Entering Daganzhou

After bidding farewell to Black Water City, with its bloodshed and chaos, Yan Kui did not linger for a moment. He pressed on northward without pause.

Across the wilderness, a towering figure raced along the rugged mountain paths like a tireless steed. His speed was astonishing. Each time he planted a foot, it left a shallow print in the hard rock, and the force of the rebound sent him hurtling forward like a cannonball.

Such an intense burst of travel might have been hard for an ordinary martial artist to sustain, but for Yan Kui, it was merely a warm-up. He did not even need to consciously regulate his breathing. His Blood Qi surged through him like a mighty river, supplying an endless stream of terrifying power.

Even with the Bone Shattering Hammer, weighing several hundred pounds, strapped to his back, his pace did not slacken in the slightest.

Two days and two nights.

In just two short days, he had left behind the repulsive stench of decay that clung to Black Water City, crossed hundreds of miles of wilderness, and officially entered Daganzhou.

As he continued north, the surrounding landscape changed before his very eyes. Withered yellow weeds gradually gave way to lush shrubs. The year-round chill and stench of blood vanished from the air, replaced by the fragrance of soil and the fresh scent of plants and trees.

Unlike the remote, closed-off little town of Black Water City, steeped in wickedness, Daganzhou was a vast territory where cultivation sects and mortal dynasties intertwined. It was far more prosperous and open.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Yan Kui chose a little-traveled mountain path, steering clear of the layers of inspections that might await him along the Official Road. When he crossed the last towering mountain and pushed aside the dense branches obscuring his view, the scene before him opened up in a sudden sweep.

A vast river, like a jade-green ribbon, glittered in the sunlight as it wound across the sprawling plain. Countless sails raced across its surface, boats jostling for passage in a sight that took the breath away.

On both banks lay endless stretches of farmland, golden waves of wheat rising and falling in the wind. Villages dotted the landscape, their cooking smoke curling into the sky, filling the air with the peaceful warmth of everyday life.

At the far end of his view, a colossal, magnificent city sprawled across the earth, like a slumbering prehistoric beast.

Its walls stood more than thirty meters high, built entirely from enormous blocks of blue-gray stone that gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen in the sunlight. Banners snapped atop the towers, while soldiers clad in Iron Armor stood motionless as statues, their killing presence reaching straight into the sky.

This was Yunjiang City, a major stronghold on the border of Daganzhou.

Yan Kui stood atop the mountain, letting the wind tousle his somewhat disheveled long hair as he narrowed his eyes and looked down over the enormous city.

Even from far away, he could sense that the city brimmed with several times, perhaps even dozens of times, more vitality than Black Water City. Every mortal martial artist passing through its gates—even an ordinary porter—looked sturdier than Black Water City's sallow residents. Their Blood Qi was more vigorous, and their eyes held a little more life.

This is the real world... Black Water City was nothing but a forgotten dump.

A feeling of vastness, unlike any he had ever known, welled up within him.

But what interested him even more was a faint, distinctive fluctuation in the air.

Spiritual Qi.

In Black Water City, Spiritual Qi had been so thin it was almost imperceptible. Only in a "haunted place" like the Old Lin Family Manor, or in the Zhao Family's formation-covered chambers, could one sense a trace of that cold, eerie aura.

Here, however, Spiritual Qi drifted through the air like a breeze. It was still faint and might be considered scarce by cultivators, but to Yan Kui, whose senses were extraordinarily sharp, it felt as real as something he could reach out and touch.

The fluctuation was like an undercurrent beneath a tranquil lake, a sign that cultivators were indeed active here—and perhaps on a regular basis.

"Grrr..."

Just as Yan Kui was absorbed in observing this new world, his stomach let out a thunderous protest at the worst possible moment.

He had traveled at a breakneck pace for two days and two nights. His body was powerful, but it was still a mortal body and needed plenty of food to replenish the energy he had spent.

"First I'll fill my stomach, then I'll figure out what to do."

Yan Kui checked his direction, adjusted the Bone Shattering Hammer on his back, and strode down the slope toward Yunjiang City.

Yunjiang City, South Gate.

The area teemed with people, and the din was deafening. Commoners, merchant caravans, and wandering martial artists streamed in and out of the gates. Wheels rumbled, and horses neighed one after another.

The massive gates stood open. Two lines of soldiers guarded them, clad in fine black iron armor and carrying regulation-issue sabers at their waists, their eyes sharp as eagles'.

With a slight sweep of his senses, Yan Kui realized that the soldiers' breathing was steady and deep, and the calluses on their palms showed years of practice. Every one of them had actually cultivated Inner Force!

Compared to them, the guards in Black Water City, who only knew how to bully the weak, were like monkeys holding fire pokers.

Yan Kui blended into the crowd and drew little attention.

He had reined in his Killing Intent, wrapped the Bone Shattering Hammer in rough cloth, and carried it over his shoulder. Dressed in coarse clothes caked with dust, he looked like any weather-beaten martial artist traveling the world in search of cultivation. In Daganzhou, there were countless people like him.

As he waited in line to enter the city, he took special note of the gate's layout.

Besides the broad main entrance for ordinary people, a special passage had been set up to one side of the gate. It was narrow but exquisitely appointed, with a red carpet laid over the ground. No soldiers guarded it; only two servants in blue-green robes stood respectfully by the entrance.

Just then, the noisy crowd suddenly fell silent.

Two young men and women in moon-white robes rode toward them on tall horses, moving at an unhurried pace. Their expressions were haughty, and they showed no intention of slowing down, even as they approached the packed crowd.

The commoners and martial artists around them scattered to either side like mice that had spotted a cat, afraid of offending the pair.

