Zhou Qi traversed the dry, barren, gray-yellow land, the entire landscape shrouded in a hazy, gray hue, with visibility less than a hundred feet.
As we traveled further and further away, a soft green light pierced through layers of gray fog.
As they drew closer, the outline of the city, shrouded in soft light, became increasingly clear.
Only when he stood at the foot of the city did Zhou Qi finally see the true appearance of this Hidden-Heaven Realm City.
The city gate tower stands majestically, and on the plaque, three powerful and magnificent fluorescent characters slowly rotate: Yunting City.
The overall layout of the city is about 70% similar to that of Lin'an City in the Great Yong Dynasty.
The streets and alleys are well-organized, and the buildings are arranged along the streets in a staggered and orderly manner, revealing the layout and structure of a mature ancient city.
However, the materials used in their construction are completely different.
The entire Yunting City, from its thick, towering city walls to the buildings and houses scattered along the streets, and even the city gate railings, was constructed entirely of some kind of pale green fluorescent stone.
There is no sun or moon here; the world is forever gray and desolate.
The only source of light is the fluorite that is everywhere here.
Billions of fluorite stones converge in one city, and quantitative change leads to qualitative change. Soft light intertwines and flows throughout the city, illuminating the entire city as bright as day.
Aside from the strange materials and lighting, the secular order here is no different from that of the outside world.
A well-organized city gate stands in front, guarded by soldiers on duty. People enter the city in an orderly queue, proceeding step by step.
Zhou Qi's senses are now far superior to those of the people of Xuchang, and he can see the state of the city gate guards at a glance.
Several city-guarding cultivators were lax and negligent, chatting and laughing in twos and threes in the shadows of the city gate. They appeared to be on duty, but in reality, they only occasionally glanced at the procession entering the city and perfunctorily maintained order.
Seeing that there was no hindrance to entering the city, Zhou Qi took the opportunity to walk to the end of the line and slowly stepped into the capital city of Yunting City with the flow of people.
The layout and scenery within the city are very similar to those of Lin'an City.
The buildings, of varying heights, are built along the street in a neat and orderly manner. A smooth main street, about three or four zhang wide, runs through the entire city. The road surface is paved with a mixture of pure-colored fluorite fragments, giving it a warm and clean feel.
Unlike the city walls, which were entirely luminous, the fluorite inside the city was only used for lighting fixtures such as eaves and street lamps.
The amount used was just right, the soft light was not dazzling, and it covered the entire long street, enough to illuminate the fireworks of the city.
Zhou Qi slowed his pace, strolling slowly along the long street, his gaze sweeping over the passersby without making a sound, silently exploring the cultivation patterns of this world.
Men, women, and children passing by on the street were all surrounded by Primordial Qi, varying in strength.
With the system prompts, a series of realm indicators clearly appeared.
The vast majority of passersby were at the Qi-Gathering Realm, roughly the same level as the two brothers who died tragically outside the city, representing the most basic cultivation level in this world.
Occasionally, a handful of people would display a profound and refined aura, reaching the Essence Mansion Establishment Realm, making them rare and skilled individuals on the streets.
As for the even stronger Condensed Origin Pivot Realm, only two or three were seen walking down the entire street.
Zhou Qi quickly compared and calculated in his mind, instantly clarifying the corresponding relationships of the cultivation system in the Hidden-Heaven Realm.
The Qi-Gathering Realm involves drawing Primordial Qi into the body, corresponding to the Qi Refining Realm stage in the Profound Spirit Realm.
Upon the Essence Mansion Establishment Realm, one opens up the Inner Palace Qi Sea, corresponding to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
The even more advanced Condensed Origin Pivot Realm should correspond to the qualitative leap of the Golden Core Realm.
As for higher realms beyond the Condensed Origin Pivot Realm, none can be seen on this street, so it's impossible to estimate them for the time being.
At the same time, he also noticed a phenomenon.
The street was packed with people, but there were only four or five people like him, dressed cleanly and without any fluctuations of Primordial Qi.
The rest of the people were all ragged beggars slumped on the side of the street.
Those who lack Primordial Qi and cannot cultivate themselves are presumably the lowest of the low, the lowest class of people.
After wandering around and exploring, Zhou Qi had already grasped most of the rules, realms, and secular levels of this world.
The common currency in Yunting City is also gold and silver, and no special cultivation spirit stone currency has been created.
