Cauldron's Plateau (1)
With nowhere to go for the night, Yang Guang hesitates for a while before he rides Xianzi out from the stable, and heading straight to the city center of Tianyu City.
In the evening, only businesses such as Drinking Parlor, Brothel, Restaurant, or Fragrance Inn are operating as usual.
Drinking Parlor divides into alcoholic or non-alcoholic. Some also know as Tea Parlor, with performers on stage showing off their talent in music, dancing, and opera acting. Meanwhile, for the alcoholic Drinking Parlor, they're usually filled with scantily dressed ladies serving drinks with a small auction on stage.
As for the brothels, they're usually concentrated near to the Drinking Parlor, with few attractive ladies coming out to grab some male customers. From what Yang Guang heard, Tian Peng is quite a regular visitor to one of the few operating around here.
The restaurant and Fragrance Inn are almost the same, but Inn comes with places to rent out for visitors, while the restaurant caters more to hungry patrons.
Of course, a Restaurant is also a Drinking Parlor, but not all parlor is a restaurant. The brothels and Inns provide rooms, but not all brothels are an inn.
...
"Welcome to the Willow Fragrance Inn! How may I help you, Young Master?" a waiter shows Yang Guang to a table and give it a good wipe to clean it up. His mind is also getting ready to remember what's Yang Guang is going to order, because not everyone here is literate.
"Get me two cold dishes, a steam fish, a meat dish, and a jar of Maiden's Delight Wine. Tell your boss to keep a room for me as well, if there's a vacancy." Yang Guang made his order. And to secure a room, he took his Polished Jade Tower's disciple token out as proof for his background.
Here inside Tianyu City, those belonged to Polished Jade Tower, Steel Refinery, and Ten Thousand Pills Sect, are often warmly welcomed by the businesses. As a cultivator, entertainment can be said to be a small requirement, along with their generosity when spending money.
If Yang Guang wished to follow Tian Peng's footsteps, he could also bring out a bottle or two Azure Soul Pill to tip the ladies before bringing them to the room with some Vigor Pellets.
The jar of wine came to his table first. As for the other dishes, it took the kitchen for about ten minutes to get everything prepared.
"Please enjoy your meal, Young Master." the waiter left after everything ordered by Yang Guang is served to the table.
While enjoying his wine, Yang Guang did not forget to scan his surroundings. A few cultivators were sitting not far from him, while some of the regular people are having their second or third round of drinks.
"It was peaceful." Yang Guang thinks.
...
...
He went upstairs to his room after finishing what he ordered. To make sure it wasn't a boring night for him, Yang Guang brings along two jars of Maiden's Delight when he left.
His day can be said to be stressful today.
After he wakes up, he was slightly tempted by the two elders, all the way before they left and his words angered Yanluo Yun. After the maiden is gone, he had a good talk with his teacher, Elder Xiao Yi, before he was told that he had blown the two levels of basement.
Still, what puzzled Yang Guang the most is the short moment that happened before the Pill is successfully refined.
At that moment, something weird happened between him, the cauldron, and also the concoction inside. The explosion of the medicinal bomb was in fact, not controlled by the elder when he's trying to rescue Yang Guang, but absorbed by the Jade Container left by his parents.
Yang Guang tried to recall the memories about that time...
...
...
...
The energy fluctuation explodes.
The cauldron was blown into pieces at this moment, revealing the concoction that was floating in the air.
And a bolt of lightning struck the concoction. It came from behind him, and the lightning strike is filled with the power of Jade Flame.
That astonishing power released from the Jade Container quickly hold the concoction at where it hovers. The intensity of flame from the lightning strike then prepares the Medicinal mixture until it formed into a pellet shape and hardens.
"How great if I could learn the ability to channel lightning into my Jade Flame. This way, my ability to perfectly concocting a medicinal pill will also drastically increase due to the stability of the Lightning Flame." Yang Guang shakes his head because it's likely a dream to learn such a marvelous skill.
"You could." the voice of a female echoed in both his ears.
"Impossible. The Lightning Flame Art is a bloodline trait that only those from Hongyu Great Province's Yang Clan. Even then, only one amongst ten clan members possessed the talent to learn it." Yang Guang chuckled because he felt he was made fun of.
Although he's somebody with the surname "Yang" in his name, he's merely the child of a hunter and farmer couple. It was farfetched for him to be even compared to the people of Yang Clan, who was said to be the best of the best in Jade Realm when it comes to Pill Refining.
The first patriarch, Yang Jiande, held the first title as the God of Pill before he went missing for the sake of challenging the False Jade Tribulation.
"I said, you could." the voice of a female echoed in his ears again. This time, it is much sharper than previously.
"Who is this?" Yang Guang looked around his room and find nobody else except himself.
"Don't tell me, the explosion allowed me to hear ghost speaking?" Yang Guang whispered to himself.
"Ghost your head! How can your smart father end up with a fool son like you? Did he not tell you about my origin when you're still a toddler?" the female voice turned angry from Yang Guang's whisper.
"You know my father? Who are you?" Yang Guang looked around once more but saw nobody except himself.
"Come in!" a suction surrounded Yang Guang and bring him to a place covered with cloud, bathed with intense sunlight, and barren except green grass growing on the soil around him.
"Where is this place?" the sudden change of surrounding surprised Yang Guang.
"Welcome to the Cauldron's Plateau, the ancestral and cultivation land made by your ancestor, Yang Jiande!" a female figure appeared before Yang Guang and started to explain everything.
"And you are?" Yang Guang stared at the short loli.
"Yu-Ding!" the loli replied.
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Note:
Yu-Ding = Jade Cauldron
Yang Ding Gaoyuan = Yang Clan's Cauldron's Plateau. Check Tepui Plateau located in South America as a reference where Yang Guang is.