Chapter 27: Teleportation Token

"Is this restaurant for sale?"

Xia Tianqiong asked with complete sincerity, but suddenly, every supernatural entity present stared at him as if he were an idiot.

The manager shook his head with a wry smile. "This restaurant is not for sale."

"Money is no object. I am genuinely interested in buying it." Xia Tianqiong refused to give up.

For others and for the supernatural, coming to this restaurant was merely a way to gain supernatural arts, but for him, it was also a place to hunt all kinds of entities without facing excessive danger.

"The Wujian Restaurant cannot be bought or sold. It has nothing to do with the amount of money." The manager did not want to pursue the topic and quickly changed the subject. "With your financial resources and strength, you are welcome to dine on the second floor. I will gift you this teleportation token; it costs one hundred nether coins to teleport to the second floor."

With a wave of its hand, a palm-sized token appeared out of thin air.

The food and drink on every floor of the Wujian Restaurant were different, and the probability of humans or supernatural entities developing supernatural arts varied accordingly. The higher the floor, the higher the probability. Naturally, the prices were also much steeper.

Wealthy and powerful ghost hunters, as well as high-ranking supernatural entities, all vied for access to higher floors in hopes of acquiring specific arts. In his previous life, such a token was a symbol of status and power; average ghost hunters couldn't buy one even if they wanted to.

Xia Tianqiong did not reach out to take the token. "Can you give me a token for the highest floor?"

This request was audacious. Other entities couldn't even reach the second floor, and if the manager had granted them access, they would have been overjoyed. Yet, this human was demanding access to the top floor—was he truly unaware of how the world worked? Was that a place one could go to just because they had money?

The higher the floor, the higher the rank of the supernatural entities dining there. It was said that only Ghost Generals and Ghost Kings could ascend to the top. Even if this man had some wealth, he was not qualified to dine in the same room as such entities.

"According to custom, you are currently not permitted to go to higher floors."

The manager's reply satisfied the onlookers. They couldn't defeat Xia Tianqiong, but seeing him get rebuffed was a delight.

To their surprise, the manager added, "However, if you were to deposit some nether coins in advance, I could make an exception."

Before Xia Tianqiong could speak, protests erupted among the onlookers.

"How can you break the restaurant's rules for a human?"
"You are a supernatural entity, and this is a supernatural establishment. You haven't made exceptions for your own kind, so why for a human? We don't accept this!"
"Yes, we protest! We won't stand for it!"
"If you don't give us an explanation, we will never come here again."

There were dozens of entities on the first floor, and once the first one took the lead, others joined in. The surviving humans watching this scene were stunned; they hadn't realized there were so many entities here, nor that the building itself was so peculiar.

The manager’s amiable smile turned cold as it looked toward the other entities. A chilling aura instantly expanded, enveloping the entire floor.

"Whoever is unhappy can get out and never return."

The manager’s tone was overbearing. The entities that had been clamoring and protesting instantly fell silent, shrinking their necks and avoiding eye contact.

"A deposit of one hundred thousand nether coins grants a token for the second floor; five hundred thousand for the third; one million for the fourth; two million for the fifth; four million for the sixth. If anyone can produce that much money, I will make an exception for them. Do you still have objections?"

The entities looked at each other, none daring to make a sound. If they had that much money, they would use it for cultivation to increase their own strength rather than spending it here. After all, for a supernatural entity, as long as your rank increases, you naturally gain access to the corresponding floors.

The manager scanned the room, its expression softening slightly, and turned back to Xia Tianqiong with a warm smile. The speed of its mood shift left Xia Tianqiong in awe.

"Esteemed guest, which floor’s token would you like?"

Xia Tianqiong shook his head. "I said the highest floor. There are nine floors in total, aren't there? You only mentioned up to the sixth floor. How much of a deposit is needed for the ninth?"

The manager was left speechless, suddenly feeling a pang of regret—it had priced the levels too low! It had guessed this man was rich, but not *this* rich.

"The floors above the seventh are not open to the public. The highest you can go is the sixth floor."

"Why are they closed?"

"Those three floors are the residence of the restaurant owner."

Xia Tianqiong hadn't expected this; it was information he hadn't possessed in his previous life.

"Fine. Then give me the token for the sixth floor."

He casually produced eight hundred taels of gold and placed them on the table. The shimmering pile was incredibly eye-catching. Half was for the deposit, and the other half was to purchase the eight servants.

Suddenly, the sound of countless entities swallowing saliva echoed around him. To the supernatural, gold was more delicious than any food.