The two young cultivators did not so much as glance at the mortals. They rode straight toward the special passage.

The soldiers, who had been imposing as they strictly searched passing merchants and travelers, seemed to have become different people. They straightened up, their faces wreathed in ingratiating smiles, and even bowed slightly.

The two servants bent nearly to their knees as they respectfully ushered the pair into the city, without even mentioning an entry fee.

"Cultivators..."

Yan Kui stood among the crowd, watching coldly.

Their auras did not seem particularly strong to him—perhaps they were only at the second or third layer of Qi Cultivation—but in the eyes of these mortals, they were exalted Immortal Masters, with the power to decide who lived and who died.

The gulf between their ranks was more blatant than the power of the families in Black Water City, and even harder to cross.

Yan Kui did not hurry into the city.

He walked to an open-air teahouse not far from the gate and took a seat in a corner.

"Waiter, bring me a pot of your strongest tea, ten pounds of cooked beef, and twenty big meat buns!" Yan Kui set down the Bone Shattering Hammer, its heavy weight making the ground tremble slightly.

"Right away! Please wait a moment, sir!" The waiter was surprised by the customer's appetite, but with that iron-tower build and the enormous hammer at his side, he did not dare ask questions. He hurried off to prepare the order.

The teahouse buzzed with voices. Merchants traveling from north and south and martial artists taking a rest gathered there, their conversations mixing with all sorts of news. It was often the best place to gather information.

Before long, steaming meat buns and sliced beef were brought over.

Yan Kui did not stand on ceremony. He grabbed a fist-sized bun and swallowed it in two bites. The piping-hot meat juices burst in his mouth, easing his hunger a little.

As he ate in great mouthfuls, he pricked up his ears and sifted through the clamor around him.

"Have you heard? Something big happened around Black Water City recently. There was a Walking Corpse infestation, and the Zhao Family, who lorded it over the whole area, was wiped out!" A sharp-faced peddler at the next table whispered. Though he was speaking in a hushed voice, he could hardly hide his excitement.

"Hiss... Is that true? Doesn't the Zhao Family have a Foundation Establishment Ancestor? Who could be that powerful?" The fat man sitting with him drew in a sharp breath.

"Who knows? They say the place was razed to the ground overnight, with flames soaring into the sky! Now it's crawling with Walking Corpses. The cultivators sent by Daganzhou have sealed the place off. Nobody's allowed out, but anyone can go in."

"That's a real tragedy... Luckily, we're under the protection of the Qingyun Sect. Those demons and monsters wouldn't dare cause trouble here."

Yan Kui drank his tea without changing expression, taking in every word.

It seemed the news had spread faster than he had imagined. Still, the lockdown on Black Water City was good news for him. It meant the turmoil there would not spread to him anytime soon, and no one would easily discover that he was the so-called "mysterious expert."

"Shopkeeper, has anything interesting happened in Yunjiang City lately? Or is there some way to make a fortune?"

At another table, a bearded martial artist in a short jacket, a broadsword slung over his shoulder, asked loudly. He was clearly a newcomer from out of town.

"Strange happenings? None that I know of. As for ways to make a fortune..." The shopkeeper wiped down a table and chuckled. "The biggest talk lately has been about Senior Brother Liu of the Qingyun Sect."

"Oh? An Immortal Master from the Qingyun Sect?" The martial artist's eyes lit up. "What happened?"

"A few days ago, Senior Brother Liu found a Centennial Spirit Ganoderma on a nearby mountain. They say it had become sentient. Taking it could extend your life and even purge and cleanse your meridians, greatly speeding up your cultivation! It caused quite a stir at the time."

"A Centennial Spirit Ganoderma?!" The diners around them cried out in surprise.

The martial artist looked envious too. "Where is Senior Brother Liu now? If I could just get a little of the ganoderma's root..."

"Haha, you can forget about that. He's an inner sect disciple of the Qingyun Sect. The sect already took him away with the ganoderma." The shopkeeper waved a hand, then changed tack. "But before he found it, Senior Brother Liu needed travel expenses, so he left some of the 'Substandard Pills' he'd concocted on consignment at the city's Hui Chun Hall, in exchange for mortal Gold and Silver. They may be substandard, but for mortal martial artists like us, they're rare medicines! They say one person took one and gained a hundred pounds of strength out of nowhere!"

"Such a good thing?!" The martial artist jumped to his feet, left money for his tea, and rushed into the city.

"Senior Brother Liu... Hui Chun Hall... Substandard Pills?"

Yan Kui had been eating with his head down, but his movements paused slightly, and a glint flashed through his eyes.

Though he currently had a vast amount of Origin Power he had taken from the Zhao Family, he did not have a Cultivation Technique that directly strengthened his internal organs.

His Cultivation Technique was domineering, but for now it mainly strengthened his skin, muscles, and bones. His internal organs lagged behind. As a result, when he unleashed his full strength, his organs had to bear tremendous strain.

If he could follow the trail left by this "Senior Brother Liu" and learn about body-tempering pills that mortals could take, or a prescription that strengthened the internal organs, it would be worth a fortune to him.

Even if they were only so-called "substandard" pills.

Yan Kui stuffed the last piece of beef into his mouth, wiped the grease from the corner of his lips, and laid out a string of copper coins on the table.

He rose to his feet and picked up the Bone Shattering Hammer. The heavy aura he gave off in that instant caused the surrounding noise to die down of its own accord.

Looking at the towering city gate, Yan Kui drew a deep breath and strode forward.

There was not a trace of fear or confusion in his eyes, only curiosity about the unknown world and a ravenous, burning desire to reach the pinnacle of power.

Cultivators or mortals, it made no difference. Anyone who could make him stronger was another stepping-stone on this path of extreme cultivation.