Free Web NovelChapter 328: Arriving at Myriad Laws Immortal City
The azure spirit boat sped through the clouds. Fang Hao stood at the bow, his robes fluttering in the wind. After several months of travel and recuperation, his state had returned to its Peak. His aura as a Perfected Golden Core was as heavy and solid as a mountain, and his Divine Sense spread out like a tide, taking in everything within a radius of several dozen miles.
On the horizon ahead, the outline of a massive city gradually became clear. Initially, it was just a faint line, but as the distance closed, the silhouette rapidly enlarged and solidified, finally transforming into a colossal object that stretched across the sky and earth, appearing boundless.
Myriad Laws Immortal City.
Even with Fang Hao’s current state of mind, he could not help but feel a slight shock upon seeing it for the first time.
This city did not rely on mountains or water, standing majestically upon the vast plain just like that. The city walls were over a hundred zhang high and constructed entirely from a cyan-grey "Spirit Suppressing Jade." Under the sunlight, they shimmered with a warm and dense Spiritual Qi, faintly forming a super-massive defensive formation that covered the entire city. On the city walls, there was a towering runic arrow tower every thousand zhang, their tips spitting out spiritual light and emitting a heart-palpitating pressure.
Countless streams of light shuttled back and forth above the city like a dense meteor shower; those were Cultivators driving various types of flying Magical Artifacts. There were simple Flying Swords, magnificent tower ships, ferocious bone dragons, and even a few fierce-looking Fourth-Rank flying Demon Beasts carrying their masters through the sky. Human voices, beast roars, and the sounds of Magical Artifacts breaking through the air intertwined into a clamorous din, yet it all seemed orderly under some invisible order.
At the city gate, the flow of people was like a weave. Fang Hao put away his azure spirit boat and followed the crowd toward the gate, which was several dozen zhang high. Guarding the gate were eight Golden Core Cultivators dressed in uniform silver armor. Their auras were fierce, their gazes as sharp as eagles, and they conducted simple checks on those entering the city, mainly looking for characteristics of the Demonic Path or wanted criminals, and collecting the entry fee.
When it was Fang Hao’s turn, he handed over fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones. The silver-armored guard took them, swept his Divine Sense over Fang Hao, and seeing nothing unusual, handed over a wooden token engraved with a number. He said in a deep voice, "The entry fee is fifty Spirit Stones, and you may stay in the city for ten days. If you need to extend your stay, go to the City Administration Office to process it. Private duels are prohibited within the city, and flying at high altitudes is prohibited; violators will be severely punished."
Fang Hao took the token, thanked him, and followed the crowd through the gate.
Upon entering the city, he felt even more shocked.
The streets were a hundred zhang wide, paved with smooth bluestone slabs, allowing ten carriages to pass side-by-side. Shops lined both sides, varying in height and style, including antique-style Alchemy pavilions, Artifact Refining workshops with treasure light piercing the sky, medical halls filled with the fragrance of medicine, as well as general stores hanging precious treasures and bustling auction houses. The sounds of hawking, bargaining, Artifact Refining, and the roaring of furnace fires mixed with the thick, varied Spiritual Qi and the atmosphere of mortal life, rushing toward him.
Pedestrians were shoulder-to-shoulder. Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment Cultivators were as numerous as crucian carp, Golden Core Cultivators were also visible everywhere, and occasionally, one could even sense a few strands of Nascent Soul auras that were as deep as an abyss. There were many people in strange attire: Body Cultivators carrying giant swords, Soul Cultivators shrouded in black robes, half-Yao with pointed ears and green eyes, and even a few dwarf blacksmiths less than three feet tall but with knotted muscles hammering weapons on the street.
"Truly worthy of being the holy city of the Western Region, it is magnificent," Fang Hao sighed inwardly. Compared to this place, although Tiangong City was prosperous, it lacked a bit of tolerance and grandeur.
He was not in a hurry to wander around and first found an inn near the city gate called "Cloud Coming Residence." The innkeeper was a stout old man at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage with a beaming smile.
"Innkeeper, one superior room for ten days." Fang Hao handed over three hundred and fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones (ten days’ room fee plus deposit).
"Alright! Room Number 3 of the Jia block, quiet and elegant, equipped with a small Spirit Gathering Formation. Fellow Daoist, please follow me." The innkeeper took the Spirit Stones and personally led the way.
The room was not large, but it was neatly arranged, and the Spirit Gathering Formation’s effect was decent, sufficient for daily Cultivation. Fang Hao set up a few of his own Restrictions before sitting down at the table and taking out the map Jade Slip to carefully examine the detailed layout of Myriad Laws Immortal City.
