Chapter 124: Secret! Entering the City
Chapter 124: Chapter 124: Secret! Entering the City
[Name: Zhu Ge]
[Lifespan: 300 Years]
[Trait: Unequipped]
[Inventory: Kunpeng, Spider, Secret]
Three hundred years?!
Zhu Ge was stunned.
Shouldn’t breaking through to the Second Realm only increase one’s lifespan by about a hundred years? Some weaker Second Realm Cultivators only gain a few decades—an increase of twenty or thirty years isn’t unheard of.
How did he get a direct increase of three hundred years?!
But on second thought, it started to make sense.
Whether it was the prodigies among the Demon Beasts—the Divine Beasts—or the prodigies of the Human Race, they all merely condensed a phantom image upon their new hearts.
This represented the Dao their new heart embodied.
Even someone as strong as the Raincoat Fisherman, who condensed a fisherman’s phantom image from the intent of his "Raincoat Fisherman’s Song" when he was in the Third Realm, was only ever called a genius, never reaching the level of a prodigy.
Therefore, it was perfectly normal for him to have three times the lifespan.
After all, in practical terms, he was more than three times stronger than others at the same realm.
And with so much life ahead of him, Zhu Ge’s most pressing crisis—his limited lifespan—was now resolved.
At the same time, he also understood the path that lay before him.
’A Martial Arts Heart, condensing a phantom image?’
’And that phantom image... is the Intent?’
Zhu Ge was lost in thought.
If he were a sword user, after condensing a heart of the Sword Dao, he would then need to condense Sword Intent.
Zhu Ge’s "heart" was the Heart of Origin, and it already possessed phantom images. The next step was simply to transform these phantoms into his "Intent."
The path of comprehension!
He could focus on comprehending one of them, like the Raging-Eyed Vajra Palm, and transform it into a Palm Intent to advance to the Third Realm.
Of course, this was not the path Zhu Ge would take.
The path he wanted to walk was the one of the Martial Dao’s origin, to comprehend the True Intent of the Origin.
Zhu Ge believed that while this path was difficult, it was one he had to take.
If the Heart of Origin had forged a powerful and solid foundation for him, then the True Intent of the Origin was what would truly allow him to step onto the path of power.
’I’ve decided. I’m going to Jianshui City today!’
...
In the moments before dawn, when one could just barely see their fingers in front of their face.
Zhu Ge moved through the forest as a blur, bringing no one with him.
Dawn was only a few hours away, so he moved with great speed.
Previously, for hunting or training, Zhu Ge would have definitely brought Liu Jianjian and the others.
But things were different now.
Zhu Ge needed to enter the city to buy a few things.
Although he had lifted the siege on Jianshui City last time, the lands were now rife with conflict, so merchant caravans and traveling vendors hardly dared to travel freely.
This meant the city was surely lacking certain supplies.
But while some supplies were scarce, there would also be a surplus of other goods waiting to be sold.
Of course, Zhu Ge wasn’t just there to buy supplies; he also wanted to purchase knowledge.
From his previous conversation with the Raincoat Fisherman, he knew that cities like Yuan Yang City were home to many Cultivators.
Yuan Yang City, for instance, had Cultivators of the Martial Dao, the Confucian Dao, the Immortal Dao, and many other paths.
Some Cultivators were travelers who journeyed far and wide, only staying in the city for a short time, but most had actually settled down there.
Whether they were First Realm or Second Realm Cultivators, they might possess some special "stock."
For example, Spiritual Objects, or knowledge.
Zhu Ge had planned to visit Jianshui City before, but the timing hadn’t been right.
But now, possessing the [Secret] Trait and a three-hundred-year lifespan after advancing to the Second Realm, he could finally make the trip.
He was now approaching Jianshui City and would arrive around dawn.
At his speed, it would only take one minute to dash out of the woods, cross the open field, and enter Jianshui City.
It was the perfect chance to spend one month of his lifespan to test out [Secret].
