12: Chapter 12 Dongshan Has a City

Shen Moyan quietly descended from the sky, tidied his slightly tattered combat attire, wrapped his heavenly demon sword in an old cloth, and hid it under his loose robe.

He could sense faint fluctuations of Cultivator Qi in the city, but none were particularly strong; it was mostly the everyday hustle and bustle of Mortals.

Currently, Shen Moyan was only at the Qi Gathering Ninth Layer, an ordinary thirteen-year-old child, so he had to act discreetly... outside Dongshan City.

"Speaking of Dongshan City, decades ago, this place was still a wild land, overrun by Yao Beasts and sparsely populated." Cen Zhihong and his son sat in a bumpy carriage.

He was recounting the history of Dongshan City to his son, Cen Zhiyuan.

"But who would have known that a thousand li away from here, there was an Immortal Lineage that had been hidden for ten thousand years?"

"When an Inner Sect Disciple emerged into the world, he passed by this place and conveniently cleared out all the Yao Beasts in the area, and so it gradually developed into its current form."

"However, on the territory map of Langya Prefecture, this area is still a gray zone."

"After all, the City Lord who manages this city is not appointed by the prefect, nor is he from a reclusive Sect, but merely a Cultivator in the Mortal Transformation Realm."

Cen Zhihong said with a smile to his son that there was a no-fly zone in the city, so they couldn't fly around.

Suddenly, a scholar-like person appeared ahead, and the speeding carriage quickly swerved.

"Damn it! Are you trying to die?!"

Cen Zhihong flew into a rage and cursed back.

"Father, please calm down. It's that person who was careless and blocked the main road." Cen Zhiyuan quickly tried to soothe him.

"Honestly, if it weren't for this special mission requiring discreet travel, with my old temper, I would have run him over long ago."

After a long while, Cen Zhihong's anger subsided, and he continued the previous topic:

"Most of the people in the city are Mortals seeking refuge from disaster, Jianghu experts and eccentric individuals, and refugees from Langya Prefecture."

The new Dao is flourishing, and no one should be underestimated, even if they are Mortals without cultivation.

As long as one's will is firm, they can walk the Pilgrimage Stairs and see the origin dao preaching stele that penetrates heaven and earth, or if the sequence of time turns, and they are shaded by the Dao shadow of the origin dao preaching stele, even a Mortal can instantly gain wisdom, learn cultivation, and perhaps achieve Mortal Transformation and Foundation Establishment in a few years.

Because everyone's Aptitude is almost the same, aristocratic immortal families are trying their best to blockade and monopolize knowledge related to cultivation, creating significant restrictions in terms of cognition and resources.

"This place is located in the eastern part of Langya Prefecture and is close to the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains."

"So it's called Dongshan City?" Cen Zhiyuan interjected.

"As expected of my son, just like me." Cen Zhihong smiled with satisfaction.

"Speaking of which, if the great sun hangs high, and the shadow of the origin dao preaching stele happens to cover the eastern part of Langya Prefecture, then perhaps our father and son won't need to go on a pilgrimage to visit that mythical immortal trace."

"Oh right, after entering the city later, speak less about Cultivator knowledge. Don't give those ignorant commoners a chance to be enlightened."

The carriage hurried, kicking up a trail of dust.

Shen Moyan clung to the bottom of the carriage, using his spiritual power to shield himself from the dust, and listened to their conversation.

"origin dao preaching stele? Am I still in the Great World of Mountains and Seas?"

Shen Moyan was speechless.

He didn't expect that Ren Wuchang's heavenly demon sword's Otherworldly Meteoric Iron came from the Great World of Mountains and Seas. Wouldn't his original Ascension with that towering giant sword as a marvel have been a detour then?

"Stop, present your City Entry Permit."

Cen Zhihong and his son arrived outside the city gate. The guards stopped them as per usual, their Divine Sense probing as they scrutinized them:

"Cultivators from out of town must register with the City Patrol Office and present proof of goods."

Under the carriage, Shen Moyan performed the Turtle Breathing Great Technique, and then used the Concealment Art from the Biyang First Rising Art to minimize his presence.

"Oh dear, my memory! I forgot to bring it when I left!" Cen Zhihong clutched his head. The goods behind him were not presentable.

"Officer, please forgive me, forgive me." He first looked around furtively, then took out a heavy brocade pouch and handed it to the guard.

