817: Heading to the border

However, just as she mustered her strength to accelerate, she saw the silver stream of light ahead, as if teleporting, instantly leaving her hundreds of miles behind! Even its shadow was almost out of sight!

"Hey! Big brother! Wait for me!" she roared anxiously, desperately accelerating as her Demonic Power surged, pushing her speed to the limit to chase after him.

But no matter how hard she tried, that silver light remained far ahead, like a line cutting through the sky, and she could only "eat dust" behind him!

After chasing for nearly an hour, Qiong Shuang was so tired her tongue hung out, and her speed slowed down significantly. Looking at Yao Delong ahead, who was still elegant and composed, with not even a corner of his clothes ruffled, she completely lost heart.

"Ugh... Big brother is bullying me!" Qiong Shuang muttered aggrievedly. Her Demonic Qi withdrew, and her massive flood dragon body rapidly shrank, transforming back into that cold, stunningly beautiful elder sister figure with long snow-white hair.

Yao Delong sensed her change and slowed down slightly. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he reached out, and a gentle wave of Yuan Force caught the flying Qiong Shuang steadily, pulling her into his arms.

"Hmph!" Although Qiong Shuang was tall and curvaceous after her transformation, she now turned her head away petulantly like a little girl to express her dissatisfaction. The fierce wind from the high-speed flight blew her long ice-blue hair backward, revealing her fair and beautiful profile and neck.

Yao Delong laughed in spite of himself, tightening his arm around her waist. "Alright, save some energy. We'll eat something good once we enter the city."

Upon hearing "something good," Qiong Shuang's eyes instantly lit up, and her minor grievance was immediately thrown to the back of her mind.

Originally, Yao Delong intended to find a nearby large city and use a Teleportation Array to go directly to the heart of the Xuan Ye Dynasty. However, at the victory banquet in Biqiu City, he received some bad news: for some reason, the Xuan Ye Dynasty had unilaterally closed all external teleportation base coordinates! Now, to enter the Xuan Ye Dynasty, one could only pass through the border checkpoints and cross that perilous and harsh Endless Desert!

The direct distance from Biqiu City to "Sleepless City," the border hub, was tens of thousands of miles. For an ordinary Cultivator, even a Nascent Soul Cultivator, it would take several days or even longer. But with Yao Delong's terrifying speed, combined with the divine effect of the taiyu flowing light wings tearing through spatial resistance, it took only half a day!

As the last rays of the setting sun lingered on the horizon, the silhouette of an incredibly grand giant city, spanning the end of the vast land like a prehistoric beast, burst into their view!

Sleepless City!

The first thing that caught their eye was the massive wall, a hundred zhang high and stretching for countless miles! The entire wall was built from a dark, shiny special Black Iron Ore that seemed to absorb light, covered with mottled traces of time and war, as well as dense defensive Formations shimmering with complex runes! A blood-and-iron, ancient, and majestic Aura that seemed capable of resisting any impact washed over them!

What was even more shocking was the scene inside the city!

Although night had not yet fully fallen, the lights in Sleepless City were already coming on! Countless lamps, Formation glows, and Magic Treasure lights intertwined, illuminating the entire city like broad daylight! Its brilliance was so intense that it was like a giant pearl embedded in the earth, lighting up the night sky for hundreds of miles around, truly living up to the name "Buye"—the City of No Night!

Qiong Shuang's entire attention was instantly captured by this never-before-seen prosperity. She pointed excitedly below: "Big brother, look! So bright! So many lights! There must be good food!"

Yao Delong nodded slightly, reduced his speed, and descended toward the magnificent city gate.

As the most important border hub from the Ba Xia Dynasty to the Xuan Ye Dynasty, the inspections in Sleepless City were naturally extremely strict. Before the giant city gate, there were long queues: travel-worn merchant caravans, fierce-looking mercenaries, Loose Cultivators of all kinds, and even many Alien Races with strange Auras. Squads of armored guards with murderous Auras patrolled back and forth, their gazes as sharp as eagles.

Yao Delong did not wait in line with Qiong Shuang but walked directly toward the VIP channel. An invisible pressure belonging to a Void Refining expert, like a surging undercurrent beneath a calm sea, although deliberately restrained, still made these city guards—most of whom were at the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core stages—feel a suffocating pressure, their Souls trembling instinctively!

The captain in charge was an Early Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator. He braced himself and stepped forward, bowing respectfully: "Senior! Please... please show your identity token and cooperate with the routine inspection."

Yao Delong's expression was indifferent as he casually tossed out a token. The token was neither metal nor jade, feeling warm to the touch. On the front was carved a mysterious Yin-Yang Double Fish Diagram, and on the back were the ancient characters for "Yin Yang," emitting a faint Aura of Laws—it was the identity token of a Core Disciple of the Yin Yang Sect!

The captain took the token with both hands. As his Divine Sense swept over it, his expression changed drastically! The Yin Yang Sect! And the Rank of the token was far higher than any Sect Disciple token he had ever seen!

"So it is an Immortal from the Yin Yang Sect!" The captain, along with all the surrounding guards, instantly knelt on one knee, their attitude respectful to the extreme. "We did not know an Immortal was visiting; please forgive our neglect! This way, please! Quickly, enter!" They didn't dare have the slightest thought of questioning him and let him through directly.

Under countless gazes of awe, envy, and curiosity, Yao Delong led the curious Qiong Shuang and stepped unimpeded into this famous City of No Night!

As soon as they entered the city, a wave of extreme bustle and suffocating prosperity surrounded them like a surging tide!

Before them was a super main road wide enough for dozens of carriages to travel side-by-side—Tongtian Avenue! The avenue was paved with massive blocks of Bluestone, smooth as a mirror and spotless!

On both sides of the street were rows of giant buildings! Some were dozens of stories high, with carved beams and painted rafters, majestic in scale; some were built entirely of crystal, radiant and dreamlike; some were covered by giant vines, full of life, like forest palaces... The architectural styles varied, but all exuded strong spiritual power and heritage, with many buildings themselves being powerful Magical Artifacts or Magic Treasures!

On the street, the flow of people was like a woven tapestry, shoulder to shoulder!

There were Sect Disciples riding majestic Spirit Beast mounts and parading through the streets; fairies and socialites in gorgeous carriages with half-rolled bead curtains, revealing their peerless beauty; fierce-looking mercenaries with giant swords on their backs; foreign merchants in strange clothes with odd accents; and even many Shape-shifting Great Demons, some with animal ears or tails, others retaining scales or wings, walking openly and trading with human Cultivators... It was truly a gathering place for ten thousand races!

The signs of countless shops flickered with dazzling spiritual light:

"Ten Thousand Treasures Tower—Accepting custom Magic Treasure orders and spirit material recycling!"

"Alchemist Association—Seventh-grade Spirit Pills available in stock!"

"Tianji Pavilion—Secret Realm guides and ancient Immortal Cave information for sale!"

"Drunken Immortal Residence—Thousand-year-old brews and Spirit Beast delicacies!"

"Joyous Union Pavilion—Dual Cultivation partner rentals, secret technique training partners..."