Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 93 - 92: This Is the Celestial Realm

In fact, the boy woke up that very night.

Upon hearing from Lin Qing that the boy had opened his eyes, Chen Xuan immediately handed over the task of serving customers to her and went up to the third-floor dining room.

It wasn’t that he was stingy or unwilling to give the guest a room on the second floor, but the unconscious person couldn’t sign a rental contract, so he couldn’t get a room card.

Of course, the makeshift bed on the third floor wasn’t a bad environment. The envoy team had stayed here for more than ten days before and praised the comfortable quilts and blankets.

When Chen Xuan walked into the room, he found the boy already sitting up.

His gaze was fixed on the girl beside him, his eyes a bit bewildered, but more filled with gentle concern.

He only turned his head when he heard footsteps. Upon seeing it was Chen Xuan, he immediately placed his hands in front of his forehead, clasped his knees, and respectfully kowtowed.

"You must be my sister’s savior; your great kindness is something I will never forget..."

Despite not being very old, he spoke with a certain eloquence.

This indicated that the boy was definitely not as destitute as he appeared; he must have received a good education, and his manners were quite well-versed, something only children from wealthy families typically knew.

"Don’t move," Chen Xuan said.

The boy was slightly taken aback but didn’t immediately lift his head.

Chen Xuan walked over and leaned down to fix the peeling tape on the boy’s hand, "Don’t pull the needle out; it still needs to stay in for a few more days."

The boy looked at the transparent tube on his hand, saying nothing.

Chen Xuan guessed that he probably didn’t know what it was, but seeing a tube connected to his body and not trying to pull it out in panic was quite impressive composure.

"Now you can move, no need to speak while lying down," Chen Xuan said, "What’s your name? How old are you?"

"Jiu, eleven years old this year." The boy sat back up.

"Is that girl your sister? Where is she?"

"Yes, her name is Hua."

Neither of these was their real names; Chen Xuan knew that children over ten years old must have formal names and that a family without a surname wouldn’t be able to educate someone like this.

However, he didn’t care much about that; conducting transactions of abilities didn’t require real names.

"Why did you come to my estate?"

"I... I don’t know either," Jiu hesitated, "All I remember is that my sister was in dire condition, and I had to find a safe place to set Hua down before she collapsed. Then I saw light ahead, so I walked over involuntarily, and then you appeared..."

This kind of experience was quite consistent with previous guests.

However, if it was merely about finding a place to survive, it probably wouldn’t have attracted the shop because he was already alive. If Jiu had encountered a kind farmer or passerby instead, who pried open his mouth and poured some sugar water in, he might have survived too.

This wasn’t an issue that strictly required an ability to resolve.

Him finding the Ability Store indicated that he had a larger purpose in mind.

Chen Xuan long since saw through the shop’s tricks.

"Do you know where this is?"

"Uh... you just said it was... your estate?" Jiu answered honestly.

"No, I lied to you."

"..." The boy was speechless.

"This is the Celestial Realm; all who live here are Immortal Masters," Chen Xuan continued.

A strange expression appeared on Jiu’s face.

"Don’t believe it? Look at the tube on your hand; could you find such a delicate and transparent tube outside?" Chen Xuan said seriously, "This tube is delivering medicine into your and your sister’s bodies; without it, you wouldn’t be recovering this quickly."

Jiu clenched his fist and realized he indeed felt much stronger than before.

"And look at this," Chen Xuan took out his phone and played the surveillance from when Jiu entered the store, "This is called the Mirror of Time. Do you think there would be such a thing outside?"

The boy was visibly astonished.

That palm-sized square was glowing and could clearly reflect his blood-covered face!

"And the blankets you have, the room’s decorations, the lights on the wall... Is there any issue with me saying this is the Celestial Realm?"

Jiu found himself at a loss for words.

He had long realized that this was no ordinary place. Wherever there was light, it was always a steady, unchanging soft glow. He couldn’t see the flicker of flames, nor smell the greasy aroma of oil, let alone see various objects of such high quality that even the mansions of Western merchants, known for their luxury in Chang’an City, couldn’t match.

However, the notion of the Celestial Realm was still a bit too extraordinary.

He was clearly fleeing desperately in the wild... how did he accidentally enter the Celestial Realm?

Chen Xuan could naturally guess what he was thinking. "This is fate. Sometimes it appears when you jump off a cliff, sometimes when you fall into water. The fact that you found this place means you are destined to be here."

"I... am destined with the Celestial Realm?" Jiu said, somewhat incredulously.

"That’s right. I, Immortal Master Chen Xuan, am in charge of this place, along with Immortal Master Lin and Immortal Master Liu. If you have unfinished business in your heart, or if you’re seeking answers to certain questions, you can find the response you long for here." Chen Xuan prompted gently.

