Chapter 28: Wangyue Immortal City

Zhu Yinhua looked disappointed, and his enthusiasm plummeted. "Fine, fine, a tiger skin it is then."

"You fat bastard, swindling people here again! Stop right there! Let's see if I don't skin you alive!"

Just as Lu Xiaotian was about to take the booklet titled *Regulations of the Immortal City*, a voice like a sudden thunderclap rang out. He looked up to see a middle-aged Taoist in green, brandishing a long sword and charging toward them with murderous intent.

"Little brother, keep that booklet safe. I'm leaving!" Seeing the newcomer, Zhu Yinhua's fat body trembled. He shoved the booklet into Lu Xiaotian's hands, snatched the tiger skin, and vanished into the bushes with incredible speed and practiced agility.

"Let that dead fat man get away again!" The green-clad Taoist came to a halt, filled with regret. He turned to Lu Xiaotian and asked, "Little brother, did you see clearly which direction that fat man fled?"

"No, he was too fast, and there's too much tall grass around to tell. Is that man surnamed Zhu an enemy of yours?" Lu Xiaotian was filled with questions.

"Not an enemy, exactly, but that dead fat man is incredibly devious. He specializes in scams, tricking low-level rogue cultivators traveling from the secular kingdoms to Moon-Gazing City. Seeing him take something from you, it seems you've been fooled as well," the green-clad Taoist said indignantly.

"This *Regulations of the Immortal City* should be somewhat useful, and the price wasn't expensive," Lu Xiaotian said, holding up the booklet.

"Not expensive? It still cost a spirit stone! Once you reach the Immortal City, there are notices regarding the city's systems right at the gates. That fat bastard merely hand-copied a version and intentionally exaggerated the consequences to swindle low-level rogue cultivators who haven't been to the Immortal City before. As for that map scroll, they are common as dirt in the Immortal City; they only cost one low-grade spirit stone. That fat man charged me three spirit stones! He swindled my entire fortune and left me unable to move an inch in the Immortal City." The green-clad Taoist stamped his feet in anger, his face flushed red, grieving over the wasted spirit stones.

Lu Xiaotian was dumbfounded. He had witnessed the cunning of the black-robed elder, the arrogance of Situ Jing and the Situ clan's disregard for human life, and the shrewdness of Lyu Bifeng, but this was his first time encountering someone so shameless. Fortunately, the green-clad Taoist had appeared in time; otherwise, he might have been swindled out of another one or two spirit stones himself.

"Since that fat man surnamed Zhu has been doing this for a long time, he must be very familiar with the local terrain. Moreover, he flees very quickly. If you truly want to find him, you might try changing your appearance—disguise yourself as a rogue cultivator heading to Moon-Gazing City. It might work."

"Thank you for the tip, little brother," the green-clad Taoist said, his face brightening as he found the idea reasonable.

"May I ask, brother, which way to Moon-Gazing City? How much further is it?" Lu Xiaotian asked.

"Follow this official road for about two hours. You will see a great snow-capped mountain shrouded in clouds and mist. There are small paths on the mountain; once you cross it, you will see a towering city. That is Moon-Gazing Immortal City," the Taoist explained.

Lu Xiaotian cupped his hands in thanks. After bidding farewell to the Taoist, he set off in the indicated direction. His heart raced with excitement; based on the waiter's conversation and what he had just witnessed, he could tell he was indeed not far from the Immortal City. If he weren't near the city, how could he have encountered two cultivators in a single day, both of whom were stronger than him? When he had traveled through the secular kingdoms earlier, he had passed tens of thousands of people without meeting a single cultivator.

Sure enough, following the Taoist's directions, after two hours, undulating mountains blocked his path. Clouds swirled around the mountainsides, revealing their height. The mountains echoed with the roars of tigers and the cries of apes, and a cold wind howled. A rugged, winding goat path climbed upward, seemingly endless.

Lu Xiaotian used the Wind-Riding Technique to traverse the mountain path, which was much slower than traveling on flat ground. It was no wonder that secular mortals heading to the Immortal City had to be peerless martial artists or be protected by cultivators. Otherwise, the biting cold of these snowy peaks alone would be enough to freeze a person solid. Only martial artists with profound internal strength could endure it; even at the second level of Qi Refinement, crossing these towering, undulating snowy peaks was no easy feat.

After several days of travel, Lu Xiaotian finally crossed to the other side of the snowy peaks. "Moon-Gazing City!"

Two hundred miles later, when a towering, massive city loomed before him, Lu Xiaotian felt nothing but shock and awe. The massive grey-green stone blocks were of an unknown type, but each appeared to weigh hundreds of thousands of catties. At a glance, the edges of the city walls were nowhere to be seen. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, Lu Xiaotian would never have imagined such a massive city existed. It was magnificent and as solid as a mountain range.

After his initial shock, Lu Xiaotian arrived at the city gate, where hundreds of people were already queuing.

Seeing so many cultivators for the first time, Lu Xiaotian was incredibly surprised. In the crowd, only a dozen or so had cultivation levels similar to his. For the others, he could not judge their exact levels, but from the spiritual pressure they emitted, he knew they were much higher than his own—at least mid-stage Qi Refinement, or even late-stage experts.

