Cloudwater Ferry landed on the sea and surged forward for another stretch before finally coming to a stop.
The strange stretch of sea behind them had already vanished, though lingering whale calls still seemed to echo in their ears without end.
Xia Yunzhao looked sheepish. “Those seniors were way too much. They actually threw us out.”
Everyone held back their laughter. People said no one could fly over Wangjin Sea, so at least they had gotten to make an exception.
The spiritual-energy storm outside had already ended. The sea was calm, with only the occasional fragment of a treasure ship drifting past to show that chaos had once swept through this place.
“Even those reefs are gone. The whole formation disappeared.” Su Meng leaned over the side of the ship to look down. “There were so many ships in the Drifting-Boat Market. Did they all burn up?”
Zhong Yundu rubbed the back of his head. “Even if they didn’t burn, the spiritual-energy storm would’ve swept them away. There’s no Drifting-Boat Market here anymore.”
Du Yan said, “If this Drifting-Boat Market is gone, there’ll always be another one.”
Cloudwater Ferry set out once more, drawing a graceful trail across the sea as it continued forward.
Day after day passed. Everyone grew increasingly practiced at sailing the sea. During that time, they encountered another spiritual-energy storm and even ran into a Level-Four giant octopus, yet nothing went seriously wrong.
A month later, they finally caught a faint glimpse of the coastline.
The excitement of seeing land again was no less than discovering a new continent. Xia Yunzhao threw aside an octopus tentacle thicker than his waist. “Look! We’re here!”
“Wahahaha! Finally! This old man even dreams about swaying at night now!”
“Is that Duxu City? It’s huge! And so high!”
Xia Yunzhao grabbed Shang Shuangze and ran to the side of the ship, straining to look ahead. The silhouette of a city could just barely be seen in the distance. “Brother Du, is Duxu City floating in midair?”
Du Yan had been staring at that distant outline. Only when Xia asked did he come back to himself. “Duxu City is built across nine floating mountain ranges. Together they form an immortal domain of their own.”
Xia Yunzhao let out a soft “wow.” It sounded spectacular.
As the saying went, seeing the mountain was not the same as reaching it. Although Duxu City was already visible, Cloudwater Ferry drifted on for a little over four hours before finally reaching the shore.
Duxu City finally revealed itself in full. Nine floating mountain ranges hung in the air like nine dragons guarding an immortal mountain at the center. Beyond that mountain were three circular tiers of city districts, each lower than the one inside it. The outermost tier rested directly on the ground, giving the whole city the shape of a pagoda. Formations linked the districts together, their spiritual light flickering.
On the highest ridge of the central immortal mountain, an enormous “waterfall” cascaded downward. The moment it reached the ground, it turned into glittering mist and white fog. Layer after layer of fog flowed down through the city, making all of Duxu City look like an immortal realm, vast and magnificent.
Xia Yunzhao quickly noticed something strange. He studied the waterfall more closely… and realized it was no waterfall at all. It was an entire spirit vein! What poured down was not white mist either, but spiritual energy!
Duxu City was outrageously extravagant, using a whole spirit vein merely to create the spectacle of a heavenly river hanging upside down. Little City Lord Xia’s fingers practically itched. If only Qingxi City had a spirit vein like this.
He had dug up a spirit vein in Baoyu City before, but it was nowhere near this large.
“Come on. Let’s enter the city.” Du Yan patted the back of his head and led everyone inside.
Having a local acquaintance really was convenient. Xia Yunzhao had not even managed to hear all the entry rules before Du Yan had already brought them through.
Naturally, they entered through the outermost district, the one built directly on the ground. Noise surged around them. Shops lined the streets, stalls were everywhere, and restaurants and inns appeared every few steps. Cultivators and mortals speaking in all kinds of accents filled the roads, along with merchant caravans that could be seen everywhere.
Xia Yunzhao listened casually for a moment and was shocked. “Low-level resources are this cheap in Duxu City?! I just heard someone buy a Qi Refining Art for only eight hundred spirit pearls!” Back at Fangcun Pavilion, the same thing would have cost more than three thousand!
Du Yan laughed. “Duxu City has hundreds of thousands of cultivators. Some cultivators are short on money and have no choice but to copy cultivation methods and sell them. Everyone undercuts everyone else, and the price gets driven down. But that only happens with common low-level methods.”
Xia Yunzhao nodded. So that was why.
Du Yan continued introducing the city. “This is Duxu City’s outermost district, called Yingxian Ward. It’s the liveliest part of the city. Low- and mid-level resources are bought and sold here. There are no restrictions on entering, but all sorts of people mix together.”
