Chapter 2068: Just Told the Truth

The far northern prairie, though called a prairie, was actually nothing but a wasteland.

The land was vast, teeming with ferocious beasts.

The humans living here had no choice but to huddle together for warmth, gathering in groups.

As a result, the people here were wild and unruly, killing at the slightest provocation.

Only the strong could survive here.

This was a strange place: martial artists formed factions and slaughtered each other for profit.

Yet every time a beast tide came, they could set aside all grudges and fight off the beasts.

Jiuluoji was such a place.

The far north was bitterly cold; the air there could freeze a person into an ice sculpture.

Even those who had reached the True God realm could feel a bone-piercing chill.

This was a world ruled by the law of ice, so people were born mastering one law—the law of ice.

Thus, the martial artists here were powerful, often mastering two or more laws.

At that moment, in a small tavern in Jiuluoji, martial artists gathered in twos and threes, drinking and chatting.

This was how they spent their leisure time—downing strong liquor to warm their bellies and swapping tales of the far northern prairie.

So the tavern did a roaring trade.

A young man and woman, both in fur skirts, entered the tavern. They looked around but found no empty seats, and their faces fell with disappointment.

"Brother, look at that table—only two people are sitting there. Why don't we share it?" the woman said, pointing to a corner.

In the corner, two young men were drinking. One was bundled up but still shivering; the other, thinly dressed, seemed perfectly fine.

The man nodded. "Let's go over and see."

They reached the table, and the man cupped his hands. "Excuse me, young friends. I'm Wu Song from Nanshui Street, and this is my sister Wu Ling. As you can see, the Blazing Fire Tavern is packed. Could we share your table?"

The thinly dressed young man took a sip of wine and said flatly, "Sit."

The siblings were overjoyed and sat down opposite. "Waiter! Four jars of Blazing Fire!" they shouted.

"Coming right up!"

From across the room, the waiter bellowed.

Soon, four jars of Blazing Fire were brought to the table. Wu Song unsealed one and took a gulp. "Ah, refreshing! Ha ha... Young friend, cheers!"

The young man opposite raised his cup slightly in acknowledgment and took another sip.

Seeing his aloof manner, Wu Ling curled her lip. "Putting on airs!"

Wu Song laughed heartily. "Don't mind her, young friend. My sister speaks without thinking. May I ask your names?"

"Ji Qingyun!"

"Ning Tianping!"

They answered in turn.

These two were none other than Ye Yuan and his servant, who had crossed the Tongtian Mountains and come from beyond.

Fifty years had passed since Senior Sister Xun and the others had gone to Tianying.

After many twists and turns and a long, dusty journey, the master and servant had finally reached the far northern prairie half a year ago.

But they hadn't acted immediately; with just the two of them, even if they broke into Bingyun Que, they couldn't rescue Lü'er.

Fortunately, Ye Yuan was certain that Lü'er was safe for now, so he began planning how to save her.

Here, Ye Yuan naturally couldn't use his real name, so he simply used the name from his previous life.

"Ha ha, so it's Brother Ji and Brother Ning! These two jars are for you, as thanks for letting us sit," Wu Song said, pushing two jars forward.

Ye Yuan nodded slightly. "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Wu Song studied Ye Yuan, unable to hide his curiosity. "Brother Ji, dressed so lightly—aren't you cold?"

These two were indeed strange: one wore very little yet seemed unaffected; the other was bundled up but shivering.

Ye Yuan smiled. "Not cold."

Beside him, Ning Tianping couldn't help rolling his eyes, his gaze full of envy.

He hadn't expected this trip to be such a hard task.

At his cultivation level of True God Triple Heaven, he was shivering like an ordinary person.

But his master had no trouble adapting to this environment at all.

That guy was at the late stage of Perfect Six-Turn Golden Body; he simply didn't know what cold felt like.

Wu Ling sneered. "Putting on airs! If you ask me, he's using divine essence to keep warm, but that's a big taboo on the far northern prairie. If he runs into an enemy with only seventy or eighty percent of his divine essence left, he's as good as dead."

Using divine essence to ward off cold could indeed fend off the chill.

But on the far northern prairie, no one dared to do that.

Because here, people killed and robbed at every turn, or fought beasts outside the settlements; one had to stay in peak condition.

Using divine essence to keep warm in such extreme cold consumed a huge amount of it.

If you ran into an enemy, it would be too late to cry.

Ning Tianping was about to retort, but Ye Yuan smiled and said, "Heh, I have plenty of divine essence; I'm not afraid of the drain."

Wu Ling was taken aback, then snorted. "Don't listen to good advice—you'll suffer for it! No good deed goes unpunished!"

Wu Song felt awkward. He laughed heartily. "My sister is outspoken. Come, let me toast you both."

After drinking, Wu Song set down the jar and wiped his mouth. "Ah, refreshing! In all of Jiuluoji, nothing hits the spot like Blazing Fire. One gulp and it burns like a fire in your belly. Other taverns' liquor can't compare! Brother Ji, you're a fan too, right?"

Ye Yuan shook his head slightly. "This liquor is just so-so, barely passable."

Wu Song frowned. This kid really was a pretentious one—couldn't he go a sentence without putting someone down?

Blazing Fire was famous far and wide as a strong liquor, beloved by the prairie's martial artists.

But in Ye Yuan's mouth, it was just so-so, barely passable.

Even easygoing Wu Song nearly spat out his wine.

As luck would have it, the tavern owner had sharp ears and caught Ye Yuan's remark. He sneered, "Young man, don't be so arrogant! Everyone in Jiuluoji knows that our Blazing Fire is like a prairie fire, a must-have for prairie warriors. It's no worse than the masters' elixirs."

Around them, the drinkers also looked displeased.

"Kid, you haven't even grown your feathers, and you're already acting tough here?"

"Hey, you in the thin clothes—are you using divine essence to keep warm? If you've got guts, don't drink this liquor."

"Blazing Fire is my favorite. You looking for trouble, asshole?"

...

With one sentence, Ye Yuan had set the tavern ablaze.

Wu Ling sneered. "See? I told you! Putting on airs—now you've stirred up a hornet's nest."

Wu Song, however, was kind-hearted. He quickly stood up and cupped his hands to the crowd. "Ha ha, don't mind him, brothers. My friend spoke out of turn, out of turn!"

The tavern owner sneered. "Spoke out of turn? Heh, if you don't like my liquor, then don't drink it! Get out, get out—you're not welcome here!"

Ye Yuan shrugged. "I just told the truth. If I'm not to drink, then I won't. It's bland anyway."