At the heavy city gates, hundreds of guards clad in armor and wielding sharp blades stood in strict formation. All of them were at least mid-stage Qi Refinement. Their armor was a dark cyan color, each bearing an ancient shield-shaped emblem on the chest, the meaning of which was unknown.

The spiritual pressure radiating from them caused a sense of trepidation. As for their weapons, they were diverse rather than uniform, ranging from sabers and spears to swords and halberds. They glowed in hues of fiery red and earthy yellow, emitting different spiritual fluctuations. They were significantly more powerful than the green longsword he had obtained from Situ Jing.

At the slightest disturbance at the gate, these guards would step forward to suppress it.

A few soldiers in the lead inspected those wishing to enter the city one by one. A young man who looked like an officer had planted a long spear in the ground and was reclining on a lounge chair, napping leisurely.

As the soldiers conducted inspections, he noticed that the people in front were all presenting palm-sized wooden plaques. Lu Xiaotian felt a surge of uncertainty; did entering Moon-Gazing City require special identification? He did not possess such a plaque.

"It's your turn. Show your waist token!" After the time it took to burn an incense stick, it was Lu Xiaotian's turn. The inspecting soldier addressed him.

"I... I don't have a waist token." Lu Xiaotian's heart tightened. If this were a secular city, he wouldn't be this nervous, but every single soldier here had a cultivation level far higher than his own.

"No waist token? Did you lose it, or is this your first time in Moon-Gazing City?" The officer, who had been feigning sleep, stood up from his lounge chair and asked.

Lu Xiaotian answered truthfully, "It is my first time in Moon-Gazing City."

The officer's eyes snapped open, and a flash of red light passed through them. Lu Xiaotian felt as if the man could see right through him. *Spiritual Eye Technique.* This officer was likely a fire-attribute cultivator; his cultivation was so much higher than Lu Xiaotian's that the use of the technique made him feel an uncomfortable sensation, as if being pricked by needles.

"Go to the clerk over there to register and receive a waist token." The officer did not make things difficult for him. After a quick scan with his spiritual eyes, he lay back down.

Lu Xiaotian nodded. On the other side of the soldiers, there was a man dressed as a scribe, equipped with brushes and ink.

"Name and origin?" The clerk lifted his eyelids and glanced at Lu Xiaotian.

"Lu Xiaotian, from the Northern Liang Kingdom, Liang Province."

"Where is the Northern Liang Kingdom?" the clerk asked in surprise.

"Probably some small secular kingdom. There are hundreds or thousands of secular nations in the Central Continent; it's quite possible one was destroyed and a new kingdom rose in its place," a nearby soldier laughed.

"True. As long as they are registered in the records, why bother with the details?" The clerk also shook his head with a smile. He took out a small black plaque like the others, wrote Lu Xiaotian's name on it, and handed it to him. "Be careful not to lose it. It's free the first time, but you'll have to pay spirit stones to replace it if you lose it. Also, if there are emergencies inside or outside the city, entry and exit will be strictly inspected. It will be very troublesome without a waist token."

"Thank you for the reminder." Lu Xiaotian took the token and thanked him profusely, feeling a sense of relief. He now had the freedom to enter and exit the Immortal City. The token seemed to have a faint spiritual fluctuation, suggesting it was made of spiritual wood.

Passing through the gate, he saw the regulations and ordinances of Moon-Gazing City posted on the walls—for instance, fighting in the city was prohibited, and climbing the walls privately was forbidden. Flipping through the *Regulations of the Immortal City* in his hand, he realized they had indeed been copied from these very notices. Having been swindled once, Lu Xiaotian felt a secret pang of annoyance. Although the tiger skin wasn't worth much, he disliked the feeling of being played for a fool.

Inside Moon-Gazing City, the streets branched out in all directions. Most of the people passing by were cultivators, and those with higher cultivation levels than his were everywhere. In the secular kingdoms, he had always been among the elite, but now, finding someone stronger than him was effortless. Lu Xiaotian felt a sense of displacement, but coming from a humble background, he quickly adjusted his mindset.

Upon his arrival in Moon-Gazing Immortal City, Lu Xiaotian eagerly observed his surroundings.

On both sides of the streets were shops of various sizes, similar to the layout of secular cities, but the goods being sold were vastly different.

Passing by a shop called the Duan Family Weapon Workshop, he saw a dazzling array of sabers, spears, and arrows. The spiritual pressure they emitted startled him; these divine weapons could easily slice a person in half with a single light strike. They were worlds apart from the blades of the secular world.

A recruitment sign hung in front of the Duan Family Weapon Workshop, stating they were looking for spirit weapon smiths and blacksmith apprentices.

Besides weapons, there was also the He Family Pill Workshop. He had previously learned from Lyu Bifeng that early-stage Qi Refinement used Qi Gathering Pills, mid-stage used Qi Recovery Pills, and late-stage or Great Perfection used Yuan Qi Pills.

The pills displayed in the He Family Pill Workshop included those, along with many others he had heard of, primarily focused on cultivation and healing. There were also spiritual wines and spiritual teas to help rapidly restore magical power.