"Are you a guest invited to attend this Celestial Master Ceremony?"
The questioning soldier left Chen Qing and his group somewhat puzzled.
The territory of Cloud Capital begins at the famous Triple Pass, which corresponds to the east, west, and south directions. Each pass has a natural checkpoint, heavily guarded by soldiers. Long caravans of merchants and goods line up and wait for inspection from a distance.
Unlike in Jiangnan, where goods and gatekeepers don't require careful inspection and demons are automatically identified, the checks here rely heavily on armored soldiers. They meticulously inspect each person, opening package after package to examine the goods, making the queue at the entrance exceptionally long.
Chen Qing heard that many merchants who came here brought tents and were prepared to camp out here, because if they arrived at this location in the afternoon, they would basically have to wait until the next day. This was a consensus among the merchants of Cloud Capital.
They didn't have to wait long. They had only been there a short while and were still thinking about how to cut in line and talk to the soldiers at the checkpoint when a soldier actually came up to them and asked.
This made Chen Qing's gaze turn to the invitation again.
The invitation was examined by the academy on the very first day it was received. It contained no magical markings or runes, nor any trace of energy. The material was also very ordinary, just plain Nanyang paper, the kind produced in Jiangnan.
But if there's nothing on the invitation, how did the other party pinpoint their location?
Chen Qing had no recollection of ever contacting the Cloud Capital forces to announce his arrival.
"How did this general know we were here?" Shen Qi asked with a smile, showing no stage fright.
"You're too kind, sir. How could I possibly be worthy of being called a general?" The soldier chuckled and said, "The Celestial Master has calculated everything in the world. He had his superiors send me here to guard this place early this morning. He said that if the paper crane flies up on its own, it means a distinguished guest has arrived. This guest must be the Lord King of Qin, right?"
The soldier looked at Chen Qing, Chen Qing also saw the paper crane at the soldier's waist. It looked like an ordinary thing, like a paper crane made of folded paper. There was no energy fluctuation, but you could see that the paper crane was moving gently on its own.
"That's quite unusual," Shen Qi replied with a smile. "Your Celestial Master is truly incredibly powerful."
"Of course." The soldier puffed out his chest, beaming with pride. Clearly, the Celestial Master held a very high position in the heart of this ordinary soldier.
Chen Qing and Shen Qi exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with seriousness.
Has he calculated everything in the world?
Ha. Even the Heavenly Secrets wouldn't dare say that. This Celestial Master Zhang has quite the nerve.
The strange thing is those papers.
The first person Chen Qing thought of was Mr. Origami.
Not all mystical powers in this world are spells. The talents of demons themselves often cannot be explained by spells. For example, Mr. Origami can turn ordinary paper into something magical and do many incredible things.
In his hands, an ordinary piece of white paper can even become someone who monitors you.
This extraordinary talent is the real reason why demons and monsters roam freely in this world.
But Mr. Origami has only been dead for less than ten years. Even if he were to be reborn immediately, he wouldn't be old enough to be alive now, would he?
Chen Qing rubbed the invitation card in her hand, becoming increasingly cautious.
This guy from Heavenly Capital has some rather strange abilities.
The group followed the soldiers, enjoying the green light all the way, and soon entered the checkpoint. After entering the checkpoint, the road was flat and open. From the checkpoint to Cloud Capital, the plains and fertile fields were visible everywhere, stretching as far as the eye could see. The black soil under the vast white snow exuded a charming fragrance.
Looking at this natural environment, even Chen Qing, the designer, couldn't help but sigh that this place was rather illogical.
If this happened in ancient times, how could they not fight tooth and nail to get their hands on it?
The fact that Cloud Capital can support billions of people is no exaggeration. No wonder that Cloud Capital can manage its own affairs. With such a unique advantage, how could it not thrive?
As I rode along, I saw farmers everywhere who had already begun spring plowing and loosening the soil.
There were many of them, and everyone was wearing thick cotton-padded clothes with joyful smiles on their faces.
Chen Qing had only seen this kind of genuine smile in Jiangnan, and that was in Jiangnan, which he had nurtured with the Divine Path Style for five years. But in this place, without any means of support, relying solely on the natural environment, it seemed to be a prosperous and happy land.
This seemed somewhat abnormal to Chen Qing.
With the Earth Spirit Revival, in theory, even earthworms in the ground could turn into man-eating monsters, and the better the natural environment, the more severe the disaster. However, there is no sign of that panic here.
Chen Qing could clearly sense the spiritual energy emanating from the surrounding fields, which was already the standard for the Earth Spirit Revival, yet it seemed that nothing had gone wrong.
He was even more astonished. Those people from Cloud Capital were no ordinary people. Without relying on ancient times, how could they protect ordinary people under such circumstances? What was their background?
"My lord," Shen Qi said, also filled with curiosity inside the carriage, "There's not a trace of resentment. There probably aren't many demons in this Cloud Capital region."
Chen Qing nodded slightly. They had also investigated other places. The world had changed drastically. Even the wild grass by the roadside had the power to kill. Hundreds of billions of people in Guanzhong had disappeared without a trace, most of them dying at the hands of monsters that revived along the way.
Even in Jiangnan, the Mountain God and immortal farmers are always on guard. Whenever there is a malevolent spirit or a demon is born, there are special Mountain God Guard to deal with it. Even so, tragic things have still happened. Not to mention the southeastern region and the newly developed islands of the West Sea, where mountain spirits are everywhere and sea monsters are rampant, requiring a large number of troops to maintain order.
But throughout our journey through Cloud Capital, we haven't seen any troops maintaining order. How is this vast expanse of peace and tranquility being maintained?
Does this place not harbor demons?
How is that possible?
"Isn't that strange?" Ziyue suddenly said.
Chen Qing and Shen Qi quickly looked over.
Ziyue then spoke softly, "Actually, when the Warlock Dynasty was founded, it was also the time when there were the fewest demons in history. According to my later investigation, many people in those years did not even know what demons were, just like the Great Jin in recent years."
"Is that so?" This was the first time Chen Qing had heard Ziyue bring it up on her own initiative, and he was extremely surprised.
Is it true that there are no demons in the Demon World?
Even the King of Qin's transformation of the world only maintained this situation for less than twenty years. Demons and monsters still plagued the land. Did the Warlock Dynasty exist for nearly ten thousand years in history?
Can ten thousand years suppress demons?
What kind of divine dynasty?
"That's why I highly doubt the identity of the person who created the dynasty," Ziyue whispered. "I've suspected for a long time that the founders of the Warlock Dynasty weren't from this world. They were able to evade the forces of the ancient players and track down the Samsara players. These methods don't seem like something the natives could pull off."
"A player?" Chen Qing frowned, but who among them could accomplish all this?
Filled with doubt, the carriage traveled leisurely for a day and a night before arriving at the Cloud Capital. Before even entering the city, Chen Qing saw a familiar face, an unexpected one.
There stood a woman at the door. She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but her demeanor was unparalleled. More importantly, Chen Qing recognized her face and knew who she was.
That makes it even more unbelievable.
How could that person possibly come here in person?
"You know him?" Ziyue asked curiously.
She also felt an unprecedented and inexplicable pressure emanating from the woman in red.
" Kagura."
Ziyue was startled. She had heard this name from Heavenly Secrets. It was the name of the guild leader of the Divine Martial Guild, one of the Four Great Guilds!