Chapter 201 - 183: A Different Immortal City Atmosphere, but Still the Cultivation Realm
Chapter 201: Chapter 183: A Different Immortal City Atmosphere, but Still the Cultivation Realm
Upon returning to his abode, Lu Zhao immediately summoned Zhao Xiaoshu. Looking at his increasingly composed servant, he instructed in a deep voice, "Little Shu, I need to enter secluded cultivation for a while to comprehend my recent gains. If anyone comes to visit, regardless of who it is, tell them I’m in seclusion and not seeing guests."
"Yes, Senior! I understand," Zhao Xiaoshu replied respectfully and took his leave.
After Zhao Xiaoshu left, a sharp glint flashed in Lu Zhao’s eyes. The Breath Concealment and Shapeshifting Skill began to operate silently within him. A faint CRACKLE came from his bones and muscles. His face distorted and shifted like ripples on water, and his frame grew slightly taller and sturdier. In just a few breaths, he had transformed into a cultivator with an ordinary face, a steady aura, and a cultivation level around the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer—a completely different person from the original Lu Zhao.
He silently left his abode, avoiding the prying eyes of the Sect. Igniting his Escape Light, he sped away from the Bixia Sect Mountain Gate.
More than thirty miles from the gate, he found a secluded mountain forest and landed. He slapped the Spirit Beast Bag at his waist, and a beam of golden light shot out, transforming as it landed into a magnificent Golden Feather Bird with resplendent golden feathers. The bird’s flight speed wasn’t particularly fast, in his estimation, but its endurance was immense. It was the perfect companion for a long journey.
Lu Zhao leaped onto the bird’s back and patted its neck. The Golden Feather Bird let out a clear, long cry. With a flap of its wings, it transformed into a streak of golden light, shooting straight into the clouds and streaking across the sky toward the southern horizon.
A month flew by amid a sea of clouds and mountains. The landscape below him gradually transformed. The lush, green mountain forests grew sparse, replaced by vast expanses of misty, reed-covered wetlands and marshes.
Occasionally, he could see turbid rivers meandering through the land, flowing into a vast, misty body of water in the distance that stretched beyond the horizon.
He had arrived at the border of Chen Country and Yue Country: the Wanzhe Great Wilderness.
Lu Zhao stood on the bird’s back, the strong wind whipping against his disguised face. His gaze pierced through the clouds, settling on the vast, mist-shrouded land to the south.
Below him was a vast marsh of dark water, filled with mist, desolate and mysterious. He knew that beyond this great marsh lay the Yue Country Earth Realm.
His destination for this trip was a legendary place he had long yearned to visit: Xuan Yang Immortal City. He had dreamed of it back when he was struggling to survive in the Zhou Family Marketplace, but his lack of strength had prevented him from making the journey.
After flying for another half a day, once Lu Zhao was completely within Yue Country’s borders, he immediately sensed the nation’s chaotic state. In just that short time, Lu Zhao witnessed three separate instances of Tribulation Cultivators ambushing and killing other cultivators.
The reek of blood, mixed with the lingering Spirit Light from magical explosions, was especially jarring out in the wild and on remote mountain paths. Such incidents were happening at least three times more often than in Chen Country.
However, it all made sense to Lu Zhao when he recalled the contents of the Jade Scroll that described the neighboring countries, particularly the situation in Yue Country.
Yue Country was dominated by a triumvirate of three major powers—the Seven Waters Sect, Waterside Pavilion, and Xuan Yang Immortal City. The three were entangled with each other, with none able to suppress the others. Although there were no large-scale conflicts between them on the surface, they were constantly engaged in covert actions, vying for control, fighting over resource points, and supporting proxies in endless conflicts.
As a result, its society was naturally less stable than Chen Country’s, allowing Tribulation Cultivators to run rampant amidst the chaos.
Having considered this, Lu Zhao shook his head. ’None of this has anything to do with me. I have no intention of getting involved in such affairs. Besides, with my strength, I’m not afraid of common Tribulation Cultivators. It’s not like a Foundation Establishment Peak one is going to suddenly appear, right?’
