157: Chapter 157 Arrival at the Cangxuan Imperial Capital

The flying boat sped across the sky, piercing through clouds and mist, day and night without stopping.

Finally, after three days.

The group of Cultivators from the Xuanyang Sect finally arrived at the imperial city.

The Cangxuan Imperial Capital!

Baili Yunche, Liu Ruyan, and Xu Yuehuan came to the deck, looking out through the defensive light barrier of the flying boat, and were instantly shocked by the scene before them.

They saw an incomparably majestic giant city spanning across the earth, with city walls a hundred zhang high, built entirely of white marble.

On top of the city walls, banners fluttered, and every few dozen zhang stood a towering arrow tower.

Guards wearing golden armor stood on the towers, their gazes like lightning and their auras steady, shockingly all possessing the cultivation of the Golden Core Stage or above!

With merely city-guard sentries having such cultivation, the foundation of the imperial Family was evident.

Inside the city, tall buildings stood in rows like fish scales, with even the lowest pavilions being ten zhang high, while the tallest main hall of the imperial palace soared straight into the clouds, resplendent and magnificent.

On the wide streets, people came and went, shoulder to shoulder, exceptionally lively.

The air was filled with rich Spiritual Qi, twice as pure as that of the Xuanyang Sect!

Compared to Lieyang City where Baili Yunche's Family resided, this scale was better by more than dozens of times!

Baili Yunche secretly sighed in his heart that this was the true core of the Cultivation World and a gathering place for experts.

At the city gates, the city-guard sentries were all clad in heavy armor, holding long spears, and coldly scrutinizing every person entering the city.

Those sentries turned out to be Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators, and the leading captain was even at the Golden Core Stage; enough to dominate a region in Lieyang City, yet here they were merely gate-guarding sentries.

In Cangxuan City, Golden Core Stage Cultivators were as numerous as hairs on an ox, and Nascent Soul powerhouses were also common; only beings at the Soul Transformation Stage and above could truly be considered top figures.

Among the bustling crowds, many were Cultivators who had heard that the Cangxuan Assembly was being held recently and had rushed over specifically to observe.

Some excited, some expectant, they discussed animatedly, their faces carrying longing for the upcoming grand event.

The flying boat of the Xuanyang Sect was massive, its spiritual light flickering, and the Xuanyang Sect emblem on its hull was extremely eye-catching, immediately drawing the attention of the surrounding crowd.

"You look, such a huge flying boat! This seems to be the flying boat of the Xuanyang Sect!"

"Good heavens! A tier-four flying boat! The Xuanyang Sect is truly wealthy and powerful! It is said that a single flying boat like this is worth millions of Spirit Stones, and its defense can withstand the siege of several Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators!"

"Quick, look! So many young Cultivators are coming down from the flying boat, and they are all at the Golden Core Stage! Truly worthy of being one of the Four Great Sects, their foundation is profound!"

...

Flying was prohibited within the imperial capital; this was a rule set by the Cangxuan Imperial Family, and no Cultivator was allowed to fly through the air above the imperial city. Violators would be directly blasted to death by the imperial city's defensive Formation.

That defensive Formation was a tier-five Formation personally guarded by the Soul Transformation Old Ancestor of the imperial Family. Even if a Soul Transformation Stage Cultivator forced their way in, they would lose a layer of skin.

"All Disciples, disembark from the flying boat!"

Elder Qingfeng's resounding voice spread throughout the entire flying boat.

Rumble!

The flying boat paused and slowly descended onto a huge plaza outside the city gates.

Paved with blue jade stones, the plaza was large enough to hold tens of thousands of people, and at this moment, many flying boats and mounts from other factions were already parked there.

At the edge of the plaza, imperial officials had long been waiting to verify the identity tokens of the Disciples from each Sect.

"Let's go, let's go! This is my first time coming to the imperial capital! I heard there are many fun things here!"

"It's my first time here too. Come on, let's go take a look quickly!"

"Hurry up, don't dawdle. Let's go report first, and then we can stroll around properly! Since we made the trip to the imperial capital with such difficulty, we can't come in vain!"

The Disciples of the Xuanyang Sect discussed excitedly, walking off the flying boat in twos and threes, their faces beaming with excitement and anticipation.

"Let's go! Let's head out too!"

Baili Yunche said, reaching out to wrap his arms around the slender waists of Liu Ruyan and Xu Yuehuan, looking leisurely and confident.

