Desert Stone City

On the streets of Black Rock City, Yan Qingshan composed himself. After circling around a few times to make sure he was not being followed, he headed toward another bustling area in the city center.

Black Rock City was not his destination this time, merely a stopover. He had gone to the Mitel Auction House because Black Rock City's auction house was large enough to have greater authority and resources, but he had still returned disappointed.

A major city like Black Rock City was equipped by the empire with civilian aerial transport services. In a backward region like the Jia Ma Empire, this was the best way to travel long distances. In a place like the Central Plains, people simply used Spatial Wormholes, which were much faster still.

The aerial transport service in the city center was considered an official organization. Its office stood on a spacious plaza, where more than a dozen rather massive flying birds were resting.

These birds were called Thick-Winged Birds. They were not magical beasts, but giant birds with exceptionally gentle temperaments, making them easy for humans to tame. However, because their numbers were small, only an empire generally had the means to establish such aerial transport fleets.

These Thick-Winged Birds were military-controlled resources. During wartime, they would be forcibly requisitioned by the imperial military and returned to civilian use only after the war had ended. Many of them had therefore experienced brutal wars.

Yan Qingshan walked up to the front desk, where a woman greeted him with a smile. "Sir, where would you like to go?"

"The Tagore Desert, Stone Desert City!"

Yan Qingshan took out a map of the Tagore Desert that he had purchased. He had marked a place on it: Stone Desert City, a small city within the Tagore Desert, neither particularly special nor prosperous.

After looking at the map, the receptionist's smile stiffened, though she still kept her tone calm as she pointed to another landmark on the map. "Sir, our Thick-Winged Birds generally follow fixed routes. For the Tagore Desert, we can only reach Mo City. Why not transfer there after you arrive?"

"I'll charter a Thick-Winged Bird to Stone Desert City for myself. Is ten thousand gold coins enough?"

Yan Qingshan did not waste words and simply let money do the talking. Having inherited all the assets within the cliffside cave, he was now a man of means. Any problem that could be solved with money was no problem.

No matter the world, money came with certain privileges. Once he brought out the gold coins, the female attendant immediately beamed again and led him into the VIP room to wait while his exclusive flying mount was arranged.

Along the way, the attractive female attendant walked before him, deliberately or otherwise displaying her curvaceous figure and sexy lines. She even hinted that arranging the flying mount would take some time, and that there were VIP rooms here where he could rest.

Black Rock City was quite far from the Tagore Desert. Even at the speed of a first-tier flying magical beast, it would take at least three days of flight to arrive.

Stone Desert City, which Yan Qingshan specifically wished to visit, was not even on the original route. The route would need to be adjusted, making the total flight time at least five days.

The flying magical beast glided steadily through the sky. A wooden cabin had been built on the giant bird's back for passengers and staff to rest during long journeys. It was the otherworldly equivalent of an airplane.

Yan Qingshan watched as the blue skies and white clouds outside the window gradually darkened, until a crescent moon finally appeared on the horizon. Beneath the Moonlight Stone, Yan Qingshan shook his head, his eyelids feeling somewhat sore.

"Sir, this is tonight's dinner. Is there anything else you need?"

A sexy, beautiful otherworldly "flight attendant" came before Yan Qingshan. Her clothing was daring and revealing, carrying even a deliberate hint of seduction. One of them was actually the female attendant he had seen during the day.

"No need. I need to cultivate and require a quiet environment. Leave. If I need anything, I'll call for you."

Yan Qingshan was not particularly interested in certain matters. It was not that he had become some kind of saint. This body of his had not even reached its fifteenth birthday yet; in his previous life, he would only have been a middle school student. Losing his virginity at this age was a little too early.

Besides, while he did not have especially high standards for that sort of thing, his first time should at least mean something, right? Wasn't Xiao Yi Xian appealing enough? Why be so eager now?

Yan Qingshan's rejection naturally disappointed the female attendants, but when they saw the tip he casually left behind, their faces bloomed with smiles again. Having received benefits, they naturally made sure their patron was satisfied. They left one after another, even taking shifts to guard Yan Qingshan's door.

He had chartered the entire flying mount by himself. Everyone aboard served him alone, so naturally no one foolish enough to cause trouble came along. The journey of more than five days was rather peaceful.

Six days later, in the Tagore Desert in the eastern Jia Ma Empire. Stone Desert City was merely a small city, even smaller than Wutan City. The entire city was built from black stone quarried nearby, making it a distinctive sight amid the Tagore Desert, where cities were mostly built of yellow earth.

In an open area five hundred meters outside Stone Desert City's eastern gate, a massive flying magical beast slowly descended. A wooden cabin sat upon its back, making it an aerial mount rarely seen around Stone Desert City.