Everyone nodded.
Du Yan led them around a corner to a teleportation formation. “This formation goes to the second tier. Each teleport costs two hundred spirit pearls per person, and only cultivators are allowed through.”
As he spoke, he pulled out several handfuls of spirit pearls and fed them into the formation. Spiritual light flared, and sure enough, the group was transported to the second-tier district.
Xia Yunzhao poked his head out and looked around. There was an entire row of formations, and almost none stood idle. Bursts of light rose one after another. He leaned toward Shang Shuangze’s ear and whispered, “How much do you think these formations earn in a day?”
Shang Shuangze whispered back, “Probably still less than the amount of spiritual power that spirit vein consumes in a day.”
Xia Yunzhao abruptly clutched his chest and bared his teeth. I’m starting to hate rich people!
Du Yan had been about to introduce the second-tier district, only to see the two of them pressed together again. He shook his head helplessly. Forget it. Heaven struck people who interrupted lovers.
The second-tier district was called Baiyi Ward. It contained many pill shops, artifact-refiner shops, talisman towers, and similar establishments, as well as shops run by various sects. Order was much stricter here, and cultivators came to buy and sell pills and magical treasures.
After making a circuit, Du Yan took them up to the third tier.
“The third tier is Qingjing Ward. You need a token to enter.” Du Yan brought them to another formation and took out a token engraved with the character “Qian.” The formation lit again and transported them to the third tier.
“Qingjing Ward is quiet, and the spiritual energy is denser than in the first two tiers. You can rent cave dwellings and secluded-cultivation inns here. Some smaller sects and cultivation clans affiliated with Qianyuan Sect also maintain bases in this district.” He led everyone to an inn called Xianke Residence. “The cave dwellings here have abundant spiritual energy and formations that improve comprehension. You can stay here.”
Xia Yunzhao caught the implication. “What about you, Brother Du?”
Du Yan smiled. He was usually devoid of ambition, but after entering Duxu City, that drifting laziness had disappeared from him, replaced by something deep and unreadable. Only when he spoke to Xia Yunzhao did his tone remain the same as before. “If I hadn’t returned, that would be one thing. Since I’m here, naturally I should visit my teachers and old friends.”
That made sense. Even so, Xia Yunzhao felt inexplicably worried. “Then when will you come back after seeing them? There are a lot of people in the city right now, and rooms might run out. Should I reserve one for you too?”
Hearing the concern hidden in his words, Du Yan smiled. “All right. I’ll be back tonight… tomorrow morning at the latest.”
Only then did Xia Yunzhao relax. He watched Du Yan leave before entering Xianke Residence.
Once he was away from the others, the expression on Du Yan’s face instantly faded. His movement art shifted beneath his feet, and he leaped onto the central floating mountain range.
Two towering jade pillars shaped like rulers pierced the clouds and held up an enormous mountain gate. On the mist-wreathed plaque above were three large characters drawn in unusual strokes: Qianyuan Sect!
This was the mountain gate of Qianyuan Sect.
The nine floating mountain ranges were home to Qianyuan Sect’s nine great offices. The Earth-Vein Office was the largest of them all.
Du Yan passed through the mountain gate, entered the Earth-Vein Office, and made his way to a courtyard in the rear.
Various formations flickered throughout the courtyard. Although he had not seen them in a hundred years, he still remembered every one by heart. He skirted the formations, reached the door, lowered his head, and bowed. “Disciple Du Yan greets Master.”
After a long moment, a cold snort came from inside. “You disappear for a hundred years, yet you still recognize me as your master?”
Du Yan’s expression did not change. “Master is joking.”
The door creaked open, and the man inside barked, “Get in here!”
Du Yan stepped inside. A faint smell of damp earth drifted over, and brown spiritual power floated through the air.
There was another formation inside the room, an extremely strange one that looked like a vast net driven deep into the ground. Strands of yellow-brown spiritual energy were forcibly drawn upward and delivered to the center of the formation. A man sat there cross-legged in meditation.
That man was Du Yan’s master, Xue Zhifang, one of the elders of the Earth-Vein Office.
A continuous stream of earth-vein spiritual energy flowed into his body through the formation, leaving him in an excellent mood. Even toward this disciple he had not seen for so long, his tone held a trace of warmth. “A hundred years apart, and why is your cultivation still stuck at Foundation Establishment? Do you have some hidden injury?”
Du Yan answered respectfully, “This disciple is perfectly well. I only returned because I heard the sect was recruiting disciples. It hasn’t even been a hundred years since the last recruitment. Has something happened within the sect?”
