An Encounter with the Tsundere Immortal Lady Chapter 40

Only after the young woman had scraped clean the rice grains from her bowl and finished the three bowls of rice she had brazenly served herself did she lift her head from the food on the table. She sincerely thanked the old man who had taken her in. This unexpected deliciousness snapped her out of her daze, and she knew to express her gratitude.
“No need for thanks,” the old man said. “This food isn’t free. Once you’ve eaten your fill, help me with some work.”
“First, help me move these to the corner of the wall,” the old man said, pointing to a pile of bricks on the ground.
“Oh, okay,” the young woman responded. She bent down, picked up the bricks, and walked towards the corner.
“What are you doing!” The old man’s sudden shout made the young woman jump. “Didn’t you ask me to work?” The young woman in the green shirt was a little confused.
“Although it’s better than nothing, you’ve reached the Fusion Stage, haven’t you? Why aren’t you using magic?” The old man looked at the young woman strangely, further confirming his suspicion that she was both dense and foolish.
“…”
Although she didn’t remember how she had learned magic, she had a vague impression that she could indeed use it. With a thought, a Qingyu brush appeared in her hand. Looking at this inexplicably familiar weapon, the young woman blinked, but she couldn’t recall anything more about it no matter how hard she tried.
After she finished the work, the old man looked at the young woman in green and suddenly said, “Tomorrow is the day the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace recruits ‘Servitors.’ I can take you to sign up.”
The old man said this, not because he believed the young woman truly had any connection to the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace. In the Immortal Realm, where strength was paramount, a young woman only at the Fusion Stage definitely couldn’t have any ties to the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace. He said it merely to dispel her thoughts of going there. Otherwise, with her stubborn personality, if she recklessly ran off to the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace, she would likely lose her life!
“What are ‘Servitors’?” the young woman asked, a little puzzled.
She learned from the old man that every nine years, the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace would recruit a considerable number of ‘Servitors’ from the major cities. They were specifically to serve within the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace, guard various places in the Immortal Realm, and assist in managing the order of the Immortal Realm.
To put it bluntly, they were menial workers and errand runners.
Even so, the immortals signing up to become ‘Servitors’ each year still wore down the doorsteps of the major cities. That’s right, immortals. To become an ‘Servitor,’ one had to be at least at the immortal level.
The reason was simple. Because of the unique nature of the Immortal Realm, even immortals needed to eat daily, and food crops were extremely scarce. These usually high-and-mighty immortals, in order to fill their stomachs, had to exchange corresponding labor for it.
Some, like the old man, grew food for a living. Some sold magic artifacts throughout the Immortal Realm to make a living. Some with good skills opened shops in the major cities, making a living by cooking food.
It was said that long ago, the Immortal Realm did not have the tradition of exchanging labor for food. Every immortal would grow their own food to survive. But even among immortals, there were differences in strength. The strong would seize the food grown by the weak. The disputes arising from this caused many immortals to perish, food became increasingly scarce, and the Immortal Realm fell into a rather long dark period.
Then, an immensely powerful immortal emerged and established an organization called the “Nine Heavens Immortal Palace.” He swept away the minor factions in the Immortal Realm and brought the entire realm under his jurisdiction. Only then did the deaths of immortals gradually decrease.
For a thousand years, until today, the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace had come to manage almost all affairs in the Immortal Realm. Growing food, forging magic artifacts, establishing formations—these vital matters were almost entirely controlled by the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace. The one at the very top of the Immortal Palace was said to be only a step away from being crowned a King.
And ‘Servitor’ was the specific term for immortals who worked for the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace in exchange for food.
“Every nine years, the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace recruits ‘Servitors’ in the major city. If you’re determined to see the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace, then you can go with me to the nearby major city tomorrow,” the old man said helplessly.
The young woman nodded. “Okay, I’ll go pack up first.” When the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace was mentioned, the young woman’s expression became solemn.
The Immortal Realm’s major city had been packed for several days, and it was even more so today. In the crowd, the old man led the young woman in the green shirt by the hand. “You must follow me closely. When the time comes, I will take you to find the people from the Immortal Palace. Don’t you dare run off on your own. If anything happens, or if I call you, you must answer.”
Fang was the name the old man had given the young woman for convenience. There were many taboos in the Immortal Realm. He was truly afraid the young woman wouldn’t be careful, would provoke someone she shouldn’t, and needlessly lose her life.
Even with the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace managing things, if an immortal killed a few others who were barely considered immortals, hardly anyone would bother to investigate.
“I will, Elder Sun,” the young woman said to the old man.
The grand event began on time in the morning, in the largest square of the major city. Amidst splendid magical effects, the grand event started punctually. An immortal descended slowly from above with magnificent magic, his extremely magnetic voice spreading throughout the entire major city. Beautiful female immortals also drifted down gracefully from the other side of the sky, which reflected the morning glow. Handsome male immortals and elegant female immortals simultaneously announced the start of the grand event.
Thunderous applause erupted in the square. The immortals who had been eagerly awaiting were in high spirits. From various teleportation formations in the square, hundreds of ‘Servitors’ emerged. They lined up at various pre-prepared tables and gestured for the immortals wishing to join the ‘Servitors’ to line up for a strength test.
