While patiently waiting for the dishes to be served, Huang Ye's ears were hard at work, listening to the sounds coming from all around.

After listening for a while, he found it boring; people were talking about trivial matters.

Then there were talks about women, which restaurant had new arrivals, which married woman could be seduced, and which girl had grown up.

Thinking about it, it was normal. Ancient people didn't have many hobbies, let alone smartphones, so these were naturally their favorites.

The food was served, and as he enjoyed the delicious meal, he took a sip of wine. Living like this every day wasn't bad.

Unfortunately, he could no longer enjoy the open-air food stalls and missed the feeling of eating barbecue and drinking beer with a few friends.

The wine here was well-brewed, with a rich aroma when swallowed.

The alcohol content wasn't high, and the taste was better than most wines from his previous life.

Huang Ye was savoring his meal when he noticed someone entering from outside.

The person was young, tall, with a handsome appearance, sword-like eyebrows, and starry eyes, dressed in a plain white robe, carrying a long sword on his back.

After entering, the young man was also seated in the hall by the waiter.

Like Huang Ye, the young man ordered four dishes and a pot of wine, sitting there drinking alone.

This guy is a martial artist; should I go over and join him?

Huang Ye was contemplating.

Another customer entered, a burly man with a thick beard, holding a large knife.

"Brother Liu, why are you so late?" One of the three customers at a table stood up and shouted.

"Haha, you guys are drinking here, unaware of what's happening outside."

"Oh! Is there good news?"

"No good news, it's bad news."

"Another shapeshifting demon clan member has sneaked into the city, and it's quite powerful. I saw three Martial Kings from the guards chasing it when I came over."

Huang Ye finally heard some useful information. So those three were Martial Kings, and he still had a long way to go compared to them.

"Oh! Another shapeshifting demon beast sneaked in, the third time this month."

"Yes, and that's just the ones that were discovered. There must be more that haven't been."

"I passed by Qingfeng Tower earlier, and there were many guards gathered there. I heard it was discovered there."

"Seems like it was exposed while drinking again. Luckily, these demon beasts are fond of drinking, or they'd be really hard to detect."

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"I heard that's the case."

Damn, could it be? Is alcohol really that effective? It seems that getting into trouble because of drinking isn't exclusive to humans!

"It's better here; I heard Tianmu City is even more chaotic, with demon clan members eating people every day."

"And there's a bloodthirsty demon there, specializing in drinking human blood."

"We should just enjoy drinking today; I really regret not sticking with it like Brother Liu did when I was young."

"At least becoming a martial artist can protect oneself."

"Hehe, my little skills are nothing against powerful demons and monsters."

"That's still better than us; we'd be lambs to the slaughter if we encountered them."

It's hard to believe that a seemingly peaceful city actually harbors many unseen dangers.

No wonder there's no nation here; just dealing with these demon creatures keeps every region busy.

Everyone aims to protect themselves, making it difficult to form large armies to conquer territories.

Places like the City Lord's mansion are essentially the local leaders, occupying a region.

They collect taxes and maintain order with local armed forces.

Hmm, that young man seems to be eating and drinking alone, but his posture suggests he's listening to the conversation.

This 360-degree vision is indeed useful; I can observe others without any concerns.

Could he be a demon beast? No, if he were, he wouldn't keep drinking after hearing the conversation.

And he just took a sip, so he should be human.

Should I try joining him? Yes, more friends mean more paths. I only have two maids now, and I need to make friends outside.

Picking up his wine cup, Huang Ye leisurely walked over.

"Brother, I see you're drinking alone, and I'm alone too. How about we share a table?"

The young man was taken aback, not understanding what Huang Ye meant. Huang Ye quickly explained.

"I mean, we can combine our tables and eat together, so it's not so boring drinking alone."

"Sorry, I don't have that habit," the young man replied indifferently, continuing to eat his meal.

"Then, sorry for disturbing you!" Huang Ye said, raising his cup in a gesture, downed it in one go, and returned to his table.

Being turned away by the young man didn't surprise Huang Ye; this guy was clearly playing it cool.

He continued his solo drinking mode, and the subsequent conversation among the others wasn't very informative. After finishing his meal, he got up to settle the bill.

The total bill came to three taels of silver; the food wasn't expensive, but the pot of wine was, costing two taels.

It seems that to enjoy life, one needs money, a truth that holds in both past and present lives.

Qing'er's hundred taels could last a month here.

No more thinking about it; now that I'm a cultivator, becoming an immortal in the future isn't a dream, and I should regard gold and silver as dirt.

Damn it, I should be dealing with spirit stones; that's more fitting for my status.

But what do spirit stones look like? I really don't know, and it's uncertain if this world even has spirit stones.

After all, things in novels are made up by those authors.

Once my cultivation is decent, I need to venture out.

Time to head back! As he passed by the young man, he glanced at him disdainfully.

Foolish guy, you missed a chance for an immortal encounter, truly blind.

Half an hour later, Huang Ye was already sitting on the bed, with Qing'er and Yue'er in his arms.

"Young Master, did you gain anything from your outing?"

"Yes, I learned some things about the outside world; it's more complicated than I thought."

"Did you know about the demon clan in the city?"

"Young Master, there are demon clan members in the city again?"

"Yes, I saw it today."

"I didn't expect the demon clan to appear again; it's been over ten years since they last infiltrated here."

"Oh! Were there many before?"

"There were quite a few before. I heard that the immortal who took the First Young Master away used great powers to wipe out all the demons and monsters here, bringing peace."

"Oh, was the immortal who took the First Young Master very powerful?"

"I never saw him; I was young then. I heard the immortal just waved his hand, and the demons and monsters in the city immediately revealed themselves."

"With another wave, the demons disappeared into thin air."

Damn, that's powerful!

He had seen the map; Silver Moon City was much larger than cities in his previous life, with the urban area spanning a hundred miles and a population of millions.

For someone to achieve such feats, it must be the work of an immortal.

It seems my elder brother is quite talented, or such a powerful cultivator wouldn't have chosen him.

That's true immortal fate; I'm just a small ant in the cultivation world.

I was just looking down on that young man, thinking of myself as an immortal, but I got slapped in the face so quickly.

No, I need to cultivate like crazy.

"Qing'er, Yue'er, we're worlds apart from that immortal; we must work hard!"

"Understood!" The two quickly undressed.

Seven days later, the third layer of the Heart Sutra technique was completed.

However, this time, he didn't experience the unconsciousness like the previous two times.

The fire in his lower abdomen could be controlled; whenever he felt heat, dual cultivation would significantly reduce it.

This method accelerated his cultivation speed again. Although he didn't feel a major breakthrough, his minor realm was steadily improving, and his strength and speed were increasing.

The only issue was that the fire in his lower abdomen remained, unlike the previous two times when it was completely absorbed.

When the two women weren't around, he didn't dare to cultivate the third layer of the technique.

A month later, the "puff puff" breakthrough sound in Huang Ye's body occurred for the ninth time, soothing the Qi flow.

Huang Ye got out of bed, feeling as if he had reached a new height, wondering if he could now defeat those Martial Kings.

As for the guards, Huang Ye felt he should have no problem dealing with them.

During this month, the "puff puff" sound occurred three times in Qing'er and Yue'er's bodies, and the two women were now enthusiastic about cultivation.

However, after these three occurrences, they felt their progress had slowed.

The fourth occurrence had been over ten days, yet there was still no sign.