Xue Zhifang said indifferently, “That is not something you need to concern yourself with.”
Du Yan immediately apologized, then added, “I have several friends who also want to participate in the Qianyuan Grand Competition. Master, do you know any inside information about this competition?”
Xue Zhifang glanced at him. “I never knew you had learned how to make friends.” With a lift of his hand, a jade slip flew over. “The procedure for this competition is recorded on this jade slip. Take it and read it.”
Du Yan immediately accepted the jade slip with both hands and bowed. “Many thanks, Master.”
Xue Zhifang nodded in satisfaction. Du Yan was his first disciple. Although lazy, the man still possessed talent. He therefore said, “Since you’ve returned, resume taking assignments. Next month, go to Luan Water City. It’s near Fushui River, so you should know the way. Fragments of the Earth-Vein Book have appeared there. If you can bring them back, I’ll request a Mystic-Origin Mirror-Breaking Pill for you and help you break straight through Golden Core and step into Nascent Soul.”
Elio’s Notes: The raw names this the “Mystic-Origin Mirror-Breaking Pill,” using “mirror” rather than the homophonous character for “realm.” We preserve the source wording rather than silently correcting it.
Du Yan’s expression paused. “Master, forgive me. This disciple withdrew from the Earth-Vein Office long ago. I can no longer carry out missions for the Earth-Vein Office.”
Xue Zhifang’s expression sharpened. “What did you say?”
Du Yan repeated calmly, “This disciple has already withdrawn from the Earth-Vein Office and cannot carry out its missions.”
Boom!
A brown palm imprint slashed down through the air and struck his chest. The immense force sent him flying backward, blood spraying from his mouth in midair.
The formation inside the room lit up. Du Yan felt as though he had smashed into a thick wall. His whole body crashed to the floor, and another mouthful of blood burst out.
Xue Zhifang said coldly, “I think these hundred years have left you muddleheaded. Go back and think carefully about where this cultivation of yours came from!”
Du Yan stood, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and answered, “Yes.”
He gripped the bloodstained jade slip and turned toward the door. Where had this cultivation of his come from…? The pain in his chest throbbed without end, and he nearly laughed aloud. Where else could it have come from? Naturally, from committing atrocities and slaughtering innocents.
His ears began to ring. Screams, wails, curses that refused to die…
“You damned beasts!”
“Heaven ought to open its eyes and strike you dead!”
“Mama! Nannan is scared!”
A voice suddenly came from behind him. “Senior Brother?”
Du Yan turned. A reasonably handsome male cultivator stood behind him, dressed in a dark-red magical robe. The man looked him up and down before chuckling. “I thought I was mistaken. I didn’t expect Senior Brother really had come back.”
He walked closer, studied Du Yan carefully, and clicked his tongue twice. “Senior Brother, a hundred years apart, and your cultivation has grown rather slowly.”
As he approached, pressure belonging to late Golden Core descended from above, making the pain in Du Yan’s chest flare even more sharply.
Du Yan said mildly, “Master is cultivating inside the formation.”
The male cultivator’s expression stiffened. He glanced warily toward the door and hurriedly withdrew his pressure. Seeing Du Yan’s calm, unruffled expression only irritated him further, so he gave a malicious smile. “It’s good that Senior Brother is back. I’ve always wanted to ask you for guidance. How exactly do you set up the Qianyuan Spirit-Severing Formation? I’ve studied it for so long and still can’t learn it.”
Du Yan walked around him toward the courtyard gate. “Junior Brother’s talent has never been especially high. Fortunately, you’ve always worked hard. It doesn’t matter if you can’t learn it yet. Study for a few more years. If a hundred isn’t enough, take two hundred. A Golden Core cultivator can live five hundred years. You’ll learn eventually.”
The male cultivator: “…Fuck!”
Du Yan left the courtyard and walked straight ahead. When he came back to himself, he found that he was standing at the entrance of the Earth-Vein Office again. For a moment, in his daze, he could not tell the present from the past and almost thought he was standing here a hundred years ago.
Then his storage pouch vibrated. He paused, reached inside, and pulled out a Voice-Transmission Conch.
After Xia Yunzhao ritual-refined the Voice-Transmission Conches, he had added a vibration function. According to him, he was afraid that if they were kept inside storage pouches, no one would hear them ring. He had not sold a single refined conch, keeping them exclusively for their own people. Everyone aboard the ship had one.
Although everyone had one, the only person likely to contact Du Yan at this particular moment was Xia Yunzhao himself.