’A cultivator of that caliber could live comfortably anywhere. Why would they need to resort to such a dangerous line of work?’
’My only reason for coming to Yue Country is to offload some goods—the Cultivation Techniques, Magic, Magical Artifacts, and materials accumulated by the Zheng Family... Trying to sell them in Chen Country, right under the Bixia Sect’s nose, is far too risky.’
’And Xuan Yang Immortal City, with its reputation for not asking about origins and only recognizing Spirit Stones, is the perfect choice for fencing these goods. I won’t stay long. I’ll just find a way to quickly get rid of the Zheng Family’s things and, at most, see if I can buy a few bottles of Tier Two Spirit Water to aid my cultivation.’
Seven days later, a travel-worn Lu Zhao finally arrived at his destination: Xuan Yang Immortal City.
Standing before the towering city gates, Lu Zhao looked up. Even having seen the magnificent gates of the Bixia Sect, he couldn’t help but be awestruck by the sight before him.
Xuan Yang Immortal City was less a "city" and more of a super-fortress, built upon a massive Spirit Vein and spanning several mountain ranges.
The city walls were not made of ordinary brick and stone but were built from massive blocks of Profound Sun Stone that emitted a warm, gentle luster. They towered over a thousand feet high, densely covered with complex and profound Array Runes. Spirit Light flowed ceaselessly across them, faintly outlining a colossal dome of light that enveloped the entire Immortal City.
The city entrance was not a simple gate but a gigantic archway hundreds of feet high, constructed from some kind of Spirit Wood that shimmered with a metallic luster. Carved upon it were coiling Golden Dragons and fiery Phoenixes, so lifelike they seemed to exude a faint, oppressive aura.
Flanking the archway stood two Rock Puppets, each over a hundred feet tall, clad in heavy armor and wielding a Giant Axe. They were not inanimate objects; an eerie blue flame flickered in their hollow eye sockets. They were clearly Strong Puppets guarding the Immortal City, and their profound auras indicated they were at least at the Tier Two level.
The city gate bustled with an endless stream of cultivators coming and going. Qi Cultivators were the most common, but the figures of Foundation Establishment Cultivators could also be seen occasionally.
All sorts of strange mounts, Flying Ships, and even tamed Demon Beasts moved among them, adding to the celestial ambiance. The air was thick with Spiritual Qi, seemingly even richer than in the core region of the Bixia Sect’s Outer Mountain. It was mixed with the unique scents of various Spirit Medicines, Spiritual Materials, Talismans, and Magical Artifacts, creating a bustling and restless atmosphere.
’This is truly the largest and most magnificent immortal city marketplace I’ve ever seen,’ Lu Zhao thought with awe. ’It’s several times larger than Bixia Marketplace, and its grandeur is simply incomparable.’
’Then again, it makes sense. Bixia Marketplace is ultimately just one of the markets run by the Bixia Sect. Even if it’s the largest, it’s still just a tiny piece of the Sect’s vast domain.’
’This place, however, is the very heart of the Golden Core power known as Xuan Yang Immortal City—it’s their foundation. A true comparison would be between Xuan Yang Immortal City and the Bixia Sect’s Mountain Sect itself.’
’And when I think about the Bixia Sect’s Mountain Sect—stretching for dozens of miles, with its countless branch Spirit Veins, its Mountain Protection Array linked to the very Earth Veins, and its infinitely grander atmosphere—this supposedly magnificent Immortal City suddenly seems to lack a certain depth and celestial grace.’
With these thoughts, Lu Zhao’s sense of awe diminished somewhat. He walked to a side entrance next to the main gate, which was mainly for visiting and Low-Tier Cultivators.
The entrance was guarded by two cultivators in standard-issue Profound Armor, their auras at Late-stage Qi Cultivation and their expressions indifferent. Lu Zhao paid an entrance fee of one Lower Grade Spirit Stone. A guard nodded, then scanned him with a Jade Disc inlaid with a milky-white mirror. After confirming Lu Zhao had no strong Demonic Qi or the aura of a wanted Tribulation Cultivator, the guard waved him through without questioning his identity or origins.
