Tea houses and wine pavilions were always bustling with people. They were also hubs where news spread the fastest. Once inside, one could easily pick up bits and pieces of information that wouldn't be heard elsewhere. Of course, the information was always messy and unfiltered—making sense of it required a sharp analytical mind to distinguish what mattered from what didn't. To understand the surrounding situation, heading to a place like this was the most direct approach.
Spotting a tea house ahead, interest sparked in their eyes.
Clearheart Teahouse.
Glancing at the name, Yi Tianxing led the two women inside.
Upon entering, they saw many guests seated inside. Each table was a specially crafted tea table, set with tea trays, teaware, and small tea stoves. Interestingly, instead of charcoal, these stoves used a special material synthesized by Da Yi's Tiangong Pavilion—Spiritfire Crystal Essence. This crystal naturally emitted a flame called Spiritfire, which had a consistent temperature comparable to a regular flame—ideal for controlled use.
It was a unique fire-element material often used in refining magical treasures or divine weapons.
Once this was introduced to the public, some clever individuals repurposed it. Take these small tea stoves, for example. Although the stove looked only the size of a teapot, it contained a fist-sized Spiritfire Crystal. Above it sat a special glass plate that resisted heat and flame. Tiny holes were intricately poked through the plate, over which a second glass layer was placed. With a simple mechanism, one could control how many holes were opened—thus adjusting the flame's strength.
Whether a small flame or large, it could be finely tuned at will.
Just one crystal in a stove like this could burn nonstop for a full year before being depleted. In daily life, one crystal could easily last three years.
That's why Spiritfire Crystals had become deeply embedded in Da Yi's daily life.
Many inventions from Tiangong Pavilion, even if seemingly insignificant at first, would eventually show great value once in the hands of the people. The Spiritfire Crystal, for example, had already entered countless households for cooking and heating—pollution-free, safe, and perfectly stable. It was hailed as the ideal fire source and was quite affordable in Da Yi.
All the teapots here used Spiritfire Crystal–powered stoves, allowing guests to boil water and steep tea at their leisure. The natural aroma of tea wafted through the calm, elegant air of the teahouse.
Even conversation was kept low and refined.
Just the ambiance alone gave off an extremely soothing vibe.
Running a teahouse like this clearly took skill.
"Please come in, dear guests. Our Clearheart Teahouse is the most famous in several nearby immortal cities. We not only serve tea, but also produce it ourselves. Our Sparrow-Tongue Spirit Tea is renowned far and wide. If you don't try it, you'll definitely regret it,"a lively waiter approached and introduced the place.
"Of course, we also offer other spirit teas—Cloudmist Tea, Clearspirit Tea, Bamboo Leaf Tea—all top quality, guaranteed to satisfy. And here, you can enjoy live storytelling by professional novelists. Their tales are incredibly gripping. You must hear one!"
The waiter was clearly quite persuasive.
In just a few lines, he laid out everything the Clearheart Teahouse had to offer—entertainment through storytelling and even live musical performances by cultivators of the Music Path.
"Sounds interesting. Let's find a quiet seat on the second floor and enjoy a story with our tea,"Yi Tianxing smiled.
Guided by the waiter, the three soon reached a private table on the second floor. After they sat, a maid came by to serve tea and fruit. They were given the teahouse's signature Sparrow-Tongue Spirit Tea. As hot water poured over the leaves, a wave of fresh fragrance filled the air.
From the second floor, they could look down into the center of the building—it was a circular layout, open in the middle. On the ground floor, a small stage had been set up. Instruments were placed nearby, and a middle-aged storyteller stood by a wooden table, a clapper on hand.
"The Hundred Schools truly thrive under Da Yi,"
Xi Wangmu (Yaochi) commented,"Novelists can tell stories to spread their name. Musicians share their art. Strategists join the battlefield. Mohists innovate like Tiangong Pavilion. Farmers cultivate the land. Healers support the military. Each has a distinct role. Everyone's talent is put to use. It's a blooming of all paths."
"When all schools are allowed to flourish and clash, true brilliance is born,"Yi Tianxing replied calmly."Thought should never be shackled. Only with complete freedom can human civilization progress."