Du Yan fed a thread of spiritual power into the Voice-Transmission Conch. Sure enough, that clear, jade-like voice came through. “Brother Du, are you done visiting your friends? Can you come back tonight?”
A smile appeared on Du Yan’s face at once, and the ringing in his ears gradually receded. “I can. What is it?”
Before Xia Yunzhao could answer, Su Meng’s chattering voice came from beside him. Xia hurriedly said, “I know, I know… Brother Du, the waiter at this inn said Duxu City has a famous pastry called Lingkong Cake, and the shop near Qianyuan Sect’s mountain gate makes the best one. Could you bring some back when you return?”
“Mm. All right.”
Xia Yunzhao laughed. “Thanks, Brother Du! We booked the rooms. We’re going out to look around now, then we’ll go straight to a restaurant for dinner. If you come back late, just meet us there. It’s the nearby Feixian Restaurant.”
Du Yan answered “all right” again.
Only then did Xia Yunzhao cut off the spiritual energy to the Voice-Transmission Conch and sigh with satisfaction. “This Voice-Transmission Conch is so useful! Convenient! As expected of something I refined myself!”
Then he wondered aloud, “Brother Du sounded a little down. Could seeing his teachers and old friends have made him unhappy?”
“Possible,” Zhong Yundu cut in. “If he’d been happy living in Duxu City, why would he have run off to a backwater little place like Qingxi City?”
Xia Yunzhao immediately wanted to hit him. “What’s wrong with Qingxi City? Qingxi City is rich in resources, and our people are beautiful and kind! It’s way better than cities full of scheming and intrigue!”
Su Meng circled around him. “City Lord, which tier are we going to explore first?”
Xia Yunzhao thought for a moment. “We came for the Qianyuan Grand Competition, right? Why don’t we go to the first tier and ask around for information?”
Business really was more important. The group headed outside together.
They had rented a private courtyard at Xianke Residence. It had every necessary formation, dense spiritual energy, and a quiet environment. Naturally, it was not cheap.
A private courtyard meant they did not encounter any other guests inside. It was not until they reached the inn’s entrance that they finally came face-to-face with people from outside.
They looked up… Xia Yunzhao nearly cursed at how narrow the road between enemies could be. Those plain white magical robes, those familiar wave patterns along the hems… These people were from Yunjiangguan!
The Yunjiangguan cultivators opposite them frowned as well. Their gazes fixed on Xia Yunzhao’s face as though they had recognized him.
Xia Yunzhao said irritably, “Fellow Daoist, don’t block the middle of the road. If you don’t want to walk, other people still do.”
“You!” A young Yunjiangguan cultivator moved forward to argue, only to be pulled back by an older cultivator. Not only that, the group actually stepped aside. “Fellow Daoist, please.”
Xia Yunzhao froze and looked them up and down. This was Yunjiangguan? The arrogant, nose-in-the-air Yunjiangguan? Yunjiangguan was actually yielding the road to them?
The older cultivator even smiled. “Weren’t you in a hurry, Fellow Daoist?”
Xia Yunzhao frowned slightly. Could people act against their own nature? Of course they could, especially when they wanted to obtain enormous benefits.
He could understand Yunjiangguan not daring to make a move inside Duxu City, but for them to refuse even a petty verbal quarrel could only mean Yunjiangguan had made preparations for this Qianyuan Grand Competition. They were terrified that the smallest mistake might ruin everything, so they were willing to swallow even this little bit of resentment.
Xia Yunzhao calmed down, nodded once to the older cultivator, and led everyone past.
Watching the Qingxi City group stride away “arrogantly,” the young cultivator fumed. “Elder, Qingxi City is nothing but a backwater little city. Why should we be afraid of them?!”
The elder’s expression turned stern. “Don’t forget why we came this time. If Qingxi City finds out, the consequences will be disastrous!”
Another cultivator suddenly said, “But I’ve heard Qingxi City’s city lord is exceptionally clever. The affiliation ceremony is public. If he sees the gift we present and guesses something from it, wouldn’t all our previous efforts be wasted?”
The elder frowned. “He’s so young. He may not be able to figure it out…”
Someone else said, “Didn’t they say Xia Yunzhao knows someone in the Earth-Vein Office? If he can learn something from the Earth-Vein Office, he might uncover Yunjiangguan’s secret. Why not take the opportunity…” He made a throat-slitting gesture.