Xuan Yang Immortal City operated on the principle of "all who come are guests, but Spirit Stones reign supreme." As long as one was not an obvious Demon or a major criminal on the wanted list, they could enter by paying Spirit Stones. This saved Lu Zhao a great deal of trouble.
Upon entering the city, a wave of noise washed over him. The main street, wide enough for ten horse-drawn carriages to travel abreast, was paved with smooth, jade-like Cyan Gang Stone. It was lined with a dense array of shops and pavilions, each with its own unique style.
Some were splendid and dazzling, with huge signs hanging above them, like "Hundred Treasures Tower," "Spirit Pill Pavilion," and "Celestial Craft Hundred Refinements Workshop." Others were quaint and elegant, with the scent of medicine or ink wafting from their doors. Still others were mysterious and low-key, marked only by a simple wooden plaque.
The sky above the street was not open air but was covered by a translucent membrane of light that blocked wind and rain without obstructing daylight. Occasionally, streams of runic light would flash across the membrane, which was clearly also part of an Array.
The streets were packed with pedestrians. Besides cultivators, there were also many mortal servants and merchants serving them. The sounds of vendors hawking their wares, people haggling, Magical Artifacts whistling through the air, and Spirit Beasts crying out all mixed together. There were even small stalls on the roadside selling Spiritual Food, steaming and fragrant, creating a peculiar and vibrant marketplace atmosphere.
As Lu Zhao walked on, he even overheard that one could hire High-Tier Cultivators within the city using Spirit Stones. This gave him the impression that Spirit Stones were paramount and the rules were clearly defined.
Seeing this, Lu Zhao felt a moment of dissociation, as if he had returned to a bustling commercial metropolis from his previous life. This highly commercialized atmosphere, where everything seemed to be measurable by Spirit Stones, was unimaginable in a place like Chen Country or the Bixia Sect, which placed more emphasis on sect order and hierarchy.
However, this feeling was soon mercilessly shattered by reality. The Cultivation Realm and his past life were, after all, not the same.
Just as Lu Zhao was passing a relatively secluded side street, a piercing scream and a dull thud suddenly came from ahead. He saw a young cultivator in ordinary clothes, with a cultivation of only the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer, who had somehow offended an Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
The Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s face darkened, a vicious glint flashed in his eyes, and without a word, he struck out with his palm! Immense Magical Power coalesced into an earthy-yellow hand the size of a millstone, which slammed into the Qi Cultivator’s chest with overwhelming force!
SPURT!
The Qi Cultivator only managed to let out half a scream. His Protective Spiritual Light shattered like paper, and his entire chest instantly caved in. Blood mixed with fragments of internal organs spewed from his mouth as his body was sent flying backward like a broken sack, slamming against a nearby wall. He twitched a couple of times and then went still.
The surrounding pedestrians fell silent for a moment upon seeing this, but then, as if nothing had happened, they quickly moved around the area and continued on their way. Their cold, numb, and habituated expressions were no different from anywhere else.
A scene like this was actually quite normal out in the world. The law of the jungle was the iron rule of the Cultivation Realm. Except within sects with strict rules or the residences of large families, it was nothing for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to casually kill an ordinary Qi Cultivator who had offended them or was simply an eyesore.
Even in the relatively orderly Bixia Marketplace, if a Foundation Establishment Cultivator killed a Qi Cultivator in the street, at most they would be fined some Spirit Stones by the Law Enforcement Team. Moreover, the fine was intended to enforce respect for the Marketplace’s rules and had nothing at all to do with the cultivator who had been killed.
This sort of thing was normal, but for it to happen within the walls of Xuan Yang Immortal City—the city that had just given him the impression of being so "orderly" and "prosperous"—felt jarringly ironic.
Therefore, Lu Zhao didn’t leave right away. Instead, he retreated into the shadows of a street corner and waited quietly. He wanted to see how the "order" that Xuan Yang Immortal City prided itself on would handle a situation like this.