Moon Gazing Immortal City

Zhu Yinhua's face fell, his enthusiasm waning. "Fine, tiger hide it is," he muttered.

"Hey, you fatty! Trying to swindle people again? Stop right there! Let this Daoist priest skin you alive!"

Just as Lu Xiaotian was about to accept a booklet titled Immortal City Regulations, a thunderous voice boomed. He looked up to see a middle-aged Green Robe Daoist, sword in hand, charging towards him with murderous intent.

"Little brother, take the booklet and keep it safe. I'm leaving now." Seeing the newcomer, Zhu Yinhua's fleshy body trembled. He shoved the booklet into Lu Xiaotian's hand, snatched the tiger hide, and fled into the bushes like a startled rabbit, disappearing with practiced ease and astonishing speed.

"That damned fatty got away again!" The Green Robe Daoist stomped his foot, full of regret. He stopped and asked Lu Xiaotian, "Little brother, did you see which way that fatty went?"

"No, he was too fast, and there are so many weeds around. I couldn't tell. Is that Zhu fellow your enemy?" Lu Xiaotian was full of questions.

"Not an enemy, exactly. It's just that this damned fatty is incredibly wicked. He specializes in swindling and cheating, preying on low-level Rogue Cultivators heading to Moon Gazing City from mortal kingdoms. Seeing him take something from you, you've been tricked too," the Green Robe Daoist said indignantly.

"This Immortal City Regulations booklet should be useful. It wasn't expensive," Lu Xiaotian said, holding up the small booklet.

"Not expensive? It still cost one Spirit Stone! Once you get to the Immortal City, there are notices about the Immortal City System right at the city gates. This damned fatty just copied one down, deliberately exaggerated the consequences, and used it to fool low-level Rogue Immortals who have never been to an Immortal City. And that map scroll? It's commonplace in the Immortal City, you can get one for just one Low-grade Spirit Stone. This fatty sold it to me for three Spirit Stones! He took all my savings, leaving me unable to move freely in the Immortal City." The Green Robe Daoist stamped his feet in anger, his face flushed, pained by the extra Spirit Stones he had spent.

Lu Xiaotian was dumbfounded. He had witnessed the cunning of the Black Robe Old Man, the arrogance of Situ Jing, and the Situ Family's disregard for human life. He had seen Lu Bifeng's shrewdness. But this was the first time he had encountered someone so shameless. Fortunately, the Green Robe Daoist had appeared in time; otherwise, he might have been cheated out of at least one or two more Spirit Stones.

"Since that fatty Zhu has been doing this for so long, he must be very familiar with the terrain here. And he's fast when he runs. If you really want to find him, why not change your appearance, disguise yourself, and pretend to be a Rogue Cultivator heading to Moon Gazing City? It might work."

"Thank you for the reminder, little brother." The Green Robe Daoist's eyes lit up as he heard this, his expression immediately brightening.

"May I ask, brother, which way is Moon Gazing City? How far is it from here?" Lu Xiaotian asked.

"Follow this main road all the way. In about two hours, you'll reach a large Snow Mountain shrouded in clouds. There's a small path on the Snow Mountain. Climb over it, and you'll see a majestic city. That is Moon Gazing Immortal City," the Green Robe Daoist said.

Lu Xiaotian cupped his hands in thanks. After bidding farewell to the Green Robe Daoist, he set off in the direction indicated. A thrill coursed through him. From the innkeeper's conversation and his recent encounter, he could tell he was indeed not far from the Immortal City. If it weren't near an Immortal City, how could he have met two cultivators in one day, both with cultivation levels slightly higher than his own? Before, when traveling through mortal kingdoms, he had encountered thousands of people and rarely met a single cultivator.

As expected, following the Green Robe Daoist's instructions, two hours later, rolling mountains blocked his path. Clouds swirled around the mountainsides, revealing their height. Tigers roared and apes cried in the mountains, and a cold wind howled. A narrow, winding path snaked upwards, its end unseen.

Lu Xiaotian used the Wind Riding Technique to travel on the mountain path, which was much slower than walking on flat ground. No wonder mortals who wanted to go to the Immortal City had to be Peerless Martial Artists or have a cultivator's protection. Otherwise, the extreme cold of these snow-capped peaks alone would be enough to freeze a person solid. Only Peerless Martial Artists with profound internal energy could endure it. Even at his Qi Refining Second Layer, crossing these towering, undulating snow peaks was not easy.

After several days, Lu Xiaotian finally reached the other side of the snow peaks. "Moon Gazing City!"

Two hundred miles later, as a majestic, towering city stretched before him, Lu Xiaotian felt nothing but excitement and awe. The massive grey-green stone blocks, of unknown origin, each looked like it weighed at least hundreds of thousands of pounds. At a glance, he couldn't even see the end of the city walls. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Lu Xiaotian would never have imagined such a vast city could exist. Its presence was magnificent, as solid as a mountain.

After his initial shock, Lu Xiaotian arrived at the city gate, where hundreds of people were already queuing.

Seeing so many cultivators for the first time, Lu Xiaotian was astonished. Among the crowd, only about a dozen had cultivation levels similar to his. As for the others, he couldn't accurately determine their cultivation, but from the spiritual pressure they exuded, Lu Xiaotian knew their cultivation was far superior to his, at least at the Mid Qi Refining stage, or even the Late Qi Refining stage.

