468: Hiding Place

Honestly, Hassan had never seen outsiders who were so formidable in combat and yet so generous.

"This is the Spirit Source Ground of our Dongyu Country. It's not as rich as your Xituo Country, where the territory is on the surface and vast. To enter the territory of Dongyu Country, one must first pass through the Spirit Source Ground before entering the pass!"

Hassan enthusiastically led Tang Ku and his group, slowly arriving in front of the massive stone archway. The guards holding steel blades at the entrance merely glanced at them and then paid them no further mind.

Tang Ku nodded inwardly. In the eyes of the people of the Ashura Realm, it was impossible for there to be any ill-intentioned invaders here. However, the fact that different countries had actually formed within this realm surprised Tang Ku quite a bit.

"Could it be that ever since the Ashura Realm was last subjected to a Seal, it split into different countries due to the climate?"

Everyone had doubts in their hearts, but they couldn't ask for the time being. After all, if they asked the wrong questions, it would be easy to reveal their identities as outsiders. They didn't know what the attitude of the Ashura Realm was towards outsiders; what if the other party treated outsiders as enemies?

Therefore, to avoid unnecessary trouble, everyone tacitly remained silent, with only Tang Ku chatting sporadically with Hassan.

After entering the archway gate, everyone suddenly felt a wave of warmth. When they looked back, they saw that the wind and snow outside seemed to have become exceptionally gloomy and terrifying, while inside the gate, it felt as warm as spring.

"Alright, you should take off your cotton-padded jackets. Our Spirit Source Ground is like spring all year round; it only turns into winter once you reach the formal territory of our Dongyu Country. Of course, it won't be as cold as on the Mowen Plain..."

Hassan chuckled and led the group toward the largest building in this township.

Tang Ku and the others looked around with curiosity. Truth be told, the clothing of the people here wasn't much different from the outside world. However, occasionally there would be people dressed in animal skins like Hassan, trading with a strange currency. There were daily necessities, as well as some things that looked like food, much like a traditional farm market. Of course, those houses were mostly shops and eateries; aside from the smaller scale, it was basically very similar to cities on the surface.

Moreover, the streets were paved with flat, large square bricks, neat and clean.

Behind the township was a large mountain stretching for over ten miles, and at the foot of the mountain, there seemed to be lakes; the environment looked secluded, and the scenery was quite beautiful.

And what made Tang Ku feel most curious was the sky above.

There was actually a sun suspended in the sky here, and observing with Tang Ku's Spiritual Awareness Microscopic, this sun was actually moving bit by bit, just like in the Upper Realm.

"Tang Ku, don't you think the way the celestial bodies move here is almost the same as in the outside world?"

Tang Xian said in a slightly low voice, "It's just like the Earth orbiting the Sun; here, too, planets are orbiting a star... We... must be on another planet outside of Earth!"

"Shh!" Tang Ku said softly, "It's enough that we know; we still need to wait and see how things develop..."

As he spoke, Tang Ku secretly noted the trajectory of the ground beneath his feet and the star in the sky that resembled the sun, and then followed Hassan into that building.

"This is our Sanctuary. Exchanging currency, hunters receiving missions, and even teleporting back and forth to our Dongyu Country, etc., all happen here... Hmm, you all come with me!"

Hassan introduced with a smile. He first arranged for his brothers to go exchange White Spirit Crystals for money, then led Tang Ku and the others toward an object that looked like an elevator door.

Tang Xian observed his surroundings and discovered that there were some shadows of modernization here. The service staff all wore uniform clothing, and different counters were responsible for different services. Furthermore, there were several people wearing different uniforms who looked a bit more Advanced, like lobby managers, patrolling back and forth, helping guests coming in and out to handle some business.

"Bank, Hunter Guild, train station... A service institution that combines all three? This is a very good operational model..." Tang Ku suddenly smiled and thought to himself, "Our Great Tang could also fully open service institutions like this in the future!"

"Coming, coming, Brother Hassan..."

The previously loot-gathering Babol excitedly held up a palm-sized pouch and said, "You don't know, seeing that we had so many White Spirit Crystals in our hands, the service staff here and the nearby hunters were dumbfounded... Hehe, this time their jaws will surely drop!"

Hassan frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "You showed all the Spirit Crystals?"

"Ah!" Babol laughed, "Our Hassan Hunter Group will finally be able to hold our heads high this time..."

Hassan directly gave Babol a knuckle to the head and said angrily, "Hold your head high, my ass! Is your brain really waterlogged? Damn it... I'm really impressed with you. Are you afraid we aren't dying fast enough?"

Babol was so aggrieved he was about to cry, not knowing what he did wrong.

A companion on the side interceded, "Big Brother, Babol is still young, and he didn't mean it. Please spare him this time!"

"Bullshit!" Hassan cursed, "He's young and doesn't know better, but you troublemakers went with him; you just watched him mess around? Don't you understand the principle that wealth stirs the heart?"

The few were scolded so badly they didn't dare to breathe. Babol stubbornly said, "Hmph, they saw us hunt so many Frost Quenched Xiu; how would they dare to come after us..."

"Still talking back!" Hassan said angrily, "Did you kill them? Those were killed by our benefactors. Do you think our benefactors can protect you for a lifetime? You're such an idiot... I really taught you in vain..."

Seeing Hassan getting angrier and angrier, Tang Ku couldn't help but smile, "Don't worry. Although it's said that one shouldn't show off wealth, sometimes establishing authority is good... Hmm, how about this: with us here, they basically can't touch a hair on you, and before we leave, we will teach you some life-saving skills. How about that?"

Tang Xian, Red Boy, and the others had long noticed that many people had started to gather around, and they were already sneering in their hearts. To be honest, dealing with those monsters really wasn't very satisfying, but there were no experts among these people either. For these warmongers, it was better than nothing!

"Fine, for the sake of our benefactors, I'll spare you, kid... This is a place of trouble, we can't stay long. Let's go quickly..."

As he spoke, Hassan handed some crystal coins the size of a thumb, which he had exchanged for the Spirit Crystals, to a service staff member in a white robe at the entrance. This person took a look and said, "You don't need that much money; you can go to the counter to exchange for some small change..."

Hassan smiled, "Keep the rest as a tip. You can use it to buy some tea or drinks, but you can't take the money for nothing. After we leave, you have to help us hold off those guys behind us for a while..."

The attendant understood immediately, tucked the crystal chips into their sleeve, and then made a gesture of invitation.

The crystal gate in front suddenly opened, a dazzling light shone, and Hassan called out, leading the group into the gate.

Many hunters behind intended to swarm forward, but the service staff at the entrance lightly waved their hand, and a curtain of light bounced all these hunters back. These hunters sighed unwillingly and turned to leave the place.

No one dared to force their way through the Sanctuary's Restriction, not even a Great Warrior.

The gate suddenly closed. The attendant looked at the gate's defensive line, suddenly showed a look of confusion, then pressed something in their ear and said in a deep voice, "They have sent people..."