

“That huge void in the desert is proof! I think it will need at least a year to seal back up.”

“That’s right! Some even saw it for themselves. They spoke of a giant white ship that was a hundred meters tall, pulled along by a horde of zombies. The moment anyone approached that Netherdragon Ship, the zombies would immediately launch their attack. And apparently, the artifact they use can emit seven different types of colors. Plenty of experts here even sensed the waves of conflict coming from miles away. It seems that that was the reason why so many experts left so suddenly last night.”

As he walked out into the front hall, Miao Yi noticed that there was quite a crowd in the lobby, and they were all talking about the Netherdragon Ship.

Miao Yi was a little puzzled. As he recalled, there were only a handful of people who actually witnessed the Netherdragon Ship back then? Even his own search party had been split up quite far from one another, and he himself had only bumped into the ship coincidentally. Yet, how did these people know so much about it? Who leaked out the information?

He sat himself down in the corner and ordered something from one of the waiters. He then proceeded to eat breakfast whilst listening to the gossip around him.

“Lady Boss.” One of the guests called out in a cordial manner.

Having just made her rounds in the rear courtyard, the Lady Boss entered the front hall and nodded to the exuberant person who called her.

Her voluptuous figure instantly drew in many gazes from the crowd. Alas, they could do naught but stare.

The Lady Boss asked the scholar through voice transmission why there were suddenly so many people in the tavern. After the scholar explained why, she circled behind the counter, pretending as though she was looking through jade archives, but in truth, she was listening in on everyone’s gossip. Once in a while, she would cast a sideways glance at Miao Yi, who was seated in a corner.

As an esteemed Manor Head for the Celestial Nation’s administration, Miao Yi had a life full of riches and glory, with ten million followers under him. It was strange that he would be sent all the way to these harsh lands in the first place and forced to roam around the desert for almost a year. Not to mention, this kid had suddenly appeared in a miserable state the same night the Netherdragon Ship reappeared. The Lady Boss found it hard not to think that he was somehow related to all this.

Over the coming days, various people of unknown origins started to congregate in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, causing it to be rather crowded. Even in the light of day, there were countless incidents of battle and murder. Miao Yi could occasionally hear the sound of fists and blades clashing from his room in the tavern. If he climbed up to the rooftop, he would be able to see the battle happening in the distance. And at night, he could sometimes hear the sound of someone screaming in agony.

The playful joke that the Lady Boss and the scholar previously told Miao Yi had now become a reality; the Tempest Tavern was indeed full. Moreover, things were different from how it usually were with guests hiding in their rooms all day. These new mysterious guests tended to like ‘socializing’ with their peers in the front hall. The normally quiet and pristine Tempest Tavern had now become unbelievably rowdy, so much that even Miao Yi could tell that all these people were just trying to dig up whatever information they could find. Devils, Yao, Ghost cultivators—there were all manner of folks in the tavern.

This meant that it was a prime opportunity for those who involved themselves in unscrupulous acts to finally rake in a fortune. It was nothing much for one to have small trinkets stolen; rape, murder and various other heinous acts became the norm of everyday life. It was so eventful that even Miao Yi couldn’t help himself from going out to the front hall everyday to listen in on the crowd discussing the incidents that had transpired the day before. Sometimes, they were even discussing about events that had occurred within the Six Nations themselves. It truly was an ideal place for gathering information.

In one moment, one would be able to hear the sounds of a battle subsiding outside the tavern, and in the next, someone would be bringing in the latest news for everyone to talk about. The topics ranged from a certain crossdressing nun from the Boundless Nation having her disguise revealed, falling into a trap and consequently raped; to a Hall Master from a certain nation getting his identity disclosed, his belongings robbed, then his body diced into pieces; to a Sect Master from a certain school being surrounded by multiple experts and brutally murdered!

Basically, it was utter chaos outside the tavern.

It was a chance for the local powerhouses of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea to finally make a fortune. Naturally, the Tempest Tavern wasn’t excluded as well.

The two lanterns hanging outside the tavern were constantly changed throughout this period of time. The red lantern indicated that the tavern was full, while the white one indicated that there was vacancy.

