138: Desert Kingdom, Hanging Sun City

Half a month later.

Jiang Lan put down the huge bundle he was carrying, took out a map and looked at it for a while, then raised his head to look at the town before him.

'Xuanri City'

After half a month of travel, Jiang Lan finally arrived in Mo Country.

Once he crossed Mo Country, he would reach his final destination for this journey, Ling Country.

Since leaving Anling County half a month ago, he hadn't stopped for a moment, even resting only in the wilderness.

During this time, he had also killed many demons and obtained a good amount of lifespan.

The closer he got to Ling Country, the more Jiang Lan could clearly feel that the number of demons was much higher than before.

In fact, along the way, he had seen at least ten ruined cities.

He didn't need to think twice to know that those places had all been destroyed by demons, with most of the people dead, which was why the cities were abandoned.

However, this discovery also made Jiang Lan even more excited.

It's good to have more demons.

What happened before was irreversible, and he wouldn't grieve over such matters.

But the number of demons was very important to him.

He was currently like being in a high-end restaurant where the average cost per person was 3,800, and he could only eat what the chef made, with no room for choice.

But as soon as he entered an area where demons gathered, that high-end restaurant would transform into a buffet costing 68 per person.

He could eat whatever he wanted, and as much as he wanted.

Jiang Lan had already made up his mind.

On this trip, if he didn't secure ten or eight thousand years of lifespan, he wouldn't return to Great Yan.

His goal this time was Core Formation Peak.

And if things went smoothly, it wasn't impossible to strive for Transformation Infant Peak.

However, everything was still an unknown at present.

Until then, he couldn't be sure how much he would gain from this journey.

Jiang Lan looked up at the sky again, subconsciously narrowing his eyes.

Mo Country, true to its name.

As soon as he entered the border of Mo Country, yellow sand filled the sky, and dust flew everywhere.

Further in, most areas were vast, endless deserts.

The daytime temperatures were frighteningly high, and looking into the distance, one could even see heat waves distorting the air.

But for Jiang Lan, it didn't matter.

He had entered Mortal Shedding, and his body was already impervious to heat and cold; such a temperature posed no threat to him at all.

While traveling, Jiang Lan also encountered many caravans.

However, unlike before, the caravans in this place all rode camels.

When he first saw them, Jiang Lan was quite surprised.

Not only people, but even animals were not too different from what he remembered from his previous life.

Cattle, sheep, pigs, and dogs aside, there were even camels.

What surprised Jiang Lan the most was that the people in this area looked somewhat different from the people in the previous few countries.

Yet everyone still spoke the same language, communicating without any obstacles, and there wasn't even much of an accent.

There was a slight one, but it was very subtle, to the point where one wouldn't notice it without listening carefully.

Jiang Lan walked unhurriedly to the city gate, still carrying a huge bundle, his steps remaining light.

It was early in the afternoon, the hottest time of the day, so there were very few people entering the city at the gate, only about three or four.

However, their attire was quite uniform, somewhat similar to the Arabs of Jiang Lan's previous life, wearing turbans and white robes.

Even so, the crowd would occasionally raise their sleeves to wipe away sweat from their faces.

In contrast, Jiang Lan's attire was quite unusual.

He was still in a black robe, without even a turban on his head.

Yet Jiang Lan's face was surprisingly fair, not tanned by the sun at all.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell he was a Martial Artist at a glance.

Soon, everyone ahead of Jiang Lan had entered the city.

When it was Jiang Lan's turn, the soldiers at the city gate were dressed no differently from the common people entering the city—all in white robes, without armor.

But this was normal.

Jiang Lan estimated the current temperature to be at least forty to nearly fifty degrees Celsius; if they wore iron armor and stood under the sun, they would be 'cooked' in less than a quarter of an hour.

The city guard soldiers recognized Jiang Lan's identity by his attire.

Who else would dare to wear such an outfit in the desert? Wasn't that seeking death?

Moreover, Jiang Lan was carrying such a large bundle.

It looked like it would be about as tall as a person when stood upright, and several times thicker.

So the city guard soldiers could confirm that Jiang Lan was a Martial Artist.

And a very strong Martial Artist at that.

Although he was also a Martial Artist, he admitted he couldn't carry heavy objects, be completely exposed, and not have a single drop of sweat on his forehead.

That was not something an ordinary Martial Artist could do.

Perhaps, he might even be an adult of the Qi Gathering Realm.

He dared not be negligent and quickly said:

"Sir, are you entering the city?"

Jiang Lan was silent for a moment.

What do you think?

If I'm not entering the city, why am I waiting in line here?

But he had no intention of retorting, merely nodding faintly.

"I need to go to Zhenwu Pavilion. This is my first time here. Would you be so kind, young man, as to tell me where the Zhenwu Pavilion is located?"

"Yes, yes." The city guard soldier readily agreed, then pointed the way: "The Zhenwu Pavilion is not far from the city gate. Go straight in from here, walk one li south, turn east after two intersections, and you'll see it after two more intersections."

"Thank you." Jiang Lan nodded slightly, "Does it cost money to enter the city?"

The guard waved his hands repeatedly.

"No, no."

Jiang Lan smiled, flicked his wrist, and tossed a piece of Small change (broken silver) into the guard's arms, then walked directly into the city.

He had clearly seen that everyone before him had to pay to enter the city, and it wouldn't be right if he didn't.

Carrying the bundle, Jiang Lan activated Flood Dragon Swim and instantly arrived at the place the guard had pointed out to him earlier.

He looked up; before him was a white three-story building, with the three characters 'Zhenwu Pavilion' written above.

Mo Country architecture was mostly white, with a style somewhat different from the countries he had passed through before, but not too much.

In any case, it wasn't the Arab-style architecture Jiang Lan had in mind.

It just seemed that this place favored white.

On another note, it might also be because white reflects light.

After confirming it was the Zhenwu Pavilion, Jiang Lan stepped directly inside.

He had come to this city specifically for the Zhenwu Pavilion.

When he had joined the Zhenwu Pavilion earlier, the steward had told him there were three ways to earn contribution points.

The first was to directly exchange them for silver.

The second was to accept missions within the Zhenwu Pavilion, and upon completion, one would receive contribution points.

As for the last method, it was to exchange the corpses of demons.

However, Jiang Lan had forgotten about this until he arrived in Mo Country and saw a Zhenwu Pavilion branch marked on the map, which reminded him of it.