Fortunately, his Storage Pendant still contained a considerable amount of gold and silver ingots that he had exchanged during his trip to Great Yong some time ago, enough to sustain him for a short period of time.
After a moment's thought, Zhou Qi found a simply-looking inn on the street and stepped inside.
The waiter who came to greet them had a fluctuating aura, indicating that he was at the fourth level of the Qi-Gathering Realm, which was considered quite powerful even in an ordinary market.
He took the silver from Zhou Qi, his gaze sweeping over Zhou Qi casually, and he keenly noticed that Zhou Qi's body was empty, with no Primordial Qi flowing around him.
A hint of disdain flashed across the waiter's eyes, and even the perfunctory smile on his face vanished. He casually tossed over a key to the large dormitory room, his attitude utterly careless.
Zhou Qi was slightly taken aback, mistakenly thinking that the silver he had given was insufficient. He immediately took out two heavy pieces of silver from the inner pocket of his coarse cloth-wrapped clothes and handed them over. "Please change to a single room."
Upon receiving the two pieces of silver, the waiter's eyes lit up, but the contempt in his eyes grew even stronger. Instead of being polite, he raised his hand and shoved Zhou Qi hard, his face full of disdain and mockery.
"A worthless piece of trash like you, incapable of cultivation, dares to live in a single mansion? Do you expect me, a cultivator, to serve you?"
It had been a long time since anyone had dared to speak to him in such an attitude. A sudden surge of murderous intent rose in Zhou Qi's heart, but it quickly vanished.
Zhou Qi suppressed his emotions and feigned embarrassment with a forced laugh, "No, no!"
He took the simple key to the large communal sleeping area and humbly inquired, "Please forgive me, esteemed immortal master, but I am also interested in cultivation. Does anyone know where in the city I can cultivate my Primordial Qi?"
Upon hearing this, the waiter, who had initially been dismissive, paused, looked Zhou Qi up and down, and narrowed his eyes slightly, revealing a hint of caution.
"You're quite strange. Cultivation and entering the Dao is common knowledge, yet you don't even know where to cultivate?"
Zhou Qi's heart tightened slightly. He had already prepared his words, and immediately raised his hand to brush aside the messy hair on his forehead, revealing the dense and grotesque scars on his scalp.
Those were the marks left on his body from being repeatedly torn apart in the spatial rift.
"I suffered a severe injury in the second half of the year, a head injury that caused me to lose most of my memory. I am confused about everything and hope that the immortal master can guide me."
The waiter stared at the scarred body, all his surprise and doubt vanished, replaced by deep disgust, and he believed his story.
"I see." He curled his lip, his tone perfunctory and impatient. "There are hundreds of martial arts schools in our Yunting City capital that can cultivate Primordial Qi, but most of them have extremely high requirements for Root Bone and physique."
"At your age, you've long passed the optimal time for enlightenment, and having suffered such a severe injury, your Root Bone must be damaged. Cultivating your Primordial Qi will be difficult..."
Seeing this, Zhou Qi handed over another piece of silver. "I hope the immortal master can point me in the right direction. I would be extremely grateful."
Being treated with such respect and receiving the money, the waiter's expression softened considerably. He took the money and spoke in a deep voice.
"Forget about the major martial arts schools in the city; they don't accept disabled or crippled individuals."
"There are three or four low-end boxing gyms over in the slums, with very low entry requirements. You could try your luck there."
"Remember the rules: if you want to become an apprentice, you must prepare a ten-tael gold introductory gift; not a penny less."
"Ten taels of gold?" Zhou Qi murmured softly.
"Of course! Cultivation is about defying fate and changing one's destiny. Ten taels of gold to become a disciple is an old rule passed down from ancient times, and it is never broken." The waiter raised his eyes arrogantly.
Zhou Qi nodded slightly, bowed his thanks, and turned to walk towards the large communal sleeping area in the backyard.
But before he had gone far, he could still clearly feel a cold gaze fixed on his back.
The waiter squinted at his retreating figure, his eyes gleaming with undisguised greed.
An ordinary person who hasn't embarked on a cultivation journey, without any foundation or support, yet carrying a considerable amount of silver...
This is practically a sacred body for murder and robbery.
Zhou Qi smiled faintly to himself, not taking this little trick to heart.
He had just arrived and didn't want to cause trouble and reveal his cultivation level.
Otherwise, with his power, half the people in the room would die if he sneezed.