The manager’s eyes were filled with ecstasy. With a flick of its wide sleeve, the gold vanished, stored away somewhere unknown. It then reached out and conjured another teleportation token from thin air.

Xia Tianqiong took it and examined it closely. The token was emerald green, seemingly carved from some kind of jade. It was shaped like a miniature version of the Wujian Restaurant, with the characters for "Wujian" carved on the front and "Sixth Floor Access" on the back.

"Access to the sixth floor" didn't mean he was restricted to that floor alone, but that he could visit any floor up to the sixth.

"The token has another function," the manager explained. "Whenever the Wujian Restaurant manifests, it will alert you to the nearest entrance."

Xia Tianqiong knew this, just as he knew the Wujian Restaurant was constantly moving and never stayed in one place. Sometimes it hid in the supernatural realm, and sometimes it descended into the human world. It could appear in many places simultaneously, hence the many entrances.

"I’m going to look around the various floors, that’s allowed, right?"

"Of course, but I must warn you: the higher the floor, the higher the rank of the entities. Do not provoke them." If it were any other human, the manager wouldn't care if they lived or died. But this was a big spender; it hoped to earn more from him in the future.

"I know." Xia Tianqiong wasn't foolish. He wouldn't provoke high-level entities until he had sufficient strength. Once his strength improved, however, that would be a different story. Floors one through six would all become his hunting grounds.

"Enjoy your tour. I will bring the servants you purchased and wait for you on the sixth floor." With that, the manager vanished instantly.

Xia Tianqiong held the token in his left hand and a small ingot of gold in his right. With a thought, the gold shrank slightly, the token's teleportation function activated, and he vanished from the spot.

The first floor was left with countless looks of envy and jealousy.

Bai Yichen stood with a blank expression, still reeling from the shock. "He could pull out over eight hundred taels of gold—does he have even more? The Bai family, with over a thousand years of accumulation, couldn't produce that much gold!"

Bai Jingjing sighed repeatedly. "He is definitely not an ordinary person. I fear we cannot recruit him; we simply cannot offer terms that would move him."

Xia Tianqiong felt his vision blur, and he instantly appeared on the second floor of the restaurant. It was worth noting that the entire building had no stairs, and each floor was completely isolated from the others. His "Shadow Teleportation" was restricted here; it could only be used within the same floor, and he could neither cross between floors nor perceive the space outside the building.

The second floor was somewhat empty, with only twenty or thirty guests—all "Fierce Ghost" level entities. There wasn't a single human. Xia Tianqiong looked around, recognizing most of the entities. He calculated that once he received his eight servants, he should be able to handle "Fierce Ghosts," and he could come back down to test his luck then.

With a thought, he teleported to the third floor. It was even more desolate, containing only five "Evil Ghost" level entities.

The fourth floor had nothing but rows of empty tables; there wasn't a single entity dining there. In his previous life, the Wujian Restaurant had been incredibly popular, with every floor packed to capacity. The current emptiness was because the supernatural had only just begun to descend, and the number of entities and ghost hunters in the human world was still limited. It would surely become bustling in time.

Xia Tianqiong teleported to the fifth floor, where he surprisingly saw the red bridal sedan chair. Eight men in red were surrounding it, pouring dish after dish into the carriage. The sedan itself was a supernatural entity and could naturally eat.

Xia Tianqiong glanced inside; the Ghost Bride was not in the sedan. He didn't dare linger, feeling a persistent, ominous suspicion that the Ghost Bride was plotting something against him. He quickly teleported to the sixth floor.

This floor was also empty of diners, save for four servants and a fat chef. The manager hadn't arrived yet, so Xia Tianqiong found a table and, as before, ordered the entire menu, both the yin and yang portions.

Since earning money was easy, eating more might lead to the birth of a supernatural art. Whether it was for himself or the supernatural entities he had contracted, gaining an art meant profit and a boost in strength.

"May I share this table?"

As Xia Tianqiong waited for his food, a figure appeared abruptly beside him.

He turned his head to look: a woman in a red wedding gown with a red veil over her face. It was the Ghost Bride he had encountered on the highway!

His heart skipped a beat, and a sense of dread washed over him.

"No, you may not."

Fortunately, the restaurant had rules: as long as he didn't agree to share the table, no one could force him. Xia Tianqiong tried to comfort himself with this thought.

But in the next instant, his eyes widened in horror.

The Ghost Bride pulled out a chair and sat down slowly. She didn't seem to care about the restaurant's rules at all!