Immortals also had distinctions of high and low strength. From Ordinary immortal, True Immortal, Golden Immortal, to Immortal lord, their strength increased in succession. The stronger one was, the higher their status.
Immortals had unique methods to perceive the cultivation realms of those weaker than themselves. These ‘Servitors’ participating in the assessment were undoubtedly quite strong and could easily see through the cultivation realms of most people present.
Those whose realms they couldn’t see through naturally had cultivation realms higher than these testers and were generally allowed to pass.
The young woman was only at the Fusion Stage. It was doubtful she could even pass this first level of testing. Elder Sun had brought her just to let her see the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace, so she would give up the idea of going there sooner.
“I’m going to take the test,” the young woman said.
“…” Elder Sun originally wanted to say something more, but seeing the stubborn look in the young woman’s eyes, he gave up. He had known her stubborn nature since they first met. Now that the opportunity was right before her, he knew she wouldn’t give up easily no matter what. It was better to let her try.
The young woman, with her Fusion Stage strength, queued among the many immortals, appearing so out of place. She attracted many disdainful glances from those nearby, but she was completely unmoved, as if she hadn’t noticed those scornful gazes at all.
The queue was very long and moved forward slowly. From the rise of the morning glow, to midday, and then to the flying evening clouds, it was finally the young woman’s turn for the test when a gong and drum sounded, announcing the end of the first day’s testing.
The young woman let out a small sigh and took the queue token distributed by the organizers. She then hurried with the old man to a nearby inn to rest, waiting for the grand event to resume the next day.
The spiritual energy in the Immortal Realm’s major city was much denser than in the small village where the old man lived. Compared to the numerous, ethereal immortal residences, what was more attractive were the eateries along the main city streets, each emitting enticing aromas.
The young woman stood at the entrance of an eatery, unable to move her feet. Her dark eyes stared intently at the waiters bustling about inside carrying dishes. Anyone could see she was practically drooling.
“Let’s go.” The old man pulled the young woman. He pulled, then tugged harder, but she still didn’t budge.
“But I don’t have money,” the old man finally stated this cruel fact.
The young woman rummaged through her storage bag. In the end, she only found a pile of talisman papers. She gave them all to the old man, meaning she wanted to exchange them for meal money.
The old man took the talisman papers and looked at them. “High-grade ones would be acceptable, but these are all the lowest grade. Besides, the cultivation method you learned for drawing these talismans is incomplete. All of them together aren’t worth a single coin.”
The young woman pressed her lips together, her watery eyes looking as if tears were about to fall.
The old man tugged the young woman again, but she still didn’t move.
“Fine, fine. I’ll pay for this meal for you. You can pay me back with your wages later.”
Hearing this, the young woman’s downcast eyes immediately brightened. She lifted her foot and stepped through the eatery’s wooden door. She walked to the shopkeeper and, in a flash, rattled off the names of the dishes she had been craving for a long time. With a smile on her lips, she sat down on a wooden chair, just waiting for the food to arrive.
After all, she was still just a young woman of seventeen or eighteen. It wasn’t strange for her to have such a simple nature. If she didn’t, that would be strange.
Braised Lion’s Head meatballs, glossy and bright, delicious. Yam and sparerib soup, cured meat and bamboo tube rice. Even if they were just ordinary ingredients, she ate with hearty enjoyment.
After finishing the meal, the young woman looked at the jade stone the old man used to pay. It was golden yellow, translucent, and lustrous. The spiritual energy contained within it almost condensed into mist; it was a hundred times more potent than the spirit stones in her own storage bag. She couldn’t help but be astonished and asked, “Was this meal very expensive?”
The old man said, “In the Immortal Realm, apart from the highest-grade immortal artifacts and spirit elixirs, these food ingredients are among the most expensive things. Cultivators have long since achieved inedia, so ordinary ingredients basically cannot be consumed by them. They must have the most suitable temperature and spiritual energy concentration, and then be patiently cultivated by cultivators for a whole year. Only such ingredients are edible for them.”
“It was that expensive.” The young woman felt a little guilty.
“It’s alright. You can pay it off with two months of work in the village,” the old man smiled.
“…” The young woman felt like she had been tricked.
The night was cool and refreshing. Well-fed and content, the inn where they stayed, whether it was the service or the room furnishings, was all extremely satisfactory to her. When the young woman woke up from her cultivation again, the sun had quietly peeked out a small part of its head. It was once again the time of gentle morning light and a refreshing breeze. Accompanied by the booming sounds of celebratory magic, the grand event began as usual, like yesterday, yet it was somewhat different.
The main street of the major city was carpeted with a rug woven from feathers. Spiritually glowing ribbons were hung throughout the city. Every immortal residence had large oil-paper lanterns hanging. The bustling crowds that had filled every corner of the city yesterday now stood spontaneously on both sides of the street, every face wearing a joyful smile. And at the city gate, there stood dozens to hundreds of True Immortals and Golden Immortals who were usually hard to meet. They were lined up neatly and in a clearly ranked order at the city gate, as if they were waiting for something.
It was said that “That Person” had arrived.