Return to Moonless City
The Moonless City, ten thousand years later, seems no different from what it was ten thousand years ago. Compared to the lifeless Spring Returns City, it is clearly more vibrant.
Sang Ying paid the entrance fee of one Spirit Stone and then looked around the entire city.
There are more otherworldly cultivators here than in other cities, but the Spiritual Qi in the air is also more mixed.
The Moonless City seems to be filled with both hope and despair, with a bright future on one side and an endless abyss on the other.
Sang Ying glanced at it twice and then lowered her eyelashes. According to Xiao Sanzi, the Sun-Chasing Hall was hidden in this city. If they wanted to dig out this terrible piece of rotten flesh, Moonless City would probably be greatly affected.
But these are not things that Sang Ying can consider. Their primary task here is to retrieve Jiang Zhuoxue's fingernails, and only then can they eliminate the scourge that is Sun-Chasing Hall!
"Hurry up and stop dawdling! Do you know that because of you, we had to pay an extra Spirit Stone!" Gu Shu's shouts quickly brought Sang Ying back to reality.
She turned her head and saw Gu Shu quietly scolding the Wuming man who had been dragged into the city.
That person was a member of the Sun-Chasing Hall who had previously followed Xiao Sanzi in attacking the Wuming. Because of Shopkeeper Zhao's words, Xiao Sanzi revealed everything he knew.
Later, Shopkeeper Zhao gave all the Spirit Stone he had saved up over the years to Jiang Zhuoxue, begging him to remove the dragon blood from Xiao Sanzi.
Jiang Zhuoxue had originally asked if she wanted to help Xiao Sanzi fuse the dragon blood.
But Shopkeeper Zhao refused, saying, "I haven't taught this child well; he's gone astray. I haven't corrected him yet. Let him learn some skills from others once he's truly learned them properly."
Shopkeeper Zhao wasn't worried about Xiao Sanzi being unambitious; he was just afraid that Xiao Sanzi would end up going astray.
However, the other person who attacked the Wuming person along with Xiao Sanzi — the Rogue Cultivator Yu Heng— was not so cooperative.
Although he knew that Sun-Chasing Hall had deceived him, he didn't really trust Sang Ying and her group. During the many days that Sang Ying had held him captive, she had questioned him countless times, but he remained silent, like a mute.
If Yu Heng hadn't been so quick-witted when he threatened Duan Hanyi earlier, everyone would have thought he was speechless.
"Since you think Spirit Stone are too expensive, why don't you just release me? It's not like I begged you to bring me into Moonless City." Perhaps because he had already been brought to Moonless City and felt he had no way out, Yu Heng, who had been keeping his mouth shut for so long, finally spoke up.
Gu Shu, angered by his rebuttal, almost jumped up on the spot, raising her chubby fist to punch him.
In the end, Duan Hanyi grabbed him. "Why are you paying attention to him? The red markings are almost all over his body now, he's on the verge of death. What's the use of a dying man being so stubborn?"
When it comes to provoking people, Duan Hanyi is truly skilled. As soon as he said those words, Yu Heng's face immediately turned ugly.
Seeing this, Gu Shu stuck out her tongue at Yu Heng with a smug look.
Sang Ying reached out and pinched the childish boy back onto her shoulder. The group headed towards the city, their destination being the inn where Sang Ying and Jiang Zhuoxue had once stayed together.
That inn was the stronghold of the Yin Mountain Sect, but it's unknown whether it still exists after ten thousand years.
They were all quite distinguished, attracting attention even in Moonless City, a place teeming with cultivators from other worlds.
So before Sang Ying and the others could even find the familiar inn, someone approached them.
"Where do you fellow Daoists come from?" Among the group of people in black robes, a young man dressed in white and holding a white paper fan stood out.
He immediately struck up a conversation with Jiang Zhuoxue upon arrival, his slender, fox-like eyes narrowing slightly, revealing him to be a shrewd man.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself." Before Jiang Zhuoxue could speak, the man bowed and said, "I am a Rogue Cultivator from Moonless City, you can call me Baixiaosheng. My family has been making a living in Moonless City for generations, and we have lived here for a thousand years."
Sang Ying and Jiang Zhuoxue exchanged a glance and immediately understood the purpose of this person's initiative to strike up a conversation.
"Hehe, I see you all look unfamiliar, so I guess you're from other small worlds. If you don't mind, I can shamelessly introduce you to Moonless City." Baixiaosheng's demeanor was poised and elegant, and his appearance was also handsome and refined. He spoke and acted with propriety, making him quite agreeable.
Although they had lived in this city for some time, they had been gone for ten thousand years. Thinking this, Jiang Zhuoxue still said, "We are all newcomers and are worried about offending someone we shouldn't and breaking any taboos in the city. Since you are so generous and enthusiastic, why don't you tell us about it?"
Baixiaosheng skillfully twirled his fan and cheerfully began, "Then I'll be so bold as to tell you all about it today. This Moonless City has a long history; Moonless City has stood here for tens of thousands of years. At that time, the most powerful force in the city was a family surnamed Wuyue. Later, the Liu Clan established the Yin Mountain Sect here, and the Yin Mountain Sect and the Moonless Clan began a power struggle that lasted for hundreds of years."
Although Duan Hanyi knew a little about Moonless City, he only had a superficial understanding. Hearing this, he asked curiously, "And then?"
"Then, the Yin Mountain Sect somehow found three benefactors who helped them suppress the Moonless Household in a battle. At that time, the Moonless Household was already showing signs of decline. So when the sect leader of the Yin Mountain Sect took the position of acting city lord, the entire Moonless Household declined uncontrollably." At this point, Baixiaosheng also let out a long sigh.
"You all know what happened next. The Moonless Clan left this city in search of survival and went elsewhere to create new strength. However, it seems that heaven did not protect the Moonless Clan. Even after leaving this place, they did not get the ending they wanted and once again handed over the city they had built with their own hands."
As one of the protagonists of the rumors, Sang Ying couldn't help but feel emotional after hearing these.
She didn't have a good impression of the Moonless Clan to begin with, but when she recalled how they had twice helped a city rise to prominence, only to lose it to someone else in the end, she couldn't help but feel a little sad.
Baixiaosheng continued, "Now that the Moonless Clan is gone from the city, some people suggested to City Lord Liu that the name be changed. However, City Lord Liu, out of consideration for the contributions of the former Moonless Household Head to the city, rejected the suggestion and kept the name."
"If you intend to stay in the city for an extended period, you must be careful not to offend the Yin Mountain Sect. Their sect leader, Liu Duanyue, is now the city lord. However, you don't need to worry too much. City Lord Liu is kind and not the kind of person who acts unreasonably. Similarly, the disciples of the Yin Mountain Sect are not the kind of people who would bully others with their power. As long as you do not do anything immoral or violate the city's rules, they will naturally not do anything to you."
As they spoke, they arrived at the familiar inn.
When Sang Ying looked up, she saw that the name on the plaque above the inn had been changed.