After leaving Black Mountain City's territory, the official road gradually widened. Wagon wheels had carved deep and shallow ruts into the packed yellow earth. The endless Black Mountain Forest no longer stretched along either side; in its place were broad fields, their harvested stalks exposed, and gentle hills rolling in the distance.
The air seemed much fresher, no longer carrying the Black Mountain Forest's year-round gloom and dampness, nor its faint traces of blood. More merchants and travelers were on the road, too. Ox carts and horse-drawn carriages bore their wares, their jingling bells mingling with the drivers' calls—a clamor rarely heard in Black Mountain City, and unmistakably that of a prosperous place.
Li Yuan continued on alone.
He had changed into an ordinary gray travel outfit of coarse cloth, doing his best to conceal his many scars and unusually formidable presence. But his upright bearing and mountain-steady gait still made him stand out from the crowd. He deliberately slowed his pace, traveling and observing as he silently circulated the Crimson Sun True Scripture, consolidating his newly attained realm and growing accustomed to the dark crimson gold, increasingly condensed and weighty Crimson Sun Qi and Blood within him.
Five days later, the outline of a towering city appeared on the horizon.
It was the gateway to Tianfeng Prefecture—Wangfeng City.
From afar, its high walls resembled a gray giant serpent coiled across the earth, winding away until its head and tail vanished from sight. The crenellations were like teeth, and banners snapped in the wind. Compared with Black Mountain City's rougher walls, which bore the air of the borderlands, Wangfeng City felt far more solemn and imposing.
The closer he drew, the more he felt the grandeur of the mighty city. The official road teemed with carriages and people, a river