The elder’s brow furrowed even more deeply. “It would still be unwise to create unnecessary trouble. Besides, Duxu City does not allow cultivators to fight…”
The others frowned and exchanged glances. Their sect was being far too cautious. To avoid offending Qianyuan Sect, they had specifically sent Elder Xu Nuo to lead the group. Everyone knew this elder was the most careful, thorough, and indecisive of them all.
Several of them tried persuading him again. “The head of the Method-Appraisal Office has a very favorable opinion of Yunjiangguan, and the Method-Appraisal Office handles Duxu City’s miscellaneous affairs. With him around, what does it matter if we kill a few insignificant cultivators from the countryside? Elder, you only need to…”
Their voices dropped lower.
Elsewhere, Xia Yunzhao waited until they were outside the inn before saying, “Something’s wrong.”
Su Meng nodded vigorously. “Definitely wrong, City Lord. Those people’s glares were practically stabbing holes in you.”
Su Ying stumbled and nearly fell. Su Meng hurriedly supported him. “Brother, are you all right?”
Su Ying’s face had gone white. In a hoarse voice, he said, “C-City Lord, they’re going to make a move against us!”
Xia Yunzhao froze and exchanged a glance with Shang Shuangze. “When? Where?”
Su Ying shook his head. “I couldn’t see. I only saw them discussing it with someone. They said they wanted to kill you. That person… seemed to be someone important from Qianyuan Sect. His cultivation was too high. I only saw a little before the vision disappeared.”
“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.” Seeing Su Ying trembling like a sieve, Xia Yunzhao quickly patted his back and soothed him. “Don’t worry. If he wants to kill someone, he’ll be trying to kill me. He won’t pay attention to you. When the time comes, grab your little brother and run as hard as you can. You’ll definitely escape.”
Su Ying had such a mild temper and was so timid that no one had ever heard him raise his voice. Yet now his face turned red with anger. After struggling for a long moment, he finally burst out, “City Lord! That isn’t what I meant!”
Xia Yunzhao hurriedly laughed. “All right, all right. I know, I know…”
His voice was laughing, but there was not a trace of a smile on his face. He gave the others a look. Everyone except the two brothers immediately turned grave.
Why did Yunjiangguan want to kill them? And who was that important figure from Qianyuan Sect?
A voice suddenly came from nearby. “Little Xia? Did you just come out?”
Xia Yunzhao turned. Du Yan was already back!
Du Yan saw their expressions. The smile on his own face gradually faded as well. “What happened?”
He was still carrying piping-hot Lingkong Cake, but no one noticed it now. Xia Yunzhao lowered his voice. “Brother Du, is there somewhere absolutely safe, where nobody could possibly eavesdrop?”
Du Yan glanced at Xianke Residence. “Come with me.”
* * *
Qingjing Ward contained many meditation rooms and cave dwellings available for rent, quite a few of them owned by inner disciples of Qianyuan Sect.
Du Yan led them to a cave dwelling with extraordinarily dense spiritual energy and brought them inside.
The moment they entered, dense spiritual energy hit them full in the face. It was like being smothered with an enormous armful of cotton candy, almost thick enough to condense into white mist!
Xia Yunzhao coughed from the impact. “That’s insanely dense spiritual energy. How much does it cost to cultivate in this cave dwelling for one day?”
Du Yan held up a number. Xia Yunzhao said, “Ten thousand spirit pearls? That’s not too bad.”
Du Yan said, “Ten thousand. Low-grade spirit stones.”
Xia Yunzhao’s mouth fell open. “Wouldn’t that be one million spirit pearls? Per day?”
Du Yan said, “This is a Level-Four cave dwelling meant for Nascent Soul cultivators. Usually, a Nascent Soul cultivator only comes here when approaching a bottleneck and unable to find a suitable place for closed-door cultivation. At that level, the price really isn’t expensive.”
Put that way, it actually made sense.
Xia Yunzhao was still reeling from the ten thousand low-grade spirit stones when Shang Shuangze suddenly asked, “Why do you know this so well?”
He rarely spoke, but whenever he did, he always went straight to the heart of the matter.
Xia Yunzhao realized it too. “Right. Weren’t we looking for somewhere absolutely safe? This cave dwelling is rented too, isn’t it? How is it any different from Xianke Residence? What if the owner wants to eavesdrop?”
Du Yan laughed. “The owner certainly won’t eavesdrop…”
Xia Yunzhao guessed where this was going. Sure enough, Du Yan’s next words were, “This property belongs to me.”
Xia Yunzhao: “…”
No wonder Brother Du threw money around every day and looked down on any amount of money or resources. So he had an asset like this, raking in money hand over fist!
His Brother Du was loaded!