The tavern had eighty rooms and eighty tables. Each square table could seat eight people, meaning that each room could house eight people as well. Naturally, there had to be a group of eight that were all willing to stay in the same room together, first and foremost. Normally, no one would be willing to share a room with another, because the tavern charged its accommodation fees based on the number of guests.

That being said, there were quite a number of people who clearly came in their own groups. With danger lurking in every corner, it was normal for people to want to form groups. Not to mention, they would be able to look out for another by staying in the same room together.

And because of this, there was a rise in those who tried to earn a profit from the lack of rooms. These people would keep watch outside the tavern and, upon seeing the white lantern light up, would immediately take the room, only to resell it at a higher price later on.

Miao Yi sighed in astonishment at this; at least he still had a storeroom to stay in. The cook and the rest were already so busy that they didn’t even have time to harass him anymore.

Not to mention… with a loud thump from above, a final cloud of dirt cascaded into Miao Yi’s room, and the middle layer of the ceiling was now completely hollowed out.

As Miao Yi looked up at the ceiling, he was overjoyed. There were all sorts of junk scattered about in the room. It was like walking into a pig sty. Initially, he wanted to do something to the ceiling, so that the bitch would fall right through the floor the second she stomped down. However, after some thought, he figured that that wasn’t the best idea. It wouldn’t be good for him if he embarrassed the other party and she decided to toss him out in her rage. As such, he employed a different method. When the Lady Boss was out of her room, he made even more dirt fall from the ceiling.

As she pressed her foot heavily on the floor, the Lady Boss stared down and gasped. She could feel that something was off; the floor underneath felt hollow. She quickly rushed downstairs and opened the door to the storeroom, where she found Miao Yi flipping his bed over. He was turning the side that was clean up to the top.

Meanwhile, the floor of the storeroom was already covered in a thick layer of dirt. Miao Yi intentionally didn’t clean it all up just so he could show it to a certain bitch. The Lady Boss stared dazedly at the ground, wondering to herself if she had gone too far.

As he flipped his bed over, Miao Yi gave it a light sweep with his hand to brush all the dirt away. He smiled and said, “Lady Boss, you came. Please come in!”

‘Can a person even live in this room?’ The Lady Boss looked to her feet, then up at the ceiling. She had no intention of walking in. She simply smiled drily and said, “I kept feeling that the floor was quite hollow upstairs, so I came down to see if the ceiling in your room had collapsed.”

Miao Yi pointed to the ground and smiled wryly. “This dirt kept falling down like an endlessly torrential rain. Now, the layer of dry soil in the middle has been completely emptied out. It would be strange if you couldn’t feel the hollowness of the floor.”

“It seems it is long overdue for repairs. I’ll need to get it fixed properly once you’re gone.” The Lady Boss was clearly guilty. She brushed her hair, turned around then walked off as if nothing happened. She didn’t even mention getting someone to come clean the place up.

Now that she had finally seen the state of the room for herself, Miao Yi took out a storage ring and sucked away all the dirt in the room. After cleaning the place, he heaved a sigh in relief. It was all over now.

That same night, as he was cultivating atop his wooden bed, Miao Yi suddenly heard the sound of running water coming from above.

‘How am I able to hear what’s going on upstairs so clearly now?’ As Miao Yi thought this, he suddenly heard the sound of rustling clothes coming from above. If he had tried to use his transcendence arts to eavesdrop, there was a chance that the other party could sense him. However, at the moment, he didn’t even have to activate any transcendence arts to be able to hear every little detail of what was happening in the room above his.

As he cultivated in the darkness of his room, Miao Yi abruptly opened his eyes and noticed a ray of light seeping through the cracks of the wooden ceiling up above. It would be hard to notice such a tiny gap in daylight if one couldn’t find the correct angle.

Miao Yi slowly lifted his gaze, and what he saw had him completely shocked, so much that he didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly.

In the first place, the tavern’s roof was constructed from a row of sturdy wooden logs. A layer of dried soil was then slapped on top of it. After that, the Lady Boss built a tiny little cabin for herself above that. Naturally, the floorboards of her own room were constructed from wood as well.

