Chapter 2915: Leaving The Great Burden Monastery The trio were flying atop Little Shrubby and had left the Great Burden Monastery a few hours ago. "What’s on our path from here?" Meng Bai asked. "Well, there will be some forests and plains, but the first stop will be a city. The Golden Scales City," Lin Mu stated. "The Golden Scales City?" Meng Bai raised his brows. "Oh, that place!" Daoist Chu seemed to recognize it. "Now that’s a fun place to be. The home of the Golden Scales Merchant Union. Lots of great restaurants and entertainment areas," he stated. "Oh, so the Golden Scales Merchant Union is from there?" Lin Mu recognized the name. They were one of the many merchant groups active in this part of the Western Immortal Court and were well known. While their popularity might not be on par with the Black Candle Pavilion or the Great Kang Auction House, they were still quite prominent. Lin Mu had even been to a couple of their shops before, in the past few cities he had visited in the Lotus Prefecture. "Yeah, the city is where they first started and also where their headquarters is," Daoist Chu nodded. "In fact, the city was renamed after them a while back," he added. "I see... Looks like we can do more shopping there," Lin Mu muttered. "Yeah, it’s been a while since we did any of that," Meng Bai nodded. They had been at the Great Burden Monastery for a few years already and hadn’t gone anywhere, so the young man was a bit bored and now looking forward to it. "I’ll show you around some fun places now that you’re older," Daoist Chu said as he wrapped his arm around Meng Bai’s shoulder. "I gotta fulfill my promise after all. Even if it’s ten years late." "Hopefully it’s much better with you than when I went alone," Meng Bai sighed. "Oh? You actually tried it alone?" Daoist Chu was surprised. "Color me impressed," he added. "It wasn’t any good," Meng Bai shook his head. "Why? They rejected you?" Daoist Chu asked. "Haha, as if," Lin Mu chuckled. "What happened?" Daoist Chu was curious now. "Our Meng Bai got honey-trapped," Ashy, who had been hidden in Lin Mu’s shadow all this time, chimed in. She picked just the right moment to talk, as if she had been waiting all this time. "Oh my! A honey trap already?" Daoist Chu’s eyes were amused. "Ugh, at first I thought they were friendly, but they kept on asking to see what I had in my spatial storage ring," Meng Bai began to narrate. "I barely managed to get away," he added. "Ah, one of those," Daoist Chu nodded. "There are many like that. You just get better at detecting them," he added. "That was not the end of it, though," Lin Mu said. "It was a trap for not just Meng Bai, but me as well," he added. He then began to tell Daoist Chu how they were ambushed by some strange cultivators when they left Verdant Moon City. "Is this the same strange cultivators I heard have been appearing?" Daoist Chu asked, his tone serious. "Indeed. They had the same strange energy that was corrupting them," Lin Mu nodded. "I got more information from Elder Dugu Ciu of the Hawk Eye Sword Sect, and apparently they’ve been active since two years before that. It’s been more than five years now," he added. "Hmm... I did hear about this from Monk Hushu too. There have been a few more sightings of them outside the Lotus Prefecture as well," Daoist Chu replied. "And this Ninefold Crypt in the Silent Skies Marsh is possibly the source of it?" "Yeah. From the memories I obtained, there was mention of the Rooted Eye. The symbol I saw on the corrupted cultivators also looked like a crimson eye with thorns around it," Lin Mu confirmed. "To think something like this would happen in the Silent Lotus World of all places," Daoist Chu let out a sigh. "Do you know of anything like this?" Lin Mu asked. "Not really. I don’t think I’ve heard of any symbol like that or the Rooted Eye," Daoist Chu denied. "But then again, I haven’t been in the Western Immortal Court for a while now," he added. "True," Lin Mu nodded. "Anyways, we’ll deal with it if we come across it. We’ve always done that, haven’t we?" Daoist Chu stated. "Indeed," Lin Mu nodded. They continued chatting as Little Shrubby flew through the air, laughter and shouts echoing through the lands they crossed. After a few hours, they took a halt near a small hill that had a little waterfall. Little Shrubby quickly cooked a meal, which Daoist Chu had been looking forward to for a long time. "MMMMHMMM!" Daoist Chu hummed in joy as he stuffed chunks of meat in his mouth. "I missed this taste so much!" The man was thoroughly enjoying it. "Little Shrubby has certainly improved," Meng Bai couldn’t help but comment. "He’s been studying too," Lin Mu stated. "Whatever he’s doing, it’s working great," Daoist Chu commented. "Keep on going like this and he may very well accomplish something in the Dao of Cooking one day," he stated. Little Shrubby’s ears perked up as he heard this, but he kept on grilling more meat. The trio, along with the beasts, enjoyed their meal before continuing their journey. Along the way, they saw more scenic spots—jungles, forests, mountain ranges—as well as many lakes before they finally saw the first city in the distance. "There it is," Daoist Chu said as he narrowed his eyes. Far in the distance, they could see the vast city standing proud between a forest and a mountain. The city’s walls were a hundred meters tall, keeping all danger at bay, while tall buildings could be seen within it. Several watchtowers lined the wall, while tens of farms could be seen just outside of them. Several of the city’s buildings had golden designs around the tops, making them look like they were all wearing golden crowns from the distance.