Ch 123: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World II

The little creature’s head was stuck in the eggshell, turning flexibly in two circles before fixing its gaze on Lu Yao and letting out a soft call.

The sound resembled that of an ordinary fledgling—soft, tender, and slightly chirping.

Its head feathers were still damp, the roots gray, transitioning into a dark red, with the tips a mix of orange and yellow. Its short beak was pale yellow, slightly pointed, resembling a chick’s.

Lu Yao asked, “What kind of spiritual beast is this?”

Jin Huaichen frowned. “It looks like a phoenix, but it’s odd.”

The phoenix, a divine bird, was extremely rare; even the Beast Taming Sect hadn’t seen one in a century. However, disciples of the Beast Taming Sect would never mistake a phoenix egg, and Jin Huaichen had never considered this egg to be one.

The little creature gathered some strength and withdrew its head, starting to peck slowly at the edge of the cracked eggshell.

After about five minutes, it gradually crawled out of the shell, revealing a bare back with two pairs of fleshy wings. Its wide mouth chirped incessantly as if begging for food.

Lu Yao, concerned, wanted to prepare some food. “How do I feed it?”

Jin Huaichen’s expression grew serious, and he didn’t respond.

By this time, the creature had completely emerged from the eggshell, dragging behind it a jet-black dragon tail covered with thin, delicate scales.

A phoenix’s head, a beast’s body, a dragon’s tail, two pairs of wings, and four claws.

Neither Jin Huaichen nor the little ginseng demon could identify its species.

Lu Yao mixed warm water with milk powder and rice flour to create a thick porridge and fed it.

It ate two bowls from Little Tangfang’s food dish before curling up in the nest, looking sleepy. Each time it was about to fall asleep, it would jerk awake, shake its head, and glance at Lu Yao.

Lu Yao covered it with a blanket. “Go to sleep; everything’s fine.”

Finally, the little creature closed its eyes in peace.

Once it was asleep, Lu Yao sprinkled a handful of spirit stones into its nest and left the room with Jin Huaichen and the little ginseng demon.

The creature seemed to sense something; as the door clicked shut, it opened its beady eyes, curling its tail to gather the scattered spirit stones into a neat pile in its nest.

Noticing the weakened Little tangkang nearby, it picked the smallest spirit stone from its hoard and tossed it under Little tangkang’s belly.

Little tangkang gave a soft grunt, hugged the stone, and fell into a deep sleep.

The creature coiled protectively around its pile of spirit stones but didn’t sleep, instead raising its head to keep an eye on the door.

Outside, Jin Huaichen’s expression was grave. “It’s likely not a spiritual beast but some kind of ferocious beast.”

The little ginseng demon hung her head in guilt. “Lu Yao, I’m sorry. I thought it was a good egg.”

Lu Yao asked, “How can you be sure it’s a ferocious beast?”

The little ginseng demon shook her head. “I don’t know for certain, but its aura is aggressive and domineering. Newly hatched spiritual beasts don’t have that kind of presence.”

Jin Huaichen added, “I’ve never seen a beast cub like this, so I can’t identify its species. If it wasn’t born this way, there’s another possibility: some beasts disguise themselves as other creatures during their infancy to evade predators. But this one… its form is truly unusual.”

Lu Yao understood the implications behind their words. After a moment of thought, she replied, “Let me think it over for a few more days.”

Jin Huaichen empathized with Lu Yao’s hesitation. He remembered his first time caring for a newly hatched green peacock, and the circumstances were somewhat similar.

After all, it was a cub she had personally cared for and hatched—it was natural to feel attached.

Jin Huaichen said, “Once you’ve made your decision, you can contact me with the sound-transmitting jade talisman, and the Beast Taming Sect will handle it.”

Lu Yao nodded in acknowledgment but said nothing more.

On the second day after its birth, the creature’s downy feathers had dried, fluffing up like a ball. However, the feathers on its wings hadn’t fully grown yet, leaving them bare and comically slippery.

It was very clingy to Lu Yao, with a personality that was indeed a bit domineering.

Lu Yao, usually busy, would occasionally take a nap in the lounge, only to wake up with a warm, fluffy ball in her arms. Its tail tightly wrapped around her arm.

Sometimes, Xiong An’an would get jealous when he saw the little creature sticking to Lu Yao and would also try to get her attention.

The most absurd part was that the six-year-old bear demon couldn’t win against the five-day-old Sishang (T/N: mythical creature that embodies characteristics of four different animals, making it unique and without a direct counterpart in the natural world. The Sishang is sometimes associated with auspiciousness and is considered a symbol of good fortune.)