Originally, there was a very robust layer of dried soil between the upper and lower floor. However, the Lady Boss just had to go playing around with it. As a result, the layer of dried soil in the middle had been completely emptied out by her. Great… just great. There were bound to be some gaps between the layer of logs above Miao Yi’s room and the wooden floorboards under hers; obviously there was a chance that something would happen.

The Great Manor Head Miao was in luck indeed. The moment he looked up, he could vaguely see that someone was taking off their clothes; a voluptuous figure would pass by at random fleeting moments, her naughty little bits occasionally becoming visible through the gaps… Naturally, the other person’s figure could be seen whenever she stopped moving. However, what was even more astounding was that he could even sometimes see her… It was truly a sight that made one’s blood rush with excitement. The seductive figure through the gaps of the ceiling finally disappeared the moment the other person dipped herself into the bathtub. The sound of water splashing about could be heard, along with a soft, melodious humming.

There was no need to guess who the person upstairs was. Besides that woman, who else could it be? Miao Yi was completely flustered. He slowly lowered his gaze back down, afraid to even breathe too loudly. It would be the end of him if the person upstairs found out about this!

‘Oh, Lady Boss. This is your fault. I never meant to spy on you at all.’ Miao Yi assuaged himself.

However, when he heard the sound of a certain someone coming out of her bath upstairs, Miao Yi couldn’t help looking back up again. Furthermore, his body swayed about side to side as his gaze chased after the naked figure that moved from one gap in the ceiling to another…

Ever since that night, Miao Yi would always quietly enter and exit his room. He didn’t even dare to open his door and windows to let any outside light in, much less light up any candles inside. If he could see the light coming from upstairs, that meant the person upstairs would be able to see any light coming from down below as well. If the Lady Boss were to find out about this, he would die a horrible death!

He wanted to change his room badly, but there were simply no rooms available for him at the moment. There was nothing he could do but wait for news from Traversing Water Palace to arrive.

What made him feel even more speechless was that the person upstairs had the habit of taking her bath both in the morning and at night. The Great Manor Head Miao didn’t have a single moment to catch a break! That being said, even though he was feeling uneasy, he still peeked every single time. He was not some noble gentleman after all. There were many out there who could only dream of seeing what he was seeing. How could he let such a prime opportunity go to waste?

Besides, if the Lady Boss were to find out about this, then it wouldn’t make any difference whether he peeked once or multiple times; he would still end up in shit.

From time to time, Miao Yi would bump into the Lady Boss outside. As always, she had that same exotic allure about her, and Miao Yi pretended as if everything was normal. He didn’t act suspicious in any way. However, he himself knew just how much he wanted to break away from this place and run as far away as he could. He would definitely get busted for this eventually…

As he anxiously waited for the days to pass, Miao Yi hated how far away from home he was. It would take a long time for even spirit eagles to make the journey.

As the dreadfully long days passed, news from Traversing Water Palace finally came. However, much to Miao Yi’s dismay, that old geezer from the Chamber of Commerce possessed quite a bit of influence indeed. Granny Tao ordered Miao Yi to assist with An Zhengfeng’s operation. An Zhengfeng was the name of that white-haired old man, the person in-charge of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea’s Chamber of Commerce branch. Miao Yi was only just then discovering his name. Clearly, the Realm Beyond Heaven held Flowing Clouds Dune Sea with much regard for them to send a Golden Lotus expert to oversee the area.

However, given how chaotic this place was, it was understandable that things would be hard to control without a powerful expert around.

Naturally, the higher-ups wouldn’t expect their subordinates to undertake missions with no reward. Else, who would still be willing to work for them? Granny Tao first complimented Miao Yi on a job well done, that he had not disappointed her and brought her great pride. She also promised him that once he returned from his mission, she would immediately promote him to Hall Master of Suppressing First Hall.

This was written on the jade archive, and it even had Granny Tao’s transcendence seal on it. The Great Manor Head Miao no longer had to worry about his own cultivation not being high enough. His promotion to Hall Master was now set in stone; it wouldn’t be able to escape his grasp now.

But… Miao Yi looked up at the ceiling. He was already on the verge of tears as he thought, ‘Can I choose to not enjoy such fortune anymore? Even though being a Hall Master and having a hundred million followers under me is sorely tempting, I still need to be alive to take the job!’