Inside the City

Upon hearing this, Zhu Chengzi's carefully cultivated state of mind vanished entirely. Overjoyed, he said, "Thank you for the praise, Manager Liu. May your auspicious words come true!"

Manager Liu gave a slight nod and said nothing more. His gaze swept over the densely packed cultivators, his expression indifferent. "Since you all wish to enter Border City, you will need to pay a fee of ten thousand Spirit Crystals. I presume Zhu Chengzi has already explained this to you?"

The crowd did not stir much at his words, all silently accepting it. Many had accumulated ample reserves at Hanging Mountain, but after tens of thousands of years of almost nonstop travel, coupled with the Path to Ascension's suppression of True Energy to a certain extent, the power of their spells and divine abilities had been considerably diminished.

Over all these years, the Spirit Crystals they had amassed were nearly exhausted. Still, ten thousand Spirit Crystals could be scraped together one way or another by these cultivators, who were at least Late Celestial Immortals.

Thus, when Manager Liu demanded ten thousand Spirit Crystals, no one was foolish enough to object. Circumstances were stronger than people. If they wanted to enter Border City, Manager Liu's route was their only option.

The group paid their ten thousand Spirit Crystals. Lu Ren did not draw attention to himself either. Only after he had obediently handed over his ten thousand Spirit Crystals did Manager Liu's frosty expression ease somewhat. He said calmly, "Fellow Daoists, you have all come from the Cosmic Great World. You set foot upon the Path to Ascension only because you cling to the desire to go further. The Myriad Immortals Alliance is kindhearted; only we dare take on the role of guides. Others are not so benevolent.

"This place gathers most