The poor bear cub, beaten miserably, would run off to complain to Jiao Niang.

Jiao Niang, ever gentle, comforted the little bear demon but silently increased his training tasks.

In the blink of an eye, five days had passed since the Sishang was born.

It had grown quickly, with gray-black fur tinged with dark red now covering its entire body. Even its two pairs of wings were wrapped in fur, leaving only a strange dragon tail dragging behind it.

Considering Jin Huaichen’s suggestion, Lu Yao had thought carefully about the Sishang’s potential lineage. It was still unclear what species it belonged to, but letting it grow without control was risky—there was no guarantee it wouldn’t turn into a ferocious beast.

Out of responsibility for the shop, its staff, and its customers, Lu Yao decided it was necessary to clarify the Sishang’s situation.

Cheng Ye stood at the door. “Boss, everything’s ready.”

Lu Yao sat on the lounge floor, with three laptops on the coffee table. The screens displayed the interface of Tales of the Six Realms.

The little Tangkang and the Sishang flanked Lu Yao, awkwardly extending their paws (or hooves) to poke at the keyboards.

Lu Yao said, “We’re ready too.”

The computers were logged into three level-60 beta accounts. Lu Yao planned to personally guide the little Tangkang and the Sishang through the Heavenly Ladder dungeon.

In a sense, the Tales of the Six Realms world’s ladder was infinitely close to the real Heavenly Ladder. It could temper one’s Dao heart, dispel inner demons, and reveal the essence of worldly illusions.

Since the little Tangkang and the Sishang couldn’t climb the ladder on their own, Lu Yao would accompany them.

Outside the Internet café, a teleportation array flashed rapidly.

Within moments, dozens of cultivators in various Daoist robes stepped out of the teleportation array, curiously inspecting the large sign under the Bodhi tree.

A few days earlier, Hengze Sect had sent a list and several image-recording jade slips to the major sects. Only then did the sect masters and elders learn that their young disciples had frequently been visiting a strange shop called the Interdimensional Internet Café over the past two months. Most baffling of all, the shop’s owner was an ordinary human, yet the place was often frequented by demons, devils, and occasionally ghosts.

The sect elders viewed this as a disgrace and initially intended to quietly retrieve their disciples for questioning.

The disciples were brought back, questioned, and locked up for reflection.

A few days later, however, the elders couldn’t suppress their curiosity and decided to visit the shop themselves.

It so happened that their timing was poor, and they all met at the entrance.

The awkward atmosphere outside the little Internet café thickened as the prominent elders of the cultivation world gathered there.

To ease the tension, an elder of the Kunlun Sect drew his natal sword, attempting to break the barrier around the shop. However, despite unleashing his sword energy, the barrier remained unmoved.

“…”

“…”

The atmosphere grew even more awkward.

Only the Beast Taming Sect’s sect master, an extraordinarily beautiful woman, lightly lifted the hem of her robes and swayed her peacock-feathered fan. “Let’s go in and take a look.”

The Kunlun elder coughed lightly, sheathed his natal sword, and said, “Yes.”

A group of highly skilled cultivators entered the Internet café in a grand procession. The noisy café instantly fell silent.

The demon and devil clans immediately turned vigilant, looking toward the entrance. The young cultivators sitting in the hall were struck with terror, sliding off their chairs in an attempt to escape. But it was too late—they could only hide.

The Beast Taming Sect’s sect master, however, immediately spotted a familiar mustard-yellow hem and walked over to grab its owner. “Jin Huaichen!”

Jin Huaichen’s face turned pitiful as he repeatedly begged for mercy. “Sect Master, I was momentarily foolish! Just a moment of foolishness!”

Jin Huaichen was full of complaints about this situation. Some busybody sect had informed their sect master about the Internet café, causing him to be summoned back for a scolding. But that wasn’t the worst of it—he was sentenced to a year of solitary reflection at Hundred Beasts Peak.

How could he handle all this?

Jin Huaichen had learned a lot about scientifically feeding spirit beasts from the internet. Even his initial, rudimentary attempts showed obvious results.

Recently, he had been studying incubation equipment and enrichment facilities. He was even considering setting up an area on Beast Mountain modeled after Xiong An’an’s amusement park to create an enrichment space for the little beasts.

And then there was the game. He was only two levels away from reaching level 40.

The illusions in Tales of the Six Realms were especially fascinating. Jin Huaichen’s new account was playing as a ghost cultivator.

He wanted to join the Senluo Ghost Sect. After staying on Hundred Beasts Peak for two days, he snuck out, only to have the worst luck—running into the sect master in less than half a day.