Liu Ruyan and Xu Yuehuan responded, and the three of them walked down the flying boat side by side.

"What a magnificent capital city!"

Baili Yunche looked up at the towering city walls and couldn't help sighing with emotion.

Having lived for twenty years mostly in Lieyang City and within the Xuanyang Sect, this was his first time seeing such a grand city!

The wave of prosperity and majesty rushing toward his face stirred a strong sense of yearning and fighting spirit in his heart.

He knew that only in a place like this could one truly witness the vastness of the Cultivation World and come into contact with higher-level opportunities.

"It's my first time here too, Baili Yunche. We must stroll around properly later! I heard that the market of the imperial capital has many bizarre and strange gadgets; perhaps we can find treasures suitable for us!"

"Mhm, mhm." Baili Yunche nodded and smiled, pinching her pretty face.

Xu Yuehuan didn't have any particular feeling; she had lived in the imperial capital during her childhood and was quite familiar with it, showing no curious expression.

Standing beside Baili Yunche, she reminded him softly, "The waters in the imperial capital run deep, and various factions are intertwined. We should still be a bit careful. Especially the people of the imperial Family; it's best not to provoke them easily."

Right at this moment.

A behemoth suddenly appeared on the horizon.

The shadow grew from small to large, rapidly obscuring nearly half the sky, blocking even the sunlight.

A violent demonic wind descended from the sky, blowing the clothes of everyone in the plaza to flutter loudly, and Disciples with low cultivation couldn't even stand steadily, retreating again and again.

"What the hell is that?!"

"Good heavens! Such a huge Yao Beast! That is... that seems to be Cultivators from the Wanshou Sect!"

"People from the Wanshou Sect have come too! They are actually riding a tier-four Yao Beast! This is way too cool!"

When the behemoth drew closer, they finally saw clearly what it was.

It was an incomparably huge black giant eagle with a wingspan of a hundred zhang. Its feathers were as pitch-black and shiny as profound iron, glittering with a metallic luster under the sunlight.

Its eyes were scarlet like blood, emitting a ferocious and tyrannical aura, and its sharp beak was curved like a hook, as if it could tear everything apart.

The flapping of its wings whipped up a violent gale, with wind blades scattering everywhere, cutting cracks into the stone slabs on the ground.

This was precisely the protective Divine Beast of the Wanshou Sect—the tier-four Yao Beast, Black Wind Eagle!

Yao Beasts were divided into one to nine tiers based on their strength, corresponding to the nine great Realms of Cultivators.

Tier-four Yao Beasts had already awakened their spiritual intelligence, and their strength rivaled Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, with formidable Physical Bodies and astonishing Divine Abilities.

The Black Wind Eagle naturally commanded wind-type Divine Abilities, possessing extremely fast speed and terrifying attack power, which ordinary Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators did not dare to easily provoke.

The Wanshou Sect was famous for its beast-taming arts, and countless powerful Yao Beasts were raised within the Sect as combat strength.

This Black Wind Eagle was the protective Divine Beast of the Wanshou Sect, ordinarily guarding the Sect and rarely venturing out.

This time, it was actually ridden here personally by Sect Master Lin Batian of the Wanshou Sect, showing how much importance the Wanshou Sect attached to this Cangxuan Assembly.

Standing on the back of the eagle were nearly a hundred Cultivators, every single one clad in beast-skin battle armor, with wild and fierce auras.

The leading person was none other than Sect Master Lin Batian of the Wanshou Sect, and standing beside him were several Elders of Wanshou Peak, each with a profound aura, at least at the Middle Stage of the Nascent Soul Stage.

Such a high-profile entrance method was naturally intentional on the part of the Wanshou Sect, meant to give the Xuanyang Sect a psychological blow!

"Hahaha! Sect Master Xuanyangzi, trust you have been well since we last met!"

A rolling thunderous voice came from the eagle's back, vibrating everyone's eardrums with a buzzing sound.

Afterward, a burly man jumped down from above.

The man was nearly a zhang tall, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with muscles knotted like rocks, a full face of whiskers, and a pair of brass-bell-like large eyes flashing with a fierce light.

He was dressed in a beast-skin battle robe, exuding a dense Evil Qi.

This person was precisely Sect Master Lin Batian of the Wanshou Sect!

The Wanshou Sect had always been at odds with the Xuanyang Sect. Due to conflicts over territories, resources, and Disciples, deep grievances had built up between the two Sects, and whenever they met, they were tit-for-tat, wishing they could get rid of each other quickly.