70: Chapter 70 Hundred Phoenix City, A New Beginning

The wheels rolled on, traveling day and night.

After another dozen days of travel, the caravan finally slowly emerged from the endless, desolate Black Mist Mountains.

The moment the caravan drove out of the mountains, everyone's eyes were suddenly opened to a vast expanse!

It was as if they had instantly burst from a gray, dim world into another colorful fairyland!

The sky was an unprecedented, vast shade of azure.

The land was an endless, vibrant green plain full of vitality.

Most importantly... the air!

"Daddy! The air here... is so sweet!"

His daughter Gu Yue's voice, filled with novelty and cheer, drifted from inside the carriage.

Gu Yan took a deep breath.

A pure Spiritual Qi, ten times denser than that of Luoyun Town—no, the entire Kumu Region—rushed through his nose and mouth, surging into his limbs and bones!

Just this single casual breath was almost equivalent to the results of a quarter-hour of hard cultivation in Luoyun Town!

This was the gap between regions!

It was a world of difference... in the level of life!

Everyone in the caravan felt this change.

The accompanying guards and servants felt refreshed, and the exhaustion from the long journey was swept away.

As for Gu Fan and Gu Xuan, the two children with Spiritual Roots, they were like two fish returning to the ocean, happily absorbing the surrounding dense Spiritual Qi, their faces showing expressions of immense comfort.

The caravan continued forward.

Another half-day passed.

When the caravan crossed a gentle hill,

at the end of the horizon, the outline of an incomparably magnificent, colossal city—resembling an ancient beast crouching between heaven and earth—finally appeared in everyone's field of vision!

"Good heavens..."

"What is that?!"

An uncontrollable, shocked exclamation erupted from within the caravan!

Even Shen Qingxue and the others, who had already learned about this immortal city from Gu Yan, were left dumbfounded and speechless by its unimaginable grandeur when they saw it with their own eyes!

As the caravan drew closer, the details of the massive city became increasingly clear.

The city walls, built from some unknown giant stone, were a primitive, dark cyan color. They stood dozens of zhang high, towering and piercing the clouds!

On top of the city walls, a watchtower was set every hundred meters. Squads of soldiers, wearing uniform bright silver armor and holding sharp halberds, were patrolling back and forth along the walls.

Their aura was far more fierce and solid than the guards of Luoyun Town!

Below the city walls was a massive moat, a hundred zhang wide. The water was clear yet shimmered with a faint spiritual light. Clearly, this was no ordinary water, but a Spiritual Vein channeled by a Formation to surround the entire city!

"Daddy, look! In the sky! There are people flying in the sky!"

Gu Fan's excited cry drew everyone's gaze toward the sky.

Above the massive gate of Baifeng City, streaks of brilliant, multicolored escape lights were whistling back and forth like shooting stars!

Those were, astonishingly, Cultivators stepping on Flying Swords or controlling various strange Magical Artifacts!

They did not need to queue or undergo inspection, flying directly into the city from high above, causing the Mortal merchant caravans waiting in line on the ground to let out bursts of envious and awe-struck exclamations.

For these "country folk" of the Gu Family, the impact of this scene was simply too great!

They all tilted their heads back, mouths agape, their faces filled with shock and longing.

Even Leng Yuechan, who had always appeared calm and unruffled, couldn't help but reveal a complex expression of feeling like a lifetime had passed when she stepped out of the carriage and saw this familiar scene, her cold phoenix eyes betraying her.

She was used to such sights.

But she was not used to admiring it with this group of people... filled with a "Mortal" aura.

Her gaze subconsciously fell upon the face of the man beside her.

She had expected to see a face filled with the same shock and unease as everyone else.

However, what she saw was a pair... a pair of eyes that were shockingly bright, as if two flames were blazing within them!

In those eyes, there was not a shred of the inferiority or timidity of a country bumpkin entering the city.

What was there was only... an ambition! And... a desire for conquest, like a monarch surveying his future territory!

Leng Yuechan's heart skipped a beat for no reason.

[Ding! Arrived at the main quest location: Baifeng City!]

[Main quest 'Renowned in the Region' has officially begun!]

[Phase 1 Goal: Settle down and acquire property.]

[Quest Requirement: Host, please acquire a recognized piece of fixed asset of your own within Baifeng City (e.g., a private residence or a street-front shop).]

[Note: Friendly reminder, property prices in Baifeng City are very high, much higher than you imagine... Please work hard to make money, Host, and complete the KPI assessment for this phase as soon as possible!]

The System's voice rang in Gu Yan's mind at the right moment.

Gu Yan ignored it.

His gaze remained burning as he stared at the magnificent city that was about to begin his brand-new journey.

The caravan slowly merged into the long, dragon-like line entering the city.

After paying an "entry fee" of one hundred taels of silver—enough to keep an ordinary Mortal family well-off for a lifetime—

this massive caravan from a remote land finally, slowly, drove into this... great Cultivation city that was more prosperous than anyone could have imagined!

Wide!

The streets, wide enough to accommodate eight carriages side-by-side, were paved with smooth bluestone and were spotless.

Prosperous!

On both sides of the street, tall buildings stood in rows like the scales of a fish. Shops with plaques like "Magical Artifact Pavilion," "Spirit Pill Tower," and "Ten Thousand Talisman Studio" were dazzling and eye-catching!

Crowded!

The streets were bustling with weaving crowds, shoulder to shoulder. Not only were there ordinary Mortal commoners, but more importantly, there were Cultivators like him, carrying fluctuations of spiritual power!

First and Second Level of Qi Refining were almost synonymous with "commoners" here.

Even Late Stage Cultivators could often be seen walking in groups of two or three!

This place was simply not the same world as Luoyun Town!

The Gu Family children were already rendered speechless by the bizarre and kaleidoscopic sights.

The guards and servants in the caravan dared not even breathe loudly, their faces filled with awe and unease.

Only Gu Yan.

He drove the carriage through this bustling steel forest, his expression calm yet filled with... irrepressible heroic spirit!

He knew.

This was the stage that truly suited him!

This was the vast sky where his Gu Family, the Dragon about to take flight, should soar!

Baifeng City.

I, Gu Yan...

Have arrived!