Qingxu City

Biodata

Location and Layout

Qingxu City stands deep in the Qingxu Mountain Range in western Chu State. Reaching it on foot requires surviving months of dangerous mountain travel through hostile terrain and fierce beasts. 23

• Its walls are tens of feet high, built from enormous stones weighing thousands of pounds, and rise into the clouds. 23
• The city gates are one hundred feet wide and made of black metal. 23
• Qingxu City has east, west, north, and south gates; walking from the east gate to the west gate takes roughly three days. 25
• Wang Hong first entered through the east gate. 25
• A broad commercial street runs directly opposite the gates, with shops lining both sides. 23
• The city contains a vast plaza used as the Free Market, where cultivators establish stalls and trade directly. 23 24

Entry and Security

First-time visitors must register at the gates for a personal wooden entry token. An invisible barrier prevents anyone without a token from entering. 23

Population

Qingxu City is inhabited by cultivators and a substantial mortal population. Most mortals are relatives or descendants of cultivators; comparatively few are outsiders who crossed the Qingxu Mountain Range themselves. 25

• Mortals work in shops, medicinal gardens, and spirit fields, earning about half a Spirit Stone per month. 25
• The city has hundreds of thousands of Qi Refining cultivators. 28 38 39
• Cultivation families operate businesses, Preaching Halls, spirit-herb gardens, and other local institutions. 30 41
• The Lin Family is a mid-to-lower-tier local power with one Foundation Establishment cultivator, dozens of Qi Refining cultivators, and more than a hundred affiliates when allied rogue cultivators are included. 32
• The Wan Family is a mid-to-upper-tier local power with several Foundation Establishment cultivators, three alchemists, a pill shop, and ten mu of spirit-herb gardens. 30 41

Commerce

Spirit Stones are Qingxu City's universal currency; gold and silver have no value there. Even food, clothing, lodging, and mortal goods are purchased with Spirit Stones. 25

Markets and Businesses

• Free Market — A crowded open-air market trading demonic-beast meat, spirit herbs, cultivation manuals, and other cultivation resources. 23 24
• Myriad Treasures Tower — A major store selling more than a thousand Magic Artifacts across ten rows of shelves; its second floor deals in higher-tier goods and requires a ten-thousand-Spirit-Stone deposit to enter. 23 48
• Artifact Refining Pavilion — A weapons shop displaying sabers, spears, swords, shields, and other artifacts. 23
• Armor and Clothing Shop — Sells radiant garments and armor. 23
• Elixir Pavilions and spirit-herb shops — Numerous businesses supply medicinal and cultivation goods, though smaller stores often struggle with stable inventory. 23 28 41
• Restaurants and inns — The city has ordinary commercial amenities alongside cultivation-oriented establishments. 23

Auction Trade

Qingxu City hosts large joint auctions where cultivators use masks to prevent Spiritual Sense probing and bid on Magic Artifacts, elixirs, spirit herbs, and rarer resources. 36 38

• The city’s publicly available Barrier Breaking Pills number no more than fifty per year. 37
• A Foundation Establishment Pill sold for 350,000 Spirit Stones at one auction. 38
• Demand for talismans, Magic Artifacts, elixirs, and Spirit Wine rises by twenty to thirty percent ahead of the decennial sect-recruitment missions. 50

Notable Locations

• East Gate — Wang Hong's point of entry and the site of newcomer registration. 23 25
• Free Market — A central plaza for stall-based trade and gathering information. 23 24
• Myriad Treasures Tower — A prominent multi-story Magic Artifact retailer. 23 48
• Wan Family Preaching Hall — A venue where the Wan Family offers cultivation lectures, including a Foundation Establishment alchemist's lecture. 30
• Death Arena — A sanctioned dueling venue where Lin Yun challenges Wang Hong. 34
• VIP Tower — A private dining and meeting location used by merchant Qian Gui. 49

Story Role

Wang Hong arrives at Qingxu City after resigning from the Chu military at the peak of the Xiantian Realm. Of the ninety-seven personal guards who began the journey with him, more than twenty die crossing the Qingxu Mountain Range. 23

After scouting the city, Wang Hong establishes a temporary camp outside it, permits his remaining followers to choose their own paths, and eventually relocates them to a rented courtyard with a shop front inside the city. 25 28

Qingxu City becomes the foundation of Wang Hong's transition from martial artist to cultivator. He learns its Spirit Stone economy, purchases cultivation methods, begins Qi Refining, and develops businesses including Pioneering Spirit Medicine Pavilion, Immortal Wine Pavilion, and Zhao's Elixir Pavilion. 24 26 29 39 41

The city also provides relative safety from the Lin Family. Wang Hong considers himself effectively confined within its protection until he acquires the Mist Illusion Mask, which allows him to leave disguised. 37

Trivia

• Visitors may enter the city in carriages pulled by horned, horse-like beasts, ride winged tigers, or fly on enormous birds released from storage items. 23
• Despite its status as an immortal city, Qingxu City’s crowded Free Market reminds Wang Hong of a rural market day. 23
• Qingxu City is closely connected to Qingxu Sect but is also regarded as a force in its own right. 50