Before the apocalypse, some historians argued that the intellectual and cultural explosion of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods surpassed all the centuries that followed. Much of later civilization was built upon the Hundred Schools of Thought from that era.
Lu Ban, for example, had already designed flying wooden birds during that time—centuries before humans rediscovered the concept.
"I have heard that the number of years of heaven and earth is 129,600, which is one 'Great Era.' Dividing it into twelve 'Epochs' corresponds to the twelve earthly branches: Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai. Each Epoch is 10,800 years long.
Within a day: the hour of Zi brings forth yang; Chou, the rooster crows; Yin, darkness still lingers; Mao, the sun rises...
At the end of the Xu Epoch, heaven and earth decay, and all creation declines."
...
"It is said that in the East Victory Divine Continent, across the seas lies a kingdom called Aolai. Near this kingdom is the great sea, and within it stands the Flower-Fruit Mountain. This mountain is the ancestor vein of the ten continents and the dragon pulse of the three islands. It was formed at the separation of chaos and arose when the world was cleaved. A truly magnificent mountain!"
The storyteller on stage was animated, his voice rising and falling with rich emotion, pulling the audience along with the tale. Everyone's attention was completely absorbed.
"Journey to the West."
Yi Tianxing quickly recognized it—it was the opening chapter of Journey to the West.
As the storyteller's voice flowed, subtle energies began to rise from the crowd. Emotions, belief, and attention—all turned into a unique power of faith that slowly gathered toward the storyteller and fused into him.
This was the cultivation path of the Novelist School.
They created novels and used them to gather special mental energy. This energy condensed into a Grand Derivation Divine Talisman within their bodies. The talisman absorbed this energy for both cultivation and summoning beings from their stories.
A truly unique cultivation method.
"If a Novelist reaches the pinnacle, their power is no less than a cultivator who commands an army,"Xi Wangmu agreed.
However, there was one condition: the story must be original. Only when the novel was the author's own work, born from their creativity and bound by karmic ties, could the characters within be summoned as spiritual entities or avatars. Tales like Journey to the West, which weren't the storyteller's original work, could still draw belief and power—but this energy couldn't be used to create a spiritual embodiment. It could only enhance cultivation or refine the divine talisman.
Originality was thus the Novelist's first and most critical requirement.
A qualified Novelist must have a fully original novel recognized by others, shared with the world, and believed by readers. This was the mystical power of faith.
After finishing their tea and listening for a while, the three smiled and quietly got up to leave.
They continued to explore the city, encountering many new and curious things.
For example, they came upon a famous place called Miaoxian Pavilion, known for gathering stunningly beautiful women. The pavilion offered two kinds of companionship—one where women only performed arts and another where they stayed overnight. These women weren't just human; there were also women from other races. All of them practiced dual-cultivation techniques. Spending a night with such a woman was said to be an exquisite experience—not exploitative, but mutually beneficial.
True essence-draining cultivation was banned in Da Yi. Such exploitative paths would never be tolerated.
Miaoxian Pavilion was actually a female-led cultivation sect.
Since entering Da Yi, they had flourished like fish in water. With everyone in Da Yi cultivating, even basic dual-cultivation with male essence provided immense benefits.
Its very existence was proof of its legitimacy.
Yi Tianxing had heard of the place before. He didn't go in—just glanced from outside before leaving with the two women.
They wandered other parts of the city, quietly observing how the immortal city had grown and changed.
But suddenly, while they were leisurely enjoying their stroll—
The sky above Da Yi twisted without warning. Space distorted. Wind and clouds surged violently.
Aoooo!!
A thunderous dragon's roar echoed across the skies.
It came from the True Dragon of National Fate, filled with a deep sense of warning.
Then—within the twisting void—a giant face emerged.
A face formed entirely of blood, as if conjured from the essence of countless lives. It emanated an overwhelming aura of divine authority, sweeping outward like a tide, engulfing all of Da Yi's Sacred Imperial Territory.
The Blood Face was vivid, lifelike, and stared down upon the world from the void.
It projected a crushing pressure.
Lofty and domineering, it looked down upon all living beings.
"What is that!?"
"What terrifying aura is this? What sort of dark being has come!?"