Arrival at the Imperial Capital

"Dou Qi Wings, a Dou Wang?"

The people below watched Chen Mo pursue them, their faces filled with shock.

"A Dou Wang at such a young age?" Qiuyun's beautiful eyes flickered, and a ripple appeared in her valiant expression.

But when the stunning young woman clad in green Dou Qi armor descended from the Green Beak Eagle, that faint ripple vanished instantly.

"As expected of the Overall Pavilion Master." Tieshi looked on with admiration, then backhanded his blade and cleaved a bandit in two.

"A Dou Wang?" The leader looked at the handsome youth chasing closely behind him, his expression darkening. He clamped his legs around the horse's belly and smacked its rump with the flat of his blade, widening the distance between them.

Chen Mo frowned. He discovered that the Wings of the Demon were actually slower than the horse.

"Thousand Thunder Art!"

Boom!

A bolt of lightning struck a large tree directly ahead, bringing it crashing down.

The startled horse threw the leader from its back.

The moment he hit the ground, he fiercely slapped both palms against the earth and landed lightly on his feet.

The bandit leader gripped his saber tightly in both hands. Just as he looked up at Chen Mo in the air and was about to speak—

A heaven-shaking bolt of lightning struck straight down onto his head without warning. The words at the tip of the leader's tongue came to an abrupt halt as he collapsed to the ground.

Ding! You killed a four-star Da Dou Shi. Reward: 940 Fortune Points.

As the system's voice rang out, Chen Mo frowned slightly. Was the gap between a Dou Ling and a Da Dou Shi really this great?

There was a difference of more than three thousand Fortune Points.

He descended.

He stripped the undamaged Storage Ring from the corpse.

As a qualified cultivator, failing to loot corpses was not a good habit.

He erased the Soul Imprint on the Storage Ring and left his own behind.

With a thought—

Good heavens, the treasures piled inside the Storage Ring nearly blinded Chen Mo.

Chen Mo was certain that even a Dou Ling expert's Storage Ring would not contain as many treasures as this one.

More than ten Mysterious Tier Low Grade cultivation methods and Dou Techniques, enormous quantities of medicinal pills, and countless Gold Coins.

The wealth the bandit leader had accumulated over many years all fell into Chen Mo's hands at this moment.

By the time Chen Mo returned to the main road, the battle there had also ended. The people from Lingyan Pavilion were cleaning up the battlefield, searching the bandit corpses for Storage Rings.

"Heading to the Imperial Capital? What a coincidence."

After everything had been sorted out, Chen Mo asked Tieshi where he was escorting the six people. The latter answered that they were going to the Imperial Capital.

Hearing Chen Mo's murmur, Tieshi was just about to speak with a smile when a soft female voice emerged from the short-haired woman in valiant attire. "Overall... Pavilion Master, are you also heading to the Imperial Capital?"

The woman was not sure whether that was the right form of address.

"And this is?" Chen Mo froze, unable to believe that such a valiant-looking woman could speak in such a soft voice.

"Hello, I'm Qiuyun." Qiuyun did not mention that she was the employer for this journey, merely introducing herself.

"Hello." Chen Mo nodded. "Yes, we're also heading to the Imperial Capital."

"Then could I ask you to travel with us..." Qiuyun's words carried a trace of hesitation, as though she felt her request was too excessive.

To her surprise, Chen Mo gave it some thought and agreed.

The Alchemist Grand Meeting would not be held for more than half a month. That was enough time for him to reach the Imperial Capital.

Tieshi could not believe that the Overall Pavilion Master had agreed.

Not only Tieshi, but even Qiuyun, who had made the request, could hardly believe it. She then said apologetically, "Once we reach the Imperial Capital and I finish dealing with this batch of goods, I'll immediately make up the additional payment."

Chen Mo smiled. "No need. Whatever escort fee you paid before will remain the fee. There's no need to add more."

"No, Overall Pavilion Master. You not only saved my life, but also agreed to escort us to the Imperial Capital. If I don't increase the fee, I won't feel right about it." Qiuyun spoke her true feelings.

"Is that so? Then how much are you offering? I'm quite expensive, you know." Seeing her insistence, Chen Mo could not help teasing her.

At that, Qiuyun named an amount.

Chen Mo was taken aback. That amount was enough to hire a Dou Ling as a guard.

Chen Mo tried to dissuade her, but Qiuyun insisted on paying. In the end, they settled on twenty thousand Gold Coins as the escort fee.

The group set off again.

Along the way, Chen Mo would occasionally fly down to chat with Qiuyun.

From their conversations, he learned that Qiuyun came from a small family in the Imperial Capital. She was the family head's second daughter and, unwilling to marry so early, had left home at a young age to manage the family's affairs.

When he asked why they did not take the empire's flying magical beasts, Qiuyun hesitantly explained that her family had been blacklisted by the imperial authorities for selling contraband medicine.

They were forbidden from using any transportation services established by the imperial authorities.

The journey through the air was rather boring. With so many people around, Chen Mo could only secretly take minor liberties with Nalan Yanran and did not dare go too far.

During the flight, Chen Mo saw several alchemists riding Green Beak Eagles toward the Imperial Capital.

Some of them, judging by their appearance, did not even seem to be from the Jia Ma Empire.

Of course, while Chen Mo was surprised by these alchemists from other countries, they were equally stunned by Chen Mo's entourage. There was even a faint trace of envy in their expressions.

With Chen Mo and his group escorting them, Qiuyun's convoy encountered no further trouble along the road.

Nine days passed like this.

A vast and magnificent city built against the mountains lay sprawled like a giant dragon, leaving Chen Mo and the others deeply awestruck.

This city was far grander and more magnificent than Black Rock City, which Chen Mo had seen before.

Jiama Holy City, the name of the Jia Ma Empire's Imperial Capital.

Flying was prohibited above the Holy City, and troops patrolled at the gates.

There was no entrance fee to enter the city, but everyone had to undergo inspection by specialized personnel.

Chen Mo was not among those waiting to be inspected. They had connections.

Two days before reaching the Holy City, Nalan Yanran had sent a letter back to her family, saying that they would likely arrive today.

When Nalan Su learned from the letter that not only his precious daughter, but also his potential future son-in-law would be returning with her—

The moment dawn broke, he sent the manor's steward and guards to wait for Chen Mo's group at the city gates.

"Junior Brother, let me introduce you. This is Old Liu," Nalan Yanran said.

"Young Master Chen Mo, hello. I am the steward of Nalan Manor. You may call me Steward Liu," Liu Fu introduced himself in advance.

"Since Yan Ran calls you Old Liu, I'll call you Old Liu as well." Chen Mo smiled. "Old Liu."

At that, Liu Fu's favorable impression of Chen Mo rose sharply.

He then ushered Chen Mo and the others into the prepared carriage.

Naturally, Chen Mo's subordinates did not get into the carriage.

Qiuyun declined as well.

What a joke.

If she got into that carriage, she would truly be shameless.

The guards led the Wind Spirit Sparrow and Green Beak Eagle properly.

And so, the group entered the Imperial Capital in a high-profile manner.

After entering the city, Qiuyun and her group came to bid Chen Mo farewell, saying that once they had sold the goods, they would come to Nalan Manor to find him.