After leaving that valley, Li Bufan resumed his journey north.
He did not deliberately quicken his pace, maintaining the same leisurely, unhurried stride.
After traveling for seven or eight days, the terrain ahead began to change noticeably. The once-continuous stretches of lush green mountains and forests gradually became low and sparse, while the soil shifted from deep brown to a dark reddish brown.
The vegetation along the road also began to include varieties he had never seen before. From time to time, he spotted brightly colored insects crawling among the branches and leaves.
Li Bufan frowned slightly and extended his Spiritual Sense ahead.
A moment later, the outline of a city appeared within his sight.
There were not many people passing through the city gate, but each was distinctive. One man had an entirely emerald-green toad perched on his shoulder; another wore a string of dried insect shells at his waist; still another led a giant centipede as docile as a puppy. The centipede's body was glossy black, its hundred legs moving in alternation, and it was actually several degrees faster than an ordinary person's walking pace.
Li Bufan arrived at the city gate and looked up at the plaque above it—Mo Ye City.
The three large characters had been written in some dark-red pigment. Strange patterns could vaguely be seen within the strokes, as though they were a fusion of ancient Runes and writing. The guards merely gave Li Bufan a glance without asking any questions, then casually waved him inside.
The instant he stepped into Mo Ye City, Li Bufan sensed an aura utterly different from that of anywhere else in the Southern Frontier.
Most of the pedestrians on the streets also carried all manner of insect beasts with them. Some were tiny enough to hang from earlobes