The result was that the effect was surprisingly good!
Normally, there should have been many Demon Beasts still staking out the area around Jianshui City.
But as he walked from the forest, it was as if he was being subconsciously ignored.
This wasn’t an invisibility like a chameleon’s.
Rather, even if he was seen, he would be subconsciously overlooked, like a plain face hidden in a vast sea of people, easily forgotten.
And now, even though Zhu Ge was sprinting across the open field, he still wasn’t discovered by any Demon Beasts.
Whether they were First Realm or Second Realm, none could detect him!
And before a minute had passed, Zhu Ge arrived at the "gourd’s mouth" entrance of Jianshui City.
...
"It’s huge..."
Around nine or ten in the morning, Zhu Ge looked up. Jianshui City was even more massive than it had appeared from the outside—many times more massive.
Vastness of space and length of time, in and of themselves, can inspire a sense of awe.
While the Jianshui City before him didn’t quite blot out the sky, nor could its history be called ancient beyond measure, it was still immensely old and colossal in size.
This "gourd’s mouth" entrance alone was dozens of meters high. Standing at the opening and peering in, he saw only a deep darkness, nothing more.
Zhu Ge stood at the entrance for a moment, but he couldn’t see anything inside.
Yet he didn’t dare take a single step forward, instinctively sensing danger.
Clearly, there was an Array at this entrance!
Just as the effect of his equipped [Secret] Trait ended, a wooden puppet’s head suddenly poked out from the watery, rippling darkness of the entrance’s Array.
"Who are you? How did you suddenly appear here?"
A confused voice emanated from the wooden puppet’s head. "You have no Demon Qi. Are you actually from the Human Race?"
Zhu Ge knew this wasn’t the puppet’s voice; it came from the Mechanism Master controlling it.
"I am of the Human Race. My Cultivation Technique is special and allows me to hide my aura," Zhu Ge explained. "May I enter the city?"
"Enter the city? Welcome!" The wooden puppet’s tone relaxed, but it added cautiously, "However, you’ll need to pass our inspection. The City Lord will personally conduct it."
"Understood. That’s reasonable."
Zhu Ge nodded.
In a time of war, Jianshui City couldn’t just let in people of unknown origin.
Normally, no one with a Cultivation below the Third Realm would be able to get past the hordes of demons to reach the city.
But with a Third Realm City Lord present, the average person wouldn’t dare hide anything. After all, a Third Realm Cultivator possessed Divine Sense, and a single sweep would reveal everything.
Therefore, someone like Zhu Ge, who had a certain level of Cultivation yet readily agreed to an inspection, would generally be welcomed by the city.
"Wait a moment."
The wooden puppet’s head retracted, then poked out again a moment later, holding a teacup, which it offered to Zhu Ge.
Zhu Ge took it and curiously examined the object in his hand.
It was a purple clay teacup!
This purple clay teacup seemed to be overflowing with Spiritual Qi, yet it couldn’t be considered a true Spiritual Object. It did, however, contain a certain special aura.
Looking at the bottom of the cup, he saw what appeared to be some kind of Array.
However, Zhu Ge didn’t know much about Arrays, so he couldn’t tell its specific purpose.
"This is a Token for our Jianshui City," the wooden puppet explained. "You can enter by holding it."
Zhu Ge nodded, then walked in while holding the Token.
Sure enough, he passed through the surrounding black curtain as if it were rippling water.
Upon entering, Zhu Ge’s vision immediately brightened.
The inside of this "gourd’s mouth" was a world of its own!
After passing through the entrance, he found himself in a long, incredibly spacious tunnel. The tunnel was densely packed with all sorts of things.
For example, puppets!
Soldiers sat on the flat ground, one next to the other, while the walls and even the ceiling of the circular tunnel were embedded with puppet after puppet.
As soon as the entrance opened, these puppets and Soldiers could respond to an attack at a moment’s notice!
Zhu Ge couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration:
"Truly magnificent!"