Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 184 To Eat or to Stay at an Inn? (Second Update!)

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhi nodded. It was best not to run into the Forget-Worry Inn, because once they did, with their current cultivation level, there was no way they could avoid it!
Since that's the case, it's indeed better to go in during the day to avoid any unforeseen complications and potential dangers.

In fact, when he went to rescue Shi Shaoshan, he caught a glimpse of the Forget-Worry Inn... He immediately looked away, thinking he could escape this calamity, but he didn't expect that the Forget-Worry Inn would still follow him.

Thinking of this, Yuan Zhi immediately said, "In that case, everyone go and prepare. We'll go into the shop together after an incense stick has burned."

The other three cultivators at the seventh level of Qi Refining all nodded.

After the initial discussion, the three cultivators at the seventh level of Qi Refining immediately returned to the vehicles they were responsible for guarding and notified their respective teammates.

Yuan Zhi glanced at Zheng Que and Linghu Yuniang, then called Shi Shaoshan and Miao Xirong to the open space next to the corpse puppet.

His gaze swept over his four teammates, finally landing on Shi Shaoshan, and he immediately said, "Fellow Daoist Shi, you have experienced the Forget-Worry Inn once."

"Next, you will go in first, and the four of us will follow behind."

Shi Shaoshan frowned slightly, but still nodded and said, "Okay."

At this moment, Miao Xirong suddenly asked, "Do we still need to pay taxes?"

"If we enter this Forget-Worry Inn, we can't even guarantee our own survival. If we have to continue protecting this cart of taxes, I'm afraid none of us will survive!"

Yuan Zhi frowned upon hearing this, but immediately shook his head and said in a deep voice, "No!"

"The taxes we are escorting are not inanimate objects like gold and silver treasures!"

"The carriage with the character 'Geng' inside contains the meticulously crafted 'Aquarius Woman'."

"The carriage with the character 'Xin' in the back carries the carefully selected prospective [Ghost Mothers]. Although those pregnant women are still alive, the fetuses in their wombs have already died. Without the protection of cultivators, the pregnant women will soon perish!"

"The other vehicles are about the same."

"If these taxes are simply thrown here, without our yang energy to suppress them, and without the life-extending methods of cultivators, it won't be long before those things in the carriage turn into ferocious and monstrous ghosts!"

"At that time, we won't need to go to the Forget-Worry Inn anymore. These evil spirits formed from taxes will be enough to devour us all alive!"

Upon hearing this, Miao Xirong fell silent.

Linghu Yuniang then asked, "So, what should we do after we enter the inn?"

Yuan Zhi did not answer the question, but turned to look at Shi Shaoshan.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Shi Shaoshan frowned. He didn't want to tell others this important information for free, but in the current situation, if he really didn't say anything, the other four would probably kill him immediately!
After a moment's hesitation, Shi Shaoshan finally said, "Once we enter the inn, the landlady will ask us if we want a meal or to stay overnight?"

"If you answer 'just stopping by,' you can leave immediately after having a meal at the inn."

"However, as I said before, nothing in this Forget-Worry Inn is edible."

"Therefore, we can only answer the question of whether you need a hotel."

"Once you choose to stay at an inn, you must stay there for five hours before you can leave."

"It's still early. Let's go inside the shop right away. If everything goes smoothly, we should be able to leave the inn before midnight."

"At that time, we might be able to catch up with Senior Lu and his party."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Li immediately asked, "You mean, once the time is up, this 'strange thing' won't stop us from leaving?" Shi Shaoshan slowly nodded, "Yes!"

Yuan Zhi then asked, "So, how did you spend those five hours last time?"

Shi Shaoshan quickly said, "Last time, after I entered this Forget-Worry Inn, I spent most of my time hiding in my room."

"Later, when most of the others had died, the rooms were no longer safe. I kept hiding and dodging throughout the inn to buy enough time to survive."

Linghu Yuniang pondered for a moment, then asked, "How did the people who were with you die?"

Shi Shaoshan chuckled and said, "There are all sorts of ways to die. If I were to list them all one by one, I probably wouldn't have enough time."

Next, Zheng Que and the others asked a few more questions, which Shi Shaoshan answered one by one.

Soon, Yuan Zhi estimated that the agreed time was approaching and said, "It's almost time, let's get ready to go into the store."

As he spoke, he had Shi Shaoshan walk in front, while he took out the array plate and manipulated the corpse puppet to drag the "Geng" shaped carriage towards the Forget-Worry Inn ahead.

Zheng Que, Linghu Yuniang, and Miao Xirong followed the vehicle, walking slowly.

As soon as the "Geng" chariot moved, the three chariots behind it, "Xin", "Ren", and "Gui", also moved forward.

Soon, the group arrived at the entrance of the inn. Upon closer inspection, the small building appeared taller and more spacious than it had been in the distance. It was surrounded by a low wall about half a person's height, with weeds growing on top of it and hanging down like tassels.

The low wall had no door, only a gap, with a few pebbles placed there for entry and exit.

Shi Shaoshan took a deep breath and led the way through the opening.

Seeing this, Yuan Zhi also directed the corpse puppets to pull the "Geng" shaped cart and follow.

Soon, the three cars with the character "Xin" on them, along with the escorting cultivators, entered the courtyard through the gap. Looking around, they saw that the courtyard, enclosed by a low wall, was paved with blue bricks. There were seven or eight hitching posts on either side of the inn's main entrance, along with stone troughs that had been washed clean and were half-filled with water, seemingly for the purpose of providing transportation.

Next to the small building stands a large, leafy willow tree, its thousands of green branches hanging down, swaying gently in the wind.

The entire courtyard was deserted, with only the sound of the mountain wind.

The group carefully observed their surroundings, and after a moment, they all looked toward the tightly closed gate of the inn.

After a brief silence, Yuan Zhi looked at the other three Qi Refining Stage 7 cultivators and said in a deep voice, "Leave two people to watch over each vehicle, and the rest of you go in together!"

The three Qi Refining Stage 7 cultivators did not hesitate and immediately began calling out names: "Cen Jintao and Tian Zixin, you two stay here and guard the 'Xin' car."

“Bian Jiashu, Bi Qinfang, you two guard the ‘Ren’ car.”

"Shi En, Zuo Baozhi, you two keep an eye on the 'Gui' character car."

Yuan Zhi also said, "Fellow Daoist Linghu, Fellow Daoist Miao, please stay here and keep an eye on the 'Geng' character carriage. If anything happens, please let me know immediately."

After arranging for those to stay behind, the rest of the people did not hesitate any longer. Shi Shaoshan took the lead and walked to the door. He reached out and gently pushed, and the seemingly solid door immediately opened.

As the door crack widened, sunlight gradually illuminated the interior of the inn, revealing a spacious and bright lobby.

As the group entered the inn, before they could even get a good look at the lobby, a woman's charming, smiling voice rang in their ears: "Sir, would you like a meal or a room?"

(End of this chapter)