Thousand Hills Town
Three years later, Shen Ge and his companions encountered their first real crisis: Snow Snake at the early stage of the fourth tier.
Fortunately, this Demon Beast was only at the early stage of the fourth rank, while they had three Nascent Soul. With the three of them outnumbering the beast, the Snow Snake was killed by the combined efforts of the three of them before it could even show its ferocity.
Perhaps it was this battle that attracted the attention of the Demon Beast, because ever since then, they have been encountering Demon Beast, both third-tier and fourth-tier.
Fortunately, these fourth-tier Demon Beast were not yet at the late stage of their strength, and they did not come in groups, which gave Shen Ge and his group some chance to survive.
After all, given their current strength, even two early-stage fourth-tier Demon Beast would likely result in some casualties, let alone Demon Beast above that level.
Through fighting and infiltration, the group made their way forward without major incident.
Seventy years later, Shen Ge and his group successfully left the icy world and arrived at the forest.
Although the journey wasn't smooth, they were fortunate enough not to encounter any overly powerful Demon Beast, and no one was injured.
It seems those people in front cleaned it up very well.
Here they found traces left by those people before them, and judging from those traces, they seemed to have been gone for a long time.
"Let's go, let's keep going," Mo Qingyu said. "Everyone be careful, this forest isn't much safer than that icy world."
Above the clouds, the group concealed themselves and flew at high speed, but after flying for nearly 20,000 miles, they did not encounter a single fourth-tier Demon Beast, although they did encounter quite a few third-tier Demon Beast.
However, even third-tier Demon Beast couldn't detect them, so no battle ever occurred.
Ten days later, after flying 100,000 miles, the group finally spotted some traces of human activity.
The group searched the area and indeed found a cultivator who was only at the Golden Core Stage.
Shen Ge stepped forward and asked, "Fellow Daoist, I'd like to ask you something. Would it be convenient for you?"
The cultivator, who looked like an old farmer and was in the Late Golden Core Stage, couldn't discern the other party's cultivation level. He quickly bowed respectfully and replied, "Senior, please feel free to ask me anything you wish to know."
"I was in seclusion in this area when I suddenly sensed the aura of a Spirit Severing Realm expert. I wonder what's been going on lately?"
"Spirit Severing Realm expert?" The old farmer pondered for a moment before replying, "Senior, I'm not too sure either. This Thousand Hills Mountain Range is already considered a wild and untamed area. Although it's possible to find good things here, the chances are extremely small. Usually, even Nascent Soul Realm cultivators don't like to come here to search for treasures. Only powerless Golden Core Rogue Cultivator like us occasionally come here to wander around."
"However, about fifty years ago, a large group of people emerged from this place. Although the vast majority of them were Golden Core cultivators, three Spirit Severing Realm experts led the group. No one knows what these people were doing in the Thousand Hills Mountain Range, but according to those who saw them at the time, each of them carried an aura of killing intent."
"Where did those people go in the end?" Shen Ge continued to ask.
"I don't know about that," the old farmer with the Golden Core cultivation shook his head and said, "But after those people came out, they seemed to have scattered in Thousand Hills Town, and I don't know where they went."
"Thank you for clearing up my doubts, fellow Daoist." Shen Ge cupped his hands in thanks, then turned and left.
Golden Core old farmer bowed respectfully, but inwardly he couldn't help but complain, "He just left like that, without even leaving anything behind!"
But he only dared to think these words to himself; he would never dare to say them aloud.
Back with the group, Shen Ge said, "This mountain range is called the Thousand Hills Mountain Range. If we're comparing it to other places, this area is more like the countryside. There's a town not far ahead called Thousand Hills Town, but I don't know its exact size."
"Let's go then, it'll be a good opportunity to gather some intelligence," Mo Qingyu nodded and said.
The group hadn't flown for long when the forests below became rather desolate, with cultivators occasionally seen entering the mountains in search of treasures.
After flying for about two hours, a magnificent city, exuding a wild and Savage Wilderness atmosphere, came into view nestled among the mountains.
Is this a town? This is clearly a giant city! It's more than half the size of the Phoenix Kingdom's main city.
After assessing the situation, it seemed that flying was prohibited in the town, so Shen Ge and the others landed at the city gate.
To be fair, the gatekeepers here are all Golden Core experts, and most of them are in the Late Golden Core Stage, which shows that the town is not weak.
"Do you have a residence token to enter the town?" a guard at the peak of the Golden Core Peak asked as he stepped forward.
Shen Ge shook her head to indicate no.
"Since you don't have a residence token, you'll need to pay fifty Spirit Stone."
Fifty Spirit Stone isn't too expensive.
Shen Ge waved his hand and took out five hundred spirit stones, handing them over.
But the guard didn't accept it, instead shaking his head and saying, "Five hundred low-grade Spirit Stone per person."
What's the meaning?
Does this mean that the Spirit Stone he mentioned earlier were of medium or higher Spirit Stone?
Without arguing, Shen Ge waved his hand and took out four thousand five hundred low-grade Spirit Stone, handing them over.
After putting away the Spirit Stone, the guard took out ten tokens that looked like they were made of wood, with a tree carved on each one.
"This is a temporary identity token, but it only allows you to stay in town for three years. If you don't come out after that time, the law enforcement team might not be so forgiving."
"However, if you wish to obtain a permanent residency token, it will cost 50,000 low-grade Spirit Stone per person or 5,000 mid-grade Spirit Stone per person."
"If you're short of Spirit Stone, you can go to the city center to accept quests. As long as you complete three quests, you can exchange them for the right to reside permanently," the guard explained. He wouldn't have told them so much if it weren't for the fact that there were three Nascent Soul Realm cultivators among them.
Although he couldn't tell how long the other party had cultivated to reach the Nascent Soul Realm, that didn't stop him from forming a good relationship, since what if one of them broke through to the Spirit Severing Realm?
Don't underestimate this small advancement in cultivation level; compared to the Nascent Soul stage, the difference between the Spirit Severing and the Nascent Soul is like heaven and earth, a world apart.
"Thank you for informing me." Shen Ge expressed his gratitude and then led everyone into the city.
After entering the city, the outer areas are inhabited by mortals. Although there are cultivators moving around, it is still generally a mortal area.
Upon entering the inner city at its heart, cultivators were everywhere, various Demon Beast carriages traveled the roads, and shops owned by cultivators lined both sides of the streets, creating a bustling and vibrant scene.
The group went into a shop called Heavenly Knowledge Pavilion. Right now, the most important thing was to gather some information; everything else could be dealt with later.