Chen Xu wrote on the Spiritual Cicada Jade Robe:

[I wish to participate in the provincial exam, could you tell me the most suitable departure time, route, and companions?]

He was somewhat greedy, asking several questions in one sentence.

The ink strokes were written down one by one, while Chen Xu felt the Innate Qi within his Dantian rapidly depleting.

An indescribable dizziness and sensation of Qi Blood flowing in reverse continuously assailed him.

This feeling was very uncomfortable, especially as he wrote more, the pen strokes even developed a heavy sluggishness.

Yet Chen Xu had no intention of abandoning his questions.

He silently recited the Mental Calming Mantra in his heart: "Attain the utmost emptiness, maintain utmost tranquility."

"If the heart is clear as ice, even if the sky falls, remain unafraid…"

The question he chose to ask should have been within the backlash limit he could endure, causing the least harm.

With the final strokes, he wrote the characters for "most suitable."

Boom!

Chen Xu only felt as if his heart had been heavily hammered by some mysterious, extraordinary force.

He let out a muffled groan and spat out a mouthful of reverse-flowing blood.

Chen Xu immediately took out a small bamboo tube with his other hand and spat the fresh blood into it.

The bamboo tube was conveniently stored away in the Fire and Smoke Kitchen.

This is the Divine and Ghost Realm, where his blood, hair, and such would be carefully managed by Chen Xu, never carelessly left outside if conditions allowed.

Looking at the Spiritual Cicada Jade Robe again, the line of ink that contained Chen Xu's question gradually faded away.

In its place was the response provided by the Spiritual Cicada Jade Robe.

Similarly in ink, one by one the words appeared on the silk-like Jade Robe.

With each additional character, Chen Xu's heart rate increased slightly.

The Innate Qi roared through his body, and upon reaching the limit, every word appeared without omission.

"On May the fifteenth, head north past the Broken Jade River, make your way through the Cyan Forest; it's best to go alone."

Chen Xu quickly grabbed the Spiritual Cicada Jade Robe and put it back into the Fire and Smoke Kitchen, feeling an indescribable force pulsating in his heart.

Thump thump thump—

His heartbeat pounded like a drum.

The Innate Qi reached its operational limit, the old energy exhausted as new energy arose.

May the fifteenth, best to go alone!

In an instant, myriad thoughts surged into his mind. Chen Xu allocated three points each to his Qi Blood, Essence, and Divine Soul Tri-Attribute.

The abundant power gradually grew, and Chen Xu let out a long breath.

Using the Spiritual Cicada Jade Robe once felt like shedding a layer of skin.

It's no wonder that in the Great Li's Splendor Record, the Celestial List's Star Plucker went blind because of predicting chaos in Bei Rong.

But the result of the divination was very worthwhile for Chen Xu.

"Best to go alone," these three words implied a great deal.

According to the original plan, Chen Xu would travel to Pingyang with Cui Yunqi, Ningyu Studio, and other children of the aristocratic families of Yunjiang.

Cui Yunqi and others would also participate in this year's provincial exam.

Could traveling with these people lead to crises and misfortunes?

Is it because someone among them harbors malice toward Chen Xu, or because this group itself would encounter great external crises?

While Chen Xu pondered, he was unaware that just as he stored the Spiritual Cicada Jade Robe in the Fire and Smoke Kitchen, in Yunjiang Prefecture City, an eight or nine-year-old boy was holding a Compass and was stamping his feet, both anxious and annoyed.

"Out of nowhere, the Celestial Machine has disappeared again? Oh, this is maddening…"

The child wore a tattered wide robe, with hemp rope binding the oversized sleeves and robe hem, anxiously pacing across the streets of Yunjiang City.

He intended to use the faint prior sensation to locate the Celestial Machine, but unfortunately, Yunjiang City was too vast, with street after street, market after market…

The noise of the crowd and the tumult of the mundane world.

Amidst so many chaotic auras blocking him, even though the boy's origin was extraordinary, he was left helpless at this moment.

Following a subtle instinct in his heart, he headed east, crossed a bridge, and caught the aroma of various delicious foods from a tavern by the bridge, his stomach rumbling with hunger.

The boy's expression momentarily froze; he was hungry.

Having fasted for decades, he only consumed Spiritual Material Nectar, a single dose of the Essence of Heaven and Earth would sustain him for three months.

Yet now, he was unexpectedly swayed by mundane food, unable to resist the cravings of this reincarnated body, unconsciously ending up outside a tavern.

The tavern was bustling, seemingly hosting a divination lottery game.

A cheer was heard inside: "Congratulations, this young master has won today's grand prize, Bamboo Symphony Three Delicacies! Quickly, quickly, serve the dish…"

Then a burst of discussions erupted: "Bamboo Symphony Three Delicacies? A new dish today, huh? Calling it that, just how fresh can it be?

Shopkeeper, show us the menu! It shouldn't be only through the lottery that one can get this signature dish, right?"

Inside the tavern, the shopkeeper cheerfully replied: "Today it's won through the lottery, but it'll be on the menu tomorrow! Come, everyone have a look and a sniff…"

While speaking, the crowd at the tavern entrance suddenly parted.

The shopkeeper from the tavern held a serving tray with the dish, bringing the bowl of Bamboo Symphony Three Delicacies from inside the tavern straight to the outside.

The domineering aroma spread from inside out, all the way.

The boy holding the Compass unwittingly walked to the tavern's exterior, swallowed hard, eyes wide open.

"Smells amazing!" he exclaimed.

Then he spat abruptly and slapped his own mouth, amazing? What's so amazing?

Mundane food, how could it enter the mouth of someone like him?

The boy forcibly contained his impulse to ask for food, turned his head, and walked away.

He would never admit that the real reason for not going over was his empty pockets.

After forcibly undergoing reincarnation, perhaps due to wrong timing, not only was his cultivation greatly reduced, but his intelligence, temperament, and willpower seemed affected by this reincarnated body, beginning to infinitely close to a true eight or nine-year-old child.

The Sleeve Universe Technique he originally had couldn't be executed anymore, making him appear more like a beggar despite having treasures.

As the boy turned to leave, he unknowingly encouraged himself:

"What is a temporary setback?

If you endure today's hardship, when I find the Celestial Machine, I will surely, surely…

Hmm, I will refine a drop of the Essence of Heaven and Earth, pour Jade Dew to transform into Spiritual Rain, and let the mundane commoners in this city know what true celestial food is!"

The boy did not know, as he turned away, that just when Chen Xu stepped out of the courtyard gate, his steps suddenly staggered.

Chen Xu came out intending to go to the market to replenish some supplies.

He planned to find some potted plants, intending to use the All-Things Embodiment Talisman.

Unexpectedly, just after stepping out, the Food Cauldron Celestial Book suddenly flipped open, and it revealed an unusually special highlight:

[Like +100]

Originally, for Chen Xu nowadays, "Like +100" was nothing rare.

If Feng Yuanbai were drinking Intoxicated Spirit Wine at the County Government and praised it as "good wine," Chen Xu often would receive a [Like +100] in this manner.

But the current [Like +100] was definitely not from Feng Yuanbai.

It came from an unknown entity, and through the Celestial Book's feedback, he learned that the daily like limit of the other party reached 1000!

This doesn't refer to the limit after consuming Spiritual Food, but the ordinary limit.

What kind of expert would have such a limit?

Chen Xu's thoughts fluctuated for a moment.

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