A young boy leaped down from the room on the flying magical beast's back. The feeling of his feet touching solid ground was quite pleasant. More than ten meters after the boy walked away, the flying magical beast rose into the air again and departed into the distance.

Yan Qingshan frowned slightly as he pulled up the hood on his back. It was noon, and the desert weather was dry and scorching. Blazing sunlight poured down from the sky, baking the earth beneath his feet until waves of suffocating heat continuously rose from it.

The heat rose upward, and the excessive temperature even made the view before one's eyes seem blurred and distorted. Nearly eighty percent of the spiritual energy in this environment was Fire Attribute and earth attribute. Aside from Dou Qi cultivators with earth or Fire Attributes, people with other elemental constitutions would find it uncomfortable.

A land nurtured its own people. Among the local residents of the Tagore Desert, those with fire and earth attributes were the most common. Such an environment naturally imposed tremendous suppression on Wood Attribute cultivators. Of course, the most heavily suppressed were Water System cultivators. In a place like this, it was nearly impossible for a powerful local Water System cultivator to emerge.

Yan Qingshan drew his hooded robe closer around himself. It shaded him from the sun while remaining ventilated, making it not hot at all and even somewhat comfortable. He had bought it the previous night when the mount stopped at Mo City. Flying mounts did not fly endlessly without pause; they always needed supplies along the way.

Stone Desert City was not large. The entire city was built from locally quarried black stone. The desert was not entirely yellow sand; it also had mountain ranges and rocks.

It was only because rainfall was scarce and desertification severe that yellow sand had nearly covered everything on the surface. Many rocks and mountain ranges lay buried beneath the sand. Mountain ranges like those around Stone Desert City, where black rock could be directly quarried, were rare.

Stone Desert City was utterly unremarkable among the many cities of the Jia Ma Empire located within the Tagore Desert. The city's overall strength was even far inferior to Wutan City.

Stone Desert City's structure was similar to Qingshan Town. Apart from the City Lord's faction, there were no major clans. Other than the City Lord, the various territories throughout the city were controlled by mercenary groups of all sizes, among which the strongest force was the Sand Mercenary Group.

Shaluo, leader of the Sand Mercenary Group, dominated Stone Desert City with the cultivation of a Da Dou Shi. He was someone even the City Lord feared.

However, this information was of little use to Yan Qingshan, because he had not come to dominate the city and had no intention of causing trouble. As long as he was a little careful, he would not encounter any problems.

Cities in the desert were generally built around water sources, with either an oasis or an underground river nearby. Stone Desert City was naturally no exception.

Beneath the Black Stone Mountain Range beside Stone Desert City, the source of the black stone used to build the city, flowed an underground river. It had silently run through the mountains for countless years, nurturing everything around it.

Stone Desert City's ancestors had discovered the underground river here. They built the city with stone, diverted its water through Stone Desert City, and artificially created a desert oasis. Furthermore, they knew how to manage it without wastefully draining the water source, allowing this city to take root and grow in the Tagore Desert.

To the north of Stone Desert City was the outlet where the canal running through the entire city flowed out. It was also where the city washed its clothes. Some washerwomen struggling to survive here earned money by washing mercenaries' clothes.

Of course, where there was light, there were dark corners. This was also a place where certain men came to seek pleasure, and some washerwomen also engaged in prostitution.

At a spot in the northeastern corner where the canal water was scarcest, a thin, small figure silently washed a pile of clothes. Men and women passing by unconsciously quickened their pace when they saw her, their eyes carrying a trace of disgust.

Even the mercenaries who came whistling in search of girls were the same. Occasionally, a couple of unfamiliar faces would ask about the little girl, then immediately change expression as well.

Perhaps she had been working for a long time, because the girl was tired. She unconsciously pulled up her sleeve, revealing a snow-white wrist. Yet on that snow-white wrist, dense blue scales glimmered, and when she exposed her arm—

The smiles of those chatting nearby gradually faded. Disgust faintly appeared in some people's eyes. The crowd slowly dispersed, while those already walking quickened their pace.

The girl sat on the cool black stone and took out a handkerchief to wipe away her sweat. A smile still lingered at her lips beneath the sunlight, but the moment she noticed the situation around her, the smile on her face vanished, and she became exceptionally despondent.

Tears slid down her delicate, lovely face. The little girl silently pulled down her sleeve and resumed her work. This time, even when her sleeve was soaked by river water, she did not pull it up again, and her hands moved even faster.

Clearly, she wanted to finish her work quickly and leave this place as soon as possible. Those pairs of eyes were familiar to her, but she still could not accept the rejection in their gazes.

The pitiful, rejected little girl silently finished her work. She did not notice that, at some point, a figure had appeared behind her.

After washing and wringing out the clothes one by one, the girl neatly folded them and placed them in the basin. Keeping her head lowered, she lifted the wooden basin, stood up, turned around, and prepared to leave.