The city was generally divided into three layers: the Outer City, the Inner City, and the Core Area. The Outer City area was the largest, mostly consisting of shops, inns, and low-level Immortal Cave rental areas, a mixture of fish and dragons. The Inner City was where major chambers of commerce, renowned alchemists and artifact refiners, and high-level Immortal Cave areas were located; one needed to pay additional fees or meet certain conditions to enter. The most core area was the center of power for Myriad Laws Immortal City, jointly controlled by several top-tier forces, which ordinary Cultivators could hardly set foot in.
"nascent soul pill formula..." Fang Hao’s finger tapped lightly on the "Alchemy Pavilion" and "Ten Thousand Treasure Palace" markers on the map. These two places were the largest trading venues for Medicinal Pills and treasures in the city, and they were the most likely places to come into contact with Advanced Pill Formulas.
However, he did not head there immediately. Such a great treasure could not be obtained easily. He needed to first figure out the rules of the city, the distribution of forces, and the exact news about the nascent soul pill formula.
Over the next few days, Fang Hao walked around the Outer City area of Myriad Laws Immortal City like an ordinary Golden Core Loose Cultivator. He went in and out of major Medicinal Pill shops and material stores, asking about the nascent soul forming pill; he sat quietly in teahouses and wine shops, listening to the conversations of Cultivators; and he even spent a few Spirit Stones to purchase a briefing on recent news about Myriad Laws Immortal City at the "Heavenly Secret Pavilion."
Synthesizing information from all sides, he had a clearer understanding of Myriad Laws Immortal City.
This city was managed by the "Myriad Laws Alliance," which was formed by the three major top-tier Sects of the Western Region—the Heavenly Derivation Sect, the Divine Weapon Pavilion, and the Medicine King Valley—along with dozens of large forces, maintaining basic order in the city. Private duels were indeed prohibited in the city; violators would be arrested by the law enforcement team, fined and expelled at best, or have their Cultivation crippled at worst. However, secret struggles and black market transactions still existed.
As for Soul Transformation Cultivators, it was rumored that they did indeed exist, but they were all Old Ancestor-level figures sitting in the important areas of their Sects, rarely appearing publicly in the city. Those who usually sat in this city were mostly Late Nascent Soul Stage great Cultivators.
As for the nascent soul pill formula, just as he had expected, it was tightly controlled by various major forces and would never be leaked. "nascent soul forming pills" occasionally appeared on the market, but they were mostly at top-tier auctions, and the prices were ridiculously high, easily reaching millions of Spirit Stones, and they were mostly traded by barter. Pill Formula? Even rumors were rarely circulated.
"It seems I can only pin my hopes on the upcoming ’Myriad Laws Assembly’." Fang Hao looked at the eye-catching headline on the briefing—"Decennial Myriad Laws Assembly, starting in half a month, Soul Transformation preaching, ten thousand treasures auction."
The briefing mentioned that this assembly was of a very high standard, with Soul Transformation Stage Seniors publicly preaching and holding multiple top-tier auctions. Perhaps, in such an occasion, clues to the nascent soul pill formula would appear, or even... the Pill Formula itself.
"Half a month..." Fang Hao pondered. He needed to make some preparations. Whether participating in the auction or inquiring about news, he needed sufficient financial resources and chips.
He took stock of himself. In Mo Yunhe’s storage ring, there were still millions of Spirit Stones, and various Materials and Magic Treasures were of considerable value. But if he wanted to compete for the nascent soul pill formula, it would likely still be insufficient.
"Perhaps I can sell some treasures I don’t use in exchange for Spirit Stones, or... refine some Medicinal Pills." Fang Hao’s eyes flashed. His Alchemy skills had now reached the Fourth Rank. If he could refine a few furnaces of rare Medicinal Pills, he would certainly be able to sell them for a high price.
Having made up his mind, Fang Hao left the inn and headed toward the Inner City. There, there were higher-level trading venues, and he could come into contact with high-level Cultivator circles.
The vastness and prosperity of Myriad Laws Immortal City far exceeded any city he had seen before. Every step could contain opportunities or crises. But for the sake of the nascent soul pill formula, for the sake of that Heaven-reaching Dao, he had to find his own small boat in this vast ocean.
On the tenth day of entering the city, Fang Hao stood at the entrance of the Inner City, paid the one-hundred Spirit Stone "entry fee," and under the scrutinizing gaze of a Golden Core guard, slowly stepped into the Inner City area, where the Spiritual Qi was denser and the buildings were more magnificent.
A new challenge was about to begin.