At the imposing city gate, hundreds of guards clad in armor and wielding Sharp Blades stood watch. Their cultivation levels were all at least Mid Qi Refining. Their armor was dark green, with a simple shield-shaped emblem on the chest, the meaning of which was unknown.

The spiritual pressure emanating from them made one's heart palpitate. As for their weapons, they were a motley assortment, not uniform in style, including sabers, spears, swords, and halberds. They glowed with red and yellow light, emitting different spiritual power fluctuations. They were far superior to the green Long Sword he had obtained from Situ Jing.

Any slight disturbance at the city gate would result in these guards stepping forward to suppress it.

The leading Soldiers were interrogating everyone who wished to enter the Immortal City. A young man who looked like an officer casually stuck his Spear into the ground and lay on a lounge chair, pretending to rest.

As the Soldiers conducted their checks, the people in front of him all produced palm-sized wooden tokens. Lu Xiaotian felt a pang of unease. Did one need a special pass to enter Moon Gazing City? He didn't have such a token.

"Your turn. Show your waist token!" After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, it was Lu Xiaotian's turn. The Soldier checking him said, "Show your waist token!"

"I... I don't have a waist token." Lu Xiaotian's heart tightened. If this were a mortal city, he wouldn't be this nervous, but any one of these Soldiers had a cultivation level far above his.

"No waist token? Did you lose it, or is this your first time in Moon Gazing City?" the officer, who had been pretending to doze, asked as he stood up from his lounge chair.

Lu Xiaotian truthfully replied, "This is my first time in Moon Gazing City."

The officer's eyes snapped open, a flash of red light passing through them. Lu Xiaotian felt as if the man could see right through him. Spirit Eye Technique. This officer must be a Fire attribute cultivator, and his cultivation was far higher than Lu Xiaotian's, making the use of the Spirit Eye Technique feel like needles pricking his back.

"Go to the clerk on the side to register and receive your waist token." The officer didn't make things difficult for him. After a scan with his Spirit Eye Technique, he lay back down.

Lu Xiaotian nodded. To the other side of the Soldiers, there was a man dressed like a scribe, with brush and ink prepared.

"Name, where are you from?" the scribe asked, glancing at Lu Xiaotian.

"Lu Xiaotian, from Northern Liang Country, Liangzhou."

"Northern Liang Country? Where is that?" the scribe asked in surprise.

"Perhaps some small mortal kingdom. There are hundreds or thousands of mortal kingdoms in the Central Plains. Maybe one was destroyed, and a new kingdom arose," a nearby Soldier chuckled.

"Indeed. As long as we register it, why bother with so many questions?" the scribe said with a smile and a shake of his head. He took out a small black token, similar to the others, wrote Lu Xiaotian's name on it, and handed it to him. "Be careful not to lose it. It's free the first time. If you lose it, you'll have to pay Spirit Stones to replace it. Also, if there are any emergencies inside or outside the city, entry and exit will be strictly checked. Without a waist token, it will be very troublesome."

"Thank you for the reminder." Lu Xiaotian took the waist token and quickly thanked him, a sigh of relief escaping him. Now he had the freedom to enter and exit the Immortal City. The waist token seemed to have a faint spiritual energy fluctuation, likely crafted from some kind of Spiritual Wood.

Passing through the city gate, on the city wall itself, were the Immortal City Regulations and ordinances of Moon Gazing City, such as prohibitions against fighting within the city, climbing the city walls without permission, and so on. Flipping through the Immortal City Regulations booklet in his hand, Lu Xiaotian realized it was indeed copied from these. He inwardly regretted being tricked, even though the tiger hide itself wasn't worth much. He disliked the feeling of being played.

Inside Moon Gazing City were wide, interconnected streets. The people coming and going were mostly cultivators, and many had cultivation levels higher than his. In the mortal kingdoms, he had always been held in high regard. Now, finding someone who wasn't stronger than him was difficult. Lu Xiaotian felt a sense of deflation, but having come from a poor background, he quickly adjusted his mindset.

As a newcomer to Moon Gazing Immortal City, Lu Xiaotian eagerly surveyed the city.

On both sides of the streets were shops of various sizes, similar in layout to mortal cities, but the goods sold were vastly different.

Passing by a shop called Duan Family Weapon Shop, he saw a dazzling array of weapons – sabers, spears, arrows, and more. The spiritual pressure emanating from them made Lu Xiaotian's heart skip a beat. Such divine weapons, with a single slash, could easily cut a person in half. They were worlds apart from mortal swords and sabers.

In front of the Duan Family Weapon Shop, a recruitment notice was posted, seeking blacksmiths who could forge Spiritual Artifacts and blacksmith apprentices.

Besides weapons, there was also the He Family Pill Shop. Lu Xiaotian had learned from Lu Bifeng that Qi Refining initial stage cultivators used Qi Gathering Pills, Mid Qi Refining cultivators used Qi Recovery Pills, and for Late Qi Refining and Great Perfection, it was Origin Energy Pills.

However, the pills displayed at the He Family Pill Shop, besides these, were all ones he had heard of, mainly for cultivation and healing. There were also Spirit Wines and Spirit Teas to help quickly recover Method Power.