Zhongxuan City, Tianming Empire.

Along the slopes of a colossal mountain nestled a bustling metropolis, perched on terraces and carved into the rocks.

The vertical city offered a breathtaking view of the sprawling civilization below, with its structures clinging to the mountainside like a stairway to the heavens.

Ascending atop this busy mountain, one would be met with a realm of ethereal beauty as the mountain's peak would reveal the entrance to the immortal realm, a landscape reminiscent of the Tianming Empire's surreal majesty.

There were floating islands, mist-laden valleys, and ancient forests, inviting all but the mortals.

This landscape looked like a typical cultivation setting to Lith who had just arrived at the peak with a half-sized angry pumpkin in his embrace.

"Ahhh Lemme go!" Miwa exclaimed and thrashed around angrily.

Lith did as she asked and Miwa fell down on her butt. "Lil shitOwfIt hurts!"

Miwa wanted to curse but felt a sting on her butt for some reason. Turning to the side and looking at what was below, she saw a rock and froze, wondering if this was what she fell on.

Wondering if she broke her hip bones due to the fall, Miwa slowly checked her backside, but found no problems and sighed in relief.

Miwa momentarily forgot about herself being a strong cultivator, but she whistled and pretended nothing had happened.

Her gaze naturally fell on Lith to see if he just watched this embarrassing moment, but surprisingly, he was busy looking at the scenery, which Miwa was surprised to see as well.

Creeping up close to Lith and kicking right behind his knee, Miwa asked, "Where is this place?"

Lith didn't budge whatsoever from the kick and Miwa expected it, hence being all calm.

Lith ignored her failed attempt at making him fall and answered, "This is Zhongxuan, the city that separates the mortal and immortal realms."

"Eeeh?" Miwa was surprised. "Immortal realms exist?"

Lith looked at her with a dumbfounded expression and said, "You yourself are in the immortal realms, stupid. What are you even asking?"

"What?" Miwa couldn't comprehend what Lith just said "Me?"

Lith showed a disappointed look and said, "Why do you not know anything? Anyway, you aside, those floating islands and that whole mist covered area you see That's the immortal realm."

Miwa opened her eyes wide and stared at the place in front of her. "The immortal realms look just like the normal ones"

"Of course they do, but appearance can be deceiving. That place is dangerous for a mortal, meaning if a mortal even tried to go past this area and touch the mist roaming around, he may suffer through severe burns or be poisoned to death immediately."

"Ack! What!?" Miwa immediately jumped a few steps back, not wanting to be in contact with the mist.

Lith nodded his head. "That's what the immortal realm is. The Tianming Empire is famous for it because it's the unexplored region of the Human Continent."

"This empire lies north to all other ones and further north is just uncharted territories. It's full of dangers and no mortals live there. Zhongxuan City is the limit for mortals and the entry gate for immortals to venture deeper into the unexplored regions."

Miwa nodded her head. "I see. I see. So we are not allowed to go beyond this point? No, I mean, why did we even come here if we are not allowed entry?"

Lith shook his head and said, "We are not here to explore those regions, we are here for some other mission. Come with me."

Dennis was apparently here in this city and what his dumbass was doing so far away from the Vampire Continent, Lith was curious to know.

Miwa nodded and walked along with Lith, going wherever he was going and trying her level best to not get lost.

Lith kept his senses up to not lose track of Miwa because just like Alea, her attention span was that of a goldfish and she would easily go missing.

After a few minutes of walking, Lith finally reached the designated location and saw Ralph standing there.

Ralph, wearing a black suit and having his long pink hair tied in a bun, suddenly had his gaze fall on a short brown-haired girl wearing bandages on her chest.

Looking at her, Ralph knitted his brows and immediately felt annoyed.

Lith, noticing Ralph's reaction, chuckled and asked, "What's with the long face?"

Before Ralph could answer, Miwa, having spotted Ralph, said, "This sugar freak is here too!?"

Miwa had a big surprise looking at Ralph, not expecting to stumble across him of all people. What scary coincidence was this to see him like this? Miwa just couldn't believe herself.

Ralph, having his brows twitch, tried to remain calm. He ignored Miwa and asked Lith, "That's the restaurant we're supposed to go in, right?"

"We? Supposed to?" Miwa caught onto the keywords. "Hey, hey, you guys planned this meeting?"

"Miwa" Ralph, finally not being able to take it anymore, looked at her and called out her name. "If you don't speak for once, for once alright, nobody's going to mistake you as dumb."

Miwa wanted to say something in response, but found her at a loss of words due to Ralph's comment.

She wondered whether this cotton candy-haired dude just complimented her or insulted her.

Lith, after smiling at the two's banter, shifted his focus to the signboard.

-Flying Azurefish-

The restaurant name was a bit odd, but a creative one nonetheless.

Lith had heard of Azure Dragon but Azure fish? What was that? Some good fish? Or was the owner of this place just trying to mock the Azure Dragon because it looked like a large-sized eel?

The possibilities were endless, but ignoring them for now, Lith moved into the restaurant with a confused Miwa and a calm Ralph.

As the three walked into the place, they were met with one of the most average ambience.

There was nothing special about this place and it looked just like any other old Chinese restaurant.

This confirmed the fact further that Dennis was taken as a hostage here. If it was some rich place, they wouldn't be indulging in a convo with Dennis and would've straight up thrown him in a jail or something.

This place was average meant that the owner was a good, humble person.

Despite being average, the restaurant was lively and completely packed.

Lith, Miwa, and Ralph could smell various different aromas of food and it was so good that Miwa began drooling.

Ralph noticed this and had his eyebrows twitch again. He slapped Miwa's head and as she turned to look at him, all set to throw hands, Ralph said, "Stop acting like you've not eaten in years. If you like something or want to eat something, just wait, we'll get it for you."

'Oh wow' Miwa was surprisingly taken aback by the sudden kind gesture. She fully expected this freak to fight her, but turns out he was just trying to be kind. Nice, it felt good to see some sense in Ralph.

The three walked towards the cashier of the restaurant, who was busy printing orders.

He was so busy that he didn't even look up at the three or noticed them coming.

"Hey, do you know where my friend who looks like"

"If your drunk friend is lost, you may find them at the bar next to the restaurant."

"Next!"

""