The guard weighed the pouch, and the crisp sound of Spirit Stones clinking together was heard.

"Ahem..." The guard also squinted and looked around, then coughed softly with a straight face.

"Oops, I grabbed the wrong one, Officer, please bear with me." Cen Zhihong's expression twitched.

Not enough, huh.

He took out another brocade pouch and handed it to the other party.

"Ahem, be more careful next time, you may pass."

Having received the bribe, the guard stepped aside.

"Thank you, Officer!"

..."What's in this carriage?"

Shen Moyan casually found someone, hoping to secretly enter the city along the way.

But he didn't expect to find someone extraordinary right away.

Shen Moyan clung to the bottom of the carriage, carefully probing the goods above with his Divine Sense, and felt a sharp pain.

It was a profound darkness, so black that he couldn't discern the outline of the object.

"Father, are the goods we're carrying really okay? Is there really no safety hazard?" Cen Zhiyuan asked with a worried expression, feeling the locked object in the box behind the carriage.

"Shh, ask less about these unimportant things."

"Our Cen Family has been merchants for generations, and for our clients' items, privacy is the most important thing."

"This is something the Dongshan City Lord requested from the Cen Family's main branch, and he ordered it to be transported secretly, so it must be transported secretly."

"Isn't conscience the most important thing for a merchant?" Cen Zhiyuan rubbed his head.

Through days of travel, he had vaguely understood that the business their Cen Family accepted was to transport an extremely formidable killing weapon for someone.

"Conscience? Who told you that?" Cen Zhihong was furious.

"It's in books, it's written in this 'records of the mountain and sea official appointments'." Cen Zhiyuan pulled out a scroll.

"In ancient Mountain and Sea, traveling merchants would avoid the noble if they were lowly, the elder if they were young, the heavy if they were light, the coming if they were going, seeking good fortune and avoiding disaster..."

"Stop reading those meaningless storybooks! You little bastard, you're nothing like me!"

Cen Zhiyuan was cut off by Cen Zhihong before he could finish.

"For merchants! The most important thing is profit. No matter how great the flood, as long as there's profit to be made and one can retreat safely, it's naturally a big business!"

"First, find an Inn to stop for a meal, then go to the City Lord's Mansion to deliver the goods."

Cen Zhihong looked at the bustling streets; they needed to settle down first.

Cen Zhiyuan nodded and reached for his waist. Suddenly, his heart sank:

"Father! The number of Spirit Stone pouches is wrong!"

..."This place is not suitable for staying long; try not to get into trouble."

The item in the carriage was shrouded in dark Qi; who knew what Karma it might bring.

After confirming that he was indeed in the Great World of Mountains and Seas, Shen Moyan became extremely vigilant.

He quickly left the Cen Zhihong father and son pair, and also took some Spirit Stones.

Even thieves have their principles; he only took what he needed, leaving a few pouches for the Cen Family father and son.

"Five hundred Spirit Stones, I wonder what their purchasing power is." Shen Moyan weighed his sleeve.

"Next, what I need is to enter the Mortal Transformation Realm."

At Qi Gathering Ninth Layer, Shen Moyan had already reached a cultivation Bottleneck.

Bottlenecks are something every person encounters when stepping into cultivation.

During the cultivation process, a Cultivator's cultivation will get stuck at a certain point, whether it's a minor Realm or a major Realm.

In such a situation, relying solely on arduous cultivation is not enough; Shen Moyan clearly knew this.

He had been stuck at the Peak of the Mortal Realm for a very long time, almost three lifetimes.

Shen Moyan needed an Opportunity, an Opportunity to help him overcome this Bottleneck.

The Mortal Transformation Realm is divided into three stages: Condensing Dharma Body, Transforming Feather Garment, and Seeing Xiyi.

Condensing Dharma Body is about compressing the spiritual power in one's Spiritual Veins into Dharma Power, and Spells are maintained by Dharma Power.

"Condensing Dharma Body, I should convert my spiritual power into Dharma Power, but that would take too long. According to the Biyang First Rising Art, it would require at least ten years to absorb the essence of the great sun."

"If I don't encounter an Opportunity, then I can only slowly grind away."

Shen Moyan blended into the crowd, walking aimlessly on the street.

"Forget it, there's still plenty of time. I'll first try to integrate into this world and figure out its power structure."

After a long while, Shen Moyan stopped in front of a small courtyard, from which the clear sound of reading emanated.