Just like Jin Huaichen, the captured sect disciples were lined up in a row, standing in the middle of the aisle. The scene was both solemn and comical.

The demon and devil customers hid behind their computer screens, biting their arms to stifle their laughter.

So human cultivators aren’t all that great. Just playing on the internet gets them treated like they’ve committed a huge crime. How hilarious.

The sect disciples hung their heads, faces flushed red with embarrassment.

The sect elders were fuming. They wanted to smash the shop and teach these overconfident demons and devils a lesson, but oddly enough, they couldn’t use any of their spells inside the shop.

The young leopard demon Wen Rong, standing nearby, said politely, “To prevent fights and disturbances among customers, the boss has set rules. No spiritual powers or techniques may be used within the café’s premises. Since you’ve found your disciples, you may take them away. Please refrain from causing trouble in the shop.”

A mere leopard demon at the Golden Core stage spoke with a tone bolder than that of a seasoned Mahayana cultivator.

The sect elders, paragons of righteousness, had never been so humiliated by words.

Infuriated, they were nevertheless bound by the rules and couldn’t impose their will.

A Kunlun elder glared angrily and shouted, “Where’s the boss? Come out and speak!”

Cheng Ye had already contacted Lu Yao, but Lu Yao was immersed in the Tales of the Six Realms illusion alongside the little Tangkang and the Sishang.

Lu Yao carried a modified voice transmission jade, specifically for communication with staff outside the realm. Upon hearing that the sect elders had arrived at the café, she immediately instructed Cheng Ye to release new CG content in the shop and prepare a livestream of the illusions.

Cheng Ye couldn’t handle everything alone and called for backup in the group chat.

Ji Zhixin, upon receiving Cheng Ye’s message, immediately rushed over from the pet cafe to maintain order.

The Kunlun elder looked at Ji Zhixin with disdain. “Are you the boss?”

Ji Zhixin shook his head.

The Beast Taming Sect’s sect master waved her feathered fan. “How bold can a mere mortal be? Sending out a small lackey at this time—clearly, the boss has already fled.”

With the boss still absent, tension in the shop rose.

Even the demons and devils, who had initially been there for entertainment, started feeling uneasy, wondering if the boss had truly been scared off by these cultivators.

Ji Zhixin maintained a calm tone. “What an unfortunate coincidence. The boss entered the illusion realm a short while ago and is unable to meet guests. However, the boss is aware of your presence and has specially prepared a gift for you.”

As his words fell, Ji Zhixin raised his voice again. “In half a month, Tales of the Six Realms will unveil its final stage. You are all invited to witness it.”

The final stage?

What could that possibly be?

The regulars at the Internet café, who had been idly watching the commotion, suddenly perked up. They were accustomed to the café coming up with new and intriguing events from time to time and immediately began to anticipate this one.

What’s it going to be this time?

Even the sect disciples standing obediently in the aisle couldn’t help but lift their heads.

The elders from the various sects exchanged looks, their gazes full of disdain.

They had walked the world for so long, seen all there was to see, and believed their Dao hearts were unshakable. How could this small, rustic shop rattle them?

Ji Zhixin snapped his fingers, and a holographic projection instantly appeared, suspended in midair.

[In the midst of a sea of ink-like fog stood a single figure. She tilted her head, gazing intently upward, gesturing repeatedly as if measuring something.]

The café regulars immediately recognized her—it was the boss.

[After a few moments, the woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of wood, holding it up to measure against the sky.]

The demons, devils, and younger sect disciples were puzzled. What was the boss doing with a small piece of wood?

The Kunlun elder’s face changed dramatically, and he blurted out, “That’s… the World Tree?”

The Pill Sect elder furrowed his brow. “This is the first time I’ve seen the real thing.”

The World Tree—a mythical divine tree said to connect heaven, earth, and the realm of gods. Ordinary people would never have the chance to lay eyes on it.

Even these sect elders had only ever seen its depiction in books and paintings.

The woman measured with the World Tree for a while, frowned slightly, and then pulled a clump of soil out of her pocket. Translated on Hololo novels.

The elder from Jiujue Sect paled in shock. “Xirang! What is she trying to do?”

The woman compared the Xirang with World Tree for a moment, then pulled out a jet-black measuring stick faintly glowing with golden light.

The golden light flickered briefly, and before anyone could discern her movements, they saw wooden steps rising from the ground, one after another, straight up into the clouds.

The café fell completely silent as everyone tried to process what they had just seen.

[In the midst of the ink sea, the woman lowered her head and spoke in a soft yet cold tone: “The final stage of Tales of the Six Realms—the Heavenly Ladder—is complete.”]

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