Chapter 645: The Finer Things in Life

Fox 3 led Han Li's trio through a series of twists and turns in the city, and they soon arrived at an opulent five-story restaurant.

The bottom two levels of the restaurant were normal dining areas consisting of open halls filled with large tables, while the third, fourth, and fifth floors were dedicated solely to VIP booths.

Even though it wasn't mealtime yet, the first two floors were already laden with people, and all of the patrons were cultivators of decent cultivation bases.

Furthermore, there were also many cultivators lined up outside the restaurant, just like one would see in a mortal restaurant, and Han Li's trio was quite surprised to see this.

Fox 3 didn't seem to be surprised at all to see this, and he made his way into the restaurant, then pulled out a badge before waving it at an approaching waiter.

"Welcome, esteemed guests. Please come with me."

As soon as the waiter caught a glimpse of the badge, he immediately let the group to a booth on the fifth floor.

All of the furniture in the booth was very tasteful and refined, striking a good balance between luxury and practicality, and as soon as Fox 3 sat down, he immediately rattled off a long order, capped off by a large flagon of wine that was around a foot in height.

Wisps of white mist were rising up out of the mouth of the flagon before slowly dissipating in the air, releasing a peculiar aroma that immediately drew the interest of Immortal Lord Hot Flame and Shi Chuankong.

"This is some exceptional wine!" Immortal Lord Hot Flame praised with an excited gleam in his eyes.

"Of course. Most of the people who come to this restaurant are here for this wine," Fox 3 said as he poured everyone a cup of wine each, then downed his own cup of wine in one go, following which a blissful look appeared on his face.

Han Li took a sip from his own cup of wine, and his eyes also lit up.

The wine was a transparent amber color, and it coated his entire tongue in an indescribable rich fragrance that slowly seeped through his entire body.

The flavor of the wine consisted of a combination of over a hundred different exquisite flavors, some of which he was familiar with, some of which he had never tasted, and some of which he had never even thought of.

Despite the vast abundance of flavors, all of them were able to shine through without any particular stealing too much of the spotlight, and it was more exquisite than any wine that Han Li had ever tasted.

"How truly exquisite! What is the name of this wine?" Immortal Lord Hot Flame asked after taking a sip out of his cup.

"This wine is called Amber Immortal, and it's the main reason why this restaurant is so famous. Whenever the Heavenly Court holds its Gathering of Immortals, this Amber Immortal is always the drink of choice," Fox 3 introduced.

"What's this Gathering of Immortals?" Han Li asked as he set down his cup.

"It's an event held by the Heavenly Court. Every once in a while, the Heavenly Court will gather all of the palace masters of the Immortal Palaces to the Heavenly Court to discuss certain important matters, and it could be said that this is the most important event on the Heavenly Court calendar," Fox 3 explained.

A contemplative look appeared in Han Li's eyes upon hearing this, but Fox 3 paid no heed to this as he began digging into the meal.

Shi Chuankong also seemed to be quite an avid foodie, while Immortal Lord Hot Flame was much more interested in the Amber Immortal and was having one cup after another.

Before long, the entire table of dishes and wine had been devoured, and Fox 3 patted his own slightly bulging belly as he sighed, "Nothing compares with the feeling of a good meal. What's the point in working so hard in cultivation if you can't even enjoy the finer things in life?"

"I agree!" Immortal Lord Hot Flame concurred loudly, while Shi Chuankong remained silent.

"Now that we're all fed, let's discuss how we're going to get to the Black Soil Immortal Region," Han Li said as he set down his cup.

At the same time, he made a hand seal to conjure up an azure light barrier around the entire booth.

"Do you ever relax, Brother Li?" Fox 3 complained in a lazy voice.

"Brother Li is right. Flowing Cloud City is a major city in the Black Mountain Immortal Region, so it's constantly under strict surveillance from the Heavenly Court. Hence, it's best for us to leave this place as soon as possible," Shi Chuankong said with a serious expression, while Immortal Lord Hot Flame also nodded in agreement.

"Fine, fine, let's get serious then," Fox 3 sighed as he put away his joking expression.

"Just as Brother Shi said, Flowing Cloud City is constantly under heavy surveillance from the Heavenly Court. In particular, that interregion teleportation array is very closely monitored, and anyone who wishes to use it must undergo stringent examinations," Fox 3 said.

"What does that entail?" Han Li asked.