Jiu’s mind couldn’t quite process this. Such things were really too unbelievable for him. "I... don’t understand what you mean..."

"To put it bluntly, what do you want most now? As long as you are willing to pay the price, the Celestial Realm can help your dream come true."

"How could such a thing be possible?!" he clutched his head, showing a pained expression.

"I’m not asking for money upfront. What harm is there in giving it a try? Rest assured, you can stay in the Celestial Realm for three days... If you’re still doubtful after three days, you can leave on your own."

Chen Xuan didn’t plan to get an immediate answer. After all, the guest was already in his hands, and he had multiple ways to make the other party willingly conduct a transaction.

"It’s already late today; you should continue to rest."

With that, he turned and prepared to leave.

"Immortal Master Lord!"

Chen Xuan had just reached the door when Jiu suddenly gritted his teeth and said loudly, "I want an Immortal Technique—a technique that can help me exact revenge!"

Revenge? Looks like my guess was right. Was he indeed forced to flee due to enmity with someone? Chen Xuan thought, this request is much more specific than those of the other guests.

He turned back, "Revenge against whom?"

The boy hesitated to speak.

"You must be clear about it... If we don’t understand your specific needs, the store... the Celestial Realm can’t provide the right solution."

Jiu looked at the syringe on the back of his hand, then glanced at his still-sleeping sister beside him, finally seeming to make up his mind, "I don’t know who they are... but they must be cultivators!"

Once the dam was opened, Jiu could no longer suppress the hatred in his heart, "There were five of them, I counted clearly! It’s them who killed my parents, master, and everyone else in my family!"

Could it be an extermination case?

"Where is your home?"

"Feng County, just to the southwest of Chang’an City." Mentioning this, Jiu was overcome with sorrow, and tears instantly filled his eyes.

His family didn’t count as truly wealthy; there were a dozen or so people. They made a living by collecting herbs in the mountains and selling them to local sects, living a fairly decent life. The money saved over the years was used to build a large courtyard, set up a planting house, and a greenhouse, with plans to turn herb collecting into herb cultivation, further expanding their income source.

In Feng County, there were quite a few families like this who depended on sects for their livelihood.

Until one day, his father found an injured person in the mountains—the person claimed to be a loose cultivator. To repay the family’s life-saving kindness, once he recovered, he began to teach them knowledge, such as reading, writing, astronomy, and geography... This teaching lasted five years. Originally, he had planned to leave once healed, but two years ago, when Jiu and Hua suddenly developed Qi Sensing abilities, he changed his mind and decided to stay and teach them how to cultivate.

"Why not go to a proper sect instead of learning from a loose cultivator?" Chen Xuan asked, intrigued.

Even in the Immortal Alliance, where sects large and small flourished, there were still loose cultivators, something Chen Xuan had heard from the Tea Master before. As Old Gu said, at any time, there would be unique individuals; they were either geniuses or fools.

"Master wouldn’t let us go. He said those sects would waste my talent... He used to say that Hua and I were natural prodigies for cultivation, stronger than those inner sect personal disciples." Jiu wiped his eyes and said intermittently, "I know this was my master’s way of deliberately praising us, but cultivating with him was also a lot of fun, so we didn’t spend money to find a sect."

"Do they charge money as well?"

Jiu nodded, "Whether you pass the test or not, whether you become a disciple or not, they all charge a fee to open your eyes. Master said it’s to deceive those without talent, making them waste a lot of money on it each year. And talented people, regardless of joining a sect or not, will eventually become very strong, just like Hua and me. He also said... once we formally join, we would start our own sect, so there’s no need to tolerate the outside nonsense."

And ten days ago, it was supposed to be the day they joined— the loose cultivator had prepared a jade plaque for each of them, engraved with the name he bestowed upon them for joining the sect.

Chen Xuan had also heard Old Gu mention this common knowledge. Cultivators, in addition to having a mundane name, would receive a Taoist name on the day they became formal disciples. These usually started with a fixed surname and were named according to seniority, somewhat like the religious names in Buddhism. If one belonged to a renowned sect, others would immediately know which generation of disciples they belonged to once a cultivator introduced themselves.

For new cultivators, being given a Taoist name was undoubtedly a joyous and celebratory event because it meant that the Immortal Alliance would remember their name.

"But Hua and I never received that jade plaque..." At this, Jiu couldn’t help but bite his lip so hard that a trickle of blood seeped from the corner, "That night, as Master was carefully carving the sect’s wooden sign, those cultivators suddenly stormed into our home’s courtyard! Master and they were locked in battle, yet he still managed to send a warning to us inside the house, advising us in secret to use the Turtle Breath Technique to dive into the backyard well. Not... sure how much... time passed before we climbed out, only to find..."

After that, Jiu was almost speechless.

He saw the house burnt to ruins and the bloody corpses of his family.