"There are two areas of scrutiny, the first of which pertains to one's identity. In order to access the interregion teleportation array, one requires an official identity that's recognized by the Black Mountain Immortal Region. That's not difficult to arrange as long as we're willing to spend the Immortal Origin Stones. The problem is the examination by Heavenly Mirror," Fox 3 explained.

"What's this Heavenly Mirror?" Immortal Lord Hot Flame asked.

"It's a sensory array developed by the Heavenly Court, and it's extremely sensitive to auras. It has a memory function, and it's said to be holding information pertaining to all fugitives currently wanted by the Heavenly Court, including their appearance, the cultivation arts and immortal treasures that they use, etc.

“For wanted fugitives like ourselves, we could easily fall prey to this Heavenly Mirror Array, and I'm sure I don't need to explain what'll transpire if that happens," Fox 3 replied.

"A sensory array that can record all of the information of the Heavenly Court's wanted fugitives?That's very impressive!" Han Li praised.

"I'm not a fan of the Heavenly Court, but it's undeniably a vastly powerful and resourceful organization that is unmatched in many areas. However, setting up a Heavenly Mirror Array is extremely costly and complicated, so they're only present in a handful of important locations," Fox 3 said.

Everyone else nodded in response.

"Brother Shi, after what happened back in Jade Gathering City, you're most likely on the Immortal Slaying List as well, and the same applies to Brother Huo, so the two of you need to find ways to completely conceal your auras to avoid detection," Fox 3 said as he turned to Shi Chuankong and Immortal Lord Hot Flame, both of whom nodded in response once again with contemplative expressions.

"As for Brother Li, I don't know if you're wanted by the Heavenly Court, but the Heavenly Mirror Array's primary function is to catch members of the Reincarnation Palace, so you have to be careful as well. I can sense that there's an abnormally high abundance of baleful qi in your body. I can also see that you're somehow concealing it, but the concealment isn't perfect, and you'll definitely be caught by the Heavenly Mirror Array," Fox 3 said.

Han Li's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. He had constantly been taking Origin Void Pills to conceal the baleful qi in his body, but Fox 3 was somehow able to see through it right away.

"I'm currently facing a baleful decay, so there's naturally going to be more baleful qi in my body than normal. Surely everyone at this stage in their cultivation will have the same problem. Is that alone enough for the Heavenly Court to accuse me of being a member of the Reincarnation Palace?" Han Li asked.

"Now matter who it is, as long as they're determined to possess an abnormally high amount of baleful qi in their body, they'll immediately be captured by the Heavenly Court. As for why that is, I'm not sure myself," Fox 3 said.

Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this, following which a thought occurred to him.

It was clear that the Heavenly Court wasn't doing this for no reason. There seemed to be some type of connection between the Reincarnation Palace and Gray Immortals, and the most prominent trait of Gray Immortals is baleful qi.

"In terms of baleful qi concealment, I have something that could work," Fox 3 said after a brief hesitation.

"Oh? Please enlighten me, Brother Fox," Han Li said as he cupped his fist in a salute.

Fox 3 flipped a hand over to produce a silver jade vial, then tossed it at Han Li.

Han Li caught the vial before removing the stopper, and a small silver pill rolled out from inside.

To his surprise, the pill was different in color from the Origin Void Pill, but it possessed a very similar aura, except this pill's aura was far more pronounced.

"What is this?" Han Li asked as he turned to Fox 3.

"This is an Origin Baleful Pill that's very effective for concealing the aura of baleful qi," Fox 3 replied.

"This must be a very precious pill, I can't just take it from you," Han Li said with a hesitant expression.

"It's fine, I don't have any use for it anyway, so why not give it to someone who can actually make use of it?" Fox 3 replied, brushing off Han Li's concerns.

Han Li turned his gaze back to the pill, and after carefully inspecting it momentarily with his spiritual sense, he didn't hesitate any longer before taking the pill.

As soon as he swallowed the pill, it immediately melted into a burst of cool energy that flowed through his entire body, suppressing all of the baleful qi that it encountered.

Even the baleful qi vortexes in his immortal acupoints had virtually completely stopped revolving, and it didn't take long before most of the baleful qi in his body had been suppressed, much to his elation.

Furthermore, the Origin Baleful Pill still hadn't been completely refined yet, so its baleful qi concealment effect still hadn't been fully realized.

By Han Li's estimates, the pill's effect could last for around a decade.